Everything's Coming up Roses by Alison Henderson

June is Rose Month, so I thought I’d share some pictures of the roses in my garden. I adore roses. I have nine bushes of three varieties across the south-facing front of my house in suburban Minneapolis. Roses are one of my favorite flowers and, interestingly, have several connections to my writing career.

First, I blog here at the Roses of Prose. I love my fellow Roses and am thrilled to be a member, but it wasn’t always so. In January of 2011, the Roses of Prose held a contest to choose a new Rose. I’d previously been a guest and decided to apply. Contestants wrote an introductory post, and the readers voted. I wasn’t chosen, but I swallowed my disappointment and continued to follow the blog. A few months later, the Roses of Prose re-organized, and I raised my hand again. This time—success! And the rest, as they say, is history.

The second Rose in my life is my publisher. I have two full length novels published by The Wild Rose Press and a novella coming out in the next few months. My road to publication and TWRP was long and convoluted and paved with “no’s” from agents and other publishers. However, I refused to give up and have been rewarded with a wonderful publishing relationship.

Finally, there’s my garden. It takes fortitude, optimism, and stubbornness to grow roses in Minnesota. Even though I grow super-hardy shrub roses developed for the northern plains, I occasionally lose a bush or two after a difficult winter. No matter. In the spring, I march off to the garden center, buy replacements, and vow to mulch better next year. If you want beautiful flowers in this climate, you accept setbacks and carry on.

Do you see a pattern here? I have both a successful rose garden and a career as a published author because of perseverance. It hasn’t always been easy, but my prize is being surrounded by lovely roses. Who could ask for more?

Alison

www.alisonhenderson.com