"Ithaca" Is a Movie That Features Petersburg

Meg Ryan is one of my favorite actresses. Because of her part in "Sleepless in Seattle", I modeled the heroine of my novel, Daddy's Christmas Angel, after her. Now I am excited to know that "Ithaca", the movie she directed and plays the lead in, will soon be released.

Filmed in Petersburg during the summer of 2014, places like the Globe Department Store and Brickhouse Run Restaurant, as well as Sycamore Street are recognizable in the film, according to reports. After being connected to Petersburg for many years through Petersburg Regional Arts Center, and now The Ward Center for Contemporary Art, it will be exciting to see our street and a restaurant that we really like as part of the movie.

"Courthouse in Old Towne Petersburg" ©Mary Montague Sikes

An article by Shelby Mertens of the Petersburg Progress-Index describes Ryan's feelings as a mother that influenced the telling of this story that is set in the 1940s. Ryan found Petersburg to be an ideal setting for the story. The film crew praised the city for embracing them and allowing streets to be blocked off during the production.

Because of the historic ambiance of Old Towne Petersburg, the area is poised to become the setting of more movies in the future. Like other Virginia towns and cities, memories of the past still hang in the air and that is a factor to attract the motion picture companies.

***Please visit my new art blog, "The Artful Way".

Christmas Books and Art Shows Fill the Holiday Season

My latest book, Evening of the Dragonfly, will not be available until 2015, and that's a good thing. The holiday season is filled with many events, and I already have two Christmas-themed novels that are available on Amazon as print and as Kindle books. Daddy's Christmas Angel and A Rainbow for Christmas are both sweet romance stories that anyone in the family can enjoy. I just checked Amazon and discovered that those two books are priced at $2.99 each in Kindle for the holiday season. Both books are also available for sale in my gallery at Crossroads Art Center.

©Mary Montague Sikes

If you visit Crossroads, please go by and see the Metropolitan Richmond Artists Association show in Gallery One. My painting, "Dancing in the Trees", won third place in the juried exhibition. I used pastels, charcoal, and acrylics to create this painting on canvas board. Since I prefer working on stretched canvas, this is an unusual piece for me. It's also an unusual size, 30" x 15".

On December 13 and 14, Mary Jane Tolley, a dear friend of mine, is hosting an Art Open House in her home, featuring my paintings. Saturday, I will also create "Soul Song" paintings and poetry there for interested individuals. Anyone who would like an invitation to this special Art Open House event, please contact me by email.

 This is an especially busy art week. On Wednesday, I am teaching a workshop, "Creating with Texture and Color", for Arts Alive at the West Point Pamunkey Regional Library. I keep hoping that a building will suddenly materialize in our town where artists can gather once or twice a month to paint or craft together. We have a workshop at the library almost every month which is wonderful. But, in addition, having a chance to work locally with other artists in a dedicated studio space would be a real joy.

Setting a Book in a Small 1980s Town

Earlier this week, I wrote "The End" on my book manuscript, Evening of the Dragonfly. Writing those words at last gave a feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment. It also offered the opportunity for reflection about the setting.

Unlike my "Passenger to Paradise" books, this story features no exotic destination. Instead the setting is Jefferson City, Virginia. This fictitious town is a little like the community where I live but not exactly. Jefferson City is the same town I used for my novel, Daddy's Christmas Angel.

Small Town VA 2006  MMSikes

Creating a fictitious location gives the author a lot of opportunity for use of the imagination. While actual places can be sprinkled into the story from time to time, it's fun to watch completely fictitious locations develop and become real in a book.

This book, like Daddy's Christmas Angel, is set during the 1980s. I've chosen that time period because it's a time prior to 9 11 when we were more innocent and didn't know as much about hatred in the world. It was an era when people strolled along streets and looked around them at the scenery, not at the cell phones in their hands.

As in Daddy's Christmas Angel, the heroine of my story is a school teacher. Farrah Ferand is also an artist, and her paintings play a big part in the story.

In coming weeks, I'll write more about my new book.

Do you set your stories in fictitious locations? Do you set them in the present time or do you have a different time period that you like better?

Transforming an Art Center in Historic Petersburg, Virginia

"Old Towne Petersburg" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Last week, my husband and I visited the construction site of the Ward Center for Contemporary Art in Petersburg VA. We were there the same day the filming of "Ithaca" began nearby in Old Towne. False store fronts were installed to create the set of the movie that is based on the novel, The Human Comedy, published in 1943 by William Saroyan. Meg Ryan is directing the film, scheduled for release in 2015. It was Ryan's performance in the movie "Sleepless in Seattle" that inspired me to write my novel Daddy's Christmas Angel.

