Meet “Knox” and note the watermelons: Knox
County is the place for
melons of all kinds.
I grew up in Tippecanoe County, where I survived the Blizzard of
‘78; traveled to the Indiana Dunes once; and spent many happy hours
canoeing down Sugar Creek, then exploring Turkey Run and The Shades State
Parks. I also enjoyed going to the Feast of the Hunter’s Moon each year
and enjoying buffalo burgers.
My grandfather handled the ticket sales for the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and this year, at the 101st running of the Indy
500, we will sit in the seats we’ve held for fifty-three years. The price
of a ticket in the paddocks in 1963?
$15. It’s considerable higher now.
College-wise, I’m from a mixed family. My father
graduated from Purdue, while my mother received her RN from the IU School of
Nursing. She did, however, receive her Masters in Health Education at
Purdue. I, however, chose to attend Vincennes
University and Ball State.
As a lover of history, I was thrilled to learn the county I
now live in shares a common history with the one in which I was born. I
know we studied State History in the 4th grade, but honestly, the only thing I
remember is gazing at Plymouth Rock, falling asleep on the bus while touring
downtown Indianapolis,
and being awed by a house which was a stop on the Underground Railroad.
My children and I now take frequent trips to the George Rogers Clark Memorial
each summer, and last year, my 5th grader, after reading about the Northwest
Territory, exclaimed,”So that’s why we have that huge building over by the
river!”
Umm, yes, that would be the battlefield, when the British
surrendered Fort Sackville.
It’s also the reason we go to the annual Rendezvous
Festival in May! Yes, more buffalo burgers for me,
I’m proud of my home state, even though we can’t agree on
what time it is, and our weather is bi-polar, but that just seems to make
everything more interesting! For instance, this winter we only received a
dusting of snow, and as I write this, it is 60 degrees in February. However, it’s pretty much a given that it
will snow during March Madness.
“When I dream about the moonlight on the Wabash
Then I long for my Indiana home.”
-Back Home Again In Indiana, Eddy Arnold
Want to win a pdf copy of Forbidden Love? All you
have to do is leave a comment and I’ll choose one at random. Make sure to leave a way for contact.
Meet Keri Patterson, a sophomore at Arbor University,
pursuing an Auto Technology career in the middle 1980s. The college is located
in the fictional town of Arbordale, Indiana, and Keri’s dream is to one day be
a part of an Indy car racing team. Along the way, she meets and falls for an
older man, Kyle Sampson, who happens to be going through a divorce. With the
innocence of her first love, Keri tries to balance her ambition to be the first
female member of a racing pit crew and her awakening femininity. Will Keri and
Kyle’s romance survive the hairpin twists and turns, or is disaster looming?
Kyle is not without problems of his own.
He wasn’t expecting to meet the girl of his dreams so quickly, before the ink
is even dry on the divorce petition. Trying to keep the two facets of his life
separate, he discovers there is a fine line between love and hate, as well as
deception and protection. But life doesn’t always get wrapped up in neat
packages. Sometimes it blows up in your face.
Molly Daniels resides in the Midwest with her husband, three children, and various
household pets. Her Arbor
University series follows
the lives of several college coeds, proving that even good kids can still make
bad choices! The trick, however, is will they learn from those choices and go
on to lead successful lives?
Find me here:
Website: www.mollydaniels.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mollyjdaniels
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Molly-Daniels/e/B003CMEYTQ/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_7?qid=1458006360&sr=8-7
(All Info Author Provided)
Nice article. We travel through Indiana quite a bit, on our way to Alabama, but haven't had occasion to stop too often. Now I think we'll have to!
ReplyDeleteMy parents and grandparents (and probably greats and so on) were from Indiana though I didn't come along until much of the family had moved to Oklahoma. However, we did visit remaining family members in the state when I was growing up, and I have attended Magna cum Murder. So..."Thanks for the memories." (The plot of the book described sounds very interesting!)
ReplyDeleteHi Molly,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed learning more about your state, and you, in the blog today. I live in the western corner of Kentucky but I have spent a couple of wonderful weeks in Indiana several years ago. I, with a couple of friends, attended the IU Writers Conference in Bloomington, as a scholarship recipient in Fiction. Later that year we three friends attended the Ball State Writers' Workshop. Afterward, my first short story was published in the Ball State Forum so you see I have very happy memories of Indiana!
Your book sounds very intriguing and I'd love to be the winner. I wish you much success in your writing. I observe from this post that you have a wry sense of humor which I'm sure comes through in your books.
Linda Swift (LSwiftR@aol.com
Happy to meet another Indiana author! My wife and I visited the George Rogers Clark Memorial while we were researching for a book the summer before last -- it's beautiful down there.
ReplyDelete@Marion: As the song goes, 'There's more than corn in Indiana...' :) I've always loved the fact we experience all four seasons, and frustratingly enough, sometimes in the same day....Now that I'm an adult, I'm especially thrilled to be in a milder climate of my state; I will take rain over snow in winter, but we do have the occasional harsh snow and ice. When we lived in Indianapolis, I always enjoyed the May festivities, but there are several events year round:)
ReplyDeleteRadine: Thanks for stopping by! I have a friend who has attended that also!
@Linda: I had no idea IU had a writer's conference too! Though I did attend the WriteStuff Writers conference three times. I've tried to attend the BSU one, but didn't find out about it until I moved to Knox Co. I wish I'd known about it when I was a student there!
ReplyDelete@Mark: You should sooooooo come back down for the Watermelon Festival the 1st weekend in August, or even Rendezvous weekend in May (though I won't be there; I'll be at the 500.):) A few years ago, the park opened up the basement of GRC, and it was awesome to see what holds that massive thing up! We bought a house in the historical district this past fall, so now GRC is across the street.
TYPO CAUGHT: We don't have Plymouth Rock in northern Tippi County; it's PROPHET'S Rock. *author slinks off, head ducked*
Well, there's a Plymouth in Indiana, so why not a Plymouth rock!
ReplyDeleteLOL....my dad and I were talking about this article, and when he pointed out my mistake, he gleefully said, "Ha! This proves your memory IS faulty....since you're now over 50, I will officially recognize you as an adult now!"
ReplyDeleteGee, thanks, Dad....
This is in reference to the fact I seem to remember strange, obscure family trivia, that no one else does, so whenever I slip up, it's cause for celebration!
Isn't Notre Dame in Indiana? I visited my sister there, when she was in college. All I remember though is the football stadium, lol. You can't go wrong when you can use the word Tippecanoe.
ReplyDelete@Carly: Yes, Notre Dame is in the northern part of the state:) Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDelete"Tippecanoe and Tyler Too!"
Just had to throw that in, lol....
Thank you so much Annette, for this opportunity!