Mildred Budge in Cloverdale, Paperback/Daphne Simpkins

Mildred Budge couldn't say no for long...Oh. She knew how. Mildred could breathe the word no to a second cup of ice cream. Could resist drinking too much champagne. But when it came right down to a friend needing a favor, she might say no first, but if someone really needed her-really needed her! -she always said yes. That's how Mildred ended up with strangers camped out in her spare bedroom, helping her friend Fran to start a new business at the antique emporium, and walking around the empty church with a dust rag in her hand even though she hated to dust. She couldn't say no to dust for long either. The only real no Mildred had said in recent history was to a man who loved her. Hugh wasn't the first man to pursue her. But he was the most recent. And she had been flattered but not interested-not in the way he wanted her to be interested. Hugh didn't give up right away. He lodged himself near her at church. Found her in the church kitchen after a fellowship supper to aid in the clean-up. And finally, her would-be lover had just asked her outright. That was the moment when Mildred had to say no. Until then Millie had been artfully dodging him. Only her best friend Fran understood. Fran said when Mildred finally felt the regretful effects of that no, "We're all of us such fools."But they aren't fools. Mildred Budge and her friends are just people trying to live inside the faith released from heaven through the One who didn't say no. This is the first novel in the series about Mildred Budge and her friends-just ordinary people trying to live out an extraordinary hope available to anyone who realizes what kind of help he or she really needs.That hope has a name, and Mildred Budge knows it. Need hope? Need a friend. Mildred Budge is a very good friend. If you like spending time with people who are just ordinary but extraordinarily hopeful, then you'll love this story that answers the question, "What do church ladies really think?"Get a copy of this first novel in the series and find out for yourself. About the author: Daphne Simpkins is an Alabama writer who writes about a variety of subjects and often on the secret lives of church ladies. Befriend her on Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin.com. About author(s): Daphne Simpkins has been writing about life in the South for over 20 years but recently began to explore the dimensions of Southern church women through her fictional character Mildred Budge. Many Mildred Budge short adventures have been published in the U.S. and Canada and in the short story collection Miss Budge In Love. In addition to the Miss Budge books and stories, Ms. Simpkins has written The Long Good Night, a memoir about caregiving and a follow-up to that book, What Al Left Behind. She recently published a memoir masquerading as a cookbook for new brides, A Cookbook for Katie. The next addition to the Mildred Budge novels is Embankment, which will be followed by The Bride's Room. A long-time adjunct English teacher at Auburn University Montgomery, Ms. Simpkins is an active member of the speakers' bureau sponsored by The Alabama Humanities Foundation. For more information, visit www.DaphneSimpkins.com