Sunday, December 8, 2013

North of Channing Street by Gloria Spivey Flecker



Molly Peale has a dream, and love isn’t going to stand in the way of achieving her goal to be a star on stage. After a successful career on Broadway, she begins a new venture as a writer. Everything she sets out to do makes her abilities even more widely acclaimed, and her future is well beyond financially secure.

With all of her notoriety and fortune, one thing continues to be lacking--a satisfying love life. Despite her years of waiting for Mr. Right, work has come first. She finds herself lost in a world where lovers walk hand in hand, and she is in her thirties without experiencing any of the excitement that accompanies a love affair, marriage or having children.

She enjoys deep, loyal friendships, which seem to sustain her throughout the years. Nevertheless, there is a hole in her heart. Something is missing. Will she find love where and when she least expects it to flourish?

North of Channing Street takes us from Virginia to New York City, and on to Cape May, NJ (NYC and Cape May are two of my favorite places in the world). It is a tale that will keep the reader anxious to find out in what direction Molly’s world will be taking her.  The story is woven with some unexpected surprises, and traveling life’s paths with Molly Peale is an intriguing journey.

This book causes me ponder which is better? To marry young, have children while you are young and then blast off into a career or just the opposite? Back in the old days when I was in my teens, women often married very young, and my own path followed that trend. The problem is that I believe you don’t even know who you are until late twenties at best, and the person you might marry in late teens may not be the same person you would choose once you have grown and matured into adulthood and experienced some ups and downs of life.

Molly waited. And it was fascinating to live vicariously through her choices for just a little while!
 Book Description

It started in 1955 when Molly Peale, a 15 year old southern girl met Nick Graziano, a 17 year old Italian boy from New Jersey. Molly loved acting in high school land had dreams of studying drama and becoming an actress. When Nick asked her to run off and marry him, she was tempted to go, but with some coaxing from her best friend, she realized it would be a mistake.

At the age of 21, after her mother’s death, she leaves college and goes to New York to pursue her acting career. She is successful as an actress and later a known author. She finds love with her director friend, Jeff Wilde, but still holds Nick in her heart.

Molly and Nick meet again in 1995 when her father dies and Nick calls to pay his respects. Romantic interludes begin, and she must make a decision that could change their lives.
In the Author’s Words

“ I had this story in my mind for many years, but due to my full time career as a Human Services Specialist, I never really had the time to write it until after I retired.

I married very young and had children very young so was unable to realize my dreams of acting and writing. I created Molly Peale, an unforgettable girl/woman to live those dreams for me. She is my alter ego. I hope that young girls/women today will read the book and take from it the message that I am sending them. Should they fall in love at a tender age, wait until they mature enough to make a wise decision about their lives.

As a result of my early marriage, God has given me a wonderful family that I can be proud of, so I have no regrets. However, I would advise girls, in this day and age when so much is demanded of them, that they should wait. If a boy/man truly loves her, he will be there when she is ready.”

About the Author

Gloria Spivey was born in Tarboro, NC and attended grade school in Tarboro and Winton, NC. She moved with her family to Portsmouth, VA in 1949 and attended Craddock High School. She married and moved to NJ in 1956.


Gloria attended college in Atlantic County, NJ and Red Rocks, CO. She married Ben Ricciardi and raised three sons and three daughters. She lived most of her life in NJ, where she was employed for 23 years as a Human Services Specialist in Atlantic County. In 2002, she retired and moved to Myrtle Beach, SC, where she met and married Thomas Flecker. Gloria and Tom share a home in Murrells Inlet, SC.

*****

Please note that the author has written a second book entitled The Wildes of Murrells Inlet, in which Jeff and Molly Wilde move from Cape May, NJ to Murrells Inlet, SC and find themselves entrenched in trying to solve a local mystery.

See http://amzn.to/1inZJm0 for North of Channing Street and
http://amzn.to/1fTFmeP for The Wildes of Murrells Inlet

See you soon, and Merry Christmas to all!

All the best,
Mary Anne Benedetto



 

No comments:

Post a Comment