The Least of These
The last four months have been a whirlwind for me. The Street Singer launched in February. Beauty for Ashes was just released the end of April, and I’m preparing again for another. The Least of These is available for pre-sale, and will release on May 31st.
When I heard Charles Martin speak, he said that for an author to choose his favorite novel is like a parent choosing a favorite child. Hmm. I’m a huge Charles Martin fan, but I don’t quite equate a book with a child. I won’t tell you which is my favorite of the three, but if you read them, I’d love to know your favorite.
I will tell you that The Least of These is special to me for a number of reasons. Here’s the history of this novel. For many years, I dabbled in writing without sharing that fact with anyone. The Least of These started about 18 – 20 years ago. I lived in Pittsburgh where the book is set. During those years, I was a teacher, a grad student, a principal, and a mom of three sons. You can imagine how much time that left for writing. Every now and then, I’d dust off the old manuscript and add to it.
Fourteen years ago, we moved to South Carolina where I worked as an elementary principal. During those years, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and opted to retire a few years ahead of schedule. Shortly before retirement, I read a wonderful book titled Under the Overpass, by Mike Yankoski. His true-life story had similar elements to my age-old manuscript. Both featured writers. The writers lived among the homeless by choice, not by necessity.
I imagine the similarities end there, but it was enough to inspire me to finish my novel. It went on to win first place in the Fresh Voices contest for the Almost An Author site in 2015.
The Least of These is my first novel written, but not the first to reach publication. For that reason, and the fact that we bonded for two decades, it’s very special to me. Below is an Amazon link for the digital format, and below that, the links for Pelican Book Group for the print format. I hope you enjoy it.