It’s finally time to reveal the cover of my forthcoming middle grade historical novel, The Star That Always Stays!

Here it is:

Isn’t it gorgeous? The artist, Stephanie Son, did such a beautiful job, and I was delightfully surprised to receive the blurb from Anne Bustard, author of Blue Skies.

You can read more about my book here, and if you’d like to preorder, here’s the link!

Full synopsis:

THE STAR THAT ALWAYS STAYS

(Holiday House, July 12, 2022)

I have big news. Major news. Incredibly exciting news! If you’ve already seen this, it’s because I’ve already posted the news on social media and on my email newsletter. But I wanted to share it here as well, in case you’ve missed it!

My debut novel, The Star That Always Stays, releases in Summer 2022!

And I’m utterly thrilled. Here’s the full announcement:

Norvia at age 16

This is truly the story of my heart, and the main character (Norvia) is based on my great-grandmother. It focuses on an imaginative and  introverted 14-yr-old girl of Ojibwe descent who begins to emulate the heroines of her favorite novels (Anne of Green Gables! Pollyanna! Patty Fairfield!) in order to increase her popularity in her freshman year of high school after her parents’ divorce and all the stigma that comes along with it in 1914. Along the way, she struggles to adjust to her new stepfamily. During the writing of this book, I was greatly inspired by the works of authors such as L.M. Montgomery, Maud Hart Lovelace, Noel Streatfeild, Elizabeth Enright, and Jeanne Birdsall—I just really wanted it to have that old-fashioned, feel-good style to it.

I began writing this novel back in 2014 for NaNoWriMo, and I’ve been enchanted with it ever since, throughout multiple rewrites and reimaginings.

I cannot wait to introduce you all to Norvia, her lovely family, and her poignant story! I’m so grateful to my editor, Mora Couch; my agents, Jessica Schmeidler and Molly Shaffer; and my mentors, Brett Harris and Kara Swanson at the Author Conservatory.

Here’s me signing my book contract, way back in December!! I’m so excited.

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!

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. 🙂

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!