The year was 1970. Long straight hair and bell bottoms were 'in' for both boys and girls. Richard Nixon had just been elected president (pre-Watergate). L'eggs pantyhose were all the rage, as were the Dodge Colt, the Ford Pinto, and the AMC Hornet. Two 12 year old girls met at a private school and discovered that they had a lot more than pantyhose in common. They both played the piano, and they liked boys. The other common thread was books. You could almost say they liked books as much as boys.
They spent weekends at each other's houses plotting how to manage the boy question, playing the piano, and reading books. They went to summer camp together and spent hours playing through the piano scores of Oklahoma and Sound Of Music.
As they grew, the boys eventually became boyfriends and then husbands.They stood up at each other's weddings. The books never changed. Both continued to read voraciously, and they drove out to the east coast to begin college and then finished their college education at separate institutions. Both continued to play and also to teach piano.
They both raised a family and moved so far apart - on opposite coasts, actually - that seeing each other became a major event. Still, whenever they were together, it was as if they were 12 again playing and plotting and reading.
Both were still reading and both were now writing novels, plays and articles for magazines. Through the death of both their fathers they consoled each other and through the ups and downs of the shaking economy they laughed, and thought about the good old days when the biggest question on their minds was whether the boys they liked even knew they were alive. They shared stories about their children and one of them became a grandmother.
When no one else around really understood them, they knew that they shared a very special bond that you can only experience when you have grown through adolescence together. No matter what, they had each other's backs.
One of the girls finished and published one of her books. The other one promoted it for her - I am that one!
Secrets of the Enemy by Debbie G. Brownfield!
Available now at Amazon.com
One lucky blog reader will win a free print copy - so check back for your chance to win by commenting on my upcoming review on September 15.
They spent weekends at each other's houses plotting how to manage the boy question, playing the piano, and reading books. They went to summer camp together and spent hours playing through the piano scores of Oklahoma and Sound Of Music.
As they grew, the boys eventually became boyfriends and then husbands.They stood up at each other's weddings. The books never changed. Both continued to read voraciously, and they drove out to the east coast to begin college and then finished their college education at separate institutions. Both continued to play and also to teach piano.
They both raised a family and moved so far apart - on opposite coasts, actually - that seeing each other became a major event. Still, whenever they were together, it was as if they were 12 again playing and plotting and reading.
Both were still reading and both were now writing novels, plays and articles for magazines. Through the death of both their fathers they consoled each other and through the ups and downs of the shaking economy they laughed, and thought about the good old days when the biggest question on their minds was whether the boys they liked even knew they were alive. They shared stories about their children and one of them became a grandmother.
When no one else around really understood them, they knew that they shared a very special bond that you can only experience when you have grown through adolescence together. No matter what, they had each other's backs.
One of the girls finished and published one of her books. The other one promoted it for her - I am that one!
Secrets of the Enemy by Debbie G. Brownfield!
One lucky blog reader will win a free print copy - so check back for your chance to win by commenting on my upcoming review on September 15.
