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Changing Seasons

As Spring is rapidly approaching my thoughts wander off to the changing of the seasons. Everyone has their favorite season, mine is Fall or Autumn if one is formal. That’s where New Parish begins, I don’t think I planned it that way on purpose, but maybe that’s where it began because of my love of Fall. Oh, I like the other seasons too and they’re all present in my book New Parish, but I’ve always enjoyed Fall the best. Sarah enjoys Fall with her family in Savannah for Thanksgiving then the story moves on to Winter. Winter is nice, I like the cooler weather, but it can get too cold and have other challenges, such as wild winter storms. Sarah’s first visit to New Parish is in the winter, this visit, isn’t just fun, but very enlightening…  Sarah’s first winter in New Parish becomes an inner journey of winter changing into Spring. Spring is nice, it’s like life begins again, after a long time of barrenness… Sarah’s first Spring in New Parish is by far the most unique one she’s ever experienced, I won’t give spoilers… Spring is also a prelude to Summer. Summer can be nice in New Parish, early in the morning and late in the evening, after the sun goes down, but it can get too hot and has lots of insects that like to munch on a person. I don’t talk about the insects much in my book, New Parish, there’s way too many other things to be getting on with. As summer fades in New Parish the cycle begins again, and Fall returns with a whole new situation…

Of all the seasons we enjoy in New Parish or anywhere else I remain firm in my love of Fall, it’s cool but not too cold, there are still flowers hanging around, and it kicks off the holiday season, which if I’m honest is really my favorite season…

I hope everyone will enjoy all the seasons in Sarah’s journey to New Parish!

New Parish Coming Soon!!!!

Excerpt from New Parish: Winter was Sarah’s first season in New Parish

“The next day after breakfast Sarah and Mary decided to get out and explore some of the community and enjoy the snow that had fallen. Several of Mary’s little brothers and sisters tagged along with them. They were all bundled up in coats, scarves, gloves, and boots. Sarah laughed at herself and the rest of the gang, they were definitely prepared. Sarah had already decided that the community was quite beautiful but now with a blanket of snow it seemed like a picture postcard of a Christmas village from long ago. There was even a wooden wagon with red painted wheels going down the road pulled by two large chocolate brown horses, it was all very picturesque.”

More Than One Way

All my life I’ve heard that there’s more than one way to do something. That old saying, “There’s more than one way to skin a cat,” always used to gross me out, but it has some real world applications – and some literary ones. In my book New Parish, Sarah definitely finds more than one way to live her life. She grew up in a small town, on a road where everyone knew everyone, then after college moved to Atlanta, which of course is a very large city where most people don’t know their neighbors or the person sitting next to them on the public transportation system. Then she moves to a very small community in the desert of northern Arizona which is more different than any other place she’s ever experienced – with cacti, very short trees, and a healthy smattering of cowboys…

As a writer I like to write about what I know, I’ve visited Savanah Georgia, where Sarah grew up, I’ve visited Atlanta, walked its streets and partaken of the public transportation system. I’ve also lived out west in the area where Sarah settles, and have experienced all the nuances she experiences in moving out there – everything from horse apples, to cacti, to the majestic mountains and mesas that surround the place… and have met a few cowboys along the way as well…

Beside finding more than one place to live, Sarah finds that there’s more than one way to live… finding her happily ever after gets complicated, but she finds her way there – eventually.

New Parish Coming Soon!!!!!!

Excerpt from New Parish: Part of Sarah’s visit to Tybee Island

            “Before stepping from the pavement to the sand she removed her shoes so that she could enjoy every second of the experience. Tying the strings of her canvas sneakers together she hung them over the strap to her backpack which she slung over one shoulder. Her oversized blue denim shirt was perfect for this time and place. There were a few white puffy clouds in the sky of brilliant blue, the sun was shining down warming her face with its touch. The light cool breeze from the ocean fanned her long white boho skirt that hung down around her ankles. She took a deep breath and stepped out onto the sand to begin her journey toward the decision that would affect the rest of her life.

