It was when she first moved to the Henderson area, some 40 years ago, that Rosetta Canada-Hargrove started writing her first book. But, as with so many people, “life” intervened and papers and notes got put away in boxes for later.
As it turns out, “later” was during the COVID-19 pandemic, and her husband and daughter encouraged her to pull out those boxes of paper and give it a whirl.
Now living in the Triad area, Canada-Hargrove has published not one, but two works of fiction. And they are part of a trilogy, so she’s gathering steam to create the third – and final – installment.
The first book, “Urban Beginnings,” is a short novel – only about 50 pages, she said on Tuesday’s TownTalk.
“After Urban Beginnings,” published just last month, weighs in at 170 pages.
Inspired to leave a legacy for her grandson, Canada-Hargrove said she started putting the pieces of the first book together. Both books are works of fiction, but they both contain messages that resonate with many people who find themselves in difficult relationships.
The story line has Kingston, a woman in her mid-20’s married to the love of her life, Giovanni, who Canada-Hargrove describes as a “womanizer.”
But Giovanni’s family was mixed up in the Mafia and Kingston decides to move South where things should be better.
Only they weren’t.
The message in the second novel is simple: “A person does not have to stay in a situation,” she explained. Kingston stays with her first husband “because he has some issues, but she is just an enabler,” Canada-Hargrove said.
Book Number Three, as yet untitled, has been in the works for a few weeks now. “It’s going to bring everything together,” its author promises. “I wanted to do it in three parts to keep people in suspense,” she said.
People have sent her messages thanking her for writing on the topic. And while she said the topic isn’t explicitly domestic violence or abuse, she wants readers to have a takeaway that they don’t have to stay in a relationship that is unhealthy.
It’s a dramedy, she says of the trilogy. “There’s comedy in there, there’s tears in there,” she said.
The books are available on Amazon.com.
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