Margaret Daley: 1959 Original Barbie & Book Giveaway

9/25/2011

This week we welcome Margaret Daley to Author Memories.

Margaret Daley is an award winning, multi-published author who writes inspirational romance and romantic suspense books for the Steeple Hill Love Inspired lines, romantic suspense for Abingdon Press and historical romance for Summerside Press. She has sold seventy-five books to date. Until she retired a few years ago, she was a teacher of students with special needs for twenty-seven years and volunteered with Special Olympics as a coach. Margaret is currently the President for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), an organization of over 2200 members.

1959 Original Barbie
by Margaret Daley

One of my favorite toys I ever got when I was a little girl was the first Barbie doll (1959) and later the Ken doll in 1961. I used to make up stories using my dolls as the characters in them. Barbie and Ken were perfect for a budding romance writer. I spent hours coming up with different scenarios, using the dolls’ wardrobes as though I was shooting a Doris Day movie where she changed clothes all the time. I used to save my money to buy different outfits. Back then I never dreamed I would end up writing romances, but it did spark my love for making up stories.

I guess you can never tell what the toys you play with will lead to. Of course, I wish I’d known the kind of money the original doll is worth today. We are talking thousands of dollars. At least that is what I saw online. I had the blonde Barbie, which isn’t worth as much as the brunette Barbie. Oh, well, I had too much fun with my Barbie to worry about what it could be worth in the future.

What kind of toy did you have that you remember playing with as a child?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leave a comment with a valid email address by midnight, Oct 2nd
to be entered to win a copy of Margaret's novel,
From This Day Forward.
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From This Day Forward, Summerside Press, Sep 2011

Penniless, pregnant, and newly widowed immigrant Rachel Gordon doesn’t believe her situation could get any worse…until she meets her new neighbors. Shortly after the War of 1812, Rachel and her husband set out from England for a plantation in South Carolina, which he had purchased sight unseen. However, while en route, Tom Gordon fell overboard and drowned, leaving Rachel, frightened and alone, to make a home for her and her newborn. Can a battle-scarred American physician who comes to her rescue also heal her wounded heart?

Read an Excerpt

Visit Margaret's web site at http://www.margaretdaley.com
to read excerpts from her books and learn about the ones
recently released and soon to be released.

Margaret is a member of these group blogs:
Craftie Ladies of Romance
Love Inspired Authors

37 Comments

Bonnie Engstrom link

9/25/2011 09:17:30 am

What a fun interview. Margaret is such a dear. I can just imagine her dressing Barbie and chatting with Ken. I'd love to win From This Day Forward to add to my collection.

Bonnie

Michelle Sutton link

9/25/2011 09:39:08 am

This is a cool contest. I want to read the book for sure. :) I will probably get it from Summerside to review, but if I don't this would be great to win. :)

joyfulhutch[at]msn.com

Judy K Burgi

9/25/2011 09:54:23 am

I loved playing with my doll stroller and baby doll. I don't think it was anything fancy just a regular little baby doll. Had lots of fun pushing it around in the stroller though. I was a real mommy!

I love the cover of From This Day Forward. This book sounds like a great read. I'd love to win a copy.

Blessings!

judyjohn2004[at]yahoo[dot]com

Debra E. Marvin link

9/25/2011 10:23:47 am

I found it hard to feel kinship with Barbie but I did enjoy the clothes part of it. I remember wishing I could buy more and more of her outfits. My grandmother actually knitted lots of little outfits for her (with no pattern) sweater dresses, skirts, hats, capes, etc, with tiny sock needles. When I was old enough I started making clothes for her myself.

Didn't she have a freckled face cousin or little sister?

I'd love to be in the drawing for this book, Anita and Margaret!

Margaret, you looked lovely on streaming video last night BTW!

Margaret Daley link

9/25/2011 01:08:20 pm

Bonnie, I think playing with those dolls is what got me started as a storyteller.
Michelle, I hope you get a chance to review From This Day Forward.
Judy, I pay "house" with my two youngest granddaughters. Sometimes I'm the mommy and sometimes I'm the child. It's a hoot!!
Debra, thank you. It's been great being able to offer the Awards Ceremony live for people to see.

Jalana link

9/25/2011 02:06:46 pm

I would love to win a copy of Margaret's new book! The cover is absolutely gorgeous! And I still play Barbies with my twin daughters. My first one was a 1973 Sunbathing Malibu Barbie. My neighbor's dog got her out of my wade pool, and well, you know the rest. Her grave is clearly marked in my mother's yard. But I still have all the rest-lol! My Barbies could make some great fodder for story!

Jalana link

9/25/2011 02:09:54 pm

I realized after submitting above that I did not include my email address in my comment. It is jalanafranklin@gmail.com
I'd love to win the book!

