The Gift of Nanowrimo

By the stroke of midnight on November 30^th, all wrimos must set their pens (or laptops) down and relish the end of another nanowrimo season.

A few days after nanowrimo ends, I always do something silly. I print off those hard earned pages, tie them up with a piece of ribbon, and wait to open them again when I am ready to start editing.

Some critics say that nanowrimo creates a lot of bad novels, and they’re ushered into the coming New Year due to writers pushing and rushing to get them published. There is some truth to this. If I didn’t go back and edit my novels, I would be left with a crazed, frenzied jumble of words. However, if I go back and refine my story, then the hard work of nanowrimo has left me with a pretty awesome  Christmas gift.

One of the hardest things about writing a novel is getting the words down on paper. You don’t just magically have a 90,000 word story appear, you have to write all those words, and it can be daunting. With nanowrimo, a community of writers from all over the world comes together to write, encourage, rant, and spur one another on to get 50,000 words written down in a month.

Those words may not be beautiful or put together or make much sense, but it takes determination, discipline, and hard work to get that many words written down in such a short period of time. And if you can muster up enough determination and discipline to do that, than you have everything you need to go back and edit, and turn that lump of words into a polished novel.

Nanowrimo has been a rewarding gift to me. Without that month, I wouldn’t have all the novels written that I do now. I may have never taken my time to put my ideas on paper, flesh them out, and make them come alive.

So in the coming New Year, I am looking forward to sitting down on a cold, snowy day and untying that ribbon. I’ll celebrate with a good cup of coffee, congratulate myself on getting another idea down on paper, and then get to work and make something great out of it.

Gather and Wait

I’m coming out of a long season of editing and revising, and now I find myself in a season of gathering and waiting.

I’ve been gathering information on literary agents, following their social media, reading blogs and interviews, and making lists of which ones would be a good fit for me. I’ve been gathering together my other novels, going through them, and preparing myself to talk about them if an agent were to ask about my other book ideas.

And then there’s the waiting. I’m waiting for editorial notes from an agent I did a workshop with. They could show up in my inbox anytime between now and the end of December, and I’ve checked my inbox for what seems like a million times.  

In this strange place of gathering and waiting, how does one just sit and wait?

I’ve been trying to use my time well. November is National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo), so I’ve started a completely new project. I’m also helping with a youth writing club, which is an absolute blast. Those things have been great distractions, but these words from Joanna Gaines from the latest issue of The Magnolia Journal have really helped me to settle down and take in the journey of waiting.

She says, “It (anticipation) makes us wait. It can serve as a bridge between where we stand today and what lies ahead. Our attitude on that journey is surely as important as wherever it is that we’re going. What we make of this time in between, whether it’s two years, two days, or two hours, is every bit as worthy of our attention as the outcome itself… Whatever it is you might be anticipating in this season, here’s to savoring the waiting as much as the outcome.”

Bringing Back Vintage Football

One of the best things about working on my Mudlavia novel has been the people that it’s connected me with. A while ago, Simon Herrera, from Vintage American Football, contacted me after reading my post about the Pine Village Football Team (you can read that post here). He had a simple question, and I laugh now, because that simple question sent me on quite a wild goose chase! 

Simon designs these super cool Vintage American Football jerseys and t-shirts, representing different football teams from the early 1900’s, and he wanted to know the colors for the Pine Village football team to create a shirt for them.

I live in Pine Village, and love the rich history of the Pine Village football team. Pine Village is said to be where NFL football originated. When you read about the Villagers, who played from 1898 through the 1920’s, you can’t help but be drawn in. The team was mostly made up of farmers, who farmed all day, and played football underneath electric bulbs strung across the town square at night. They had a goat for a mascot, though no one knows why, and the fans were absolutely crazy about their Pine Village Eleven.

Pine Village Football Team with their goat!

We have a few local publications and lots of local stories about the Pine Village football team, so even though I didn’t remember reading about their colors from my research, I figured they would be easy to find. They weren’t, but that’s a story for another post!

