Tag Archives: Sally

What’s Coming Next?

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Any new book releases? Any new news? Both, of course!

Remember James and Sally from May I Have Your Attention Please? They were in for quite a shock on the first day of junior year of high school, when Sally returned from private school, had an early morning run-in with James, and the fabric of the whole universe was changed for them both. We followed them through a year of discovery, finding love and their place in the world.

At the same time, Kim and Carl were struggling to get past their challenging childhoods and letting themselves fall for each other fall hard in I Just Can’t Say I Love You. They took a chance on each other, leaving their lifetime homes and everything they knew behind them to venture out west. Along the way, they found themselves learning about what loyalty and happiness meant, and they learned who they could really trust with their hearts, and their lives.

And then there was Chris, in Absolutely and Totally Smitten. He was the ultimate rebel, king of the Bad Boy Posse. Suddenly, everything changed, and Chris found himself alone and confused. None of his old habits and skills could get him out of this one. But one thing he still had were his friends. And he a was amazed when one day, in college, one of those friends became something so much more to him. But was he in any place to open his heart again and let love in? Or would he only be facing a world of pain, maybe even one of his own design?

So what comes next for the friends of McKinney High Class of 1986?

Get ready to meet Stavros. He doesn’t go to McKinney High. He doesn’t even live in Eastboro. As a matter of fact, he doesn’t even meet anyone from Eastboro until years after high school. So what is he doing in this series? I’ll tell you what: Stavros is getting ready to overcome one of the worst traumas that can occur in childhood. He is able to try to live his life like normal, not knowing that normal just doesn’t apply to his life. And when everything finally blows up after graduation, Stavros is left in pieces, not knowing how to cope. He makes some decisions that lead him down a very dangerous and destructive path, one he will have to spend years trying to dig himself out of.

In the meantime, Darlene is struggling with her day-to-day life in Eastboro, making friends in elementary school, faking her way through social issues in junior high, and coming close to crashing when something horrible happens to her at junior prom. But Darlene must always keep the smile on her face. She must show the world that everything is just fine, especially her mother. And she must follow the path that her father set in motion for her life years earlier. Inside, she is dying, but somehow, she keeps going. It’s all good until she finally collapses in college, leading to suspicion from her mother. She still powers forward, getting through to graduation, and even into the working world. It’s not until she starts the path to graduate school that the one event that could make her break occurs and puts her out of commission. From that day on, Darlene must work to save herself, and to prove to herself that she is worthy of saving.

What happens when at last Stavros and Darlene meet? What can they possibly offer each other? Are they too broken to let love into their lives, or can love help them to continue in their own recovery journeys?

Coming in September: The Stories That Must Be Told. The story of loss, self-destruction, and final redemption. And overall, learning to let love into your heart, no matter how scary it might be. It might just be the best thing that ever happens to you.

In other writing new:

Coming this September: Don’t Say A Word is coming out in an audio format! I’m so excited to let you all know about this! I have had so many requests for audio versions of my books. This is the first try. I am very pleased to have found a wonderful, experienced narrator, making me feel a lot less nervous about the process. More to come on this venture soon!

COMING IN DECEMBER:

Book 2 of the Anomaly series, called Blinding Justice. Kaya and Graham are back, along with Grayson, Dr. Blake, and a whole new group of characters with various skills and abilities. I don’t want to give away too much right now, but just know this: Kaya is NOT the only person in the world who can do what she does…or other things. And we will be meeting some of them in this book. I can’t wait until you start to meet the gang. I love these characters like they were my own friends, which makes sense, since I’m actually currently writing book 13 of this series!

More to come as all of these releases get closer. If you have any questions, you can contact me. I’d be happy to tell you more about these series, and these dynamic characters!

Here again are the links to my Facebook page, Debby Meltzer Quick Author, TikTok, @dbmquick and Instagram, quickdebby_author. Please follow me on these pages. And please explore my page here at debbymeltzerquickauthor.com.

And here is the link to my new book, Don’t Say a Word

Sometimes I Screw Up

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ADHD is a much bigger part of my life than I give it credit for. I’ve most likely suffered from it since elementary school, or even before, but it went without formal diagnosis until I was in my 30s. That’s pretty common for women of a certain age. My age. We had no idea that we had something going on that was beyond our control. It was always explained as a character defect, and we believed it. At least I did. I thought I was lazy, because I couldn’t self-start. I spent a lot of time sitting on the couch, watching TV, because that took no planning, and no skill, really. Well, at least until they invented remote controls, and then even more complicated remote controls. And they you had 4 of them for the various devices attached to the TV, and if you hit the wrong button, you could never turn on the TV again, or you messed up the cable channels, and you couldn’t find your shows, or…

(Going off on tangents is a symptom of ADHD, BTW)

I made it into adulthood without absent mindedly falling through a manhole into the center of the earth. I still find that hard to believe. I think I’ve run into a few metal poles because I wasn’t paying attention. *Rubs forehead delicately* But I made it. Here I am! I still struggle. The struggle is very, very real. Only now I know that it’s not my fault. But now that I know it’s not my fault, it’s my responsibility to get over that fact and do what I can to make it better. To let go of the guilt and self-blame and do the work. I took a great class on ADHD at Kaiser Portland via telehealth during the COVID shutdowns. It was fantastic. The instructor didn’t tell me all the stuff I already knew. She told me stuff based on evidence. Not only about my affliction, but also about things that can be done to make it better. Exercise. Good food choices. Sleep. For some people, medication. There’s stuff you can do to your vagal nerve to stimulate it and decrease anxiety. You can practice mindfulness. You can make schedules, and post little reminder notes for yourself all over your house so you don’t forget to make that important phone call that you couldn’t make over the weekend because the place was closed. I personally email myself to my work email to tell myself to make the stupid phone call. Otherwise, I don’t think about it until I get home after work, see the empty prescription bottle on my table, and slap myself in the forehead in frustration. So yeah, lots of stuff you can try. You can also remind yourself that you’re not faulty because you forgot something. You can explain to others that you’re not faulty, while still taking responsibility for your actions. ADHD is not an excuse…it might explain why you did something, but then you have to come up with a plan so that you can show it won’t happen again. But the most important thing to remember is, you’re not faulty. You really aren’t.

Sometimes, I feel faulty. And that’s okay. It really is. Not in the moment. In the moment, it feels like crap and I’m full of nasty things to say about myself and what I did or didn’t do. No one can beat me up any better than I can beat myself up. And you know what happens when you beat yourself up for something that you just did? Your memory of all the other things you ever screwed up on in your whole life pops into your head, and you beat yourself up for those things, too. Man, I’m kind of a bitch! Never get on my bad side! I can be very mean. To myself.

