Mothers of Invention -- A Tribute

Hello blog friends! It’s been a long time since I’ve posted here. I’ve missed chatting with you.

I should explain that my lovely and loving mother died on May 19 at the age of 71. Since then I’ve alternated between sorrow, anxiety, numbness, and a cautious cheerfulness. Many of you have been through this. No doubt you’d tell me there’s no right or wrong way to grieve, and that I should give myself as much time as I need. I do appreciate that.

This post really isn't about grief, however. It is about a legacy of love. To honor my mother (and grandmother) I'd like to share a specific example of their magical influence on my life.

I promise this will make you SMILE.

Like many young girls, I obsessed over the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. My fascination began when Mom read Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie to me at bedtime. As Laura and I grew older, I graduated to reading the novels on my own. Wishing to be as much like my favorite protagonist as possible, I demanded that my hair be braided, wore my ruffled calico dress until it burst at the seams, and begged to go to Grandma’s farm where I could practice baking, butter churning, and cow tending. (Working in the garden was less inspiring, but imagining myself as Laura helped make it endurable.) When Mom remarried I decided henceforth that she and my stepfather would be known as Ma and Pa. No one dared to disagree. Even my Barbie dolls were forced to hold down a claim under a tree in the backyard. In their little frame house they cooked on a miniature cast iron stove, slept on straw-filled mattresses, and fed fragrant grass seed to their (plastic) horses.

Mom and Grandma were well aware of my obsession. They shared it, after all. And thus one year they concocted a plan for my Christmas present--a plan so ambitious they must have been as intimidated as they were excited by the enormity of their task. They undertook to sew a complete wardrobe for my Barbie dolls based on Laura Ingalls’ wedding trousseau from These Happy Golden Years.

Each day, as soon as I was safely on the school bus, my mother collected my Barbies and drove to Grandma’s house. Together they pored over the text of the book, taking notes on her descriptions of fabrics and dress styles. They cross-referenced these details with a reproduction 1900 Sears & Roebuck catalog and adapted Barbie dress patterns to the old-fashioned styles. Once they knew exactly what they would be sewing it was time to plunder the ragbag for fabric scraps that closely resembled the dresses described in the book. Only after they’d exhausted that resource did they take out their pocketbooks and travel to the fabric store for the materials they did not already have.

They watched the clock carefully in the afternoons to ensure my mom would get home before the bus. Each day she returned my dolls to what she hoped was the exact spot where I’d left them. To her credit, I never had a clue of the costume fitting adventures my Barbie dolls had undertaken during the day...


At least, not until Christmas Day brought this box of MAGIC.

Would you like to see what was inside?

[Here's where I confess to devoting an entire day to a Barbie photo shoot, just so I could show you the clothes that were packed in that box. Many thanks go to Disney's "Belle" Barbie for standing in for my long lost dolls. And as always with my blog photos, if you would like a closer view, click the image to enlarge.]


First there was the brown poplin dress:

It's smooth, long sleeves fitted her arms perfectly to the wrists, where a band of plain silk ended them. The neck was high with a smooth band of the plain silk around the throat. The polonaise fitted tightly and buttoned all down the front with small round buttons covered with the plain brown silk. Below the smooth hips it flared and rippled down and covered the top of the flounce on the underskirt. A band of the plain silk finished the polonaise at the bottom. (These Happy Golden Years, 162-63).

I loved that there were two parts to this dress, and that you can see the underskirt's ruffle peeping out below the silk ribbon of the polonaise. Note: this was the dress Laura wore during the infamous buggy ride in which she shook the buggy whip and startled the colts, all because Almanzo tried to put his arm around her. Cheeky young man! (And "devilish" young lady!)


The pink lawn dress also came in two pieces and was gorgeously feminine. Grandma and Mom were particularly adept at recreating the tuck work that Laura described:

They made the waist tight-fitting, with two clusters of tucks down the back, and two in front...The skirt was gathered very full all round into a narrow waistband, which buttoned over the bottom of the waist to secure them from slipping apart. All down the full skirt, tucks went around and around it, spaced evenly a little way apart, and below the bottom tuck was a full-gathered ruffled four inches wide that just touched Laura's shoe tips (243-44).


