L.L. Lee Novels: REFLECTIONS OF MY WEDDING DAY FIFTY YEARS AGO

L.L. Lee Novels: REFLECTIONS OF MY WEDDING DAY FIFTY YEARS AGO: I remember waking up early in my parents home on the morning of my wedding fifty years ago on the 20th of June. I was terrified. I don't...

REFLECTIONS OF MY WEDDING DAY FIFTY YEARS AGO

I remember waking up early in my parents home on the morning of my wedding fifty years ago on the 20th of June. I was terrified. I don't know if all young brides feel this fear of the unknown, but I know I did. I loved Michael. We had been engaged for a year. Still, I didn't really know him. I loved him, but I didn't know him. And so I woke to Mom's excitement and my Dad's calm sense of happiness. I guess because he was marrying off the second of his five daughters. For an Italian father, I imagine there is a sense of success in that.
I prepared for my walk down the aisle in a state of disbelief that remains to this day. How could this great-looking, kind, wonderful man want to marry me? And why was I afraid? I don't know why he loved me and why I loved him. But because we were so deeply in love, I went through with the wedding. In a daze. I look at the pictures, but I don't remember any of the actual ceremony.
Today we would have been celebrating our 50th anniversary, but I lost him ten years ago. For every day of those forty wonderful years that we were together, I marveled at how lucky I was to have him in my life. And I thank God for giving him to me for such a long time. What a gift.  Happy Anniversary, Sweetie.

MAMA LIVES ON IN SISTER SERIES

I really miss my mother everyday but this past Mother's Day I thought how great it would be if I could talk with her. She was so special and such a strong influence in my life and in the lives of her seven children. Being what I like to a call "a typical Italian mother," she loved us, wanted us to be successful, marry well, give her grandchildren and above all, show her the respect and love she believed she deserved. Mama will be forever in my heart and immortalized in my books. I introduced a mama character and her fictionalized children, the sisters, in Taxing Tallula and she remains a minor but strong character in The Sisters: Ten Days in Sicily. And because my books are all humorous, I have taken the liberty of exaggerating my mama character's domineering ways and in other aspects, making her character larger than life. And in fact, my mother was larger than life. Happy Mother's Day, Mama. I love you and wish I could read excerpts from The Sisters: Ten Days in Sicily to you. You would absolutely love it.

THE SISTERS: TEN DAYS IN SICILY IN GULF COAST WOMAN MAGAZINE

I am so excited about the wonderful article and interview in the March/April issue of Gulf Coast Woman Magazine about the latest in my Sisters series, The Sisters: Ten Days in Sicily. I love this book because it is fun and continues in my tradition of making my readers laugh or at least smile. It's on page 31 (PDF) of the magazine.
http://www.gulfcoastwomanmagazine.com/ImageStore/ClientSite/6219/Issues/111_IssuePDF_20140307075122.pdf

L.L. Lee Novels: COLD WINTER DAY & SUNNY SICILY

L.L. Lee Novels: COLD WINTER DAY & SUNNY SICILY: I woke up this morning to a very cold day on the Mississippi Coast and realized that the whole country is in a deep freeze. Then I was warme...

COLD WINTER DAY & SUNNY SICILY

I woke up this morning to a very cold day on the Mississippi Coast and realized that the whole country is in a deep freeze. Then I was warmed by reading a review of my latest novel, The Sisters: Ten Days in Sicily. I had just returned from sunny Sicily when I wrote the novel. If you need to feel warm and have fun at the same time, you might want to get this book. Get under the covers, make a cup of hot tea or chocolate, and bask in the warmth of this beautiful country and the joy that will come from travelling with the sisters from Louisiana once again.

NEW YEAR, NEW NOVEL, The Sisters: Ten Days in Sicily

I woke up this morning thinking about 2013. So much happened. I sadly observed the 10th anniversary of Mike's death and his 72nd birthday on Christmas Day. I was sad as usual during the holidays as I missed so many loved ones besides Mike who made the holidays special over the years: Rana, Diane, Linda, Mimi, my mom. I talk to my loved ones who are no longer with me fairly often. I talk to them even more during the holidays. I tell them how hard it is to go on without them, without their love and support. I call upon them when I feel lonely and need help coping. I know they are still there for me. I knew that this morning as I reflected on 2013.
Because this morning I realized that 2013 was a good year for me. In fact, I had a wonderful time. My new partner, Jerry, and I had a busy, fun year. We travelled on a cruise to the Islands, we went to Canada and saw Niagara Falls with a tour group. And best of all, we went to Sicily where we spent 10 wonderful days touring the land of my ancestors with my son, Mike and my daughter-in-law, Randi and my two teenage grandchildren, Olivia and Connor.
That vacation is reflected in the biggest accomplishment of the year, my new novel, The Sisters: Ten Days in Sicily. This latest book in the Sisters Series is fun. I loved writing it. It makes me smile when I read it. It reflects the pride I have in this land of my ancestors, the love I have for its people and the beauty of the country.
And so, I begin a new year with a sense of hope and promise and joy. I gave myself a gift and I want to share it with you. It's the gift of finding yourself, your roots, your past loves, your present ones, and your future joys. It's called The Sisters: Ten Days in Sicily.
L.L.L.