It isn’t often you cross paths with a debut novelist who found your bookish blog via a random Google search, however, this is *exactly!* what united my path with debut novelist Jenni L. Walsh – of whom is the author of a duology about the scandalous and infamous couple: Bonnie + Clyde! I can almost hear your murmurings… is that a story Jorie would normally lean towards embracing? Actually, technically your right, it’s not generally my cuppa tea, except for one unexpected element which was stitched into the writings of Walsh: she took on the legacy of the duo through a sociological pair of intuitive eyes to seek out the reasons why Bonnie not only joined in alliance with Clyde but what motivated her to seek out an outlaw lifestyle after having such a traditional upbringing.
When I first received notice of this release (‘Becoming Bonnie’) – I must admit, the first thing I remembered was how one of my dearest friends in the UK had had this incredible interest in sourcing biographies and historical perspective narratives about Bonnie and Clyde. It was a keen interest of hers and one I enjoyed hearing about as she was trailing behind them by what was historically known and what was being inserted into their life’s story by the pieces and threads of what researchers and historians alike were able to re-knit back together. I never forgot her dedication nor her curious attachment to them. Admittedly, I had a certain interest in the collective works of Mario Puzo, so you could say our conversations were quite interesting all the way round!
When it came to deciding how to *celebrate!* the #PubDay for #BecomingBonnie, I knew I wanted to host a conversation with Ms Walsh – noodling out some of the curiously curious details I was itching to find out about myself once I was able to dig into the narrative directly. Thankfully, I will be soon listening to the audiobook – whilst sharing my ruminative thoughts on how Walsh was able to articulate her goal in humanising Bonnie and giving us a strong impression of how Clyde influenced Bonn to live a life dangerously on the fringes of both society and the law.
What I respected the most though – is how Walsh changed her first trajectory angle of the story – as she was going to start on the sequel before writing the prequel (if you look at it from that perspective). I was thankful this first installment of the duology hinges on alighting ourselves into the shoes of Bonnie before she became an outlaw’s girlfriend and before she took the tentative steps towards exiting the life she once knew and embraced living dangerously on the edge. It reminded me of why I was keen to watch ‘Road to Perdition’ as it wasn’t told from a point-of-view your expecting but rather approached it from the sociological underpinnings of what led to the choices and the lifestyle of title character. In a way, I felt this was what Walsh had done with Bonnie – and that is why I accepted showcasing this new release. I wanted to know how she found a channel into the psyche of Bonnie whilst owning the truth of her journey and remaining unbiased by the actions Bonnie took once she bonded herself to Clyde.
If life is ultimately about choices – you have to wonder, if Bonnie and Clyde had taken an alternative series of steps towards their futures, what would their life stories tell us now? Or to put it a different way – what fractured their lives to such a degree of broken dreams, they had no other recourse than the path they took? I doubt we will ever fully understand the choices they made – but if a writer can knit out the heart of an infamous girl like Bonnie, than surely Ms Walsh is the one who rooted out Bonnie’s voice and left behind an authentically altruistic impression about her life.
Becoming Bonnie
Subtitle: The Crash of the Century: When Bonnie Met Clyde
From debut historical novelist Jenni L. Walsh comes the untold story of how wholesome Bonnelyn Parker became half of the infamous Bonnie and Clyde duo.
The summer of 1927 might be the height of the Roaring Twenties, but Bonnelyn Parker is more likely to belt out a church hymn than sling drinks at an illicit juice joint. She’s a sharp girl with plans to overcome her family's poverty, provide for herself, and maybe someday marry her boyfriend, Roy Thornton. But when Roy springs a proposal on her and financial woes jeopardize her ambitions, Bonnelyn finds salvation in an unlikely place: Dallas's newest speakeasy, Doc's.Living the life of a moll at night, Bonnie remains a wholesome girl by day, engaged to Roy, attending school and working toward a steady future. When Roy discovers her secret life, and embraces it—perhaps too much, especially when it comes to booze and gambling—Bonnie tries to make the pieces fit. Maybe she can have it all: the American Dream, the husband, and the intoxicating allure of jazz music. What she doesn't know is that her life—like her country—is headed for a crash.
She’s about to meet Clyde Barrow.
Few details are known about Bonnie's life prior to meeting her infamous partner. In Becoming Bonnie, Jenni L. Walsh shows a young woman promised the American dream and given the Great Depression, and offers a compelling account of why she fell so hard for a convicted felon—and turned to crime herself.
