An excerpt from This World So Fierce

  

Yesterday, I told you my exciting news about my book to be published and on shelves soon. I also promised a short excerpt from the book. This is the point in which the protagonist, Mike, meets his new foster family and begins to question where he fits in. 

“He’s eight. I’m nine. He’s in fourth, I’m in second. His teacher, Mrs. Sheryl, says he’s smart enough to know when to be quiet” answered Willie, who answered for Frankie from habit.

“Are you?” asked Mike.

“Ha, nope,” laughed Max and Willie simultaneously.

“Supper’s ready,” called Molly from the door.

“Let’s eat. Fish gravy and French fries,” yelled Willie as he raced back into the small blue and white frame house.

Inside, the rest of the family waited to begin serving plates. Molly quickly placed a large, black-iron pot of catfish sauce piquante in the center of an oak table built of wide rough-hewn planks sanded smooth and waxed to a rich honey-color; she surrounded the pot with bowls of white rice and sliced cucumbers and a platter of fries. Chairs and two benches lined the sides of the table, giving the setting a homey, picnic-like feel. Photos of the children hung on the wall just above the table, which was pushed in toward the wall when not in use. Mixed in with the photos were drawings from some of the kids, crosses, and a plaque with the phrase, “The world so fierce cannot harm family.” Quickly the children found their places and sat down. As the noise settled, Molly invited Mike to sit on one end of the bench closer to the wall and asked Max to say a blessing. Then the chatter picked up again as introductions were made and each child told Mike a little about himself and shared something about his day with the rest of the family. Nikki spoke apprehensively, twisting her fingers on her lap as she spoke to the young man. For some reason—perhaps it was the dark eyes that seemed to stare through her—he frightened her.

Mike told them about himself, but Bud had already filled them in when the family discussed his coming. As he spoke, Mike thought of his real story, not the watered-down version that he had practiced for the last couple of days. His parents were just in the tenth grade when he was born and, at first, he was to live with Meme until they could graduate and get on their feet. They never managed either, quitting school as soon as they were old enough to do so.  Drugs and alcohol were a constant in their lives. They could not hold down jobs, and the split came as no surprise to anyone but Mike. Though Josie had come to get him several times, those times did not last more than a few weeks or months. Her using and her boyfriends always seemed to be more important. Finally—and it ended this way every time—she gave up, chose her life and brought him back to Meme. Back and forth this way, never attending school when he was with Josie, never knowing when or what he would eat, never truly safe, he became a shell of a boy. Then, just as easily and without reason, Josie returned to Meme’s small house for a visit. Always she left a few days later without telling either Meme or Mike goodbye or where she was headed.

He and Meme had not heard from Josie in years, and he assumed she was never coming back. Meme had died two years ago. He was in LTI when she died and that was it. He ended the introduction by noting that now he had only a month to answer to the State. He’d be 18 and on his own. He planned to make his own life.

At this last bit of information Bud and Molly looked at each other. Keeping him in school until graduation would be difficult. The state would allow him to remain in their home beyond his birthday, provided he stayed in school and worked toward his diploma. Their goal was to do exactly that—keep him in school even though it meant he may have another year to go. They knew, however, that earning his diploma would mean a lifetime of difference in his ability to find work and earn a decent wage.

Bud prompted the kids sitting around the table, “The world so fierce…”

“Cannot harm family,” they responded in unison.

“It sounds kinda corny, but we say it for each other, Mike. It’s just a line from a poem. It means we make our own family,” Shane explained.

“Yeah. We pick our destin,” Max added.

“Destiny. But that’s only one word. We choose each other and we choose to find joy in each other. It’s kinda hard to put into words, but you’ll see. We’re brothers and sisters. Just like in other families, cause that’s what we choose,” Trish summed up.

“It’s our way of knowing that we have each other. When other people look at us like we’re weirdos…”

“Or call us “the Orphans,” Trish chimed in.

“Yeah, or whatever else they want to say. It doesn’t matter because at the end of the day, we’re all sitting here just like a normal family and we know we can count on each other.” Shane summed up.

“Yeah, and we don’t hurt each other, right, Bud-wiser?” Willie had taken to calling Bud numerous silly nicknames. It had become something of challenge to create new names, but this was his favorite so far.

