The Convict and the Rose

In the 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 dancehalls 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 fifteen 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 inspires hope and shows 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.

Jan Sikes started writing when she was a young girl, around the age of eight. Her first writing was a gospel song. She had an uncle whom she loved dearly, but he was an alcoholic and his drinking caused such family discord that at times, resulted in him being banished from their home. So, she wrote a song about Uncle Luke finding Jesus. That is her first memory of feeling the passion deep down to her toes for writing. The stories she writes (so far) are true stories about the journey of two people moving through adversity in order to grow and learn to become better humans. She believes with all her heart there is something that is worthy of sharing in these stories. Bits and pieces of wisdom, hard-learned lessons and above and beyond all, love...True love that you read about in fiction stories and yet this is truth. The old saying that truth is stranger than fiction fits the stories that she shares through her writing. She is passionate about her writing projects and is driven to tell a story with the hope that it might touch someone's heart or life in a positive way. She also releases a music cd of original songs along with each book that fits the time period of the story. Why? Because the stories revolve and evolve around a passion for music. She is widowed, lives in North Texas, attends music festivals and has four incredible grandchildren.