We are Louisiana!

Melissa Dillon Seal has given me permission to share a post from her Facebook page in the Collard Patch. It's full of useful contact information. Melissa wrote:

We are Louisiana! Here's a glimpse of what is happening here. You may not have seen these images on your 6:00 news, but this is the nightmare we are dealing with. Humans & pets are displaced & lives and property have been lost. I have compiled a few links for anyone wanting to help. Many shelters & rescues are in need, so I also threw together an Amazon wish list in case you'd like to donate supplies and I will get them to those who are doing everything they can to save lives. 

(Alligator on Highland Road near LSU)

You can donate $10 to the Red Cross by texting "LAFLOODS" to 90999

Humane Society of Louisiana has rescued & transported many animals to safety, even by boating in to shelters who had no choice but to open kennels and let the animals loose to have a chance at survival www.Humanela.org

St Tammany Humane Society took in 20+ displaced shelter dogs https://bit.ly/2bqxHJ5

LSART has done many deep water rescues of animals, including livestock & gotten them to safety. http://lvma.org/lsartdonations

Tangi Humane Society received devastating damage to their shelter & must completely rebuild https://www.gofundme.com/2j453p7w

A general wish list of supplies that I threw together for people wanting to send supplies. Of course, any & every type

of cleaning supply, and pet items are appreciated. In case Amazon asks for my phone # 985-335-2780 and shipping address is 75181 Hwy 1083, Covington LA 70435
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ls/ref=/154-2713553-1044733…

There are also many churches & organizations collecting toiletries, bottled water, food, clothing, hygiene items & putting together cleaning supply for people. I can get those links as well. If you'd like to donate in anyway, please message me & I can get you the needed info.

Melissa Dillon Seal can be reached through Facebook. Photos are from her Facebook Timeline. On her page she has many more photos that will tear at your heart,

The Great Flood of Louisiana 2016 is your flood, and it is my flood.

South Louisiana’s flood is our tragedy. We are hurt by it. The disaster in south Louisiana is our hardship to claim. We cannot look away. In the ways we are able, we must help.

Almost four hundred years ago, John Donne, an English poet, priest, and lawyer spoke these words:

For Whom the Bell Tolls

No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

In the year 1624, John Donne wrote, “No man is an island.”

In our time, as the Great Flood of 2016 sinks the fortunes of our fellow residents in what we call “down south” here in Louisiana, we are saddened. Whatever the floodwaters wash away is a part of our state, our nation, and our humanity. We, too, are diminished by the flood waters.

We are called by that which makes us human to extend help. “No man is an island.”

http://www.famousliteraryworks.com/donne_for_whom_the_bell_tolls.htm

Helping the flood victims

The Little Summer Grove Church in Shreveport, Louisiana-- 

HERE'S WHAT ONE LITTLE CHURCH IS DOING TO AID IN FLOOD RELIEF

STEP 1: Donating money.

Summer Grove United Methodist Church will be taking a special offering this Sunday, August 21st to support the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and their efforts to help with much needed supplies for flood relief.

STEP 2: Joining with a larger church.

In addition, Summer Grove UMC will be teaming up with Broadmoor UMC in Shreveport to collect much needed items to send to South LA.

STEP 3: Donating personal items.

THIS WEEK AND NEXT, the church will be collecting the following:

travel size shampoo and conditioner

travel size body soap

travel size hand sanitizer

travel size deodorant

travel size toothpaste and toothbrushes

feminine hygiene products

baby formula

baby wipes

diapers

"Please bring your items to the church this Sunday or next Sunday, OR to the church office during office hours (M-Th 8 AM-1 PM)."

STEP 4: SHARING THE STORY.

I received this message as a text and in my e-mail. 

STEP 5: STAYING FOCUSED.

This project has a motto: Together we can make a difference.

One Day Freebie

August 18, 2016, for one day only the Kindle version of The Dream Bucket will be available at no cost.

Excellent News Coverage of the August 2016 Louisiana Flood

Looking for coverage of the flooding in south Louisiana? Let me suggest the Shreveport Times.

The newspaper has some informative human interest stories online:

Taylor Swift donating $1 million to Louisiana

Those without insurance may qualify for grants

The above links will take you to the Times, where  you can find more coverage of the flood.

