My mother was a tremendous influence on me as a writer. She grew up on a homestead in Montana at a time when there was no television and her parents couldn’t afford a radio. So, the family read. Her advise to me was ‘education, education, education,’ which you get when you ‘read, read, read.’ She’s pleased I have taken that advice one better because I ‘write, write, write.’
Steven Levi, Master of the Impossible Crime

In the early 1950s, my parents were low-income. We had no television and only a cobbled-together radio my dad built. My parents read books in the evenings. I wanted to know about them, so my mother taught me to read at age 3. She also taught me how to sound out words phonetically and look them up in a dictionary to see what they meant. I flew from picture books to novels. Reading became a passion throughout my life. I credit my Mom for my writing skills. She told me reading is a prerequisite for writing. Thank you, Mom. I love you.
Victoria Hardesty, Author of Action & Adventure with Arabian Horses

When I was a young child attending school, I had no interest in books and would do poorly on book assignments. And as most people know, you have to be a good reader to become a good writer. My mother solved this problem by buying me Garfield comics. The humor they showed was immense interest to me, and whenever I read them, everyone around me heard me quietly laughing. Without my mother’s thoughtfulness at that young age, I would not have become the skilled writer I am today.
Adam Freestone, Alaskan Writer of Imaginative Creativity

All parents want the best for their children, and they influence us as to who we become in the future. Our mothers are our first teachers; encouraging, engaging, supporting. They care for us, think of our well-being all the time, and prepare us for the path we’d take in the future.

Just as our Author Masterminds prove that their mothers were great influences when they were young to read, which eventually led them to the path of writing.

For everything that mothers do for us, it is but right that we dedicate an entire day each year to express how important they are to us. Not that we should only do it once a year, because honestly, one day is not enough to honor our mothers. However, we can make at least one day extra special for them.

In honor of all mothers out there, Happy Mother’s Day! We at Readers and Writers Book Club dedicate this month to you.

Cil Gregoire
Raised one sone in Alaska Wilderness

“Motherhood is an incredible experience, even life changing. The responsibility is immense. After nurturing, protecting and guidance, the greatest gift a mother can give a child is a love for reading. To do so is to create a masterpiece.”

Mary Ann Poll
Raised a bright, successful, and caring young man

“When I was young, I couldn’t imagine life having my own child. But, when he was born, I couldn’t imagine life without him.”

Somebody Said
Author Unknown

Somebody said a mother is an unskilled laborer . . . somebody never gave a squirmy infant a bath.

Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you’ve had a baby . . . somebody doesn’t know that once you’re a mother, “normal” is history.

Somebody said a mother’s job consists of wiping noses and changing diapers . . . somebody doesn’t know that a child is much more than the shell he lives in.

Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct . . .somebody never took a three-year-old shopping.

Somebody said being a mother is boring . . .somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a driver’s permit.

Somebody said teachers, psychologists and pediatricians know more about children than their mothers . . . somebody hasn’t invested her heart in another human being.

Somebody said if you’re a “good” mother, your child will “turn out” . . . somebody thinks a child is like a bag of plaster of Paris that comes with directions, a mold and a guarantee.

Somebody said being a mother is what you do in your spare time . . . somebody doesn’t know that when you’re a mother, you’re a mother ALL the time.

Somebody said “good” mothers never raise their voices . . . somebody never came out the back door just in time to see her child wind up and hit golf ball through the neighbor’s kitchen window.

Somebody said you don’t need an education to be a mother . . . somebody never helped a fourth grader with his math.

Somebody said you can’t love the fifth child as much as you love the first . . . somebody doesn’t have five children.

Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to her child-rearing questions in the books . . . somebody never had a child stuff beans up his nose.

Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery . . . somebody never watched her “baby” get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten.

Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back . . . somebody never organized seven giggling Brownies to sell cookies.

Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets married . . . somebody doesn’t know that marriage adds a new son or daughter-in-law to mother’s heartstrings.

Somebody said a mother’s job is done when her last child leaves home . . . somebody never had grandchildren.

Somebody said being a mother is a side dish on the plate of life . . . somebody doesn’t know what fills you up.

Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don’t need to tell her . . . somebody isn’t a mother.

Book of the Month

Broken by rejection, abuse, and fear, 17-year-old Jewish immigrant, Alexei Zagoradniy, after discovering she’s pregnant, escapes her abusive husband to protect her child. Terrified of the unknown ahead, Alexei journeys across Texas seeking refuge as far from the dangers of her past. Betrayed once, she is unwilling to trust again. However, a soft-spoken Mexican man, with secret of his own, tries to persuade her to open her heart one more time.