A Monthly Newsletter to keep readers informed on news in the book world, about moments not easily explained, stretching out to other genres, a personal story, events going on, comments from readers and more. Readers are welcome to comment or add their thoughts to the next newsletter.
In This Issue December 2012
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Happenings & News Mucho thanks to Oakley Hall Antiques for hosting a wonderful “Meet the Author & Book Signing” last month. It was fabulous and I met some new people as well as greeting friends I know. There will definitely be a Volume II Warren County Ghost Book. Thanks for your words and your support to all who attended. It wasn’t so long ago when I was hosting book signings for others, now I’m the one signing. How cool is that! The stuffed dates I brought to the signing was a recipe that was brought to a book signing I hosted at my shop many years ago for Rose J. Radel who wrote: The Miniature Pinscher: An Owner’s Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet.
What’s Goin’ On? December 4, Tuesday… . TASTE N TELL at the WCM Library sponsored by Warrenton Woman’s Club. Christmas recipes from the Recipes & Remembrances Cookbook will be offered to taste, cooks will tell their stories and the cookbook will be available for sale at $15. Recipes in the cookbook were submitted by Warren County folks and their friends and family from all across the nation. Also included are some favorites of past Presidential wives such as Martha Custis Washington. Think great Christmas and Holiday gifts.
To all my Christian friends=Merry Christmas and to all my friends who have chosen a different path=Happy Holidays, no matter which one you choose to celebrate or how you like to offer the greeting. It is the goodwill that matters.
Stories…The Mount; The Haunted Home of Edith Wharton.
Edith Wharton, author of The Age of Innocence, The House of Mirth, Ethan Frome and so much more, designed her home in the Berkshires over a hundred years ago. It was not exactly a happy marriage that she shared with husband Teddy and she eventually divorced him. The Mount is now a National Trust and open to visitors. It is the docents and visitors who tell of …..footsteps walking down a hallway and fading-when no one could be seen; doors slamming for no obvious reason, voices heard but no one seen. Ghost Hunters have visited and found ghostly activities. The house was sold to become a girls school. Those staying in the servant quarters and main house both reported odd goings on. Shakespeare & Co. came into the building in 1976 with the same reports of voices with no bodies, ghosts in old-fashioned clothing peeking around corners, voices inquiring “what are you doing here?”
Edith herself was sensitive to ghosts following her in childhood remaining skittish of them as a married woman. Yet now she is a ghost seen, seated and reading. Teddy has also been spotted striding through the house and Edith’s lover has been noticed in a tuxedo with pocket watch in hand. A servant girl is seen on the third floor in the room she called her own. Photo from Wikipedia website.
Letters, I Get Letters…. As much as I love North Carolina and the (still) newness of exploring and learning new customs, there is an unhappy part, too. In moving to a new place to live, I have lost the casual contact with some people who have been important in my life. This means I just learned now, a year after the fact that Julianne MacNicoll passed away. She and long-time-husband Ed (Past President of the NAIFA) worked side-by-side in their office in Hamilton Township (NJ) doing residential and commercial real estate appraisals. And they were side-by-side in all aspects of their lives. Ed also taught and did a million other things. I remember Julie as being the sunniest person, always happy, positive and encouraging, especially to a newcomer to the business that I loved so much, me. I can still see her smiling face.
This Month……Since I now have Ghostly Spirits of Warren County, North Carolina & Beyond on the shelves, I’m back to completing New Jersey true ghost tales that I have been collecting for the last few years in between the NC ones. If you know of anyone who would like to tell me their story, please put them in touch with me at: asbice@aol.com or 252-257-4838.
The Latest……. Ghostly Spirits of Warren County NC & Beyond (Soft Cover-2012 PurpleStone Press) $18.95 A candle in the window, a man who walks through walls, a woman from long ago…..peek into the personal stories of hauntings from those who wish to remain in their place on earth instead of going forward into the after-life. Warren County was a wealthy, thriving place during the antebellum years. Warrenton was the hub of activity, a destination on market days where friends gathered. These imprints were left and remain today.
Also Available…. Ghosts Of Bordentown (NJ) $14.95 True paranormal stories told by those who lived them Haunted Bordentown … (NJ) $14.95 More true paranormal tales
Life & Labyrinth …$17.95 Memoir & Poetry Major Fraser’s A House & Its History $19.95 Images of America Series -Bordentown, A picture book of Bordentown history – New Egypt & Plumsted Township, A picture book of the center of New Jersey -Bordentown Revisited, More pictures and history of Bordentown and surrounding area.
Subscribe: Click Reply, enter your email address with the word Subscribe and return it to me if you would like to receive a monthly Ezine on books, stories, life’s quirks, and other bits of interest to inquisitive readers
Keep your mind open. Keep reading. Be kind. Be gentle.
PurpleStone Press asbice@aol.com, http://purplestoneblog.com/
Arlene S. Bice writer-lecturer-artist P O Box 348 Macon, NC 27551