Duty
Kathleen Varn
Women’s Historical Fiction
1957 jobs are scarce in rural Ashland, Alabama. Bobby Higgins is
facing life decisions; his family’s farm struggles and threat of
the draft hangs over 18-year-old males as the Cold War rumbles in the
distance. Bobby heads off to boot camp, vowing to provide for his
family from his pay. Between shore and sea duty, Bobby leaves broken
hearts in every port. When his own heart is stolen by Rose, he’s
shocked to learn that she comes with four daughters, a package deal
he’s unsure he wants. But when Rose disappears, Bobby finds her and
persuades her to marry him. Somehow they navigate their way through
the trials of marriage and parenting as he fulfills his patriotic
career and his promise to raise four willful daughters. In the spring
of 2004, his daughters are brought together by grief. They forge new
bonds, sharing their joys, losses, regrets, and ultimately family
secrets that will seal all their fates…if they can summon the
courage to report for duty.
Varn’s love
affair with words manifested when she turned four and taught herself
to read. As she grew older, books and reading were an escape from
responsibility. As the oldest daughter in a transient Navy
family, words fed her imagination to embrace adventure and magical
worlds. Kat was drawn to the strength of little girls in The
Little Princess and The
Secret Garden.
Kat dove into journaling between the pages of beautiful leather
notebooks, recording her children’s infant landmarks. Journaling
also helped her find solace in the grief of a toxic relationship.
Throughout her journey to extract her family from oppression, she
explored the idea of freedom through allegorical short stories. In
the midst of angst and soul searching, she retained a sense of humor
that gave her the resilience to pursue the search for her true self.
hopes her readers enjoy Ameera’s journey to pursue the forbidden
zone of dance while becoming part of a larger experience—embraced
and bonded to eight glittery belly dancers. Each of them aware they
may have never met without the common denominator of a six-week belly
dance class under the tutelage of their troupe director.
is now very happily married to her soulmate. She resides in
Charleston, South Carolina, where she worked for an adoption attorney
for twenty-three years. With her two children settled in adulthood,
she is exploring a beautiful world, from scuba diving in Fiji or
photographing from Alaska’s frozen tundra.
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20 Comments
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I love the sepia tones of the cover, and I can see that the characters are feeling emotional.
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I think I will like this story because I like historical fiction. I also like a story with a strong female character.
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Looks like History.
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I like the cover. You can feel the emotion by just looking at it.
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I love the cover. It’s definitely one that catches my attention
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The cover catches your attention and makes you want to learn more
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What a very unique title. It makes me wonder what the book is about. Thanks for the giveaway!
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It sounds like a touching family story.
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The book sounds great!
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Thanks Debbi…. I try and flesh out stories that give us the good, bad and the ugly. I use birth order, nature vs. nurture and how families are formed in all sorts of circumstances. Here is my inspiration for not only the backstory but the cover. Thanks for the comments! https://katvarn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Gardenia-Duty-Excerpt-Acknowledgments.pdf
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I love the cover and the title. The storyline is one i would really enjoy
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Thanks Debbi…. I try and flesh out stories that give us the good, bad and the ugly. I use birth order, nature vs. nurture and how families are formed in all sorts of circumstances. Here is my inspiration for not only the backstory but the cover. Thanks for the comments! https://katvarn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Gardenia-Duty-Excerpt-Acknowledgments.pdf
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The cover art is top notch and very original.
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Thanks Thomas! I’m a firm believer in representing the interior story with a hint of what is ‘to be.’ I’ve been great interest because of the cover. I use some original family photos through out the interior as well. Grooming for some competitions soon! https://katvarn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Gardenia-Duty-Excerpt-Acknowledgments.pdf
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Just beautiful cover!😍
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Thanks Rebecca… I named one of my characters Rebecca (she was the baby in the birth order). Thank you so much for the loving the cover as much as I did! There are more photos within the pages. I’d so love to use your last name in another character. Any background on the origin? https://katvarn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Gardenia-Duty-Excerpt-Acknowledgments.pdf
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That cover is precious. The book sounds interesting.
Marilyn-
Thanks Marilyn. I am a huge advocate of passionately infusing your story from front to back which includes the interior. As a Baby Boomer I remember the conscription requirement on males after the Great Wars and unfortunately unnecessary afterwards for sure, my family was formed because of it. I watched my fathers’ destroyers depart many times in my life. And greeted them as well! Here is a peek into my inspiration: https://katvarn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Gardenia-Duty-Excerpt-Acknowledgments.pdf
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I love that cover! It’s so wistful, with all of them looking out to sea.
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If you check out the comment above to Marilyn, it gives you some insight. It took my publisher a little while to ‘get my vision’ but someone finally got it and ran home with it. After a reader experiences Gardenia Duty, they’ll understand the cover has so many messages. Families form under so many circumstances… and the Higgins family as well! https://katvarn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Gardenia-Duty-Excerpt-Acknowledgments.pdf
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