Didn’t Emily share an inspiring story with us about her Dream Team on Sunday? Thanks to all of you who stopped by to read about Emily and the many women who have helped her live her dream of going to college. I offered to give a copy of Angel Sister to one of those who commented on Emily’s post, but I didn’t give a deadline time. So I’m extending the non-existent former deadline to go through Saturday night, July 2, 2016 at midnight. So if you want your name to be in a drawing to win a copy of Angel Sister, you can leave a comment on this post or hop back to Emily’s post and leave a comment there.
And since I’m giving away a copy of my first Rosey Corner book and since it’s summertime, I hunted up a summertime scene in the book to share with you here. Kate, a young teen is one of the main characters in the story and is struggling with a hard thing that has happened in her family. Her father, a good man but an alcoholic, has just come home after drinking too much.
Angel Sister Excerpt
Slowly Kate scooted down to the end of the bed and out from in between Evie and Tori. She stood there a moment to see if she’d wakened them, but neither of them stirred. The silence of the house pushed in on her until she could barely breathe. She grabbed the pillow off Tori’s bed and tiptoed out of the bedroom, past her father on the couch. In the moonlight coming in the windows she could see he still had on his shoes and she felt guilty. She should have helped him take them off. She stopped and carefully loosed the laces, but she didn’t try to pull the shoes off for fear of waking him. Better to let him sleep it off.
It would be better if she could sleep it off. Not drinking. She was never going to touch that stuff. Ever. But the grief of how she had failed Lorena. That’s what she wished she could sleep off.
She stuffed the pillow behind her in the swing and stared out at the trees bathed in moonlight. The sound of tree frogs, katydids and crickets filled the night air as the swing swayed back and forth and then stopped when she kept her feet up on the swing seat. Kate felt very alone. She wished one of the barn cats would come find her on the porch and settle in her lap, but they would all be sleeping on the hay or hunting midnight mice.
The screen door eased open and her mother stepped out onto the porch. “Too hot to sleep?” she asked softly.
“I guess,” Kate said.
Her mother came over to stand in front of Kate. “You want to talk about it?”
“I don’t know.” Kate moved her feet to make room for her mother to sit down on the swing beside her.
“We could pray about it,” her mother suggested.
“Aunt Hattie already did,” Kate said.
“So she did.”
Her mother pulled Kate’s feet over into her lap and began massaging them without saying anything more. They sat there silently and let the night noises fill their ears. It should have felt peaceful, but it didn’t. After a while, Kate asked her mother the same question she’d asked her father earlier over at the pond. “Do you believe in God?” She kept her eyes on the few stars the moonlight wasn’t blotting out.
Her mother’s hands stilled on Kate’s feet for a moment before her fingers began kneading Kate’s toes again. “Yes,” she said.
“Even when he doesn’t answer your prayers?”
“Yes,” Kate’s mother said again.
“Have you ever said a prayer that wasn’t answered?”
“I have. I prayed for my mother to live with all my heart and then after she died, I prayed even harder for my baby sister. Poor dear little Essie. She was so pretty. She lived almost three weeks.”
Kate felt ashamed when she remembered how Aunt Hattie had taken her to task by saying at least she and Lorena were still breathing. Just the thought of losing her mother was enough to make her heart hurt. Kate reached over and clutched her mother’s arm. “Promise you won’t die, Mama. Not for a long, long time.”
“I plan to hold your babies and be an old granny.” Kate’s mother put her hand over Kate’s and squeezed it, but then she smiled a little sadly as she said, “You know, I asked your father to make that same promise to me before he went overseas to the war.”
“Did he promise?”
“He wanted to, but he said no truthful man could make that kind of promise going to war. That no one had the promise of tomorrow. And I knew that then and I know it now. Tomorrow is in the Lord’s hands, but your father promised something even better. He promised his love for me would never die. That no matter what happened in the war, his love would always be alive in my heart.” Kate’s mother looked toward the window into the living room. Through it, they could see Kate’s father asleep on the couch.
“Did you believe him?”
