Welcome to
Marcia Neely Books
The official website of
award-winning author
MarciaNeely
Single Yellow Rose
Deep Grass Roots
101 Herbs with Essays and Stories
Cooking with Herbs and Spices
About Single Yellow Rose
THIS MEMOIR BEGINS while the author and her husband camp south of Anchorage, Alaska, on a motorcycle journey from Minnesota. The following day the couple receives word that their fifteen-year-old son has just been diagnosed with primary pulmonary hypertension, an almost-always fatal disease.
Told through the eyes of the teenager’s stepmother, who years earlier had become "Mom" to the boy and his sister, the story brings the reader into the lives of a family as they grapple with the teenager’s illness.
The author transports the reader to wait with her as her son undergoes heart-double-lung transplantation, a groundbreaking procedure at the time. Readers will witness her hopes when viewing the monitor showing strong, rhythmic beats of his new heart. They will also see her agony as she watches the grave difficulties he encounters with the specter of death always in sight.
As the young man recovers in tiny steps, he delights in seeing a butterfly and the opening of a tulip. Shooting fireworks, riding his bike, dumping a canoe, and using Halloween gag gadgets bring happiness and laughter. Later, as he journeys again toward death, readers will perceive not only the teen’s suffering, but his humor, wisdom and philosophical depth.
Creating scenes that capture the love between mother and son, as well as their grief as his transplanted lungs begin to fail, the author shows how the most difficult aspects of living can be the most important, rewarding, and uplifting.
$14.95
Deep Grass Roots
First place winner of the Independent Book Publisher's 2018 Benjamin Franklin award in historical fiction
$15.95
About Deep Grass Roots
As the twentieth century dawns, two young Norwegian women turn their dreams into reality. Leaving their homes in Minnesota, the women make the five-hundred-mile journey to a small settlement in northwestern North Dakota where they file claims on land that appears desolate at first sight, but develops beauty and character as they settle into homestead life in tar paper shacks.
The joy of seeing a pasqueflower bloom sends a shiver of excitement to the friends, while a prairie fire sparks terror. The birth of a baby evokes elation, even as family disturbances test the community and bring grief. Daily life provides trials that test the homesteaders’ stamina while developing their character and strength.
Stimulated by similar experiences of the author's grandmother, the well-researched narrative is fiction, but feels nothing less than real. The author delves deep into the hearts of the young
women as she portrays life in the
small community of hearty
Norwegians.
Joy, sadness, adventure,
grueling work, danger,
romance, and tragedy all
contribute to the plot and
character development.
About 101 Herbs
101 Herbs began as an herbal, describing the 101 herbs the author cultivated or that grew wild at her hobby farm, Honey and Herbs. But the book includes much more than herbal descriptions. It incorporates essays and stories that reflect the author’s enchantment with country living and the life forms in her environment.
You will find the general characteristics of the 101 herbs, along with their medicinal value, growing patterns, and harvest suggestions. The words of herbalists from centuries past provide an interesting historical vision of many of the herbs. This book includes culinary recipes, as well as recipes for making herbal preparations.
$10.00
About Cooking with Herbs and Spices
This book not only includes 131 recipes, but describes thirty-five culinary herbs and spices from allspice to turmeric, including how to use and preserve them.
Cooking with Herbs also provides a historical and philosophical perspective on the use of culinary herbs, general information on the use of herbs in cooking, recommendations for preserving herbs, and hints regarding recipe ingredients.
$10.00
About the author
When Marcia Neely was a senior in high school, she was invited to write a weekly column for her local newspaper, the Montevideo American, which she did. She credits her high school English teacher Claude Dziuk for stimulating her love for literature and helping to develop her enjoyment of writing. After high school, she attended the University of Minnesota where she graduated with a BS in nursing, and then spent her early adult years as a public health nurse and administrator. In midlife, she and her husband John bought and co-published the Granite Falls Tribune.
After the death of their 17-year-old son following a heart and lung transplant, Marcia and John moved to a country acreage near Benson, MN. Marcia says she "found her soul" on the land while maintaining an organic apple orchard, growing herbs and vegetables, and managing a little store on their property called Honey and Herbs while John kept bees and harvested honey and worked as a tour bus driver. Marcia also worked part-time jobs for an educational cooperative and for the 8th District Court as a guardian ad litem. It was while living in the country that Marcia published her two books about herbs and began Deep Grass Roots.
Later, she and John moved to St. Cloud, MN, where Marcia joined a writer's group called Ream Team, and she attributes her confidence to publish Deep Grass Roots and Single Yellow Rose to the excellent critique and confidence in her writing skills she received from the team.
Options for purchasing books
Contact author Marcia Neely @ marciakgarden@gmail.com
*Single Yellow Rose . . . . . . . . . . . $14.95
Deep Grass Roots . . . . . . . . . . . . $15.95
*101 Herbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10.00
*Cooking with Herbs and Spices . $10.00
Sales tax included with sale price.
Shipping charge total of $3.00 will be added for 1 or more books.
Deep Grass Roots can be ordered from Amazon.com
* At this time, these starred books are only available from author Marcia Neely
at marciakgarden@gmail.com and at some of the stores listed below.
Purchase from the following:
Magers & Quinn Booksellers, 3038 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Chippewa Co. Historical Soc., 151 Arnie Anderson Dr., Montevideo, MN 56265
320-269-7636
Doug's Trimming and Artwork, 7025 MN Hwy. 7, Montevideo, MN 56265
320-269-9182
Ingebretsen's Gifts, 1601 E Lake St., Minneapolis, MN 56407
612-729-9333
Billy Maple Trees, 228 Main St., Milan, MN 56262
320-734-4868
Runestone Museum, 206 Broadway St., Alexandria, MN 56308
320-763-3160
Or get on loan from Great River Regional Library
Saint Cloud Public Library 320-650-2500
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For information on book presentations or bids on developmental or copyediting services, contact
Marcia Neely at marciakgarden@gmail.com