Maggie Sweet (18 page)
Authors: Judith Minthorn Stacy
I would
like to thank the following, whose encouragement has been invaluable to me. My father, Robert Minthorn, the first to suggest I try writing and one of the few who still calls me “kid,” and my stepmother, Mary.
I thank my sisters, Joanne Clark, Margaret Yu, Nancy Toler, and Susan Gornichec, for their unfailing support and forever friendship.
My late grandmother, Alma Ellen MacDonald, whose endurance and humor have always delighted and inspired me.
In ways I don’t understand, this story is connected to the memory of my mother, Ethel Minthorn; my sister, Linda Minthorn Kehl; my son, Mark Stacy; my grandson, Scott Miller; and my mother-in-law, Georgia B. Stacy.
I am indebted to my teachers, Lila McGinness and the late Virginia Christenbury, who inspired me to keep writing.
I would like to thank my writer’s group, Thursday’s Child, who helped me find, tell, and publish this story. Special thanks to Phyllis Supnick, Glenys Bailey, Peggy Patterson, and Gypsy Travis, for their faithful and longstanding friendship.
Finally, I am deeply grateful to Ellyn Bache, whose patient editing and enthusiastic response to my work made publishing this book a reality.
J
UDITH
M
INTHORN
S
TACY
, a native of Michigan, married a Southerner right out of high school, had four children, and at various times worked as a salesclerk, waitress, and respiratory therapist. She does not style hair. A humor columnist for several newspapers, she has published articles in national women’s magazines and regional anthologies. She and her husband live in Mooresville, North Carolina.
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for
Maggie Sweet
Winner of the Carolina Novel Award
“This sweet-spirited book offers a folksy, humorous depiction of growth and awakening in a Southern setting.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“Maggie Sweet is a strong Southern woman with the spit and wit to carve out her own style. Her story is both funny and tender.”
—Jill McCorkle, author of
Carolina Moon
“A delight…. Readers will chuckle as they turn the pages.”
—
Daily Times
(Wilson, NC)
“The kind of novel that feels as comfortable as going home.”
—
Raleigh News & Observer
“With its Southern and small-town dialogue,
Maggie Sweet
is a sure winner for female readers.”
—
Dallas Morning News
“
Maggie Sweet
is exactly what you think it might be—and yet is nothing like you expect. Once it fixes its mascaraed gaze upon you, once the Jell-O salad does its green magic, once you hear in your head one more ‘Wake Up Little Suzie’ you are in its power till the end. At least I was and I’m no pushover. Judith Minthorn Stacy, you stole my heart away.”
—Fred Chappell
“A charming story about a Southern housewife who decides to follow her bliss.”
—
Kirkus Reviews
“You’ll like
Maggie Sweet
. And you’ll laugh at least once on every page. Don’t miss it.”
—
Greensboro News & Record
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author&rsquos imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
MAGGIE SWEET
. Copyright © 2001 by Judith Minthorn Stacy. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
ePub edition May 2007 ISBN 9780061747199
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