Melinda R. Cordell

Hello Nancy! Thank you for reading my book Rose to the Occasion: An Easy-Growing Guide to Rose Gardening, Roses, Growing Roses, Antique Roses, Old Garden Roses, Gardening Tips, Organic Roses, Also ... (Easy-Growing Garden Series Book 2), which I see has heavily influenced your book! As I see you have used my book and no other sources to write this book. What tipped me off was when I was reading your list of recommended roses and said, "Why, these are the exact roses I recommended!" and then it all went downhill in flames after that. Now, I did not spend the best years of my life working in a rose garden in 95 degree heat with 95% relative humidity (this means you will sweat a LOT but it does not evaporate so it doesn't cool you off), getting thorns in my hair and scratches on my arms and a bit of a trick back, to have someone crib off my book. Though, it's possible that your ghostwriter did this and you didn't know. (edited to add: BUT THEY PROBABLY DID.) One of your chapters is called "Using Chickens and Other Organic Fertilizer." Readers, please do not use chickens as organic fertilizer. The chicken does not like it and neither does the soil. (In my book, I have a cute picture of chickens, which provide good manure for roses. That's where the ghostwriter picked up the chicken reference.) Also, if you crib my content, please crib my jokes. Your ghostwriter picked up my line about orange hips on rugosa roses, but didn't pick up the line I wrote. He should have. It's my best line. A copyeditor at the local newspaper did a spittake all over her computer because of that line. This is true. Also, fix these spelling errors: it's 'Thérèse Bugnet,' 'Blanc Double de Coubert,' rugosa, Zone 3. And on the front cover, it's should be "Beginner's," though that did not come from my book, God bless you. Also, anybody who reads this needs to know that roses should get about five gallons of water after planting, but ten gallons, as the poor ghostwriter states, is a little excessive. A rose is not a boat. TL;DR takeaway: This is my book under somebody else's name, so if you want the full lowdown from a former horticulturist and rosarian with a bad back (and now a little bit of a headache), skip over and grab a copy of Rose to the Occasion: An Easy-Growing Guide to Rose Gardening, Roses, Growing Roses, Antique Roses, Old Garden Roses, Gardening Tips, Organic Roses, Also ... (Easy-Growing Garden Series Book 2), which I wrote as a result of all my hard work. Also it has very pretty pictures! AND ACTUAL HELPFUL INFORMATION. God bless America, and good night.