“No guy in his right mind would ever want to date a girl who plays around with those creepy things…”

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Clean Teen Reads“No guy in his right mind would ever want to date a girl who plays around with those creepy things. It’s abnormal.” This curse has been pronounced on Marcy Hankins by her twin sister referring to Marcy’s insect collection

 

 

Tiger Beetle at Kendallwood

— 2nd title in the  Norma Jean Lutz Classic Collection —

Download Chapter 1  —  Click HERE!

Marcy Hankin’s world has been turned upside down ever since Spence Caldwell arrived in her hometown of Andonburg, Oklahoma. Why the state football champ would want to come to an out-of-the-way little town like Andonburg for his senior year is anyone’s guess. Spence and his aunt and uncle have taken up residence in the old Kendallwood mansion and have plans to restore the place.

That means the estate is no longer her private haven for insect collecting. Losing her special getaway place is just the beginning. Soon she’s caught up in her twin sister, Cissy’s, scheme to claim Spence Caldwell as her own. Cissy’s plans include convincing Marcy to try out for cheerleader, something Marcy has neither the time nor the desire to do.

Cissy detests every bug in Marcy’s many collections. According to Cissy: “No guy in his right mind would ever want to date a girl who plays around with those creepy things. It’s abnormal.”

Spence’s presence changes everything in Marcy’s world. Caving to pressure and trying to fit in, Marcy finds she’s denying the very things she loves. She loses sight of who she truly is and she’s miserable.

But then she learns that Spence Caldwell has a few secrets of his own. What actually did bring Spence to Andonburg? And what could it possibly have to do with Marcy and her love of bugs?

Get FREE download of Chapter 1 HERE!

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Don’t miss a single title in the Norma  Jean Lutz Classic Collection

 

Can you Speak Shorthand?

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Greetings Teen Reader~~

Did you know that in the not-too-distant past, shorthand classes were offered in every high school in the nation. In my book Flower in the Hills, our main character Latina has taken on the task of helping her new friend Donna Dee practice shorthand.

Clean Teen ReadsWhat is Shorthand?

So exactly what is shorthand? And why would so many students (mostly girls) want to study the subject?

Shorthand is an abbreviated writing method that uses symbols rather than the normal letters used in writing. The objective is speed. Before the days of recording and dictation machines, shorthand was an essential skill for a girl to become a crackerjack secretary.

Any office worth its salt was staffed with stenographers (a person who can write shorthand), who were speed-demons when it came to taking dictation. Here’s how it played out:

The boss wants a letter to go out. He calls in his stenographer. He dictates the letter; she takes it down in shorthand in her steno pad. When he’s finished she goes back to her desk and types out the letter. (Oh yes – on a typewriter.) The steno pad was designed to prop up tent-shaped for ease of reading.

Oh those were the days! (Hopefully, she’s good enough so she can actually read her own shorthand!)

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Learning shorthand was like learning a whole new language (hence the silly title of this blog) and took a great deal of skill to master. But those who did were the ones who commanded the best secretarial positions.

Secretaries and stenographers have long since fallen by the wayside – now someone who works in an office might have the title of administrative assistant.

Or better yet, some of you gals might be the CEO of your own company. (That possibility was quite rare back then.) Let’s hear it for advances in the workplace!!  Rockin’!

Do you have plans to own your own business one day? If so tell me about it in the comments section below!

Meanwhile, keep on reading

Norma Jean

PS: Heads up!  The second title in the Norma Jean Lutz Classic Collection is about a girl who’s all mixed up about whether to enjoy her passion in life –or worry about what others think of her.  Ever feel that way? Tiger Beetle at Kendallwood is coming soon!

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