WHAT IS IN MY FUTURE

I'm talking about my writing future. It's so much fun to think about what can happen with my books. There are so many ideas in my head and sometimes it's hard to get them down.

Last time I told you a little about Susannah. Today I want to tell you a little about Callie and Jacob's daughter, Emily. You probably already know I'm concerned with prejudice. The one thing I cannot stand is someone to be prejudice toward another color of skin. We were all created in God's image, no matter what our color is. Emily is no different.

Emily's Faith puts her in Kentucky in 1834 about the time of the Trail of Tears. Emily is the youngest daughter of Callie and Jacob. She becomes a teacher and begins by teaching in a girls school in Rogersville, TN (There really was one there, built on the site of Joseph Rogers peach orchard.). Val and Susannah's son is in the army and he is on leave and walks down the street with Emily. They were friends all their life and she sees nothing wrong with it, but the school does. Remember Val is of a mixed race and Susannah is very white. Their son is a darker color than most people.

The school fathers call her in the office and fire her on the spot for being seen with a person of color. She finds a job in Hopkinsville, KY. Did you realize the Indians spent the winter in and around Hopkinsville? I didn't either until I moved to Kentucky. That's all I'm going to tell. You can let your imagination go to work. If you know anything about the Trail of Tears, you know they were treated worse than animals.

What is after Susannah? I plan to finishing a book I've been working on for a while. It is about Jekyll Island, GA. I love the book because of the history on the island. I will be looking for an agent for that book. The Melungeon Series will be published on Amazon. I started them that way, and I want to finish them with Amazon. But the Jekyll book will be looking for a publisher.

What's after that? The first book I ever wrote is a contemporary, a mystery. I want to drag it out and finish it. I felt good about it when I started it, but it has a lot of things that need corrected. That will be after Emily. It's a funny book, and a scary book. I scared myself writing it.

Writing is so much fun. A friend of mine who writes non-fiction told me yesterday he is going to write a fiction book. I'm so excited for him. I'll tell you more about it when it is finished.

SUSANNAH'S HOPE

I thought I would bring you up to date on Susannah's Hope. The writing of the book is almost finished. I'm debating on the last few chapters. Should I stop when they are married, or should I take them back to Tennessee? I can't decide.

If you read Callie's Mountain, you know Susannah was a brat. She was self-centered and toward the end she began to be a gossip. In the beginning of this book, she is still self-centered and thinks the Melungeon people are dirty, lazy, and full of disease.

Something happens and she is forced to spend time in Mary Gibson's home. As you remember, Marry is a Melungeon mid-wife and healer. Can you imagine Susannah's shock when she wakes up to find she's been in a Melungeon's bed for a couple of weeks? So interesting.

Then, we'll see more of Dr. Val Minor. Our writer's group fell in love with him. That surprised me because I didn't think I had described him enough. Tall, dark, and handsome is his description. Brown eyes you can get lost in, and a curl falls down on his forehead. Does that entice you?

As with the other book and the next one in the series, we will be focusing on prejudice. I guess this is one of my stump speeches. I hate prejudice of people of color. I was taught to steer clear of Melungeons. Then I found out they were just like the rest of us. No different. Some are good and some are bad. You will find that in all races and peoples.

Susannah has a big problem. First she hate the Melungeons and then she loves them. Interesting isn't it? So, when will Susannah be published. Hopefully in June. I have made a cover and I like it. Now to finish with the critique and get it published.

My next book? I will leave the series for a while to write a book about Jekyll Island, GA. It is set in the early 1900. A different time for me to write, and a different book.

BOSTON BOMBING AND MORE

The whole world was shocked yesterday when the bombs went off during the Boston Marathon. It blew my mind that someone would do such a thing. Children hurt and killed is about the worse there is. I pray these people are caught and punished. If they were Muslims and it was supposed to be a suicide bombing,, let them live the rest of their days in prison. That will be their punishment. If it was just some mean people, punish them in some way.

Yes, I believe in capital punishment. The Bible teaches it. Criminals should be punished and made to suffer. Today they have cushy cells, television, all the law books they can find, and treatment close to the celebrity statis. That should not be! I firmly believe in punishing them and not giving them everything they want.

Okay, I'll step down from my soap box.

Last week was a busy week for me. One of our friends from church had surgery for stomach cancer Tuesday. Instead of the four hour surgery it was supposed to be, he was in surgery for seven hours. He is improving, but it will take a while. It was a long sit in the hospital waiting room.

We had worked in the yard the week-end before, I think. Time has a way of escaping for me. The wind was blowing the pollen around, and I have had a horrible allergy/sinus attack. Something in the hospital irritated my sinuses, so that did not help. Thursday I get to do it all over again.

We will be at the hospital again sitting with another family. This time a very good friend of ours will be having surgery on her neck. She has been in horrible pain for several months. I will be so glad when this is over for her and I pray for success.