“I believed him, but I wanted more. I wanted him back with me. I wanted to have babies with him. I wanted to have you.” Kate’s mother poked Kate’s leg with her finger. “So I prayed and prayed that the Lord would let your father come home to me.”
“And he did.”
“He did.” Kate’s mother rocked the swing back and forth with her foot. “And I was thankful. Am thankful. A lot of men didn’t come home.”
~~
That’s just a snippet of a scene that I hope had you hearing the creak of the swing and the chirp of the crickets. Have you already read Angel Sister? If so, who was your favorite character in the story? If not, did this little excerpt make you think it might be a story you’d like to read? Either way, you can get you name in a drawing for the book by leaving a comment. If you’ve already read the story, you can give the book to a friend or donate it to your library.
As always, thanks for reading.
Comments 18
I would so love to read this book…and to win it! your books all sound so awesome! thank you for sharing your stories with us!
Author
I’m glad you think Angel Sister sounds like a good book to read, Mary. I’ll be doing more giveaways soon here on my blog, so maybe you’ll win a book yet. This giveaway ended last Saturday. If you e-read, you can download one of my books, Scent of Lilacs for free right now. I know not everyone likes to e-read. If that’s true, then libraries are great options. Many libraries will try to get the books you want to read from other libraries if they don’t have a copy.
I’m a true bibliomaniac (one who has a mania for books). Read “Angel Sister” quite some time ago and dearly loved it. Dislike letting go of any book but find now in my eighties that I can no longer keep all, so pass them on for others to enjoy. Thanks for all the pleasurable reading, Ann.
Author
Thanks, Doris. I love owning books too. But I do have to give some away now and again. I so appreciate you reading my book and I’m very glad you enjoyed my Rosey Corner story.
Well Ann you already know how much i love your books, i sure would love to have this one. thanks for a chance to get it
Shirley Blanchard jcisforme@aol.com
Author
I do know that you are a great reading friend, Shirley, and I appreciate you reading my books. Maybe you’ll win this one.
Ann your books never fail to amaze me. I get lost in them when I read them. Your the best. Can’t wait to see what the future holds. Blessings!
Fran
Author
How nice of you to tell me that, Fran. Thank you so much, and I’m glad you like to get lost in my stories living my characters’ stories.
I need to read Angel Sister again. It’s been a long time but I remember how good it was.
Author
That’s fun, Ola, that you’d want to read the story again. I appreciate that.
Hello Ann, I finally got this book on sale but haven’t gotten to read it yet but still are those I don’t have yet. Sounds like a great story. Sure be glad when I’m well enough to go get new glasses. Inconvenient to have to use a magnifying glass. Been wanting it for a long time. I now have 11 of your books. but hope to get your others someday. I have been having trouble with one of my arms for a long spell. Hurts so very bad, so not been on my computer as much as I used to be. Have missed you. Thanks for writing such good books. Maxie
Author
So sorry you’ve been having difficulties, Maxie. I know it must be hard to read using a magnifying glass. I think they do have something you can lay over the page to magnify it as you scoot it down the page, but new glasses would be the best. I broke my glasses frames this a.m. and so I’m having to wear an old pair until I get them fixed. Thank goodness I have this old pair I can see with. 🙂 Send me a message about one of the books you don’t have and we’ll see what we can do to help you complete your collection.
Rosy Corner felt like we knew the people there and longs to see what each now chapter and then book brought. Thanks for all you do to produce a book for us.
Author
Mary, it’s so good to know that you felt like you knew my Rosey Corner people. That’s a good thing for a writer to hear. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get to go back to Rosey Corner for my next book.
I read Angel Sister quite awhile ago. Favorite character? That’s hard to say.I could sympathize with Kate’s Mom to a degree, I felt sorry for Kate’s Dad and Kate was special as were all the characters.
Author
Thanks for your comment, Karen. It’s always interesting to hear what readers think about my characters.
I absolutely love Angel Sister. My favorite character is Kate. Just for they way she interacts with each of the other characters. This story seems so realistic. I also love historicals.
Author
Thanks, Paula. I’m always happy when I hear that a reader enjoyed my Angel Sister story. It’s a story of the heart for me.