Old Towne Petersburg is now a popular setting for movies. During the filming of "Lincoln," Steven Spielberg, the director, was often seen in the downtown just as Ryan is now.

Mary Montague Sikes' Basement Studio at PRAC

All the production activity in the historic district of the old city, reminds me of why I liked Petersburg so much when the Petersburg Regional Art Center first opened 11 years ago. I had a studio gallery in the basement of PRAC for all of the 10 years it was open. That space in the renovation is now the center of a new configuration of studios. The day we visited, dust was flying as dry walls were hammered in place. The same old pressed metal ceilings remained overhead, and I wondered if the new paint would flake from them as it did when my studio was there. I loved the space that we painted white with black walls in the back. I chose a glass door that gave a more open look to the display.

Over the years, I discovered that visitors seldom made their way down to the basement. Perhaps new signage and offices in the front of the big open main gallery will encourage traffic flow to the lower level in the Ward Center.

For many years, the Butterworth building, constructed in 1848, was home to a large furniture business. Furniture store remnants remained long after it opened as PRAC in 2003. The old wooden floor will be refinished as part of the renovation of the large gallery space. New lights will hang from the ceiling and more studio spaces will flank the back of the first floor. In all, there will be 57 artist studios. Above it all, the Butterworth Flats will provide one and two-bedroom modern living spaces.

Jessie Boyland is the director of  the Ward Center for Contemporary Art that is set to open in Fall 2014. She is now

Jessie Boyland ©Mary Montague Sikes

accepting reservations for the new artist studios and wall spaces. Her temporary office is located at 133 B North Sycamore St. across from the Butterworth building.

The opening of a new Art Center in Petersburg with improved studio and gallery facilities is an exciting time for artists. In 2003, PRAC offered promise and hope for a village of artists. Perhaps in 2014, those hopes and dreams will be fulfilled.

What Are Our Goals As Writers?

What are our goals as writers? What gives us a feeling of success? Do we all expect to grow rich and famous? Thinking about the Insecure Writer's Support Group started me asking those questions to myself.

If we set goals, we writers will feel more secure. How many books do we intend to write? One a year? Three?

Self-publishing, once a blight to the writer's career, is now fully accepted and thriving. Perhaps we can have even better careers if we control every aspect of them ourselves. Or perhaps self-publishing will drive us crazy and into leading non-productive lives. It's something to consider as we jot down our goals.

Success as a writer. Is it a publishing contract? That's a beginning. How about a first book signing? That's pretty exciting especially if people come by and actually buy your books. Is it a speaking engagement? That gives you the opportunity to share what you've learned with others and can be a win/win situation for your career as a writer.

How about winning an award in a writing contest? Yesterday, I received a letter telling me that I had won third place in the National Federation of Press Women's Communication Contest in the Novels for Adult Readers category. I was happy because Daddy's Christmas Angel, for which the award will be given, is a book of my heart. Earlier this year my book won first place in the Virginia Press Women's Communication contest and was sent on to National. I probably will not attend the awards banquet in Salt Lake City, Utah in August to receive the award, but it feels like success when your work is appreciated and recognized by others.

Do we expect to become rich and famous? Probably at one time or another we all expect and hope to have exceptional monetary success. Obviously, that will happen to very few. There are just so many books out there and the competition is tremendous. Still, there are some who will have amazing success. Sometimes, for unexpected reasons a book will catch fire and make fantastic numbers of sales.

We cannot count on that or even expect it to happen. We can, however, lift a glass of champagne for the little successes along the way. A glowing book review, a new contract, a nice royalty check, a contest win, the bright smile of a reader telling you how much he/she enjoyed your book, a thoughtful comment from a reader of your blog. These are goals you can expect to obtain.

Live in the moment and enjoy them! That's a great goal to have...

Thank you, Alex Cavanaugh, Sheena-kay Graham, Suzanne Furness, and Laura Eno 
for co-hosting the Insecure Writers Support Group this month.

How Does What We Write Affect the World Around Us?

Last night, I viewed one of my favorite television shows, "A Person of Interest." During the course of the program, the young woman who was the lead character for the evening gunned down countless people. Her actions made a fast-paced production. But they also made me wonder. Are TV shows like this causing us to become insensitive regarding human life?

The main prime time presentations on the major networks appear to be crime shows that usually start off with a murder. The 11 p.m. news programs are filled with details and taped scenes from the latest murders. Our national news channels are dissecting the Oscar Pistorius crime from every angle. Are all these terrible events making us immune, or are they just making us paranoid?

I don't know.

Mystery/suspense are among the most popular fiction books on the market. We love to read stories filled with excitement, adventure, and danger. Since I've started at least three of my own books with a murder, I'm guilty as well. Fast-paced books are page-turners. They might even become bestsellers.