Our daughter-in-law and granddaughter are in Washington, D.C. on granddaughter's school trip. What a horrible time to be in Washington! I haven't heard from my son yet this morning, but they were headed in the direction of Washington last night. We are the shuttle for the boys ballgames and practice. Right now I'm washing soccer clothes. It's been a long, long time since we've done something like this, but it's fun.

I am trying to finish Susannah's Hope and then I will self-publish it. I'm anxious to get it finished. It seems like I take forever to finish a book. I'm also working on Golden Winter about Jekyll Island in the early 1900's. Can't wait to get them both finished.

Have a good and safe day. Please pray for all those injured yesterday, and for the families who lost loved ones.

TIM DOWNS

A couple of my friends are fans of Tim Downs books about The Bug Man, Dr. Nick Polchak. At our Writer's Retreat recently, Sandra Robbins quoted several of character points in the books. I'm not sure how many books Mr. Downs has written, but they are different ,and they gives you a good idea of great character development.

I bought the three-in-one bundle for my Kindle. I'm reading First the Dead. I have laughed so much with this character, Dr. Nick Polchak. Mr. Downs had developed a character that is at times unbelievable, and then when I think about it, I believe I know someone like him. I can picture Nick in my mind. That's good character development.

First the Dead is about Hurricane Katrina. We have all heard the stories about what went on there, and they are recorded in this book along with some fiction facts. We have a friend who bused the people from Baton Rogue to other places, as far as Fort Smith, Arkansas. He kept telling me it was horrible. I believed him, he doesn't lie, but unless you are there, you can't truly understand. This book has brought it all to life.

The next book is Less than Dead and the third is Ends of the Earth. Will I be reading more of Tim Downs' books. You bet! They are suspenseful, thrilling, and keep you glued to the page. I'm almost through with First the Dead. One place in the book, Dr. Polchak made a statement to the psychiatrist he thinks he's a bug. He can't socialize with the human world. I love it! Even his round thick glasses make him look bug-eyed.

There are so many authors with so many ways of writing, and Tim Downs has opened new doors for me. This is fresh writing, not the same old thing we've read before. It's is light reading, but also intense. I'm down in the Ninth Ward in that boat with him while he looks for bodies, which he's not supposed to do yet. I can even smell the stinking water. That is the kind of writing I like.

If you wan to try something different, read Tim Downs' books. If you have a queasy stomach, I don't recommend them. Personally, I am enjoying them.

MOUNTAIN HOMECOMING

I finished reading Sandra Robbins' newest novel, Mountain Homecoming, and I was so pleased to have read the book. It seems lately I haven't been able to finish a book. Nothing seemed to interest me, but this is one good book.

Sandra deserves 5 stars for a book filled with adventure, love, and honesty. If you read Angel of the Cove, the first in the Smoky Mountain series, you were introduced to several people mentioned in this book. You will remember Anna and Simon, Granny, and Matthew Jackson. This story takes place twenty years after the first book.

If you are from the East Tennessee area, you may have heard of the lumber companies who came into the mountains and stripped the land of their trees. The Cades Cove area is one of the most beautiful spots on earth. There were several farms in that area at the time of the book. I feel closer to God when I'm going through "the Cove."

Sandra begins the book when Little River Lumber Company was stripping the mountains of wood. People were beginning to realize the beauty of the Smoky Mountains and visiting the area. Tourism was beginning. The main characters are Rani Martin, daughter of Anna and Simon, and Matthew Jackson. Matthew had left the Cove with his mother and brother after his father was killed in book 1. He returns to the farm his father owned. Luke had been an employee of Little River. Rani loves the mountains and is upset because of the trees being cut and shipped away.

Rani and Matthew meet, and she realized her parents knew him as a boy. They are attracted to each other from the start, but he is eleven years older than she. Matthew has a lot of luggage, and he decides he cannot marry Rani. She leaves home for Maryville. Rani makes pottery the way the Indians did. It sounds beautiful. While in Maryville, she meets a potter who has a kiln and learns to make it the new-fangled way. David Brann falls in love with Rani and they plan to be married at her father's church in the Cove. Can you imagine the rest of the story? It is good.

This book is very heart catching. I cried and I don't cry often when I read a book. When I see a movie, I'll cry, but hardly every when reading a book. It is so good. I might have identified more with Anna and Luke because they had also lost a child. At Christmas, they relinquished Willie's baseball and glove to a young boy living with them. The whole Christmas scene took my heart. I guess I knew how hard it was to part with something that belonged to a child who had passed away. Anyway, I cried.

I also cried when the book ended. Maybe it was an emotional day for me. I don't know, but I loved the book. Sandra did a wonderful job writing the book. Her characters were well defined and interesting. I can't wait for the next one.