A LICK AND A PROMISE

The phrase that makes up the title is something my great-aunt Nona might have said in the days long before her death in 1986. Aunt Nona was distinctive in that she was born near the time Halley's comet arrived  at the turn of the Twentieth Century and she saw it, and she died the year the comet returned in 1986. She felt that made her life significant, and I agree with her. It was amazing. Doubtless others, for instance, Mark Twain, claimed the comet at both ends of their lives too.

Aunt Nona was born and grew up on the farm in Chico, Texas. Chico means "small', and it was a very small town that grew cotton and later found oil. She lived with her parents, Edward Griswold Tenney and Gertrude Everitt Pettit and her brothers and sisters. Her eldest sister Gertrude was my grandmother.

"A lick and a promise" had to do with some effort made toward a goal that was yet incomplete.

So continues the long sojourn to publish my novel Magnificat: Under the Guanacaste Tree. In my last blog, I explained the complications that arose with Inanna Publications which was supposed to publish the book and why in the end I switched to Friesenpress who will at long last publish the book this summer.

Now I'm in the process of organizing to promote the book. Rebekah at Friesenpress is my wise adviser.

One interesting thing is that I've received a limited number of ARC copies which I plan to give free to people who are interested in  reading Magnificat and writing book reviews. If any of you are interested, please leave me a note on the comments section along with your email address. The copies are digital and only in PDF.

HALLEY'S COMET IN 1910