Monday, August 31, 2020

Lyn Cote Asks the September Question


Image by Лариса Мозговая from Pixabay

Now for the September question: School days, school days, dear old Golden Rule days—Now that’s a blast from long past. Anyway any memories of a favorite teacher and what she or he did to make you like to go to school?

I remember many good teachers--Miss LeFevre, Mrs. Greene, Mrs Williams, Mrs. Crawford. Mrs. Crawford made the biggest impact on my life.

If you’ve read any of my historicals and many of my contemporary stories, you know that I write books with many different kinds of people.That is due to Mrs. Crawford. My first writing mentor was my Junior-year English teacher, Mrs. Doris M Crawford, one of my first African-American teachers, who spent an hour after school every day that year teaching me how to write. I had asked her at the end of the first class—“I want to be a writer. Will you teach me how?” 

Her gift of time and taking an interest in me made all the difference. I just wish she’d lived to read my first published book but she died of cancer when I was in college. But I often feel as if she is standing at my shoulder as I write.

So what teacher made a difference in your life--or do you have a particular favorite fun memory of school days? Either is good. I waiting to hear from you!

BTW, my latest romantic suspense is on pre-order till Sept 8th at 25% off.


 In a small town where murder never happens, two people with a tragic history must work together to protect their families before another murder happens~

Bookstore owner, Sylvie Patterson and Detective Ridge Matthews share hidden pain over the long ago tragedy that marked them both. Because of the past, she knows she has no future with him. Sylvie’s cousin Ginger returns home to write her PhD dissertation and says these cryptic words before hanging up: Sylvie, I am going to wow you with a big surprise tomorrow! Finding Ginger lying dead at the foot of the stairs is not any surprise anyone would ever want. 

Ridge had come to town on a family matter. When he and Sylvie discover the body, as a state homicide detective, he’s ordered to stay and solve the murder. Murders don’t happen in small town Winfield—and he can’t get a break on the case. When Detective Matthews fails to discover any motive or solid clues for her cousin’s murder, Sylvie refuses to believe that she might be next. What if she’s wrong…Don’t miss the exciting ending to this northwoods murder mystery! For more info, click here.


  

4 comments:

  1. Yes I had a favourite teacher. Mr Moody. He was my friends grandfather so we were not able to be in the same class in grade 5 but he was good. He was strict but fair. He went the extra mile to help kids. I was hopeless still am at writing and he would spend time trying to improve the handwriting. He had tools to help and he really tried. We use to sit depending one how we did each week. One based on mathes which I would be at the back of the room. The next was on spelling so I was at the front of the room. He was old school and drilled into us the times tables. He didn't have favourites and was well respected. After he retired I use to take a plate of cookies to him and his wife each christmas as a thankyou. I didn't do that for any other teacher.

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  2. Although I wrote a very bad novel in high school, I never thought about being a professional writer until I was in my mid-thirties. I did have a second grade teacher, Mrs. Torgeson, who let me do a play with some of my classmates. Maybe that was the beginning of my storytelling.

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  3. I had a favorite English teacher in high school-Mr. Rossi. He had a fun chant about the word "not" being an adverb. (You had to be there.) :)

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  4. Several teachers made a difference. Mrs. Barrett and Mrs. Sellers (3rd and 4th grade) let me write and direct plays for the class or even one for the whole school, parents and friends invited. Mr. Whiting (5th grade) pushed me into skipping 6th, which resulted in all kinds of changes, both good and bad. One of the most significant was Prof. Eloise Bell, the English professor who told me I had a gift and could indeed become a novelist. There were others as well, but these are the ones who stand out in memory.

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