by Mara Purl
Colophon
The print version of this book is set in the Cambria font, released in 2004 by Microsoft, as a formal, solid font to be equally readable in print and on screens. It was designed by Jelle Bosma, Steve Matteson, and Robin Nicholas.
The name Cambria is the classical name for Wales, the Latin form of the Welsh name for Wales, Cymru. The etymology of Cynru is combrog, meaning "compatriot.”
The California town of Cambria is named for its resemblance to the south-western coast of Wales, where the town of Milford Haven has existed since before ancient Roman times, and is mentioned in William Shakespeare’s Cymbeline.
The dingbat is the Mussel Shell, drawn by artist Mary Helsaple, and rendered graphically by cover designer Kevin Meyer. The mussel is a bivalve marine creature that lives on exposed shores in the intertidal zones in California, Florida, the U.K., Japan, and on other beaches throughout the world. The shells, which are longer than they are wide, often with dark blue exteriors and silvery interiors, when open, resemble a pair of wings.
About the Author
Mara Purl, author of the pop- ular and critically acclaimed Milford-Haven Novels, pioneered small-town fiction for women.
Mara’s belovedfictitious town has been delighting audiences since 1992, when it first appeared as Milford- Haven, U.S.A.©—the first American radio drama ever licensed and broadcast by the BBC. The show reached an audience of 4.5 million listeners in the U.K. In the U.S., it was the 1994 Finalist for the New York Festivals World’s Best Radio Programs.
Early editions of her novels have won fifteen finalist and gold literary awards including the Benjamin Franklin, Indie Excellence, USA Book News Best Books, and ForeWord Books of the Year.
Mara’s other writing credits include plays, screenplays, scripts for Guiding Light, cover stories for Rolling Stone, staff writing with the Financial Times (of London), and the Associated Press. She is the co- author (with Erin Gray) of Act Right: A Manual for the On-Camera Actor.
As an actress, Mara was “Darla Cook” on Days Of Our Lives. For the one-woman show Mary Shelley: In Her Own Words, which Mara performs and co-wrote (with Sydney Swire), she earned a Peak Award. She was named one of twelve Women of the Year by the Los Angeles County Commission for Women.
Mara is married to Dr. Larry Norfleet and lives in Los Angeles, and in Colorado Springs.
Visit her website at www.MaraPurl.com where you can subscribe to her newsletter; subscribe to her blog at www.MaraPurl.WordPress.com. She welcomes e-mail from readers at [email protected].