Lyndie Blevins link

9/26/2011 01:59:06 am

I, being brunette, have a brunette Barbie. My Grandmother made beautiful Barbie clothes to sell for her pin money. My cousin and I had a large wardrobe of clothes, although none of ours were ever finished, They never had the snaps to close, but they are still beautiful. I used straight pins with the balls at the end for earrings, one of them rusted, leaving this funny color around Barbie's ears. My box was gone long ago, because Barbie lived in it.
When some girls from church were visiting my house discovered my collection of Barbies and friends they came running into the room saying, Ms. Blevins you have ancient Barbies!
Yet, I am still drawn to stand at amazement at the new holiday Barbie each year.
A co-worker was once bragging on the care his daughter had take with her Madam Alexander dolls which had been placed on shelves. Because they were in their original boxes, they were worth a lot of money.
I mumbled to my cube mate, my original Barbie3 was priceless, because she had been played with.

Margaret Daley link

9/26/2011 04:03:30 am

Jalana, what fond memories those play dates are.

Lyndie, I think toys are made to be played with.

Katy Lee

9/26/2011 08:01:02 am

I was a big barbie fan, too! And your story looks wonderful! Beautiful cover.

LoRee Peery link

9/26/2011 09:52:52 am

I made paper dolls and dressed them from the Sears catalog. There were so many of us kids that we only received one toy or game for Christmas.
My cousin had the first Barbie I saw and I thought she was beautiful, but I considered myself too old to play with dolls. That was the same year the first of my youngest three brothers was born and Mom went to work. Adult family members called me "little mommy."
Julie, A Heart Revealed is still on my to-purchase list!

Andi link

9/26/2011 09:56:06 am

I actually had the barbie that you have pictured in this blog post. I had a babysitter who gave them to me when I was a girl. I had an the old barbie case and everything. I played with them for hours, along with my Mrs. Beasly ... from Family Affair. My parents sold the barbies at a garage sale after I had moved out, for .25 a piece and when they found out what they were really worth they nearly died!
Your book sounds wonderful and the cover is beautiful!

Anita Mae

9/28/2011 01:50:24 am

Margaret - a few weeks ago, I bought on EBay the Barbie that's dressed as a Mountie. Red tunic, stetson hat, riding breeches and boots, etc. I think it was released in 1980, but I'm not entirely sure.

It's just my style. :)

Gwen Stewart

9/30/2011 09:46:24 am

Oh, I loved my dollhouse. It was entirely complete with a kitchen, two or three bedrooms, a living room, a family room...and miniature everything, it seemed. I too spent hours making up stories.

What a wonderful interview, Margaret, and fun too!

gwenstew@flash.net

Anita Mae

10/1/2011 05:04:04 am

Yes Debra, Barbie had a younger cousin (I think it was her cousin) called Skipper. That was my doll. I loved playing with Skipper because I could bend her knees. What magic! Although I didn't move them too often because I was worried I'd break something and I knew I'd never get another doll like her.

Mary Curry link

10/1/2011 09:50:39 am

Margaret, you brought back memories of when I inherited my older cousin's entire Barbie collection. I was used to inheriting her dresses, but with Barbie, I really felt like I'd died and gone to heaven.

My other main memory is my Happy Hollister books. I so badly wanted to be part of the fabulous Hollister family so I used my dolls to act the scenes out.

Your book sounds fabulous! Can't wait to read it.

Rhonda Gibson link

10/1/2011 09:53:43 am

My favorite toy Margaret was my little brother. Poor guy LOL. He's lucky to be alive today. My favorite memory is putting him in a little red wagon, pushing him down and old truck path, created by daddy driving up into the mountain and cutting wood, watching him fly down the side of the mountain, hit a rock and literally sail over the tongue of the wagon and into the creek below. Way fun for me :)

I'm looking forward to reading this book too.

Warmly, RHonda

Anita Mae

10/1/2011 12:48:34 pm

Fun Rhonda? I don't think I'll ever look at you quite the same again. Poor kid was fodder for your imagination and didn't even know it. You should have played with my brother... he almost strangled me once in a wild game of 'Attack on the Conestoga Wagon'. *heh

Margaret Daley link

10/1/2011 02:18:00 pm

Rhonda, I used to play school with my dolls and my baby brother.
Mary, I know what you mean.
Anita Mae, I remember the cousin. I never got her though.
Gwen, I loved my dollhouse, too.
Andi, my mom sold my brother's Les Paul guitar. He was not happy about that.
LoRee, I played with paper dolls too and loved making stories up using them.
Katy, I think the cover is great. Summerside did a wonderful job on it.

