In the process of preparing Mary In Color for print publication, I just re-read it. When I finished the last page, I smiled because suddenly I realized the book is very much a romantic comedy. One might assume that I, as the author, would have set out to write a romantic comedy. Not so. I am never so clear thinking and practical. I set out to write a story about a mother, and my aim, as always, was to write a story that would give others the same comfort and joy that I myself have received from reading wonderful novels of beloved authors. That aim is always my guide.
I believe in happy endings, even if it takes a while.
The great movie actress Greer Garson said, “I think the mirror should be tilted slightly upward when it’s reflecting life–toward the cheerful, the tender, the compassionate, the brave, the funny, the encouraging, all those things.” I heartily agree. Greer’s movies were all in that vein, as were almost all films of the 1930’s-1940s, decades of world-wide depression and war.
During my young teen years, the times when my views on life were being formed, in addition to reading romantic novels, I would hurry home from school, throw my books in my room, and join my mother in watching ‘The Afternoon Movie’ on our old television set, with tin foil often on the antenna to encourage reception. Mama knew all these classics from her youth. She sat on the end of the couch, one leg bent beneath her, with her cigarettes and a bottle of Coca-Cola (Until the day she died, Mama said the entire name of the drink). I sat in a large chair in the same position, with my bottle of Coke and sometimes popcorn. We would discuss the actors, almost as if we knew them personally, and what other movies they had made. I would have a slice of time with my mother that was good. And thus I grew to love romantic comedies and stories with happy endings. The world is a hard place, and believing in happy endings gives us strength.
If you have read the eBook of Mary In Color and enjoyed it, it would be ever so helpful to me if you left a review and told your friends. Reviews and word of mouth help writers and readers.
The paperback edition is scheduled to be released in April. I still, (bless my pea-pickin’ heart, as my mother would have said) prefer paper books. I’ve tried to embrace the Kindle Paperwhite. I’ve barely gotten to acceptance.
grace and peace,
Curtiss Ann Matlock 