Thank you for being part of Bellingwood. That’s first and foremost on my mind tonight. I’m so thankful for you all and what you mean to me.
I’ve received many wonderful compliments from you this last week after the publication of Book 22 – Lessons in Hope. That just means the world to me. I appreciate you all so much and am glad that you enjoy reading my stories.
It’s so strange. With all of the press to get a book released, when it’s over, I’m stuck for a few days, not knowing quite what to do next. Oh, I know, I know … write the next book. But wow, my brain shuts down and I have to put in a lot of effort to kick it back into service again. I feel like an old Model T or something. All of that cranking, and my brain still wheezes and protests.
This last week as I’ve given my brain permission to be quiet, I’ve listened to Alexander Dumas’ “Three Musketeers” on audio while I’ve been busy with other things. I’ve read it two or three times, but listening gives me a completely different experience and I hear so many more things. It’s fascinating to consider the time period of this story. The history, the people, the locations. Today, when we think of The Louvre, we think of it as a museum, but in the sixteen hundreds, it was the palace. When I first began hearing the narrator tell of people traveling to the Louvre, I had to stop and think. Then I wrenched my brain back through the history that I know (or don’t know, as my be the case) and uncover long, lost memories from classes I’d taken years ago.
Did you know that novels were once looked upon derisively, as something that led people astray and ruined them for real life? (When Novels Were Bad For You, Anna North, The NYTimes, September 14, 2014)
I guess that any time forms of entertainment go through change, there will be those who decry their rise and declare that they are evil and will corrupt our minds. Nowadays, we plead with people to read a good book.
This week we celebrate Independence Day. While my childhood memories always have fireworks surrounding them,
I also remember great community events. It was at a Fourth of July event that I got my first taste of cotton candy. The little town where we lived brought in carnival rides one year and Dad took me up on the Ferris Wheel. I could see for miles.
All day long we played and played throughout the town, then that evening took our blankets out and watched while we oohed and aahed over the spectacle in the sky.
I hope you find ways to make joyful memories this summer, whether on Independence Day or on a relaxing summer vacation.
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Book 22 – Lessons in Hope is available HERE on Amazon. Book 23 will be released September 25th.
For a full listing of books, short stories, and vignettes, click HERE.