Ann Lee Miller link

10/1/2011 03:06:10 pm

Thanks so much for the chance to win Margaret's book. I'd love to win!

Jeannie Campbell, LMFT link

10/1/2011 03:20:42 pm

I used to play with Popples. Furry little balls that unfurled to reveal a cute, troll-looking thing with fuzzy hair, bulbous cheeks, and a big smile. Perhaps this led me to my current occupation of being a therapist? Multiple personalities?

As for Barbie dolls, that was traumatic, as my brothers often would "play" with them by putting them on the Barbie-sized grill or doing the splits on the roof of my dollhouse.

Anyway, fun insight into our ACFW president! :)

Jeannie

Jamie Adams

10/1/2011 11:25:38 pm

I remember playing with the original barbie... sure wish I had her now. My favorite toy was a doll mom gave me when I was two and in the hospital having my tonsils taken out. Her names Penelope and I still have her.

Tamara Cooper

10/2/2011 01:13:25 am

I can't believe I'm going to tell this, but my favorite toy was my Teddy Bear. Through all the travails of my life, I held fast to him and even took him to college with me. A few months back, Mama said it was time for me to take my old "things" (that she had saved for me) into my own home and there, in luggage Mama used in WW2, was Teddy. I cried when I saw him. Oh, the comfort and wisdom he'd offered me through my younger years!

From This Day Forward sounds like a wonderful read, and I've always enjoyed Margaret Daley's books. I would love to win this one!
Tamara
tamarawrites (at) hotmail (dot) com

Tamara Cooper

10/2/2011 01:20:30 am

Well, I'm posting twice because Rhonda Gibson's post reminded me that my twin brother was another fave toy of mine. Mama said at 3 years old, I shimmied up the screen door of our house (with Timmy on my back); then he shimmied up my head and onto the house. No joke. She also said I put Timmy in the oven to see if he would bake. That I put him in the dryer and turned it on and his screams brought her running. I rolled a barrel into our yard and put Timmy under it (on a hot Texas day) and Mama couldn't find him. Then she spotted the barrel. Yep, his lips were blue by the time she dumped the barrel. I was an imaginative child...:) I meant no harm to a little boy who grew up to be a pharmacist (yes, he's alive!) and, thankfully, doesn't remember any of this!

Diana Flowers

10/2/2011 01:22:39 am

I had 13 Barbies and they were all given to me because my parents couldn't afford stuff like that. I didn't mind a bit that they were second hand; I adopted them and named each one!

I would love to win From This Day Forward since my home is in SC, and this book sounds wonderful! Thank you.

Anita Mae

10/2/2011 07:00:37 am

Hey Tamara - so glad you owned up to your Teddy because I have a similar story.

My teddy was blue and I called him Dickie. No idea why and if it was a family joke they didn't bother explaining to me. I was physically and emotionally abused as a child and Dickie was my main comfort. I don't know how it started - perhaps I whispered my troubles to Dickie - I really don't know, but I found the fur inside his ear to be the softest part of him and got into the habit of rubbing the tip of my nose inside his ear. It's how I went to sleep. Mom finally took the ragged bear away when I was 11. Not a piece of fur on either side of his ear because once I'd worn off the inside, I moved to the outer part.

It's funny that 40 yrs later, any time I pick up a bear I'll bring it to my face and 'test' his ears. DH gets a funny look on his face when I do it so I try to restrain myself. But it seems today's stuffed animals are so much softer than before.

10/2/2011 08:48:27 am

I would love to win Margaret's book. My favorite toys to play with when I was young was my paper dolls. I enjoyed them so much. Whenever I got sick, my mom would go and buy me some new ones to add to the ones that I already had.

Blessings,
Jo

Mary Ann Hayhurst

10/2/2011 10:02:41 am

Hi Margaret,
I've loved this trip down memory lane with all the toys people have mentioned. I always got a brand new doll and a tea set for Christmas. My mom made doll clothes for all my dolls, and I always had paper dolls with their extensive wardrobe to play with.

Blessings to you,
Mary Ann

Linda link

10/2/2011 12:04:24 pm

Having grown up with three brothers, Barbie was nowhere to be found. I played cowboys and Indians, good guy/bad guy, and put model cars together.

Cheri Horgan

10/2/2011 12:33:39 pm

I was president of my local Barbie fan club, owned every new Barbie that came out for years, owned the car but was 10 before I could get her a home...we had beds a friend of my grandmothers made out of shoe boxes or velveeta boxes, with little bedspreds on top. Here's what I learned from those days...