Photo/Game Promo Credit- Simon Herrera

Like me, Simon was drawn into the history of football as he started researching the Rock Island Independents, one of the original NFL football teams. While he was researching them, he fell in love with the old game and its players.

Not only does he create jerseys and research the old football teams, he also puts on a vintage football game every fall in Rock Island, Illinois. They dress in the old school jerseys (which Simon designs), wear replica leather helmets, and play by the old rules. They do everything they can to make the game and the atmosphere as much like a 1920's football game as they can.

This year the big game between the Rock Island Independents and the Moline Universal Tractors will commence on Sunday, October 14th at Douglas Park in Rock Island, Illinois at 2:00PM. Along with the game there will be 1920’s style jazz music, a car show, and local food. This is a free, family friendly event showcasing 1920’s football. I don’t know about you, but sounds like a blast to me!

You can find Simon's vintage jersey and t-shirts at his Etsy Shop https://www.etsy.com/shop/VintageMerchandiseCo

You can also read more about Simon's research at http://vintageamericanfootball.com/#/ http://rockislandindependents.com/

Mudlavia and Gangsters and Prohibition, Oh My!

 “All the records of the hotel were destroyed and the only means at hand tabulating a list of the patients was the remarkable memory of Harve Jackson, the day clerk of the hotel.” – Attica Ledger, March 5, 1920

Almost 100 years later, I can attest to these words! There aren’t a lot of resources on Mudlavia. After the hotel burnt down in 1920, what survived were mostly memories, stories, rumors, and local lore.

Local newspapers reported that the fire burned down on February 29, 1920, from a fire that started in store room 12. It was discovered by a maid retrieving linens.

What is interesting to me is that there is a Mudlavia ad at the Warren County Historical Society that claims Mudlavia was unburnable! Mudlavia boasted of its technology, which included a state-of-the-art sprinkler system with a steam whistle alarm. Some sources state that this was tested and worked perfectly, but it did not work the day of the fire…

The Attica Ledger also stated that they did not know the cause of the fire, so whenever I talk to people about Mudlavia, I always ask how they think the fire started.

There are two main rumors. The first one is that the maid was smoking in the store room and she left her cigarette on the linens, and they caught fire.

The second rumor is that members of the mob were hiding out at Mudlavia, and members from another mob found them, disabled the sprinkler system, and started the fire.

If the second rumor is true, we have to entertain the idea that gangsters hid out at Mudlavia... And oh, the local lore on Mudlavia's gangsters!!!

Mudlavia was situated in what Henry Kramer called “peaceful valley” in Warren County, Indiana. The hotel was nestled away from the hustle and bustle of the big cities, pretty much in the middle of nowhere, making it the perfect place for the gangsters to flee to when things got “too hot” in Chicago.

Some articles on the internet claim that famous criminals like John Dillinger and Al Capone stayed at Mudlavia. In some ways it makes perfect sense. Mudlavia was hidden away (they definitely would have taken advantage of the secluded area), there was a train that went straight from Chicago to the Attica Station, making for an easy escape, and even though Mudlavia was in farm country, it was still extravagant and would fit the lavish lifestyle of these criminals.

First, let's discuss John Dillinger. He didn’t start his life of crime until 1922, and the original, luxurious hotel burned in 1920. By the time the hotel reopened in October of 1934, Dillinger was already dead. When you study the timeframe, Dillinger is out.

But what about Al Capone? That's a fascinating thought that he might have hid away at the extravagant hotel, possibly in a secret room with a secret tunnel! 

When you study Capone, you'll find that he lived in New York until 1919-1920, depending on what source you read, and then went later to Chicago at the request of mobster Johnny Torrio.

There’s a very small window between his arrival in Chicago and when the hotel burned down. When he came to Chicago he was a twenty-year-old bouncer, not the crime boss we all know him for. He did not take over the Chicago Outfit and become famous until after the original Hotel Mudlavia burned down. 

