Monday, November 17, 2014
Looking At Edits To Dread Or Not To Dread by Janet Lane Walters
I've been published as an author for 46 years and I've been receiving edits from publishers for that long. The first thing that happens when these arrive is that feeling that you've made a lot of mistakes or that someone wants to change your story. Not so. Over the years I've seen a lot of changes in this process. I've also learned to take a lot of deep breaths before looking to see what I've done wrong. There isn't usually too much except for some dreadful habits I have.
Habit one is forgetting the question marks. I'm improving with this but there are also times when the question is asked but not punctuated. Another is typing sentences and leaving words out. Somehow in one's head the words are there no matter how many times you read them.
In the past four days I've done the edits for three books. Two because they were going to be published and one because I needed to clean it up and make it current to be re-released some day. In this one though it had been edited by me and by an editor or two I found one glaring mistake. His look bred contempt. But it said His look bread contempt. I either wanted to laugh or cry but I made the changes. On the other books there were comments like "Did you mean this?" After reading the passage, I wasn't sure what I meant. There were other comments about adding some details, especially since one of the books was the third of a trilogy and one does need to let the reader know who the mentioned people were and exactly what part they had or would play in the story.
So now I'll talk about how edits were received in the "old days." When I wrote short stories, I never received any edits. The editor made the changes they wanted done. I seldom found anything that was changed to make the story less than mine. Then I moved to writing novels.
Writing novels began in the days of sending off the entire mss. in a box and receiving it back for edits in a different box or in an envelope. The first few times, there were comments written on the pages, meaning one had to look at every page and decipher what the editor meant. Some of these editors rivaled physicians in the way they wrote. Then there was a revolution and the sticky notes came out and the mss. received was decorated. Some editors used different colors for different things. Little notes were discovered on these sticky things.
Now we come to today. Edits come via download and they still contain the color coded material. except you have to know how to take the notes away. This was a learning curve for me but I have mastered the process. Doesn't mean I love receiving the edits but the one thing I have learned is that these edits always make for a better and stronger story.
A final word of advice. When they arrive, take a deep breath and then start slowly. The second word of advice is do not accept all changes because you might miss something vital. Just go down the colored notes one by one and figure what needs to be done.
Just in case you're interested, the two books I was doing for Books We Love Ltd came out this weekend. Pursuing Michael West MD and Toth's priest.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
My Hobby by Roseanne Dowell
I thought I'd talk a little about one of my hobbies instead of writing. That's right, you won't find anything about any of my books on this blog. It's all about my hobby.
Every year I make something for Christmas (usually a Santa) for my children and give it to them on Thanksgiving. Sometimes it’s ceramic, sometimes wood. I found a Santa pattern and did it all in red-work, framed it and gave it to them one year.
Find all of Roseanne's books at Books We Love or Amazon
One of my favorite things to do when I’m not writing is embroidery. Another is quilting. I've found a way to combine the two. First, I made baby quilts for my nieces. White on white, I machine embroidered them with the darning stitch so I had control. They turned out really pretty, but I really love to hand embroider. That’s when I discovered red-work. During a quilting shop-hop, one of the stores highlighted red-work. For those who don’t know what red-work is – it’s embroidery done in all red floss. Just the outline of the picture, not filled in like other embroidery patterns. Anyway, I fell in love with it.
That’s when I decided to make a baby quilt for each of my grandchildren – not for them, but for their first born, my great grandchildren. I'd already made lap quilts for each of my children and grandchildren.
But where to find patterns? I started out with coloring books for designs. I traced the images onto 12x12 squares of muslin and embroidered them. After I finished embroidering the squares, I cut sashing and sewed them together. For the backing I used various fabrics, not nursery print. None of the quilts have nursery fabric in them at all.
I also used patterns from zoo animals to Winnie the Pooh.
But where to find patterns? I started out with coloring books for designs. I traced the images onto 12x12 squares of muslin and embroidered them. After I finished embroidering the squares, I cut sashing and sewed them together. For the backing I used various fabrics, not nursery print. None of the quilts have nursery fabric in them at all.
I also used patterns from zoo animals to Winnie the Pooh.
Eventually, I found transfer books and used them for designs, much easier than tracing the. I just ironed them on.
I looked everywhere for baby designs. It took several years, but they're all finished. I have 14 grandchildren, that’s a lot of baby quilts. Most of the quilts are done in red work, but several are done with various colors of embroidery floss, too.
