It’s been about a month and a half since I last posted here, and the reason is because I have been *very busy* with writing projects! For the past month, I have been deep in the first-draft process of a triple-timeline Christmas novel—it’s to 50K words thus far, so only about 25K to go!

I’m also in the midst of writing a delightful novelette that I’m hoping to release to my email subscribers next month. If you would like to receive this story in the coming weeks, just scroll to the bottom of my home page and punch your email into the subscriber box! 🙂

I recently joined Instagram—you can check out my profile here—and that’s definitely proven to be an enjoyable platform. I love sharing pictures of favorite books and snippets of my writing.

While I’m always sad to see summer and fall—and my flower garden—give way to the winter months, there are upsides: Hallmark movies on the weekends, soft sweaters, and plenty of time to pursue genealogy and (of course!) read delicious books. (See my list at the end of this post!)

Other bookish things I’ve loved over the past month or so…

• Conversations with my writing group and mentors: Since August, I have been enjoying the community of an amazing group of writers, and the two mentors spearheading this group have provided me with consistently thoughtful feedback, guidance, and thoughts on my writing journey.
• The books of Nina Rhoades: I recently discovered the children’s stories of Nina Rhoades, who wrote sweet novels set in New York City around the turn of the century. I’ve read three of her books so far and am currently on the fourth!
• Receiving critiques and exploring the revision process: Lately I have been seeking out critiques for my writing, and I love the process of exploring how I can learn from those comments. It is always a joy to better my craft!
• Reading groups: This autumn, I read Pride & Prejudice with one book group and am currently reading Noel Streatfeild’s Gemma series with another! Both opportunities to read, relish, and reflect with friends have been lovely.

Happy Reading!

Recently Read: Listening Valley by D.E. Stevenson, The Historic Christmas Tree Ship by Rochelle Pennington, The Little Girl Next Door by Nina Rhoades, Mrs. Sharp’s Traditions by Sarah Ban Breathnach

Currently Reading: The Children on the Top Floor by Nina Rhoades, Gemma Alone by Noel Streatfeild, The Journal of Beaver Island History

For the past two weeks, I’ve been deep in the throes of revisions for my novel, and I’m happy to report that I am delighted with the outcome of this draft! In addition to editing, revising, and writing new scenes, I also created a Pinterest board for my book–because what’s more fun than gathering book inspiration? Besides, it was absolutely imperative for additional research. 😉

Another day of edits! (And a handful of lovely books, just for fun!) #amediting It is most delightful to spend more time my characters in this particular story. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/rSLx1xgegp

— Anna Rose Johnson (@GymnasticsRosie) January 29, 2019

Speaking of inspiration, I’ve started working on visualization scrapbooks for my novels. It’s basically the same as Pinterest–collecting images that act as springboards for ideas in your projects. I’ve always loved scrapbooking, and this weekend I created two pages that embody the creative feel of my latest novel:

In case you missed it, here’s a little description of my latest work-in-progress!

Such a fun writing session today; drafting a new novel! This one’s set in Wisconsin in 1920, and of course, I’m drawing inspiration from L.M. Montgomery 😊Currently re-reading LMM’s “Rainbow Valley.” ❤️#workinprogress #middlegrade #amwriting #writingcommunity #MG @LMMontgomeryLS

— Anna Rose Johnson (@GymnasticsRosie) February 10, 2019

In other social media news, a Twitter poll selected the surname of a new character in my third Norvia novel! His name will be Philip Dorne, and I cannot wait to introduce him to you. As a matter of fact, I’m looking forward to introducing him to myself, as I haven’t even written a word of his character yet! 🙂

I’m trying to choose the surname of an upcoming character! (His first name, by the way, is Philip. I have already determined the spelling of his name via a previous poll.) 😉 What should I choose?

— Anna Rose Johnson (@GymnasticsRosie) February 5, 2019

I also recently enjoyed the opportunity to interview Grace and Anna Glenn, twin sisters at UCLA who I first interviewed in 2014! In this new series of “fun fact” Q&As I’m conducting for Inside Gymnastics, I’m asking NCAA gymnasts all about their favorite colors, foods, movies, books, etc… It’s a fantastic way to get to know more about the athletes and their likes and interests outside the gym!