Okay, so there's a pretty slim chance Capone would have visited the first hotel... but what about the second one? The second very modest hotel was built in 1934, and Capone was prosecuted in 1931 for tax evasion, not looking good for Capone as a guest at Mudlavia.

 The thing is, there are so many rumors about gangsters at Mudlavia... could there be some truth to those tales? And if so, who fits the timeline?

The mob was around during the glory years of the first hotel. Big “Jim” Colosimo is credited to starting the Chicago Outfit, and ran gambling joints, brothels, and drug rings from 1902 until 1920. He was nicknamed “Diamond” Jim, because he wore white suits accented with diamonds. Mudlavia flourished from when it was built in 1890 to when it burned down in 1920, fitting Colosimo's timeframe exactly. He also had proximity to Mudlavia, and very expensive tastes, so it’s plausible to entertain the idea that he could have stayed there.

He brought in his nephew Johnny Torrio from New York, who became his second in command. Torrio was the one who brought in Capone in 1919/1920. When prohibition went into effect, Torrio wanted the Chicago Outfit to get involved in the lucrative bootlegging business, but Colosimo refused to, and was ambushed and murdered shortly after that.

I’ve also heard rumors about speakeasies and bootlegging at Mudlavia, an intriguing thought if I do say so myself. The Wartime Prohibition Act went into effect on June 30, 1919, which stated that liquor stronger than 1.28% could not be sold. The Volstead Act, which went into effect on October 28, 1919 carried out the 18^th amendment, which prohibited the sale, manufacturing, and transport of alcohol. The 18^th amendment went into effect at midnight on January 16, 1920. Considering that Mudlavia prided itself on its fine moral reputation, and didn’t allow vices such as alcohol and gambling, it’s hard to believe that the original hotel had any type of speakeasy, especially since it burned down just a month after the 18^th amendment went into effect.

One of the last things that people love to talk about are the secret tunnels. The rumor is that there was a secret tunnel system for the mob to escape from if they got caught at Mudlavia. Some people say that the tunnel went all the way from Mudlavia to the train station in Attica. That would have been over five miles of underground tunnels! I can’t find any actual evidence that there were tunnels, but it is brought up so often that I have to wonder!

So, are the rumors true? Did the mob hideout at Mudlavia? Did Al Capone walk its halls? Were there tunnels beneath the hotel? Was there illegal alcohol?

Primary sources don’t attest to any of these things, but there are many tales, and as the saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire… especially at Mudlavia.

Menus and Mudlavia- Part 2

The tricky part about piecing together the food, menus, kitchen, and chefs at Mudlavia is the limited amount of information available. There are a handful of menus, a few articles, and some stories from locals, but that’s pretty much it. When the original hotel burned down in 1920, much of its history burned with it. Mudlavia never returned to its former glory, so there isn’t a lot of information that remains today, almost 100 years later.

The lack of information is both frustrating and fun. Frustrating, because I have so many questions without answers, and fun, because it gives me a blank canvas to imagine and create the food and kitchen staff, and how they impacted the hotel. Mudlavia had a 400 acre farm including vegetables, fruit, beef, and poultry. Their farm would have had a huge impact on the menu, and the workers at Mudlavia would have spent an enormous amount of time growing vegetables, caring for the animals, and prepping the food in the kitchen.  Even though I get to create how this all comes together in my novel, I still want to make sure that it is historically accurate.

To do this, I researched other historical places in the United States that focus on historical gardens and the great importance they had on our country. Two places that stood out were George Washington’s Mount Vernon and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Both of these places have working gardens that reflect the gardens these two presidents used back in the day. They have tours that emphasize the importance of gardens in U.S. history, they grow the same vegetable, fruit, and flower varieties that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew, and they offer tours of the kitchens where the food was prepared for the presidents, as well as their many guests.

Side entrance to lower vegetable garden at Mount Vernon

Vegetable garden at Monticello

I was blessed to able take a trip to visit Mount Vernon and Monticello last summer with my family, and was amazed by how much I learned from taking tours of the gardens and kitchens at both of these places. 

