Today I’m pleased to have Deanna Klingel as my guest. She’s the author of The Mysterious Life of Jim Limber. I gave her five random words, and here’s what came to her mind.
Laugh: something I promise to do every day
Pen: tools of the trade
Essay: what happens in the brain doesn’t stay in the brain. It gets shared. It’s called an essay.
Spider: Charlotte’s Web
Hope: springs eternal, what keeps one foot in front of the other, makes tomorrow possible
Deanna Klingel writes from the comfort of her loft overlooking the western North Carolina mountains. She lives with her husband and golden retriever, Buddy. Their seven children are raising families around the southeast. Deanna writes for a young audience, Pre K through grade 12, Picture books through YA/ adult. She likes to read and write historical fiction.
Who was this child Varina Davis, wife of Jefferson Davis, the Confederate President, rescued in Richmond, February 1864? For 14 months he lived with the Davis family in the White House of the Confederacy. He was with them through life, death and birth. He was with them when they fled Richmond, and when they were arrested in Georgia. At Port Royal they parted. What became of that child who called himself Jim Limber?
The first third of this book is biography, based on the writings of Varina Davis. The middle third of the book is historical fiction through a probable adolescence. The final third is a choose-your-own ending, or write-your-own ending.
Based on what you now know about Jim Limber, what do YOU think he became? Write your own ending. Send it to Deanna, and she’ll post it on her website.
Purchase The Mysterious Life of Jim Limber on Amazon.