But then, later, I remember. My brain works differently than those of many people in our society, the people who made the rules about how our brains should work. Then I just get mad at them. We’re not all alike. We all have our own ways. We need to celebrate the way we think, and how it makes us special. Without my special brain, I would never have written 20 books, and now be writing number 21. I wouldn’t be able to have the singular focus it takes to sit there on my couch with my computer, day after day, typing, creating stories, and bringing them to life. I’m not a planner, as I’ve said. It’s too hard for me to sit down and complete an outline, and then stick to said outline. So every time I sit down, I have no more idea of what will happen next in my stories than you do. It’s always a surprise. I love reading back what I wrote. “Oh!” I exclaim to myself. “That’s pretty good! I wrote that? What will I write next? I can’t wait to find out!”

But then I do stupid things. Like last month. I was planning my release of my third book, Absolutely and Totally Smitten, and in preparation for the release, I ordered 20 copies of the book, to sell at the launch event. Well, they never showed up. Grr. I was upset, because I really wanted to have them there. But my guests bought copies of my first 2 books, which was nice, so the day was a success. A week later, the books still hadn’t arrived on my doorstep. Curious, I went to the web site to see what was going on. And of course, what I found out was…I had filled in the order, but I had never hit the last button, the one to send the order in. Oh Lord. I should have known. I rolled my eyes at myself, pushed the button, and closed to the computer, laughing at my silly ADHD antics. Then I moved on with life.

Well, yesterday, they finally arrived! Finally! I took to the box with a pair of scissors and wrestled with the packing tape. I finally got the tape off and readied myself for the reveal of…20 copies of the wrong book. Groan. Yes, in my haste, I had pushed the order button on the wrong book, my first book, titled May I Have Your Attention Please, a book that I already have a bunch of copies of. Well, okay, I’m pretty sure I could sell some more copies of it, so I won’t return them. I went on the website again today, found the order I had started for the correct book, and completed that order. AND HIT THE SEND BUTTON. And then I beat myself up. Just once. JUST ONCE I would like to find that it was a mistake at the publisher. Yes, this is not the first time I have completed a task without checking the details before hitting send. I mean, yeah, right????

So all that being said, does anyone want a signed copy of May I Have Your Attention Please? Because, I just so happen to have a few on hand!

$16 USD for the book, and $4 for shipping (US only). So $20 for a signed copy that someday, may be worth, well, less than $16! If you’re in Portland, hit me up, and I can bring it to you personally!

Let me know. I’ll send one to you. Real quick. If I don’t forget! Damn ADHD!

My books can be found here.

Have a great week, y’all!

…And a Happy New Year!

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Hello all of you out there in blog land. I wish you all a happy holiday season. My holiday is over. Chanuka was early this year. But I get to have some fun with my spouse and his family on Christmas day, and there will be food and presents. It should be fun. There’s always a good amount of chocolate, which makes any day complete.

The year is also coming to an end, and it’s a good time to review what I have accomplished in the past twelve months. I think it has been a wonderfully productive year for me. I have put out two books into the world, and I’m getting ready to set number 3 free. Book sales have been fair. I mean, they’re good, but would be better if I had a publicist. But it’s just like anything else. People don’t buy things they don’t know about. Maybe next year I’ll invest more money into marketing (and Powerball). But whatever the case, I can feel really proud about what I’ve done. I’ve also made some friends on social media, and that has been wonderful. I have two lovely ladies that I do a writing sprint group with at the butt crack of dawn every Sunday (they are in other time zones, so it’s not as early for them). There are also some folks on Facebook who have read my book, and I have read their books, and there’s just a love fest going on. I have read basic love stories, why-choose books that include alien invasions, space soap operas, and some that just evade description. I have made enough progress on my Facebook business page that I am now getting paid for making popular posts (not enough to make a living, but money is money, and free money is the best!). I have gotten much better at creating videos for TikTok. It has taken A LOT of practice!

A few other things: I changed jobs in July, and I am now going in to an office every day. In my mind that marks the end of the pandemic. I love my new job. I loved my old job as well, but I missed the companionship of being around other people who do the same work that I do. I hope to never work from home again.

I’m doing some private supervision for people who are working toward getting their social work licenses. I love this stuff. I love it better than doing therapy, which I don’t love so much. I don’t hate it, but it’s not really my thing. But I love helping to shape the minds of new social workers. I have been doing this work for 25 years. I’m glad I can share my knowledge and enthusiasm.

I attended a wedding in New Jersey, and had a lovely visit back home in Massachusetts. There are two more weddings coming up in the next year, bringing me to the total of 4 nieces and nephews getting married in 2 years. Aside from getting stuck in NY for three days on the way home and Jet Blue sucking with its customer service, everything went really well on the trip.

I started writing outside of my usual genre. I’m currently writing a book that’s what could be described as an urban fantasy. It has just a touch of un-realism, enough to make it seem like it could exist in the real world. I’m not sure if I’d call it young adult, but young adults could easily read it. I can see potential for a 4-book series here.

I finished my second series of coming-of-age romance books set in the 1980s, and also take place in the same “world.” Actually, world is a strong word. They are all attached to each together in some way, but each story is unique, even within each series. It feels amazing to have completed 14 books. I am hoping that I can release more than two per year going forward. That would take a very long time!

I guess that’s about it for now. I’m sure there’s more to report, but this is enough to share for now. I hope everyone has had a wonderful year, and has great Christmas and New Years (if you celebrate…otherwise, happy something, or happy nothing).

Photo by Shivkumar Sd on Pexels.com

My new book, title not released yet, will be coming out on February 14, 2024. Keep your eyes open for it. It’s a bit different than the first two. A little more twists and turns to get to the love part. That’s what’s so fun about it! Here’s a small clue:

Here again are the links to my Facebook page, Debby Meltzer Quick Author, TikTok, @dbmquick and Instagram, quickdebby_author. Please follow me on these pages. And please explore my page here at debbymeltzerquickauthor.com.

Happy Thanksgiving!-Anniversary

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Happy Thanksgiving to my not-IRL friends! This is also a big anniversary for me. It was two years ago this November that I had the dream that led me to start to write my first book. It was a vivid dream, one I can still see in my head if I concentrate hard enough. I was back in school, and it was high school. But it wasn’t my high school. I was at the public high school in my hometown. Somehow or other, I had ended up back at public high school after a year at private school. I was in the cafeteria, and I had finished my lunch. I was dumping my trash in the garbage can, when suddenly a boy I had not seen since I was in junior high approached me and asked me if it hurt. When I inquired about what would be hurting, he answered with a crooked smile, “when you fell from heaven.” In my dream, that pickup line led to a whirlwind relationship, and I got flashes of the next two years and how wonderful it was. I was so happy that I had gone back to public school. The dream was heading for happily ever after, when suddenly, a voice over spoke. “But none of this ever happened,” it said in a flowery but professional female voice, “because someone was out sick that day and the two never met by the garbage cans.

