Five Fridays!

 

This blog should have been posted on the fourth Friday of the month, but I make no apologies for missing the date. There were five Fridays in August and suffice it to say I was busy on all of them, but not just on Fridays. Birthdays, funerals and doctor visits left little time for writing, but write I did, and editing too.

 A YA story which has been on and off my shelf for a decade is finally headed for publication. I have tweaked, polished and read aloud THE RED COCKADE with certainty that it is a story that needs to be told.  It should inspire young and old at a time when our nation needs to catch the fire of loyalty and the preservation of freedoms. It is as sorely needed now as it was in 1777.  Watch for more about The Red Cockade before September ends.

I believe there is no scientific way to measure the quality of a story. Some award-winning books I have read simply did not measure up to a 5* rating or even a 4, but two books I’ve read this summer definitely did qualify. They were top drawer. In fact one of them, THE ORPHAN TRAIN, by Christina Baker Kline is now chosen as one of two finalists qualifying for my Sarasota Library System’s “One Book – One Community” read of the year. You can read my own  review of it on www. Mary F. Schoenecker Writes . Other books about The Orphan Train have been written, but Kline has a hit with this one. I highly recommend it. I also rate highly HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN. It is masterfully written.

 I wish I had more time to read. If I had a dandelion I would say “I wish I May, I wish I might, Have the time to Read tonight.” Books are in my blood. Those I write and those I read. If you haven’t read my contemporary boxed set trilogy, Maine Shore Chronicles, look for it on Amazon and, soon to be, on Barnes and Noble too. A cozy mix of romance and mystery, Finding Fiona, Moonglade and Promise Keeper have each had three editions.