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 9780765390189
Published By: Forge (@torbooks) | Read their incredible BLOG
Available Formats: Hardback and Audiobook
As ‘Becoming Bonnie’ is being cross-released between print and audiobook – what were your personal expectations with the narration of the novel? Were you hoping for a dual-narrating team to project your narrative into listener’s ears or did you want a female narrator to fully embody Bonnie to where it was truly ‘her story’ being threaded out of time? Did you have any input about this release from an author’s perspective?
Walsh responds: Authors often joke that we’re the last ones to “find out.” In my case, I had a bit of a laugh around the holidays when I received a really nice card from the audio team at my publisher. That is the moment when I learned there’d be an audio version of ‘Becoming Bonnie.’ I had to laugh.
I think it’d be really fun to be hands on in the process of selecting readers—and maybe that’s something I’ll become more involved with down the road when I’ve got a bit more cred to my name (I hope)—but, in this go-around, my publisher handled all of that on their own. But I’m very excited with the reader they chosen, Susan Bennett. She’s narrated for some author greats, such as Charlaine Harris, Karen White, and Diane Chamberlain. And, you may recognize her voice from any ol’ Apple product since she does the voice of Siri. To borrow from your diction, wicked right?
I am unfamiliar with the voice of Siri except for the splices of clips contained in promos, teasers or commercials – however, I shared your enthused reaction knowing if a voice which is easily recognisable by a large group of listeners, it would be even more interesting to see how she treated the characterisations of Bonnie and drew out the heart of the story you wrote about her! I love how were one of the last to find out about the audiobook – however, I am so wicked happy there is an audiobook for this novel as I must admit, I have become especially addicted to seek out audio stories of late! I think this story will benefit from a voiced narration which bridges the gap between what we preconceive about Bonnie and the words you’ve given her to tell her own story.
Love how you attempted to ground Bonnie’s back-story as an upright and respectable young girl – how did you find the name Bonnelyn and how did this particular ‘fuller’ name speak to you about a healthier past than her future became?
Walsh responds: My main character’s name at the onset of ‘Becoming Bonnie’ was something I obsessed over a bit. Once I decided I wanted to tell a coming-of-age origin story, I knew I also wanted it to be an ‘evolution of her name’ story. I started by legitimately using the search term ‘girl names beginning with Bonn.’ Her name was almost Bonnibelle. Bonnelyn was found nowhere on the list. But, Bonnibelle didn’t feel right. I have plenty of friends with the middle names of lyn/lynn/lynne, and I had this ‘ah ha’ moment where I’d put Bonn and Lyn together. To me, it has a very wholesome sound to it, which is exactly what I’m going for.
Bonn goes by a few names throughout my story, actually—Bonnelyn, Bonn, Saint Bonnelyn, Lynny—and obviously Bonnie. I’m sure your readers can make an educated guess at the person who’s responsible for that last one.
I love how you dug into the heart of the etymological back-story of Bonnie’s name and how through the growing years of her life she might have taken on different nicknames and variants therein. It is true – a person’s name bespeaks quite a bit about their personality and/or their quirks of character. I think you found the most ‘fitting’ name for a woman on the verge of re-writing her own historical fingerprint on how legacy and dangerous choices can mark your life in untold dimensions of consequence. It also gives her a more innocent origin story to humanise her ahead of being with Clyde – to re-set the clock and see her as a young girl and maturing woman ahead of everything that went wrong.
Thankful to know you didn’t start this on the auspiciously notorious ‘known’ story of Bonnie & Clyde but chose to back-track to fully embrace the girl who became the woman riding next to Clyde. To get more into the socio-psychological side of Bonnie – what was your process? How did you envision and endeavour to humanise her on a layer of a level readers would respond to ‘understanding’ what ‘shifted in her life’ to cause her to warm up to Clyde?
Walsh responds: I’ll be honest that I put pen to paper with Bonnie as Bonnie. I jumped right into the heart of Bonnie and Clyde’s crime-spree story, but it felt too heavy with backstory. So I decided I’d tell the backstory story in its entirety. I really wanted readers to understand who Bonnie was at her core. What made her tick? What did she dream for? What was her background? How did she stumble on her own, before stumbling with Clyde?
So, I put what I’d written aside, hoping to one day use it in a sequel, and started over, going back five years to when Bonnie was seventeen. My goal was for readers to nod along while they flipped each page. Maybe you won’t agree with her choices (let’s be honest, you won’t agree with her choices), but I hope Bonn’s actions and thoughts will make sense. I wanted Bonn’s character to feel believable.
