Temper the Winds

In a small southern town in 1943, Maggie Clay is swept up by a whirlwind of fate when her husband dies in a TB sanitarium. Being left emotionally and financially broken with two young daughters to provide for, she is literally taken by her father back to the farm life she despises, to her home of the past where she never felt love from her mother. Having lost all hope of ever finding a new chance in life, what are the chances of a new life finding her? Joseph Jameson has no intention after finishing medical college to participate in a father and son partnership in the one-horse town of Enfield, North Carolina. Will a young and beautiful Maggie give him cause for a more careful consideration? Why is Sara Windley, the sixteen year old daughter of millionaire Emmitt Windley, hidden away in a shack in the woods for several months? What happened that was sworn to be forever forgotten?

In a small town southern setting in 1943, "Temper the Winds" is a story about a widow swept up by the whirlwind of fate. When Maggie Clay's husband dies in a TB sanitarium, she is left with Jenny and Josey and two dollars and thirty-four cents to her name. Financially and emotionally broken, she is taken back by her father, Claude, to a farm life she despised, a site where she felt unloved by her mother, Leona. Claude is burdened by guilt from a not ever to be mentioned mistake in the past, turning Leona into a cold-hearted "ornery cuss". Joseph Jameson has no intention after finishing medical school to do his father's bidding by working at his side, practicing medicine in the one-horse town of Enfield. Nor does he plan to stay squashed under his father's thumb. His tune changes when he meets Maggie and is forced to plead with Dr. Jay (his father) to hire Maggie as a midwife. Dr. Jay agrees. It's his only shot at keeping his son in Enfield. Sara Windley, the daughter of millionaire Enmitt Windley, at sixteen years of age, lures Claude into a barn where she seduces him. When she gets pregnant, Emmitt forces Claude and Leona to keep Sara hidden in a shack in the woods until the baby is born, and then take (Maggie) as their own. In such harsh living conditions, Sara emerges phobic and border-line psychotic. Joseph encourages Maggie to continue her education by reading; and he instructs her on the duties of a midwife. In such close proximity, they fall in love. During a storm in the middle of the night, Maggie overhears a conversation between Claude and Leona. She learns that Sara Windley is her mother, turning her world upside down. Fearing that Joseph will no longer love her after knowing the secret of her birth, she ends their relationship. Dr. Jay, witnessing his son's devastation without Maggie devises a plan, hoping to bring them back together. In a small town southern setting in 1943, "Temper the Winds" is a story about a widow swept up by the whirlwind of fate. When Maggie Clay's husband dies in a TB sanitarium, she is left with Jenny and Josey and two dollars and thirty-four cents to her name. Financially and emotionally broken, she is taken back by her father, Claude, to a farm life she despised, a site where she felt unloved by her mother, Leona. Claude is burdened by guilt from a not ever to be mentioned mistake in the past, turning Leona into a cold-hearted "ornery cuss". Joseph Jameson has no intention after finishing medical school to do his father's bidding by working at his side, practicing medicine in the one-horse town of Enfield. Nor does he plan to stay squashed under his father's thumb. His tune changes when he meets Maggie and is forced to plead with Dr. Jay (his father) to hire Maggie as a midwife. Dr. Jay agrees. It's his only shot at keeping his son in Enfield. Sara Windley, the daughter of millionaire Enmitt Windley, at sixteen years of age, lures Claude into a barn where she seduces him. When she gets pregnant, Emmitt forces Claude and Leona to keep Sara hidden in a shack in the woods until the baby is born, and then take (Maggie) as their own. In such harsh living conditions, Sara emerges phobic and border-line psychotic. Joseph encourages Maggie to continue her education by reading; and he instructs her on the duties of a midwife. In such close proximity, they fall in love. During a storm in the middle of the night, Maggie overhears a conversation between Claude and Leona. She learns that Sara Windley is her mother, turning her world upside down. Fearing that Joseph will no longer love her after knowing the secret of her birth, she ends their relationship. Dr. Jay, witnessing his son's devastation without Maggie devises a plan, hoping to bring them back together.

I was born in Enfield, North Carolina in 1938 where I lived until high school graduation. At that point in time, my family moved to Weldon, NC where I worked for a couple of years as a telephone operator. I married and had three children. In dire need for extra income, I went back to high school, took shorthand and typing, and then worked a couple of years as a secretary in a public school, for the local chamber of commerce and credit bureau. Not quite content with my job or the pay, I attended a school of cosmetology and worked a few years as a hair stylist. After a divorce and a new marriage, I moved to Bethesda, Maryland where I utilized my secretarial skills and worked the next twenty three years for a large electronic firm (Watkins-Johnson Company) as an administrative secretary in the sales division. I took a variety of college courses during that time in English, Business Administration, Sociology, Psychology, and some other classes and sales seminars—can’t remember them all. I have always had an interest in reading and writing, but never seemed to have the time that writing deserves until the last several years. This is my first completed novel. I have the same dream as every author and that is to see my work in print with the hope of leaving something behind that can be read and pondered for years to come.