Quick Peek at Chapter 54

Passage from Chapter 54 "A Lost Mother"

. . . She had a home in the mountains of North Carolina and it was not unusual for her to get up any given morning, pack a small bag, and take off just to "check on things up there." . . .

One evening I received a frantic phone call from one her cousins. "I cannot get in touch with your mother. Do you know where she is?"
    I thought for a moment. "No, I don't. She may be in the mountains. I haven't spoken with her in a day or two."
    She quickly responded, "So you don't know where she is?"
    "Not exactly”, I said, as the thought of my mother laying in her home by herself calling “Help, I've fallen and I can't get up”, and there I was, the irresponsible daughter, totally unaware there was a problem.
    "Well, I can't find her," she said in exasperation.
    "I didn't know she was lost," I replied.
     This conversation continued for another minute or so until she realized that I was not going to be of any help. Before I went back to bed, I checked my answering machine - no message. Then I called Mama's house and sure enough I also got her answering machine. When I hung up the telephone, my husband asked,      “Who was that?"
     "Mama's cousin - seems she cannot find Mama."
     "I didn't know she was lost."
     "Neither did I."
      I must confess I did not sleep much that night. I was overcome with guilt. For years, I had assumed my mother did not want a "hovering" daughter. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was being inattentive. If something happened, and Mama's cousin was right, I would have to live with it for the rest of my life. First thing the next morning, I drove over to Mama's house full well expecting to find her body lain out on the floor, most likely trying to reach the phone attempting to call her negligent daughter.

(And, the story continues . . .)

In Paperback and On Sale

Many people have opined that they still wish to hold a book with a spine, turn the pages with their fingers rather than swipe them on a screen. Finally the book is available in Paperback on Amazon. And, better than that, it is on sale. Regularly priced $10.99, Amazon has it listed for $9.61. 

You asked for it.

And Down She Goes . . .

Well, I hope the party is not over. As I knew it would, the book's ranking has slipped past #8 and I will not check today.  To continue my "Bits and Pieces" Tour, here are a few paragraphs of Chapter 25 "The Arts and Furnishings of High Acres". (This comes from the middle of the Chapter.)

      Daddy paid Stanbury for the trunks and gave him a little more guidance for the next sale. Sure enough, the next time up we found two antique trunks with beautiful leather and wood, and lovely
paper linings. Mama was thrilled. She thanked Stanbury profusely. He beamed in pride. They rarely spoke the same language and he was thrilled he had finally made her happy. She then asked, "Do you ever see any of those old iron beds at those sales? Anything like that you see, just buy it for me."

Stanbury looked at Daddy who just gave him that “Go ahead, I'll pay for it” look. From then on we never knew what treasures would await us upon our arrival at the farm. Stanbury did come through with two iron beds. One had brass balls on the corner knobs, although only on three of the four corners. There were old milk cans, a yoke for a plow mule, a dozen or so old green jars, glass transformers, a dress maker's form, a Mexican blanket, and wooden milk crates. He bought her incomplete sets of mismatched china, an old table, a chest with all the knobs missing, various odd looking chandeliers,  two cane bottom chairs, and several old quilts, just to name a few. Sometimes trash, sometimes treasure, you just never knew. One day, Daddy asked Stanbury how he knew what to buy. "Well, if it looks like junk, then I know it’s what Miss Zenith wants. Darn if I know why. But I buy it any way."

Moving On Up

#5 on Amazon's Humor/Families and Parenting List, I may never see this height again but will bask while I am here.

Now I am at work on the hard copy which I hope to have out in several weeks. In the next 24 hours "Sterling Silver" will be removed from BN. No, I have nothing against the Nook. However, in order to keep this book in the rankings and not have it drop into Never Never Land (although it will not make me any money) I need to put it in the Kindle Select program. So if you check with Barnes and Noble and see it is no longer there, that is the reason.

In the mean time, the book is out in public and a lady called all a flutter that she had bought it and was so excited to get home and read it. I just did not have the heart to tell her that she may recognize one of the characters in it - her. I just hope she has a sense of humor.

A Book is Born

It's finally here. My book is on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble in eBook format. It will eventually be available in hard copy. Thanks to everyone who helped make this possible. 

Live and in Color!

Well I did it. I mashed that button, the one that said "Publish". What have I done? Now God and everybody will know that I have written this book. How many people will have their feelings hurt that I wrote about them? How many people will have their feelings hurt that I didn't write about them? I only hope they read the two disclaimers I wrote as well as the introduction explaining that it was all going to end well and the afterword explaining how I thought it all went OK. 

Now I just need everyone I know, have ever known, have ever met, and their kin, their neighbors, their long lost cousins who live Debuke, as well as their Aunt Silvia no one speaks of, to be curious enough to go to Amazon and search for "Sterling Silver and Dollar Stores" under books. Click on the link - please. Just doing that will show Amazon that I have friends (or at least I could talk folks into at least going there).

If you would like to part with $2.99 and buy the book (which would be awfully nice of you) then I would really appreciate it if when you finished reading the book you would go back to the site and rate the book (1-5 stars) and write an honest review of your thoughts. And then casually mention to your friends and neighbors that you just read this book, . . . , well I can dream.

But then, it is a compelling story about a southern lady, an eccentric lady, who over comes the odds and comes back for a second act. I think readers will find it humorous , endearing, touching, sad, and poignant at times. But, the story is interesting - or at least I think so.

Seriously, I just ask that you go to Amazon and click on the link to the book, no investment but your time. This effort on your part could possibly make big difference in the convoluted Amazon algorithm of how they determine their rankings. Apparently, it is more than just your pretty face. 

So that is today's news.

A "Bit" of Chapter 60 "Mama's Family Beach Trip"

Chapter 60 "Mama's Family Beach Trip"

One May, several years ago, Mama showed up in my office all excited. “Well, I found us a place at the beach.”

       Clueless as to what she was talking about, I asked, “Us?”

       “Yes, I rented us a place at the beach for a week.” She could tell by the puzzled look on my face that I didn’t get it. So she continued, “For our family beach trip.”

       “What family beach trip?”

       “I thought it would be nice for all of us to get together for a week this summer at the beach. So I rented a house big enough for all of us to stay together.”

       “Um and when is this ‘family beach trip’?”

       “The second week in June, the weather is so nice then.”

       “Mama, I can’t just take off from work then with no notice. Does my brother know about this?”

       “No, but his children love the beach.”

       “We all love the beach. That’s not the question.” It was at that point that I realized it didn’t matter if it suited or not, we were going on a family vacation the second week in June, come Hell or high water. “Well, I suggest you go home and call him right now so he can make plans.”

        “I’ll just do that. He’ll be so excited.”

         “And so surprised,” I added. That night I got the expected phone call from my brother. 

         “Did you know anything about this?”

         “No, and I’m sure it suits your schedule about as much as it does mine.”

         “You couldn’t stop her or change her mind?”

         “It was a done deal before I knew about it.”

         “Did she tell you she has invited her college roommate to join us?”

         “No, I wasn’t privy to that bit of knowledge.”