Works in Progress

While I was in Wyoming summer 2009 promoting Frontier Madam, I gratefully picked up several boxes of family letters which dated back to 1700s, 1800s and 1900s which my sisters, Phyllis and Mary Jean, were holding. Over the next couple of years I ‘transcribed’ them onto the computer and printed out the more than 1100 pages.

As I read them, I shared the contents with my daughter, Peggy, who finally said, Mom, you need to write up your ‘aha’ moments as your next book. Many people had said to me how fortunate we were to have such a treasure as these old letters, and I could see how we were learning so much of our family history from them.

The working title has become ‘Nuggets from a Family Gold Mine’ and I have drafted about half a dozen chapters for it so far, delineating why Great Uncle Ed was the “family black sheep”, and noting other family events. As I transcribed the letters, personal memories and family stories drifted to the surface of my mind to be woven in with the history.

At this point I have no idea how much more will arise, but I would not be surprised as I reread the letters if an entire book emerges.

In the meantime, the Writers’ Group of the Triad has produced two anthologies that some of my work is included in. An excerpt from the ‘Nuggets’ about an old homestead building that sat in the ranch orchard is included in a memoir collection, You Must Remember This.

The Children’s Writers from WGOT, produced a collection of verse and stories for ages 5 through 12, entitled Doorway to Adventure, that includes two of my cat stories.

The short historical fiction stories have been laid aside for now – leaving way for the chapters of the Nuggets book. I find it hard to write on more than one book at a time.