Kathleen Varn's Novel, GARDENIA DUTY, Has Left The Pier

Bosun's pipe please! Kathleen Varn's novel, Gardenia Duty, has left the pier

Inspired by her Babyboomer childhood as a Navy dependent

Lowcountry author, Kathleen Varn, has released her second novel, Gardenia Duty. A retired legal assistant, she enjoys a variety of hobbies including scuba diving, photography, traveling and dancing. Her first novel, Ameera Unveiled, was released in 2013. Gardenia Duty took five years of research and editing.

Gardenia Duty is a historical fiction that navigates the 1960s to present day. She explores the questions of 'who or what makes us who we are?' Is it nature vs. nurture? Birthorder? Both? She uses social influences as the Higgins family transfer with career military fathers. The reader will travel from the Phillipines to Charleston, SC. Many baby boomers will resonate with less technology and instant gratification woven into the family's journey.

In 1957 jobs are scarce in rural Ashland, Alabama. Bobby Higgins is facing life decisions; his family's farm struggles and threat of the draft hangs over 18-year-old males as the Cold War rumbles in the distance. Bobby heads off to boot camp, vowing to provide for his family from his pay. Between shore and sea duty, Bobby leaves broken hearts in every port. When his own heart is stolen by Rose, he's shocked to learn that she comes with four daughters, a package deal he's unsure he wants. But when Rose disappears, Bobby finds her and persuades her to marry him. Somehow they navigate their way through the trials of marriage and parenting as he fulfills his patriotic career and his promise to raise four willful daughters. In the spring of 2004, his daughters are brought together by grief. They forge new bonds, sharing their joys, losses, regrets, and ultimately family secrets that will seal all their fates...if they can summon the courage to report for duty.

Gardenia Duty is available for purchase in print and ebook formats.

Book Details:
Gardenia Duty
By Kathleen Varn
Publisher: Gatekeeper Press
Published: June 2019
ISBN: 978-1642370485
ASIN: B07TBSK1NC
Pages: 334