FIRST 50 PAGES, Tending Roses by Lisa Wingate

1) The plot of the novel,"Tending Roses" by Lisa Wingate, is about a couple going to the family farm for a vacation, but their actual intentions is to get the wife's grandmother ready for when the rest of the family comes over for Christmas to tell her that they are thinking of putting her into a nursing home and selling the family farm. Meanwhile, the husband's job calls him to let him know that they have lost an important contract with business people and that he has to call them to try to get the contract back. The wife is busy trying to make ends meet with the money that they have so that they can pay their hospital bills. 

2) The theme of the novel is to live life everyday without needing to worry about problems and work. Cherish what you now have because you might end up regretting it later in your life.  

3) I think that the author's morning routine is a calm one. She probably gets up and looks out her window at the land and think about her days work. Later, she might do some meditation and have a healthy breakfast that has some scrambled eggs with hash brown along with bacon and fresh orange juice. Some excerpts that painted this imagine in my mind, are how she describes the morning and setting sun as well as describing in detail the warm breeze and the detailed description of roses lining the house in the story. 

4) A literary technique that helped me understand the theme was the way how the author was including the message in between the reading, instead of saying it towards the end of the book.