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I have
great news-- Tales from the Southern
Hotel is officially my first published work, (well, besides the
story I got published in the school paper when I was in sixth grade).
You can buy it online right here:
http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=518260.
It is available in paperback or hard cover.
What's new? It's
officially summer! I forget when the first official day is: June 21 or
22. So far this month has been eventful yet uneventful at the same
time. I know a lot of people with June birthdays, so I've been busy
being obnoxious and giving people birthday cards stuffed with lots of
confetti, practicing the piano (slowly but surely-- sometimes I feel
like I'm not improving a bit), and of course, writing.
My friend and I are still working on High School Prophesies of the Lunch Buddies, the silly long story (there are no chapters) about the fictional futures of the Lunch Buddies. I'm also periodically working on the newest Southern Hotel book, a novel, called The Boarder, in between novels I'm reading on my own; I go through phases where I don't read for months, and then all I want to do is read. The Boarder is the upcoming Southern Hotel novel (not short-story collection) that takes place in January, 1953, at the Southern Hotel. A wealthy old man moves into the Southern Hotel from the neighboring town after he sells pretty much everything he owns and escapes the memories of his deceased wife and a family he no longer knows. He, at first, appears to be a selfish, crabby old man who knows how to do nothing but complain. Mary Lou is about ready to label him as a hopelessly miserable tenant when she tries one last time to give him the benefit of a doubt. She puts together a small welcoming present-- coupons from various stores and information papers about the town-- and sets them outside his door. The old man, Mr. Van Everett, proves to actually be kind, once he gets used to the town. Soon he becomes a part of the Peters family, as he reminds Mary Lou very much of her deceased grandfather. But slowly, the Peters family also notices that Mr. Van Everett's mind is failing him. I'm not sure what direction I want to go with this story, as I'm just vaguely outlining in it my multipurpose purple notebook and writing as I go. I have an idea for an ending, but of course I'm not going to spoil the surprise and say the ending. :-) I have a new favorite author. I think I change favorite authors every time I read a good book... but anyway. At the library I discovered a young adult series by Beverly Lewis (http://www.beverlylewis.com). One of my best friends loves her books and has read several of them. I read one, but I think it was in the middle of exams and I was too distracted to really focus or even finish the book. Right now, I'm reading Summerhill Secrets, volume 1, the first story in there. I'm almost done and I'll try to read a book each day (they're only a little over a hundred pages). I went online and read a little bit about Beverly Lewis and discovered that she and I have some similar interests-- writing (of course), piano, and reading. My friends and I are interested in learning about the Amish people-- especially since we went to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a few months ago. Anyway, there really isn't a whole lot going on-- no new pictures of the Southern Hotel, and not much writing news. Keep checking back for story updates! Until next time! ~Stephanie N. Macomber~ PS: Here are some pictures relating to the past year. Keep checking back for more story updates, illustrations, photographs of my travels, and other random stuff! Hopefully I'll remember to update things more than once a year.
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Introduction
In July, 2005, I went to the library to do some research. My family left me for awhile so they could get ice cream. An hour later they came back. I was disappointed that they came back so soon and I didn't get to finish my research, that is, until they told me an old hotel was for sale. We were all curious as to what it looked like inside. We contacted the realtor and set an appointment to tour the historic 1871 brick structure. It had been unused since 1991 and the inside was in bad condition. We toured most of the hotel rooms and bathrooms, as well as the annex. We went home later that day and requested a history and any other information about the hotel. I love historic buildings and love learning about them. I sat in front of my computer imagining what the Southern Hotel looked like a century ago and imagined visiting there. A few months later, I planned to write a story about a girl and her parents who own a hotel in small-town Maryland back in 1951. The Southern Hotel of my stories is based on the actual hotel in North Carolina, although most everything in the stories is fictional. (I did hear that an actual murder took place in the 1920s, although I'm not sure of any of the facts and haven't heard the story of the murder). The characters in all
my stories are described on another page. See some
photographs I took of the actual hotel and read a short history of
it under the "Southern Hotel" page. Also, see some articles about the
hotel I found in a special 1950s issue of the local paper. "Every building preserved is another part of our history not forgotten in the midst of technology and progress." |
© July 2006, by Stephanie N. Macomber