I am wicked happy you forestalled the sequel – as personally for me, without this entrance into the origins of Bonnie’s life, I am unsure if I would have been equally as motivated to read the second half of the duology. If you find a way to give an authentic truth towards understanding Bonnie from an internal point of view (even if as you say, we’ll disagree with her choices!) it allows us to seek understanding out of a life which ended so dearly tragically. There was an insurrection of rational choice and an absence of consequence in her motivations to follow Clyde wherever he went and become his partner in crime. To walk aback through her origins story through the lens you’ve given us about who she was prior to Clyde, perhaps a newer understanding for what ‘changed’ for Bonnie earlier on will allow us a bit more insight into how her life ended. At the very least it will give a substantial theory towards that goal!
You’re novel has a strong foundation of diagonal shifts in choices – which turn of the proverbial fork in the road will ultimately carve out a destiny of a soul to live? Was this grounding of the human condition partially in your mind initially when you first laid down the bones of the story or did it organically draw forward out of how the story was formulating as you wrote it? What did you find most alarming about Bonnie & Clyde from the angles they chose to follow in their life’s trajectory?
Walsh responds: With historical fiction, I do quite a bit of planning ahead of time. But with this story, I also wanted the plot to organically progress and let my characters lead me. You could say I had ‘guideposts’ I wanted to hit, to try to remain historically accurate to some degree, but from there, I filled in the rest with what best supports the story-line.
And of course, with setting a story in the 1920s, I had to put Bonn in a speakeasy. That’s a pretty pivotal moment for Bonn in the shaping of who she becomes. There’s one scene, in particular, that I get excited about reader’s experiencing along with Bonn. Email/tweet me, readers, if you think you’ve pinpointed it!
One element of Bonnie and Clyde’s life that I found very interesting happened to come from Clyde’s background. While it doesn’t excuse his later actions, he had a rather rough upbringing. I’ve surmised that Clyde tried to enlist in the US Navy as an escape from his life. Except, he received a medical rejection. Makes me wonder: if he was accepted into the Navy that day, would he ever have met Bonnie? Maybe not.
I love how you anchoured your Biographical Historical Fiction story through real-life accounts of Bonnie and Clyde’s timeline – it not only reassures the reader of being historically grounded but it offers a keen insight into how quickly things changed. You definitely have give us all the challenge of rooting out the scene your referencing here! I’ll gladly accept the challenge and will see if I can identify it as I listen to the audiobook! Rock on! I agree with you – if Clyde became a Navy man, what would have become of Bonnnie? Would she make the same choice to follow another bloke into a life of crime or would her life have been rectified by Clyde’s acceptance into the military? Which path affected which of them first and how did that fated path erase any other outcome than the one history records?
As you are penning the sequel Being Bonnie where the climax escalates to its natural conclusion this release now becomes an anchoured duology. Which Bonnie do you think readers might get jazzed about meeting most? The one where there was still an inch of a hope of changing her stars or understanding what motivated the outlaw to live the life she led? What are your own personal takeaways from writing both books?
Walsh responds: I’m currently knee-deep in writing/editing the sequel, and, as I immerse myself in Bonnie and Clyde’s crimes, I’m finding it a greater challenge to humanize the Bonnie in the sequel to the same level I sought to humanize Bonnelyn in the first novel. The novels themselves also have different vibes. ‘Becoming Bonnie’ is set during the Roaring Twenties. ‘Being Bonnie’ is in the heart of the Depression era. I hope the readers will feel that contrast in setting, along with the mounting desperation of Bonnie and Clyde, once the second novel releases next year. Regardless of the era or circumstances, there’s one element that carries through from one book to the next and to the final pages: Bonnie and Clyde’s loyalty to each other.
It’s hard to speculate how any of us will feel once we’ve read the duology – will we yield to having a penchant appreciation for the first installment over the other or will the sequel be justified by the account of Bonnie you’ve established in the prequel? If you’ve accomplished what I believe you have in both stories, our final takeaway might surprise us all, if truth be told.
If the idea of Bonnie & Clyde first touched your life as a child, than it’s plausible your imagination has been percolating this idea for a story evolving the two for most of your life. Did you ever consider yourself a think-writer prior to reflecting back on the long history you’ve had with their legend? In other words, a think-writer muses consistently about their stories and characters whilst continuously ‘creating’ their essence in their mind’s eye prior to writing everything down. Or to put it another way, it’s when writers never quite lose track of their stories because they are constantly creating them and perfecting their ‘voice’ prior to the process of writing.