Louisiana Floods, August 2016

"The Louisiana flooding is likely the worst natural disaster in the United States since Superstorm Sandy hammered the East Coast in 2012, according to the Red Cross,,,,

"As many as 20,000 of the parish’s 141,000 residents had to be rescued after the area endured 25 inches of rain in just three days [in Livingston Parish]. About 5,000 residents were in shelters." The Los Angeles Times 

In the news, this story is not as compelling as the presidential election or the Olympics, but it leaves us feeling sad, helpless, frightened.  

"An elderly man drowned after slipping and falling in high waters amid heavy rain in East Baton Rouge Parish. And in St. Helena Parish, a man died when his pickup truck was swept off a flooded highway and submerged underwater, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said at a news conference today. A woman was also recovered from the Tickfaw River....

"The governor and his family were forced to leave the governor’s mansion when chest-high water filled the basement and electricity was shut off. 

"The flooding this week also closed many schools in the Baton Rouge area, including Louisiana State University." Louisiana Floods, August 2016

Relief will come we hope, weary residents will go back and clean up their homes, eventually school will start.

Please go to this link Volunteer Louisiana

Illiteracy in Louisiana--Why Children Don't Go to School

The percentage of adults in Louisiana who cannot read exceeds the national average. Not only do we have people in our state who have to rely on pictures to order a hamburger and who have trouble passing the test to acquire a driver's license. We have parents who cannot help their children with homework. Embarrassed, these parents often hesitate to send their children to school. Or maybe they don't see the need.

(About the hamburger, have you noticed we use icons to communicate more and more these days? Maybe we are acquiring a picture language. Originally icons were used to tell illiterate church attenders about God.)

How does it hurt you personally if those around you cannot read?
How can you help?

Illiteracy in Louisiana Is Currently Worse Than National Average

The Value of Teachers

How many ways have teachers blessed you?

I don't know what I'd be doing today if my teachers had not inspired me.

Columnist and author Judy Christie interviewed me recently. I told her a little story about Ms. Hegwood, my fifth grade teacher, who was the first person to show me I could write and that writing could benefit my life.

Judy published this article in the Shreveport Times:

Fifth-grade teacher inspires writer’s journey

Why Children Don't Go to School Throughout the World

This month the privileged children of the United States will lug their backpacks stuffed with pencils, crayons, notebooks, glue--whatever their lists demand--and head off to school. Most of the children will wear new uniforms, or gently used ones, or they'll wear stylish clothing. On their feet, they'll have new shoes that look special. It's an exciting time.

I have a new granddaughter who will be entering first grade. She brings memories of my first day at first grade--we didn't have kindergarten in Mississippi back then. I remember how precious my own daughter looked when she started to school. We took a picture of her holding her pencil box.

Education is truly a privilege and it is the key to maintaining the future welfare of our nation...and our world. But what happens if children don't go to school? So why don't they just go to school?  I read an interesting article about why children throughout the world don't go to school. Here's the link:

10 reasons why children don’t go to school

(I am an author. One of my constant concerns is the lack of opportunities for an education among the underprivileged. Today you are invited to read for free Manuela Blayne, a novella about a young girl who didn't get to go to school.)

Why Children Don’t Go to School

It’s time for school to start again—August 2016.

As a former teacher in Mississippi, I’m concerned about the educational opportunities of children. I’ve presented the pathetic situations in Mississippi schools about one hundred years ago. In The Courtship of Miss Loretta Larson, Loretta quotes statistics about inadequate schools for African American youth. She also exposes the lack of opportunities for Italian immigrants to attend school.

In The Dream Bucket, white children struggle with the dread of going to school when they should stay home to help their mother keep the house warm to protect the baby.

The novella Manuela Blayne paints the grim picture of pathetic schools for African American children.

Sarah Walker Gorrell and I have a new novel in progress, Travelers in Painted Wagons on Cohay Creek. We are showing a group of children who were unwelcome in any schools because of their ethnic differences.

School attendance and the resulting illiteracy is still a major problem in my beloved state. In 2012 statistics showed that 20 percent of the adults in Mississippi could not read.

http://hottytoddy.com/2012/12/31/fighting-illiteracy-in-mississippi

By showing conditions a century ago, I hope to call attention to the lack of education in our own time.