            Sarah had the beach mostly to herself, she could see a few sage gentlemen standing iconically on the pier fishing, but other than that she was alone with her thoughts and her decision.

            The white sand made a slight scrunching sound beneath her feet and she couldn’t resist digging her toes in it as she walked. The waves gently embracing the shore carried her thoughts to a place where there was no ocean – New Parish…

            Sarah sighed, “Living there would be so different, just the climate with its dry arid environment would be a challenge,” she thought. “I had to use loads more lotion when I was out there for just a few days. I could get used to that, and invest in tons of lip balm.” She pondered over the mountains and mesas of the surrounding areas of New Parish. She stopped her walk and stared out at the ocean waves in the far distance, some were creating little white caps. “It would be so far away from my family,” she thought. “I’m not one of those girls that needs to be near their mom, but living in Atlanta is near enough to go home any time I want.” Sarah sighed again, the “girl talk” session from her last night in New Parish came into her thoughts, “What if I get into a mess like some of those girls?” She walked on down the beach with her thoughts, feeling very heavy and worrisome now.”

 

 

Just Around the Corner

As I’ve said before, the one thing that’s for sure in life, is that things always change. You never know what’s just around the corner… Just around the corner could be a new job, a new place to live, a new person of interest that enters your life, or a myriad of other things. My point is, just around the next corner of life, your life could change forever.

Out here in the wild west, along the Arizona Strip, things can change in an instant. There could be anything from a flash-flood, loose cows, or even a girl from the southeast showing up and shaking the place up a bit. These things happen in real life, and also in my book, New Parish.

 I’ve been the girl from the southeast that’s shook things up, and I’ve encountered loose cows, suddenly, and have seen flash-floods, from a distance. Life brings us surprises we’re not expecting just around the corner… Sarah finds many surprises on her journey to happiness, in New Parish.

New Parish Coming Soon!!!!!

Excerpt from New Parish:

A couple of Sarah’s just around the corner events in New Parish:

“After soaking in a tub of very warm water for a very long time and her body starting to feel like it could actually be warm again, Sarah thought, “Albert is a really nice guy, he would be a great husband…” She removed herself from the tub and wrapped a very soft bathrobe around her still wet body, while slowly drying off. The memory of the “incident” kept running over in her mind, “Why didn’t I move?” she thought, “How could something like that really happen? Why was I so mesmerized by that silly cowboy?” She let out and exasperated, “Ah! I hope I never see him again!””

…….

Later in the story:

““I feel like I’ve stepped into a Louis L’Amour novel,” Sarah said looking around at all the cowboys and horses.

            The cowboy band was playing and there was a square dance going, Mary said, “Come on let’s go!”

            Sarah said, “No way, I’ve never dosey doed in my life. I don’t know how,” trying to excuse herself from this activity.

            Mary grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the dance area in front of the wooden stage the band was on, “I’ll show you, it’s fun!” she said laughing.

            Sarah had an inner dread that she was not only going to dosey doe for the first time, but that Mary had much more confidence in her abilities than she did.

            Mary had her twirling around the grassy dance area in no time. They were both laughing at her many mistakes, and having so much fun. Then Sarah saw one of cowboys on the stage… it was Max, he was playing the guitar, and smiling at her. He was wearing a black cowboy hat with a silver and turquoise band around it, a white shirt with a bolo tie, and a black leather jacket. Her mind had inventoried him quickly and then lost all cohesiveness. After that she lost her footing, causing her right foot to trip over her left foot, she landed on the ground with a thud. “Oh, I hate him,” she thought picking herself up from the ground quickly. Mary tried to help her up while trying to hide the fact that she was almost doubling over laughing at her.

            “Seems you’re always falling for him,” Mary teased.

            Sarah was even more embarrassed to know that Mary had seen the cause of her fall, “Thanks, that helps,” she replied half way laughing too.”

