The Freeman Family is privileged to have several authors among our cousins. Some of the more famous are included in the Notable Cousins section. Our cousin Molly has her sights on the list!.

Mara 'Molly' Proctor is the daughter of Mike and Jo Sue (Freeman) Sweeny, granddaughter of Joe and Iola (Francis) Freeman, and great granddaughter of George and Susanna (Carpenter) Freeman

Rather than presenting an admittedly biased review of her book, The Beveled Rose, the following book review is reprinted from the Sherman Democrat of February 26, 1995.

Small World Note: about half way between Sherman and Trenton (Molly's home) is the town of Bells, Grayson Co., TX. The family of Sarah (Sims) Lawson lived at Bells for a couple years around 1880 some 50 years and three generations before the Lawson and Freeman families were united to Seattle, WA in 1932.

Proctor's title story in this anthology of short stories tells the tale of how family violence drives a vulnerable woman into a tailspin. This and Proctor's other short stories are imaginative vignettes of life, exploring a multitude of emotions

After being tormented by her husband, she winds up in the "Jesus Saves Clinic," where she is held captive.

Cut off from the real world, and ultimately from reality, Vicky Marinello summons up the courage to make her escape, struggling to regain her freedom and self confidence.

But her independence is costly, as she comes face to face with her estranged husband in a climactic scene which puts a violent end to a violent story.

Other stories in Proctor's book include "Ponyboy," a surreal story of Melinda Wilson, a lonely housewife whose fantasies about her horse come true.

"The Frozen Pond," is a ghost story about a woman who is tortured by insomia and flashbacks to a former life. In trying to come to terms with haunting nightmares, the woman is visited by the ghost of a young girl who delivers her back in time to her own [the girl's] drowning in the very same pond near where she [the woman] now lives.

Proctor recently self-published "The Beveled Rose" and is taking a grassroots approach to promoting the book through reading engagements at local schools.

Several of the stories, however, are not geared toward young children, as they contain some adult language and situations.

Born and reared in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Proctor quit her accounting career to work toward her goal, becoming a published author.

Featured recently in "Ladies' Home Journal" and as a guest on "The Maury Povich Show," she has gained celebrity by winning a nationwide look-alike contest as Elaine Bennes, Jerry Seinfeld's zany sidekick in the hit T.V. series "Seinfeld."

Proctor and her husband, Dan, and four-year-old daughter, Shelby, live on a farm in Trenton. Her next project is a book about her daughter's life.

"The Beveled Rose" is available through mail order for $5.95 plus $3 shipping and handling. Send orders to Willow Pond Publishers, Route 1 Box 295, Trenton, Texas 75490.

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