Discovery is a hit with people of all ages!
When I wrote DISCOVERY I thought the book to be a novel for adults. Since its release I have been contacted by several teens telling me how much they have enjoyed reading DISCOVERY. A teacher wrote to tell me she had been approached by a student who read it and how she-the teacher- is now introducing it to the rest of the class.
While I fully intend on keeping the saga clean, the children will grow into adults, and each child’s path will have them facing different challenges in life.
When I wrote DISCOVERY I thought the book to be a novel for adults. Since its release I have been contacted by several teens telling me how much they have enjoyed reading DISCOVERY. A teacher wrote to tell me she had been approached by a student who read it and how she-the teacher- is now introducing it to the rest of the class.
While I fully intend on keeping the saga clean, the children will grow into adults, and each child’s path will have them facing different challenges in life.
Discovery is perfect for book clubs. One of my beta readers is already recommending it to her club. While the saga is slated to be eighteen books, each book will be a standalone book with a definite ending. With that said you may learn things in subsequent books that could explain happenings in a previous book. If people choose to continue reading (which I pray they do) I highly suggest reading the books in order, as I am not going to waste the readers time by recapping each book just to add filler.
Many of the “real” children who rode the orphan trains lived on the streets prior to being sent out on the trains. With that in mind, my goal with the saga is to show how innocent children often found themselves living on the streets, and what lengths they would go in order to survive. Some were abandoned at birth, others were forced out of their homes at early ages. In the 1850’s it was estimated there were over 30 thousand children living on the streets of New York City. Some as young as four and five years old. My goal is to use the books to show how arduous life was for these children both before and after their journey on the trains. As in real life some children went on to have good lives others were not so lucky.
Each of the 18 novels will start out current day in Sandusky, Michigan with Cindy and her mother going through the journals. As the ladies read the reader will journey to the time and place of whoever is telling the story. Each journey begins in the early 1900’s with some children living at home, others in the street, some are already living in the asylum. The reader will follow from the child’s earliest memory, join them during their journey on the orphan train and then follow beyond the trains to see what life has in store for the child. While the children I use are fictional, each child’s story is told with the use of history from the era to add flavor and excitement to the tale.
Discovery, Book One of The Orphan Train Saga, is a get to know the children book which will introduce the orphan trains, and each of the 18 children you will follow during the saga. You will meet Cindy who is merely trying to purge herself of her grandmother’s belongings. You will meet Grandma Mildred before she is a grandma or Mildred. As the story unfolds Cindy discovers the reason her grandmother held her at arm’s length and how her painful past robbed the woman of emotion. Through Grandma Mildred’s journals you see how love that was not given in life works beyond the grave to heal those left behind.
DISCOVERY, Book One
THE ORPHAN TRAIN SAGA
While most use their summer breaks for pleasure, third-grade teacher Cindy Moore is using her summer vacation to tie up some loose ends concerning her grandmother’s estate. When Cindy enters the storage shed that holds her grandmother’s belongings, she is merely looking for items she can sell to recoup some of the rental fees she’s spent paying for the shed. Instead, what she finds are secrets her grandmother has taken to the grave with her. The more Cindy uncovers, the more she wants to know. Why was her grandmother abandoned by her own mother? Why hadn’t she told Cindy she’d lived in an orphanage? And how come her grandmother never mentioned she’d made history as one of the children who rode the Orphan Trains? Join Cindy as she uncovers her grandmother’s hidden past and discovers the life that stole her grandmother’s love.
THE ORPHAN TRAIN SAGA
While most use their summer breaks for pleasure, third-grade teacher Cindy Moore is using her summer vacation to tie up some loose ends concerning her grandmother’s estate. When Cindy enters the storage shed that holds her grandmother’s belongings, she is merely looking for items she can sell to recoup some of the rental fees she’s spent paying for the shed. Instead, what she finds are secrets her grandmother has taken to the grave with her. The more Cindy uncovers, the more she wants to know. Why was her grandmother abandoned by her own mother? Why hadn’t she told Cindy she’d lived in an orphanage? And how come her grandmother never mentioned she’d made history as one of the children who rode the Orphan Trains? Join Cindy as she uncovers her grandmother’s hidden past and discovers the life that stole her grandmother’s love.