I looked everywhere for baby designs. It took several years, but they're all finished. I have 14 grandchildren, that’s a lot of baby quilts. Most of the quilts are done in red work, but several are done with various colors of embroidery floss, too.
I also made quilts for my niece’s twins. One of the patterns is kittens and the other is bunnies. She had a girl and boy, so I thought the bunnies would be good for him. Recently, she had another child. A boy–so I just finished q baby animals one for him.
So far I've given my first grandchild’s quilt to my oldest granddaughter, who had a baby boy, my first great grandchild.
I recently found out another granddaughter is having a baby in May, so another quilt will be delivered at her shower in April. We don't know the sex yet, but the quilts aren't gender specific.
I've marked each quilt with the name of the grandchild they’re supposed to go to in case I’m not around to give it to them. My youngest grandchild is only four. I'm already in my sixties, there's a pretty good chance I won't see him married, let alone his children.
My daughters have been instructed to pass them out. I hope I’m still around to give each child their quilt, but if I’m not they’ll each have a piece of me for their children. I hope they treasure them as much as I do. Below is a collage of a few of the ones I made.
I've marked each quilt with the name of the grandchild they’re supposed to go to in case I’m not around to give it to them. My youngest grandchild is only four. I'm already in my sixties, there's a pretty good chance I won't see him married, let alone his children.
My daughters have been instructed to pass them out. I hope I’m still around to give each child their quilt, but if I’m not they’ll each have a piece of me for their children. I hope they treasure them as much as I do. Below is a collage of a few of the ones I made.
To store them, I put them in large store bought quilt bag. Yes, I bought a quilt for my bed. But I did make one too, I embroidered wild flowers in each square – and yes, I filled them in, not just outlined. I use it on my bed in the summer. It took over a year to embroider all the flowers, but it was worth it. Besides, I have nothing better to do in the evening while I’m watching TV. That’s the nice thing about embroidery, you can sit in front of the TV and still work on it. The hard part was quilting it.
So now you know a little more about me. I'm not just an author, I'm a wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. I enjoy writing, but my family is my first love.
Find all of Roseanne's books at Books We Love or Amazon
Labels:
comedy,
fiction,
humor,
older heroine and hero,
romance,
Roseanne Dowell
As the second youngest of six children, I always had a vivid imagination and loved to make up stories. I often sat and daydreamed about imaginary characters and lost myself in books and make-believe worlds.
My love of writing began as a teenager, but only recently pursued it seriously. With encouragement from fellow book-club members, NEORWA and my husband, I began writing and submitting my work.
Although Satin Sheets was my first published novel, I have over forty articles and stories published in magazines such as Good Old Days, Nostalgia, and Ohio Writer along with several online publications.
Besides teaching three writing courses for Long Story School of Writing, I taught a writing course at Cuyahoga Community College.
In my spare time, I enjoys spending time with my six children, fourteen grandchildren and great grandchildren. My hobbies include ceramics, knitting, quilting, and jewelry making. But after my family, my first love is writing. I reside with my husband of forty-eight years in Northeast Ohio. You can visit my website at: http://www.roseannedowell.com
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Two Sides to the Cover
By Michelle Lee
BWL Art Director
On the one hand ...
As a fiction writer, you probably already know that research is vitally important. For example, if you are focusing on a specific time period, you want to use historically accurate words. Your characters need to feel, to the reader, like they are coming alive - and are authentic.
You polish your work, pouring all of your love and attention and determination into it, and almost grudgingly hand it over to a publisher. And then the fun begins.
You get a cover concept back - and *gasp* the clothing isn't exactly right. The waist of the dress is too high, the sleeves not poofy enough, or even worse, the dress isn't flaring enough at the bottom to be a ball gown.
All that research - and for what?
* * *
The other side of the story ...
A cover art form comes in, and after looking it over, the task seems almost impossible. Finding a couple, wearing the exact clothing in the exact colors, with the perfect hair and eye color, and without modern looking manicures on the woman.
How on earth are you going to come up with a cover that perfectly encompasses all of those details, with stock art. Especially considering you are not a historical scholar.
The answer is - you aren't. Which means you are going to disappoint the author in some way (even if it is only a small detail). And that is a very hard thing to accept on a day to day basis - but it is the reality of the job.
