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Award winning author, Jan Sikes, began writing around the age of eight.
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 worth 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.
The Convict and the Rose, her second book, was awarded as book of the year in the Fiction/Biography category by the Texas Association of Authors.
She is passionate about her writing projects and is driven to tell a deeply personal 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 deep-rooted passion for music
Jan resides in North Texas, has five grandchildren and in her spare time, loves to volunteer at Texas music festivals. She is on the board of directors for the Texas Musicians Museum and the Texas Authors Institute of History.
Reviewed by Emily White for Readers' Favorite
Flowers and Stone by Jan Sikes is a historical fiction and romance rolled into one enticing true story. It shares an intense love story that takes place in the loud and fun Texas honky-tonks in 1970. Darlina Flowers isn't prepared for any man to come storming into her life, especially musician Luke Stone. But their love for each other is intense, immediate, and deep. Good thing, because the two lovers are soon ripped apart in the ultimate test of strength, will power, and love. Life is sometimes hard and luck is sometimes down. But Darlina and Luke love each other and hope, beg, and pray, that their love is enough to carry them through the injustices of their lives.
Flowers and Stone is based on the true lives of Rick and Jan Sikes. Jan Sikes does a nice job presenting the story and the text is well-written and informational. The writing was smart and accurate. I liked how Luke's character was deep. All of his actions seemed true to his character and I thought he was fleshed out well and seemed very realistic. Likewise, the love story was well portrayed. I related to the two characters and felt as if their love for one another was real. I was especially moved by Darlina's emotions toward Luke and the circumstances that kept them apart. I liked the historical aspects of this story as well. The musical scene in Texas was very well written. I could almost hear the music as it moved off the pages.