From DISCOVERY
It was raining the last time I saw my mother. I was cold and wet, and my mother told me to go inside where I would be warm. I asked her if she was coming inside and she said no, she didn’t want to spoil the floors with her wet shoes. I didn’t have to worry about that. I wasn’t wearing any shoes. Mother was dripping wet, the rain had stripped her of her curls, and her deep black hair lay plastered against the side of her head like a hat. I asked her why she was crying. She told me it was just the rain on her face, but I could hear her sobs and knew she was lying. Before I could respond, Mother opened the door, pushed me inside, and the door closed behind me.
Momma said my Ojczulek – that’s the Polish word for Papa – taught me how to speak English so people would like me better. I wish I could remember my papa better.
The woman asked my name. I told her my name was Mileta. She asked me what my last name was. I told her that was the only name I had. The lady didn’t seem happy about that. She asked what my mother’s name was. I was going to tell her it was Mamusia – which is the Polish word for momma, but then I remembered what my papa told me and I said her name was Momma. The lady smiled and wrote something on the clipboard. It was the first time the lady smiled. Papa must have been right.
It was raining the last time I saw my mother. I was cold and wet, and my mother told me to go inside where I would be warm. I asked her if she was coming inside and she said no, she didn’t want to spoil the floors with her wet shoes. I didn’t have to worry about that. I wasn’t wearing any shoes. Mother was dripping wet, the rain had stripped her of her curls, and her deep black hair lay plastered against the side of her head like a hat. I asked her why she was crying. She told me it was just the rain on her face, but I could hear her sobs and knew she was lying. Before I could respond, Mother opened the door, pushed me inside, and the door closed behind me.
Momma said my Ojczulek – that’s the Polish word for Papa – taught me how to speak English so people would like me better. I wish I could remember my papa better.
The woman asked my name. I told her my name was Mileta. She asked me what my last name was. I told her that was the only name I had. The lady didn’t seem happy about that. She asked what my mother’s name was. I was going to tell her it was Mamusia – which is the Polish word for momma, but then I remembered what my papa told me and I said her name was Momma. The lady smiled and wrote something on the clipboard. It was the first time the lady smiled. Papa must have been right.
Also from DISCOVERY
As the sun lifted, the children ate a morning meal of cheese and crackers, finishing shortly before the train pulled into Detroit. The children were quickly ushered to a large empty room in Michigan’s Central Station to change out of their travel gear and into the new outfit each brought for the occasion. The boys and girls had been sectioned off by sheets with the agents inspecting their appearance and the older children helping the younger ones dress. As each child finished, they were allowed to gather in the open space on the other side of the room. Upon opening her suitcase, Mileta marveled at the new pale pink dress with flowers embroidered around the sleeves and hem. A paper was attached to the fabric at the waist with a large safety pin. A frown flitted across her face as she read the note, a few short words that in essence stated she was free to be adopted. She pulled the dress over her head and marveled at the color. She hadn’t worn anything this nice since leaving her home in Poland. As she ran a brush through the length of her hair, she wondered what her papa would have thought of her current predicament. He had been excited when he learned they gave away free land. Would he have been as excited to learn they gave away children as well?
#Discovery #TheOrphanTrainSaga #BookOne #HistoricalFiction #Newrelease #Hardbound #Softcover #ebook #kindleunlimited http://ow.ly/JR5G30nf11K
As the sun lifted, the children ate a morning meal of cheese and crackers, finishing shortly before the train pulled into Detroit. The children were quickly ushered to a large empty room in Michigan’s Central Station to change out of their travel gear and into the new outfit each brought for the occasion. The boys and girls had been sectioned off by sheets with the agents inspecting their appearance and the older children helping the younger ones dress. As each child finished, they were allowed to gather in the open space on the other side of the room. Upon opening her suitcase, Mileta marveled at the new pale pink dress with flowers embroidered around the sleeves and hem. A paper was attached to the fabric at the waist with a large safety pin. A frown flitted across her face as she read the note, a few short words that in essence stated she was free to be adopted. She pulled the dress over her head and marveled at the color. She hadn’t worn anything this nice since leaving her home in Poland. As she ran a brush through the length of her hair, she wondered what her papa would have thought of her current predicament. He had been excited when he learned they gave away free land. Would he have been as excited to learn they gave away children as well?
#Discovery #TheOrphanTrainSaga #BookOne #HistoricalFiction #Newrelease #Hardbound #Softcover #ebook #kindleunlimited http://ow.ly/JR5G30nf11K