* * *
As an author, I know how important cover art is in not only branding your books, but also giving hints (at a quick glance) of what the story is all about. I know how frustrating it can be trying to get your vision for the cover across in a two-page form. I know the agony of waiting for the cover art to come in. And I know the frustration when details are slightly off.
As a cover artist, I am very familiar with the hours that can be spent (and quite often just wasted) trying to find the perfect image for a cover. Sometimes the angle is off and it won't merge well with the background, or the model has a very obvious french manicure, yet is posing in Renaissance clothing. You want to create something both you, and the author, can be proud of ... and yet ... the images just won't cooperate.
* * *
I guess what I am trying to explain with all of this is ... the cover artist-author relationship is a lot like any other relationship. There has to be some compromise to it. A lot of understanding. And the product of the relationship - the cover art - might be slightly flawed by not being perfectly accurate but it is a reflection of both the artists efforts to provide a reflection of the author's hard work and the author's work itself. So before you get frustrated at the details, take a step back and look at the overall picture.
And ask yourself these simple questions:
* does it overall reflect the tone or feel of the story?
* is is quality and something you would be proud to have showcasing your hard work?
* is is obvious that the artist tried to meet your needs?
* will this cover help your book sell? (and will reader feel it is an accurate - within reason - reflection of the story)
If your answer is no to any of these questions, then you should feel the right to request some serious revisions to the cover, or a complete start over.
But if you answered yes to them all ... ask yourself this ... does that one little inconsistency, that one historically inaccurate detail detract from the overall cover, and is it realistically likely that a better image will be found?
* * *
If you are interested in other rambling about cover art by Michelle Lee, check out the following Inside BWL Blog Posts:
Alas Poor Images, I Cannot Find You
Fonts, Fonts, and More Fonts
and other Behind The Cover Art posts ...
* * *
Michelle Lee is a self-taught cover artist who has an opinion on pretty much everything, and a love of the natural world that often means tidbits and trivia are shared on a whim. You can check out her portfolio at: Stardust Creations
Labels:
Behind the Cover,
Cover Art,
historical fiction,
images,
Michelle Lee
Born to ride on the back of dragons, to journey among the stars in a ship traveling faster than light, or to dance the night away in the arms of a mysterious vampire, Michelle Houston willingly shares the worlds in her mind in an effort to bring them to life.
Writing everything from short and sweet stories, to hot and spicy tales of kink, from contemporary tales of romance to erotic romances featuring Greek Gods, vampires and were-creatures, she has crossed sexualities and has gone wherever her mental muse has guided her. A journey she has never regretted.
Friday, November 14, 2014
The Rewards of Random Reading by Sheila Claydon
When I go on holiday I rarely read the books I take with me. Instead I read the books previous holiday makers have left behind. Crammed onto shelves in the hotel reception area, scattered on tables in the guest lounge, stacked beside the TV in the villa or apartment...wherever we happen to be staying there are always abandoned books. And what treasures they are. On holiday I've discovered authors I've never heard of, learned new things, been reminded of long forgotten stories, looked at situations in a different way and, in the reading, remembered why a new book is always such a joy.
Of course reading on holiday has an added bonus because it's one of the few times it's possible to read a book from cover to cover in an afternoon. On my last holiday I read The Color Purple by Alice Walker, and in the process learned a whole lot more about the American Deep South in the early part of the twentieth century. By the time I finished it I was so entranced that I followed it up by listening to a podcast of the actress Whoopi Goldberg being interviewed on the UK Radio programme Desert Island Discs. Whoopi Goldberg won so many acclaims for acting in the Steven Speilberg film of The Color Purple that I wanted to find out more about her, and thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I did just that. Apparently she was so deeply affected when she read the story that she wrote to the author asking for a part if a film was ever made of the book. Alice Walker wrote back about two months later to tell her she had sent the necessary paperwork to the studios. The film script for The Color Purple was then written specifically for Whoopi Goldberg. It was her first big motion picture. The rest is history.
After I'd allowed myself enough time to think about what I'd just read, I turned to something that I thought would be very different but which turned out to be linked in the strangest way. This was Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeannette Winterson who is a well known British author. It is a semi-fictional autobiography. I know this sounds like an enigma but I assure you it's true. To understand what I mean, however, you'll have to read it.
Like Celie in The Color Purple, Jeanette Winterson is someone who lives on the edge and who also spends much of her life searching for love as well as for a lost love. I didn't see the similarities while I was reading because one was about a black community in the American Deep South in the 1920s while the other was set in the 1960s in a poor northern town in the UK. In both books, however, the main character was lonesome and abandoned, and immensely brave. It was only afterwards that the similarities became clear, and that is another benefit of this random holiday reading...there is far more time to think.
