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4 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, July 13, 1993 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" Book si By Julia Dempsey Port Perry Star Julie McClure has the cure for those who are looking to put a little romance into their sum- mer. The Scugog Township wom- ans first published novel -- a historical romance -- was re- leased yesterday (Monday). Entitled "Cecilia", the novel tells the story of a London house servant's 20-year struggle to be with the man she loves. The story is set mainly in England in the late 1800s. Itis through Cecilia's employ- ment with Lord and Lady Gal- braith that she meets and falls in love with their son Eric's friend, Turner Collingwood, who is also a son. of a lord and lady. The young man has similar feelings for Cecilia and the two teens from different levels of so- ciety begin a love affair. But Nancy, the daughter of Lord and Lady Galbraith, also loves Turner and will stop at nothing to keep the two lovers apart. "Nancy's the villainess," Mrs. McClure explains. "She plots twists and turns to keep Turner and Cecilia apart." While the story revolves around Cecilia and Turner's struggle to be together, the au- thor weaves sub-plots involving characters who are close to the heroine and hero. "There's murder, attempted rape, an illegal dual with a French count, a lion hunt in In- dia, and a mine disaster," the author says. While writing the novel, Mrs. McClure says she tried to avoid predictability. : "Most romance novels have to be formula-written," she says. "I JULY 8 to SEPT. 2 ty Local resident writes book have tried to avoid the predict- ability that comes with formula writing." It took Mrs. McClure two years to write and rewrite "Ce- cilia." "I wrote it in the afternoons 'while my daughters were in school and in the evenings after they went to bed," she says. During the writing process, she received invaluable help from her husband Harris, a his- tory buff. He spent numerous hours at the library researching historical facts to ensure accu- racy in the novel. To ensure the saleability of the book, Mrs. McClure sent out copies of the manuscript with a questionnaire to acquaintences. She asked people to be brutally honest, because "being nice won't help me." Mrs. McClure was pleased with the response her book re- ceived from the readers. Since publishing houses are not accepting manuscripts from unproven fictional writers be- cause of financial restraints due to the recession, Mrs. McClure decided to try the self- publishing route. "They call it vanity publish- "ing," she says, adding that's not the reason she went that route. "Basically, I want to get my foot in the door," Mrs. McClure says. "I'm hoping this is a start; that people will see it is serious work." If "Cecilia" does sell well, Mrs. McClure will have a better chance selling her second novel "Heather" to a publishing house. She has completed about half of the "Heather" manu-i script. Although self-publishing is fi- nancially risky, Mrs. McClure says getting her book into print gnhing at Books Galore and More Julie McClure of Scugog Township has penned her first novel. "Cecilia", a historical ro- mance, was released yesterday and will be in local stores soon. Mrs. McClure Is pictured with the artwork that has been used for the cover of her book. Please see story for details. was something she had to do. "I didn't want to be 65 and re- alize I hadn't tried to see my dream through. I might have kicked myselfin the butt." Because her career as a writ- er may depend on the success of "Cecilia", Mrs. McClure made sure the total package was per- fect. She commissioned Fran Ush- er, an Ashburn artist and part- time art teacher at Port Perry High School, to draw the art- work for the cover. "I didn't want to put out shody work. I wanted to make sure thatit's done professionally." Three thousand copies of the 49-chapter, 544-page book have a SHOWS STARTING JULY 3 TO SEPT. 6) ullen Gardens ds' Events PUPPET SHOWS, STORY TIME THEATRE, KIDS PLAYGROUND AND THE MINIATURE VILLAGE with cars, boats and trains Every Thursday, all Summer Face Painting, Kids Trivia and Childrens Entertainment FOR KIDS 12 YEARS AND UNDER WHEN ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT been printed. The cover price is $6.99. "Cecilia" is available this week exclusively at Books Ga- lore and More in Port Perry. Mrs. McClure will do a book signing at the Perry Street store this Saturday (July 17) from 11 a.m.to2p.m. The book will be released to other outlets the following week. 'UXBRIDGE MEMORIAL Locally, "Cecilia" will be available at the Port Perry IGA, - Dowson's Valu-Mart, Daisy's Fabrics, and almost every con- venience store in the township. The book will also be sold at the C. W. 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