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Gone Fishing…

I haven’t literally gone fishing in many, many years, but for a few days I will be out of commission. I’ll be back soon with many more stories, and I’m sure a few bits of history that no one’s ever heard of.

Remember my book New Parish is Coming Soon!!!!!!

 

Storms…

Every now and then we all have to deal with storms. Whether they are internal or external – they happen. It seems there have been a lot of weather related storms lately around our country… these storms can bring challenges, stress, and even serious consequences. Our internal storms can bring much of the same things into our lives, whether we are dealing with internal storms or weather related ones – we must go through them…  Sometimes in life our inner storms can be like a hurricane, with inner thunder rolling through us with a vengeance and unexpected lightning strikes that bring us to our knees. Then we reach the eye of the storm and get a short respite from it all, we might even think the storm has ended, then we get hit with the ravages of the back-end of the storm… things are never the same after one of those kinds of storms. We change, we make decisions, we sort out the aftermath… then we move forward.

Sarah faces both an inner and an external storm in my book New Parish, it’s the inner storm that changes her forever…

New Parish Coming Soon!!!!!

Excerpt from New Parish:

            “Sarah pulled her sandals off and got up, she started walking down the beach trying to clear her head of the emotions she was fighting, she could feel the sand beneath her feet which was a little comforting. The wind started blowing, making her scarf float behind her like a flag of surrender. Anger began cropping up first on her emotions list, for allowing herself to get tricked into that situation, embarrassment was next for what he’d tried to do, then sadness, frustration, disappointment, and back to loneliness… Her thoughts raced through questions that she didn’t want to answer, but had been plaguing her for a while, “What do I really want? What if I can’t do plural marriage? Is this my only option? Can I really do this? Am I desperate? Am I nuts?!? What if I have to live my life alone? What if I never get to be a mom?” Sarah hugged herself trying to calm down, she’d lost all sense of peace she felt as if a storm were beginning to rage inside her… she looked up to see the stars, that always comforted her, but there were no stars tonight just dark storm clouds above her. She felt tiny drops of rain lightly touching her face, she remembered she hadn’t checked the weather forecast, she’d let herself become distracted. She knew not to be out on the beach when the rain starts up. She quickened her pace as the wind increased its speed. The rain got heavier, she ran as fast as she could, the tiny drops turned into huge drops in a torrential down pour.

            Completely drenched and soaked through, she reached for the door knob to the condo. As she closed the door the thunder sounded so loud she could feel the vibration from it in her stomach. She ran to the bathroom and stepping into the bathtub quickly peeled the wet clothes from her now shaking, shivering body. She shoved her clothes to the end of the tub with her foot and turned on the hot water. It quickly heated up, the warmth of the water washed over her body and slowly stilled her shivers. She stood there in the warm water for a long time secretly wishing it could wash away the feelings that were growing inside her. She heard the thunder sound loudly again and jumped. She felt like the storm inside her was gaining strength… she turned off the water and grabbed a big fluffy towel to wrap around her. She quickly dried off and ran to the bedroom to put on her pajamas.   

            Looking out the window Sarah could see the wind blowing wildly as the rain pounded the windows and everything else outside. The storm outside was gaining strength…”

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Places That Haven’t Changed in Over a Hundred Years…

I’ve recently visited some places that haven’t changed in over a hundred years. They still look the way they did when the earliest pioneers came out west to settle the place. The raw rustic beauty was amazing, in some places you could see forever, in some places you were near walls of mesas that jutted up from the ground to the heights where eagles fly. These places reminded me of friendships I’ve had over the years, some friendships I know will go on forever, and some have elevated me to new heights… Each new friendship we make in our lives has the possibility to do that for us – be something that will last forever and or lift us to new heights.

In my book New Parish Sarah finds new friends that will last forever and lift her to new heights… It all begins with her new friend Mary who comes out to Atlanta to do her work study for the teaching program she’s in. Mary is from a community out west where they live differently, well… they live marriage a little differently. Mary tells Sarah about plural marriage in her community, New Parish, and about life out there. This leads Sarah into an investigation that will change her life forever and lift her to new heights…

New Parish Coming Soon!!!!

