By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
The three main characters popped into her creative mind over 20 years ago. Before she was a mom, she started on a journey to write a novel set in a rural Wyoming town. Twin boys pushed the book into a closet where sometimes it sat for years without her attention.
From time to time she’d bring it out and continue her creative process.
“If I was at the park with my boys or if they were sleeping, I might pull out my book and work on it,” said author, Micki R Pettit who is named after New York Yankees Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle because her father was an avid fan of the iconic outfielder.
The year was 1968 and Maggie Moore, along with two other youngsters, had formed their own club and were enjoying all manner of childhood antics that children were capable of in rural, 1968 America.
Maggie, the narrator of the story, was introduced as being a bit of a free-spirited and strong-willed child who was not prone to indulging in frivolous thinking or adventures. She was determined from the beginning to enjoy life to its fullest and share her sense of loyalty and discovery with the people closest to her.
Diving into “A Kiss for Maggie Moore” on a long, hot, Texas summer afternoon is as refreshing as your favorite iced tea. If you feel like sweetened tea, you will find a whole lot of sweetness in the book. As the story unfolds, you might taste unsweetened tea. At times you can taste only a lemon while other times there is a refreshing raspberry or strawberry flavor.
The three lead characters are children who are in grade school in 1968 and free to run around and enjoy the great outdoors of Wyoming. Their delight in an environment with cool temperatures helps bring down the heat for a reader in the middle of summertime.
Not only does the outdoor temperature of the setting have a cooling effect, the shenanigans and innocence of the children are a calming cool breeze that we all could use right about now. If you are up there in age (meaning a boomer), you might find yourself going down your own childhood memory lane.
Petit uses details of an era in the past that are vivid and ring true to the period. “I saved a lot of my childhood memorabilia,” Petti responded when asked how she had such accurate recall.
Even if you aren’t a boomer, the book is a joyous detail of children with the emotions and actions described in a way that is believable. “My boys were growing up while I worked on the book so that kept me close to what children are really like,” said Petit.
Petit was stuck writing in 1968 for ten years. She was excited to finally move her characters into high school in the 70’s where she gently wove in details of the political movements from that era.
Her own boys were entering their teen years as her characters grew up. This enabled her to keep the thoughts, feeling and actions true to those of a teenager.
“A Kiss for Maggie More” closes out with some bittersweetness as the once children graduate from high school and take on adult responsibilities.
The author’s twins are now attending Texas A&M with one in College Station and one in Galveston. She is working on her second novel which is not at all related to the first book, but she hopes her original characters grow up in her mind so she can write some sequels to her first book.
With a degree in communications and English from the University of New Mexico, Petit has worked in radio announcing, musical theater, advertising, travel writing, as a singing bartender and has been a long-time member of the Bay Area Chorus.
She met her husband in New Mexico and they eloped to of all places, Australia. His career as an astronaut brought them to Texas. Her favorite aspect of living in Texas are the many friendships she has formed since moving here in the late 90’s.
Her book came in as second runner-up in Farmington NM but thinks that’s appropriate since decades ago she was second runner-up for Miss Farmington. “I like being in the center of attention but not being the center of attention,” Petit shared.
She was also a runner-up for cheerleading which landed her a role as a wrestling cheerleader, known in the 70’s as mat maids. Her book was also selected as a finalist in the 2021 Maxy Awards.