10 THINGS I LEARNED FROM PLAYING BARBIES
1.THERE ARE ALWAYS A LOT MORE WOMEN THAN MEN. NOT EVERY GIRL GETS ONE.
2.SOMETIMES YOU ARE THE PRETTY ONE AND SOMETIMES YOU ARE THE ONE WITH THE REALLY BAD HAIR. JUST BE THANKFUL YOU AREN’T THE ONE THAT LOOSES HER HEAD.
3.SOME GIRLS GET CONDOS AT MALIBU, OTHERS JUST GET CARDBOARD BOXES
4.BARBIE COULD BE ANYTHING SHE WANTED TO BE…KEN WAS JUST HER BOY TOY
5.AS YOU GET OLDER IT DOESN’T MATTER IF THE SHOES MATCH
6.BARBIE HAD A BEACH HOUSE, A MOTOR HOME, AND A CORVETTE…KEN DIDN’T HAVE A THING OF HIS OWN EXCEPT SOME CLOTHES SHE BOUGHT HIM…
7.WHEN THE FANCY CLOTHES WERE ALL OFF KEN DIDN’T HAVE MUCH TO OFFER
8.BARBIE MAY HAVE HAD LOTS OF FRIENDS, BUT SHE HAD TO BUY THEM ALL.
9.BARBIE TRIED TO MAKE UP FOR NOT HAVING A FAMILY BY BUYING THINGS AND FRIENDS, BUT SHE WAS NEVER REALLY HAPPY. YOU NEVER SAW A LAUGHING BARBIE.
10.WHEN IT GOT RIGHT DOWN TO BASICS LIKE LOVE AND LOYALTY, BARBIE WAS HEARTLESS. IT WAS ALWAYS JUST ABOUT HER.

I always liked Midge best...

Charity L.

10/2/2011 12:42:41 pm

My favorite toy when I was little was a Breyer horse. They were such fun and I still have a couple for collecting but don't play with them anymore:) Please enter me in this giveaway! Thanks!!

Cheri Horgan

10/2/2011 12:50:33 pm

I got so into the comments I forgot to add I really would like to win the book also! LOL! For the record Barbie had a cousin named Skipper that they later said was her little sister, I think; a best friend named Midge, who's boyfriend was Allen. Along with Ken they made up the original "family". Does anyone remember the Barbie that had the wigs? Her "real" hair was just painted plastic, but she came with an assortment of wigs in different colors and styles so you could change her look. But my favorite was the Barbie in the red swim suit, and the one in the picture.

Interesting note about teddy bears, one hospital that I lived near collected teddy bears and later bought a special one called emergency bear. They were carried by local first responders to give to children in traumatic situations for comfort (like after an accident, fire, being removed from a home, or having to be transported by ambulance to the hospital.) They also used to give them out in the ER and the OR to calm the kids. It was a wonderful ministry.

Joy Hannabass link

10/2/2011 01:33:43 pm

I love my barbie dolls. I still collect them!! But when I was young, I liked the Tammy doll best, my sister liked the Barbie. Of course we don't have them now!
Would love to win this new book too. Love the cover and sounds like an awesome book!
Blessings.....Joy
ibjoy1953{at]yahoo[dot]com

Anita Mae.

10/3/2011 03:21:28 am

You all have such wonderful memories of a childhood toy(s) and I've enjoyed reading your comments. I now have to check out a Breyer horse. :)

I'd forgotten about the paper dolls. They always seemed a poor subsitute for the real thing and yet I had such fun with them. Even now, I'm beginning to collect the Dover books of historical paper dolls.

And Cheri - that Barbie list is too funny. I appreciate the time you've taken to post it here.

Actually, thank you all for taking the time to share with us.

Stay tuned to see who won Margaret's book.

Deborah Malone link

10/3/2011 03:25:03 am

Margaret,
I had a Tressi doll and I loved to play with her. My Mom and I would shop for clothes and I had a little carrying case for her and her clothes. Her hair would grow and then you could make it go back short. What I'd give to have that doll today just for the memories.
Deborah

Anita Mae

10/3/2011 03:55:25 am

Using random.org I've drawn a winner for Margaret Daley's new historical, FROM THIS DAY FORWARD.

And the winner is... Rhonda Gibson!

Congratulations Rhonda. Margaret will be contacting you shortly for postal details, etc.

A special thank you going out to Margaret for the gift of this book as well as for taking time to post her childhood Barbie Doll memory. You're sweet Margaret. I love your books and am thrilled to see you expand into historicals. May God bless you and your writing for your generosity and willingness to serve Him and others.

Margaret Daley link

10/3/2011 10:57:01 am

I love all these toys and stories about them. What memories. Cheri, your list is great. Barbie dolls are still fun to collect--beautiful holiday dresses every year. Good thing I have 4 granddaughters.