Abstract:
About thirty-five years ago I took a Creative Writing course at Stonehill College in Stoughton, MA and wrote a short story called POT OF GOLD which won a third prize in a national contest. Six years ago I was inspired to expand that short story into a fifty-four chapter Christian novel. Thus, SIGN OF THE RAINBOW was born.

I tag this novel as a book on "music, morals and miracles,"...old fashioned morals and music, and modern-day miracles, because they never go out of style. The writing of this novel is truly a miracle and was inspired.

An inspiration I received in the middle of the night was to share any proceeds. I was delighted to hear that because it could mean I would sell enough to share, and I have always believed "it's more blessed to give than to receive." Since my two protagonists are Episcopalian and Baptist, I decided to look for causes in those two denominations with whom to share. The September 11th tragedy helped me decide on the Episcopal cause... a present-day miracle...St. Paul's Chapel, the 236-year-old church across the street from the Twin Towers that survived virtually unscathed, a second time in history. A September 25, 1776 fire burned 25 percent of New York to the ground, including the original Trinity Wall Street (Episcopal) Church, of which St. Paul's is a part, but St. Paul's was saved by a bucket brigade. It was to St. Paul's that George Washington went to pray after being inaugurated as the first president. Now St. Paul's has an additional ministry, feeding, housing, counseling, being a friend to those in need.

My Baptist cause will be RISE & SHINE, a local after-school tutoring program (grades K-5) where black and bi-racial children are striving to live up to their potential. Organized by the pastor of Bethel "A" Baptist Church, Fred Gordon, and Fay Walker, the 1999 recipient of the prestigious Nancy Susan Reynolds Award in Race Relations, and a member of the church my husband and I attend, St. Philip's Episcopal. I have been a tutor at RISE & SHINE since its inception, and I would like to see it grow.