| Today is Jocelyn Johnson’s 45th birthday. Unhappy with her marriage of 22 years, the parenting talk show host has planned a noonday tryst with her cohost. A phone call from her college daughter, a peek into her teenaged son’s journal, a sick preschooler, a Goth daughter’s identity crisis, a middle-school son’s prank, and her husband’s inflamed suspicions, not only interfere with her hopeful birthday plans but throw her family into more chaos than a circus on steroids. In desperate need of counsel, Jocelyn invites a Christian to dinner, her guest from her morning talk show segment. However, the evening holds little promise of calm. In the midst of bedlam, a forgotten faith rekindles causing Jocelyn to rethink her life and her marriage. You will laugh and you will cry from the first page to the last as you journey through the day’s events and Jocelyn’s search for Second Helpings. |  |
Genre: Short, humorous contemporary women’s fiction
Release Date: April 19, 2020
Release Date: April 19, 2020
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Interview with Linda
#1. What was the inspiration for this book?
I’ve been married for over forty years. Marriage is hard. When you’ve been married a long time, the challenges can be even more difficult than those encountered during the early years. I wanted to write a book about a marriage in trouble. What were the problems? Could these problems be solved? Can a dead marriage be revitalized? While I use a lot of humor, I cover issues that are common to our complicated culture.
I’ve been married for over forty years. Marriage is hard. When you’ve been married a long time, the challenges can be even more difficult than those encountered during the early years. I wanted to write a book about a marriage in trouble. What were the problems? Could these problems be solved? Can a dead marriage be revitalized? While I use a lot of humor, I cover issues that are common to our complicated culture.
#2. Do you have favorite character(s) in this book?
Although in many ways, Jocelyn Johnson’s character, a harried mom and career woman, draws from my own personal experiences as a mom and social worker, I think my favorite character is Naomi. I can only hope for her graciousness under awkward circumstances when she is invited to Jocelyn’s home amid chaos. I admire her courage to raise a grandson after the death of her daughter. Her life did not turn out the way she expected, but with God’s Grace, her worst times became her biggest blessings. She becomes a mother figure for the distraught Jocelyn. She provides calm in turbulent seas. When she meets Jocelyn, she has no idea of how the Lord will use her past messes to help Jocelyn cope with her current crises.
Although in many ways, Jocelyn Johnson’s character, a harried mom and career woman, draws from my own personal experiences as a mom and social worker, I think my favorite character is Naomi. I can only hope for her graciousness under awkward circumstances when she is invited to Jocelyn’s home amid chaos. I admire her courage to raise a grandson after the death of her daughter. Her life did not turn out the way she expected, but with God’s Grace, her worst times became her biggest blessings. She becomes a mother figure for the distraught Jocelyn. She provides calm in turbulent seas. When she meets Jocelyn, she has no idea of how the Lord will use her past messes to help Jocelyn cope with her current crises.
#3. Tell us a little about yourself, your family, friends.
I spent my formative years in the Syracuse area, graduating high school from North Syracuse. Yes, the same school attended by Richard Gere. He was a lowly sophomore when I was a senior, and it was a large school. So no, our paths did not cross, at least in my memory. I graduated from Houghton College hoping to pursue a career in education. Unable to find a teaching job, I took employment with the local Department of Social Services which began my long career in human services. At age 54, God brought me into still another unexpected career change when he called me to be a professional writer. Though technically retired, my days are busier than when I received a payroll check. Three years ago, we moved to Hagerstown to be closer to our children: two in the D.C. area and one in Syracuse. We love spending time with our kids and our nine grands ranging now from age 8 to age 24. We have become very involved in our local church.
I spent my formative years in the Syracuse area, graduating high school from North Syracuse. Yes, the same school attended by Richard Gere. He was a lowly sophomore when I was a senior, and it was a large school. So no, our paths did not cross, at least in my memory. I graduated from Houghton College hoping to pursue a career in education. Unable to find a teaching job, I took employment with the local Department of Social Services which began my long career in human services. At age 54, God brought me into still another unexpected career change when he called me to be a professional writer. Though technically retired, my days are busier than when I received a payroll check. Three years ago, we moved to Hagerstown to be closer to our children: two in the D.C. area and one in Syracuse. We love spending time with our kids and our nine grands ranging now from age 8 to age 24. We have become very involved in our local church.
 Smithsonian | When not writing or not spending time with family or church activities, hubs and I enjoy traveling, golfing, and visiting area museums and attractions. On occasion, we will spend the day in D.C. going to the zoo or the Smithsonian. We love theater and do try to attend live performances and concerts as money and time affords. I am grateful to the Lord who has blessed us in so many ways. Our motto is: The Adventure Continues. |
#4. If you could change one thing in your life, past or present, what would it be?
