 My
Bio |
Testimony |
Writing tips |
|
My
Bio |
Testimony |
Writing tips |
| Here's what a few readers have had to say since NORTHERN
EXPOSURE was released in July 2002:
"Just read "NORTHERN EXPOSURE. I truly believe you should be praised when you write a good book." Georgia Lewis, Florida "A delightful story. I cried at the wedding." Gayle Melinger, Oregon "The sweet tenderness makes it special. You have a knack for it!" Peggie Wylie, South Carolina "Excellent! Story, plot, setting, characters were all special. Thank you!" Deanne Jones, Montana "This book is wonderful, Joyce. You have held to your high principles in all three of your books. Keep them coming. " Ethel Brown Jones, Kansas "Joyce, I guess I knew what I was doing when I voted for you as the Favorite New Author. I truly enjoyed this story! " Rachel Munger, Connecticut "Thank you for writing such a wonderful story!" Marcia Bender, Michigan "The characters were special because of the double love story. It's great to see other people fall in love." Anne Good, California "I loved this story! I felt like I'd been to Alaska in person." Kathy Garner, Texas "Her books keep getting better and better!' Eva Lundquist, Missouri "Fell in love with the whole book from the very first page. Couldn't put it down and finished it in one day." Helen Sullivan, Florida "So full of humor, I loved it!" Arlene Irwin, Mississippi "It was an exciting book and a good message for someone facing similar situations." DM Gustafson Plummer, Nebraska "Your characters are warm and so real they jump out of the book." Karen Dedea, California "Northern Exposure is humorus, romantic, and thrilling." Anna Stapp, Georgia "Heart-warming and inspirational!" Martha McIntire, California "Last night, about 2 am, I finished reading your book, Northern Exposure. It held my attention all the way. God bless you as you write." Joan Dietz, MN "I loved your book about Alaska! I always look forward to your books because I enjoy them so much!" Mildred Bush, Texas Read an excerpt from Chapter 1 below! |
| Chapter 1 “Hi, Jason, it’s me. I’m in Seward, Alaska waiting for Mom. The cruise ship anchored about an hour ago, she should be getting off any minute. Any word from the bank?” Victoria Whitmore leaned her head to one side and braced the phone against her shoulder, then shuffled her notebook under her arm, nearly dropping it. “They did? They approved our loan? Yippee! That means Mom and I are going to be able to open our gift shop after all. Everything hinged on that bank loan. I can hardly wait to tell her. How soon can we get the money?” The smartly dressed young woman wearing a victorious smile listened intently as her lawyer brother answered her questions. “Three weeks, huh? That’s not bad, I was afraid it’d take much longer. Oh, this is exciting. Mom’s gonna be so pleased.” She checked her watch. “We’re really going to do it. Gonna open our own shop. You know, Jason, I’m glad you and the boys agreed with me that Mom needs something challenging in her life, she’s gone through some pretty tough times since Dad died. I can’t believe I got that stupid three-day flu and couldn’t go on this cruise with her, I’m amazed she went alone.” She glanced toward the double doors. “I’m not sure where we’ll be in Alaska. Mom just said to pack a suitcase and meet her here in Seward. If I get a chance I’ll call you again in a few days and let you know where we are. We should be home a week from today. Well, better go now. I want to greet Mom with the good news when she gets off the ship. Bye for now, Jason, and thanks for everything. And say hi to Jonathan for me.” After hanging up the phone she moved to her seat, pulled her ballpoint pen from her purse and began flipping through her notebook, checking and rechecking the figures for the new gift shop. This week in Alaska will probably be the last vacation Mom and I will have for a very long time, she reasoned as she entered a new idea in the book. With the responsibility of opening a new shop, we’re both going to be pretty well stuck in Kansas City. At least until we get it off the ground and into a paying proposition. I’m going to make every minute we have in Alaska count. “This seat taken?” Startled, Victoria looked up into the eyes of a man clad in a western-cut leather jacket. She shifted her position and surveyed all the empty chairs in the room. Why did he have to pick one near her? Cautiously she answered, “No, it’s not.” “Good.” The stranger extended his hand and a warm smile. “I’m Buck.” Reluctantly she accepted his hand, nearly flinching at his firm grasp, then watched out the corner of her eye as the attractive, bearded man in faded jeans lowered himself into the nearby chrome and vinyl chair. It was not her policy to carry on a conversation with a stranger, especially a male stranger. His unsolicited friendliness made her uncomfortable and she found herself pulling