Finding Clarice by Jo-Brew exerpt
Chapter 4

The bright sunlight woke Clarice early but she closed her eyes and snuggled into the warmth of the bed. She lay half awake and realized she felt wonderful, full of anticipation. She stretched and discovered the longish soak in the hot bath last night had done a lot to avoid stiffness. In spite of the coziness of the bed, she had no desire to linger once she'd reached awareness. She wanted to be up and active. She threw the covers back and felt for her slippers with her bare feet. She located them, stood and stretched again, as tall as she could.

She marveled at the change from her usual morning blues. The fear of a seriously damaged career wasn't her first waking thought. The boredom of the recovery routine hadn't kept her weighted down in the bed. It was a promising morning.

She began her regular recovery routine with her stretching exercises and then poured her juice. While she swallowed pills and drank, she stood at the east facing window and soaked up sunshine. She admitted to herself, the excitement she was feeling was because Ray would call, probably soon.

Before she'd had time to savor the anticipation, the phone rang. Her "Hello?" was followed by a short silence.

"I'd forgotten your voice could sound so husky. Good morning. I hope you were up." Ray explained, "I didn't want to wait."

www.Jo-Brew.com

With the return of rain to bring me out of the garden, I went to my stack of unread books to choose one for an evening's entertainment. The treasure I picked was Alice's Tulips by Sandra Dallas. Set during the civil war, it is a dramatic story of relationships between women, survival and strength while the men were gone. Quilts and the importance of quilting as artistic expression, entry into a community of women and as a source of warmth for the men fighting the war provided the framework for the story. The history of many classic patterns and quilting itself was provided separately so as not to distract from the story. A skillfull writer
developed an engrossing story. www.Jo-Brew.com

After hearing Anne Lamott's book, Bird by Bird, recommended everywhere writers meet to talk, I picked up a copy. Not fiction but a revelation of the writer's life. The last chapter, in particular, reminded me of just why I keep writing. Good inspiration.