Dear Friend,
The penny is gone! The U.S. Mint produced the last penny on November 12, 2025.
I’m sad, because I collected pennies. It was fun to know where the locations for printing the penny were, what pennies might be worth more than just one cent, and what mistakes the U.S. Mint made. By just leaving out the “P” on the front of a penny, showing the penny was minted in Philadelphia, it was worth more than the usual one cent. Ben Franklin’s adage, “A penny saved is a penny earned” guided many people.
When I was in grade school, I saved my allowance and brought a quarter every week to my classroom to deposit in a bank’s savings account. I loved seeing the value of my account increase, recorded on a small booklet.
This was likely the inspiration for my book, Will’s Secret, and how Will learned about money. He earned an allowance. When he accumulated enough, he gave it to his best friend, Joe, so Joe could purchase a computer.
Joe’s mom, a single mom and teacher, didn’t earn enough to buy a computer.
What Joe did with that computer was the beginning of. . . I’ll just leave you in suspense! Will cared enough about his best friend Joe to provide that gift, which is the backbone of my story. Trust, respect, and a long-time friendship was the result.
If you were watching me as I write this, you’d know that I’m grinning. After I wrote my first romance (Louisa’s Passion, in what’s now the Louisa’s Vineyard Series), I needed a new idea to build the series. Will’s Secret was the result.
And having the self-restraint to wait until nearly the very end of the book to reveal the secret was difficult for me! I wanted to share it, but kept saying to myself, wait! Wait! It’ll mean more. I fought with myself, but waited for the reveal, and added it at what felt like the exact right moment. Readers told me it was worth the wait! If you’d like to learn the secret, and promise not to share the secret, find Will’s Secret and enjoy it.
Save your pennies! They might be worth something in the future, but learning about them is fun!
Best wishes,