back into her shell, the shell she’d created for herself eight years ago. With a second glance about the room she wondered why he’d selected that particular chair, just three chairs away from hers, when he probably had another hundred from which to choose. Well, hopefully her mother would be coming through those doors soon and they’d be on their way. What a hard time she’d had convincing her mother to go on the cruise without her. But the tickets were non-refundable and they had too much invested to let two tickets go unused. One was bad enough. She was hoping the cruise line would relent and at least refund part of her money since she’d been too ill to take the trip. She just hoped Abigale had made a few friends and not stayed to herself. Good thing she’d taken her cross-stitch project, along some books she’d been planning to read. “Meeting someone coming in on the ship?” the man who called himself Buck asked, breaking into her thoughts. “My mom.” He gave her a big grin as he stuffed his thumbs through his belt loops and settled his long frame into the minimally comfortable chair. “Oh? Your mom, huh? I’m meeting my dad. He won this cruise in a drawing on the local radio station. I hated for him to come by himself, but he said he didn’t mind. He’s probably spent the week trying to avoid a shipboard romance. He’s a good-looking guy—for an old geezer, but too smart to be taken. I reckon he’s made it through unscathed.” She met his eyes warily. “You don’t believe those things really happen, do you? Shipboard romances? I think they only happen in fiction.” She gave him a slight frown. Surely situations like that only happened on television, never in real life. Not often anyway. She’d never heard of it actually happening to a real person. Anyway, you’d have to be pretty desperate to fall for a total stranger on-board a cruise ship. “I don’t know,” he offered as a hearty laugh boomed from somewhere within his broad chest. “I’ve heard some pretty good stories. All those widow women looking for a rich old man? What better place to look than on a cruise ship?” She winced as he pulled a knife from a leather sheath on his belt and began carefully whittling on a frayed fingernail with the open blade. “Hey, my mother’s a widow and she’d never do anything to encourage a shipboard romance,” she responded defensively as she tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear and turned her attention back to her notebook. She didn’t want to talk, not after getting the good news from her brother. What she really wanted to do was think about the shop that would soon be a reality and plan how she would arrange the shelving, counters, and racks in the building they hoped to lease. “Some women do strange things when they’re lonely,” Buck teased as he folded the knife and placed it back in the case on his belt. His eyes sparkled with mischief. A dubious frown creased her brow as she eyed him suspiciously, not sure exactly how to take his comment. “Some women? How about some men?” He grinned and crossed his arms over his chest as he thrust his long legs into the narrow aisle. “Aw, come on now. Those cute little silver-haired ladies bat their sexy blues at a lonely guy, and bingo. Matrimony! Before the guy knows what hit him, the knot’s tied and he’s committed for the rest of his life. And so’s his money!” Victoria stiffened, her female feathers slightly ruffled, not sure if he was serious or just putting her on. “Maybe your father’s the one who’s on the prowl for a lonely, rich widow. Ever think of that?” He crossed his ankles and spread his long arms across the adjoining chair backs with a loud chuckle. “Hey, I’m only kidding. My dad would never do that.” “You had me going there for a minute,” she declared with relief, wishing this conversation had never started. “I know my mother’d never be a party to a shipboard romance.” “Well then, I guess both our parents are safe. We can feel sorry for those who are more gullible,” he responded with a winsome smile and a wink. “I’m an old worry wart where my dad’s concerned. Don’t know why. He’s taken pretty good care of himself since my mom died six years ago. He’s my best friend and sorta my business partner. I don’t want any woman taking him away from me,” he explained with a sideways grin. “We’re getting along just fine with things the way they are. You know—the parent becomes the child and the child becomes the parent thing?” He made a gesture as if he were tipping his hat. “Sorry if I offended you. I didn’t mean anything by my words, just making friendly conversation. Guess we Alaskans never see a stranger. We’ll talk to anyone that’ll listen.” He glanced around the sparsely filled room. “I’m sure your mother behaved as a perfect lady on her cruise.” Victoria’s brows lifted and she snickered aloud. “That’s because she is a perfect lady. The last thing she’d want to do is seduce your