What Inspires

Many years ago the Shirley Temple doll sitting on my bed inspired me. I think I was about seven when the NY Daily News held a contest and a life size Shirley Temple doll was the prize. I won her by answering the question:" What would you do if you were Shirley Temple.?  My answer was:

            "I would teach all the other little girls how to dance and I would take good care of my health because               there will never be another Shirley Temple."

Even though I had to ask my older sisters how to spell some of the words, the simplistic, innocent, sheer answer must have convinced the judges. Shirley sat on my bed as you see her here long after I went away  to college. Did she inspire me when I was a child?  You betcha. Winning her convinced me I could  do more with pencil and paper.  I wrote little poems to my Mom on Mother's Day and her birthdays. I wrote short stories and more poems when I was in high school during WW2, but they are shelved away for my children. 

It wasn't until I  retired that I had time to attempt to write for publication. I wrote a newspaper column called Reflections. When husband, Tom and I retired  to Florida, I wrote feature articles for  a regional magazine about places of interest in our locale. You might say I was a late bloomer in the journalism world, but  I was convinced I could write when my first Historical novel was awarded a contract by Five Star/Gale Publishers in 2006. That book was Four Summers Waiting.  

It was inspired by a true ancestor.  When the rights reverted to me I published Four Summers Waiting as an eBook with a new cover, and I'm happy to say it is still selling.  I did the same with my contemporary series, Maine Shore Chronicles, combining the trilogy in a boxed set which is available on all eBook venues. 

Yes, my journey may have begun with Shirley Temple, but I hope you will agree my work  has evolved with a unique voice. Do look for the latest two novels, The Red Cockade, and Safe Harbor.