My grandmother, Lillian Lyman Morningstar, was a little girl growing up in the early 1900s, a Victorian time when the Gibson Girl figure was fashionable, trolley cars and horse-drawn buggies were the mode of transportation, mustard plasters, Monarch oil, and Sloan's liniment were routine home remedies, and Fels-Naptha soap was a household name. Lillian was a pastor's daughter. This is her tale-about her father, Charles Wesley Lyman, an Evangelical Minister, her mother, Florence Lyman, a Catholic-turned-Protestant, who admired the works of American author and poet, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, and followed the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer and founder of Christian Science. Lillian's older sister, Mabel, was a child prodigy, on her way, even as a teenager, to becoming a compelling speaker, and eventually, minister of her own congregation as an adult. When she spoke, there was something about her. When she took the floor to speak anything at all, there was that intangible feeling of substance beyond sound. Through Mabel's guardian angel, she sees future events before they happen. One event in particular will have such an astounding affect it will change Mabel's life forever. Lillian's Irish grandmother, Leticia Simmons, was a precocious, true-believing Catholic, just five feet tall, with her black lace cap and shawl, her black bombazine dress and her white apron trimmed in Irish lace. From Chicago to Wisconsin to the shores of Michigan, this close-knit family endures life, strange events, and unforeseen obstacles through their faith in God, perseverance, and solidarity, finding joy as they navigate through their daily lives. It is a poignant and, at times, humorous, story, not unlike what families are experiencing today. Times are hard for many families today, families who have been forced to economize due to the rising cost of living, suffered a job loss, or a home foreclosure-a loss of dignity. This story is a refreshing testament of how faith in God, faith in each other, can lift us up, give hope for the future, and inspire optimism when things seem to be at their worst. It is a sweet, charming and inspirational story told to me by my grandmother, from her perspective as a young girl.
About the Author: Lori Morningstar Villarreal lives in Michigan with her husband, their fourteen year old son, and little black dog. She's a freelance writer and reporter for The Township Times, a local weekly newspaper, covering human interest stories. Her background spans over 20 years in the computer industry, including programming, database development, desktop publishing, marketing, network administration, web page design, graphic design, and customer support. Over the years, she's had extensive writing experience with documentation, both business-related and technical, as well as in the creative area. As a writer of fiction, she utilizes her many life experiences, her travels (adventures), and encounters with the people she's met along the way. Whispers in Time (Time Travel Romance) was her first novel, followed by The Devil Rogue (Historical Romance), Kissing Mr. Bellamy (Historical Romance), based on two characters from Whispers in Time, and Twelfth Moon (Paranormal Romance), the first in a 3-book series, Legend of the Pantera. She's currently working on the second in the series, Kara's story, to be released at the end of summer (2013). Sunday-Armageddon-Bring Lunch! is a collaboration with her grandmother, Lillian Lyman Morningstar, based on her memoirs as a young girl growing up in the early 1900s. Even though it's a little outside the realm of her usual romance novels, this was such a sweet, charming, endearing story, Lori felt compelled to share it with others. www.lorivillarreal.com