father and move to Alaska.” “Hey, Alaska’s not such a bad place to live. Ask any Alaskan.” “Well, that may be true. But my mom and I have plans.” She watched as an uniformed security guard moved toward the double doors. Surely the passengers would be unloading soon. How long could it take to get through customs? “Plans?” he asked, apparently interested in her comment. She closed her notebook and deciding he looked harmless enough, answered. “When we get back to Missouri after this vacation, we’re going to open a gift shop together. It’s been our lifelong dream. I’m an artist, I plan to sell a lot of my work there.” She smiled triumphantly, her good news still fresh on her mind as she leaned into the seatback, her closed notebook in her lap. “Artist, huh? I’ll bet you’re a good one. You don’t paint any of those funny things that look like the guy poured paint on his canvas and then stepped in it barefooted, do you?” She had to laugh at his description of abstract art. “No, I’m more the Thomas Kinkade type of artist. You know, landscapes, trees, flowers, country settings. But the thing I love to do most is portraits. Everyone says I’m good at those.” “Well, I do want to apologize—about the way I talked about your mother. I’m sure she’s a very nice person.” “Your apology isn’t necessary. I understand about your dad. I do the same thing with my mom. Protect her, that is. She’s my best friend, too. We’re fortunate to still have our parents, many of my friends have lost theirs.” She pushed back the sleeve of her jacket and checked her watch. “Shouldn’t they be coming soon?” The words had barely passed her lips when the security guard opened one of the double doors. Disembarking passengers began elbowing their way through the narrow opening, pushing overflowing carts laden with bulging suitcases. “Mom!” Victoria jumped to her feet and waved her arms wildly. “Over here!” A tall slender woman clad in a coral pantsuit smiled and waved back as she made her way through the disembarking crowd. “Victoria, hi. You made it! I wasn’t sure you would.” “There’s my dad. Been nice visiting with you,” Buck volunteered with a nod. He pushed past Abigale Whitmore and her daughter. “Dad! Dad! Over here.” The two women embraced. “Mom! We got the loan. They approved us. I just talked to Jason, he heard from the bank. Aren’t you excited?” Abigale threw her arms about her daughter and squeezed her tight. “Oh, honey, this is such good news for you—“ “For us, Mom, for us. We’re going to be partners. It’s our gift shop.” Victoria clasped her mother’s hands in hers and stepped back for a better look at the woman. “You must’ve had a good trip, you’re positively glowing. I’m so sorry I had to cancel out at the last minute, I really wanted to go on that cruise with you. But, it looks like you had a good time without me.” “I did, Victoria. I had a wonderful time. I can hardly wait to tell you all about it,” Abigale exclaimed with unbridled enthusiasm, her green eyes bright and shining. “The most amazing things happened!” It was good to see her mother excited like this. Even with her silver hair no one would have guessed she was sixty-two. She smiled to herself, remembering Buck’s comment about silver-haired women. The past year had been a difficult one for Abigale. Losing the husband she’d married as a teenager had taken its toll. She’d withdrawn from nearly everyone, even her best friends. Victoria and her brothers had worried about her and were surprised when she’d agreed to go on the Alaskan cruise, the same cruise she and Guy Whitmore had planned to take on their forty-fifth wedding anniversary. “And I want to hear every little detail. I hope you took lots of pictures,” Victoria rattled on, unable to contain her enthusiasm. “The family has planned a welcome home party for us when we get back, so we’d better get your film developed before we head to Kansas City.” She paused thoughtfully. “By the way, where are we going from here? Your message just said to pack for a week in Alaska and meet you here in Seward. Are we going on a tour bus? Or the domed excursion train?” she asked as she quickly glanced around at the crowd pressing in around them. “You didn’t leave much information on my answering machine when you called from the ship.” “Not at fifteen dollars a minute, I didn’t. That’s what a ship-to-shore phone call costs. Hey, you’re the one who offered to meet me at the end of the cruise so we could have some time together after you had to cancel out. Remember? And besides, I need to--” “Sure I remember and I meant it. I might have missed the cruise but I’m well now and ready to see Alaska, if you’re not too tired after a week on the ship, that is.” The young woman took stock of the area with a concerned look, then asked, “Mother, where’s your luggage?” “Dear, that’s one of the things I want to tell you—“ Victoria frowned as her palm moved swiftly to her