Our family at Mount Vernon

My husband and I by the garden at Monticello

Peanut variety that Thomas Jefferson grew

Vegetables the kids picked from Thomas Jefferson's garden that the kids picked for a special class

Washington used this building to store the seeds he saved for the next year at Mount Vernon

Washington's vegetable garden- the cisterns captured rain water which he used to water the plants

 Both of these places, like Mudlavia, entertained large numbers of guests and provided elegant food without the conveniences that we have today. Most of the food they ate was grown and raised on their properties.Visiting these places allowed me to fill in the gaps I was missing in my novel and helped me imagine what the food and entertainment at Mudlavia would have been like. It also made me realize that the garden was not just something pretty to have or a hobby, but a way of life that was crucial to keep the hotel running to feed its staff and guests.

Menus and Mudlavia- Part 1

The research for Mudlavia has been a great segue into the realm of historical fiction for me. Anyone who knows me, knows that I love to cook, I get way too excited about vegetables, and I’m a diehard gardener. All of these things pertain to the menus of Mudlavia.

Farm to table is a trendy thing right now, and if Mudlavia was still here, it would probably be the trendiest place around! At the turn of the century, Mudlavia had a 400 acre farm, not because it was trendy, but because there were no supermarkets or big box stores to feed all of their guests and employees back then.

Although Mudlavia sourced some things, like tea, coffee, bananas and sugar, most of the food on their menus was grown and raised on their huge farm. Sources state that Mudlavia had a poultry farm, cattle for dairy and meat, a creamery to process their dairy products, fruit, and an enormous vegetable garden.

I’ve been blessed to be able to see a handful of the Mudlavia menus. They include things like creamed carrots, mashed potatoes, apricots in syrup, glace sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, apple dumplings, radishes, green peas, beet and lettuce salad, cherry pie, and much more. These fruits and vegetables all could have been easily grown in the vegetable garden on the grounds of the hotel.

Mudlavia had three different dining rooms. A first class dining room, a second class dining room, and a staff dining room for the white employees.

Everything at Mudlavia was done with great grandeur, and the menu and food would have been the same. I came across one ad for the hotel that said, “Mudlavia! Where even the potato is made fancy!” They went all out, whether it was buying chandeliers for the dining room, putting in exquisite fountains, and even turning the humble potato into something magnificent to eat!

Researching the garden and food at Mudlavia makes me wish I had a time machine so I could travel back and see them growing the food, preparing it, and serving it to their guests. I imagine they would have showed off their produce and made their meals something sumptuously delicious to behold and eat!

Credit where credit is due- special thanks to Grandpa Ringer, Dennie Myers, Sarah Johnston, Tom Swanson and Chris Brown for sharing their knowledge about Mudlavia and its dining rooms/chefs/menus with me!

Summer Writing

In some ways summer writing is a little tricky. I’ve got my precious girls home with me, and they love to go to the pool and the park, they want to create new popsicle flavors and bake cookies, and they like to play lots of board games. I love soaking in every moment with them while they are here every day, so large chunks of time working on my stories gets put on hold for the summer.

Photo credit Dessie Austin

I also face the battle of do I edit or do I garden? It’s important for me to feed my family fresh organic vegetables, and the way I can afford to do that is by growing them myself and preserving the harvest to eat throughout the rest of the year. Selling at our local farmer’s market also supplements the income we lose because I’m not substitute teaching throughout the summer, and of course, gardening is great for your mental and physical health too!

Even though the kids and the garden take up a lot of my time, I’m still snagging bits and pieces of my days to work. I find it easier to create in the summer than to edit my work with a critical eye. With my Mudlavia chapters about wrapped up and ready to send off, it has been fun to create new story ideas. I’ve been so busy working hard to get my Mudlavia novel just right that I haven’t come up with any new ideas lately… In fact, I was worrying earlier this spring that I had lost all my creativity and would never have another new book idea again! Ha!

