Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily column at: DearReader.com
AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader
Dear Reader,
Today's guest author, Cindy Kelley, writes a column you won't want to miss.
Cindy began her career as a screenwriter. Her first produced screenplay, The Velveteen Rabbit, inspired by the children's classic of the same name, and directed by Michael Landon, Jr., had a theatrical release. Following that, she began a writing partnership with Landon. Together, they have written several of the popular 'Love Comes Softly' movies that are favorites on the Hallmark Channel.
Her novels, also co-written with Landon, include The Silent Gift, Traces of Mercy and their latest release, Finding Mercy. Cindy's been married to her high school sweetheart, Jim, for thirty-seven years. They make their home in southern Arizona, have three children, three grandchildren and four, very spoiled dogs.
Email Cindy at: cakelley.az@gmail.com She would love to hear from you, and she's giving away 10 copies of her book, Finding Mercy, cowritten by Michael Landon Jr.
Welcome to the book clubs Cindy Kelley...
Almost everyday for the past four months, I've driven seven miles and entered an alternate universe. I should qualify that--it once seemed like an alternate universe, but now, the Assisted Living Facility (ALF) where I visit my mom has become comfortable to me--familiar. With almost the complete loss of mobility and confined to a wheelchair, my mom decided to leave her home in Colorado and move to Arizona to be near my family. She handled the change with grace, humor and thankfulness to be someplace where help is just steps away.
I'll admit my first few visits to the ALF made me a little sad and worried for her. Hallways are populated with people using walkers, wheelchairs and scooter chairs. Sometimes there are blank smiles when I greet faces I see all the time. Often, there's no smile or expression when I say hello. I've learned that doesn't mean they don't hear me or appreciate the greeting. One morning, an elderly man who'd never responded to my 'hello,' grinned as we approached each other from opposite directions. "Well, hello sunshine! Good to see you today." I grinned back. He'd been hearing and seeing me all along.
It was a Med-Tech who made me aware of the backgrounds of the people who call the ALF home. "We have World War Two vets, college professors, lawyers, doctors, nurses--a burlesque dancer." He smiled. "There's so much living history here. Stories, adventures; lives lived with extraordinary bravery." He was right of course. I'd often thought that myself. One resident in particular fascinated me. Though I'd never seen her face, every time I passed her apartment, I'd hear the strains of music floating into the hall. It was music from the 1930's. Ginger Rogers singing 'Embraceable You,' Ruth Ettings crooning 'Ten Cents a Dance.' Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway. One afternoon, a caregiver gave a concert in the social room. My mom and I went and listened to his beautiful voice fill the room with songs his audience knew and loved. There were people with faraway looks, half smiles, heads tilted as they relived special memories music evokes. One resident sat in her wheelchair and beamed. She raised arthritic arms toward heaven, nodded to the music--even conducted a few bars of special tunes. I watched a caregiver wheel her back to her apartment. Now I knew the face behind the music in the halls. Maybe someday I'll ask about her story. Hers is just one of a hundred stories in the place I've come to think of as my mom's home. So much value and living history under one roof is priceless.
--Cindy Kelley
Enter the drawing for one of 10 copies of Finding Mercy. Email Cindy at: cakelley.az@gmail.com and be sure to include your mailing address in case you are a winner.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
AUTHORBUZZ: THE FLIP (Horror) by Michael Phillip Cash
Just in time for a chilling Halloween read. Julie and Brad Evans are house flippers. They buy low, clean out the old occupant's junk, and try to make a profit. Enter Hemmings House on Bedlam Street in scenic Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island. Too good a deal to pass up, but with an ominous secret. The old Victorian Mansion has dwellers that do not want to be dispossessed. As the house reveals it's past, will the couple's marriage survive?
Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on THE FLIP to read more and to email author Michael Phillip Cash, you'll get a reply.
Comments