Happy Mother’s day.
It’s a Hallmark holiday, but it’s one that makes us women especially pensive. We have children, we are children, and we have mothers-in-law and in some case grandchildren.
I don’t know about you, but this Mother’s Day, I’m really emotional. This pandemic has magnified for me how important my relationship is with my mother. It’s made me think how important my relationship is with my daughter and granddaughter.
I bet you are the same. As mothers we don’t think we take the relationship for granted, but one thing I’ve realized is that there are never enough chances to say, “I love you.” There are never too many hugs.
People who have lost their mom knew this long before many of us whose moms are still living. They know the acute pain of loss. I’m fortunate. I know when this pandemic releases some of its hold, I can hug my mom, my daughter, my granddaughter.
I hope you can do the same.
One of the things I’ve been thinking about is how little I write about mother-daughter relationships in my books. I have tons of short stories about them, but precious little in my books. That too, sets me to wondering.
I know you read to escape. There’s nothing like submerging yourself in a good book and losing yourself and your worries for a brief time. But I also know you read because you love to get under a character’s skin. Where are my characters’ mothers?
Mothers provide so much foundation for the way we see the world. The mom-daughter relationship shapes our character, doesn’t it? We see our moms living for us and nurturing us and it’s almost invisible until we have children ourselves.
So I went back to see how many of my books deal with mother-daughter relationships and I can only truly find one: Throwing Clay Shadows.
It’s not urban fantasy. It’s more historical with a hint of magical realism. It’s set in 1800s Scotland and while it follows several character’s stories, it’s really the tale of one young child struggling to come to terms with her mom’s death.
In it, little Maggie has lost her mother to consumption, but from her eyes, her mom’s death is all her fault. She is learning to live and survive without this incredible presence in her life.
I wonder what I was exploring. Was it the fear of losing my own mom, or the guilt of not showing her how much I love her each and every day?
I may not know but I am grateful that today, I can be reminded of how important she is to me.
I bet you’re thinking the same.
Throwing Clay Shadows
Little Maggie killed her ma with bad words. Now she won't speak at all.
Little Maggie spoke ill of the dead.
She killed her ma with those bad words.
Now she won’t speak at all.
The truth is her ma died of consumption, but her da can’t explain that to her. All he can do is try his best to nurse the wee thing back to health. Even if it means marrying the spinster from across the island.
But she has dark secrets.
And they could tear the new family apart.
Maggie must bridge the distance between the living and the dead to help her father with his grief. Except her own is a weight she can hardly bear. And her gift, passed down from her ma makes everything more confusing.
Can she use that gift to bring peace to her home, or is it already too late?
You will be enthralled by Throwing Clay Shadows because it is a dark historical paranormal saga set in 1800s Scotland that will pull you in and touch your heart.
Get it now.