But with summer’s more relaxed schedule and plenty of thinking time in the garden, the ideas have begun to flow. I have a couple new book ideas to add to my middle grade detective series based on some interesting happenings this summer, I had a dream about two brothers in a medieval setting that reminded me of my two super cute nephews (I absolutely can’t wait to write a sword fighting adventure for them), and I’ve got a few ideas for some more historical fiction. I also started rereading a story about a Native American girl I wrote a few years back, and am really looking forward to editing it and bringing it to life this fall. For now though, I am daydreaming about these books while I work in the garden or go on a run, and am collecting research and notes in files so I can to pull them together later on.

I hope with the more relaxed pace of summer that you get to spend time daydreaming and working towards your own dreams too!

What I'm Reading- The Traitor's Game

My first poolside read this summer was The Traitor's Game by Jennifer A. Nielsen. I love anything by Jennifer Nielsen because it is always full of adventure, always contains a character or two with great sarcasm, and is always clean. In the YA fantasy, The Traitor's Game, she delivers another great adventure, and in my opinion this is one of her best books yet!

This story is set in the medieval fantasy world of Antora, and follows sixteen-year-old Kestra. On her way home to her father, Kestra is kidnapped by a group who forces her to betray her family and is thrown into a plot to overthrow the government. She desperately wants to do what is right for her country and her family, but as secrets unravel, it is difficult for her to know which side is right, especially when she can't figure out who is lying and who is telling the truth.

This is a fun YA read that keeps you guessing with a strong female character who can hold her own.  I love the humor between Kestra and the other characters in the book, and I appreciate that it is a clean read (so I'm comfortable letting my tween girls read it too)! If you are looking for something to read this summer, I highly recommend this book!

For more on Jennifer Nielson, you can find her website here- http://jennielsen.com/

Mudlavia and The Cottage Garden

I have never considered myself a historical fiction writer. I love writing fantasy and am often doing some sort of historical research for my fantasy novels, but when I decided to write Mudlavia and pursue it seriously, I wondered how in the world I would pull off a historical fiction.

It’s funny how you can find connections to a place that was built and burned down so many years ago. As I researched, I found myself being drawn to the old menus and food, to the vegetable gardens, the animals, and the flowers. It turns out that the love of food and gardening and flowers can span one hundred years and still touch a reader like me today.

I fell hard for any information on Mudlavia’s flower gardens, feeling an immediate connection to them due to my own love of gardening. When we moved into our home six and a half years ago, the neighbors who lived there before us said they named it “The Honeymoon Cottage”, because it was old, cute, and small, like a little place you would rent for your honeymoon. I loved their nickname for our house and started looking up cottage gardens and old-timey flowers. Since then, my flower beds have been a labor of love, so when I came across information about Mudlavia’s beautiful cottage-style gardens with winding paths and fountains, I couldn’t wait to learn more.

The photo of the Mudlavia postcard above features daffodils. I’ve been told that there is a series of these postcards, however, I’ve never laid eyes on any but this one.

One woman, who visited Mudlavia as a child, described the gardens as a delight and a wonder to children. They were welcome to run and giggle along the crushed stone paths, explore the rainbow displays of flowers, and wiggle their fingers in the goldfish pond for the fish to nibble on.

A few people I interviewed mentioned that the gardeners at Mudlavia collected seeds at the end of the season and would create seed packets. These packets were given to the guests at the end of their stay, so they could plant the flowers and experience the beauty and serenity of the Mudlavia gardens at their own homes.

Although it has been hard to find references to specific flowers, some references included canna lilies, daffodils, ivy, and irises. The rest I get to dream up. I started with the Select Seeds catalogue, which is a company that saves and sells heirloom flower seeds. Their catalogue has detailed information about old-fashioned flowers, like when they came onto the market, if they had medicinal properties in the good ol’ days, and how they were used in cottage gardens.

