Cindy’s grandfather was happy to get his antique jewelry back, but it was the return of his granddaughter that gave him and her parents their greatest happiness. Her parents hovered nearby while she ate and laughed and obviously enjoyed herself. But they couldn’t shake the feeling she had been kidnapped, even though she told them over and over again she left of her own free will.
The young officers continued to tell and retell how they captured Blacky. Their voices got louder and louder until they were nearly shouting. And each time they told the story, they embellished it just a bit more. Their captain ate his breakfast, drank more coffee than he really needed, and seemed amused as he listened to his men.
Jeanie sighed. What a summer! She caught her sister’s eye and winked.
It had been a very exciting time for everyone: the Ralstons, Cindy, the police officers, Jeanie and Ann, even their mother and the boys. But especially Liz, who talked to her sisters on the phone and told them all about trapping Miss Briggs in the barn. The two older girls broke up, laughing hysterically. It was a fitting end for their summer with Miss Briggs. And it felt so good to laugh at her instead of being frightened.
It was over now, and in a few days they would move back home to the farm. School would start, and life would go on. But their summer in the red-brick house would never be forgotten. How could it be?
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About the Author
Betty Casbeer Carroll was born in San Antonio, Texas. Her siblings are Jesse Casbeer, Jr. of Woodlands, Texas; Annie Laurie Haskell of Bonney Lake, Washington; and Lawrence Casbeer of Charleston, South Carolina.
Betty attended college after she had her five children, who were models for the characters in The Mystery of the Red-Brick House. She earned an Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree from San Antonio College, and was the first female undergraduate to attend St. Mary’s University. She earned a B.A. in Liberal Arts (History major) from Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.
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Other Books by Betty Casbeer Carroll
The Foothill Spirits--Book One: Frontier Life & the Shawnees
The Foothill Spirits--Book Two: Shawnees & Runaway Slaves
Coming soon:
The Foothill Spirits--Book Three: Abolition & the Womens Movement.
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Author's Notes
In 1959, I began writing The Mystery of the Red-Brick House while living in Reading, Pennsylvania. My five children ranged from six to twelve years old, and were models for the five characters in the book. Each day, I would read them the new parts I had written while they were in school. They were eager to find out what was going to happen next, which kept me writing until the story was finished.
The manuscript was typed on a manual typewriter with a worn-out ribbon and some keys that constantly stuck. I made a copy of the original using carbon paper: a very messy process, causing smudges on the original more often than not, and resulting in much retyping. In spite of these challenges, I persevered and completed the book in 1960. I mailed the manuscript to Grosset & Dunlap Publishers, and anxiously waited for a reply. It took only a few weeks to get my first rejection.
I stored the manuscript in a drawer on my roll-top desk, where it remained for a long time--unread, but never forgotten. Eventually it was taken out when the desk was either sold, given away, or abandoned because it was too heavy to move. The manuscript was then placed in a dresser drawer or on a closet shelf. (I just don’t remember these details: it was such a long time ago.
In 1967, seven years after my first attempt at publication, I tried again to get it published, and submitted the manuscript to Grosset & Dunlap a second time, and also to Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Inc. When the second try was unsuccessful, I didn’t try again for thirty years.
In 1997, I revised and polished the original manuscript, retyping it on my computer using Microsoft Word, and submitted it to half a dozen publishers at the same time. And when I received those six rejections, I placed the revised copy on the shelf next to the original manuscript, and began writing another book, using my great-granddaughter Heather Jean as a model for one of the girls in the story. Eventually that book evolved into a series, called The Foothill Spirits Series.
In 2001, after I published Book One of The Foothill Spirits Series (Frontier Life and the Shawnees), I revised and polished The Mystery of the Red-Brick House one more time, and submitted it to iUniverse.com for publication on the internet. It had been preserved for over 42 years, having traveled with me from Pennsylvania to Michigan to Indiana to Ohio and back to Indiana.
My two grandchildren, Marci and Duane made book reports from the original manuscript when they were in grade school. They both said their teacher seemed more interested in why their grandmother wrote the book than what they wrote. And my great-granddaughter Heather Jean, read the 1997 revision when she was 13 years old.
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Acknowledgments
My greatest joy is to have my work affirmed by having it read and enjoyed. Therefore, I want to acknowledge all those children who visited my home and listened quietly while I read The Mystery of the Red-Brick House. Some were so young they probably don’t even remember that I took them up to the attic and read in the dark with a flashlight. But then, maybe they do. Sitting in the dark listening to a mystery story could be traumatic.
First, though, are my own family: my children, Peggy, Marty, Jackie, Andy, and Mike; my grandchildren, Marci and Duane; and my great-granddaughter Heather Jean.
Next are four of my numerous nieces and nephews:. Jeff, Julie, Bryan, and Malia. Then friends of my children from long ago: Jody and John, who have grown up, had children, and even grandchildren of their own.
I also want to acknowledge my friends who took the time to read my manuscript and give me feedback: Marylou Rush Kreves of Hattiesburg Mississippi; Pam McGinnis of Huber Heights, Ohio, and her sons Michael and Cameron. A special thanks goes to my first publisher, iUniverse.com, a “print on demand” company available to the masses.
Writing this book brought such pleasure to me and my children. I hope you enjoy reading it. I would love to hear from you.
Betty Casbeer Carroll, Author.
Connect with me Online:
Twitter: @Nui9sance
Facebook:https://facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=1493719121
Linkedn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/betty-carroll/35/516/88b
Author's Blog: https://www.PODbookshed.blogspot.com
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