There were other books too, more random choices, and while I read them an amazing thing happened. In each one of those holiday books I discovered a fact that was crucial to the novel I had just started writing. I had an outline clear in my head and the first two chapters written but what I didn't have was the detail. I needed to research a lot of things if I was to get my facts right but it was hot and sunny and I was on holiday, so I decided to concentrate on enjoying myself and worry about the detail when I returned home. Ignoring that little voice in my head that said I should at least think about my story, I just chose those random books and settled down to read.
I had no plan...I knew very little about them. I wasn't even sure I was going to enjoy them, but although I didn't realize it, they had a plan for me. In each book I read I discovered a nugget of information that I needed to flesh out my own story. I was also confronted by a new way of looking at a situation, something that made me reconsider how one of my characters was going to react. After two weeks of reading these random stories my research was complete without any effort on my part...so to every writer whose book I read in that villa in the sun, thank you. And to every holiday maker who has ever left a book behind, thank you. Random reading has much to commend it.
This link will take you to Sheila Claydon's titles, including her latest release, Book 3 of her Pathways Trilogy, Saving Katy Gray
http://bookswelove.net/claydon.phpsheilaclaydon.com
I had no plan...I knew very little about them. I wasn't even sure I was going to enjoy them, but although I didn't realize it, they had a plan for me. In each book I read I discovered a nugget of information that I needed to flesh out my own story. I was also confronted by a new way of looking at a situation, something that made me reconsider how one of my characters was going to react. After two weeks of reading these random stories my research was complete without any effort on my part...so to every writer whose book I read in that villa in the sun, thank you. And to every holiday maker who has ever left a book behind, thank you. Random reading has much to commend it.
This link will take you to Sheila Claydon's titles, including her latest release, Book 3 of her Pathways Trilogy, Saving Katy Gray
http://bookswelove.net/claydon.phpsheilaclaydon.com
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Writing About What You Know by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey
I took many writing courses and bought
just about every book I could find on writing when I was an aspiring writer. In
the classes and in most books I was told to write about what I knew. I had to
experience life before I could write about it. I also found out that to
compensate for lack of knowledge many writers do months of research to get an
understanding of the subject they want to write about. They learn what a lawyer
would say in court or what a pilot would do in a certain situation.
But it is the hard emotion that goes
with any experience that is hard to duplicate. We have all been scared, but how
many of us have felt a deep-seated fear that is immobilizing? We have all felt
sadness, but how many of us have had our sadness lead to depression and
suicidal thoughts? Experiencing the emotions make it almost effortless to write
about them in an authoritative voice.Plus, living a certain lifestyle makes it easier to describe that way of life. Many writers do dredge up life’s trauma to make their writing more believable. And many authors have turned their unusual upbringing into bestselling fiction and non-fiction. Take for example, the non-fiction bestseller Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt. To make up a childhood like Frank’s would be tough for someone who has not lived it.
When I was doing my assignments for class I tried to write about what I knew but it was hard to make something exciting out of something so boringly normal. So I wrote the following poem.
seldom even fought. I was not
abused, not emotionally,
physically, mentally.
I was never raped.
I was not kicked
out of the
house.
I
did not
live on the
streets. I do not
smoke. I don’t do drugs.
I’ve never had a merciless,
pounding hangover. I have not
been in an accident. I have not had a
serious, debilitating, life-threatening illness.
I am no minority.
I am not disabled.
I have no physical
deformity. I have
not been a victim
of a crime, nor am
I a shady criminal.
I have not been discriminated against.
I am not a lesbian. I am not gay.
I am not too skinny nor am
I overweight. I have not
loved and lost; I have
not lost a loved one
I am not too tall
or too short.
I
certainly
do not stand
out in a crowd.
I have not, at all
been very noticeable
With such an ordinary, tedious
mundane, uneventful life, how will
I ever be able to write about what I know?
My first published article was about an injured hawk my son and I had found alongside the highway and how we looked after it for a few days until it was able to fly away. Then I tried historical and travel articles. I progressed into travel books, writing seven about what there is to see and do along the roads of British Columbia, Alberta, the Yukon, and Alaska.
