I live in a small town in central Louisiana with my husband, Richard. Happily married for 45 years we have shared much happiness and great sadness. The hills and valleys of life have served to bring us together. Somehow we manage this roller-coaster life.
I retired after teaching for 30 years at our local high school and a nearby college. Teaching was my vocation and passion, but it’s now time to serve in other ways. After retirement I finally found the time to write This World So Fierce, my debut novel. There’s a second, and perhaps a third, book on the way. I would love to publish in early spring of 2024. There’s more to Trish and Nikki’s life, afterall.
God has blessed my family, and I thank Him every day for those wonderful blessings. As Luke teaches, a great deal is expected of us. Now that we are better able to respond to that edict, we find ways to give our time, talent, and treasure to our church and others in need.
If Richard spoiled me any more, I’d believe I were in heaven. As it is, we’re pretty close. “In good times and in bad” was our vow. Parents slowly slipping away into dementia were some of the bad, but God has also blessed us with amazing gifts, such as our deeply Catholic faith, our Cajun French heritage, our family and friends. Our three sons, three beautiful daughters-in-law, eight adorable grandchildren and now, two sweet great-grandchildren are at the core of our life. Nothing is more fun than having the entire bunch over for Sunday lunch or an evening barbecue. (Despite the noise.)
There may be better ways to do things, but our country ways work for us. We really love our quiet lifestyle–family, gardening, reading, quilting, traveling–and although we’ve had a few opportunities to move or change, we choose this life. So it’s the life that I write about: our Catholic life, our silly grands, and the shenanigans that a big family can dream up. Of course, most of the blog is about my quilting life as it began as a way of documenting quilts. It has become much more.
I know it may seem strange to non-quilters, but once I became a quilter, life just made sense. I suffer with Bipolar Disorder, and creative pursuits are therapeutic, so crafting, sewing and quilting have been helping to save my life. Who knew?! Now, along with medicine, therapy, exercise and quilting, I am better able to manage my depression.
Do I quilt more? You can bet on it! I breathe, dream, craft and sew in quilts and words. Sometimes it feels that everything is a possible quilt–color, shapes, nature, architecture, culture, tiles–the list is endless! I even include quilts in my writing, just check out A World So Fierce. Yes, there’s a quilt and it plays a prominent role, too. Hmm, maybe every novel should have a quilt of its own.
I really like to hear from my readers. Please leave a comment on any post you run across or email me at mary.marcotte@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you.