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.

TOLD THROUGH YOUNG EYES FOR ALL AGES

The Covington Chronicles by Mary Lou Cheatham: Secret Promise, The Courtship of Miss Loretta Larson, The Dream Bucket, Manuela Blayne, and a work in progress about Trudy’s boyfriend Jeremy Smitherlin. Sarah Walker Gorrell is co-authoring the w-i-p.

Fiction in Bible Times: Abi of Cyrene.

Some of my point-of-view characters are young adolescents. Most readers who comment love the characters, some ask why, and a few readers dislike looking at the world through young eyes.

In the famous poem, "The Rainbow,"William Wordsworth used the expression, "The child is father of the man." This expression means that all our positive and negative traits are established when we are young. http://quotations.about.com/b/2009/04/06/child-is-the-father-of-man.htm

Although I frequently write through young eyes, I seldom write just for children. I seek to develop situations in which those who read can see their own inside thoughts or those of others.

Reading on different levels is one of the delights of enjoying novels. Think of some of the books about children or written simply enough for children to comprehend the vocabulary. These have not been merely children’s books just because they may have appeared as such when examined lightly.

Here are a few “children’s books” relished by adults: (I’m not recommending or denouncing these. I’m merely saying some books are written for readers regardless of age.)

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Red Pony by John Steinbeck

Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling

Animal Farm by George Orwell

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quoting William Wordsworth's Poem:

The Child Is the Father of the Man

My heart leaps up when I behold

A Rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety

http://quotations.about.com/cs/poemlyrics/a/The_Rainbow.htm

---

Domestic Violence in The Dream Bucket

Exposing deplorable abuse of wives, daughters, and girlfriends is one of the reasons I write novels. Without spoiling the story, a reviewer makes some excellent observations about abuse in The Dream Bucket.

Follow this link to an interesting review of The Dream Bucket:  I enjoyed the book (dated March 30, 2016) You will need to scroll down to find this four-star review.. 

Here is my response:

Thank you for your excellent review. I don’t make a practice of responding to reviews, but your comments need to be noticed by other readers. I’d like to discuss the issues you have mentioned.

First, let me say I’m opposed to domestic violence. Readers will find depictions of various forms of domestic abuse in Abi of Cyrene and each book in the Covington Chronicles. In Abi of Cyrene, Abi’s father brutalizes her. In Secret Promise, Caroline is a pathetic victim of physical abuse from a parent figure, Loretta in The Courtship of Miss Loretta Larson receives some physical abuse and horrible emotional abuse, Zoe in The Dream Bucket suffers in silence, and Manuela in Manuela Blayne receives the worst abuse of all.

Thank you for saying you were uncomfortable reading it. Writing it was painful. Women who have read Manuela Blayne scream in outrage. I try to address these abusive situations accurately as I show how the culture has accepted mistreatment of helpless victims.  Without giving away any endings of my books, I’ll just say I want readers to feel the indignation that you expressed.

In the real world domestic abuse has been glossed over and often accepted. Until a few decades ago, many men well-respected in their communities claimed the right to spank or slap their wives as punishment. I recall comedies filmed in the fifties and sixties in which men spanked their women. These scenes infuriate me. My goal as a writer is to show how conditions have been. I try not to rewrite history but to depict it realistically.

As The Dream Bucket begins, Trudy is a spoiled girl with an unrealistic admiration for her father, who is a scoundrel. He remains a central character throughout most of the book. Billy Jack’s character develops further in Manuela Blayne. I’d love to hear your response to that book.

Get your free copy of The Dream Bucket and Manuela Blayne in one e-book. This free offer ends March 16, 2016.

 During the last twelve months The Dream Bucket has sold so well that American Christian Fiction Writers classified me as a QIP (Qualified Independently Published Author).

As an independent publisher, I placed Abi of Cyrene in the Carol Awards Contest. The Carol Awards are ACFW’s recognition for the best Christian fiction in the previous calendar year. Having published two novels last year that qualified for the Carol Awards Contest, I selected Abi of Cyrene, a historical novel about the time of Christ.