I have loved reading mysteries since I was a child so I decided to try my hand at a mystery novel. Since I knew about travel writing, I made my main character a travel writer. She gets drawn into solving murders while researching places for her travel articles.
So my experiences have made it possible for me to write about what I know.
http://www.facebook.com/writingsbyjoan
Illegally Dead
The Only Shadow In The House
Whistler's Murder
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PEOSJR8
I was born in New Westminster B.C. and raised in Edmonton.I have worked as a bartender, cashier, bank teller, bookkkeeper, printing press operator, meat wrapper, gold prospector, house renovator, and nursing attendant. I have had numerous travel and historical articles published and wrote seven travel books on Alberta, B.C. and the Yukon and Alaska that were published through Lone Pine Publishing in Edmonton.
One of my favourite pasttimes is reading especially mystery novels and I have now turned my writing skills to fiction. However, I have not ventured far from my writing roots. The main character in my Travelling Detective Series is a travel writer who somehow manages to get drawn into solving mysteries while she is researching her articles for travel magazines. This way, the reader is able to take the book on holidays and solve a mystery at the same time.
Illegally Dead is the first novel of the series and The Only Shadow In The House is the second. The third Whistler's Murder came out in August 2011 as an e-book through Books We Love. It can be purchased as an e-book and a paperback through Amazon.
i live on a small acreage in the Alberni Valley on Vancouver Island.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
DRAMA IS ALL AROUND YOU BY RITA KARNOPP
Have you ever noticed there is drama all
around you? Pay attention! There are always people who wear their
problems on their sleeves – as the old cliché goes! But that’s great for us . . . listen to their
passions, their dramas, their dilemmas, their successes and failures, and even their
sorrows. You can even pick up drama in
newspapers, magazines, and the news.
It’s all around us . . . start jotting down notes of inspiration.
You might see an
interview on TV – the guy is a sole survivor in a war-torn country. Don’t you really want to know how he survived
when no one else did? How about a mother
who takes her life . . . and that of her daughter – why? Aren’t your story-telling feelers asking you
‘what would make her do that? If you see
a guy that is trying to survive in the desert, no modern help-just him and the
elements – don’t you wonder what on earth brought him to make that decision?
You hear about a priest
who leaves his devotion and suddenly marries.
Wow – doesn’t that spark your creative spirit and make you wonder why? What would bring him to this decision? How difficult was it? What does his family and friends think about
this? How does this affect his life
now? Does he regret it?
There are the numerous,
horrendous killings and sad disappearances in real life . . . that could spawn
hundreds of books.
So why don’t we write about them? Well . . . we do! There's drama all around us and if you’re
one of those smart authors – you’re finding material for your stories every
time you listen to the world around you or you open your eyes – drama unfolds
at every turn.
What sets one writer out
from another is their passion to write the story. They take the ardent fervor for life and fill
in the blanks that take the reader on a journey. Sometimes it’s uplifting and other times it’s
nitty-gritty and even devastating.
The drama all around us
results in the birth of innumerable ideas that becomes the basis – the drama –
for yet another wonderful read. Key here
is to tell your story with passion. Your
reader will believe every word as though they heard it on the news or read it in
a paper or online.
Rita Karnopp
Author ~ Romancing the West
Author ~ Romancing the West
Labels:
Beginning Writers,
books we love,
drama,
Rita Karnopp
I would say writing is my passion . . . I see a story in just about every situation. I love Native American history and all the lessons it has to offer.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Waiting for Downton Abbey by Karla Stover
Waiting
for Downton Abbey, by Karla Stover
We are
eight weeks away from the next season of Downton
Abbey and many viewers are hoping the eldest daughter, widow and
born-to-the-manor, Lady Mary will find romance with her widower brother-in-law,
Tom, the Irish Republican and the family’s former chauffeur. Tom has settled in
above-the-stairs fairly well, and is accepted by most people, but in real life that
was not always the case. Take Margaret Powell’s autobiography, Servants’ Hall, for example. Ms Powell worked for the Wardham family at their Redlands estate.
In the book, she recounts her life as the family cook, along with the marriage
of parlor maid, Rose to the son-of-the-house, Gerald. The fact that Rose
insisted on maintaining her friendships with the staff after her marriage
didn’t bode well.