They say when you’re a writer, to write what you know. If it’s something you don’t know well and you are learning about, I think it’s also important to write what you connect to. For me it was using my love of flowers to not just tell you about Mudlavia in my novel, but to make you feel as you can see and smell and experience the beauty of the Mudlavia gardens like you were a guest there.

What I'm Reading: The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden isn’t a shiny, new, hot-off-the-press novel, but a timeless classic, especially wonderful for reading at springtime. 

I’ve read this almost every spring since I was a little girl, and know when it’s time to pull my copy out when I start walking laps around my yard, waiting for my flowers to press up through the dirt.

In The Secret Garden, nine-year-old Mary Lennox is sent to stay at her uncle’s mansion. The enormous mansion is gray, dreary, cold and empty. While Mary explores her new home, she discovers the gardens, particularly a mysterious walled in garden with a locked door. She finds the key, and begins to work in the garden, finding friends and watching the garden come to life. As Mary spends time in the garden, the mansion and the lives of the people in it begin to grow, and change, and blossom too.

This book is an invitation to renewal. An invitation that a dark, gray, empty life can thrive again. That something so achingly empty can become abundantly full. And that is a beautiful thing.

What I'm Reading: The Staples

People often ask me what I am reading and what books I recommend. I love to read middle grade and young adult books as much as I like to write them, and am often stopped by parents for recommendations for their kids.

Before I can talk about what I’m reading or what I recommend, I have to talk about my staples first. These are my daily sustenance. I’m not talking about the pantry staples that nourish my body, but the staples that nourish my soul.

1) The Bible- I love the way Francine Rivers says it in A Voice in the Wind when she writes in the preface, “As you drink from the deep well of Scripture, the Lord will refresh and cleanse you, mold you and re-create you through His Living Word. For the Bible is the very breath of God, giving life eternal to those who seek Him.”

2 )Family Devotions by Josh McDowell- This devo is amazing because it discusses situations that kids are going through or will go through, and it’s a great way to open up conversations about topics like bullying, faith, smoking, knowing right from wrong, self-control, and relationships. It uses bible verses, stories and questions to help kids think about what they would do in certain situations. If we as parents don’t teach our kids about these topics, then their peers surely will, and it will be much easier for them to give in to what their peers are doing.

3) The One Year Mother Daughter Devo by Dannah Gresh (with Janet Mylin) - She has such a talent for words, and an incredible gift to write in a way that transcends the mind of tween girls. If you are a mother of tween girls, get this book! I cherish this time with my girls. This is our time to talk about “girl things” and build our relationship. When my girls were younger, they loved the devotions about amazing animals, the fruit of the spirit, and crafts. Now that they are older, they are facing the situations that come up in this devo like standing up for what is right, modesty, boys, and body image.

4) Moments With You by Dennis and Barbara Rainey- The devotionals consist of a bible verse, story, a discussion question or two, and a prayer. Life is crazy, and whether you are going through sickness, financial stress, or just busy with work and your kids, this a great couples “breather”. I often think of this as our mini marriage retreat from the hurriedness of life! We put the kids to bed, turn on the twinkle lights and pull out this book. Regardless of what the day has brought, when we open this, it is our time to focus on each other as a couple.

We work hard to do these bible studies because James and I want our family to be shaped by something good. We want to build something meaningful into our lives, in our marriage and in our relationships with our kids. We want our kids to know that God values them and loves them, and often need that reminder ourselves!

Do we do all these things every day? No. We are often scrambling from school to work to afterschool activities. Sometimes we grab one of these books and read it in the car from one place to another. Sometimes we’ve hurried through our entire day only to fall into bed and realized we haven’t touched any of these. The other day James and I were trying to do our marriage bible study before he had to leave and our oldest daughter decided to see if she could fit into a trash bag at that precise moment. Every time James would start to read, we’d hear crinkle, crinkle, crinkle. Finally after his third time trying to start the sentence, we burst out in laughter. Here we were trying to catch a moment together as a couple only to be thwarted by our twelve-year-old and a trash bag!

