Category: Human Interest

Eulie’s Song is a story of Love, and the Longings of the Heart.

Published on by Kathy Lauren Miller12 Comments

 

Love is a powerful force.

Love will define the choices of two girls born a century apart. Choices that will impact not only themselves, but the lives of those they love.

One act of desperation in a moment of fear.

Eulie, born into slavery, had suffered at the hands of cruel men. She was haunted by the heartbreaking choice she made.

Leela, the child of a marriage based on lies, is haunted by nightmares, and dreams she can’t remember. Bullied because of her stutter, she refuses to speak. More than anything, she wants to be like other teenage girls.

When Leela goes to live in her grandmother’s Ante Bellum mansion in the segregated South, she discovers a story inscribed within the beautiful old mural in her bedroom. Lonely, she becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to the artist. Digging into the past, she uncovers a secret so shocking, it upends everything she has ever believed. But when the past and present collide, the lives of those she loves are threatened. 

Will the cost of revealing the truth about her family’s past be worth the price she will have to pay?

Telling Sonny, a novel by Elizabeth Gauffreau

Published on by Kathy Lauren Miller3 Comments

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Author, Elizabeth Gauffreau, totally immerses the reader into a by gone time, a time when vaudeville shows captured the imagination of both young and old. It was also a time of innocence. It is 1924 in a rural town in Vermont where time seems to move at a snail’s pace. Or so it seems to Faby, a young girl on the cusp of adulthood. Newly graduated from high school, Faby is waiting for her life to begin. When a handsome young man, a hoofer in the vaudeville show that has entranced Faby, shows interest in her, Faby’s choice leads her into a life for which she is unprepared. Author, Gauffreau, tells Faby’s story with depth and poignancy. This novel is deeply researched and rich with details of life in the early part of the century. With the ease of a writer who knows her craft, the author immerses the reader not only into a bygone time, but into the mindset of a young girl grappling with the unexpected turn her life has taken. It is also a story of family and of the ties that bind.
Poignant and beautifully written, I highly recommend this remarkable novel.

Life Lyrics

Published on by Kathy Lauren Miller8 Comments

Her Heart     Life Lyrics ©2020

Her mind-numbing life

her relentless job

ringing up groceries

him sauntering up

slapping down a pack of gum

winking at her

with a bold brown eye

her blue eyes fluttering

him licking his lips

making his move

Metallic blue eyeliner

lips the color of a bruise

he smiles

thinking he knows her type

Now she’s gone and done it

caught his eye

she looks younger than she is

sweet youth, dewy-eyed

an object of desire and jealousy

vulnerable at times

but she is a keen observer

of sly grins and brown eyes

knows the pitfalls and potholes

fearless sometimes

most often desperate

He is not her dream

but he is here

wanting her

brown eyes

drawing her in

she’s been here before

on the losing end

He promises everything

gives her nothing

but a single drawer

and crumpled sheets

covers her with hot kisses

While she tastes

his lying breath

He wants more

always more of her

brown eyes slant

his lantern jaw tight

a curl of fists

She is caught

against a wall

biting her lip

Her hands shaking

she covers bruises

colored purple

applies makeup

fingers to swollen lips

painted red

She smooths the cheap

yellow dress he bought

listens for his steps

knows the odds

are against her

praying he’s forgotten

his black mood

with every beat of her heart

He sneers a grin

pulls at her

hands hard against

her blue veined skin

breathless she awaits

his snores

She’s saved cash

a fist full of crumpled green

enough to take her

somewhere, anywhere

away from him.

The grimy bus windows

fogged with gray rain

reflect a ghost

her backpack with

everything she owns

caught between her

muddied sneakers

the miles passing

with every beat of her heart.

 

The Secret Lives of Doors #WritePhoto

Published on by Kathy Lauren Miller9 Comments

These silent sentinels, keepers of our secrets

they wait for our footsteps, the turning of a lock

You are home, they breathe as we pass through

with nary a thought to their waiting

They sniff the air for the scents we carry

The bakery again, that kind of a day?

No, not the news, love, play your music

the dancing kind, it’s been too long

There now, isn’t that better?

Will the children come again?

Their laughter tickles

Will she come along, trailing her strawberry scent?

If she knocks, will you let her in?

You really should, you know

Don’t pretend you don’t miss her

You with your dark rooms and moods

that never ends well

She’s here

Open the door, love

Trust me

Open the door, love

It’s time.