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Paper hearts and Peanut butter

2/17/2019

Paper Hearts and peanut butter is loosely based on the experience of a family I knew some years ago. I don’t remember all the facts, but the idea remains the same. For ease in relaying the story, I will call the woman Traci.

Traci and her husband had four children and the last was finally old enough to go to school. Traci was excited to have several hours of the day free of children. But within a few months of her anticipated freedom, her life was turned upside down.

Traci’s sister was diagnosed with cancer and was dying. The sister’s husband was in jail and unable to care for his children. The children would be orphans in a matter of months. The obvious solution was for Traci and her husband to raise the soon-to-be motherless children, which they did.

Adoption papers were drawn up and Traci and her husband generously opened their hearts and home to these nieces and nephews. They suddenly had four sets of ‘twins’ as the merging families had children of similar ages. They bought a larger home to accommodate everyone and their finances became much tighter. Life had become considerably more hectic, but they did their best to make it work.

I have since lost track of this family, but my admiration of the charity and love they showed to the adopted children has stayed with me. I have changed much of the story, but hope you will find it both thought provoking and enjoyable.

I don’t always know where my stories will lead, and as I neared the end of this one, I realized that it would take more than one book to finish. I’ve already started writing the second book Paper Heart and yellow roses, so don’t be dismayed (as my mother was), when you come to the end and it’s not all wrapped up in a neat little bow.

Happy Reading!

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Are you Reading my Books?

5/24/2018

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Dear Readers,

Are you like me? Do you ever wonder what certain characters in books are up to now?
I wonder how Wyatt and Lexa are doing? Are they still happy? Is their family growing?
Have Natalie and Blake started a family?
Did Zack and Cara make it to the temple?
How are Kate and Jay Lundquist doing? What challenges are they facing now as their kids are growing older?
Has Scarlett pursued her dream of becoming a nutritionist?

In my mind these people are real!

As I contemplate whether to write more books, I wonder who's reading them anyway. I know my vast extended family reads them and always says nice things. . . Which I do appreciate! And I know a few of my loyal readers personally, but is there anyone else?

Everyday I get more subscribers to my newsletter and I think hmm. . . someone must be reading my stories. But I have very few reviews on Goodreads or Amazon. So the question is how do my readers get my books? Do they buy them? Get them at the library? I love my local library. They have my books on the shelf!
If your library doesn't carry my books, I hope you will request them!

Bottom line: It doesn't matter to me how you get your hands on my books . . . just that you do!

My goal in writing is to entertain and uplift. I have no way of judging how my books have touched lives except through reviews.

If you have read my books and liked them . . . please let me know on Goodreads.com or Amazon. I would appreciate the feedback! In fact it would motivate me to write more!

Thanks for your support!
Marianne

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Mending Hearts

10/29/2017

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The idea for Mending Hearts started to take shape when I read an article about a couple that got married and found out later that they went to the same preschool as children. They had been good friends and the man had even called his future wife his girlfriend when they were four years old.

How often do we encounter people from our past and not even recognize them?
Is the guy in line behind you at the grocery store someone you knew in elementary school? Is the nurse taking your vitals someone from your past? Would you have a clear conscience if you ran into people from your younger days? Or would you have regrets?

I don’t remember everything from my school days, but some of the things that stick with me are times when someone was mean to me. I doubt I would be able to identify the boys that said unkind things to me now, but I hope that I could forgive them. It makes me wonder if I ever did or said anything that someone else remembers with sadness?

I loved what President Gordon B. Hinckley said:
“Let us be more merciful. Let us get the arrogance out of our lives, the conceit, the egotism. Let us be more compassionate, gentler, filled with forbearance and patience and a greater measure of respect one for another. In so doing, our very example will cause others to be more merciful, and we shall have greater claim upon the mercy of God who in His love will be generous toward us.

For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind? …” (Mosiah 4:19)

I read a quote recently by the author Ram Dass.
“We are all just walking each other home.”

What a beautiful concept! We are here on this earth to learn to be kind, to love one another and to help each other return to our Heavenly Father. What a better world it would be if we showed love and kindness to all of God’s children.

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Penny's Diner: In the quiet Heart Book 2

3/7/2016

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About a year ago the early concepts for this book started to formulate in my head. I remember going to my Zumba class and looking around at the women there and thinking that none of them knew what was going on in my life and I had no idea what struggles—or joys they were experiencing either.

My father had just been diagnosed with cancer and there were other family issues that we were dealing with. But did I go into that class and pour out my heart to my fellow exercising buddies? No. I didn’t have that type of relationship with them and besides I rarely share such personal things at the time I am going through them. I just put on a happy face and answer robotically, “I’m fine. How are you?”

Most of us keep things to ourselves and don’t burden others with the challenges we are facing. Either we don’t feel comfortable sharing such personal things or we don’t think anyone would truly be interested. That was my frame of mind when I decided to probe into the life of Penny Haws, a minor character from “In the Quiet Heart”.

When Penny first appeared as one of Kate’s clients at the salon, I had no idea that she would be the star of my next book. In fact I didn’t know any details of Penny’s past. But as her story started to unfold, I quickly realized that she would need to interact with numerous people on a regular basis. A diner seemed the perfect setting.

Kate had been doing Penny’s hair at the salon for several years, but she knew very little about the older woman, which made for a perfect jumping off point for the next book. I absolutely loved discovering Penny’s story through Kate’s eyes. I hope you will too.

