A couple of decades ago, one Virginia (Virginia Howard) sat next to another (me) in New Orleans at a meeting of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. In our small talk, she told me of a book she had been yearning to write. She had discovered a trip diary of an art excursion, kept by her Aunt Virginia for whom she was named. In 1920, when the cousins were just thirteen and fourteen years old, her aunt and her mother, Anna Esta, traveled with their art teacher, the renowned Texas artist, Frank Reaugh, for a two-month sketching trip, a practice he pursued regularly for talented art students and artists. This trip began on June 30, 1920 from Oak Cliff in Dallas County, Texas, with three ladies; another teenager, their friend Mary; and the driver for their vehicle called the Cicada. Mr. Reaugh led the expedition to the newly opened Grand Canyon. Virginia wondered as we talked about whether she could turn their two-month trip into a book.
As the years have passed and we two Virginias have had occasions to sit next to each other at lunch or meetings, she has kept me informed about her progress with the book. Sometimes she’s turned up an intriguing bit of memorabilia, a memory from her mother or her aunt, or some research about the artist Frank Reagh. The most intriguing update came when she told about taking a trip with her brother as they retraced the Texas section of the art trip. When they found an old picture frame hanging on a fence, they naturally speculated how it came to be there and made a conjecture that added a bit of intrigue to her story.
In this last year with the COVID pandemic, the writing of the book has found closure. In a happy accident, I became a member of Virginia’s virtual critique group just as she was finalizing edits for Sunstone Press who would publish the book. Our group followed the last stages and enjoyed our art trip as we sought stray commas or missing thoughts.
We joined in Virginia’s excitement, thinking the book was finished. Not quite. I ordered my copy along with several of her other friends who had also been waiting. One friend began reading as soon as she got her book and discovered a gap. Somewhere between Virginia’s final edit and publication, technology demons lost a couple of pages. The publisher sent the demons packing and reprinted a corrected copy.
This turns out to be serendipity for my readers. Virginia sent a link to the two missing pages with permission to post it for my readers just in case you get a copy with the missing pages or in case you would like to sample the work before you get a copy. Find them at: http://themaliterarysociety.com/PDF/missingtext.pdf
A review of the book itself will come on Monday’s blog