* LONG AGO FATHER'S DAYS *

Those who have been frequent visitors to my blog and/or have read my memoir, know that I didn't have much of a relationship with my dad after my parents divorced when I was a young girl. I adored him during the years he and my mother were married, and devastated by his absence afterwards. He lived in other states, remarried, and was so self-absorbed, he just wasn't a dad anymore to my brother and me.

Although my mother bad-mouthed him every chance she got, I remember her saying us kids should send him Father's Day cards every year. I'm sure she hoped he would feel ashamed and guilty when reading our cards, although I don't know if that ever worked or not.

Those first couple of years, I'd search through the Father's Day cards, and choose an age-appropriate one, as in "To Daddy." But, it didn't take very long before I knew in my heart that I just couldn't send him a card that said what a wonderful father he was. Every now and then, I'd find a card that just said very plainly, "Happy Father's Day," and that one I allowed myself to purchase. The older I got, though, reading the loving sentiments inside the cards just made me think What a joke, and I stopped buying any.

My on-again, off-again tradition of mailing Father's Day cards to him continued all through my adulthood, and until his death in 2002. I never gave up my wish to have that loving, dependable father that eluded me all those years.

I hope everyone who had, or still has, a wonderful father, knows how fortunate they are! Be sure and tell them you love them.

 

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Welcome to my newest followers Antonia Slate, and Grandma Yellow Hair @ Just Between Me and You.  I hope you'll stop by often and always enjoy what you read and see! Thank you!

 

 

Special Wednesday The Next Big Thing

I've been tagged by Margo Dill in a blog game called THE NEXT BIG THING! (Writer bloggers answer questions around the web about the next big thing in publishing....because aren't we all writing that hugely popular, next best seller?!

Here are the rules per author Ey Wade’s blog:

“If you like the game of Tag, this is the game for you. If you’re tagged, you’re “it,” and you have to answer 10 questions about your WIP (work in progress) on your blog and then pass the baton on to 5 author volunteers who will answer the same questions the following Wednesday on their own blog.”   *After searching through all the blogs I follow, I'm not really sure who I could pass this on to. I have plenty of writer/blogger friends, but not many who have a WIP, that I know of. *

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Here are my 10 answers!

What is the working title of your book?

From Pigtails to Chin Hairs; A Memoir & More 

Where did the idea come from for the book?

After I'd been writing newspaper opinion columns and had a few stories published in anthologies including Chicken Soup for the Soul, the idea of a memoir came to me. I felt really motivated to write about various times in my life and I believed others would enjoy reading about them, too. 

What genre does your book fall under?

Memoir.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

This is a great question. I was asked once who I thought should portray me in a movie and my answer was Janeane Garofalo. I love her sarcastic sense of humor and I'm a lot like that at times. As far as the child or teenager version of me, I can't think of anyone. I'll have my people get back to your people!

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

From Pigtails to Chin Hairs; A Memoir & More contains snippets of my life, vignettes that tell the tales of an ideal childhood, shattered by my parents' divorce; plus teenage angst, unrequited loves, grown-up years, and humor when you'd least expect it. 

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

It is being published by a small press in Missouri, High Hill Press. 

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Uh...how about 10 years and counting?? I'm trying to get it completed asap!

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I really don't like to compare my writing to anyone else's. I'm still a beginner and wouldn't feel right saying, "Oh, my writing is similar to - - - - -."

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

My estranged dad and reconnecting with him again after MANY years. 

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I grew up in the 50s and 60s. My life was right out of "Father Knows Best" until Dad divorced Mom. It's real. It's funny. It's poignant. It's sad. And it's not just about my growing up years. There are also chapters from later on in my life. Thus the "& More" part of the subtitle. 

** Thank you, Margo, for tagging me! **

*Welcome to my newest follower, Mevely317. I hope you'll stop by often and always enjoy what you read and see! Thank you! *   

  

"There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in." -- Graham Greene