A Confession, a Secret, and Good News

If you're wondering how that title makes sense, remember it's one of mine. That said, there are both a confession and good news. The confession first: I have been keeping a secret. For years now. But the secret is out, so I've decided to make it official here as well. Ta Da!

I've written a book and it's going to be published! Yes, that's what I said. A book. By me. Published soon. I know this last bit of news because I APPROVED the cover and the text. Today. Just a minute ago I was working on a client quilt. Finished, I removed it from the frame and trimmed it up. Even cut the binding.

Then my phone dinged. Usually I ignore dings, but I didn't. I had an email saying I had proofs to deal with. Now, if you had book proofs dinging away and a quilt needing a binding, which would you choose to do first? That binding? No way! You'd want to see your dinging book. It is calling after all. So off I went.

Here's the biggest issue I've had with the book: publishing. Writing is easy peasy. Not that publishing is difficult. No, it's clicking the buttons that's difficult. First a button agreeing to terms. Then a payment button--scary. Heavens, it got worse--the next button was to upload the book. To say (to myself) "it's ready to go. There's nothing left to add or detract, to modify or correct or edit or change, or, or, or...."

Yes, that button was a tough one. But at least that button wasn't the final button. No, the final button is the one that says, "okay, I've found ALL the mistakes, I've corrected all those errors. Anything I find now, I'll have to live with. Forever. Live with. Forever." 

Oh wow! The fretting and hemming and hawing and sleeping on it and not sleeping. Night after night of not sleeping. Richard offered to press the button for me. But I put on the big girl step-ins and clicked. Finally. I may have cried just a little tiny bit but I don't think so.

There, the corrections are in. People made those edits, rather quickly, actually. It took less time than clicking the button that sent the corrections. How is it no one else seems to be struggling with these clicks? At any rate, the phone dinged. (We're back to the beginning here.) I opened the files, looked at the revisions I had asked for and... clicked. CLICK. Done. I didn't give myself time to think. 

I may regret that. Well, too bad. It's clicked. The deed done. The stress over. Now I just have to wait for the first books to arrive at my door and hit the shelves. 

In my excitement, I've written enough for several posts. So come back tomorrow and read a short excerpt from the book, This World So Fierce by Mary Bourque Marcotte. (That's me!)

Pin It Weekly #295 -- A Review of Doctor Zhivago

First, Doctor Zhivago is dead! Oh, spoiler alert. He really does die, finally. It's a great book. No, better than great--worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize in literature--but long and difficult. And I'm a good reader. Honestly I'm not bragging, I just am, having read well over 100 books (here's a list of the ones I remember). 

Despite being a good reader, I needed two full weeks to read the book of only 560 pages. Yes, I worked on it, but I did just as much reading looking up Russian terms, history, maps. All of it because I can't stand to read and not follow the story. A word I may figure out using context clues? Oh heck no! Even when I'm certain I've figured it out, I have to make sure. I'm a perfectionist reader. 

While these photos may not be specifically of places and people mentioned in the novel, they certainly do match the vision in my mind as I read. The beautiful steppes, the snow, the rivers, the architecture. All of it is described in minute detail.

"Here is Tonia walking through a field in a blizzard with Sasha in her arms. She keeps wrapping him up in a blanket, her feet sinking into the deep snow. She can barely drag along, using all her strength, but the blizzard knocks her down, she stumbles and falls and gets up, too weak to stand on her feet, the wind buffeting her and the snow covering her up. Oh, but he is forgetting. She has two children with her, and she nurses the little one. Both her hands are busy, like the fugitives at Chilimka who broke down and went mad with grief and strain" (373).

If Pasternak built a vision in my mind of snow, it would be these photos. I tend to read whole sections, looking up terms as I go and researching photos of the scenes when I get to the end of a section or chapter. I prefer to build my own images then sort of fact-check after. 

"It was bitter cold. The streets were covered with a thick, black, glassy layer of ice, like the bottom of beer bottles. It hurt her to breathe. The air was dense with gray sleet and it tickled and pricked her face like the gray frozen bristles of her fur cape. Her heart thumping, she walked through the deserted streets past the steaming doors of cheap teashops and restaurants. Faces as red as sausages and horses' and dogs' heads with beards of icicles emerged from the mist. A thick crust of ice and snow covered the windows, and the colored reflections of lighted Christmas trees and the shadows of merrymakers moved across their chalk-white opaque surfaces as on magic lantern screens; it was as though shows were being given for the benefit of pedestrians" (78). 

