Vanilla Heart Publishing
Marilyn Celeste Morris, multipublished author of The Women of Camp Sobingo and Forces of Nature, and My Ashes of Dead Lovers Garage Sale, has also published Sabbath’s Room, a supernatural mystery, and Once a Brat, part travelogue, part therapy session about her world-wide travels with her army officer father from her birth in 1938 to his (their) retirement in 1958.
She is the co-facilitator of the Fort Worth Lupus Support Group, North Texas Chapter, Lupus Foundation of America and counsels newly diagnosed persons and their families about the ravages of systemic lupus erythematosus. She has taped various radio interviews, such as Artist First, local cable television programs, most recently Sizzlin’Seniors on Comcast Television and is accustomed to speaking to groups on the subject of lupus. Being involved in the military brats communities, the Lupus Foundation and her children and grandchildren are her passions.
The Unexplored Heart by Marilyn Celeste Morris
Impoverished but proud Vanessa Danforth is forced from her mother’s home by her new stepfather’s treachery in 1860s England.
After graduating from stenographer’s school, she accepts a position at the estate of famed world explorer, Harrison Courtland.
Made a widower by his wife’s tragic death in the Himalayas, Courtland has retreated into his work ...while Vanni forges friendships with his daughter Katrin and the handsome physician from the neighboring estate.
As Vanni encourages Courtland to unearth the ancient ruins at the edge of his property she discovers not only a stunning secret and a hidden treasure, but also her own heart’s desire.
The Unexplored Heart by Marilyn Celeste Morris
This book of experiences comes from 'Lupies' who have been 'there... this is not intended as any form of medical advice, but rather as Lupus to Lupus survivor support, and includes many entries and posts from sufferers and their friends and families intended to give comfort and support.
As the author writes,
I hope you have found some comfort in these messages, information, and compassion for those who have this devastating disease. If you would like to express your thanks, The Lupus Foundation of America would be grateful for any contribution you might give.
The web address with information about Regional Chapters and how you may donate to the search for a cure can be found at www.Lupus.org.
Once a Brat, Always a Brat by Marilyn Celeste Morris
The Women of
Forces of Nature by Marilyn
Celeste Morris
My Ashes of Dead Lovers Garage Sale by Marilyn
Celeste Morris
Sabbath’s Gift by Marilyn
Celeste Morris
Sabbath’s House by Marilyn
Celeste Morris
Once A Brat, Always A Brat by Marilyn Celeste Morris
Brat: Def: (1) An unruly child Def: (2) A child of the military BRAT: British Regiment Attached Traveler. We wear the “Brat” name with pride. Those who argue that the term is demeaning simply don’t understand. Once a Brat, Always a Brat is not intended to be a serious study of children of the military. It is neither an apology nor a rallying cry for our unique experiences. While some of my fellow Military Brats, missionary kids, children of the diplomatic corps, oil company employees’ offspring and others raised outside their home country may find similarities in my narrative, I must emphasize that the first part of this book is based solely on events transpiring between 1938 and 1958, with comments on how the Military Brat experience affected my life. Other Military Brats have contributed to this book, writing about their experiences in their own words. A Resources section is included for those who are seeking information about the various organizations who can offer advice and counsel to our current Military Brats and their families.
As one of the first dependents to be sent overseas at the
end of WWII, eight-year old Marilyn Celeste Morris received her very own orders
from The War Department.
From Seoul, Korea to Linz, Austria, she traversed the globe
from 1938 to 1958 with her Army Officer father, mother and younger
brothers. Between assignments in the
primitive world of the Far East, to the sublime luxury of exploring castles in
Bavaria, the family shuttled between the various Stateside Forts: Bragg, Bliss, Hood and Sill.
Sometimes hilarious, sometimes gut-wrenchingly sad, her
narrative is part travelogue, part therapy session. She still cries at “Taps” and stands tall
when the colors pass; yet she realizes she carries an odd mixture of pride and
resentment over her nomadic way of life.
Her conclusion, however, is that she wouldn’t have had it any other way. Once a Brat, Always a Brat.
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The Women of Camp Sobingo by Marilyn Celeste Morris
Four women of diverse backgrounds form a bond while en route to join their Army officer husbands in Korea in 1946.
Their experiences in a far-flung military compound strengthen three of the women, but a fourth chooses to end her life there, and during a reunion twenty-five years later, long-held dark secrets and sorrows are revealed.
The Women of Camp Sobingo shares the story of four women; friends who share the life of army wives in a strange land, with husbands who serve. Raising children, making do, enduring hardships, these women survive - all but one...
There really was a Camp Sobingo, located outside the capitol city of Seoul, South Korea at the end of WWII. This military compound’s cookie-cutter “quarters” was home to the women and children who joined their Army officer husbands during the US Occupation.
The camp had a school, a post exchange, a dispensary, a commissary, and even a movie theatre (think “MASH”). Ever-present, however, was the military presence, both Korean and our own US forces and the tyranny of the Russians located across the 38th parallel, who merely annoyed the dependents with their random denial of electricity to the American contingent.
Most of the Americans had deployed to other assignments before June 25, 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea. Those remaining escaped safely, but “The Land of the Morning Calm” would never be the same.
