My Paternal Grandmother

A house needs a grandma in it. Louisa May Alcott

There’s no place like home except Grandma’s. Author Unknown

Everyone needs to have access both to grandparents and grandchildren in order to be a full human being. Margret Mead

The walls of divorce and maternal bias kept my house divided when growing up. Getting to see my paternal grandmother was not at the top of my mom’s list. But when dad came to town, we’d visit. Its not that mom kept me completely from seeing her, but the visits were limited. My grandmother read tea leaves, the Tarot, and held séances.

Mom didn’t approve of grandma’s pagan ways. But she kept a Holy Bible in her living room and said grace before meals, always ending each one with ‘in Jesus’s name. Amen’. For some reason, my grandmother had no defined lines when it came to spirituality. She attended a Methodist church and belonged to their Eastern Star club.

Grandma had an interesting life growing up, too. She was the oldest of eleven sisters. She also helped run the family dairy farm after her father died when her youngest sister had just turned one. Grandma and her family survived The Great Depression without a him.

My time with grandma was spent on the Venice beach picking up sharks’ teeth or building sandcastles. At her home, we’d crochet book worms or do needle point designs.

She made the best dinners. My most favorite one was apricot glazed chicken, peas and mushrooms with parsley potatoes, followed by a cheesecake topped with a glazed cherries.

She also kept spiral notebooks full of her family stories that she wrote. Some are in longhand.

Grandma loved birds. Especially cardinals. Bird feeders and baths filled her back yard. Every bird imaginable would visit. Even humming birds.

I cherished every moment I had with her.

When I finally left my mother’s house for good at eighteen, I made an every Friday date with her. We’d go to breakfast and do some window shopping after. However, those Fridays were short lived. She came down with a UTI and became dehydrated. She passed right before Christmas in 1984.

In Secondhand Shoes, Lila’s Gram, is a lot like my grandmother. She comes many times in the form of a cardinal to her granddaughter’s aid. I often wonder if my grandmother doesn’t do the same, guiding and directing my way. ***shrugs*** One never knows. Although, my dad seems to think so.

So guys, when you put your stories together do you weave in your favorite people from your life?

Hugs and chocolate,

Shelly

***

SAVE THE DATE: February 19, 20, and 21st. I’ll be having a Spread the News and Cheer on the Run Away Bride Giveaway. I’ll be drawing 2 winners for a 15 dollar Amazon card and 2 winners for autographed copies of Secondhand Shoes. Stay tuned for more details and who will be helping.

The Open Vein: I'm Going On Tour! Who's Coming With Me?

The Open Vein: I'm Going On Tour! Who's Coming With Me?

EJ Wesley is having a blog tour. Everyone needs to check this out.

Hugs and chocolate,
Shelly

Amlokiblogs: There is No such thing as a Moral or an Immoral book

Amlokiblogs: There is No such thing as a Moral or an Immoral book


I thought this quote was excellent and wanted to share.

Hugs and chocolate,
Shelly

Yvonne Says: At the End of Winter: This Weeks Poem

Yvonne Says: At the End of Winter: This Weeks Poem

I’m a Guest Today

I want to thank The Writing Nut today and ask you all to go visit. Especially if you’re nosey about how other writers may live. I am. I love her Wednesday posts on other writers’ workspaces.

Hugs and chocolate,

Shelly

Going to take a nap now.

klahanie: Britain's Next Paw Minister.

klahanie: Britain's Next Paw Minister.

Wavy Lines: Monday Quote Day!

Wavy Lines: Monday Quote Day!

Someone Always has to Piss in Someone Else’s Bowl of Cheerio’s

Well, Secondhand Shoes is not only a paper back but an ebook for Kindle now, on Amazon. The blog party will happen. Probably in February. I’ve got to put together some things first. Work gets in the way, you know.

My friend, Marcella and mwa at my silent book signing in Starbuck’s.

A lot of people in New Port Richey have been very supportive of me. I’ve sold thirty books and have given away two. So far, I have gotten rave responses.

“You are going to write a sequel, aren’t you?”

“Lila’s mom was sooo mean.”

“Your descriptions were awesome. I could feel everything your characters were feeling.”

AND THEN THERE WAS THE PISS-IN-MY-CHEERIO-BOWL-COMMENT:

“I haven’t had a chance to read your book. But my husband has. And he says the car in your book never existed back then.”

I said, “Really?” I didn’t feel the need to stick around and argue. Besides, she didn’t say which car and well…like I said, I didn’t bother to ask. It all struck me strange.

So as I got into my car, I got to thinking about all the cars I mentioned in the book. Because I know I lived in 1984. I was nineteen and married to a mechanic who owned a 1975 Impala.  The pic below is from the internet, of course. The one we had was burgundy colored with a black vinyl roof.

Anyway, the man was a genius when it came to cars. Not to mention, he loved them. He’d spend hours polishing and tinkering with them. He even built race cars from scratch for Tom Stiemenz.

The Impala we had, he reconstructed the engine for drag racing. It was truly an awesome car.

I also mentioned a Town and Country station wagon. My mom owned one and terrorized the streets in it. A real lead foot looney.

When I was a teenager, my first car was a 1971 T 37 Leman’s Pontiac. I bought it from an older couple for seven hundred fifty eight dollars. It had thirty thousand miles on it, in 1983.

My grandmother drove a chevette.

My brother drove a 1979 Trans Am. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a pic for that one.

And almost every redneck boy in Manatee County drove either a Ford or Chevy monster truck.

Guess you all now know where I got my cars from. I thought I was writing about what I knew. ***shrugs*** It’s all good though. We can’t please everyone.

At least her husband read the book, right? Another writer friend reminded me of this.

***

Before I end this, my good friend, author Lorelei Bell would like to give you all a peek of her new book cover to her third book in the Sabrina Strong Series.

Hugs and chocolate,

Shelly

My First Book Review on Secondhand Shoes

 

William Kendall, at Speak of the Devil, has posted a review. It brought tears to my eyes. Go here to read

Having the novel out there, even in paperback, is surreal. Personally, I’ve sold almost every book I’ve bought at cost. I started out with thirty-two and now have ten left. My marketing plan is to plant seeds without shoving it down peoples’ throats. So I’ll be doing some fundraisers within the next couple of months. Next month, I’ll be hosting a book party at Sweetman’s little eyewear shop. And once I know when for sure it will be up for the Kindle, I’ll be having a blog party and giving away free ebooks.

Let me know if any of you are interested in helping out. Just say so in the comment box. Hoping to have a date soon.

Hugs and chocolate,

Shelly

Love Me Some Bruce Lee and Nunchuck Scenes

What a funny way to make a comeback to my blog. I know, right. But I love me some Bruce Lee. Loved the strange noises he made and his fighter moves. Especially the ones with his nunchucks.

I can remember my friends and I piling into a tiny Honda just to go watch him all night at the local drive-in. Three bucks for a car full to watch God-knows how many movies starring that hottie.

Anyway, I make a mention about him in my novel, Secondhand Shoes, too.

For some reason, he inspired a scene with nunchucks in the book.

And my novel is out on Amazon now, in paperback only. It should be available on Kindle by the end of the month. I plan on having a blog party then.

Click here to check it out and like

Anybody else out there crush on Bruce Lee?

Hugs and chocolate,

Shelly