Walsh responds: Bonnie Parker wasn’t the first iconic figure I’ve tried my hand at writing. Another unpublished novel I wrote features Anastasia Romanov. Ever since seeing that film as a child, I’ve been fascinated with the idea of ‘what if’ she survived. Of course, there’s been scientific/physical evidence to support a conclusion, but it’s still fun to speculate fictionally. Over the years, I wouldn’t say that either Anastasia or Bonnie were top of mind for me, but when they were topically mentioned, that part of my brain that was fascinated before would kick into gear. A few years ago, when brainstorming what to write next, it didn’t take long before Bonnie came to mind. From there, I dove into the heart of what interested me about the couple: how two people could evade the police for so long and stay utterly devoted to each other throughout it all.
I admit, I too, was fascinated by what might have become of Anastasia even if perhaps through new evidence and investigative enquiries into her family’s tragic fate it would yield a different outcome than one of survival – it still bears the weight of supposition. As do we honestly know where the truth lies out of the fiction of history’s mirror? I can see your mind likes to kick around historical puzzles and then intersect history with plausibility towards understanding historical figures from a new angle of insight that may or may not have previously been disclosed. Go you! Keep listening to your muse & believe in your writerly instincts!
As your husband is a bonefide history buff – what are his favourite eras of the historical past to alight inside through either Historical Fiction or Non-Fiction interests of exploration? Do you share any common eras and/or moments in time which may or may not become your next literary adventure(s)?
Walsh responds: My husband has a strong interest in the WWII era. It’s commonplace to find a documentary on our television or a nonfiction book in his hands. He’s not much for fictional stories set in the era, but give him fact and he’ll devour it. I believe he finds the era so interesting because there seems to be an endless amount of information to learn (and learn from).
WWII won’t be my next venture; I want to mature more as a writer before I attempt to tackle that specific time period, but I do have a book idea tickling the back of my mind. And, it’s in a topic I haven’t yet seen covered fictionally. Makes me excited to think about it, but for the moment I’ll let it ruminate. If a time comes where exploring greater feels right, I’ll very excitedly dive in. It’s an era I greatly respect.
As far as what I’ll be working on after ‘Being Bonnie,’ I’ve got a few ideas I’m eager to run by my editor about other iconic women. And in the fall of 2018, I’m beginning a new middle grade nonfiction series with Scholastic called ‘Brave Like Me’ that will feature brave girls, who at a young age, accomplished daring feats of perseverance and bravery. The first two books to be published are about Bethany Hamilton and Malala Yousafzai, both remarkable young women.
You know you have me keenly interested in know ‘what’ your unspoken book idea is about and what is itching you with such an incredible ‘pinch me’ I must write this one day excitement! However, I shall remain patient. I must admit, I thought it was a wicked wonderful idea you have for Young Readers – I still remember how I felt after seeing AnnaSophia Robb’s interpretation of Bethany Hamiton’s life story on the silver screen! ‘Soul Surfer’ affected me on a truly personal level. I can well imagine you’ll be able to eclipse the same emotional connection in your story, too. I do not know as much about Malala except for your humanitarian work which is incredible considering her back-story.
Thank you, Ms Walsh for this wicked lovely #PubDay convo! I truly had a lot of fun composing my Questions as I tried to seek out a bit of insight into your characters prior to absorbing the story first-hand! I can only hope our conversation has whet the curiosity of my readers & some of them might be inclined to pick up the book themselves! What is truly lovely is finding another Historical Fict bookish soul such as yourself who loves disappearing into the historical past whilst pulling forward the living persons who carved out niches in the timeline which has given us a lot to consider about their actions, their choices & what consumed their days.
*Release Day Special Treat*
Read the first chapter of Ms Walsh’s debut novel!
BECOMING BONNIE
Jenni L. Walsh
Chapter 1
But I, being poor, have only my dreams.
Hands in my hair, I look over the words I wrote on the Mason jar atop my bureau. I snigger, almost as if I’m antagonizing the sentiment. One day I won’t be poor with dreams. I’ll have money and dreams.
I drop my hair and swallow a growl, never able to get my stubborn curls quite right.
My little sister carefully sets her pillow down, tugs at the corner to give it shape, the final touch to making her bed. “Stop messing with it.”
“Easy for you to say. The humidity ain’t playing games with your hair.”
And Little Billie’s hair is down. Smooth and straight. Mine is pinned back into a low bun. Modest and practical.
Little Billie chuckles. “Well, I’m going before Mama hollers at me. Church starts in twenty minutes and you know she’s got to watch everyone come in.”