I’m a
sucker for well-written memoirs. When I want to binge on a particular type of
book, such as life-below-the-stairs, I go to Alibris and plug in the title of a
book, such as Servants’ Hall. When
the book comes up, there is a spot on the right side labeled,” More Books Like
This.” Thus, I read Rosina Harrison’s book, Rose:
My Life in Service, which led me to her biography of the Astor’s butler,
Edwin Lee and that led me to Eric Horne’s What
the Butler Winked At. Though pretty tame by contemporary, tell-all
standards, Mr. Horne’s book was a sensation when it came out, as those above
the stairs panicked for fear of what they might read about themselves.
When Call the Midwife, a series based on
Jennifer Worth’s books, started showing on PBS, I found her other books on
Alibris and read them all. That’s not to say, “More Books” doesn’t sometimes go
off on a bit of a tangent. It also recommended Belle de Jour: Life of an Unlikely Call Girl. Maybe the anonymous
who wrote it needed a midwife.
And now I
seem to be off on my own tangent. Here I sit, reading Mollie Moran’s, Minding the Manor while I wait for Downton Abbey to start. I sit knowing
full well Lady Grantham will soon be simpering over Lady Mary; Lady Mary will
be swanning around, and poor Lady Edith will still be looking for a man.
Author of A Line to Murder
Monday, November 10, 2014
Shabby Chic Birthday Card by Cheryl Wright
It was recently a crafting friend's birthday, and knowing she shares my love of cards that are vintage and/or shabby chic, I got to work.
Shabby Chic, in particular, is generally based around pastel colors such as pink, blue, mint, and soft lemon or lavender. It often includes flowers, pearls or rhinestones, ribbons, and generally contains some distressing. (Distressing is the art of making something look old, even though it's new.)
Go to this link on Pinterest for a great example of shabby chic.
I just adore this style of cardmaking, and use it a lot.
Taking into consideration my friend's style preferences, this is the card I made for her.
My friend loved her card, as I knew she would (simply because of the style).
Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to join my Facebook page. I have a giveaway running at the moment, and I'd love for you to enter.
This month's prize is a print copy of Don't Tell, Don't Die plus a custom-made keychain.
Til next time,
Links:
My website: www.cheryl-wright.com
Blog: www.cheryl-wright.com/blog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cherylwrightauthor
Shabby Chic, in particular, is generally based around pastel colors such as pink, blue, mint, and soft lemon or lavender. It often includes flowers, pearls or rhinestones, ribbons, and generally contains some distressing. (Distressing is the art of making something look old, even though it's new.)
Go to this link on Pinterest for a great example of shabby chic.
I just adore this style of cardmaking, and use it a lot.
Taking into consideration my friend's style preferences, this is the card I made for her.
My friend loved her card, as I knew she would (simply because of the style).
Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to join my Facebook page. I have a giveaway running at the moment, and I'd love for you to enter.
This month's prize is a print copy of Don't Tell, Don't Die plus a custom-made keychain.
Til next time,
Links:
My website: www.cheryl-wright.com
Blog: www.cheryl-wright.com/blog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cherylwrightauthor
Multi-published author, Cheryl Wright, former secretary, debt collector, account manager, writing instructor, and shopping tour hostess, loves reading. She writes romantic suspense, contemporary romance, and the occasional comedy.
She lives in Melbourne, Australia, and is married with two adult children and has six grandchildren. When she’s not writing, she can be found in her craft room making greeting cards.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
A Soldier’s Breakfast by Jude Pittman
A WWII Memory,
dedicated to my Uncle William (Bill) Shipton (Canadian WWII Veteran) and
my daughter Major Billie Cartwright (Active US Army Reservist)
Originally published in Western People Magazine, May 1991 as Egg on His Face
Bill was in his glory. Finally
after weeks of courting young Phyllis Quelch, he'd been invited home to dinner.
He pressed his uniform until the creases cut and shined his shoes until he
could see his reflection.
Bill wanted to be sure that the
Quelches recognized him as a serious young man with his own land and big plans
for the future. Once the war was over he'd be returning to his homestead in
Alberta, and it was going to take some doing to convince Phyllis to give up her
life in England for the rough Canadian prairies. This dinner was Bill's chance
to win the Quelches approval, and when he met them at their humble cottage he
flashed his brightest smile and prepared to charm them with his native Canadian
wit. The Quelches were a pleasant couple slightly reserved in the manner of the
British but they soon warmed to Bill and after dinner they invited he and
Phyllis to join them at the neighborhood pub.
The evening passed in easy
camaraderie. Bill entertained the Quelches with amusing tales of life on the
Canadian wilderness, and they responded with anecdotes of English country life.
