Dear Reader,
Little Lovely Things, is the debut novel by today's guest author Maureen Joyce Connolly--and she has five copies to give away to readers. Enter the giveaway for a copy Little Lovely Things, email maureenjconnollyauthor@gmail.com
Maureen is a former owner of a consulting firm that helped specialty drug companies to develop medications for ultra-rare diseases. Her background in science and love of the natural world informs and inspires her writing. Little Lovely Things is her debut as a novelist. She is also an award-winning poet, published in diverse outlets such as Emory University's Lullwater Review and Yankee Magazine.
Maureen is a foodie and appreciates interesting recipes. She also enjoys painting (especially flowers and sycamore trees), competing in races with her dragon boat team (Go Fierce)!, and reading (of course). She relishes spending time with her three children, her husband and her pets; a ridiculous terrier named Huckleberry, and a plump orange cat, Pumpkin.
Welcome Maureen, say hello and enter her book giveaway. Email: maureenjconnollyauthor@gmail.com
Foray to HoJo's
My mother was probably the most imaginative and least earth-bound person I have ever known. She remains my absolute inspiration.
I can cite many instances that encapsulate her unique world view, which was a mixture of uncompromising certitude combined with obliviousness. One of my favorites is an incident that occurred in the early 1970's, when we were off to our cabin for the weekend and stopped for lunch at Howard Johnson's along the way.
My mother allowed my sister and I to each bring a friend. So within our fire engine red station wagon came two girls from the neighborhood and Kitty Kartz, our tuxedo cat with a personality that ranged from nasty to downright malicious. Not long after we hit the road, a familiar, we're hungry, chorus arose from us kids. Within minutes the iconic orange and turquoise building appeared on the horizon. We stopped, unloaded ourselves, and single-filed it into Ho-Jo's past my mom holding the open door. I entered last with Kartz fully visible in my arms. We casually grabbed stools at the lunch counter, me at the end, with a clearly irritated cat squirming on my lap.
The kid behind the counter sized up the situation up before speaking in the universally flat tone of adolescents.
"Lady. I can't serve you. You have a cat."
Uh oh. All eyes went to our mother just as Kartz figured it was time to unleash his claws into the flesh of my thighs. I squeezed him tighter. My mom demanded to see the manager.
A red-faced blonde man with a paper cap tilted to one side of his head, appeared. I noticed he was sweating. Kartz began to flick his tail and growl.
"You can't have a cat in here lady." His tone was incredulous. "You need to leave."
My mother sat tall as if stymied by some great cosmic injustice and stared at that manager in disbelief.
He grimaced and shook his head.
Appalled at his intractability, my mother announced in her best queen-of-England accent, "In that case, we shall all leave."
Kartz by now had sunk his incisors into my forearm. I bit the inside of my mouth to keep from yowling in pain. My mother lined us up and lead us out, with me in the rear, struggling cat now crushed to my chest.
Once we piled back into our station wagon, she gunned it over to the Dog-N-Suds drive-in, where we were served curbside after ordering hot dogs (one for Kartz) and root beer through a speaker attached our car.
-- Maureen Joyce Connolly
Enter the giveaway for a copy of Maureen's new book, Little Lovely Things, email maureenjconnollyauthor@gmail.com
* You could be featured as a guest writer in my column if your entry in this year's Write a DearReader Contest is chosen as a winner or receives honorable mention. Cash prizes, rules and deadlines, along with last year's winning entries, read all about them here.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
This month's Penguin Classics book is PENGUIN BOOK OF MIGRATION IN LITERATURE: DEPARTURES, ARRIVALS, GENERATIONS, RETURNS, edited by Dohra Ahmad. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading today and enter for your chance to win.
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