Earlier this year, I contacted the Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota to do some research on two of my favorite authors, Maud Hart Lovelace and Elizabeth Enright. I was particularly curious about early drafts of Enright’s Melendy or Gone-Away Lake novels. Shortly afterward I received scans of a few sheets of Enright’s handwriting—some research notes about plants and flowers, along with a list of all the turn-of-the-century families mentioned in the two Gone-Away novels. I also received a jotted-down scene from a folder labeled Return to Gone-Away depicting Portia and Julian talking, so I assumed it was a piece of an early draft.

Just recently, I was enjoying a re-read of Return to Gone-Away (RtGA) when I remembered that scene from the Kerlan files. Curious to compare it to the final edition, I reopened my file—and as I read it again, this time more slowly, I realized something odd. The section did not appear in RtGA—it was an opening scene, an introduction to the characters but also to the events of RtGA. It also included Portia’s excitement at getting to stay at Gone-Away all winter, and her younger brother Foster reminds her that their house is now called “Amberside.” As you may recall, the Blake family’s decision to remain in the country for the winter—and to name their new house Amberside—were made in the final few pages of RtGA.

My best guess is that this could be the draft of an opening to an unpublished third installment in the Gone-Away series!

RtGA was the last realistic children’s novel that Enright wrote, and it was published in 1961. Could it be that she had initially planned to write another story about the beloved Gone-Away characters? Perhaps she wondered if there would be enough material for a third story, or maybe she decided to instead work on the two fantasy stories she published in 1963 and 1965.

In any event, this scene definitely has Enright’s typical charm, such as this delightful paragraph:

“Gone-Away Lake, which truly had once been a lake but was now a great rustling swamp, bordered on one shore with the conglomeration of old decaying houses. It was hard to believe that they had once been young, lively resort houses when Gone-Away had been Tarrigo Lake and people came to spend their summers here, with children shouting, dogs barking, boats sailing, clotheslines blowing, kites flying …”

Enright’s humor is present, too—Portia is “delighted” to hear that Gone-Away winters can get excruciatingly cold. “Thirty below is better than we ever got; it’s exciting!”

And here are the Blake children’s plans for new pets: “Portia secretly planned to offer sanctuary to a kitten or two later on and possibly a parakeet, as well. In a city apartment it was hard to have a spread of pets—but in the country, well … Foster planned a fish tank.”

I’m happily intrigued by this discovery—which I’m sure the Melendy or Gone-Away children would find equally exciting. 🙂 Now I wonder if any more pages of this manuscript might exist, if indeed it was the start of a third book in the series. Could it be that more of Enright’s draft is still tucked away somewhere, waiting to be found?

As the snow begins to melt and the days grow warmer (a relief after one of the snowiest winters in history), I’m deep into the drafting of the third novel in my historical series. The process is infinitely enjoyable!

I’ve been planning out this book, conducting research, making lists, and gathering inspirational images for several months now. But the best part is actually beginning the writing process, and immersing myself in the wonderful world of 1915-16, when my novel is set.

And oh, the fun things I’ve done for this one! Requesting imperative research PDFs from libraries. Delving into the newspapers of the place and era. Studying photographs. Paging through catalogs of gorgeous fashions. (Well, virtually paging through them—they’re all online!) 😉

But one of my favorite aspects of research has been watching films set in the 1910s. Obviously, this isn’t *quite* the same as doing the solid research I listed above, but it’s delightful to acquire a visual feel for the era of my novel. Over the past few months, I’ve watched Summer Magic, Pollyanna, The Music Man, On Moonlight Bay, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, The Happiest Millionaire—sweet stories that evoke the vintage simplicity I hope to insert in my books.

What I’ve found is that research is a never-ending process—you’re always discovering something new and fascinating to add another layer of depth or a unique element to your narrative.

Additionally, I’ve started working on a contemporary novel that features the renovation of an abandoned mansion. I love old houses and try to include them in my stories whenever I can. 🙂

I’m also very excited for spring! I cannot wait to start working in my flower garden again. After witnessing the success of my pink tulips last summer, I planted orange tulip bulbs last fall, and I’m eager to see them sprout up!

Recently Read: After Many Years by L.M. Montgomery, More All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor, A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich, The Wishing Well by Mildred A. Wirt

Currently Reading: Love to Everyone by Hilary McKay, Rufus M. by Eleanor Estes

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

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. 🙂