cheek. “Oh, no. They didn’t lose your luggage, did they? Oh, Mom, surely not.” “Dad, where are you going? I’m parked the other direction,” a man’s deep voice boomed from behind them. The two women turned to find Buck following a tall, slender man who Victoria decided had to be the father he was waiting for. “Oh, I see you found your dad,” she acknowledged, noting he seemed rather perturbed by something. He nodded his head toward the man. “Oh, hello again. Yes, I found him.” The older man abruptly stopped the cart beside the two women. Victoria smiled, feeling rather awkward, not knowing if she should try to introduce them to her mother or just turn away. “I-ah found her, but not her luggage. I guess it didn’t--“ “It’s right here. I have it on my cart,” Buck’s father declared proudly as he motioned toward the floral tapestry suitcases standing along side his own. “See. All safe and sound.” Buck stopped in his tracks with a puzzled look on his face. “You have her luggage on your cart? Maybe I’d better try to run down another cart to put yours on, Dad. I’m parked in the lot on the east side of the building, the ladies may not be going that direction.” “I’ll get a cart for her, you needn’t bother,” Victoria volunteered quickly, gesturing toward the empty chair. “Just put her luggage there so she can sit down while I go after it, that way you two won’t be delayed. And thank you for bringing it for her,” she added with a nod. “I’m glad she didn’t have to juggle it through by herself.” “No, I’ll get it. You three stay here. It’ll only take me a minute.” Buck slid his hand under his father’s elbow and motioned him toward a chair. “Sit down, Dad.” Ron Silverbow pulled free of his son’s grasp, and stood straight and tall. “No need, son. I’ll handle Abigale’s luggage myself. Right, Abbey?” “Right, Ron,” Abigale agreed with a coy smile as she moved to stand beside the statuesque man and slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. Buck shot a quick look at Victoria as if to say, Do you have any idea what is going on here? Cause I sure don’t. She returned the look with a shrug of her shoulders. The older man, quite handsome with his silver gray hair and straight, chiseled features, gestured toward the questioning young woman. “You must be Abigale’s daughter, Victoria. You’re just as pretty as your mother described you. And you’re almost as pretty as your mom. You’ve already met Buck. Right?” Both Victoria and Buck nodded and glared at one another in stunned silence. “Well, Abigale,” Ron said as he wrapped his fingers over hers and patted them gently. “You haven’t met him. This is my son, Buck. He’s a good kid but he tries to keep me on a short rope sometimes. He has a tendency to forget I’m the senior here.” A school girl snicker escaped Abigale’s lips as she reached her free hand toward the younger man with a confused look who stood staring at his father. “Nice to meet you, Buck. I’ve heard so much about you and Micah. I’ve looked forward to meeting both of you.” Victoria quickly moved to her mother’s side. “Who’s Micah?” “My son,” Buck answered bluntly, his glare still fixed on his father. “Did you bring the minivan like I told you, son?” Buck nodded with a slow smile. “Just like you said on the telephone. But I still don’t understand why it had to be the minivan. You didn’t buy that many Alaskan souvenirs, did you?” “Not hardly. I live in Alaska, remember? As a matter of fact, I didn’t buy any souvenirs at all. Not a one,” Ron admitted with a mischievous chuckle and a twinkle in his eye as he winked at the lovely gray-haired woman standing beside him. “But I am bringing something special home with me.” “Then why the minivan, Dad? Why not my pickup?” Ron Silverbow looked first to Buck, then to Victoria, and then to Abigale. “Why don’t we sit down while the crowd thins out and the parking lot empties a bit?” “But—“ Buck started. “Just sit, Buck. We’re in no hurry.” The three took seats while Ron stood before them, tall and proud. “I’m sure you two kids have figured out by now that Abigale and I met on the ship. First night, actually. I was sitting at a table on the open deck, wishing your mama’d lived long enough to take this cruise with me and feeling sorry for myself I might add, when the music started to play and the cruise director announced a line dance.” He paused and stepped aside to allow a pregnant woman and her cart to pass before continuing. “Well, he instructed his staff of attractive young ladies and gents to fetch themselves partners from the audience. When one of them approached me, I backed off, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer and pulled me onto the deck.” “Same thing happened to me,” Abigale interjected excitedly, never taking her eyes off Ron’s weathered face. “A young man in a blue blazer and white slacks took my hand and pulled me onto the deck with the other dancers. At