Googling The Dream Bucket

Ever google yourself or maybe a book  you wrote? I wrote a novel about a simple family saving money in a dream bucket. I took a look to see what I could find about it. I found an interesting blog article explaining the concept in modern times. You might enjoy reading this. (I don't know the person who wrote it.) Here's the link:

http://www.wife.org/why-you-deserve-a-dream-bucket.htm


And here's a link to The Dream Bucket on Amazon: The Dream Bucket
I hope you'll enjoy reading it. The novel applies the principle of sensible saving.

Oh, don't forget to google yourself.

Manuela Blayne, sequel to The Dream Bucket, is a compelling novella. At least that's what readers say.

Manuela Blayne, my most recent book in the Covington Chronicles, will be one of the books sold in the Country Store Saturday, July 16, 2016, at the Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival.

Manuela Blayne depicts undaunted optimism in the face of unfairness.

Despite a legacy of inopportunity, Manuela sees the hope of a bright and sparkling future. Like any other thirteen-year-old, she plays childlike with her neighbors. Adulthood comes early in a harsh manner though. Manuela has reached the age of understanding that Jesus loves her, but she must decide whether she can trust him to hold her hand through the darkness.

Although eleven-year-old Trudy spends her time trying to be all she thinks she should be—a good daughter and sister, a sixth-grade scholar, a mischievous kid—she finds herself brooding about the inequities surrounding her.

Manuela Blayne is not a memoir. It’s a work of fiction, and yet it has the bittersweet reality of a place where a young girl bleeds pink and eats clay. Even though I can never understand how it feels to be Manuela Blayne, I want to take you deep into her world. 

Allow me to introduce myself. See you at the Natchitoches-NSU Crafts Festival.

July 16, 2016, my books will be for sale in The Country Store at the Natchitoches-NSU Crafts Festival. Here's my bio:

Given the name Mary Lou Gregg at birth, I grew up in Smith County Mississippi, south of Taylorsville and north of Hot Coffee. My father’s farm was less than a mile from Leaf River swamp. Down the stream, my Uncle Newt Knight established the Free State of Jones during the Civil War.

I received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Southern Mississippi. My late husband, Robert Cheatham and I taught in the Greenville, Mississippi, schools.

Eventually we moved to Ruston, Louisiana, where he taught music at Louisiana Tech University and I taught part time while taking care of our daughter Christie. I received an Associate Degree from Tech in nursing and worked at Lincoln General Hospital.

After his death in 2002, I devoted my time to writing and traveling to see my daughter Christie Marie Underwood, who is a dairy nutritionist with Purina-Land of Lakes.

The day after Christmas in 2015, I married John Cooke a retired petroleum land man. John and I are living happily in Shreveport.

My books include a novel Solomon’s Porch, two story cookbooks, three nonfiction inspirational books, one first-century Christian historical novel entitled Abi of Cyrene, and a series called the Covington Chronicles. The novels in the series are Secret Promise, The Courtship of Miss Loretta Larson, The Dream Bucket, and Manuela Blayne. Each book stands alone. They are about life in the early 1900’s in and around an imaginary south Mississippi town called Taylorsburg. Abi of Cyrene, The Courtship of Miss Loretta Larson, and The Dream Bucket have won awards.

Currently I am co-authoring a novel with Sarah Walker Gorrell, a Taylorsville, Mississippi, resident. She maintains blogs and writes in a column in the local Taylorsville paper. Our new book will be the fifth in the series.

Up to now the Covington Chronicles have been family-style novels that adhere to the standards of Christian publishing. Some of the subject matter in the current book Sarah and I are writing requires a few graphic details and depiction of violence to tell the story. We are writing it as tastefully as possible.

I like to explore social issues while evoking strong emotions and trying to entertain with enjoyable stories. Abi of Cyrene deals with some issues women have always faced, such as taking care of a family while the father is away. Secret Promise depicts domestic abuse and the oppression of African Americans during Reconstruction years. The Courtship of Miss Loretta Larson delves into discrimination against impoverished Italian immigrants. The Dream Bucket portrays spousal abuse. Manuela Blayne is the story of a young African American girl, who has been deserted by her mother and left to live with her grandparents, who were slaves. She faces discrimination and abuse from many angles.

I keep pinching myself to see whether I'm dreaming. On July 16, 2016, I'm signing at the Nathitoches-NSU Folk Festival. The Dream Bucket, Manuela Blayne, Abi of Cyrene, and The Courtship of Miss Loretta Larson will be available in the Country Store. If you go to the Festival, please come by to see John Cooke and me at our table--the one with the red-checkered cloth. This looks like a bunch of fun. I've never attended, but John has gone to it before and he loves it.