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

This week, I thought I might give an update on some of my current writing projects and reading lists!

An aesthetic I created for my middle grade novel

In September, I finished drafting a delicious middle grade novel set in 1949 England. I wrote the beginning of the book two years ago, added a little more one year ago, and then couldn’t think of where to take the story. But finally this summer I had the perfect inspiration for the book–I simply withdrew a plotline from one of my unfinished projects, paired it with the characters and setting that I’d dreamed up for this novel, and everything fell into place!

I’m currently brainstorming and outlining a lovely Christmas-themed novel that’s been simmering in my mind since last winter. I’ve promised myself not to start writing it until mid-October, but I almost don’t think I can wait that long. 😉 (This novel will be my NaNoWriMo project, too!) In the meantime, though, I might be working on a fun novelette, but I’ll have plenty to keep me busy until I can start my Christmas novel. The World Championships of gymnastics will be held in Stuttgart for the next two weeks, and I’m *so* looking forward to seeing how the competition unfolds. (Fingers crossed that the Japanese women qualify a full team to Tokyo 2020!)

So far this year I have read 91 books.This far surpasses my goal of 75 books for 2019, which I set last December. (True, I don’t think I’ve yet read any of the long classics I had planned to add to my list this year, although I’m rectifying this right now by reading a very long and revered classic with a reading group. See my current reads below!)

More fun from the past few weeks: 

– I’m entering two stories in a very exciting writing contest this fall. I can’t wait to see what happens!

– Last year I planted snapdragons that were a perfect “sunset” shade, a mix of pink and orange. (My absolute favorites!) Then last month this same color of snapdragon popped up amidst my strawberries. I didn’t plant it there – they weren’t even in that flower bed last year! – but it was such a fun surprise.

– Over the past two months, I’ve been digitizing a box of amazing family photos, which has kept me happily busy. 🙂

– I’m re-reading some of my favorite Judy Bolton mysteries,and it’s delightful to return to these books at this time of year. Autumn is perfect for Judys!

– I also recently put together the picture on the left, a mix of cut silhouettes and paint on watercolor paper…a future book character, perhaps? 😉

Recently Read: The Vanderbeekers to the Rescue by Karina Yan Glaser, Grace Coolidge: An Autobiography, The Invisible Chimes by Margaret Sutton

Currently Reading: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Strange Likeness by Kate Duvall and Beverly Hatfield, At Home in North Branch by Arleta Richardson

It has been a simply glorious day. This morning I awoke to sun shining through lacy branches encased in ice with patterns of intricate frost decorating every windowpane. As my Whippet reclined in her favorite patch of sun, I downloaded a marvelous new book on my Kindle. What could be better?

This week I’ve had the pleasure of working on some wonderful writing projects. I’m off to a great start on my YA historical, and now I’m shifting my focus to a middle grade novel that I wrote in 2017 and am now rewriting. I’m thoroughly enjoying settling back into the world of this humorous, adventurous middle grade about three siblings and the troubles they encounter upon being sent to a new home.

I also interviewed two incredible NCAA athletes this week, Michigan’s Natalie Wojcik and Georgia’s Rachael Lukacs, both former Nastia Liukin Cup competitors who have transitioned to college and are doing *amazing* things! I can’t wait to share these interviews with you. And, in case you missed it, you can check out my recent Q&A with Florida’s Sydney Johnson-Scharpf here!

Before @GatorsGym kicks off its season tonight, @GymnasticsRosie caught up with freshman Sydney Johnson-Scharpf! In less than 60 seconds, Johnson-Scharpf tells us about her first year of NCAA and a few of her all-time favorite things!#NCAAgym pic.twitter.com/vkY60xiDT4

— Inside Gymnastics (@InsideGym) January 11, 2019

I am really enjoying keeping up with my projects by using my new writing planner. It’s already been extremely helpful for organizing everything!

A wonderful surprise waiting for me under the Christmas tree!! I cannot wait to fill out this beautiful new planner 😊 pic.twitter.com/2ShLtrEAft

— Anna Rose Johnson (@GymnasticsRosie) December 25, 2018

After finishing Norvia of Walloon Lake for NaNoWriMo in November, I’ve been contemplating what will transpire in the third book of this series. This in itself is a highly enjoyable occupation as I scour through name books, dabble in research, and select the themes and imagery I’ll incorporate. I cannot wait to start writing it!

I also joined two writing societies this week: American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). I’m already enjoying the resources these two organizations provide, and I’m eager to explore my memberships further!

On the reading front, I’ve completed seven books thus far in January, including a reread of Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy in Spite of Herself. (Now I’m halfway through Betsy Was a Junior, because it’s just so good. 🙂)  Here’s a look at six of my January seven—all of which have been highly entertaining:

The Cherry Ames novels by Helen Wells are so interesting. I love how the author creates a full cast of realistic, multidimensional characters in each of these books, while still maintaining characters and storylines from previous volumes in the series. The one I just finished (Island Nurse) inspired me to do some research on Newfoundland, where the story is set. (Now, of course, I must write a book set in Newfoundland. 😉)

I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend and that next week brings you plenty of delightful reading time!

November has been an extremely busy month for me, as I’ve been working industriously on writing the second book in my middle-grade series for National Novel Writing Month (or “NaNoWriMo”). I’m very pleased to announce that I have completed the NaNo challenge, writing 50,625 words in the month of November for a total of 61,903 words. I’ve been planning out scenes for Norvia of Walloon Lake for well over a year, so it feels good to finally have the first draft complete!

I love the feeling of satisfaction that comes after that finishing a novel, but I think I’m even prouder of the fact that I stuck with my goal of writing 50,000 words in one month. It’s so important to stay consistent with your writing, and keeping up with at least 1,667 words a day during this time helped to get me back into the groove of outputting a significant word count day in and day out. Writing a 1,000 words a day—my typical word count—will feel easy after this busy month!

One of the reasons I especially love working on my Norvia series is because it’s set during the First World War—an underrepresented era in fiction. I enjoy exploring this unique time in American history, describing the opulent homes, gorgeous clothing, and old-fashioned charm. I spent hours in the lead-up to NaNoWriMo researching all aspects of my character’s world in 1915; poring over maps and old photographs and books of the era and catalogs and newspapers and…well, the list goes on. 🙂 And I found even more areas to research while writing this initial draft, so the process will continue!

Now that my novel is complete, I’m turning my attention toward a 1940s-era Christmas novelette that I’ve been working on since October. I’m also preparing to begin writing a YA novel set in 1935, which is on my schedule for January. I can’t wait!

P.S. Today is my great-grandparents’ 96^th wedding anniversary—they were married on Thanksgiving Day in 1922. The “Norvia” character in my middle-grade series is based on my great-grandmother, so this day is always special to me. 🙂