At age fourteen, my mom introduced me to romance books. On
our summer breaks, she took us to the library. Our reads had to last two weeks
and then she would take us back. I was such a fast reader. I read mine,
sometimes twice, and sometimes, my sisters’ books too.
One day, I was totally bored. Nothing new to read. So I
asked Mom if we could go to the library, a day off from our regular schedule.
She firmed her lips and gave me an interesting look. Then she reached for her
handbag, stashed on a shelf in a built-in bookcase. She pushed a small
paperback in my hands and said, “Read this.”
On the front was a picture of a couple, a dark-headed girl
turned away from a man with brown hair wearing a suit. The author’s name was Emilie
Loring. I flipped the book over and read the back cover blurb. Hmmm, I thought,
and went to my room where I plopped on my bed and began.
I was captivated. A few hours later, I said to Mom, “Finished.
Can I read another?”
Every week, my mom met her three sisters at my grandmother’s
house where they shared everything, sewed, crafted, ate lunch. At those times,
one aunt passed on the books. I had to wait for the weekly meeting before I
could get a new one to read. So I read it twice.
Before Christmas this past year, I decided to read all of
Emilie’s work in order of publication. The first one was The Trail of Conflict
from 1922. The last was The Shining Years from 1972. About the first half of the books were
written by Emilie, and the second half were partially ghostwritten. The heroines
were usually in their early twenties and the heroes were older. Some of the men
were politicians, ministers, business owners, secret agents, ranchers, military
guys. Together, they flushed out the bad guys. Emilie’s descriptions of food,
scenery, and clothing drew glorious pictures in my mind and of course, a happy
ever after.
And that’s when I fell in love with romance. What is
the book you’ve never forgotten?
Romance + Fun + Mystery = a good story! Have you tried these:
4 comments:
The book that opened the reading floodgates for me was Nancy Drew and the Mystery of the Old Clock. When I was 12, I babysat on weekends for a single mom. She and her five-year-old daughter lived in a secluded area. (In the South we called it living in the woods.) I would babysit days and/or nights. And it was sometimes scary. But I braved the ominous noises of things that go bump in the night to get to read Nancy Drew.
I still love mysteries. :)
Hi, Sandra! I loved Nancy Drew too and Trixie Belden, the Bobbsey twins. You were very brave indeed. I remember sitting for a couple and the French doors off the living area. The television was in that room too; so that was where I stayed. But when the wind blew, the doors shuddered. Scared the crap outta me and I wasn't even in the woods. LOL Thanks for sharing.
"Joy in the Morning." I still have the paperback, given to me by my grandmother. It's old, tattered, but I'll always hold on to it because it reminds me of my grandmother.
Hi, Angela! I'm pretty sure I've read your favorite. I'll have to google to make sure.
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