I don’t know if any Star Trek fans read my blog, but if so, do you remember the classic Next Generation episode where Jean-Luc Picard gets zapped by an alien probe, and ends up living decades on a strange planet, including having a wife, children, and grandchildren, and even learning how to play the flute, until he was a very old man, and he was returned to his ship, only to find that only 25 minutes had passed? Yeah, that’s kind of how it felt for me when I woke up from this dream. It had seemed so real, so vivid, that I had to sit there for a minute and remind myself that I graduated from high school, and not a public one, 35 years earlier! I was a bit disoriented, and couldn’t stop thinking about the dream for days.

It wasn’t the content of the dream so much, but the feelings it brought. I felt like I had missed something. There have been several times over the years when I have wondered what my life would have been like if I had gone to public school. Who would I have been friends with? The same people from junior high, or some other people from other junior highs that all converged on the same high school? Would I have met some new boy in high school, and would we have hit it off? Maybe whoever he was, he was at a private school somewhere thinking the same thing as me, about what it would have been like if things had gone differently.

I could have let it go right there, but actually, I couldn’t. I was anxious. We had just started with the Omicron variant of COVID, and things were not looking up with the world at that moment. I was stuck at home, working a job that I felt I could perform better with in-person collaboration, especially with my ADHD. I was craving change, something different. My family was doing the best they could. My poor daughter was stuck doing on-line school, which was not the best plan for her, and my retired husband was trying to keep the house together and also respect my need for quiet and confidentiality while I worked. Poor guy. And there I was, sitting in my tiny little home office, which was more like a glorified closet with windows on the far side of our bedroom. With a desk and a bookshelf in there, there was barely room to push back my chair, and my bed was two feet away, reminding me every moment that I was not in the office, and I had just crawled out of the covers right there only hours before, and would return there later that night. I HATED working from home. And there was no end in sight.

I mentioned before that I had been knitting, and I ended up completing 42 hats. That’s a lot of hats. They were in piles on a table near the front door, and my husband kept asking me what I was going to do with them. They kept falling over. I had no idea what to do with them. But then, the dream. I couldn’t stop thinking about the dream. The feelings. The not knowing. It was pushing at my brain. So one day, I decided to do something about it.

I started to write it down. I created some people. There was the girl, Sally, who had left her friends and gone to private school, to find her way, and see if it was a better fit for her than private school. Her parents had given her a choice, and she had decided. Then there was James. James was slightly troubled. He had difficulty with focus, and a brother with lots of problems. James represented the unknown to Sally. I had to give them a slight back story, so I did. They were acquainted in junior high, but he was a bad boy, and she was, uh, well, she hadn’t figured out what she was yet at the time. But somehow, she had some kind of connection with the bad boys.

And that’s where reality ended. When Sally meets James again in the hallway of McKinney High on the first day of school, every bit of that book becomes fiction. Sally and James set the stage and told me what needed to happen. Characters do that. They tell you about themselves, and when you put them together, they tell you what they are like together. You can write something else, but it won’t work. There is a chemistry, and if your characters have it, you have to go with it. You. Have. No. Choice. But I’m glad. Because Sally and James’s chemistry worked. It worked well for them, and for me. And the next thing you know, there’s a really long story about Sally and James. And my dream is satisfied.

The only problem, of course, is that once May I Have Your Attention Please was completed, Sally and James told me something else, something new, something unexpected. Their story was over, sort of, but there were lots of other stories to tell, and I already knew the characters. They were Sally and James’s friends, the ones that supported them, and helped them to make it all happen. They all had stories. And I had to tell them.

So I did. I wrote six more books in the series, each of them featuring supportive characters that were present in the hotel room on the night of junior prom. Junior prom. Something I didn’t go to, but Sally did. And it was the most wonderful time of her young life. I’m happy for Sally. And for James. They had it easy, and they found love.

As the series progresses, things are not so easy for all of the other characters. Kim and Carl have a tough time getting it together in Book 2, I Just Can’t Say I Love You. And some of the other characters don’t even end up with who they started with, as you will see in Book 3, coming in February. In Book 4, our female lead doesn’t even really have a high school boyfriend, and in Book 5, the female lead has more than one, but is not who we thought she was. Books 6 and 7 will surprise you, and if you’re anything like me, they’ll make you cry just a little.

I am now working on another series, which is in the same time period, but not featuring our McKinney High friends. They are there in some of the books as minor characters, but this series introduces you to new players, and new settings, including New York, Delaware, and Colorado (Eastboro is still in there, though. I love Eastboro). I’m on book 7 of 7 now, so I’m about to have to figure out what I’m doing next. I might leave the 1980s and Eastboro all together, and maybe try a completely different genre. Maybe add some magical touches. Only time, and my imagination, will tell.

Here again are the links to my Facebook page, Debby Meltzer Quick Author, TikTok, @dbmquick and Instagram, quickdebby_author. Please follow me on these pages. And please explore my page here at debbymeltzerquickauthor.com.

Enjoy your holiday that has nothing to do with turkeys, and make the most of being with your family, whether the one you were assigned at birth, or the one you have chosen for yourself.

.

PenCraft Award Winner!

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Imagine my surprise on Thursday when I got an email from the PenCraft Book Award for Literary Excellence announcing their 2023 winners. I had forgotten all about the contest that I had entered in the spring. I had actually forgotten about all of the contests that I entered. Recently, I thought about the next round of book awards, in 2024, and wondered if it was worth it to even enter next time. It seemed like maybe it was a waste of time and money. Well, the money part wasn’t actually that bad. Nothing more than $100 with an average around $30. The highest prizes for winners were monetary, so it made sense to have a fee. Everyone had said to enter for prizes. It could get you notoriety, and a nice little foil seal to put on your book cover.

But these award people don’t know me very well. You see, I’m that kid who always thought I would win games of chance. I thought that every raffle prize was just minutes from being mine. I thought, “why not me?” To be honest, I wasn’t just that kid. I’m also that adult. Even now, I start to spend my lottery winnings days before I find out that I lost. I just don’t see why it won’t happen for me. Winning the lottery is part of my long-term plans, part of my retirement plan. So yeah, as you can imagine, I get disappointed and discouraged easily. My mom tells me she used to feel so bad for me, because I had so much hope, only to have it all dashed on the ground after my name or number is not called. I can’t even imagine how hard it is for people around me to see me so giddy, only to have to console me after, when I resemble a dog that just got left in a car while its owners are enjoying a steak dinner inside the restaurant.

