TALES FROM THE BAYOU: Dodging Mother Nature

hurricane

 

I’ve always had a connection with hurricane season. Growing up in the swamps of Louisiana, it always surprised me that our school year began when it did. The first day of school almost always matched up with the arrival of the latest hurricane or tropical storm that chose to stop by. 

I would miss the first days of school…like everyone else in my hometown…as we battened down the hatches and weathered Mother Nature’s fury. I always knew when the old kerosene lanterns came out and my mother started filling up the bathtub  with fresh water, a major storm was about to hit our little abode.

Mother had a knack for keeping four young children calm during the howling winds and torrential rains by making the fact the electricity went out more of a game than something to be nervous about. As I got a little bit older, there were even times when she would take us outside when the eye of the storm was overhead so we could see the beauty and power of the elements. Then it was a mad dash to get back inside before the howling started up again when the backside of the hurricane passed over.

I feel for the people in the Caribbean. There were many years we were trapped in our house with no way out because Mother didn’t drive and my father was stuck in the middle of the Gulf on an oil rig. And there were other times when my entire family stood huddled in the high school gymnasium as my father lifted me up to look out the windows just in time to see rooftops and trashcans go sailing across the street from us. Later, he would drive us back home, taking a very long detour because of the aftermath of flooding, and even to my young eyes, I recognized the devastation Mother Nature could bring to one tiny town on the bayou…

 

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HM-SHIP-OF-DREAMS (cover)

 

Amelia Earmouse travels back through time to uncover little known secrets. You may THINK you know your history, but wait until you see what Amelia uncovers in this latest volume of HISTORY’S MYSTERIES!

In Book One, Ship of Dreams, ten-year-old Margaret can hardly wait to see the largest ship ever built visit Southampton! Life is already hard for her family in the spring of 1912, but the coal workers’ strike could turn a bad situation into a deadly one. Margaret hopes to see the great Titanic leave on its maiden voyage, but will the strike prevent it from happening?

 

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donna - Copy

 

Best selling, award-winning author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books, and the host of WRITERLY WISDOM, a resource series for writers. Donna is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Children’s Book Insider. She is a lover of dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection. Donna’s latest book, HISTORY’S MYSTERIES: Ship of Dreams, will be available in eBook and print form from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, and other online retailers on October 14th, 2019.

Donna L

Hybrid award winning author; aspiring sketch artist; and 4th Degree Senior Certified Taekwondo Instructor. Host of BOOK NOOK REVIEWS. Member of SCBWI. Mom to fabulous son and adventurer delving into the tricky world of indie-publishing.

6 thoughts on “TALES FROM THE BAYOU: Dodging Mother Nature

    • September 10, 2019 at 4:36 pm
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      Glad you danced with Mother Nature and survived! And I’m loving the fact you are enjoying HISTORY’S MYSTERIES: Ship of Dreams! I would love it even more if you told all your friends to grab a copy…;-)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Reply
  • September 10, 2019 at 9:04 pm
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    It was fun for us to be “camping” out in the living room during the hurricanes. The only thing that scared me about it before you were born was when brother would tell me that tornados were alive and would come in and get me. He said tornados always come out during hurricanes.I believed that brat!

    Reply
    • September 11, 2019 at 12:37 am
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      He never told me that so I guess I’m glad I grew up in ignorance…lol…

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Reply
  • September 12, 2019 at 5:10 am
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    Having lived on the Mississippi Gulf Coast most of my life, I know something about ‘canes. Camille, Katrina and not abstract notions no. I get it. Looks like so do you.

    Reply
  • November 25, 2019 at 4:53 pm
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    Hi and welcome to my blog! I’m so sorry for the delay…you comment got lost in cyberspace all this time and I JUST received it this morning! So glad it wasn’t a winning lottery ticket! Yeah, I’m quite familiar with hurricanes…even survived a tornado passing over my mobile home one night, but that’s fodder for another story at another time…lol…

    Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

    Reply

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