A Girl and Her Love of Words

Once upon a time, many years ago, a young girl decided to write a story. At the beginning of her Senior Year in high school, her English teacher handed out journals. He encouraged his students to write their thoughts and share them with the class. He handed out weekly writing assignments and graded the journals on Fridays.
Day to day life is often boring, so between assigned journal entries, this girl decided to write a story. She developed characters, settings and situations. Her teacher read her journal and encouraged her to continue writing.
Graduation came and, leaving high school behind, the young girl went to work in a department store. She hoped to continue her story and put a lot of effort into it. But, as things are, life intervened. Although she tried to keep up her story, her job, her friends and the opportunity to travel got in the way. The story remained always in the back of her mind.
Finally, an opportunity arose—perhaps not in the most pleasant way. She became ill and nearly lost her vision. Her eye doctor dedicated himself to saving her sight, and together they achieved their goal. There was still some residual damage but, with her sight saved, she began to write again.
The old journal was found in a desk drawer. The story was okay but juvenal. The grammar was bad, and the storyline didn’t seem to fit any longer. So, the girl, now a woman, set the story aside again. She wanted to think about it. Finally, a new perspective came to her in a dream. She realized an altogether different scenario for her main character, Leo Sumner.
The story began to develop rapidly. Leo lived in an abandoned mansion called SUMNER’S COVE while his parents lived in NYC. Instead of parents to guide him, he relied on the maid, Lola Hernandez, and the groundskeeper and his wife, Reg and Marty Weatherbee. Professor Leopold Schwartz ruled with a heavy hand over the schoolroom, but kindly Ross Philips provided piano lessons.
Leo lived a lonely life, trapped in a mansion he was not permitted to leave. He was allowed one friend, his cousin Hank Addams. Hank provided a lifeline to the outside world--the only link Leo had.
The story was edited and reedited multiple times. Finally, it was ready. The author, unknown and unpublished, took a chance, and an agent took a chance on her. Within a year, the book was accepted by a publishing house. Luck or fate or whatever you wish to call it was on her side. Years of diligence paid off.
Lea Sheryn is pleased to announce that SUMNER’S COVE will be published soon. This is not an advertisement for the book. This is a story of perseverance, and perhaps success. It is possible to work hard and achieve goals. So, I encourage anyone who is writing to continue to do so and to reach your goals whether it is just for enjoyment or to achieve a published book or anthology.
Thank you for reading.