But this time, it was a little different. I couldn’t remember anything about the PenCraft award, so I opened the email to refresh my memory. But the email did not say much about the award. What it did say was this:

“We are pleased to announce that our judges of the 2023 PenCraft Book Awards for literary excellence voted your book May I Have Your Attention Please as our Young Adult-Coming of Age Runner-Up Winner!”

Okay, wow, I thought. That’s awesome! But then it hit me. What does runner-up mean? Does it mean that other people won, and I didn’t? Am I one of hundreds of people who are “runners-up?” Is it basically the same thing as a honorable mention? So I did a bit of research (not much as it didn’t take much) and found out that no, what an honorable mention is, is pretty much third place. Third place. I can tolerate third place, especially for an award I didn’t even remember I signed up for. So then I got excited. I won an award! I immediately took a screen shot and sent it to my brother, and then called my mother. They were excited for me, even if I didn’t win the money! “It was an honor just to be nominated!” Haha. No, really. The email had gone on to say that I needed to send them my home address so they could send me a certificate and some foil seals that I can adhere to the front cover of my book. That’s pretty exciting!

Well, then, of course, I started to doubt myself. How legit was a contest that you had to pay to enter? Is it possible that this is all a ruse, aimed to get indie authors to spend even more of their personal money on their writing, when in reality, they should be making money, not spending. So on another Google search I went, to find out if the PenCraft award was, indeed valid.

So the first hit I get is an article about scam contests. Oh no. I read the article and it said something about sending in money to these scams, not knowing who the people are, who the judges are, and if they even read your book. I mean, really. I think there were 1,100 entries or something in this contest. Each judge probably had a category. How many books in each category? How many books did these judges even have to read? I mean, okay, let’s say there are 35 categories, and each has 3 winners. That’s 105 winners. On average, each category would have about 35 entrants. So three winners out of 35. Is that percentage any good? And, after all this, did I even get my numbers right, or did I just make all of this up? And I found a list of contests, and whether or not they were legit. And PenCraft wasn’t on either list, so….

But then I read the PenCraft website, and it seemed okay. I decided to just let it be okay. And to make social media posts saying I had won a contest. And you know what? People were really great. I got a ton of hits, and people were really happy for me. People I know IRL have been really happy for me. I haven’t sold any extra books yet, but that’s okay. I don’t know if I would buy a book based on the fact that it won an award. Maybe I would. However, I would probably buy the book based on the fact that it won an award and the author had marked the eBook down to $1 on Kindle for a promotion and just kept “forgetting” to put it back to the regular price (I did that! It’s still $1 on Amazon!). But I am really looking forward to putting that little seal on my covers!

So will I enter any more contests? Well, that remains to be seen. I just don’t know. I have some time, like 4-5 months to decide. Maybe in the meantime, I’ll win something else that I forgot about, and that will keep me going on endorphins and dopamine just a little bit longer.

THIS IS THE AWARD WINNING BOOK! YOU CAN ORDER IT ON MY WELCOM PAGE, OR DIRECTLY FROM AMAZON, BARNES AND NOBLE, OR INGRAM SPARK IF YOU ARE A BOOK RETAILER!

And don’t forget book 2, I Just Can’t Say I Love You is now available at the same places, and eBook on Kindle Unlimited.

Here again are the links to my Facebook page, Debby Meltzer Quick Author, TikTok, @dbmquick and Instagram, quickdebby_author. Please follow me on these pages. And please explore my page here at debbymeltzerquickauthor.com.

Be True to Your School

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Here is it, McKinney High. It stands in the heart of Eastboro, MA, a fictional town in Central Massachusetts. The school is completely fictional, I swear! This photo was generated by Artificial Intelligence. It’s not exactly what I was looking for, but it’s close. I would hate to have to climb those stairs every morning, especially on a Monday! I imagine the parking lot is on a higher level, so the kids with cars get the advantages over the kids who have to walk to school and then hike Mt. McKinney! Sally Bachman is one of the walkers. In May I Have Your Attention Please, Sally lives about one mile away from school, and complains to her mother about having to walk, after being driven to private school every day the previous year. Granted, private school was seven miles away! Thank goodness for James Newell, with his 1973 rust colored Vista Cruiser station wagon, even if the heating fan is busted. Sally will endure the cold in order to be able to ride to school. And spend extra time with James.

Here’s a short excerpt from James’s first day of junior year at McKinney:

James slogged through History and Biology before entering English class right before lunch period. He stopped short when he saw Sally Bachman sitting in the second to last row, in the center. He realized he had taken too long to get to class, and as the second bell rang, the only seat remaining was at the back of the room, directly behind Sally. He squeezed by the student-filled desks between them and exchanged smiles with her before he fell heavily into the chair-attached-to-desk contraption which would be his home for the next hour. Their teacher, Mrs. Clark, closed the door, and a small breeze passed through the classroom, causing the smell of strawberry to waft from Sally’s hair to his nose. He breathed in deeply, enjoying the scent,  before realizing what he was doing.

Poor James, having to slog through classes. But it seems like school’s about to be much more fun for our hero, as he gets to spend the whole year sitting right behind Sally Bachman and her strawberry scented hair. Let’s see how the first day went for Sally:

When lunch finally came around, Sally was starving, having thrown away most of her breakfast. She met up with Michelle in line in the cafeteria, and once they had their steaming hot square pizzas secured on their trays, they made their way to a table where three other girls were already sitting. She knew Kim Drake and Darlene Feinman from Randall, and was introduced to Traci Walsh, who had gone to Fremont Junior High. It was an easy group to talk to, and soon Sally was feeling at ease as she laughed and ate. She continued to feel conspicuous in her new surroundings, however, and at times felt people were looking at her. When she looked up and around, she realized her fears were unfounded. Everyone else was focused on their food and their friends, and they were not concerned about the new girl. She let herself relax and concentrate on the conversation.

It’s hard to be the new kid, especially in a giant school like McKinney High. But luckily, Sally had some friends she remembered from junior high, and they came to her rescue. But what if she was to figure out that someone actually was watching her? Maybe a boy she sat near in English class?

School is not always drudgery and stress, though. Sometimes you get a break. Remember how it felt when you went into class, and you saw the big cart with the TV on it, and the teacher said you were going to watch a film? Even if was a movie about mitochondria, it was still better than listening to the teacher drone on for an hour.

Ronald Reagan took his second oath of the Presidential office on Sunday, January 20th, The inauguration had not been in the public square due to record low temperatures in Washington DC, and the whole eastern half of the United States was experiencing unusually cold weather. Massachusetts, which usually had temperatures in the freezing range during the month of January, was also experiencing a deep and prolonged freeze, leaving students feeling chilled and unmotivated in school. On Monday, all of the History teachers in all of the grades at McKinney High showed their classes special educational videos about inaugurations and presidential celebrations. The students loved to watch movies in class. It meant the lights were turned out, and more mischief happened in the dark.

