The Convict and the Rose

The Convict and the Rose  On Amazon or through Jan’s website at the bottom of the page.

Imagine an existence behind bars in Leavenworth Prison, and turning your life around so that you are able to create art and a musical legacy. This is an extremely personal, beautiful, sometimes very sad and yet uplifting memoir that reads like an edgy, intriguing novel. I wasn’t aware of what I was reading when I began the journey into the lives of a Convict(Rick Sikes) and his Rose(Jan Sikes.) I hadn’t read much about the book, all I knew was the reviews were all 5 stars! And everyone raved about the talented Jan Sikes, and that says it all. I can tell you that it’s not easy putting yourself out there in a memoir–imagine someone critiquing your life! But Jan has done it in this fascinating series.

I first met Jan Sikes through my association with RRBC an amazingly supportive group of writers. We interact through Twitter, online events, and the RRBC website. Today I want to introduce you to this very special woman who will share with you how this book came together.

Award-winning Biographical/Fiction sequel to Flowers and Stone. Luke and Darlina find their love severely tested as they struggle to overcome enormous odds.
When Texas veteran musician, Luke Stone, finds himself behind bars with a seventy-five-year sentence, he is filled with hate, anger, and rebelliousness. He’s lost everything that he treasures, including the woman who holds his heart.
How has it come down to this? He’s spent his entire life writing songs and making music, filling dance halls and bars from Texas to California. But, when he refuses to tell the FBI what he knows about certain bank robberies that he possesses knowledge of, they make sure he pays dearly.
Broken and alone, in a prison of her own, Darlina Flowers struggles to find a way to live without the man she loves so completely.
Over the next sixteen years, Luke and Darlina each search for ways to somehow survive the fate life has hurled them into.
In an effort to dull the pain of living with only half a heart, Darlina gets involved in drugs, then follows a guru and tries different relationships, but nothing fills the void.
Several years pass before Luke makes up his mind that prison will not break him. He crawls up from the bottom one tiny step at a time, determined to be and do something worthwhile and discovers artistic talents he never realized he had.
The Convict and the Rose inspire hope and show how anyone can turn a negative dark situation into a positive one. But more importantly, the story portrays a love that goes beyond earthly confines and proves how persistence and faith come with their own sweet reward.
Join Luke and Darlina as they continue their epic journey with love as their constant North Star and freedom as the driving force.

WHY I WROTE THE CONVICT AND THE ROSE    by  JAN SIKES

The simple answer to the question of why I wrote The Convict and the Rose is that it was the next segment in my series of true stories.

The complex answer to the question would be that I wanted to write the story in hopes that it might inspire others to think positive in negative situations and show them how one man did it. I also wanted the world to know what amazing things a person can accomplish when they set their mind to it.

There were many challenges to writing this book. The biggest challenge I faced was that I was not ever in prison. So, the prison scenes had to be constructed from writings Rick Sikes (aka Luke Stone) left behind, stories he told me and letters he’d written.

The second challenge was keeping the timeline straight and going back and forth between Leavenworth Prison and the outside world where his love, Darlina Flowers (aka Jan Sikes) struggled with her issues and the hurdles she faced.

There was a lot of research involved in writing this segment of the story, and part of that included contacting officials at the Prison to determine whatever become of the recording studio. It met it’s demise a year after Luke’s release.

I also had to get permission to tell parts of the story that involved Willie Nelson, and I made sure I kept all the written correspondence.

All-in-all, it was a growing and learning experience, and it is super special to me because it is the first book that won a literary award. 

Thanks, Jan, for sharing your life and that of Rick Sikes. I LOVED your story!

You can find Jan Sikes at:

http://www.jansikes.com

http://www.ricksikes.com

http://www.facebook.com/AuthorJanSikesBooks

http://www.facebook.com/RickSikesMusic

http://www.twitter.com/rijanjks