BookSparks PR Presents: Rooville: A Novel

Title:  Rooville
Author:  Julie Long
Format:  Print
Length:  396 pages
Publisher:  Book Sparks Press
Rating: 4 Stars

Even after thirteen years in Southern California, Owen Martin can feel the corners of his squareness still sharply evident. He’s a TV weatherman bored by the beautiful climate. He wants to coach basketball but all the kids play soccer. And he seems to be the only person who thinks a fruit smoothie is a poor substitute for a vanilla shake.

 When he’s fired from his job, Owen is relieved to head home to Iowa, to the town his ancestors founded and the simple life he knew before his father died. He can’t predict the atmospheric pressure he's about to encounter, which, as any meteorologist knows, is the key catalyst for change. . . .In his absence, Martinville has become the center of the Transcendental Meditation movement and host to all things alternative. There are golden domes for mass meditations, a vegan café where the burger joint stood, and all the shop doors around Town Square now face east. 

But far worse than anything is the danger to the Martin family farm. In a town divided between “Regulars” and “Roos” (gurus), Owen is clear where he stands until he falls for a levitator instead of the down-to-earth girl he had in mind. With old customs and open-mindedness clashing like warm and cold fronts, Owen gets caught in a veritable tornado. Can he save the farm, get the girl, and reunite the town? Maybe . . . if he’s willing to embrace a change in the weather.  -Goodeads

My Thoughts
This sweet novel is all about a man in search of home.  Not the sunny, unchanging, beauty and youth worshiping vapidity of southern California.  
No, Owen Martin is a man in search of seasons, warm hearty meals, and the sweetness of rich and fertile earth.
In short, Owen Martin is longing for the home of his heart.
Martinville, Ohio.

The thing about going home however, is that things there too can and do change.
Sometimes for the better...
Sometimes for the worse...
Sometimes for the person...

This last observation is the case for leading man Owen.
A man in the middle, caught between those who would cling to the small town charm of the past,
and those determined to meditate themselves and he town into a progressive future.
As a son of the town's founding family, Owen serves as a beacon to everyone.

At first, it is very clear that Owen is doing everything that he can to stay neutral, but when love takes hold, and he is lead by his heart to a pixie-like, yoga loving, Roo, by the name of Trishna.
He knows that he must find a way to reconcile, the home of his past, the home of his memories, with the home of his heart, the home of his future. 

This is a very sweet and contained story.  A light-hearted look at one man's attempt to change HIMSELF. 

About Julie

Julie Long was born in Fairfield, Iowa, a typical Midwestern town (the kind with a bandstand in the middle of the square) that just happened to become the center of the Transcendental Meditation movement. This fact inspired Julie to write her novel, ROOVILLE. It also prompted Oprah to visit Fairfield and dub it "America's most unusual town."

For several years Julie lived in Southern California (where she never did find the center of town) before opting for the rural life in Western Pennsylvania. Today she lives on a farm outside of Pittsburgh with her husband, extended family and Wilson the bulldog.

In addition to writing ROOVILLE, Julie co-authored the humor book, BABY: An Owner's Manual, the eater's guide A Mouthful of Truth, and the business parable Fat, Dumb & Lazy.

Find Her:  Web / Twitter / Goodreads / Booksparks