LoveChild
N. J. is slowly working on a memoir, which she is calling LoveChild.
To catch a glimpse of what LoveChild will be like, here is the opening to N' J.'s true story, "The Diamond Ring," which is in the anthology Hot Apple Cider.
The other guests at the birthday party appeared to be having a wonderful time. I was counting the minutes until I could go home and read a book or design more clothes for my paper dolls. As soon as we’d eaten the birthday cake, I said I had to leave early. Dressed in my best party dress and my white sandals, carrying a little basket of candy and trinkets, I fought to hold back the tears that started the moment I closed the door.
Our house was on the outskirts of town, and to reach it I had to cross a set of railway tracks. I stopped and walked along the rails. By now, I was sobbing in earnest, and I didn’t want my parents to see—didn’t want them to worry. I also was trying to figure out why I wasn’t like other people. For a moment, I thought it might be a huge relief if a train would come along and erase the pain.
It was 1955, and I was seven years old….
Read the rest of this story or listen to an audio file of N. J. reading it
And look into getting a copy of Hot Apple Cider.