Laura's black cashmere wedding dress was constructed of soft, fine-waled corduroy, complete with lace at the neck and a tiny wooden brooch painted with an even tinier strawberry. [See a closer view of the brooch.] Grandma and Mom sewed Laura's straw poke bonnet out of roughly textured green fabric and lined it with blue cotton.

Laura was ready when Almanzo came. She was wearing her new black cashmere dress and her sage-green poke bonnet with the blue lining and the blue ribbon bow tied under left ear. The soft black tips of her shoes barely peeped from beneath her flaring skirt as she walked (279).

(For the record, I simply could not manage to tie that ribbon under Belle's left ear without it looking ridiculous.)


Being very attentive to detail, Mom and Grandma did not forget Laura's underclothes. Mom cleverly constructed a narrow hoop skirt of wire and tape--"the very latest style in the East" (161)--and even fashioned a tiny bustle that could be taped underneath for fullness or on top for modest backside enhancement. Knowing Laura preferred a small bustle, I usually taped it on top. (In the photo, however, it is taped underneath for maximum enhancement. Check the side view of the black wedding dress for the effect.) To cover the hoop they provided a soft white cotton petticoat with yellow ribbon trim. Their pièce de résistance, however, was a corset of white satin sewn with the tiniest of stitches to fit the fabric exactly to Barbie's inhuman proportions.


Mom and Grandma even found time to sew a long-sleeved, flowing nightgown of white flannel sprinkled with delicate purple flowers for Barbie. They also made a girl-sized one out of the same material for me. Sadly, my gown is long gone, but Barbie looks quite cozy in hers, doesn't she?

As you might imagine, I was thoroughly enchanted by this miniature and very complicated wardrobe, and I spent hours dressing and undressing my dolls. A few items didn't survive the heavy use, and one dress (a blue calico?) was drastically retooled during my Medieval Barbie phase, but the rest were passed down to my baby sister when I went to college. (I honestly can't remember how I felt about this. I wonder if I even knew?) Eventually my dear nieces played with them as well, and I'm certain the dresses enjoyed their varied adventures over the years. Their good condition today is a testament both to the care that went into their construction and the delicacy with which we played with them.

A few years ago Mom and I searched through the toy box and collected all the Laura Ingalls items we could find. Just last week I conducted my photo shoot--partly for posterity, but mostly as a way to celebrate Mom and Grandma. They were true mothers of invention, and it is such an honor (not to mention a balm to my sore heart) to share their industry and artistry with you!

I will close with a message for these dearly departed ladies: Thank you, Grandma and Mom, for taking time out of your busy days to enter a child's imagination, for making her dreams come true, and for gifting her with your love of history and story. Thank you for the magic. You both will live forever in my heart.


Grandma and me (You can see I inherited her mouth) on Christmas Day, 1978? (Photo taken by Mom)


Margaret Ellen (Grandma) and Marcia (Mom), circa 1962

**Many thanks to my sister, Heather Miller, who searched the family albums for the Christmas photos!

[Cross-posted at Livejournal]

Recent adventures

It's been a busy fall . . .


Right on the heels of the YA AdVANture tour, Tessa Gratton, Tara Hudson and I managed eleven library/school visits in five days. (The above photo was taken at the Blanchard Public Library.) We had a blast that week! It was hard to say goodbye at the end.


After appearances at OCTE and the Rose State Short Course on Writing, I moved on to Encyclomedia. The Brown Brothers of Perma-bound put together a series of appearances to benefit Moore schools impacted by the May tornado, and it was an honor to spend time with Gennifer Choldenko, Ann Hood, Ruta Sepetys, and Wendelin Van Draanen -- such incredibly classy ladies! (I enjoyed silly fun with them, too, as you can see above.)


Up next? My road trip to Tennessee. I enjoyed visits with friends and family (hooray for sweet nieces!), but also managed three library appearances. Many thanks go to Pam Ford at the Stewart County Library, Jean Nichols at the Clarksville-Montgomery County Library, and Kay French and Kaity at the Houston County Library. They all welcomed me so warmly, and the Houston County library even put on an English tea spread, with the added bonus of a spooky flower arrangement that matched The Dark Between (see above)!


