All for Hope (29 page)
This is the most difficult part of writing a book because as soon as this “goes to print” I will remember all the people I didn’t acknowledge. First, thank you so much Mandie Stevens and Tawdra Kandle for believing in me. You two are fantastic women and I admire you and am honored to work with you. Next, to Liz Schulte who helped me stay focused when I let myself get wrapped around the axle with this story. Always for my beautiful friend Melissa, who gave me lots of help and pointers about “mommy-hood” and encouraged me every step of the way. Thank you to Bill Pepsis who answered my cryptic questions such as “how to fake one’s death” and did so without turning me into the authorities.
And as always, to my husband, Danny. You have been patient in sharing me with my “imaginary friends” and I so appreciate your willingness to promote me when I’m too befuddled to speak. Thank you!
Olivia Hardin always realized how strange she was to have complete movie-like character dreams as a child. Eventually she began putting those vivid dreams to paper and was rarely without her spiral notebooks full of those mental ramblings. Her forgotten vision of becoming an author was realized when she connected with a group of amazingly talented and fabulous writers who gave her lots of direction and encouragement. With a little extra push from family and friends, she hunkered down to get lost in the words. She’s also an insatiable crafter who only completes about 1 out of 5 projects, a jogger who hates to run, and is sometimes accused of being artistic, though she’s generally too much of a perfectionist to appreciate her own work. A native Texas girl, Olivia lives in the beautiful Lone Star state with her husband, Danny, and their puppy Bonnie.
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I can remember sitting with my daddy watching old John Wayne movies as a child. “The Duke” is his hero, and by extension I developed a strong attachment to those movies, too. One of my mom’s favorite actors is Jimmy Stewart. For that reason, it seemed fitting to include
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
in the story, since it starred both of those fine actors. Not only that, it’s a fabulous movie and the allegory paralleled Brennan’s growing affection for Hope and how much he was willing to sacrifice for her.
These days I love to curl up on the couch with the hubby and watch classic movies. I even chose to take a course in college called “History through Film.” The movie
High Noon
is one that is much-discussed because many believe it is a metaphor for McCarthyism. Others argue that it was not, but regardless of what the intentions were, it is a powerful movie for me today. The idea that one man should stand up, risking his life for others who aren’t willing to take that stand themselves. Wow…
Both of the movies I chose to reference in this story have really great theme songs, and “High Noon” even won an Oscar for Best Song in 1952. That song was also performed by a western singer who grew up in Nederland, Texas. Maurice Woodward Ritter, better known as “Tex” Ritter, was a star of the “western” film songs in the 1940s and 50s. He was also the father of the late actor John Ritter. There’s a nice little exhibit to him at the
Museum of the Gulf Coast
in Port Arthur, Texas so if you’re in the area, be sure to check it out.
These days, as much as I love old movies, I also enjoy listening to classic radio programs on satellite radio. Bob Bailey’s
Yours truly, Johnny Dollar
is my absolute favorite, and if you’ve never heard those, you should consider logging onto
www.archive.org
and checking out the audio files. There are some really great old programs.
They just don’t make ‘em like that anymore!
