Thoughts on Friendships by Leila Meacham

The dedication in Roses has inspired interest. It reads: For Janice Jenning Thomson . . . a friend for all seasons.  Readers ask: "Who is she and why a friend for all seasons?"

Without Janice--her encouragement, faith, and belief in the book from its inception--Roses might not have been completed. Our friendship is going on thirty-two years.  She is thirteen years my junior.  We met when our husbands were serving as pilots in the US Air Force.  Bonds were established immediately--I, a teacher, and she, an attorney.  The years brought many changes in her life, but never was I one of them. She once said, "Friends come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime."

At my age, I know what she means. Friends can be for all time, but not necessarily for all of a lifetime. They can appear only for a moment on our journey, or walk with us for a certain period of time and then, as many of us have experienced, "way leads on to way." But then there are those who travel with us all our days and are good for any season of the year.  My friend Janice is one of those.

Leila Meacham is a writer and former teacher who lives in San Antonio, Texas. Spanning the 20th century, her novel Roses (Jan 2010) takes place in a small East Texas town against the backdrop of the powerful timber and cotton industries, industries controlled by the scions of the town's founding families. Publishers Weekly describes it as "an enthralling stunner enthralling" and "delicious doorstop epic", and Library Journal rates it "highly recommended" in its starred reviews saying that "readers who like an old-fashioned saga will devour this sprawling novel of passion and revenge."

More about Leila, and an excerpt from Roses at the publisher's website