Mischief at school? No way! Everyone was a perfect angel at my school. Wasn’t it like that for you, too?”

“I was trying to say,” Chris went on, “that my cousin Vince might be able to hook you up with a new muffler. Your car sounds like a motor boat.”

“Vince Bishop?” Carl asked. “Uncle Frank’s son? I thought he moved to Framingham this summer.”

Chris shook his head. “No, Vince Farmer, Uncle Benny’s oldest son. He’s the one who was expelled from Murphy a few years ago for trashing a teacher’s car when he failed his class.”

OR:

Fourth period was English class. James had arrived first and was sitting at his desk. The bell was about to ring, so Sally came into the classroom hurriedly, and slipped into her seat breathing hard from exertion.  She could feel James’s breath on her neck, and then she felt his hands on her shoulders as he gave them a quick massage. Mrs. Clark  entered the room.

“Mr. Newell,” she  called out, “hands to yourself, please.”

Everyone turned to look at them, and Sally sank slightly in her seat. It was no secret amongst the students at McKinney High that she and James were a couple. She was used to the looks when they walked through the halls holding hands. But she still felt uncomfortable with the attention.

Or even:

“Where are Kim and Darlene?” Sally asked, secretly glad Kim wasn’t there to ask her any awkward questions.

Michelle swallowed her bite of burger and washed it down with some milk. “Darlene’s out sick, and Kim has lunch detention for smoking outside on school property.”

“She needs to learn how to not get caught!” Rhonda stated, shaking her head, then scooping up a spoonful of chocolate pudding. 

I clearly remember being in the girl’s room in junior high when the girls who were smoking in there got busted! But more often they didn’t get caught, and they smoked in the strangest places and situations.

When you’re a teen, most of your life happens in school. There are academic classes, electives, gym and music classes, shop, lunch, extracurricular activities, times in the hallway between classes, standing at your locker, confiding in your best friends. Then there are the extras: the after school clubs, committees, and sports, and the social events, such as homecoming, prom, and other dances.

Michelle and Darlene talked Sally into volunteering for the homecoming decorating committee with them. They were on it the previous year, which is where they had met Traci. They had fun, and thought Sally would enjoy it too. It would give her a chance to make some new friends at the same time.  

And:

Sally quickly found Michelle and Carl, and together they all watched people dancing and listened to music as they chatted.  Soon, their other friends filed in, and in no time, the gym was full of noise and dancing bodies. Sally and Michelle tugged their dates out to the dance floor, and they all moved awkwardly to the music, enjoying the feeling of letting loose. The place was too crowded for anyone to observe and judge their dancing, and they took full advantage of it. 

And we mustn’t forget the most special day of all, junior prom:

When the first notes of “Purple Rain” came on, everyone got up to dance. It was slow even for a slow song, and James held Sally tight, only pulling away to kiss her. She rested her head contentedly on his chest. As soon as the song ended, the DJ put on Madonna’s “Crazy for You.” James knew Sally loved the song. He continued to move her around the floor, dodging other couples, as they clasped their arms around each other. Their friends were also dancing in couples around them. Kim had her head resting on Carl’s chest, and Carl was smiling his biggest, cheesiest smile. James felt it was the perfect prom moment. 

So there are a few glimpses into the school lives of the main characters of May I Have Your Attention Please and their friends. McKinney High is a huge part of what goes on in my series, McKinney High Class of 1986, obviously. I imagine the members of this class looking back fondly on their classmates, their teachers, and the events at McKinney, and the music and other culture they experienced back in the mid 1980s at their huge fictional school!

I hope you decide to read the series, and you start to fall in love with the characters and their stories as much as I have. And here’s a little clue for you all. There are six books in the series. And guess what? There is more than just one high school in Eastboro, MA. There is also Murphy High. So you can guess, all the characters you love, and ones you haven’t even met yet, will show up again after book six, in a new series, yet to be named. Stay tuned!

“May I Have Your Attention Please” is available now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and anywhere that eBooks are sold. Please check it out, and if you do read my book, please leave a review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, or whatever other platform you are using. It would mean a whole lot!

I Just Can’t Say I Love You will be available on September 15, 2023, staring Carl and Kim and the usual cast of characters.

Here again are the links to my Facebook page, Debby Meltzer Quick Author, TikTok, @dbmquick and Instagram, quickdebby_author. Please follow me on these pages. And please explore my page here at debbymeltzerquickauthor.com.

More Characters!

May I Have Your Attention Please, McKinney High Class of 1986, self-publishing, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I didn’t have enough time and space to introduce all the characters from my series a few weeks ago, and since I’m so excited about them, I wanted to share more! I have my second book coming out on September 15, so it’s important for you to meet more of the main players! Book Two, I Just Can’t Say I Love You features Kim Drake and Carl Bishop, so I’ll start with them, but just remember, all of my characters are in all of my books, so pay attention to all of them. Even if they have bit parts in one book, they’ll have a lead role in another! I hope you enjoy their bios, as well as the hours I poured into developing my gorgeous AI pictures (don’t worry, I’m not going to sell anything with these images on them!)!

KIM DRAKE

Kim was born on February 28, 1986 to a single mom. She and her mother are very close. Kim was an only child until she was seven and she gained step-siblings, then baby half-siblings. Kim has a lot of confidence, and has been the leader of her friend group since second grade, when the social structure changed between boys and girls, and she lost her best friend. She can at times be bossy and directive. Kim’s greatest gift is her ability to tell a captivating story. Her friends all stop what they are doing to listen. Kim is very petite and very pretty. She is a good schemer, and knows what she wants. But sometimes, she doesn’t know what to do once she gets it. Her closest friends are Darlene Feinman, who she has known since birth, and Michelle Gorman. The three of them have been together since kindergarten, and have forged a tight bond. They become even closer after Kim experiences a tragedy at age 10. She depends on her friends and her strength to get her through. Kim wants to go places in life, and she will. She will go a lot of places, and learn a lot.

CARL BISHOP

Carl was born on September 15, 1968. He is the youngest member of all of the friends. Carl is part of a famous Eastboro, Massachusetts family, which sometimes makes things easier, sometimes harder. Carl is very close with his cousin, Chris Mahoney. They have been placed together since birth, and all of their family pictures include them both. Carl easily fits into the roll of Chris’s lieutenant in their bad boy “posse,” a role he enjoys. Carl has an older brother who he hardly sees, and a mother who is bitter and angry. His father is around sometimes. Carl learns to fend for himself and his orange tabby cat, Tiger. Carl sometimes appears helpless and dependent on his cousin, but he has a strength that no one can see, a strength that will serve him going forward in life. Carl is very close to his grandmother, Gram Missy, one of two identical twins that are a large part of his and Chris’s life. Gram Missy will help to guide him and try to make the path easier for him, since no one else seems able or up to that task. Carl will learn great lessons about love and loyalty, and about sometimes having to walk away from your old self to find your true self.

