about the book
It’s time mom came to her senses. Sure, she and dad split two weeks before his deployment, but it was just temporary, right? He’s due back from Afghanistan in 36 days. I dreamed about their reunion, all hugs and tears…until that creep Rick moved in down the street. Now he’s always over, mooching coffee, doing little repairs around the house…and flirting with mom. She said it was no big deal and promised she wouldn’t hang around him anymore.
Today, she barely showed up for my sixth-grade graduation ceremony and said she had to work late. I left the class picnic early to catch up with her where she works, hoping we could celebrate my big day. She lied. Saw her climb into Rick’s sleazy ride. How could she ditch me for him? How could she ditch dad for that creep!?!
I’m taking off. Giving mom a much-needed scare. Just down the road, the Iowa town of Fortune sits nearly abandoned. The residents used to harvest clam shells from the Mississippi River, supplying the country with mother of pearl buttons until plastic ones changed everything. Now the ghost town isn’t even a dot on the map. Most people find the empty boarded-up buildings spooky. I find it interesting and peaceful.
Elderly Hildy Baxter bought the three-story school house for a song back in the seventies. Now she’s renovating the place, hoping to turn it into a pearl button museum and a boarding house. It is the perfect hideaway!
Every night, she roams the place, searching for a treasure box her brother hid during Fortune’s button-making heyday. It’s supposedly filled with valuable pearls. Handyman Garrett, Mayor Joy, and me and my friends Hugh and Tucker are helping. That old building is filled with secrets, twisty turns, and weird history, and we got to work fast. They are threatening to close Hildy down.
Though my name is Renata Winningham, just call me Ren. I’m about to save Fortune…and my family. But let me tell you, this isn’t the easiest thing I’ve ever done!
about the author
Delia Ray admits that she thinks more like a kid than an adult. She’d never write for anyone but children! Her passion for penning stories began one day during the summer after fifth grade. Her family lived in Havers Hall, an 1830’s house in Tidewater, Virginia. It sat on a farm with two ponds, acres of woods, and a cottage that had once been slave quarters. One day she was building a fort in the woods when she turned over a log and discovered a huge old iron key. She just had to jot down possible stories about what that key hid.
More inspiration came when Delia, her older sister, and their cousins formed the Brave Girls Club. They dared each other to do all sorts of crazy challenges. That led to more stories which Delia printed and sold. Her parents would hand over their pocket change, but her brother and sister were harder sells! Looking back, those years were great practice for becoming an author!
After earning a degree in English from the University of Virginia and a publishing course at Radcliffe, Delia moved to Seattle where one of her instructors just opened a publishing firm. He hired Delia as one of his first employees and she got a crash course in editing. After several years, she was given the chance to write a children’s book about the Klondike Gold Rush. It offered Delia a way to combine her love of fiction and history.
After a decade in Seattle, Delia and husband Matt moved to Iowa City, where he teaches neurosurgery and where they raised three daughters. They live on eight acres overlooking the Iowa River. One of her favorite spots is the tree house, which has two floors and a porch overlooking the river. It is a sure cure for a severe case of writer’s block! Hopefully that wasn’t the case for Finding Fortune, which was inspired by a vacation trip to the Bailey Matthews National Shell Museum, Delia’s own family history, and Iowa’s tiny towns.
When Delia was twelve her aunt, actress Louise Fletcher, played the notorious Nurse Ratched in the movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Delia and her sibs drove the cast crazy knocking on dressing room doors and running away! Famed actor Jack Nicholson couldn’t have gotten too mad. He actually invited Delia and her family to his hotel room at the Watergate!
Sources:
Author website
Author interview: Iowa Press Citizen
Also by Delia Ray:
Here Lies Linc. Knopf Books for Young Readers. 2011.
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