The Last Chapter

The last chapter ... That sounds ominous, doesn’t it? It is ominous, in a way. Chapter 26, the last chapter I have yet to write of my book (which is technically the second-to-last chapter) is the one where—spoiler alert—my great-grandparents G. Oliver and Islea both die. I know, I feel bad killing them off, but as my wise author friend Carolyn Porter told me, “You’re not killing them off. Quite the opposite. You’re creating a lasting legacy.”

Twenty-six down, one to go!

Carolyn knows about creating a legacy, by the way. Her new book, Marcel’s Letters: A Font and the Search for One Man’s Fate is coming out on June 6, and I can’t wait to read it. Here is the book description from her website:

Marcel’s Letters is the incredible story of Carolyn’s increasingly desperate search to uncover the mystery of one man’s fate during WWII, seeking answers across Germany, France, and the United States. Simultaneously, she continues to work on what would become the acclaimed P22 Marcel font, immortalizing the man and his letters that waited almost seventy years to be reunited with his family.

Marcel’s Letters includes the text of never-before-published letters Marcel mailed from the Berlin-Marienfelde labor camp. In these extraordinary letters, Marcel shared details about life in the barracks, clothes he has been given to wear, surviving bombings, scratching together food, and the friends that sustained him during his imprisonment. Marcel’s deep and expressive words of love for his wife, Renée, and his three young daughters, are unforgettable.

Marcel’s Letters is for anyone who loves history, mystery, or an incredible true love story.

I can’t make it to her book launch party on June 8, but if you live in or near the Twin Cities, you should go. It will be at Open Book in Minneapolis from 6 to 8:30 p.m. I hear that French goodies will be served! Click here for event details: Marcel's Letters Launch Party

Carolyn also is doing a book reading and signing at 7 p.m. on June 22 at Subtext Books in St. Paul, which I hope to attend.

Like Carolyn’s book, this last chapter I’m writing covers events that occurred during World War II, and it includes letters—several letters that G. Oliver wrote during the last few weeks of his life.

I would tell you more, but you will just have to read the chapter. But you can’t read the chapter until I write it, so back to work I go.