One of the rabbit holes I kept falling into is the history hole. Knowing practically nothing about Russia means know nothing about its history. But the history is what explains the motives and backgrounds of Pasternak's characters. 

For example, I ran across the term bezpriornia, abandoned or orphaned children especially from the the World Wars, revolution or civil wars. I have spent well over an hour reading about homeless children in Russia, beginning with the turn of the 20th century and continuing to 2012, the most recent information available.

And so, even though I've finished reading the book, I'm still reading it. I'm reliving the story and fretting for the world. I remember the characters and despair over inhumane treatment. I see the beauty of place and imagine blood running through war, revolution, and government executions. But I would read it all again.


That's the problem with being a perfectionist reader. I can't let go of the people, the places, the events just because I've closed the cover. 

Baton Rouge MQG June meeting

Lori's quilt

As I've mentioned in the past, the first Monday of the month is a wild quilt ride. Literally so at one point because I drive to Baton Rouge for the Modern Quilt Guild meeting which begins at 6 p.m. and lasts at least two hours. 

Marquita's quillt

So last Monday (it's really been a whole week?) I found myself on the I-10 bridge trying to get into Baton Rouge at 5 p.m. Okay so maybe the "wild" part does not happen while sitting on the bridge. 

Still, it's pretty crazy to be fighting traffic to go into the city at that time of day, right?

Actually a small quilt

Another small quilt by the same maker

I became so enthralled with some of the goings-on that I forgot to take pictures. Nevertheless, I captured quite a few of the show and share quilts. 

Mom of a mom

and daughter team.

Now I still haven't learned all the names, I missed the last two meetings, and Monday we had four guests from Lafayette, so my muddled brain was really fighting to keep up. 

Interesting side note: a couple of months ago we had a drawing for some quilt blocks. To have a chance at winning, we had to put a block in the pot. (I made a block but missed the meeting.) 

Belinda and her tied quilt

Glen, I am thrilled that I was at this meeting, and
 got to see your quilt, because I love this quilt!

Glen, who blogs at Quilts and Dogs, really wanted to win those blocks, but Luck was not her friend. So she turned things around and made some blocks for herself. That's her quilt on the right above. Glen,  What a brilliant idea to make the pieces larger but still maintain the shapes and overall look of the quilt.

And that about covers it. I thoroughly enjoyed the meeting. Don't you agree that it's worth fighting the I-10 bridge? 

Pin It Weekly #279

Happy Weekly! I'm running a bit late this week. I've been busy writing and mailing these invitations to vendors for our guild show. Don't you love computers at times like this?

I haven't  been pinning so much as looking at things. I decided to play with the Silhouette a little and needed some inspiration. Here are a few things that I found which I like.

I really like the ones like this that look like a dictionary entry. Of course, I have handled a few dictionaries, so it should be no surprise.

And I especially love the Bible quotes. I am thinking that I'll practice with a few and then make some for the girls each with their favorite Bible quote. It's to be sneaky and get that info without their knowing that may be the problem.

I say I haven't been pinning much, but I still pinned a few quilts. I guess I can't help myself. I ran across several bookcase quilts. 

Happy pinning, everyone!

The Forest: a novel by Edward Rutherfurd {book review}

It's Monday morning and I am finally realizing that I have not posted Pin It Weekly and Sunday Quilt Inspiration! I'd say that is because I just didn't have enough time, thank you doctor's appointments. 

Richard had two tests and an appointment; I had two appointments, and the dreaded look-inside-the-entire-human-digestive-system scopes. Luckily I've blocked out (or drugged out) every possible moment of our time with doctors. 

On the happy side, all of the waiting room sitting meant I got to read! I'm almost in the middle of Edward Rutherfurd's The Forest.