Meanwhile I'm giving a combination Kindle version of The Dream Bucket and Manuela Blayne. Readers are busy buying the Kindle version of The Dream Bucket instead of downloading the free version of the same book with the sequel, both free for a limited time. I'm sorry. Maybe I haven't publicized this freebie enough. Here' the link:

The Dream Bucket, Manuela Blayne.

Hold Me Close at the Jonquil Jubilee

Hold Me Close

Marguerite Martin Gray and I lived in the same town, Ruston, LA. I don't know how we missed each other. We met electronically in an ACFW critique group. We gave each other advice about writing.

She has released a new book, Hold Me Close. Recently I read this inspirational historical romance and reviewed it on Amazon: A Bright Star Rising on the Horizon.  The novel is  a delightful read.

Tomorrow, March 5, 2016, Marguerite is having a book signing in Giblsand, LA, at the Jonquil Jubilee. Click here: Video about Jonquil Jubilee.

I'm really excited because tomorrow I plan to meet Marguerite, who now lives in Abilene, in person in the quaint little Jonquil Capitol of Louisiana. John, my new husband, is excited about seeing the jonquils and the blacksmith shop.  We hope to see some old friends in Giblsand and make some new ones.

Some of the Attractions

Two Guest Blogs

ACFW.COM , the Internet address of American Christian Fiction Writers, contains helpful information.  Although joining the organization provides useful material for writers, anyone can go to the site to read blogs, learn about authors, and find new fictional releases.

On March 3, 2016, and February 29, 2016, ACFW posted two guest blogs I wrote. Sharing:

Valuable, Accessible, Untapped  How can you sell more books?

Confessions of an Auditory Learner How can you convert most books to speech presentations?

The Dream Bucket Free! December 10 is The Last Day This Year to . . .

. . . obtain a free Kindle copy of The Dream Bucket! Actually it's The Dream Bucket and Manuela Blayne in one Kindle book.

Thanks to those of you who downloaded the book yesterday. As a result Covington Chronicles III and IV, The Dream Bucket and Manuela Blayne reached an impressive spot:

• #34 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Family Life

Get your copy by going here: 

http://www.amazon.com/Covington-Chronicles-III-IV-Manuela-ebook/dp/B018RM3Z72/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

My December Calendar of Countdowns

December Calendar of Countdowns

1 more day I need to shop, clean house, and prepare

2 days until the Sunday School party

2 more days to remind you to download my newest book for free: http://www.amazon.com/Covington-Chronicles-III-IV-Manuela-ebook/dp/B018RM3Z72/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

11 days until family members come to visit
13 days until more family members come to visit
15 days until Christmas Eve
16 days until Christmas
16 days until more family members come to visit
17 days until our wedding

Some things different this Christmas

Although we try to duplicate our celebration of Christ’s birth every year, Christmas is always different.

Before I get busier with one of the most exciting Christmases I’ll ever have—our wedding with our children attending—I want to give you something.

You have today, December 9, and tomorrow, December 10, to receive it . . . two books (Covington Chronicles III and IV: The Dream Bucket, Manuela Blayne) to read on your Kindle. (Maybe I’ll find something else after that to share with you.)

Trudy Cameron’s Christmas in Manuela Blayne turned into an unusual holiday she’s never forget. Here are some snippets she tells of it:

Losing my appetite, I laid my fork on my plate and closed my eyes to pray. . . . What had I done?

What good would revenge do anyway?

I wished I’d kept my mouth shut. . . . Papa took his pistol.

“Mama, could I please be excused?” I didn’t wait for her answer. I ran to my room and threw my face into my pillow. It was a relief to have a good hard cry. . . .

My door slipped open . . . . Mama walked toward my bed. She sat beside me and smoothed my hair with her gentle hand. “You worry too much, Trudy. It isn’t your responsibility to fix everything in the world.”

 “Let me brush your hair.”

“I love my new stuff.” I passed my hands over the shiny gifts. The main present I received for Christmas was a silver dresser set, which included a mirror tray with a comb, brush, hair saver, and hand mirror.

