If you read the blog before, I would imagine you were thoroughly entertained. I wrote too much information about too many books, and I gave you some juicy details that I’m sure held your interest. Let’s start over with a little less information on the author, and more on the book that is to be sold.

MY PAST

All anyone needs to know about me, is that I was born in San Francisco, my father was from Spain, and he came to the United States with his mother and two sisters.

I spent my early life in dance and theater programs, basically, and writing. My first story was in third grade, and I won a prize. It was about a unicorn who helps other unicorns, and because he loved helping, that made him a winner in the unicorn community. All my teachers made over how great that story was. It was in the hallway for months, adorned with a big fat red A+.

My second story was not an assignment. My friend’s mother died, and I wrote about it. I presented it to her. She said, “It’s good, but it needs work.” We were in fourth grade. I still stay in touch with her.

I wrote poetry in college, but my husband used to laugh about it. He has made the comment several times, “Looking back, what you wrote was great! I wish we still had your poems.”

Through my twenties and thirties, I journaled, when I could, and then I wrote children’s stories.

I read to my oldest daughter a lot. We’d visit the library once a week, and check out seventeen books, (that was the limit) then we’d spend an hour a day, sometimes longer, just reading our bounty. We did this so often, that I decided I could do better. So I did. I have twenty children’s books ready to go. I just never did anything with them.

I stopped all writing between age thirty-three, up until I was forty-two. I went in to interview for a teaching position for Fort Smith. They asked me what my goal was, and I said, “to write a book.”

“What would you write about?” I wouldn’t tell them. At the time, I thought I’d write a book about parenting. I felt like I was the only person who knew how to parent. Lol

This made them angry, and a little suspicious? But I still got the job. At the time, there weren’t that many Special Education, Early Childhood, Preschool, General Education, Middle School, and Phys. Ed. certified teachers. However, even though I loved kids, and I thought special ed. kids were the best personalities in the entire world, (at the time, gen. ed. kids were just mean- they drove me crazy) I wasn’t a special ed. teacher in my heart.

I moved out of the classroom, and into my car, traveling from home to home. I was the first, lone, homebound teacher for the Fort Smith school district, and I did that for seven years. Today, I write. That’s the only thing in my life that’s stayed constant and made it through all the seasons. I really do look forward to getting up in the morning, making coffee, and writing.

Right now, the book series I want to promote is the college age books about a homeschool overachiever, who meets a football player with a past. For whatever reason, I do love these “Lauren” books.

“Fridays Up the Hill” is about a gorgeous, homeschooled, young, pre-med student, who knew she wanted to be a doctor after she went on a mission trip with her nurse mother. She loved helping and praying over the sick, and then when she came back to the states, that was her goal, her future, and she planned it well.

I’ve heard our university, here in Fort Smith, can mimic a private college. The professors have small classes, so they can be more attentive to their students.

The instructors in the book have a love/hate relationship with ‘Lauren’ because although she gives everything her all, she almost nags them to take a special interest in the university clubs, societies, and ever existing meetings and organizations. The instructors are busy, and they have families, (and lives) so when a young injured, somewhat famed, football player enrolls at the university, so he can remain close to home for recovery, the staff starts directing him toward the beautiful, naïve, Lauren Peters.

MOVING AT A SNAIL’S PACE

Oscar Fontaine, having a dark and deceptive past, is intrigued by Lauren, so he pursues her without telling her anything much about him. And that’s when the story gets legs, with a slow moving, almost old-fashioned, romance, which Oscar adores. He himself has to move slower, physically, so to relax with Lauren, and take it one day at a time, he quickly understands that she’s worth the wait.

The story progresses as Oscar gets better, and therefore has to transfer back to Fayetteville for graduation. Lauren doesn’t realize how much Oscar means to her till he’s gone, and then she has a dream, in which the outcome greatly disturbs her. That brings her back to him, which gives him a second chance to persuade her to finally fall in love with him. He only has a few Fridays with her, up the hill in Fayetteville, before he has to leave.

Look for the book on Kindle. Paperback and auditory will be available in January.

Now you know about me, a local author, and what and how I write. (I let the characters take the lead.)

Today, enjoy your moments, and soak up life. Even the squirrels can be considered enjoyable entertainment, and we applaud them with our attention.

V. M. Jenkins

Fridays Up the Hill

Married, Up the Hill

Another Wedding in That Part of Arkansas

At That Moment

Somewhere in the Eighties

Middle-aged Women