I shake my head; that woman always has her nose to the ground. Little Billie scoots out of our bedroom and I get back to taming my flyaways and scan my bureau for my favorite stud earrings, one of our few family heirlooms. Footsteps in the hall quicken my fingers. I slide in another hairpin, jabbing my skull. “I’m coming, Ma!”
A deep cough.
I turn to find my boyfriend taking up much of the doorway. He’s got his broad shoulders and tall frame to thank for that.
I smile, saying, “Oh, it’s only you.”
Roy’s own smile doesn’t quite form. “Yes, it’s only me.”
I wave him off, a strand falling out of place. Roy being ’round ain’t nothin’ new, but on a Sunday morning … That gets my heart bumping with intrigue. “What ya doing here so early? The birds are barely chirpin’.”
“It ain’t so early. Got us less than twenty minutes ’til—”
“I know.”
“Thought I could walk you to church,” Roy says.
“Is that so?” My curiosity builds, ’specially with how this boy is shifting his weight from side to side. He’s up to something. And I ain’t one to be kept in the dark. Fingers busy with my hair, I motion with my elbow and arch a brow. “That for me?”
Roy glances down at an envelope in his hand, as if he forgot he was even holding it. He moves it behind his back. “It can wait. There’s actually something else—”
I’m across the room in a heartbeat, tugging on his arm. “Oh no it can’t.”
On the envelope, “Final Notice” stares back at me in bold letters. The sender is our electric company. Any excitement is gone.
“I’m sorry, Bonnelyn,” Roy says. “Caught my eye on it in the bushes out front.”
My arms fall to my sides and I stare unblinking at the envelope, not sure how something so small, so light, could mean something so big, so heavy, for our family. “I didn’t know my ma hadn’t been paying this.”
Roy pushes the envelope, facedown, onto my bureau. “I can help pay—”
“Thanks, but we’ll figure it out.” I sigh at my hair, at our unpaid bill, at the fact I’m watching my sister after church instead of putting in hours at the diner. Fortunately, my brother’s pulling a double at the cement plant. Ma will be at the factory all afternoon. But will it be enough?
I move in front of the wall mirror to distract myself. Seeing my hand-me-down blouse ain’t helping. I peek at Roy, hoping I don’t find pity on his face. There he goes again, throwing his weight from foot to foot. And, sure, that boy is sweet as pie, but I know he ain’t antsy thinkin’ my lights are suddenly going to go off.
“Everything okay, Roy?”
“Yeah.”
That yeah ain’t so convincing.
“You almost done here?” he asks. Roy shifts the old Mason jar to the side, holds up the earring I’d been looking for.
I nod—to the earring, not to being done—and he brings it to me. Despite how this morning is turning out, I smile, liking that Roy knew what I was looking for without me having to tell him.
“Ready now?” he says.
I slide another pin into my hair. “Why’s everyone rushing me?”
Roy swallows, and if I had five clams to bet, I’d bet he’s nervous ’bout something. He edges closer to my bureau. He shakes the Mason jar, the pieces of paper rustling inside. “When did you write this on the outside?”
But I, being poor, have only my dreams.
I avert my eyes, being those words weren’t meant for Roy’s. “Not too long ago.”
“Ya know, Bonnelyn, you won’t always be poor. I’ll make sure of that.”
“I know I won’t.” I add a final pin to my hair. I’ll make sure of that.
“So why’d you write it?”
“I didn’t. William Butler Yeats did.”
Roy shoves his hands in his pockets. “You know what I mean.”
I shrug and stare at my reflection. “It inspires me, wanting to be more than that line. And I will. I’ll put a white picket fence in front of my house to prove it.”
“Your house?”
I turn away from the mirror to face him. His voice sounded off. Too high. But Roy ain’t looking at me. He’s staring at the wall above my head. “Our house,” I correct, a pang of guilt stabbing me in the belly ’cause I didn’t say our to begin with. “That jar is full of our dreams, after all.”
Really, it’s full of doodles, scribbled on whatever paper Roy had on hand. Napkins. Ripped corners of his textbook pages. The top flap of a cereal box. He shoved the first scrap of paper in my hand when we were only knee-high to a grasshopper: quick little drawings of me and him in front of the Eiffel Tower, riding horses with dogs running ’round our feet, holding hands by the Gulf’s crashing waves.
Our dreams. Plenty of ’em. Big and small. Whimsical and sweet.
But this here is the twenties. Women can vote; women are equals, wanting to make a name for themselves. I’m no exception. Sure, I’ll bring those doodles to life with Roy, but I would’ve added my own sketches to the jar if I could draw. Standing at the front of my very own classroom. At a bank counter, depositing my payroll checks. Shaking hands with a salesman, purchasing my first car.
