Dear Reader,
Today's guest author, Nev March, says she's achieved another life goal because her new book, Murder in Old Bombay has already earned a national Best First Crime Novel Award from the Mystery Writers of America, and a book deal from Macmillan Publishers. Currently Nev is writing a sequel, set in 1890s Chicago, featuring her same beloved characters--Lady Diana and Captain Jim.
An immigrant herself, Nev has an affinity for diverse individuals facing life's challenges. Her books combine the excitement of mystery and adventure novels with the emotional journey of personal adversity, building characters that readers can identify with. Nev writes book reviews and articles and periodically edits for the FEZANA Journal, a community publication.
Please take a moment and say "Hello." You can reach Nev here: nevmarchauthor@gmail.com.
Take it away Nev March...
As my husband and I took our seats in the little puddle jumper to New Orleans, I settled in, remembering my very first flight.
Only twenty four, I'd won a scholarship to study for a Master's degree in Illinois. That night, as I stepped onboard the massive Airbus 737 with plush upholstered seats and elegant grey carpet bearing Air India's distinctive red motif, emotion ran through me like a current.
I was leaving home--tears crowded my throat as soon as I clicked into my seat-belt. Cabin lights dimmed, shielding me from other passengers, giving me time to collect the scattered bits of myself that seemed to have splintered over the globe. I desperately wanted to go to America--it had been my dream for three long years. But leaving mum's tight hugs and the shelter of my papa's home was like tearing off my own skin. Do butterflies feel this when they squeeze out of their cocoon?
The flight left Mumbai, stopped in Delhi and went on to New York. There I took a connecting flight to Chicago. As my plane took off and landed, I threw up each and every time--six times in total. The first time I grabbed the crumpled plastic bag that had contained complimentary headphones. Better prepared the second time, I held an air-sickness bag at the ready. The sixth time, I was exhausted, having decided not to eat anything onboard.
After twenty seven hours in transit, when I landed at Chicago having crossed twelve time zones and eight thousand miles, I felt light-headed. No wonder the custom's officer I met repeated himself three times, then asked "D'you speak English?" I must have answered sensibly, for I was sent off with a smile and my first entry-stamp on my passport.
Almost thirty years have passed since then, and I've flown, without mishap, across the globe to Mumbai dozens of times.
"All right?" my husband asks, taking my hand.
"Just fine." Thoughts and feelings weave through me, gratitude, and loss, a montage of memories of every color; my wedding in New Jersey, which mama and papa could not attend; my toddlers careening toward my parents at the airport, arms outstretched; my parents dragging their strolly bags behind them, their weary faces lighting up in smiles.
We land softly at New Orleans. Pulling down bags from the overhead bin, my husband smiles. "It's nice, just you and me, this vacation."
He's wrong. It's never just me. I bring all my loves with me everywhere I go.
--Nev March
Email nevmarchauthor@gmail.com.
Tis' the season of giving. Every week this month I'm giving something away to readers. This week, a set of Christmas dish towels. Keep them or give them to someone as a gift. To enter, click 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 The Cancer Journals, by Audre Lorde, with a foreword by Tracy K. Smith. I have a copy to share with you, so start reading and enter today.
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