THE GRAMS

They were born Melissa and Cecelia Farmer, but now they are affectionately known as Gram Missy and Gram Cissy. They are the matriarchs of the biggest and most famous family in all of Eastboro, Massachusetts. They were the daughters of a very well-known and respected leader of the community. They are part of a family of nine children. They married into a family that was also prolific in the area, and everyone has had many children. You can’t walk down a street in town without running into one of the Grams’ nieces or nephews. The Farmer Twins are very strong and opinionated, and fiercely loyal. They look after their family members and make surethey are taken care of in every way, and that they feel as special as they should. They make a point of being present at all the milestones, and they have often been the planners of all of the family celebrations. It is unclear where they get the funds, but they never do anything half way. Their younger family members tend to come to them for advice, and the Grams have seen it all. They know how to point their kin the right direction. The Grams have led charmed lives, but they still have their lot to contend with. No matter how much love they give to their children, sometimes their children are just not open to that love. It’s a very difficult fact to accept, and the Grams will never give up trying.

CHRIS MAHONEY

Chris Mahoney was born on March 15, 1968. If you look back, you will see that Chris, grandson of Gram Cissy, and his cousin Carl look an awful lot alike. This is not by mistake. They are second cousins, but there is a good reason that they look so much alike, but not completely alike. There is one big difference. Chris was charismatic and charming at birth, and he has a tremendous memory for names and events. His extended family, which is very large, all adore him, because he takes time to get to know them, remember important details, and question them about things the next time he sees them. Chris is the natural leader of his group of friends starting in elementary school. They all follow him and respond to his commands. His bond with his “posse” grows stronger each year, and they all tend to get in trouble together all the time. But Chris can charm himself out of most situations, since everyone likes him. But the truth is, not everyone likes Chris. There is actually one person in his circle who not only dislikes him, but also blames him for everything that has gone wrong in her life for years. And this person is about to make things difficult for Chris, and change the dynamic between him and his cousin and best friend, Carl forever. When this happens, Chris will discover that maybe he hasn’t been quite as much in control of what was going on in his life for a very long time.

“May I Have Your Attention Please”  is available now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and anywhere that ebooks are sold. Please check it out, and if you do read my book, please leave a review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, or whatever other platform you are using. It would mean a whole lot!

I Just Can’t Say I Love You will be available on September 15, 2023, staring Carl and Kim and the usual cast of characters.

Here again are the links to my Facebook page, Debby Meltzer Quick Author, TikTok, @dbmquick and Instagram, quickdebby_author. Please follow me on these pages. And please explore my page here at debbymeltzerquickauthor.com.

Who Is In My Book?

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I’ve gotten much better at this artificial intelligence thing. I don’t like saying AI because it looks too much like my husband’s name, which is Al if you haven’t guessed already. Isn’t that weird?

Anyway, a friend from Facebook turned me on to Midjourney, which is on Discord, and I’ve fallen down a proverbial rabbit hole. It’s making me late for things. But it’s SO COOL! I have made a bunch of character sketches for my, uh, characters. Which is really good, because most of them are in all of my books, so you can get a better idea of who to expect to become your best friends while reading my series. The image above is how I picture Sally and James’s first kiss. It’s not perfect. James is supposed to have blond hair, and Sally, brown. Sally’s hair should be down, and she should be wearing a navy-blue mini dress and a denim jacket. But it’s close.

So I will start with James, and then move on to Sally. I probably won’t do all the characters today because it could be a book in itself, but I’ll get to the important people.

Introducing James Newell. He was born on January 12, 1968. He is the youngest of 3 children. His sister is a genius and his brother is a major troublemaker. James is still trying to figure out where he fits in with his family. His best friend, Pete goes to a different high school, but he still has his close friends Chris and Carl, cousins from a famous Eastboro family. James, Pete, Chris, and Carl are former bad boys, but they’ve cleaned up their act. James loves to play the guitar, and enjoys being able to chill at home when he’s not with his friends. He is not expecting to see Sally Bachman at his school on the first day of junior year. He is also not expecting how he will feel when he first lays eyes on her.

Sally Bachman was born on August 1, 1968. She is the youngest of 3 children, and she has an infant niece named Josie. She is very close to her older sister but struggles with finding common ground with her brother. She loves cats, Rock and Roll, New Wave, writing, and especially the Boston Red Sox. She is majorly into all Boston sports. Sally decided to leave her friends at public school and go to a private school sophomore year. But things didn’t go too well there. She returns to public school for her junior year, much to the delight of her best friend Michelle and her other friends from Randall Junior High, Darlene and Kim. The first person she sees at McKinney High is Jamie Newell from the group of bad boys she knew back at Randall. Sally has always had a soft spot for Jamie and his friends, and is happy to see him, especially when she gets lost in the hallways of her new school. Little does she know that this chance encounter is not only going to change her expectations for her junior year, but most likely far beyond.

Michelle Gorman is Sally’s best friend. She was born on St. Patrick’s Day, and already had a full head of flaming red hair at birth. She and Sally met on the first day of junior high in art class and bonded over their love of New Wave music and camp. Michelle is very petite, and she is very self-conscious about her size. When she realized there was no magic serum to help her grow, she settled on learning to be strong in every sense of the word. She is fiercely loyal to her friends, and she loves a good tidbit of gossip, especially from her friend Darlene. Michelle is smart and clever, and she would go to the end of the world to protect her older sister, who was born with an intellectual disability.

Pete Cooper (on the left…the guy on the right doesn’t show up until book 5, and you’ll be very happy that he does!) is James’s best friend. They have lived three houses from each other since they were 3. Pete is also the most athletic and most attractive of the friend group. He’s almost 6 feet tall at the start of high school. Pete is devastated when he found out that James is transferring to McKinney High, and they’ll no longer see each other in school every day. But the two boys stay very close and confide in each other often. Pete has a younger sister that he dotes on, and a girlfriend named Carolyn. He still hangs out with his junior high friends on weekends and vacations, even as he makes new friends at Murphy High. He has a secret he needs to tell James about Sally, and although he worries it will cause issues in their relationship, it only brings them closer. Pete then becomes the voice of reason when it comes to James’s relationship struggles.

J.D. and Julia Newell are James’s parents. J.D. works as a manager at Aries Corp, where everyone’s dad seems to work. Julia is a special education aide in the public schools. They have three children, Erin, who goes to Brown University, Howie, who they had to kick out last year, and James, their baby who tries really hard to meet their expectations. Julia is Italian. Her parents were the children of immigrants. J.D.’s father was an alcoholic who died young. His mother took the kids and left him due to abuse when J.D. was young. Julia loves all of her children and worries about them constantly, especially her boys. She also makes a mean cannoli. J.D. wants to be there for James, his namesake, and gives him advice when it comes to love. Both of his parents enjoy joking around and have their own little comedy routine for Sally when they first meet.