Call it selfish, call it whatever ya like, but after struggling for money all my life, my dreams have always come before ours.
Still, I link our hands. “I’m ready to go.”
* * *
“Hallelujah!”
The congregation mimics my pastor’s booming voice. The women flick their fans faster with excitement. Pastor Frank shuffles to the right, then to the left, sixty-some eyes following his every movement. From the choir pews off to the side, I watch his mesmerized flock hang on his every word, myself included. My ma is amidst the familiar faces. She prefers to use Daddy’s brown hat to cool herself, holding on to him even after he’s been gone all these years. I can’t say I blame her.
“Amen!” we chime.
Pastor Frank nods at me, and I move from the choir box to the piano. I bring my hands down and the first chords of “Onward, Christian Soldiers” roar to life. Every Sunday, I sit on this here bench, press my fingers into the keys, and let the Lord’s words roll off my tongue. Ma says Daddy would be proud too. I sure hope that’s true.
It’s another reason why I’ll make something of myself. In our small town or in a big city, it doesn’t matter much, but Bonnelyn Parker is going to be somebody. Wherever life takes me, whatever final notice stands in my way, my daddy will look down on me and smile, knowing I ain’t struggling, I’m thriving. I’m more than poor.
I push my voice louder, raise my chin, and sing the hymn’s last note, letting it vibrate with the piano’s final chord.
The congregation shouts praises to the Lord as Pastor Frank clasps his hands together and tells us all to, “Go and spread His word.”
Voices break out, everyone beating their gums at once. I slip off the bench, weave through the crowd. A few people are always louder than the rest. Mrs. Davis is having a potluck lunch. Mr. Miller’s best horse is sick. He spent his early morning hours in his barn, from the looks of his dirty overalls.
Ma’s got more pride than a lion and makes certain we’re dressed to the nines, even if our nine is really only a five. Still, my older brother’s vest and slacks are his Sunday best. And even though we’ve got secondhand clothes, my sister’s and my white blouses are neatly tucked into our skirts. We may be pretending to look the part, but our family always gets by. We find a way, just like we’ll make sure that electric bill gets paid. Though I don’t like how Ma let this bill get so late.
I rush through the church’s double doors, sucking in fresh air, and shield my eyes from the sun. A laugh slips out. There’s my brother, playing keep-away from my little sister with one of her once white shoes. Buster tosses the shoe to Roy. Roy fumbles it. No surprise there, but part of me wonders if his nerves from earlier are sticking ’round. On the way to church, he wouldn’t let me get a word in, going on nonstop ’bout the weather. I reckon the summer of 1927 is hot, real hot, but not worth all his fuss.
“Little Billie, those boys picking on you?” I call, skipping down the church steps, keeping my eyes on Roy.
He takes immediate notice of me, missing my brother’s next throw. “Say, Bonnelyn.” Roy wipes his hairline. “I was hoping to do this before church, but you were having trouble with your…” He gestures toward his own hair, then stops, wisely thinkin’ better of it. “I’ve a surprise for you.”
“A surprise? Why didn’t you tell me so? I could’ve hurried.”
He also wisely doesn’t comment on my earlier irritation at being hurried.
“Follow me?” Roy asks, his brown eyes hopeful.
“Not today, lover boy,” Buster cuts in. “Bonn’s watching Billie.”
Billie hops toward me on one foot, her voice bouncing as she proclaims how she’s eleven and doesn’t need to be babysat no more. I bend to pick up her lost shoe, letting out a long sigh. Roy sighs too. But Roy also looks like a puppy that’s been kicked.
“Will the surprise take long?” I ask him. “Buster doesn’t need to be at work for another two hours.”
“Actually an hour,” my brother says. “But Roy here probably only needs a few minutes, tops.” He winks, and Roy playfully charges him.
My cheeks flush, and not ’cause Roy and I have done that. Roy hasn’t even looked at me in a way that would lead to that.
“Let’s go.” I bounce on my toes and push Roy down the dirt-packed street, then realize I don’t know where I’m going and let Roy lead. Buster’s laugher trails us.
We go over one block, passing my house, nestled between the cemetery and the library. An old picket fence that Ma’s been harping on my brother to paint for ages stretches ’cross the front.
Cement City is barely more than an intersection, and there ain’t much farther to go; just the cement plant, a few farms, and the river. Then there are the railroad tracks, separating us from Dallas.