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Forces of Nature by Marilyn Celeste Morris
It
was going to be a two-shoe day.
Howard
the Weatherman woke with what he referred to as That Certain Dread and a bad
taste in his mouth, to boot. The
birthday party for his youngest granddaughter the previous evening was the
cause, even though it was just ice cream and cake and no booze, befitting his
solid Southern Baptist background.
The
feeling lingered on the fringes of consciousness until he was fully awake.
Glancing
over at his sleeping wife of forty years, he considered waking her and telling
her about his dream. No, he would
prepare for work first, and let
He
eased out of bed and padded into the adjoining bathroom. He allowed the shower head to spray stinging
hot water over his face and body, all the while he was reciting his usual
morning prayers: “Father, I thank thee
for this day that thou hast made. I will
rejoice and be thankful in it.”
He
continued with his intercessory prayers for his family and friends, and for the
nation as a whole. “And so I beseech
thee, Dear Lord, heed my prayers. I pray
in the name of my savior, Jesus Christ.”
Normally, his prayers would have ended at this point with a heart-felt
“Amen”, but this morning he added softly, “And Lord, if it be thy will, spare
us the agony of this day, and keep us safe from harm. Amen.”
“Morning,”
Howard
paused before replying, “Fine.” There was no sense in telling her now. “You?”
“Fine,
until you began tossing and turning.
What was that all about, Howard?” She sat across from him and studied
him over her coffee cup.
“Nothing. I don’t remember,” he evaded, knowing full
well what
“It’s
the dream again, isn’t it?”
He
sighed, then nodded. “I knew I couldn’t
keep it from you. You know me too well.”
She
smiled softly.
“Honey,
it’s going to be a bad one today.”
“They’re
all bad, Howard. Even small tornadoes
that don’t send people to the hospitals, or kill them. Property damage, schools, businesses, all
suffer.”
Howard
finished his coffee and shook off his wife’s gesture of handing him a plate of
bacon and eggs. “I’m gonna be late if I
don’t leave now. I should have the
official National Weather Service information the first thing when I get to the
station. Then I’ll have to butt heads
with our new station manager about interrupting the regularly scheduled
programs for weather bulletins.”
“It’s
going to be that big?”
“Stay
close to home today, honey. I want you
close to the cellar.”
Howard
wouldn’t have wanted it known that he had a “fraidy hole.” Having been born and raised in southwest
Howard
thought back to one particular day when he was still in high school. He had told his family early in the morning
that there would be a tornado that day.
His family had come to respect his gift, and they followed Howard’s calm
statement of fact: “There’s gonna be a
tornado sometime this afternoon."
"An edgy, well-written suspense by the same author as the wonderful The Women of Camp Sobingo, Forces of Nature has everything from thriller and horror to romance and human foibles... Each of the characters resonates with the reader with depth and clarity, all while making an entertaining evening's reading..." -Carl Benson, fan
My Ashes of Dead Lovers Garage Sale
and Other Adventures of a Single Woman of a Certain Age
by Marilyn Celeste Morris
The original column that this book takes its name from has been lost somewhere in the depths of my office. It’s probably just as well, but the gist of the column was:
My single blonde friend and I combined our households for a garage sale. While sorting through items, she would hold something up and ask something like: “Where did you get this?” Fortunately, she didn’t add the word “monstrosity.” And my reply was usually something like: “Oh, you remember old what’s his name. He gave it to me when he got a guilty conscience for taking somebody else to ski in Aspen. Let’s put a $.25 cent tag on it.” And then, another object, with a similar answer.
In sum, I had about six or seven unwanted gifts in the pile, all marked $.25 cents. “That’s all the memories of these guys are worth,” I pronounced over a glass of wine (not for sale, incidentally.)
Poor guys. If they only knew, their ashes were even now being spread over the garage, albeit in the form of their cheesy gifts to me……
And that’s where My Ashes of Dead Lovers Garage Sale got its name…
Despite Realtor Tommy Joe Greenleaf's warning that Wanda and Ralph Spencer had mysteriously disappeared from the remote farmhouse ten years earlier, Joanna moves in, and makes the sunroom into her office.
Joanna adopts a cat from the local veterinarian, Sam Kelly, who tells her that Sabbath "had belonged to a witch."
Unexplained events unfold: Joanna is locked overnight inside the storage shed, footprints appear under the sun room windows, and Jason's dog, Mournful, is found poisoned.
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Original Cover Painting by
Judy DeWine,
Best selling author Joanna Elliott and her growing family are looking for another house because, quite frankly, finding bodies in the cellar and a psychotic old woman kidnapping her son were not events conducive to bringing her new child into the world.
She discovers a charming old Victorian mansion owned only by women of the Emily Harris family, but the remaining heiress has no descendants to inherit.
Once the family moves in, however, psychic black cat Sabbath
encounters spirits determined to continue the legend, once again putting the
family in peril.
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Impoverished but proud Vanessa Danforth is forced from her
mother’s home by her new stepfather’s treachery in 1860s
As Vanni encourages Courtland to unearth the ancient ruins at the edge of his property she discovers not only a stunning secret and a hidden treasure, but also her own heart’s desire.