Phyllis and Jacob “Jake” Bachman are Sally’s parents. They both work full-time. Jake works in printing, and he has to be available anytime something he’s working on goes to press, which means that he had to go out of town a lot. Phyllis works in “computers,” and she is very tech savvy. The Bachmans are Jewish, and they have raised their children with Jewish traditions. Phyllis enjoys lighting Shabbat candles with Sally every Friday night and having a special family dinner. The family celebrates all of the Jewish holidays together. Phyllis’s mother had a lot of troubles when she was a child, and Phyllis is very affected by this. She credits her father for raising her and her sister. Jake loves Boston sports and has instilled this love into his daughter. There is nothing he loves more than watching the Red Sox or Patriots with her on TV or in person. The Bachmans are very welcoming and friendly people who enjoy having intimate parties in their home.

There are a few more friends to introduce you to, but I haven’t discovered their pictures yet. Kim and Darlene are Sally’s friends from junior high, and Traci joins them in high school. They each get books of their own later but have bit parts in book 1.

Carl and Chris are second cousins, but they are as close as brothers. They are from a large family. Their grandmothers are identical twins, and their grandfathers are brothers. Chris’s mother and Carl’s father were very close growing up. Chris is famous for having a cousin for every occasion and need, and Carl does his best to be funny. James, Pete, Carl, and Chris made up the DeMarco Elementary and Randall Junior High Bad Boy Posse. But they were the type of bad boys that you can’t help but cheer for, and they’re finally trying to find their way in the world.

All of these characters have their own unique stories, and all of them will be told. One thing they all have in common is one night in April, 1985: the Junior Prom. What happens to each of them on this night changes their individual lives forever. And most of them are so caught up in their own stories, that they aren’t even aware what’s going on with everyone else. But eventually, years later, all is revealed, and sometimes, friendships are tested.

 “May I Have Your Attention Please”  is available now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and anywhere that ebooks are sold. Please check it out, and if you do read my book, please leave a review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, or whatever other platform you are using. It would mean a whole lot!

I Just Can’t Say I Love You will be available on September 15, 2023, staring Carl and Kim and the usual cast of characters.

Here again are the links to my Facebook page, Debby Meltzer Quick Author, TikTok, @dbmquick and Instagram, quickdebby_author. Please follow me on these pages. And please explore my page here at debbymeltzerquickauthor.com.

Animal House, You Say?

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Okay, so I dragged my 54-year-old butt on two 90 minute college campus tours this weekend. That’s an hour and a half each time, for those of you that are averse to math problems. Three hours of walking over two days. With a 17-year-old. Nothing makes you feel older than the point where you grab your lower back and moan, “I’ve got to sit for a minute.” Oh, no, actually, I’m wrong. There is something worse.

We were walking around the University of Oregon on our tour, and our charming and wordy tour guide stopped to let us know that the building we were standing in front of was featured a great deal in the 1978 super comedy, “Animal House.” All of the parents made OOH and AAH noises, and we all squinted at the building to get a glimpse of something that looked familiar. Then we all looked at each other with expressions that spoke of great coolness in our general vicinity. Then I heard a mom say to her son, “that’s so cool that they filmed ‘Animal House’ here, and his reply? “What’s ‘Animal House’? Of course, much discussion ensued where this mother and I told him all the wonders and beauties of this classic movie, and told him that he needs to (choke) stream it when they get home. So I looked at this kid and I said, “Surely you’ve heard of ‘Stripes,’ right?” And he looked at me in confusion. At that moment, my age caught up to me and I turned to gray dust on the ground and later was blown in all directions by the four winds.

What? Kids don’t know about “Animal House?” What kind of world do we live in where this is not mandatorily shown to all Americal children when they enter high school? Like, they should be holding assemblies, and passing out hot buttered popcorn! I can sort of understand never seeing it, but never even having heard of it? That’s just outrageous. So, anyway, in my shock and dissolving into powder state, I still managed to market my new book to the mother. Here’s my line:

“So, you look like you might remember the ’80s…”

I’ve been using that one a lot. I went to a concert the other day with my husband, and I would say the average age of patrons in the place was 71. Not kidding. So I was pretty sure that most of the people there remembered the ’80s, or were in their 80s, either one. So I felt more safe saying it to them. But I’ve also been trying that line at other places. At the ramen place. I asked a woman if she was from the 80s, and then I realized that that statement might have been slightly offensive to her. It turns out she was, and I gave her my bookmark with all of my information on it and told her to buy my book. I’ve gone through quite a lot of bookmarks in the past two weeks, but I don’t know if they have let to any sales. Marketing is tricky.

I’ve tried other things, too. The picture above was taken at Oregon State University. I have apparently learned to photo shop, sort of. I have learned to create stickers to put on my pictures, and one of them is my book. So I am putting them everywhere. Not too bad, if you ask me. Looks like a sandwich board, right? I’m looking forward to what else I can stick my book into just for funsies.

I’ve been doing lots of videos on TikTok. I love it, it’s lots of fun. Then I also share the videos on Facebook and Instagram. I still don’t get Instagram. Out of all the social media platforms, Instagram is the only one where I have gotten tons and tons of solicitous messages trying to sell or review my book, in addition to the “hey beautiful, I couldn’t help but notice your smile” messages. I don’t really enjoy looking though Instagram either. Maybe it’s an old person thing? But I love TikTok. I don’t even care if anyone in China gets information on me about my book. Maybe I’ll have a market in China for my book. Probably not, though.

I’ve also been walking around with my book everywhere. I take it on walks, so I can pose it with the scenery. That’s fun. I’ve also posed by Kindle, open to my book cover. I take my book on the bus and train and when anyone asks me what I’m reading, or tries to talk to me in any way, I manage to ask them if they know who wrote the book I’m reading. Then I show them the author picture on the back. Then they get confused, because I’m wearing a mask and they can’t see my face, so I hold my breath and lift my mask for 5 seconds. Then they’re impressed? Impressed enough so they’ll buy my book? I don’t know. Jury’s still out. But it’s still pretty cool. I had two guys in the train talk to me for 15 minutes and then tell me they were proud of me for publishing my book. Someone else told me they wanted to tell me they were proud of me, but it would be weird. I immediately told them it wasn’t, and made them say it! Hey, I’ll take pride from strangers any time I can!