Here's a blurb on Rutherfurd's book:  " AS ENTERTAINING AS "SARUM" AND RUTHERFURD' S OTHER SWEEPING NOVEL OF BRITISH HISTORY, "LONDON,"" "- The Boston Globe"""" Engaging . . . A sprawling tome that combines fact with fiction and covers 900 years in the history of New Forest, a 100,000-acre woodland in southern England . . . Rutherfurd sketches the histories of six fictional families, ranging from aristocrats to peasants, who have lived in the forest for generations. . . . But the real success is in how Rutherfurd paints his picture of the wooded enclave with images of treachery and violence, as well as magic and beauty." "- The New York Post""

I think, however, that the best acclaim I can give is that his works are on my reading list, and I rarely deviate from classic fiction. Thus far I've read Russka, London, and Sarum which means I have four more works Paris, New York, Rebels of Ireland, and Princes of Ireland. I love his on-going historical sagas. 


It's rather like living through centuries of time and, even better, I am a character in each account. So as I read about a family during a particular time of New Forest, I am the main character. The chapter closes; we time-travel 100 or so years, and in just paragraphs I become a new character in a new time. The setting is still New Forest, but perhaps the location has moved to a different area of the Forest. 

Rutherfurd continues to use the details of place, however. So by looking at the map provided in the front of the book, I am able to keep my bearings and follow the overall story. Rutherford's motif of describing a character trait in a particular family and continuing to use it through the generations of that family is my favorite thematic structure. This trick is especially useful in remembering the family and its connections to other characters. 


Rutherfurd is my favorite current writer. I have no doubt that his works, with their historical accounts, elevated writing style, and interesting characters, will become part of the classic writing canon. Do pick one up and give yourself an opportunity to enjoy historical fiction that is as much history as fiction. 

These book pins can be found on my board, "bookworm, books."

A Quick Recap of 2017

While reading some of my favorite blogs, I naturally stopped over at Kaja's Sew Slowly and Ann's Fret Not Yourself where I was reminded that it's time for AHIQ. I shared a post to Kaja and Ann's linky party since the last two things I created are both improv pieces. 

Kaja posted a recap of her quilting for the year, and I thought it such a good idea that I decided to do something like it. 2017 must have been my year of small things. I made ten quilts total: almost all are small. The few larger ones are AmandaJean's QAL and a couple of tee shirt quilts for customers. 

It almost seems that I did more sewing than quilting. I made shorts for Rory's girls, a dress for myself, some quilted buckets, purses and bags, lots of quilted pillow covers, and several pieces of quilted art. I seem to be moving into the realm of art quilting with absolute abandon: I'm making what I like. I have now five pieces that are complete. Today I started a new one. This one will be painted like the cotton pieces. In fact, I may go back to cotton one more time. It's so much fun painting something close to my heart. 


But I also want to capture some of the sights we saw on our travels. Nebraska haunts me. Reading Willa Cather like a madwoman this year probably adds to that sense of wonder.
The Professor's House is my fifth book by Cather, though I didn't read them all this year! 

Interestingly we've visited all of the states that provide settings for her books, so I have seen the corn and rye and wheat swaying in the plains' winds. 

I have to do something with the haunting images of Cather's books and my experiences. I have yet to figure it out, but it must be done. 

What awaiting plans haunt you in the sense that you can't let them go? Does your heart ache to think of them? How close are you to seeing them through? 

Personal Library / Readers' Circle Post 13 :: Write 31 Days

Writing about your personal library may seem difficult, but there's are reasons for the books you've chosen to bring into your life. That's how I think of my library--as part of my life. Very likely that's because I read daily. Yes, daily. Even if I'm busy. Or there are things going that overwhelm me. There's going to be some reading in the chaos.

Now when I say library, I mean literally (in my case) a library of books--mostly hard back. I don't do the e-book thing yet. I don't need to since I have the real thing everywhere. But that's me. I've been rather lucky in the book business. If you do read on your phone or tablet or computer, then I mean that in your case. Most importantly, let's just agree library, books, reading all mean your mode.

To approach a post like this, you should take a few minutes to determine what kind of reading you do and why. For example, I read mostly classics because I'm trying to work my way through those I haven't gotten to, they are challenging and, in some cases, something has intrigued me: another work by the author, a review, a movie, or possibly a recommendation from a friend. 

