I was married and had two children before I met my Aunt Mary from Norway. She was a petite little lady with gnarled hands and feet due to severe arthritis and gout which was treated by removing the bones from her fingers and toes. Her deformity never bothered her demeanor and she was happy and smiling all the time. She didn’t speak any English so only my mother could understand her.
I always thought it such a waste that my mother had never taught us to speak the Norwegian language but I guess she was too busy raising five children without a father. My dad had abandoned us when I was eight years old yet my four other siblings and I managed to have a happy life in spite of our poverty. Mama believed that she should stay home and take care of her children instead of working until we were old enough to fend for ourselves thus we survived on $200 from a monthly welfare check. It was only after Mama took a job as a cleaning lady that things took a turn for the better.
My Rubies series was patterned after my mother’s life
My Grandmother Kaja had married against her father’s wishes and had two daughters before she discovered her husband was more interested in woman and drinking than supporting his family. Kaja was left penniless and decided the only way to support her children was to get a job as a housekeeper for a Norwegian widower living in America. Kaja had come over from Norway in 1913 to begin a new life.
Kaja’s mother was furious about her decision to leave her children behind in Norway; but Kaja was determined to earn enough money to return for them. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be. One of her daughters died in Norway at a very young age from a ruptured appendix and my Aunt Mary had been angry at her mother for many years for what she believed was abandonment.
It was many years after Kaja’s death that Mary began to write letter to my mother. Mama finally convinced Mary that Kaja did what she was forced to do. Aunt Mary made several visits to America before she passed away and my mother also spent one summer over in Norway. It was a long awaited reunion as the two of them became the sisters they never were before.
Grandma Kaja always believed she was being punished for her sin of disobedience and that her life was cursed forever. Mama always said that she too was abandoned by my father because she had committed the same sin. She had lied to my grandmother and eloped with my father only to discover he was all and more the slacker my grandmother warned her about.
And so the saga began and seemed to follow down the ages. When my mother told me Kaja’s story and I finally met Mary, I realized the truth in the old adage that says the sins of fathers or mothers are visited upon the children. Thus the series Rubies – Escaping the Curse came to fruition.
Rubies – Escaping the Curse is a four part book series based on Kaja Ericsen who came to America in 1913. These books are her legacy. Book One – The Beginning is based upon the true story of her journey. I have come to realize in my writing that fact is truly stranger than fiction. Even though the series is fictionalized for story content the entire four book series is based on true life events.
Kaja was a real person and her story is one that you will treasure forever. All four books are available on Amazon. You’ll want to get them today and begin your journey on the path of knowledge that leads to unconditional love.
As a writer I believe we all have within ourselves a story to tell. It may be bits and pieces of reality embellished with fictionalized events. Never the less, it is a story indeed.
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