Excerpt from New Parish:

“Sarah looked in the full-length mirror to check herself out, everything was great except her hair, she frowned.

            Mary noticed, “You look lovely. What’s wrong?”

            “My hair,” Sarah complained grabbing a handful of her hair on each side of her head, “I’ve never really been able to tame it. I usually just pull it back into a pony tail because that’s the extent of my hair prowess, but this is an occasion I wish I had more skills with hair.”

            “I’ll do it for you,” Mary cheerily volunteered, “What sort of “do” do you want?”

            Sarah laughed, “I have no idea.”

            “Humm, okay let’s see what you like. We can try a few different styles if that’s okay?” Mary suggested.

            “It’s more than okay,” Sarah said gratefully.

            Mary smiled and held up a brush in one hand and a comb in the other, and said, “Let’s do this.”

            The next half hour was spent showing Sarah different styles of “up dos”. When one was finally selected Sarah looked at herself again in the mirror, holding another mirror so she could see the back of her hair too, “Wow, I didn’t know my hair could look that pretty.” They both laughed and quickly gathered their jackets to go.”

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The Story Continues…

As things are moving closer to New Parish getting published, my mind reflects on the fact that the story doesn’t end there… The next book Return to New Parish continues the story with Sarah’s younger sister, Hannah, you’ll meet her in the first book, New Parish. Then the third book which I’m writing now, Home to New Parish, continues the story even further with Brenda, Sarah’s oldest sister. There’s a fourth one in the planning for the fourth sister, Beth, I’m calling it, Passion in New Parish. Each sister has a very different journey that is unique to them and their situation.

In New Parish, Sarah wants to get married and have children, she’s not willing to settle for less than a good decent man to do that with, which starts her investigation into this living differently scenario, and many sitcom moments throughout her story. Her sisters journeys have very different paths, but Sarah is the trailblazer for all of them, in that she finds a way to have her happily ever after out west in the desert living a bit differently.

Just like Sarah and her sisters our stories never really stop… when one adventure ends another is waiting just around the corner to begin.

New Parish Coming Soon!!!!

Excerpt from New Parish:

“Later that night there was a knock on Sarah’s bedroom door, “Come in,” she said, but Hannah had already opened the door and was entering the room.

            “Hey,” she said tentatively.

            “Hey,” Sarah replied curiously.

            “So, tell me about this New Parish place and plural marriage,” Hannah said, as she plopped down and the end of Sarah’s bed and sat with her legs crossed like an Indian – just like she used to do when they were kids.

            “What do you want to know?” Sarah inquired with surprise.

            “You’re not the only one who’s had “dating” experiences with guys who aren’t who you want to spend your life with. If this is a good thing, I might think about considering it too,” explained Hannah.

            “Oh,” Sarah said, now in complete surprise. “Okay, well, what I’ve learned is that they have the same beliefs we were taught growing up in the church, [LDS Church], except, they still have everything that was restored and didn’t give anything up, back in the day.”

            “Okay, so how do they do it?” Hannah urged her sister on.

            “They use an old traditional matchmaking system, but no dowries, the girls have freedom to choose and get out of the marriage if it’s not working out. Brother Michael, the church leader is so funny…”

            Sarah spent over two hours explaining what she had learned to Hannah. When Hannah finally left her room, Sarah felt like she somehow understood the whole thing better. As she lay there drifting off to sleep she thought, “Maybe explaining to Hannah clarified things in my own mind.” She felt very much at peace with things, and hoped she could stay that way.”

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Monkey Wrenches

We’ve all had times in our lives, when we’re sure someone threw a monkey wrench into what we had planned, or gotten a complete surprise that we weren’t expecting. Sometimes it’s a snow storm that keeps us from doing what we intended, or an illness, or simply being in a big hurry and forgetting something we definitely need when we were out of the house. These things happen so very often in real life that of course I have to use them in my writing… I love working with monkey wrenches! In New Parish Sarah gets hit with many monkey wrenches, some are small and trivial, some are simply annoying, but some are huge and, at times, she thinks, insurmountable.