UCLA juniors @GraceGraceglenn & @Annag2016 tell us fun facts about themselves, what they love about competing for @uclagymnastics, and their favorite advice from @OfficialMissVal! by @GymnasticsRosie: https://t.co/bzTNu31zQh

— Inside Gymnastics (@InsideGym) February 8, 2019

And of course, I’ve been reading some marvelous books lately!

Seven-Day Magic
I finished the final story in Edward Eager’s hilarious series from the 1950s and it didn’t disappoint. These books are packed with witty lines, amusing subplots, and sweet characters.

Emily of New Moon
This one is a reread, and it was just as enjoyable as the first time I read it. Perhaps more so in the Emily series than in any other books, L.M. Montgomery excelled in bringing her environment vividly to life.

Bel Lamington
My sister recently read this D.E. Stevenson novel and suggested (well, insisted) that I read it as well! 🙂 It’s a lovely story about a shy young woman struggling to find her place in the world. Stevenson’s characters are so warm and realistic!

Patty Fairfield series
More rereads! The Patty books are some of my go-to comfort reads, about stylish New York debutantes in the 1900-1920 era and all their dances, beaux, and “adventures.”

Next up on my reading list? I’m re-reading Betsy’s Wedding by Maud Hart Lovelace, Rainbow Valley by L.M. Montgomery, and I’m reading Eleanor Estes’ adorable Pinky Pye for the first time. All three are immensely enjoyable!

November is here, in all of its drizzly, cloudy glory. I have bulbs to plant soon—beautiful multicolored tulips that will (hopefully) sprout up the in the warm spring months ahead. In book-writing news, I’m currently drafting the second book in my “Norvia” middle grade series, thanks to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I originally drafted the first Norvia book for NaNo in November 2014, so working on the sequel feels like a wonderful flashback for me.

Some of my research for the sequel:

I’m also still working on my Christmas novella, which I hope to share with you all in mid-December—very exciting! 🙂 Stay tuned for more details!

For me, the last two weeks have been all about the 2018 World Gymnastics Championships. I provided tons of fun coverage for Inside Gymnastics Magazine, including an interview with Great Britain’s Becky Downie. It was so exciting to watch all of these incredible athletes at the highest level of the sport. My all-time favorite routine of Worlds? Probably Nina Derwael’s breathtaking, gold medal-winning uneven bars routine. Derwael, whom I interviewed about a year ago, is currently Belgium’s top gymnast and the world’s best bars worker. I can’t wait to watch her compete in 2019!

In reading news, I hit my 2018 Goodreads Challenge last week! I’ve read 100 books so far this year, and I’m hoping to read several more before the year is out. I recently reread some of the books in the Patty Fairfield series by Carolyn Wells (published from 1902-1919), and that was simply delightful. They’re such light, humorous reads!

I was recently given these three gorgeous vintage copies:

Interestingly, all three volumes were previously owned by the same young lady, whose name was written in beautiful cursive in the front of each book. Being a genealogist (and insatiably curious!), I did a little searching on family history sites and uncovered some fascinating info about this fellow booklover, whose life seemed to mirror Patty’s remarkably! Not only was she also an only child and a fashionable debutante in a bustling city, but she looked almost exactly like the illustrations of Patty on these covers! 🙂 I wonder if someone gave her these books because of her amazing similarity to Patty. In any event, I love knowing a bit more about the former owner of my books!

I just finished reading The Mystery on Judy Lane, the brand-new book in the Judy Bolton series. The author, Beverly Hatfield, has gifted Judy fans with a wonderful companion volume to this awesome series. I loved reading this sweet Christmassy mystery, set between books #13 and #14.

I also recently found these vintage copies of two other books in the Judy series. The Mark on the Mirror is one of my very favorites!

Now I’m rereading Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery, and even though I’ve read it before, I’m having a hard time putting it down! 🙂 Also—stay tuned for my upcoming blog post on the Pat of Silver Bush series, which I consider to be perhaps Montgomery’s sweetest and coziest series of books.

Happy Reading!