Doin' It Right
by Mary Manners
“If you’re going to do
something, then do it right.”
Those words, spoken by my father,
came to me the winter of my thirteenth year as I delivered newspapers along my
route on the streets of Elmwood Park, a suburb of Chicago. It was the winter of
1976 and we were in the clutch of a terrific, trademark Chicago blizzard. The
streets were buried in three-foot drifts and my fingers ached with a
bone-freezing chill through two pairs of wool gloves as I tossed rolled
newspapers from the passenger window of our beat-up Chevy station wagon while
my dad navigated the icy terrain. He usually didn’t chauffer me; I rode the
six-mile route on my bike with papers nestled neatly into a burlap sack woven
across the handlebars. But, today he’d decided the snow was a little more than
my bubblegum-pink bike could handle, hence the unsolicited lesson in proper
newspaper delivery. I really didn’t care what his thoughts were at the time;
all I wanted was to get home to the warmth of our living room. Yet, with each
paper that missed its mark Dad made me exit the car, retrieve the paper, and
walk it up to the customer’s cleared front porch.
I was a bit—okay, more than a
bit—miffed at him that day, as it took several hours to finish the route and I
was sure I’d permanently lost the use of a couple of fingers and toes in the
process. But, as the following days passed, Dad’s words stayed with me. If you’re going to do something, then do it
right. Little did I understand at the time that they would become a
cornerstone of my work ethic over the decades to come, guiding me from a naive
teenager to an award-winning teacher and principal, as well as a published author.
With Dad’s encouragement, in the
months and years to come I wrote and read everything I could devour, and then
wrote and wrote and read some more. I was blessed to also have wonderful
teachers along the way, who took the time to lift me up, to ask about my
writing, to talk with me as if both my dreams and I truly mattered.
Over the years, writing has become a
part of me so huge that I cannot imagine life without it. Removing writing from
my life would be like attempting to live without breathing—impossible. I have
continued to write through moves from Chicago to the Smoky Mountains of East
Tennessee, through college, marriage, career changes, and the deaths
of both my parents.
I
have never, ever stopped writing, and I try my best to pay that encouragement
forward. Recently, two former students approached me and, with smiles plastered
on their radiant faces said, “When we get published, we’re going to dedicate
our book to you.” One of those words, above all the others, made my heart
sing—they said when, not if. Sweet music to my ears, as I have
managed to pass along the confidence that was instilled in me by several sweet
souls who cared along the way.
Sometimes the best life lesson comes
in the form of advice from your dad while delivering newspapers on the icy
streets of Chicago during a blizzard—if
you’re going to do something, then do it right.
~~~~~
A heartbreaking secret stands between Brianna and Jackson,
and she plans to keep it that way...
When Brianna Caufield hosts an online auction to raise
money for her fledgling youth center, the last thing she expects is to be
matched for a date with Jackson Reed. Lured by the fame of an NFL career, the
hometown hero and all-star quarterback broke off their engagement without so
much as a backward glance. Now, washed-up and wiser, Jack’s come home with
renewed faith and a changed heart—and he wants Brianna back.
No
matter how much she still cares for Jackson, Brianna knows the secret she
harbors will destroy any chance of a future together. Can Jack find a way to
coax the secret to the surface? And if he does, will forgiveness draw them
closer together…or will their love be shattered forever?
~~~~~
Mary
Manners is a country girl at heart who has spent a lifetime sharing
her joy of writing. She has two sons, a daughter, and three beautiful
grandchildren. She lives in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains of East
Tennessee with her husband Tim and their rescue dog Axel, two rescue cats,
Colby and Jax, 12 chickens and 13 fish.
Mary writes stories full of faith
and hope. Her books have earned multiple accolades including two Inspirational
Reader’s Choice Awards, the Gail Wilson Award of Excellence, the Aspen Gold,
the Heart of Excellence, and the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award.
Mary
loves long sunrise runs, Smoky Mountain sunsets, and flavored coffee. She
enjoys connecting with reader friends through her website: www.MaryMannersRomance.com.