The TN trip wrapped up with the Southern Festival of Books. My panel with Aprilynne Pike and Teal Haviland came off splendidly, and I had a great time visiting with my pal DeAnne, as well as Courtney Summers (who took the above photo), Carla Schooler, Myra McEntire and Sharon Cameron. (Here's Myra and I posing in front of some impressive buttocks.) And on Sunday night, I met up with DeAnne and friends (and eventually my brother) for drinks and snacks at a speakeasy! (Next time you're in Nashville, you simply must check out the Patterson House.)


This past weekend I enjoyed a relaxing and inspiring retreat by Lake Tenkiller in Tahlequah. My crit pals and I chatted, played word games, visited a Benedictine Abbey (!!!), critiqued, and set goals for our writing. My lovely friends also threw a little party for The Dark Between, complete with character cupcakes.

So . . . lots of travel and talking and fun. But now it's time to get back to my hermit hole and WRITE.

Stay tuned for giveaways featuring books from authors I've spent time with recently!

[Cross-posted at Livejournal]

Home. For real this time.

A few days after returning from England I drove out to TN to see family. My baby brother York, who lives in Japan--and whom I haven't seen in person for years--was in town with his lovely new bride Fumiyo and her niece and nephew. Of course I was more than happy to zoom across the country to see them! The trip was a whirlwind, but I did get a chance to visit with most of the members of my oddly fragmented family, so this counts as a win. :)

I haven't sorted through all the photos yet, but here's a nice one of me with big brother Ernest and baby brother York. Those of you who haven't seen York since he was a child will be SURPRISED.


We're all grown up now!

One thing I love about driving trips is listening to audio books, and I have a few recommendations for you:

Wicked Autumn -- A pretty solid cozy mystery, but I might have enjoyed it even more had I read it myself rather than listening. (So in this case, I'm recommending the story more than the vocal performance.)

Horton Halfpott -- sold it to me as a very, very silly Downton Abbey, this was an amazing voice performance by Ron Keith! Highly entertaining and highly recommended. (I really don't understand the single 3-star rating on the Audible site.)

Odd and the Frost Giants -- a charming adaptation of a Norse myth written and performed by Neil Gaiman. Short and sweet, and Gaiman does a wonderful job differentiating all the voices.

Oh, and I also read Keeping the Castle on my Kindle. What could be better than a YA Regency romp?

(Thanks to Caroline Starr Rose, Dave Wall and Jennifer Laughran for the recs!)

[Cross-posted at Livejournal]

Travel and inspiration

On Monday I returned from a 9 day road trip, most of which I spent with family in Tennessee. What a whirlwind! Actually, I enjoy long driving trips on my own, partly for the opportunity to listen to books on CD (this time it was Michelle Cooper's A Brief History of Montmaray), but also to do a little plotting on my own stories as I zip along the interstate.

Two encounters during my visit inspired a flurry of interstate plottings on the return trip:

1) When I told my dad about the characters and setting for a new story, he remarked that my main character would have been born about the same time as his mother -- my dear 94-year-old grandmother, Ruby. That prompted me to ask Grandmother if she once again would share her photograph albums with me. (Looking at Grandmother's photos has been a favorite activity of mine since early childhood.)

Fortunately, Great-grandfather Tippit was an avid photographer, so there are many photos of my grandmother as a baby, child and teenager. Here is one of my favorites:


Grandmother Ruby stands at the right with her sisters Dorothy (middle) and Mildred (left). Aren't they charming? And check this out: a photo of Grandmother as a wee baby!

Lucky for me, my grandmother wrote (& self-published) her memoir several years ago, so I have easy access to details of her life growing up in the 30s. In fact, I am incredibly fortunate that both my grandmothers took the time to set down their memories in writing -- not only does it help me understand them and feel closer to them, but they've provided lots of material for me to mine for stories! (In a respectful way, of course.)

2) When I visited my mom in Indian Mound, TN, I stayed at the Lylewood Inn Bed & Breakfast. Partly this was because my old bedroom in Mom's attic is currently full of boxes and furniture, but mostly I wanted to check out this old house in order to flesh out yet another story idea.


The house you see here was built in 1892 on the foundations of an antebellum log house that burned to the ground in 1890. It perches on a hill above the Cumberland River, proud and lovely. You can almost see it preening, can't you? It's hard to believe I never knew this house existed until a few years ago. I grew up only 25 minutes away!

It was fun to listen to the owner as she shared stories of this house and the one that stood before it, mostly because all the while I was plotting an entirely different past and present for the house.