I glance up at Roy, confused, when we stop at a home just past the library.
He motions toward the house, his sweaty hand taking mine with his. He swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
“What is it?” I ask him. “Why’re we here?”
“My father said they are going to tear down this old shack.”
With its crooked shutters, chipped paint, caved-in roof, I can understand why. No one’s lived here for years, and Ma doesn’t go a day without complaining ’bout its drab looks and how it’s bad for our little town.
I nod in agreement.
“But,” he says, “I’ve been squirreling away my pennies, and I’ve enough to save her.”
A cool heat rushes me, but I’m not sure how that’s possible. I wipe a strand of hair from my face. “You’re buying this here house?”
“I am,” he says, his Adam’s apple bouncing again. “For you and me. Our house.” Roy keeps talking before I can get a word—or thought—in. “Bonnelyn…” He trails off, digs into his pocket. “Here’s another one for your jar.”
My eyes light up, recognizing one of Roy’s infamous black-and-white doodles.
It’s our church.
It’s Roy.
It’s me, in a puffy dress.
I look up from the doodle. It’s Roy no longer standing in front of me but down on one knee.
“Bonnelyn Elizabeth Parker,” he says, “I’m fixin’ to take you down the middle aisle.”
I knit my brows. “Are you proposing?”
“Well I ain’t down here to tie my shoe.”
I’d laugh, but I’m stunned. Marriage? With Roy? I swallow, and stare at the drawing, his lovely, heartfelt drawing.
Sure, marrying Roy has always been in the cards. But … I’m not sure I’m ready yet. Some people wait ’til their twenties to get married, in today’s day and age, giving ’em plenty of time to make their own mark.
Roy taps the underside of my chin, forcing my gaze away from his doodle and down to him.
“I … um … I’m flattered Roy. I am. But we’re only seventeen—”
“Not now.” He stands slowly and palms my cheek that’s probably as flushed as his own. “We’ve got some growing up to do first. I know you got dreams for yourself.”
I sigh, in a good way. Hearing him acknowledge my goals relaxes me. Those jitterbugs change a smidge to butterflies. “You really want to marry me?”
“I do, Bonn.” Roy leans down, quite the feat to my five-foot-nothin’ height, and presses his lips lightly to mine. “When we’re good and ready. You tell me when, and that’ll be it. We’ll create a life together. How does that sound?”
I smile, even while my chest rises from a shaky breath. I curse my nerves for dulling my excitement. My boyfriend declaring he’s ready to build a life with me shouldn’t give me the heebie-jeebies. It doesn’t, I decide.
“We’ll finish school,” Roy says.
I force my smile wider.
“I’ll get a good-paying job as a reporter,” he goes on. “You can become a teacher, like you’ve always wanted. You can lead the drama club, be onstage, do pageants with our little girls.”
Now my grin is genuine. “We’re going to have little girls?”
“Of course. A little fella, too. ’Til then, I’ll fix this house up. She’ll be spiffy when I’m done with her, white picket fence and everything.”
“You think?”
“I know it.” He dips to my eye level. “You’re happy, right?”
Am I happy? I roll those five letters ’round my head. Yes, I’ve been stuck on Roy for ages. He made me happy when we were seven and he picked me dandelions, when we were ten and he stopped Buster from making me kiss a frog, when we were thirteen and he patched up my knee after I fell off my bike. The memories keep on coming, and I don’t want that happiness to stop. His proposal caught me off guard, that’s all. But, yes, we’ll make something of ourselves, and we’ll do it together.
I lean onto my tiptoes and peck his lips with a kiss. “Roy Thornton, I’d be honored to be your wife one day.”
He hoots, swooping his arms under me. Before I know it, I’m cradled against his chest and we’re swinging in a circle.
I scream, but it’s playful. “You better not drop me, you clumsy fool.”
He answers me with a kiss on the side of my head, and then another and another, as he carries me toward my ma’s house.
Freeze, I think. I don’t want the secure way he holds me, the way the air catches my skirt, the hope for what’s to come, to stop, ever.
Copyright © 2017 by Jenni L. Walsh
Forge Books: A Trade Hardcover
ISBN: 9780765390189
$25.99 | 304 pages
eBook: 9780765390202
On Sale May 9, 2017
About Jenni L. Walsh
Jenni L. Walsh spent her early years chasing around cats, dogs, and chickens in Philadelphia's countryside, before dividing time between a soccer field and a classroom at Villanova University. She put her marketing degree to good use as an advertising copywriter, zip-code hopping with her husband to DC, NYC, NJ, and not surprisingly, back to Philly. There, Jenni's passion for words continued, adding author to her resume. She now balances her laptop with a kid on each hip, and a four-legged child at her feet.
