TMBC and the Decker Hotel

We arrived at the Decker Hotel right on time. There is a table set up for us in the back corner...

So -- WHY ARE WE EATING LUNCH AT THIS PARTICULAR 150 year old hotel?

Because, hey -- WE ARE A BOOK CLUB. And recently, we all read, "Go Away Home", written by a friend of mine, Carol Bodensteiner. The book takes place in Maquoketa, Iowa, around the time of World War I.

This is the picture of the FIRST book cover (more about that later). Go Away Home has won several awards -- a Silver Medal for Historical Fiction...and WE ALL LOVED IT...

I met Carol at the Iowa Writing Festival.  Many years ago.  Her first book was a memoir, "Growing Up Country"...

We were all so excited about meeting Carol and learning more about the book.  EATING LUNCH in the actual Decker Hotel, where Liddie ate in 1922 -- seemed like the perfect idea.

These are my people.  Me, Carol and Pat in the back.  Linda K, Linda P. and Sandy in the front...

OF COURSE we asked Carol to sign more books.

John read the book, and he LOVED it -- so I asked Carol to autograph another copy for him. (I gave my original book to Rhonda Pierce -- who also loved it!)

Do you sense the theme here?  All of us loved Go Away Home.  The main character, Liddie, is an accomplished seamstress.  That was a valuable skill in 1918.

That time in history was so fascinating -- and if you are a fan of Downton Abbey, you would love Go Away Home

Carol is so articulate and bright -- it was fascinating to hear about how she did the research to write the book.  There were so many things that came together at that point in time.  It was the early days of commercial photography, sewing was a way a woman could be independent and make a living, World War I, the influenza epidemic.  Carol talked about what her inspiration was -- those kernels of truth that exist in every work of fiction.

OH YEAH.  It was a really great day!!

And this just might be my favorite picture of me and Linda...