However, when I found a new review on Amazon today for one of my books, I started to evaluate the best thing for me to write. The review for Daddy's Christmas Angel was written by a former teacher, someone I don't know. She'd taught second grade like Angie in my story. She "loved the book" and "had a hard time putting it down." She cried at the end.

There is no murder in Daddy's Christmas Angel. It's just a sweet story about three people--a child and two adults--who are all lonely in their own ways. It's about people who need love and caring in their lives. We all need that.

I started to think that perhaps my next book should not start with a murder. Perhaps it should be just another love story...

After all, I have to believe that what we write does affect the world around us. That world already has too much murder and mayhem.

--Mary Montague Sikes

Did Santa Bring a Kindle for Christmas?

Bob Parlier of the Petersburg Progress-Index interviewed me about Daddy's Christmas Angel. See the article in today's newspaper.

 

Did you get a new Kindle for Christmas? Are you already a Kindle owner?

My publisher, Oak Tree, just put my new novel, Daddy's Christmas Angel on Kindle at the special price of $0.99. This special will last until January 1, 2013 when the Kindle price goes back to $5.95.

Of all the books I've written, this is my favorite. It's a heartwarming story that appeals to people of all ages. Teachers especially will enjoy this story.

"Angel of the Holy Cross" pastel painting copyright MMSikes

If you've read my book, please let me know what you think!

Here is my latest angel painting for Christmas 2012. I created this pastel in mid-December and had not planned the cross necklace. It suddenly became an important part of the painting as I was working on that section of the drawing. That's when the name, "Angel of the Holy Cross," came to me, relating it to the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona AZ. The face of the angel developed from using the catalog cover photo of a young brunette woman as reference material. I wanted my angel to be generic, not someone I know. I also wanted the viewer to be able to see the angel as someone in his/her life. The wing forms in the painting came from my love of patterning.

Each year, the angel I create for Christmas becomes my favorite, so, of course, "Angel of the Holy Cross" is my favorite now.

At least, so far...

--Mary Montague Sikes

Holiday Events - Petersburg and Richmond

Please stop by Petersburg Regional Art Center for the big event tonight, Dec. 14, 6 to 9 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 15 is the Celebrate with a book event at Regency Square Mall, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. We'll be in front of JCPenny. I'll feature Daddy's Christmas Angel at both events.

On Friday, Dec. 14, we have the 3rd annual Resident Artists Gala at Petersburg Regional Arts Center, 6 to 9 p.m. Besides Art and Books, by 57 artists, there'll be an abundance of music and holiday food. It's free and open to the public. Address is: 132 North Sycamore St. in Petersburg VA.


On Saturday, Dec. 15, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., we'll have an Authors Book Fair at Regency Square Mall in Richmond VA. Prizes, gifts, and lots of books by 20 different authors.

Christmas Marketplace at Tides Inn--What a Beautiful Setting

My first Tides Inn Christmas Marketplace event

Saturday, December 8 is the annual Tides Inn Christmas Marketplace event. No matter how busy or not the event is, just visiting the beautiful setting is worth the trip there.

This year, I'm going to take two large canvas boards and set them up for painting with pastels. That means I'll be giving a painting demo as I man my space at the Inn. I'll also be promoting my new book, Daddy's Christmas Angel.

It will be fun to see some of the other artisans who appear at Tides Inn regularly--three events every year. The other events are on Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends.

If you're in the area, please stop by. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

--Mary Montague Sikes

Creating an Angel Card at Christmastime

For the past several years, I've created a new angel card for Christmas. This year, I thought about making my cover image from Daddy's Christmas Angel into my card but decided against it. Instead, I went into my studio yesterday and created a brand new pastel angel painting.

Chapel of the Holy Cross - MMSikes

Although I hadn't planned it, a cross necklace suddenly appeared around the neck of this year's angel. I named the image, "Angel of the Holy Cross." When my husband reminded me of our visit to the Chapel of the Holy Cross, I realized the connection.  Although I am not a Catholic, I was very drawn to the church situated among the picturesque Red Rocks of Sedona, Arizona. Unfortunately, I did not go inside that day four years ago because it was too near closing time for the area. Also, it was a rare, gray afternoon which eliminated the possibility of dramatic colors in my photographs. When we were in Sedona last month, we passed the road leading to the Chapel almost every day, but we did not go visit it again. Now, I wish we had.

I will have my angel cards and Daddy's Christmas Angel at the Tides Inn Christmas Marketplace in Irvington, Virginia on Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will unveil my new image, "Angel of the Holy Cross" there. Here are two of my other angel cards:

"Angel Close Beside Us" Copyright 2010 MMSikes

"Angel of the Endless Garden" Copyright 2011 MMSikes

Here's to Something I Haven't Done Before--Or Have I?

