31 WEEKLY 2026
AUGUST
A
B A L D W I N
C I T Y
VOL 4 NO. 31 FREE DIGITAL VERSION
N E W S P A P E R
ROSS EARNS SECOND PLACE IN
WORLDWIDE WRITING COMPETITION
The idea for the novel began with a real-life conversation, although Ross is quick to point out that the story itself is entirely fictional. Her daughter-in-law was married to Ross’ son, who was a minister, while her own father had spent much of his life in and out of prison. “She said, ‘Such a strange life I’m living. I’m a preacher’s wife and a gangster’s daughter,’” Ross recalled. Ross immediately knew she wanted to use the phrase as the title of a book. “I instantly thought it was the perfect title for a book and asked her if I could use it,” Ross said. Her daughterin-law agreed — with one condition: Don’t write about her life. Ross didn’t. “The story I wrote is completely fictional without a single reference to my daughter-in-law,” she said.
Baldwin City writer Jeanine Ross receives recognition for Preacher’s Wife/Gangster’s Daughter. Baldwin City writer and The Maple Weekly contributor Jeanine Ross has earned international recognition for her novel Preacher’s Wife/Gangster’s Daughter, taking second place in the fiction category of the Chapter One Writing Competition. The annual competition is hosted by Black Writers Workspace, based in Louisiana, and drew entries representing more than two dozen states and nearly as many countries. Ross, who is a consistent contributor to The Maple Weekly through her Thinking Outside the Box column found each week on page 7, said she entered the competition about three months ago — and then largely forgot about it. That changed Thursday, Aug. 20, when she received a text letting her know the winners would be announced on YouTube. “When my picture popped up on the screen, I screamed and started jumping up and down, which made
my little dog start jumping up and down with me,” Ross said. “It was a surreal moment!” Ross described her reaction as stunned, elated and surprised all at once. A Story Born From a Title Preacher’s Wife/Gangster’s Daughter is a fictional suspense story centered on a woman whose carefully constructed new life is threatened when the dangerous father she helped send to prison is unexpectedly released. Eighteen years earlier, the main character testified against her father, a violent Kansas City-area drug dealer. Believing he would remain in prison for life, she changed her name, attended law school and moved to Lawrence, where she built a career and eventually married a young minister. When her father is released on a technicality and sets out for revenge, she is forced to confront the past she has kept hidden from everyone around her — including her husband. At the same time, her husband’s potential run for mayor threatens to put her even further into the public eye.
Characters Lead the Way Ross said her writing process often begins with something small — a title she hears in conversation, something on television or even a passing curiosity about someone she has never met. From there, she begins imagining characters, their personalities and what they might say. “After that, the characters begin to form in my head and they start talking to me,” Ross said. “I just write what they say and before long, I have a book!” A book can take her as little as a couple of months to write. “I know when it’s finished when the characters stop talking to me,” she said. Ross has now written four books, self-published two and is working on her fifth. She is also searching for an agent and publisher to help take her work to the next level. She hopes the recognition from the Chapter One Writing Competition will help open that door. Ross said she entered Preacher’s Wife/Gangster’s Daughter because she believes the story has potential beyond the page. Continued on page 2