Lady with a Secret

TAbout the Book The purpose of this book is to tell my Aunt Louellas story. This book was her dream I am here to help see it come true. I believe in Angels. Through this experience I felt as if God has used me just as he uses an Angel, to help get a job done. In 1982 my aunt asked me to take a look at some notes that her daughter had typed for her. I looked at them, made a few changes, and gave them back to her. I did not realize it then that it was my destiny to write her book. Over the years Aunt Louella and I grew closer. Thirteen years later, in 1995, during a general conversation I asked her, "What happened with your book?" She said, "Nothing. Nothing at all." I suppose I was feeling mature enough to take on more responsibilities since I said, "Let me see your stuff. Ill write it." I took her piles of paper home with me. Reading through them, I even ran across the pages that I made notes on in 1982. After reading through them, I made more notes and began to interview my aunt for additional details. It was a slow process. I was working full-time, had two children, and was in a bad relationship with my ex-husband. All that made it difficult to find the time to write. I wrote on my breaks and lunch hours. Any time that I could spare away from my desk at work was spent in the library or in my car writing and rewriting. Fortunately at the time I was working at a University. The office I worked in was near one of the libraries that helped to increase my writing time. When my ex-husband walked out in the winter of 2000, I was very close to being finished with the book, but I had to take some time to reorganize my life. In October 2000, I sent the entire manuscript to my editor. Aunt Louella and I met with the editor in December. I knew my job was almost done when I saw the look on my aunts face. She listened intently to each word that spilled out of the editors mouth. Her dream was finally coming true. Weve changed many of the names and some of the events have my creativity, because we would not want anyone to feel slighted or damaged in anyway. This project was a joy to write, especially when I saw the glimmer in my aunts eyes while she talked about her experiences. There were other times during my interviewing when I sat quietly while she cried. I have gained more insight and knowledge about my family and our history than I otherwise would have. It was a privilege and an honor to have been chosen to be the one to write my aunts story. I felt like God waited for me to get myself together to write this book. Because back then in 1982, I was not ready to write. God had a lot of exposure and experience he wanted me to have first. Look for those details in Dishes on Four Shelves, the working title right now. This project was not easy by any means. So far I have received twenty-one rejection letters. Thats not counting the publishers that have not responded, although I can say that I was broken in very gently. Id like to quote my first rejection letter. Its from a very nice male literary agent that I met at a writers conference. This was a handwritten note because his printer was down. "I wanted to respond to your submission before leaving town on business. My printer is acting up, however. I enjoyed the quality and the pace of the writing, but it would be difficult to sell because of a lack of a point of origin. Memories will not sell unless written by a known writer or personality. Do you have a novel? If so, I would be interested in seeing the first 100 pages. Best wishes in your publishing pursuits." Needless to say, I framed the letter. I was encouraged. A friend of mine, also a writer, reminded me that Roots was turned down 72 ti