Welcome, Bernie!
Tell us about what you write.
I write short stories, some are ghost stories, personal essays (usually humorous), my debut novel, my WIP is another novel, and I plan to write a novella of a character I deleted from I Never Told You.
I want to try writing micro fiction. I have an idea, but I haven't yet started.
When did your writing journey begin?
I started writing at age fifty. For years I had carried a story in my head that one day I would write down. That day came when I was fifty. Lo and behold, it placed in a local contest. After that I set realistic goals for myself. As I met each goal, I set the next one, until I reached my final goal of publishing a novel. Now I want to publish another one.
Do you find inspiration in your own life for your writing?
Yes, my writing is influenced by my childhood in Iowa, my contemporary life in Raleigh, NC, and by my travels both in the States and Europe.
Any new projects on the horizon?
Yes, I am excited about my current project. It is a novel with two main characters, a man and wife based on my husband and me, as they travel to four countries in Europe. It is pure fluff, humorous ( I hope). They have adventures and misadventures. Think A Year in Provence with some Bill Bryson and Eat, Pray, Love thrown in.
THEY ARE BEST FRIENDS AS MUCH AS MOTHER AND DAUGHTER. EACH HAS A SECRET THAT COULD DESTROY THAT BOND…
"...a mother/daughter drama woven through with a terrible tragedy from the past."
— Elaine Neill Orr, bestselling author of Swimming Between Worlds
Excerpt:
Katya took her by the shoulders. "Mom, talk to me."
Anna erupted. "What about? About your friend?" she said with scorn. "About how I shamed you in front of all your friends? About how I said things I should never have said. Saw things I wish I had never seen." She stopped shouting. In a small voice she said, "I saw you and that woman. I saw you. I don't know what this means, Katya. Tell me what this means." Hot tears flooded her cheeks.
Small-town dress shop owner Anna’s daughter Katya leaves home for art school in September 1965. After that, nothing in their loving and devoted relationship is ever quite the same.
Anna and her long-time lover Dave, who is married, first enjoy the freedom of Katya’s absence until some threatening exposures move Anna to initiate a break-up. Her biggest fear is that Katya will learn of the affair. Instead of offering the peace of mind Anna hoped the split would bring, the separation brings frightening and dangerous results.
Away at art school, Katya is both thrilled and distressed by her attraction to fellow art student Paulette. Nothing in her protected small-town childhood has prepared her for being attracted to another girl. When they get to know each other in irresistible and frightening ways, Katya’s biggest fear is that her mother will find out.
Inevitably, the worst happens and mother and daughter learn each other’s secrets. Both react with hurt and anger and a desire never to see each other again. Can they regain their former devotion to one another or are they doomed to live out their lives bitter and unforgiving?
Find I never Told You on Amazon & Barnes and Noble.
One of Bernie’s hobbies is sewing: she made these dresses for her granddaughters and their plush animals, and this dress she is wearing.