Be nice to yourself. Take time to download this Christmas present today. You can read them when you’re too tired to do anything else, or you can save them to read after the holiday.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Covington Chronicles

Amazon made this pretty page for me:

Covington Chronicles

It shows books 1-4 of the series. What it doesn't show is my latest Kindle book, which is free. It's a compilation of The Dream Bucket and Manuela Blayne inside one e-book.

I really want you to download this one so you can appreciate the flow of the two stories together. Just to show you how much I want you to have this book, I'm giving it to you free this week: Just click here:
Covington Chronicles III and IV, The Dream Bucket and Manuela Blayne.

Manuela Blayne -- an excerpt from Chapter Four

For a limited time you can download a free copy of Covington Chronicles III and IV on Amazon. Chronicle III is The Dream Bucket. Chronicle IV is Manuela Blayne.

Here's an excerpt from Chapter Four of Manuela Blayne.

“Come in.” Manuela motioned toward Bailey and me. “Come see what we done with the newspapers.”

“Is it all right, Papa?” Bailey asked.

“Go ahead.”

Bailey and I followed her into the living room, which was pristine.

Bailey asked, “Why have you got a bed in your front room?”

“Sh-h.” How could I ever stop my sister from asking embarrassing questions?

“We keep this for Mama. This is where she sleeps when she comes home.” Manuela smiled.

The high bed, placed catty-cornered on the wall opposite the fireplace, had a tufted bedspread with a design of many colors.

“I ain’t never seen bedcover like this.” Bailey rubbed it with her hands. “Come on, Trudy. Touch it.”

“It ain’t polite to touch other people’s beds.” I grabbed Bailey’s hands.

“Go on and touch it.” Manuela flashed a wide smile. “You know you want to.”

My hand glided over it. “The fuzziness of it feels soft like a long-haired kitty.”

“It’s a chenille bedspread. Mama got it for us.”

Yellowed newspapers fastened to the walls served as a covering. “How smart!”

“Yeah. I wanted some wallpaper like Mama has in her house, so Granny made some out of newspapers.”

“Do you think it will last very long?” I couldn’t resist asking.

“It don’t matter.” Manuela shrugged her shoulders. “When this wears out, we’ll tear it down and put up some more.”

“It’s a nice house.” Bailey reached her hand down to the rag rug. “The walls don’t leak air in.”

“That’s right.” Manuela nodded. “The roof don’t leak neither. It’s big enough too.”

“What I don’t like about your house is it’s off the main road.” Bailey could be too direct. “It’s in the middle of the woods.”

“But we got a real good road here. Them men driving International pickups and Model T’s come down here to see Grandpa.”

Bailey said the wrong thing again. “It’s too close to the river. You know it floods about every other spring.”

“Bailey, don’t say things like that.” I shook my finger in her face.

“It’s true. Grandpa said that’s why it’s built up off the ground on high poles.”

“Smart.” I nodded in appreciation.

“When I stayed with Yasmin, we lived in a place on a street. Trudy, stop bossing Bailey. I like the way Bailey always be telling the truth.” Manuela bent over and whispered, “Now’s as good a time as any to tell y’all about Mr. Aaron.” 

“Trude. Bailey.” Papa’s deep voice beckoned us.

Bailey dragged her feet toward the front door. “We’s got to go.”

“Bye, Manuela. I like your wallpaper.” I followed Bailey.

As we loaded into the wagon, Nettie stood in the yard. “Mr. Sam, we’ll be over to your place in the morning.”

When we arrived at the house, Papa Sam pulled back on the reins. “Whoa, Bob.”

Big brother turned toward us. “Wait until the wagon is stopped all the way.”

The twins hopped out, but I stayed seated. “I’ll help put up the mules.”

With leading straps clipped to their bridles, the mules were ready to walk back to the horse pasture. Will led Bob Mule, I led Molasses.

Will accused me with his eyes. “I saw you through the window.”

“I didn’t do nothing. Saw what?”

“Saw you and Bailey wallowing your hands on the Blaynes’ bed.”

“We were just checking out the chenille bedspread. Nothing wrong with that.”

“You shouldn’t have put your hands on the bed where Negroes sleep. It was a stupid thing to do.” Will cleared his throat and spit like a grown man chewing tobacco would . . . anything to make him feel adult.