first, I was mortified. Then, I thought, I’m on a cruise, this is what they do on cruises, and I actually learned to line dance.” The young woman cupped her hand over her mother’s sleeve. “Mother, you didn’t! You and Daddy never danced. You never wanted to.” “Oh, but I did,” her mother confessed. “It was fun, wasn’t it, Abigale?” Ron asked, his handlebar mustache tilting upward as he spoke. Victoria watched in horror as she caught her mother’s new friend winking at her mother a second time. “Sure was, Abigale, even though I was all feet till you came to my rescue.” Abigale grinned. “You were very graceful, once you caught on. I was proud of you.” “So, if you were each dancing with a staff member, how did you get together?” Victoria asked as she sat listening, but finding it nearly impossible to believe her timid mother would actually do the line dance, or any dance, with a stranger. “Well, when the first number ended, I was going to leave the dance area, but my partner swung me around and said she was going to get another partner and for me to dance with the lady next to me, who happened to be Abigale. I’ll tell you, I was embarrassed, so was she. But that instructor took Abbey’s hand and placed it in mine. What could we do? Right, kid?” “Right, Ronnie,” Abigale agreed with a blush to her fair, flawless skin. Kid? Victoria thought. He called my sixty-two-year-old mother, kid? “Dad!” Buck chastised as he quickly rose to his feet. “Let me finish, son,” he responded by clasping his hand over Buck’s arm firmly. “That happened the first night out. Me and Abbey danced that line dance thing till most of the others dropped out, then we went into the Lido Lounge and talked about our families till it got dark.” He gave a good belly laugh before going on. “And in Ketchikan, Alaska this time of year, it’s about one in the morning before it gets dark. And since the sun was coming up in a couple of hours, we stayed up for the sunrise, too.” “So, didn’t you meet anyone else on-board?” Victoria asked, wishing she hadn’t as soon as the words came out of her mouth. “Sure, honey, lots of nice people. You’d be surprised how many people our age take cruises. And they have so many activities you could be busy every waking hour. I’m so sorry you got that old flu and couldn’t go at the last minute. But if you’d gone, I might not have met Ron.” That was a fine thing to say, Victoria thought, surprised at her mother’s candor. Sounds like she didn’t even miss me. “And I’m sure glad that didn’t happen,” Ron offered as he continued his story. “Your mother and me had a great time. Spent every minute of every day together, and like I said, in Alaska--the days last into the night.” “Way into the night,” Abigale added with a raise of her brow. “Ron took good care of me, Victoria. Your fears about me going on the cruise alone were foolish. I was perfectly safe, and rarely alone.” “So it seems,” her daughter muttered under her breath. Safe and rarely alone? Oh, dear. What has she gotten herself into? She’s not old enough to be senile. Buck shuffled to his feet and checked his watch nervously. “This is interesting, hearing how you two met, but shouldn’t we be going, Dad? And let the ladies be on their way? I’m sure they have plans. And we’ve got a long way to go.” “No hurry, son. Park it,” Ron instructed as he pointed to the chair formerly occupied by Buck. “The story gets more interesting as it goes along. And, I’m not finished yet.” Victoria shot a questioning glance at her mother who seemed to be enjoying all of this immensely, with no concern as to how or where they were going from here. “Like I said, we spent every minute together. I’ve lived in Alaska all my life, but seeing it through Abigale’s eyes was like seeing it for the first time. Her enthusiasm for its beauty opened my eyes to things I’d never seen or appreciated like I should.” He stepped forward and placed his hand on Abigale’s shoulder. “And we talked for hours and hours.” He turned slightly and let out a slight chuckle. “Why, Victoria, I know you and your brothers so well I could probably tell you things even your closest friends don’t know about you.” He returned his gaze to his son. “And, Abbey knows everything about my family. We swam together in both the indoor and outdoor pools, sunned on the decks, played Bingo, shuffleboard, and even batted a few tennis balls. We ate at the midnight buffet every night, we rode the tram up Mt. Roberts in Ketchikan. We did it all together. We even prayed together. She loves our Lord as much as I do.” Abigale gave him a smile of approval. “I sure do.” Ron Silverbow removed his hand from Abigale’s shoulder and extended his open palm as a smile lit up her face. She placed her hand in his and rose to stand by his side as his arm slid about her waist and he pulled her close. “And together we’ve decided to stay. Victoria. Buck. We’re gonna get married!” |
