For the next week, I will be publishing a series of posts related to my upcoming release on May 3. Mark your calendars for May 1-2. I’m hosting a Virtual Garden Party to celebrate the launch. See the graphic at the bottom of the page for more information. You don’t want to miss it!! Lots of good times and giveaways.

I don’t claim to be an expert on sibling relationships, but I’ve gained some insight into the intricacies of family dynamics during my lifetime. Not only through my experience with my immediate family—my two children, a daughter and a son—and my two brothers—one six years younger and one two years older, who is no longer alive—but also through watching my husband interact with his four brothers and sisters. The relationships we share with our siblings are the most complex of any relationships we’ll experience during our lifetimes. We can’t divorce our siblings. Our brothers and sisters are part of our lives from birth to death do us part. Sharing traumatic events and happy occasions with our siblings from a tender young age bonds us in a unique way. Only your sister remembers the joy of your family’s first trip to Disney World. No one better understands the pain of putting your beloved pet to sleep like your brother. Only the two of you can relate to the fear of hearing your parents argue.

We don’t get to pick your siblings like you choose a friend or a spouse. In an ideal world, siblings grow old together sharing in each other’s lives, supporting one another through good times and bad. Sadly, however, our relationships with our brothers and sisters don’t always have a happy ending despite the history we share. Families are torn apart by sibling rivalry and jealousy. Our relationships with our siblings are sacred and should be nurtured. I would give anything to spend one more day with my older brother.

I’m fascinated by sibling relationships. All my novels explore some variation of the sister/sister and brother/sister bond. In my upcoming release, Sweet Tea Tuesdays, Lizbeth’s relationship with her older sister, Brooke, hasn’t always been easy. For the past seven years, Brooke has been attending college and living on the West Coast. When Brooke announces she’s coming home for a visit, their mother decides to throw her a welcome home party. Lizbet is irritated at first when her mother’s favoritism toward her older sister resurfaces, and bad memories from her childhood return. But once she’s reunited with her sister, she discovers an opportunity for their relationship to make a fresh start.

A warm feeling settled over her at the idea of Brooke moving to Charleston. She envisioned the three of them going out to dinner, shopping together, and taking long walks along the Battery on weekends in the spring. For the first time since forever, she didn’t feel so alone.