By the time they started home it was raining heavily, and Mrs. Quelch insisted
that it was not a fit night for Bill to bicycle back to the base. He gratefully
accepted a bed on the living room sofa and was soon fast asleep.
Rising early the next morning to
the smell of sizzling bacon, Bill slipped into the little kitchen to greet Mrs.
Quelch.
"The top o'the mornin to
ya," he quipped. "When I heard you humming away at that stove I
thought for a sec I was back home with my Mum."
Smiling shyly, Mrs. Quelch poured
him a cup of tea, dished up several slices of bacon and four eggs onto an old
crockery plate and set it carefully on the warmer.
"That smells mighty good,
ma'am," Bill said, gratefully carrying the plate to the little breakfast
nook and happily digging into his breakfast. The portion was just right for his
vigorous appetite, and pleasantly filled, he waited eagerly for Phyllis and her
Dad to join them. When they finally gathered around the table, Bill wondered
that all they ate was toast and tea, but assumed they'd adopted the modern
habit of saving their appetite for the mid-day meal.
When Bill prepared to leave for the
base Phyllis offered to ride part way and Bill delightedly accepted her
company. They hadn't gone far though, when she stopped her bicycle and turned
to him with a serious expression on her face. "Bill," she said.
"Have you any idea what you've done this morning?"
"Done, why I haven't done
anything at all, other than pass the time of day with your Mum and enjoy her
fine breakfast."
"That's just it. You ate the
entire family's ration of bacon and eggs this morning. We save our eggs all
week long so on Sunday morning's we'll have enough to share at breakfast."
Well, the ground should have opened
up and swallowed Bill. Never had a young man been so embarrassed. Back home in Canada--what
with their own hogs and chickens--it was nothing to eat a rasher of bacon and
six or seven eggs for breakfast. It hadn't even occurred to him that the plate
Mrs. Quelch put on the warmer was for anyone but himself.
Bill's face flamed. He mumbled his
apologies to Phyllis, bid her good day, and pedaled like a madman to the base.
Wheeling in through the gates he headed straight for the mess hall. Bill had
long been in the habit of offering a helping hand in the kitchen when no one
else was willing, and his easy acceptance of even the meanest chores made him a
favorite among the cooks. Therefore, when he reached the mess hall and tossed
his knapsack in the door he was met with good natured grins.
"Fill 'er up lads," he
said. "Whatever we've got to spare and don't stint the bacon and eggs.
I've a debt to repay and I'll be thanking you not to make me look bad."
Next, Bill charged across the
compound and descended on the warrant officer. "Sir, every month we're
entitled to our ration books." he told the startled officer, "and in
all these many months I've not drawn any of mine. This morning I made a
colossal donkey of me, what with not knowing how hard-up these people are for
food, and I'm sure in need of my ration books."
"Well soldier," the
officer replied, "you're certainly entitled to them, but it'll probably
take a little time for me to round them up."
"That'll be fine Sir. I've a
few things to attend to and then I'll be back to pick them up."
With that Bill headed back to the
kitchen, and finding the knapsack filled to overflowing, he thanked the cooks
and swung the heavy knapsack onto his shoulders.
When the ration books were ready,
he shoved them in his pockets, and fetched his bicycle. Then he pedaled
furiously for Maidenhead and was soon knocking on the door of the cottage.
"Why Bill," Mrs. Quelch
said, when she answered the door. "Whatever brings you back here this
morning."
"There's a little matter I
need to attend to," Bill said stepping inside the door and heading for the
kitchen. "You know ma'am," he said, removing the knapsack from his
shoulder. "I've never been so embarrassed in my life as when Phyllis told
me I'd eaten the family's breakfast. Now, I'm hoping you'll let me makes
amends."
Stunned, Mrs. Quelch's eyes widened
in wonder as Bill began spilling the contents of his knapsack across the
kitchen table. Then, turning to the astonished woman he reached in his pockets
and pulled out the stack of ration books.
"Mrs. Quelch," he said.
"I want you to know that as long as I'm around here there won't be any
more breakfasts of dry toast and tea," and Phyllis, coming into the
kitchen, watched in amazement as her mother burst into tears.
"You know," she told Bill
later, "in 21 years I've never seen my mum cry, and I'll never forget what
you've done for her today."
Find more by Jude Pittman at http://bookswelove.net/judepittman.php
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