Sarah is a high-tech modern girl with a few old fashioned values, she simply wants to get married and be that soccer mom that she’s always dreamed of being. Her huge monkey wrench is that she can’t find a fella to do that with…

New Parish Coming Soon!!!!

Excerpt from New Parish:

            “Around lunch time she headed out to the children’s center. As she walked down the busy Atlanta sidewalks she looked around at the horde of people on their way to their next destination. She thought about when she’d first moved to Atlanta and how excited she’d been to be living in a big city with so much going on. She’d lost that excitement: it had turned into a tired frustration. The city hadn’t contributed to her dreams at all, her experiences there had diminished them. Her thoughts went to how much her goals and dreams had fragmented over the last few years. Her career was great, but she’d planned on being married and having at least three children by the age of twenty-seven. She sighed thinking, “I have neither a husband or children.” Her frustration on this was starting to grow beyond the normal parameters. Her thoughts turned to her job, “Right out of college, I got this great job, doing what I love, being a graphic artist for children’s books. I’ve worked hard, and now I’m the top artist in the company. I chose this career so I could be a stay at home mom. Sheesh! What’s a girl gotta do to make her dreams come true?”

            Extremely loud sirens jolted Sarah out of her thoughts, she jumped and looked to see what was happening. “Oh, it’s just the cops,” she thought and walked on. No one else seemed to notice. Sighing she thought, “Growing up in Savannah didn’t really prepare me for living in the big city of Atlanta, or the daily adventure each time I leave my apartment.”

            She continued down the sidewalk a few more blocks and entering the children’s center, went to the front desk to sign in. She quickly scanned the sign-in sheet to see if Mary was already there. She was.

            “I can’t believe I’m actually going to ask her about this plural marriage thing,” Sarah thought to herself. “Am I really that desperate?” her thoughts were interrupted by a large group of preschoolers running up to her with giggles and open arms for needed hugs. She spent the next hour playing and reading to them. This calmed her mind, it was therapy for her – her dream of having a big family with lots of children was both eased and made more difficult by the involvement with her little friends.”

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Friends…

We’ve all known them, friends, those who come into our lives for a short time, those who we’ve known our whole lives, and those who come into our lives to stay – and change our lives forever. As I’ve said before, I pull from my own experiences when I write. So, I’ve pulled from personalities and characters, bits and pieces of people I’ve either known or heard stories about to create the friends Sarah encounters in my book New Parish. To me this brings the characters to life and gives them depth, because after all, I really know them…

It all begins with Mary, who’s out in Atlanta working on her bachelor’s degree at the local children’s center, where Sarah volunteers. They become fast and true friends, which opens up a whole new world for Sarah… Mary becomes that new friend, who not only becomes one of those who come into her life and changes it forever, but introduces her to more of new friends who become her, forever best friends.

New Parish Coming Soon!!!!!

Excerpt from New Parish:

“Sarah’s mind went to something her new friend Mary had said when they were working together at the children’s center. Mary had mentioned her home, a place called New Parish in Arizona; she had explained that she was only going to be there for a while, just until she finished her degree in early childhood development with the work study program she was involved in at the children’s center.

That day, Sarah had been complaining about the poor dating prospects and her dream of being a mom floating away from her. Mary revealed to her that in the community she came from the people did plural marriages, so any girl could get a good man and not have to worry about missing out on being a mom. Her descriptions of her home made it sound like a little piece of heaven, where people lived happy lives, and found their happily ever afters.

Sarah sighed, thinking of the small rural community Mary had described, “Maybe…””

……

““Mary!” Sarah waved as she entered the room.

Mary was working with a group of three year olds on coloring pictures of shapes.

            “Hi!” was Mary’s cheery reply.

