My brother Glen is here again. A friend of his from high school just published her first novel and was in town this weekend for a book signing. He has the coolest friends.
Marni's a retired nurse and has always loved writing - poetry as a young girl, articles for nursing journals during her nursing career and fiction...mysteries to be precise.
 |
| The Blue Virgin |
Her new novel is a mystery, set in Oxford, England, and Marni's first hand experience in Oxford is evident in her book, as is her grasp of the intricacies of the mystery genre.
I read The Blue Virgin several months ago and thoroughly enjoyed it...but have to confess...I was just a teeny bit jealous. I too am a nurse (currently being forced to contemplate retirement), an avid reader (partial to mysteries) and a wishful writer...I have some skills but lack the creativity and imagination required for success. Needless to say, I was excited at the prospect of meeting someone who succeeded in bringing this particular dream to reality. Our plan was to attend the book signing and then all have dinner together.
Marni felt like a friend the first minute we met...warm and outgoing with a contagious smile...and just too nice to be the least bit jealous of! Turns out we went to the same nursing school and trained in the same hospitals...at almost the same time...and likely crossed paths at some point! Her husband, Arthur - a retired plastic surgeon - although on the quieter side, was just as down-to-earth as Marni. They are people I would enjoy getting to know better.
The book signing, which resulted in the sale of ten books, was a success. Dinner at The Pilot House was an even bigger success. Another HS friend of Glen's and Marni's...Simone and her husband, Tom...joined us. The good food, the camraderie and the peaceful atmosphere that accompanies dining on the riverfront added up to a really great time and by the end of the evening I felt like I had new friends.
P.S. ~ If you'd like to read The Blue Virgin, you can either request that your Barnes and Noble store order it for you or you can order directly from this website: The Blue Virgin. Meanwhile, Marni is hard at work on the next novel in this series.