For the mamas, Becoming Bonnie is her debut novel that tells the untold story of how church-going Bonnelyn Parker becomes half of the infamous Bonnie and Clyde duo during the 1920s.
For the kiddos, the Brave Like Me series is her middle grade debut that features true stories from heroic women who, at a young age, accomplished daring feats of perseverance and bravery.
The excerpt gives an impression Bonnie was growing up in circumstances she had little control over and of a daughter whose affection for her family was incredibly strong; built on faith and mutual respect. You can gather the sense she isn’t thrilled about the bill being overdue but try as she might to consider how to address the issue, she cannot shake the feeling this might be what brings an unbalance of stability to her family. She has a lot of things weighing on her young mind whilst juggling a steady beau at the same time. You can feel for her in these scenes because she’s on the edge of womanhood, yet still hugged a bit into her girlhood.
Bonnie wants to live outside the shadow of Roy; she wants to be independent of him but owns the fact she still wants to live a life alongside him. She’s a mixture of feelings & thoughts; but one thing is for sure – you can see how her humble origins had shaped her desires towards pulling herself out of poverty & stay successful on her own terms. She wants to carve out an honest living now that women have more options than they did previously. She sees opportunities and the potential to write her own ticket; even if that might mean leaving Roy behind – not that she says this aloud, but it’s palatable by how she chooses her words.
Until of course – she glimpses what life could be like with Roy – but you can tell even at seventeen, Bonnie didn’t want to be boxed in. She wanted to keep her freedom & to keep her choices open – whatever she was seeking, despite her upbringing, I am not sure she was seeking the same kind of future she intended nor the one in which Roy so endearingly spoke about when he proposed to her as they were already moving away from each other – even if at that point in time, they felt closer than ever.
This #PubDay showcase is courtesy of:
the author jenni l. walsh
Read the author’s Guest Post on the TOR/FORGE blog about an ‘Alt Hist’ spin on #BonnieAndClyde!
I look forward to reading your thoughts & commentary!
Especially if you want to carry the convo into the comment threads & / or want to share why this title is tempting you to read it and discover a more authentic ‘Bonnie’ than the woman we all knew out of history’s annals. What interests you most about how Ms Walsh approached writing the life of Bonnie ahead of Clyde? Is this someone you’ve read about previously?
{SOURCES: Cover art of “Becoming Bonnie”, book synopsis, author photograph, author biography, and the chapter excerpt were provided by the author Jenni L. Walsh and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie in Canva: Conversations with the Bookish and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2017.
I’m a social reader | I love sharing my reading life
wicked #awesomesauce so happy to be a part of the #PubDay fest of #BecomingBonnie & haven't even read it yet! Now a SEQ? JOY 👏💫
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) January 25, 2017
Ahead of reading #BecomingBonnie I had a sneaking feeling there was 'more' to be 'told'! #sohappy for you about this! Rock on 😉
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) January 25, 2017
😊👈Coming to #JLASblog are two wicked #awesomesauce special #author features celebrating #BonnieAndClyde inasmuch as #BecomingBonnie! SOON! 😇
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) May 6, 2017
?Celebrate 1 of 2 #BonnieAndClyde showcases via #JLASblog TUES 9th MAY where #excerpt + #Interview arrive on https://t.co/2cv2gDLiN1 ???️ https://t.co/PCgTa0DlEi
— Jorie Loves A Story (@joriestory) May 9, 2017
.@torbooks | #PubDay Q&A#JorieAsks @jennilwalsh about #BecomingBonnie
feat. #HistFic #BonnieAndClyde🤠duologyhttps://t.co/HAncV7IajP pic.twitter.com/VSihJh4cPK— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) May 9, 2017
Thank you, Jorie! This post is simply all sorta of awesome. I adore hearing your perspective on things!
Hallo, Hallo Ms Walsh!
Forgive my late response – I was so caught up in following you on social (ie. Twitter!) during your release week + I was caught up in a bit of life (esp allergies!) I simply missed responding til now! I am always a bit on pins when I ‘add to convos’ as I know it’s a proper surprise for the authors I’m featuring and I get so over excited for them to see the post! Their never sure what to expect but I do hope my ‘added replies’ offer a bit more rounding to the discussion and thereby reflect a true conversation! :) At least this is my intent and you happily gave me a wicked sweet bit of JOY seeing your reaction!