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New book, New series - In the quiet heart

5/14/2015

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"In the Quiet Heart" is based on experiences I have had over the years with family history and indexing.
        My grandparents spent countless hours researching our family history, writing letters and making phone calls in search of our missing ancestors. Over the years, they gathered thousands of names, doing all they could for our kindred dead. In our modern world, genealogy work can be done in the comfort of our own home. With just a few clicks on the computer, we are instantly connected to people and records across the world.
         I felt compelled soon after I was married to continue the work that my grandparents had started. I would sit down at the computer whenever I could, hoping to find a clue to continue one of the many family lines that ended so abruptly. It was not always easy to do with my young children needing my constant attention. As my kids grew older, I began to find more time, but still only had minimal success. It was a slow, difficult process.
            Things changed drastically with the inspired commencement of the indexing program. Family history work suddenly became much easier. I went back to work on my genealogy with a renewed vigor, certain that I would now be able to extend my family history lines. I noticed that in many of my ancestor’s families the work was only done on the direct ancestor. The siblings were often unknown and unaccounted for. I decided that my focus would be to find the siblings and their spouses, working to seal the entire family together.
            There was one particular family that I was constantly drawn to over the years. We had found the nine siblings, but none of them had spouses or children listed. Finding their spouses and children became my new challenge. I began with the oldest and worked my way to the youngest child. I found entire family units on the census records and felt so blessed to be able to take their names to the temple. At last, I reached the end of the family and started working on the youngest daughter.
            After being married for several years, this young mother died in childbirth leaving her husband, Edwin, to raise a son on his own. The records showed that Edwin eventually remarried and had more children.
            Incredibly, over the space of a few more days, I was able to find Edwin’s parents and siblings as well. I was thrilled to be able to further his line. Out of curiosity, or so I thought at the time, I followed Edwin’s family through the census records. I discovered that his second wife had an older sister named Sarah that had never married. The records showed that Sarah had lived with her sister’s family for many years. It occurred to me that Sarah had no descendants to do her work. I felt impressed to add Sarah to my list of names to take to the temple.
            As I sat in the temple a few weeks later with Sarah’s name in my hand, I was suddenly overwhelmed by the Spirit. Unable to contain the tears that streamed down my face, I felt certain that Sarah was with me in the temple that day. I felt as if she were saying, “Thank you. I was afraid I would never be found.”
            Had it been just curiosity on my part to read through the records? Or was Sarah nudging me in the right direction? Maybe someday I will meet Sarah and find out.

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Ripples (Remember Me: Book 3)

12/19/2014

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Q&A: What was the inspiration for this story?

As a young teenager, I was challenged by my church leaders to share the gospel by giving away a copy of the Book of Mormon. I was instructed to write my testimony in the front cover of the book and present it to one of my nonmember friends. I remember writing my testimony out several times as I attempted to get the wording just right. In my neatest cursive handwriting I wrote out my simple, yet heartfelt testimony in the front of the book. Then came the hard part—finding someone to give it to.

I was living in Seattle surrounded by people who were not of my faith, so it should have been an easy task. It wasn't. I was terribly nervous about the whole idea, but soon came to the conclusion that my junior high Spanish teacher would be the recipient of the book. Mrs. Hardy was one of my favorite teachers. I carefully wrapped the book in paper and put it in my backpack before leaving the house. As the day progressed I became more and more nervous, worried about what she would think of the gift. At the end of Spanish class, I slipped to the front of the classroom and handed Mrs. Hardy the gift before rushing out into the hall.

School let out for the summer and I moved on to high school. I never talked to Mrs. Hardy about what she thought of my gift. A few years later, I heard from a friend that Mrs. Hardy had joined the church and her son had served a mission. Over the years I have wondered about the rest of the story. What were the ripple effects of that simple gesture? Giving the gift had changed my life, but what, if anything, had it done for my teacher and her family?

Quite often we don’t know the end of the story. We don’t know how our actions have affected other people. All we can do is show loving kindness to every person that crosses our path and hope for the best. The ripples we create will touch lives, but whether for good or ill is up to us.

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First Book Signing

10/21/2014

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I will be doing my first book signing at a local bookstore on November 15 from 12noon - 2pm. Come see me at Confetti Antiques and Books at 273 N. Main Street in Spanish Fork.

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My First Newsletter

9/23/2014

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Welcome to my first newsletter!
I am excited to announce a new chapter in my life and the release of my second novel
Natalie's Gift available as an ebook or in paperback on my website www.mariannegowers.com starting September 28th.

Natalie's Gift (Remember Me: Book 2) takes a peek into the life of Meredith (Return to Chelsey Falls) and her husband Ben as they struggle with infertility. We also meet Natalie who is experiencing her own challenges.

I hope you will enjoy this story of love and sacrifice. And of course if you do, I would encourage you to please spread the word to your family and friends.

Also, I have been thrilled with the positive feedback from my first book Return to Chelsey Falls which is also in my books tab.

Thanks and I hope you'll remember to Get lost . . . in a good book!

Q&A: The Story Behind the Story

People have asked me how I come up with the ideas for my stories. It’s different every time, but I usually start with a personal experience from my own life or from someone I know. My second book Natalie’s Gift is loosely based on a friend’s experience. I only knew very basic details of the adoption of one of her children, but I asked her if I could take the idea and embellish it in my own way.

I have not personally gone through the adoption process, but I do have several friends and family that have been on both sides of the adoption equation. I asked some of them about their experiences, which was very helpful, but in the end the thoughts and feelings of my characters were from my own imagination.

As the manuscript came together, my friend (that I had based the story on) graciously spent an afternoon telling me about her experience. She was extremely helpful and we were both amazed at how closely my version was to her actual story. I don’t know how that happened, but I must admit that at times my thoughts can only be attributed to inspiration.

Copyright © 2014 Marianne Gowers Author, All rights reserved.

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Q&A: What was the inspiration for this story?

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