Whenever I’m asked this question, I think of the movie Peggy Sue Got Married. The title character is facing a divorce. She believes her life would have been so much better if she had never married Charlie. She goes back in time to try to change her life. Yet, she inevitably makes the same mistake that caused her decision to marry Charlie the first time. When she returns to the present, she realizes that, regardless of the pain she feels now, all the pieces of her life create the tapestry that she is now. To unravel a part destroys the whole. I have learned to trust God with my oops, my blondness, my arthritis, the whole of my life. The legend on my website is: With God, are worst past becomes our best future. I choose not to live with regret, but trust God to turn those missteps into the beauty of the journey.
Whenever I’m asked this question, I think of the movie Peggy Sue Got Married. The title character is facing a divorce. She believes her life would have been so much better if she had never married Charlie. She goes back in time to try to change her life. Yet, she inevitably makes the same mistake that caused her decision to marry Charlie the first time. When she returns to the present, she realizes that, regardless of the pain she feels now, all the pieces of her life create the tapestry that she is now. To unravel a part destroys the whole. I have learned to trust God with my oops, my blondness, my arthritis, the whole of my life. The legend on my website is: With God, are worst past becomes our best future. I choose not to live with regret, but trust God to turn those missteps into the beauty of the journey.
Bonus: Share with us a thought, Bible verse, whatever is on your mind/heart.
My favorite Bible verse is:
My favorite Bible verse is:
My second favorite verse is:
Both these verses reminds me of God’s great love for me. Nothing can befall me outside of his sovereignty or ability to help me through the circumstance.
More from Linda
When I first set out to write Second Helpings, I envisioned writing a story about a harried housewife with a passel of kids. I thought of my mother who went around the house with her hands outstretched toward heaven saying, “Lord, give me strength.” Words she uttered each time we kids did something wrong, which was quite often.
And so I envisioned my own version of, Please Don’t Eat the Daises.
And so I envisioned my own version of, Please Don’t Eat the Daises.
| The movie came out in 1960 and starred Doris Day and David Niven, a comedy about a university professor who leaves his job to become a theater critic, creating problems with his family and friends. There’s an iconic scene where the harried housewife rescues her toddler who tries to climb out of the barred NYC windows. One wonders, can this marriage be saved? As the story developed in my own addled brain, I saw a larger picture than a madcap comedy. I asked myself, what would happen if a woman who ran a radio show about parenting found herself in a marriage about to fall apart and anticipates an affair? Since the woman, at the outset of the story is not a Christian, what might cause the affair not to happen? What driving force might be greater than her unhappiness? And why was she so unhappy in her marriage in the first place? |  Doris Day |
The answer came. However unhappy she might be, she was first and foremost a mother. Though married to a psychiatrist, she was the fixer in the family. What problems might her children face to make Jocelyn think twice about an affair? Which of her children’s crises would be the first signal to abort her affair? The answer came.
When Jocelyn receives a phone call from her college-aged daughter, plans for a tryst suddenly change. Lisette announces she is coming home tonight. Jocelyn’s worst fears for her daughter are confirmed. Not only is Lisette pregnant, she wants to get married next month. History seems to be repeating itself. And Jocelyn does not want her daughter to make the same mistake she thought she made by marrying her baby’s father. Jocelyn sets out on an immediate campaign to convince her daughter she has other options than a hurried marriage. Jocelyn’s tryst will have to wait.
Lisette’s pregnancy revelation has set the stage for twelve hours of bedlam … all on Jocelyn’s 45th birthday. These serious situations create a comedy of misunderstanding against the backdrop of a failing marriage and begs the question, “Can her marriage be saved?”
 Linda Wood Rondeau | A veteran social worker, Linda Wood Rondeau is also a wife, mother, and grandmother. She is no stranger to family bedlam. Her stories of encouragement and hope come from the heart. She resides in Hagerstown, Maryland with her husband of over forty-years. When not writing, the author enjoys the occasional round of golf. She also enjoys theater and is actively involved with her local church. Find more encouraging words in her blog, Snark and Sensibility, found on her website, www.lindarondeau.com. Visit her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. |
It's Time For A Giveaway!
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Blog Stops
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, July 20
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 21
CarpeDiem, July 21
Texas Book-aholic, July 22
Inklings and notions, July 23
deb’s Book Review, July 24
For Him and My Family, July 25
Locks, Hooks and Books, July 26
Adventures of a Travelers Wife, July 27 (Author Interview)
As He Leads is Joy, July 27
Artistic Nobody, July 28 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)
Ashley’s Bookshelf, July 29
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, July 30
Tell Tale Book Reviews, July 31 (Author Interview)
Fiction Full of Faith, July 31
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, August 1
Godly Book Reviews, August 2
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 21
CarpeDiem, July 21
Texas Book-aholic, July 22
Inklings and notions, July 23
deb’s Book Review, July 24
For Him and My Family, July 25
Locks, Hooks and Books, July 26
Adventures of a Travelers Wife, July 27 (Author Interview)
As He Leads is Joy, July 27
Artistic Nobody, July 28 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)
Ashley’s Bookshelf, July 29
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, July 30
Tell Tale Book Reviews, July 31 (Author Interview)
Fiction Full of Faith, July 31
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, August 1
Godly Book Reviews, August 2
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