Booth Musuem My first trip to the Booth museum was with my mother and Grandmother in the fall of 2012. Grandma had just had cataract surgery and could really see for the first time in a while. She had always loved cowboys and Indians, watching the cowboy channel faithfully every weekday from 1:30 to 7 pm. Living with her at that time, so did I. Even five years after she moved to Heaven, I can’t see a Gunsmoke episode without thinking of her with a smile.

Grandma (the same woman Walt and Delia Anne’s love story is based on) wanted to go to the Booth Museum to see cowboys in Cartersville. It would be an easier trip for my Grandmother who was homebound except for doctor visits.

We picked a day and my Grandmother was like a little kid waiting for a school field trip. Anxiously counting down the days.

We arrived early during the school week to avoid large crowds and spent a few hours walking the large museum. Stopping to rest often, the three of us looked at every painting, stared at every sculpture and marveled at the size of a wagon/coach or two.

Grandma passed away in February 2013, just a few days before her birthday. So much of my mother and grandmother are in my character of Delia Anne. The strongest trait, their love for family shines through Delia Anne, even when she’s taking matters into her own hands.

I will never forget that day we visited the Booth Museum and knew I wanted to include that special time in my first novel, Restoring Grace. I know my grandmother is looking down from Heaven, proud of her granddaughter’s achievements.

She always thought I could do anything!

Booth Museum

Opened in 2003, it is unique in the South with an emphasis on western art and culture. Visit the contemporary Western artwork, Civil War art, Presidential Gallery room, and the Sagebrush Ranch – an interactive children’s area. With ties to the Smithsonian Institution, Cartersville houses over 100,000 square feet of western artwork.