            “Do you have some time to talk today?” Sarah asked, noticing Mary’s strawberry blonde hair. She always had it done in some really pretty style, today it was rolled up behind with a pretty colorful clip in it. Sarah liked how petite Mary was, she was only about five feet tall and very slender with bright green eyes that always seemed to be ready to smile.  

            “Yes, in about ten minutes when these little guys get to go to the gym,” Mary answered.

            “Cool,” said Sarah, “I’ll wait around in the garden room.”

            “Okay, see you there,” Mary said, as Sarah waved and walked away.

            Sarah was checking messages on her phone when Mary joined her on a bench underneath a big tree. “Hi, what’s up?” asked Mary.

            “Well I don’t know if I’m really desperate, stupid, or what, but I wanted to ask you about that whole plural marriage thing that goes on where you’re from,” Sarah said with some apprehension.

            “Oh?” was all that Mary said as she sat down beside Sarah and waited for her to continue.

            “Yeah, well, how does it work?”

            “Very well, I think,” Mary said, looking quizzically at Sarah.

            “Oh come on! What do they do? What’s the process? Are they miserable? Are the women conditioned to be in these relationships, like “Stepford Wives”? Do men abuse the women? How do the women get along? Are they mean to each other?” Sarah bombed Mary with all the serious questions she could think of, and in a way, trying to talk herself out of further inquiry.”

…….

““All I can tell you is that my mothers all seem very happy, they don’t attack each other, they’re really good friends. They’re always joking around and laughing, I haven’t seen any of that attack stuff,” Mary replied, now looking at Sarah with concern.”

I can’t wait to share the whole story with everyone! Very soonish…

 

Christmas in New Parish

My mind has been reflecting on Christmases past. There have been wonderfully happy times that will linger in my memories throughout eternity. Watching my children reach a level of joy that could only be associated with Christmas morning, reading the story of the first Christmas to them, and of course all the covert and sneaky activities throughout the year to create the Christmas morning that will last forever.

As I reflect on those Christmases past, my thoughts drift over to the Christmases I’ve written about in New Parish. These Christmases are filled with family, large families, and Christmas traditions that have been observed in these families for generations. Sarah’s first Christmas in New Parish is as a guest in her friend Mary’s home, as she investigates maybe moving west herself – she finds a Christmas morning that will linger in her memory forever…

New Parish Coming Soon!!!

Excerpt of New Parish:

            “On Christmas morning Sarah and Mary were up early because Mary said Sarah, “didn’t want to miss this!” Entering the main sitting room, it looked to Sarah like a magical place of happiness. The tree was full of colored lights and was filled to the brim with ornaments that depicted children, toys, and candy, and all sorts of Christmas happiness. The tree had been there when Sarah first arrived and she’d immediately loved it. Mary had complained that she missed the decorating and explained to Sarah that the whole family gets in on the event, they put the tree up together, place the lights together, hang the ornaments together, make homemade things like popcorn and cranberry garland together and put it on together. She’d given Sarah the whole run down on Christmas at her home.

            The presents that had been added over night were covering a third of the room and there was a table with hot chocolate, marshmallows, and cool-whip. The table, with hot chocolate, made Sarah think of that “incident” she had been trying not to think of, she quickly put that out of her mind. The room looked and felt like Christmas, the best part of Christmas, you could feel it when you walked in… the kids were all filing in with excitement in their eyes and big smiles on their faces. Everyone was in their pajamas. This made Sarah think of her own childhood and the wonderful feelings she had on Christmas morning. This made her both happy and sad, as a deep longing to share this type of experience with her own children filled her heart.

            Brother Michael came in last and as the kids excitedly jumped up and down pleading with him for permission to open presents he laughed and said, “Okay, have at it.” They did just that, there was a present opening frenzy the likes of which Sarah had never seen. She watched as Brother Michael slowly walked over and put his arms around two of his wives and kissed each on the cheek. Sarah smiled thinking she might like something like this, “It could really work… maybe,” she thought.”

Oh yeah, just wait till you read what happens at Christmas time in Return to New Parish… I can’t wait to share that with you too!

Merry Christmas!