Inspiration for the Seamstress - Mom

I have had a wonderful experience putting together my first book. The writing itself was an exciting experience. The story just flowed from my fingertips at my computer. I truly knew my characters. If you asked me a question about one of them that was not mentioned in my book, I could tell you because somehow they were a part of me. I suppose that is the way most first books are: the characters are parts of the author or people the author has known.

I have been coached through the editing process by the kind folks at WinePress Publishing. I made many mistakes and tried their patience - having to be told repeatedly in detail how to upload my manuscript. As an inexperienced writer, there was much for me to learn. Their editors explained basic writing principles that I, as a math teacher, just did not know.
 
My main character, Emma Randall, is a perfected cross between my mother, the teachers I've met in the last ten years, and myself. My mother was a seamstress in New York City. She worked at Milgrim's dressmaking house in New York City when she was 19 years old where she embroidered the initials on Kate Smith's underwear and cut out and basted together a dress for Eleanor Roosevelt. My next book will definitely be about my mother.

Mom (left) with cousin and sister

Helen, Gladys, Rose