Thursday, August 26, 2010

It's About Time

I finally emailed my picture book manuscript to Kaylan Adair of Candlewick Press.

I had until Sept 15th to send it to her.

Amazing Miss Maizy is now titled Miss Gracie and the Shiny Black Crows.

It has changed a lot since I first put the words on paper.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I still have not heard from Sourcebooks about my manuscript, Lucy of Tupper's Hollow. I sent it to them in June. It has only been two months, but it seems like it has been a lot longer.

I've started putting together The McMillion Family History. I have wanted to do this for a long time and look forward to writing it.

I think I will call it That's Okay, We'll sit the Coffeepot on it. Everyone in the family tells me that was a favorite saying of my Grandpa McMillion. He died 6 months before I was born, so I only know him from pictures and recollections of older family members.

In addition to family trees, pictures, names and dates, I will fill it with info about the everyday lives of our family. I'm going to write about our food customs and traditions (with recipes), superstitions and special abilities of family members (my grandma was a very superstitious person and my grandpa had special abilities. . . such as stopping bleeding and blowing the heat out of burns), their occupations, military records and much more.

I have found some old obituaries from the 1800s that tell a lot about the person. One tells how this lady will be remembered for her beautiful thick black hair, which came to be known by family and friends as "McMillion hair" (My mother had thick, wavy, dark hair).

There is so much we can learn from these early records.

Another one tells how this man loved to go to auctions and that he loved to work in his apple orchard, and farmed and raised sheep and cattle. I was lucky enough a few years ago to find the cemetery that this long ago Uncle was buried at in Cana, VA, and the path leading to the cemetery was lined with apple trees!

Has anyone ever written their family history? Any suggestions from anyone?

6 comments:

  1. That's good news on the picture book. Don't sweat the manuscript. Publishers like to take their time.
    Never put anything together as far as family history.

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  2. I bet you are excited about your picture book! I also do a lot of Genealogy research and love to learn little known facts about my ancestors. I have lots of material on my husband's side of the family.
    Would love to read more about your ancestors.

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  3. Sounds like you have a very interesting tale to tell.
    I have not written our history. I don't think I know enough of it to fill the pages of a book.

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  4. I'll be excited to hear your news on the picture book! Your family history book is sounding so special~sounds like you have a lot of information for it!

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  5. Hi Janet,
    well to have a talent for writting is a great gift and you seem to have it.
    Yes researching the family can be very interesting. I wish they all would have kept diaries.
    Nancy Jo

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  6. Janet,
    Good luck on your children books. Sounds like you are really busy writing. Good luck on writing your family history, too. I have done some stories on our family, but I'm not into writing a book on our family. Good luck with your books. I really admire someone who can write so many books. I just can't seem to find enough time to do everything I need to do. Have a great Labor Day.

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