About The Authors
Lissa Belcher Murray & Jaqlyn Belcher Crosby were born in the mountains of West Virginia but moved to South Carolina as children when the coal mines shut down. Lissa’s hobbies are travel & history whereas Jaqlyn loves reading, nature, & playing games to win. Both reside in Charleston, South Carolina: Lissa lives with Guy (husband), Beau (Pyrenees-Aussie mix), and Lumbee (son’s cat) who came to visit and decided to stay. Jaqlyn shares a home with her husband, Jerry, and her Ragdoll cat, Esme Iris. Both are retired teachers. Lissa achieved a masters in Classical History and Jaqlyn her BA in English.
The sisters started their own school inspired by the novels Little House on the Prairie & Christy. After teaching together for many years, Lissa moved to Rapid City, South Dakota where she worked with Lakota students and their families while Jaqlyn moved to Devon, England which was a dream come true. She taught English at Queen Elizabeth’s Community College. One of their most beloved adventures was traveling together in Scotland. When grandbabies began to arrive, Jerry & Jaqlyn moved back to Charleston. But before Lissa returned home, she took the opportunity to teach in the hills of eastern Kentucky. Her biggest joy now is being “Abuela” to her amazing granddaughter; Jaqlyn’s is being “Nona” to her five incredible grandchildren.
Their mom imparted her adoration of literature and fairy tales. Lissa especially loved the Chronicles of Narnia & Lord of the Rings. Jaqlyn will tell you her favorite story is The Gift of the Magi. And so, the Sweetgrass, Sage, & Sassafras books are just that. Grown-up fairy tales with time travel, larger than life heroes, romance, and magic. Everything these women have chased after their entire lives.
Ask The Authors
On Co-Authoring:
Lissa:
It’s like Dickens said, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." Luck would have it that our strengths complement each other. I am more the novelist while Jacqlyn thrives on editing. She loves the description and the flow of words that help to make the story come alive, while I care more about the storyline. Her insistence to find the perfect word for every other word sometimes drives me crazy, but in the end, the story is always better. I am not usually married to the plotline, but there are times when I want something to stay that “just doesn’t flow” according to Jaqlyn. After a few war cries & battles, we always manage to work through it all by compromising – a skill we’re still perfecting. But our relationship rests on our ability to pull the best out of each other while making room for memories, belly laughs, tears, chuckles, & endless movie & book quotes. Our relationship simply works.
Jaqlyn:
When I was five, Lissa said, “Hey, you’re scrawny. Crawl inside the liner of this tire so I can push you down a hill." When I was 28, Lissa said, “Hey, let’s start our own school & devote ourselves to pure teaching and grand experiences." When I was 63, Lissa said, “Hey, let’s write a novel.” Mostly I say no to Lissa. But riding downhill in that tire, teaching in our own school in our own way, & writing a novel… they have been the magic that has kept me.
On Dedications:
Lissa:
Mom never let me forget that I was named for a character in her favorite novel, The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come. It was Mom who first showed me that I could do anything and go anywhere between the pages of a good book. It was Mom who made me read all one thousand and thirty-seven pages of Gone with the Wind before I could see the movie. I was only twelve. It was Mom who developed painful arthritis in her shoulder from all the years of holding books a certain way. It was Mom who listened to my stories and encouraged me to keep writing. I wish you were here to read our book, Mom. You would love it. It is the sum of all the things you did to give us a magical childhood. Love you.
Jaqlyn:
Dad embodied wonderful things like humor, steadfastness, humility, and faith. But it was his mountain common sense that got us through so much. About a year from graduating from university with a husband and two toddlers and feeling so tired and overwhelmed, I decided to quit school. After giving him my excellent arguments why leaving was a good decision, he shot them all down. I tried one last time. “Dad, I’ll be twenty-eight years old before I graduate.” To which he said, “Won’t you turn twenty-eight anyway?” Nodding slowly, I had no idea where he was going with this logic. “Then why not turn twenty-eight with a degree in your hand.” This is exactly what has kept me through the huge process of a novel. Many is the time I muttered the same words: Jaqlyn, you’re going to turn sixty-five anyway, why not turn sixty-five with a novel in your hand. Thanks, Dad. Miss you every day.