“You’ve got it all wrong. They save that bed for Yasmin. It’s their guest bed. Nobody sleeps on it every night. Do you know what chenille is? It’s a new kind of fancy bedspread. Yasmin got it for them.”

“Sister, I’m trying to protect you. What would your classmates say if they knew you went to colored folks’ houses and put your hands all over their beds?”

I cut my eyes at him. He had crazy notions.

“Keep your distance from Manuela.”

“Keep your distance from Manuela.”

Raw Spots

A young African-American girl walks home from church through the woods. A neighbor jumps from behind a tree into her path, slings her to the ground, and expresses his new manhood. She cannot escape.

The girl walks home along the public road. An elderly Caucasian man, who lives as an eccentric recluse, shoots at her feet. His goal is to coerce her into following him into his hay crib for his casual pleasure.

Like wind whistling through the trees, the adults around me in my childhood spoke of such events. Although I never saw or heard what was described in hushed tones, I had the assurance of actuality. It was as real as bare spots in my father’s cornfield where lightning changed the electrical charge so crops wouldn’t grow there.

I saw scars in brown flesh as devastating as the tracks of tornados along the edge of the highway . . . children without fathers . . . mothers ripped from their dreams of advancement in life . . . anger glazed over with sugary submission.

Trudy, the brave and mischievous child of The Dream Bucket, lives in her rural Mississippi world, in an earlier time than mine. She knows tragedy. Like the black fish-net veils draped over faces beneath women’s hats at church, the adults try to keep the raw spots of life from Trudy’s sight.

After the conclusion of The Dream Bucket, Trudy makes friends with an ethereal young woman named Manuela Blayne.

Since some of the scenes in Manuela Blayne occur on the front porch of the old house where the Cameron family of The Dream Bucket have lived, both of these stories now can be obtained in one book with the haunting image of the cabin featured on the cover.

For a short time, it is a #freebie on Amazon.com as a Kindle book. Please read these stories together. Maybe you’ve already finished The Dream Bucket. You may want to take another look at it, as Trudy tells Manuela Blayne, her latest story in her own voice.

All I ask is your reaction. Please share your honest opinion as an Amazon review. The fictional accounts told in Covington Chronicles III and IV are not literal facts, but they have a level of truth based on childhood in rural Mississippi. I will be grateful to hear from you.

Teenagers before the Word Was Used: Manuela Blayne and Trudy Cameron

Teenager is a modern word describing a type of person from the dawn of history.

Manuela Blayne is a new novella told by an eleven-year-old Caucasian girl about her impressions of her thirteen-year-old African American friend. The time is old, 1910, and yet the problems described are timeless--both old and modern. The narrator Trudy Cameron takes an intense look with her teenaged eyes at the legacy of hate in her world. 

Although teenagers weren't called by that name back then, they thought and acted as teenagers do today in some ways.

Have you ever googled the word teenager?

Here's what I found in Dictionary.com:

Word Origin and History for teenager

n. also teen ager, teen-ager ; derived noun from teenage (q.v.), 1922. The earlier word for this was teener, attested in American English from 1894,and teen had been used as a noun to mean  "teen-aged person" in 1818,though this was not common before 20c.

Manuela Blayne is free in Kindle form for a limited time.

Now, in the world of books, teenager is an obsolete term. Manuela Blayne is a young adult book.

Two Days . . .

I don't know what happened. When I placed Manuela Blayne on Amazon as a paper book, the pre-orders disappeared, but one person told me she had already received her copy.

Anyway, Manuela Blayne is available on Amazon.

In the simplest of words, I'm trying in this little novella, Manuela Blayne, to evoke some thought about how other people feel inside. For example, I'm trying to paint pictures of how it feels to be African-American and how it feels to be saturated in white people's prejudices in the early 1900's.

From Chapter Two:
Manuela's grandmother has just had a grand mal seizure. Papa Sam helps her walk back to the wagon. Trudy's little brother is shocked that Sam, a white man, is touching an African-American woman.

 Placing her foot in front of her as though she had to tell it what to do, she tried to walk. First she veered to the left and then to the right. Papa Sam and Herschel took her arms and led her.

Buddy, tugging at Billy’s shoulder, spoke too loud as usual.  “Do you see what Papa’s doing? Can you believe it?”