As an author for many years, I have done many book signings but never one featuring 20 authors. On Saturday, December 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., I'll be part of such a signing--Celebrate with a Book. The event will take place across from the JCPenny store in Regency Square Mall.

It will be interesting to see how folks manage with such a large group of authors. I've found that signings work best when authors stop passersby and engage them in conversation. I suppose if 20 authors are all stopping people and doing a lot of talking, things could get a little chaotic. Festive!

As I think about it some more, I have been part of some large scale group signings. One year I signed at a big Romantic Times Convention in Orlando. Another time, I signed with a zillion authors at the Romance Writers of America's annual conference. I think that one was in Denver. Several years ago, the Virginia Romance Writers had a group book signing for Valentine's Day. Although we had a lot of writers that day, I don't believe we had 20.

This should be fun. We'll be giving away author gift bags to the first 20 people who visit our tables.

If nothing else, we'll all get to know some new authors who haven't met before. That should be interesting and inspiring.

My new book, Daddy's Christmas Angel, is right in the spirit of the season. Hope lots of folks will stop and say, "Hi," and take a look at our books.

--Mary Montague Sikes

Daddy's Christmas Angel -- Released Today

Buy from Amazon

Today is the release date for Daddy's Christmas Angel. It is up on Amazon now, so please check it out.

For my new book, I was delighted with these endorsements from early readers:

"The holidays are all about possibilities and magic and Mary Montague Sikes weaves a tale of grief, finding your way in new surroundings, and a little girl's wish to Santa for a mother. Toss in a Christmas play, a blue angel and soft bunny. I wanted a book for relaxing. What a gift I received with characters I cheered for from the little girl's letter in the prologue until the final page. I wanted to savor and instead I couldn't put it down. It made me believe in miracles again and now I can't wait for my own piece of Christmas magic. If you want a read to put you in the spirit of the holidays, this one is the perfect present." –W. S. Gager, author of the Mitch Malone Mystery series.

 "Daddy's Christmas Angel is a treat for every reader and not just for the holidays. This charming book is for everyone who believes love is the ultimate gift." --Lorna Collins, author of Ghost Writer and other titles.

F. M. Meredith, author of No Bells, calls Daddy's Christmas Angel an "enchanting romance kindled by a daughter for her father and her teacher."

Here is a link to an article in The Tidewater Review about my new book that I was excited to see on the Internet.

Daddy's Christmas Angel is a book of my heart. What gift is more important than love, no matter what the season?

--Mary Montague Sikes

 

 

Daddy's Christmas Angel and Its Book Cover

Daddy's Christmas Angel, my new novel, is set for release later this week. Inspired by the "Sleepless in Seattle" movie in which the little boy wants to find a new wife for his father, my book features Kathleen, a little girl who conspires to connect her father with her second grade teacher. From the moment I began to develop the story idea, I had the vision of a little girl on the cover printing "Dear Daddy" on a piece of school paper. I wanted the child to be a composite image that represented my three daughters as well as all the many little children I've taught in my elementary school classes over the years.

Here is the cover that my publisher' designer created using my art image. I am thrilled to see my story and the cover about which I've dreamed come to fruition. It is a story for all seasons.

--Mary Montague Sikes

Completing A New Book Manuscript Brings Excitement

Completing a new book always brings excitement to me. My newest project, Daddy's Christmas Angel, has been a story of my heart for several years. I always call it my "Sleepless in Seattle" book because it's the story of a child's dream of having a mother of her own.

Kathleen's mother died in a tragic car accident when she was only a year old. Her father blamed himself for the tragedy and has spent the last six years trying to make up for the loss he brought to his child. He never wants either of them to be hurt again. That means staying away from any relationship that might make him vulnerable. Although David has a trustworthy older housekeeper who has cared for Kathleen since she was a baby, he does not realize how very much his young daughter wants and needs a mother.

When she inherits a rambling old house and land on the outskirts of a small town in Virginia, Angie picks up her life and moves from city life in St. Louis. She takes a job as a teacher, and Kathleen is one of her second-graders. The little girl takes a special liking to Angie and connives to connect them.

A few years ago, I sign a contract with a publishing company for this story as an e-book. Then, I decided the timing was not right for e-books, and I wanted to wait until it could come out in print form. So I asked to be released from the contract.

"Angel in the Trees" copyright MMSikes

The story has waited until this year. Several weeks ago, I pulled it back up on my computer and started revising it into a 75,000-word manuscript. It is not a "Passenger to Paradise" book because there is no exotic destination. It isn't a mystery, and there are no paranormal elements in it. It isn't a western novel. It's a love story. Remember the movie, "Love Story"? It is a little of that sort of story mixed with "Sleepless in Seattle" but with a happy ending.

It's exciting!


--Mary Montague Sikes