At the close of this first month of the new year, here’s a quick update on my current books (and other things)!

What I’m reading …

I read eleven books in January to kick off 2021! Among my (new) favorites: The Anne of Green Gables Devotional by Rachel Dodge, a heartfelt read full of inspiring verses with charming illustrations; Karina Yan Glaser’s The Vanderbeekers Lost and Found, the fourth volume in the Vanderbeekers series and perhaps the most poignant yet; Best Friends by Mary Bard (1950s fun about a French girl moving to the US); Francie on the Run, the second book in Hilda van Stockum’s Bantry Bay trilogy. Rereads included Kate DiCamillo’s 20th-anniversary edition of Because of Winn-Dixie (with slightly altered text), and Jane of Lantern Hill (L.M. Montgomery), which I am having the fun of discussing with friends in a book group right now.

What I’m planning to read …

Some brand-new books just arrived in the mail, and here’s why I can’t wait to read them:

Emily’s Runaway Imagination (1961): I’m working on filling in my Beverly Cleary library, having stuck mainly to the Ramona books and her “First Love” series. I just read Mitch and Amy (1967) and liked it quite a bit, so I’m eager to read this one, a rare historical story from Cleary set in the 1920s.

The Four Graces (1946): A Little Women retelling-of-sorts set in WWII in an English village and written by D.E. Stevenson? What could be better? 🙂

Carney’s House Party (1949): I just bought this lovely two-pack that includes both Carney and Winona, two Deep Valley novels by Maud Hart Lovelace. I just read Winona’s Pony Cart for the first time last year and greatly enjoyed it, and now I’m looking forward to rereading Carney’s House Party.

L.M. Montgomery’s Short Stories, 1907-1908: Montgomery’s short stories often have such wonderful characters and situations that I end up wishing she’d lengthened them into more novels!

Two Little Women (1915): I read the second book in this trilogy in 2009 and the third in 2010, and I have finally bought myself a copy of the first book! Carolyn Wells’ writing is so breezy and fun.

Not pictured but also on my list: Jennifer Dances (1954): A 1910s-era story by Eunice Young Smith about a girl who moves to Chicago to live with aunt and takes up ballet. It sounds so sweet!

What I’m writing …

I am nearly finished with my current middle grade novel – only about 7k left to write – and then I’m going to be focusing on a revision of a middle grade manuscript I wrote for NaNoWriMo in 2018! I am so excited about it, and I’m gathering research materials and searching for inspiration!

What else I’ve been enjoying…

Scrapbooking, looking through old family photos, feeding sugar cubes to sweet ponies, listening to Annette Funicello songs and Strauss’ Annen Polka, doing writing sprints with friends, gathering quotes for an interview piece for Inside Gymnastics, watching Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, and other delightful things. I’ve also been planning this summer’s garden, buying seeds and calculating how many flower beds I’ll need. I am hoping for an early spring so that I can get a head start on my seeds, particularly the Madame Butterfly snapdragons. For the first time, I’ll be planting glorious orange nasturtiums (a flower found in Jane of Lantern Hill, as mentioned above), and I’m crossing my fingers that – unlike last year – my pink poppies will actually come to fruition!

What have you been doing to brighten the long January days? Let me know in the comments! 🙂 

I love listening to classical music while I write. There’s something very soothing yet inspiring about delicate piano notes and enchanting orchestral arrangements. When I write nonfiction, I listen to all different kinds of music—except those with lyrics! When I’m too busy listening to words, I can’t produce them myself.

Classical music is very easy to find—there’s so much of it out there—but it’s hard for me to find pieces that are precisely my style and of the variety that are ideal for listening to while I write both fiction and nonfiction. I prefer classical music pieces that have strong melodies, and I find that these are often the best to listen to while writing certain scenes in my novels. (If you can imagine a lyricist setting it to words, then the piece will likely be one of my favorites!)

I often download classical music from the site yourclassical.org, which offers a free MP3 every weekday. I’ve provided links to those downloads below, in case you’d like to listen to these while you write, too! 🙂

These are some of my all-time favorite songs for inspiration while I write my novels:

For light, upbeat scenes (when introducing a compatible comrade or conducting a congenial conversation)

String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96, “American”: IV. Vivace ma non troppo, composed by Antonín Dvořák

Piano Trio No. 1 in A minor: III, composed by Peter Tchaikovsky

Piano Quartet No. 2: Finale, composed by Johannes Brahms

For mysterious scenes (i.e. that moment when the heroine discovers something about her unknown past, or when someone is reading a cryptic message)

Scheherazade: II. The Kalender Prince, composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

The Hebrides, “Fingal’s Cave,” composed by Felix Mendelssohn

For happy scenes (envision a picnic by the sea, a walk through the woods, or a stroll on the veranda)

Espana, composed by Emmanuel Chabrier

In the Spring, composed by Karl Goldmark

Molly on the Shore, composed by Percy Grainger

“Folk Feast” from The Gadfly Suite, composed by Dmitri Shostakovich

For dances (since I write historical stories, balls and dances often feature prominently, I use these for inspiration!)

The Blue Danube Waltz, composed by Johann Strauss II

Emperor Waltz, composed by Johann Strauss II

Die Fledermaus: Overture, composed by Johann Strauss II

For the occasional football game (all right, I have yet to write a scene like this, but I’m planning one for an upcoming book and this suits it perfectly).

Liberty Bell March, composed by John Philip Sousa

For miscellaneous scenes (sections of dialogue, purple prose, or long passages of time).

Water Music: Suite No. 3: Menuet I and II, composed by George Frideric Handel

Songs without Words, Book 5: No. 6 “Fruhlingslied”, composed by Felix Mendelssohn

Ruslan and Lyudmila: Overture, composed by Mikhail Glinka

Ave Maria, composed by Charles Gounod and Johann Sebastian Bach