(I'm delighted to welcome fellow MuseItUp writer Penny Estelle as my first guest writer in September.)
* * * * *
September 13, 2014, marks the 200th anniversary
of the Battle of Fort McHenry and the writing of what would eventually become
the United States’ national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner.
But once again, historians have left out some important
information. Sammy (Samantha) Brown, a 7th
grader in Miss Wickware’s history class, played a key role in the whole
process. Without her, Mr. Key may have
never been on the boat that gave him a bird’s eye view of the whole battle
which prompted the famous poet to….maybe you just have to read the story
yourself.
Bumped Back In Time Book 4 of The Wickware Sagas. Take a look at
https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=146&Itemid=82
Excerpt
A full moon lit up the
bedroom. Sammy lay on the feather
mattress in the dark, staring at the ceiling.
The window was wide open, a breeze stirring the curtains, though it did
nothing to take away the mugginess of the night air. The nightgown Sarah had given Sammy was
drenched with sweat and it stuck to her like a second skin.
She got up and walked to the
balcony. Dr. Beanes had been right about
his wife. Sarah had sat Sammy down and
got her a bowl of left over wild turkey and boiled sweet potatoes, which she
inhaled.
The older woman tisked her tongue
and her head shook in sympathy, distressed at the poor girl’s story. “Your mother must be worried beyond belief,”
Sarah said.
“Oh, I’m sure she’s freaking out
all over the place,” Sammy snorted. “And
like she’ll ever buy this story!”
“I don’t understand. You write stories to sell to your freakish
mother?”
Sammy had to chuckle at that one.
“No. She’s just going to kill me.”
Outraged, the woman came to her
feet. “She will do no such thing. William will make sure that you are safe!”
Staring into the night, Sammy
smiled at the memory. She had assured
Sarah it was only a saying, but the woman did not seem convinced.
The sound of horses, riding up to
the Beanes’ home, brought Sammy out of her reverie. At least ten men, all in red coats, jumped
off their horses and headed toward the house.
A serving girl tapped on Sammy’s
door before opening it. “Please ma’am,
Mistress Beanes would like you to come to her room, quickly.” She turned to lead the way without waiting
for a reply, Sammy, hurrying to catch up.
The scene that greeted Sammy when
the bedroom opened had the hairs on the back of her neck, not only standing
straight out at attention, but screaming “run…hide…wake up!” Goose bumps broke out on her sweaty body.
Dr. Beanes was sitting on a chair
putting on his shoes while Sarah was wringing her hands and pale as the
snow-white nightgown she was wearing.
Before Sammy could utter a word a
BANG BANG BANG came from the door downstairs and that’s when all hell broke
loose!
* *
* *
Thanks to everybody for stopping by
to take a look. Bumped Back in Time is
the fourth story in the Wickware Sagas.
There are five all together.
Billy Cooper’s Awesome Nightmare
Ride of a Lifetime
Flash to the Past
Bumped Back in Time
Riches to Rags
These are all short, time travel adventures involving
seventh graders in Miss Wickware’s history class. They must draw a name from a box and do an
oral report. SOMEHOW, they end up back
in time to get up close and personal with their drawn subject!
I also have a printed version of the Wickware Sagas. This can be found at
Due to the 200th
anniversary of The Star Spangled Banner, MuseItUp is offering Bumped Back in
Time for 99 cents for the first two weeks in September. Check it out at
https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=146&Itemid=82
This is a great piece, Penny. Obviously, historians have left out some important information indeed, and your excerpt is really exciting. I wish you the best of luck with Book 4 of the Wickware Sagas. Why oh why, couldn't I have been in a history class like that?
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for having me John. Truth be told Miss Wickware was my 6th grade and favorite teacher ever!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great fun read! I will let my daughter check this out and may be ordering! Thanks for the great info! Sheri
ReplyDeleteMorning Sheri....Thanks so much for stopping by!
DeleteYou bet! :)
ReplyDelete