I hope one day you'll see each of these stories on a library or bookstore shelf. Cross your fingers!

Photos from my TN weekend

Today I'm visiting Creative Writing students at Edmond Memorial High School, at the invitation of my dear friend and crit partner Kelly Bristow. I'm so excited!

This past weekend I was in TN for the Southern Festival of Books. Originally I planned to hit the road Tuesday morning (I had everything packed and audio books ready to go), but Monday night the STOMACH FLU OF DOOM struck. Sadly, the trip was cut short -- I had to fly in and out and therefore didn't get to see all the people I would have liked to see. Still, it was a pretty awesome trip. Here, let me show you . . .

My panel with Victoria Schwab was a blast! Also enjoyed panels/presentations with Myra McEntire, Ruta Sepetys, and Charles Frazier, and it was nice to visit for a bit with fellow Elevensie Karyn Henley.

One of the best things about the day was spending it with my dear friend of 30+ years, DeAnne. Thanks for coming, De! (Her brother took this photo -- I hadn't seen him in over a decade.)

On Sunday I drove out to Stewart County and spent the afternoon with my mom, stepfather, brother, and nieces. This is Shelby, who is in third grade and apparently likes to be coy/mysterious for her photos opps.

And here's Samantha, who is in pre-K this year and doesn't run away from my camera anymore. My girls are growing up!

To conclude, I just had to share a photo of my dad's crazy amazing driveway. Sometimes I think we have pretty trees in Oklahoma, and then I go to TN and see ACTUAL trees. Wow!

This weekend Tessa Gratton, Tara Hudson and I will be doing fun authorly things in Oklahoma City and Norman -- check the sidebar for details. We'd love to see you!

Friday Favorites

I ran across a poem yesterday, and it made me smile. I'm a fan of Billy Collins but had somehow missed the fact that he'd written a poem entitled "The Revenant."

I confess to having hoped it would be sexy and Victorian, just like my book one of my favorite poems of his, Taking off Emily Dickinson's Clothes.

But . . . not quite. Check out this video of him reading it:





Later today I'm giving a presentation to Oklahoma History students (three presentations, actually) on the history of the Cherokee Female Seminary. On the day before Spring Break. Wish me luck!

P.S. My thoughts are with the people of Japan after the devastating earthquake/tsunami. As far as I can tell, my brother was nowhere near the epicenter, but we're still waiting to hear from him. ETA: He's okay!

This and that

Happy Valentine's Day, my friends!

Just a few updates -- I will be giving away an ARC of The Revenant at the end of this month. The hardcover doesn't come out until June 14, so this is your chance to read it early, and in convenient paperback form! Oh, and I'll throw in lots of swag -- and maybe even another book or two -- to sweeten the pot. So please stay tuned.

Speaking of The Revenant, I got my first 1-star rating at Goodreads the other day. Yes, Goodreads is the devil and I should stop going there -- I will stop eventually -- but this seemed like a rite of passage I needed to face. It was a 1-star rating with no review, so I looked the reader up to get some "context." No personal info, no Goodreads friends, but lots of books listed. In particular, lots of Stephen King. I thought "well obviously my book is going to seem disappointing to a Stephen King fan" and brushed it off, feeling very proud of myself for being so mature and unruffled.

It didn't end there, of course. I was noodling around on Goodreads again and decided to look at more of this reviewer's reads. After the long list of positively rated Stephen King titles came a slew of 1-star rated books, including several Philip Pullman books, The Diary of Anne Frank, and more books that I really love. At that point I felt a little smug -- I was in good company!

The next day, the rating for The Revenant disappeared altogether. (???) Not sure what happened there. I was a little sad.

Lesson learned -- stop effing around with Goodreads. Eventually I will get legit 1-star ratings with scathing reviews attached. Best to just stay away, right?

Okay, what else . . .

Today I am fighting off The Sick as I get myself sorted and packed for a big trip with my stepmother. She and I are going to Paris together! We've had this dream for years, and darling Steve made it possible by getting us tickets with frequent flyer miles. We're staying a full week in an apartment near the Eiffel Tower. I'm sure we will be very silly and get lost at least three times a day, but it'll be lovely to have a girl's week in Paris. I've only been once, and it was a whirlwind trip, so please let me know if you have any "must-see" things/places to recommend.

À Bientôt, mes amis!

[Cross-posted from Livejournal]