So, all that being said, I’ve sold 55 books on Amazon in the past two weeks. I’m not sure how I feel about that number, but I think it’s pretty good. There was another book released in the Coming of Age genre at the same time as mine called “I’ll Stop the World,” and it was published by Mindy Kaling. So it was number one for two weeks. How could I compete with that? Mindy Kaling? How do I get Mindy Kaling to publish MY books? But I was number 77 in coming of age new releases for about two hours, so that was nice.

So, how do I tie all of this information together? Well, here’s the thing. I’m old. I should retire soon, right? So I can write full time, and enjoy my happy “golden” years (I guess golden years come in about 10 years) but at the same time, I have a kid I need to send to college for the next four years. And right before I started to write this blog post, I looked up how much it would cost to send my daughter to college for four years, at an in-state rate. And guess what? It’s a whole lot! So, in conclusion, buy my book. Buy a few. Buy one for yourself, and one for your sister. Buy one for your mother, your aunt, your daughter (over the age of 16 please) and even for your uncle or son. People seem to like it. All sorts of people. You’ll buy 10-12 copies of my book for Christmas and birthday presents this year, and then when I put out book 2, you’ll be looking forward to buying that one too. And just think, the more you buy, the more you’re helping put my daughter through college without me having to get a third and fourth job. Wouldn’t that be nice? And it’s really a good read. Check it out on Amazon. I’ve already got 6 five-star reviews! Okay, maybe I might know most of the people who reviewed it, but some of them, not too well. They didn’t have to do a review, and they did. And I’m also on Goodreads. Just so you know.

As always, thank you for reading my blog to the end.

My book, “May I Have Your Attention Please” can be found on Amazon, in both paperback and ebook! I plan to release my second book, “I Just Can’t Say I Love You,” in September 2023. Please check it out, and if you do read my book, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. It would mean a whole lot!

Here again are the links to my Facebook page, Debby Meltzer Quick Author, and TikTok, @dbmquick. Please follow me on these pages. And please explore my page here at debbymeltzerquickauthor.com.

May I Have Your Attention Please (Excerpt included!)

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Order my book at: www.amazon.com/author/dbmeltzerquick

It’s finally here! The launch date of my first book, “May I Have Your Attention Please” is March 4, less than one week away! And I have finally gotten everything ready to go for the actual launch, such as the book being able to be ordered and printed. Now I’m working on my launch party, which will be on March 4 at a really cool book pub in Portland. If you’re in the area and you want to come, it’s the one on Fremont Street, and it’s from 3-6pm. I guess I’ll be doing a short reading, giving away some books and prizes, and generally having a good time. And there will be cake. You can’t turn down cake, can you? No.

Now what? Deep breaths for one thing. Thinking of all the things I might have forgotten. Finding typos and reloading my manuscript. Over and over (but it’s all good). Inviting people to the party. Other marketing things. Oy, I’m so tired of marketing by now, and I’m just at the starting line! It’s fun, but sometimes, I run out of ideas. I’ll come up with something, I’m sure.

In honor of the pending launch, I’m going to include an excerpt from the book. I try to be so careful about my excerpts not giving anything away, but I have to remember, it’s out of context. You will still have to read it in context.

This excerpt is during a dinner that James and Sally have with Sally’s adult sister, Andrea, and her Army husband, Derrek. He’s in town on leave and wants to see his favorite (albeit only) sister-in-law, and meet her new boyfriend. Here it is:

They reviewed the menus. When the waitress returned with their drinks, they were ready to order. Everyone ordered shellfish and salad. When the salads arrived, they paused momentarily from their conversation to dig in. Then James turned to Andie.

“So Andie,” he said, dabbing the corner of his mouth with his napkin, then putting the napkin on his lap like his mother taught him to do in fancy restaurants. “I met Sally in Junior High. We were both totally awkward back then. No offense Sally.”

“Oh, none taken,” Sally said enthusiastically. “I completely agree. I was totally awkward back then. Well, until like a month ago!”

James smiled fondly at Sally and turned back to Andie. “So what was she like as a kid?” he asked. “I bet she was a cute baby.”

“Oh, she was!” Andie agreed. “I was seven when she was born, so she was my little baby doll. She had these springy curls and round pink cheeks that always looked like they needed to be pinched! Mom was still pretty busy with our brother Nathan, who was two when she was born, so I would entertain Sally with my stories and songs and puppet shows. She had such a laugh, so I was always trying to do things to make her laugh. She had a short attention span so I had to come up with new things to do to make her happy all the time. If I didn’t, she would cry.”

“Is she like that with you, James?” Derrek joked. 

“I’ve never seen her cry,” James admitted.

“Take her to a sappy movie,” Derrek advised him. “But bring Kleenex. And bring Andie too, she could use a good happy cry.”

Andie nodded. “It’s true,” she confided. “I really could.”

“Sally may have been awkward at school,” Derrek said, “but at home, she was always the life of the party.” He looked at Sally. “Remember? You were always singing, dancing around, trying to get everyone’s attention.”

Sally blushed. “Oh God, that was such a long time ago!”

He turned back to James. “And she loved to bake with her  Mom and Grandma.”

“Yeah,” Sally said, “So you always had cookies and brownies to eat.”

Derrek grinned. “Can you still bribe her with chocolate?”

James raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Andie laughed. “We learned that if we gave her a chocolate bar or a cookie, she would let us watch whatever we wanted on TV.”

“Or give us some alone time when we needed it,” Derrek added.

Sally gave a little shrug. “Well, I guess I still respond  pretty well to chocolate.”

James caught her eye and smiled. “Good to know.”

He remembered the shy version of Sally at Randall, who was separated from her friends in class, and relied on him and his friends for some friendly interaction each day. He thought about how easy it would have been for them to ignore her, and how grateful he was now that they didn’t. She must have brought out the best in them, even back then. 

“Sally has been a godsend for Andie too,” Derrek continued, “I was deployed in Germany for a year before I was assigned to Fort Benning, so Andie really needed her family. And when Josie was born, Sally was really there for her. She’s more like a second mom to Josie than an aunt.  Sally, even if Andie had another sister, you would still be my favorite sister-in-law.”

James looked at Sally, and noticed her wiping a tear off of her cheek with the back of her hand. On the other side of the table, Andie sniffed. He was struck by how similar Sally and her sister looked, with their brown hair and sparkling pale blue eyes. They had similar facial expressions, and both appeared to wear their emotions right on the surface. “Well,” Derrek said, reaching out to take Sally’s hand, “now you’ve seen her crying.” They smiled at each other affectionately.

The entrees were served, and they all composed themselves to eat.

James took a bite of shrimp, and felt it melt like butter in his mouth. Everyone else was quiet as silverware clinked on plates. 

Well, if that doesn’t make you hungry, I don’t know what will! Thanks for reading this far, and I hope if you buy the book, you will enjoy every scene!

To order my book: www.amazon.com/author/dbmeltzerquick

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