Bonus Pictures

Ray Barcalow posted these great pictures of Andersen Pool on Facebook. He graciously granted permission to post them here. We all have such good memories of fun times there.  If you never went there these pictures will help you imagine the setting of one of my favorite books. Enjoy.

Tawas Point Lighthouse

Did you ever dream of being a volunteer lighthouse keeper? Click on the picture above of the lighthouse to apply.

In my eBook, A Light Shines Forth, life changing events begin at the Tawas Point Lighthouse during a volunteer week for two families. A prank goes bad causing broken bones as well as broken relationships.

To read my book click on it below.

A Facebook friend, Ricardo De La Garza, posted this photo. It brings back such good memories of Tony's on Weadock. Thanks for letting me post it, Ricardo.

Martha Street Market is Available

The friends are back in Book Five of the Saginaw Series.  Questions abound. Will Katy reconcile with Jen and Colleen, restoring their remarkable friendship through their senior year? Will Sarah and Joseph's hope to adopt a baby be fulfilled after a devastating change of heart ended their first attempt? A book with strong faith-filled characters to share with your daughter, mother, aunt and friends.

Click on the Book

Exciting News

Brenda Wiegand has agreed to paint a picture for the cover of the Martha Street Market book.

You can see her work on Facebook in the public group:

Designs by Brenda @ the right path

When my brother-in-law could not do the artwork for this book I called my best friend and editor, Kay and said I didn't know what to do. She immediately thought of Brenda.

I have admired Brenda's work for a long time.  I was so excited to send her a message. She said YES!

So... it's getting closer...

Woohoo - One Step Closer

Second edit done!  Kay came over with her edits and they made such a difference in the book. Martha Street Market is evolving into a great last book of the Saginaw Series.  I cannot wait for my sister, Jane to get here next week so I can give her a printout for the last edit.  Then as soon as I get the cover art I will be able to publish on Amazon.

I know every single time - and this is the 12th time - that I publish a book, I realize how blessed I am with great editors. Mary Lynn, Kathy, Jane and Kay - these books get so much better after your read them and tell me where I need to explain more, change my commas, ask questions about parts you don't understand and even make sure I have named the right character in the right spot!

The artists I have chosen each time have been superior.  D.A. Clifford - my brother-in-law Dan was the first artist I asked to sketch a cover for my first book series and now he is finishing up with one more cover for the Saginaw Series.  Hope Sweigart a wonderful photographer helped choose her cover photos for the Holiday Series and Four Season Friends.  A Light Shines Forth was inspired by Mike Sonnenberg, the cover artist with his picture of the Tawas Light House. And the book, New Beginnings, was inspired by artwork by Clarence Lum - his painting Prada Girl made the words just tumble out of my heart when I saw it.

So excited...

Inspiration

This morning I read something so inspiring I had to include it in Martha Street Market, the 5th book in the Saginaw Series. The inspiration was a post my friend, Jimmy E. Greene put on Facebook.  I asked him for permission to use it in my book and he kindly said yes.  This is in the dedication of the book:

This book is also dedicated to a very good friend.  I have only seen him a handful of times, but on Facebook... I read his wonderful posts and pray for him to continue the good work he does every single day.  Even though he is working nonstop - always at one airport or another - what makes him so remarkable is that I see him first as a wonderful husband and father. 

I don't miss trips

I've never made or

places I've never been.

I don't miss jobs

I never had or

people that I've never met.

I've found remarkable peace that every place

I'm at is where

I was supposed

to be and everyone in

my life is who

I needed when

I needed them most

                 - Jimmy E. Greene

                    May 30, 2017

                    Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

Big Day for Martha Street Market!

I am so excited - today is a big day - My sister, and my cousin, Mary Lynn are on their way here to edit Martha Street Market.  AND, my husband, Pat is on his way to his brother, Dan's, to drop off some pictures and description of what I would like for the cover of the book.

I can't wait to get started on this next phase of the book.  After we finish the first edit my friend, Kay, will do the next edit.  Then it goes to my sister, Jane.

I am blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people in my life.  I'll take a picture and post it when we are editing.

Hoyt Library

Sam Bashans posted this picture in Saginaw's BEST Past, Present, and Future group on Facebook. He said I could repost it here. If you are interested in Saginaw history that is a great group to join. The pictures are so interesting.

I love the Hoyt Library. I spent many hours there while growing up. My new book, Martha Street Market, has the opening chapter set in this library. I finished the rough draft yesterday. Now the long process of editing. I love how this book ends the Saginaw Series.

Free eBooks for your students

I would like to offer my Saginaw Series eBooks free for your classes. They are geared towards middle school students; however every age enjoys the stories. There are questions at the end of each book to use in discussions.

I would love to see high school students mentor middle school students by reading the books to each other on a one-to-one basis.  To read a teacher review of using Webber House in a class situation click here.

All four books of the Saginaw Series will be available for free. Click on the books to go to my author page for more information on the books.

I would have to schedule a giveaway day for you to get the books free. Just give me a couple days to schedule the giveaway.

Contact me by email for more information or to set up a giveaway:

mesclifford@charter.net

For your convenience:

Whispercast makes delivering the eBooks easy. To see more about Whispercast click the picture:

Unrivaled selection. Easy discovery.

• Access a large library of free and pay-for eBooks, eTextbooks, and Apps
• Search by grade, subject, and age. Filter by user ratings and Lexile score
• Publish your own content and share it with your students and classes

Inspiration

I prayed for inspiration last night. This morning I saw this and knew just where it belongs in the 5th book of the Saginaw Series, Martha Street Market. Thank you for prayers answered.

Mmmm....Delicious Aromas

I went looking for Martha Street Market and found the Cruz Family from St. Mary Cathedral purchased it in 1969.  In the Saginaw Series the building is the little grocery store that I remember from growing up - but it was so much fun to find this family working from this building for so long.

Gloria and Santos Cruz own the building at 1200 Martha Street that used to be Martha Street Market. Along with their son, Michael they run a successful take out business.  When I stopped to ask them a few questions about the store they were so helpful.  The food smelled delicious.  I can't wait to go back there to order takeouts for dinner.  Some of their choices are: Tamale Dnner, Wet Burrito, Burrito, Taco, Tostada, Menudo. 

When I explained who I was, Michael asked, "Are you Ms. Shea's daughter?" 

I answered that I was - my Mom was the secretary in the grade school.  His face lit up.  He excitedly called his parents to the front saying, "This is Ms. Shea's daughter."

Michael went on to tell me that St. Mary Cathedral was family to them.  The people he went to school with still come and order their food for family dinners.  He told me several names of families coming in that day for their Christmas dinner orders.

The whole visit made me so happy.  Such a sweet family - with a great business.