Maybe think about what you don't like to determine what you do read. I don't like horror, though I've read Frankenstein and may one day read Dracula. Beyond that I like historical fiction and any classic, having stood the test of time, has to be historical. Give me girls in heavy dresses, men in uncomfortable suits and formality. I'll show you works without the laid-back, foul-language, flaunt-all-you've-got life of today.

But back to thinking about your library. Try to define it, to put a name to the types of books on your shelves. The classics, suspense, horror, romance, cultural, historical, young adult, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and paranormal are just a few of the genres. 

Perhaps you enjoy a variety of genres or can combine two of the genres listed. Regardless, put a name to your collection. Once you do that, it should be easy to figure out why you like these kinds of books. Add this to your notes. 

I have three different collections of books--classic and contemporary novels, nonfiction (which include books from teaching), and quilting books. All three can be subcategorized. For example, my nonfiction can be subdivided into teaching writing, poetry, short stories, fine arts, drama and the non-fiction that I taught during the Common Core years. It's easy to see that I like learning about the subjects I taught for 28 years. Many were added during the time that I taught a particular class, either at the high school or college level. 

Photo credit: Annie Spratt @anniespratt

Now you're ready to begin writing about your library. Some ways to write about your personal library can include 

• write about each book separately and give a short blurb
• write about the individual genres, define the genre and give examples of the books you recommend from it
• recommend your favorite books and tell why you like them
• give a historical review starting with when you added your first books to now and tell what was happening in your life to steer you toward them
• connect books and movies telling how closely the movie follows the book (without giving away the endings)
• ask readers to recommend books, read them and host a readers' circle online
• suggest a book to readers, giving them time to read it, and host a readers' circle online

Books that fit a particular niche are especially interesting to readers in that niche. If you are a quilter, you may be interested in knowing that I have a pretty extensive collection of quilting books. Some are quite old 1)--they came from my mother--and others are very new. I have perhaps five or six on modern quilting 2). One or two in particular have been used to teach 3) quilting for years. I could write a post on each of the types that I just mentioned (see the numbers after each).  It's also possible to use some of the suggestions in the list above to write about your selective books.

This brings us to hosting an online readers' circle. You don't have to wait until everyone has finished reading the book to begin your readers' circle discussion. Ask for help from readers who will join you and assign them the task of being the discussion leader for several chapters. To assist them, give them topics and suggest online resources to use for questions/discussion. I like to use an Excel sheet to keep up with the plan, but I keep it simple. 

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Date	Chapters	Discussion Leader	Topic
1/20/2018	1-4	Mary	Character
2/15/2018	5-10	Angie	Conflict
2/28/2018	11-16	Sally	Plot/Theme
3/17/2018	17-25	Grace	Conflict/Character
3/30/2018	26-30	Reese	Plot/Theme

Once you know who plans to join the fun, send them a copy of the schedule so they can keep up with the reading. At this point you have a couple of online options: a Facebook page specifically for the group, your blog site or a blog link party, Twitter feed, blog specifically for the group, or any number of social media platforms. Keeping in mind that the readers' circle may drive traffic to the platform, you may consider what your discussion leaders would prefer as well.

It's a good idea to collaborate with your discussion leaders to set rules at the beginning, Allowing anyone to join the discussion can present problems, but the discussion leaders should try to resolve them. If necessary, it's possible to remove someone (or their comments) from the group. (Note that everyone has a right to his/her opinion, but no one has a right to force that opinion on others.)

Finally you don't need many people to join your readers' circle to enjoy and discuss the book. If a few people are enthusiastic about sharing their insights, you can enjoy a lively debate without worry. Sharing your personal library or hosting a readers' circle can be a great opportunity to know your readers better, and they get to know you. Readers have opportunities to express their opinions about real life issues while keeping the focus on the novel. There's your best reason to open a discussion.

Writing about Writing -- Links to all posts
Writing about Writing Intro

Inspiration Post 1

Inspiration Post 2

Behind the Scenes Post 3

Followers Post 4

Your Blog Post 5

Holidays and Special Events Post 6

Bloggers You Follow Post 7

Your Journal Post 8

Setting Goals Post 9

Product Testimonials Post 10
Travel Experiences Post 11

Photo credit: Chris Lawton @chrislawton