But regardless of our crazy life, we keep pulling out these books because what we read in our home, what we watch, what we hear, are all moments of time strung together that shape us. The staples we ingest define our marriages, our relationship with our kids, and our hearts.

Mudlavia and the Not-So-Romance

I love writing middle grade and young adult books about adventure, choices, friendship, family, and mystery, but romance? That's not normally my focus.

So when I found myself pitching my Mudlavia story to an agent who was very excited about it, I grew more and more excited the longer she talked to me. She explained that she loved Titanic and kept asking me about comparisons between the two stories.

Did it have this? Yes. Did it have this? Yes. Did it have romance?

Uh...

She explained that she thought a story like this really needed romance in it.

It is always wise to take advice from someone who has had a lot of experience and success in the publishing industry! Ever since then, I have been trying to work on this romance thing in my novel. When it comes to creating a novel, you don't just sit down, spit out the words, and boom, your are ready to publish! It takes a lot of edits and hard work. Every story has complications when it comes to getting something that is ready to publish, and for Mudlavia it is definitely creating a romance in it.

At Christmas time I worked on my Mudlavia Christmas chapters and it was magical. I used a peppermint scented pen, listened to Christmas music, and drank holiday inspired drinks. Editing my Christmas chapters at Christmas brought out the best in them. So as February and Valentine's Day rolled around, I was hoping the romance part would flow easily. Nope.

The more I work on it and add a character's thought or comment, the easier it gets, even if I do feel silly. I started a word bank with words like handsome, boyishly good looks, fetching, warm eyes, heart pounding, blushing, and so on, and I stare at it when I'm at a part where there should be signs of budding love.

My biggest obstacle is that I often come across young adult books where the female character sees a handsome guy, she knows she is definitely in love, and then puts herself in a bad situation or gives up everything to be with him. I want my characters to put more thought in it than that. I want a girl who uses reason, who is strong enough to say no, who realizes that relationships can move slow.

So while I am working on romance and trying to get it right in my novel, I am also trying to be true to myself and bring it out in a way that is real.

The Road To Mudlavia

The opening pages of my novel begin on a train to Attica, where my main character begins her journey to the famous Mudlavia Hotel. One thing that has been really fun about writing this historical fiction novel is that I get to see and experience the places I'm writing about. When I create other worlds, I have to rely on my creativity, and hope that someday I'll get to see the ideas in my head come to life through illustrations or the big screen. But for this story, I can recreate the road to Mudlavia because the general path to the hotel still exists today. 

First stop, Attica Station!

The Attica Station used to reside on this corner. At the turn of the century, the station would have been bustling with people. The hotel attendants, men in spiffy uniforms from various area hotels, waited at the depot, yelling loudly at the people coming off the train to convince them to stay at their hotel.

The Mudlavia employees wore gray uniforms and drove hacks...

Let's discuss the word "hack" for a second. Nowadays a hack is a cool trick or shortcut for something. Years ago it meant when someone did a bad job at something. And if we go back to the turn of the century and the time of the Mudlavia Hotel, it meant a carriage or stagecoach pulled by horses. Mudlavia had several hacks, but their most famous one was called the Tally-Ho. Later on, they also acquired fancy automobiles that would meet people at the train station and drive them to the hotel.

Once you climbed into a Mudlavia hack or car, you were on your way across the Wabash river. Obviously this wasn't the original bridge they used, but you get the idea!

Moore's Hill Road was there at the turn of the century and is still here today!

Moore's Hill today

Illustrated picture of Moore's Hill from the early 1900's. I can only imagine what a wild carriage ride this would have been!

There are lots of corners and turns...

The famous Pine Creek, where the guests would swim, enjoy picnics, and participate in gamey bass fishing competitions.

Pine Creek is still gorgeous!

They would keep going...

and going...

and going...

This is where I must leave you for now. (The property where the Mudlavia Hotel used to reside is privately owned and I gave my word to the owner that I would not post any other pictures of it.) Henry Kramer called Mudlavia and the surrounding area peaceful valley, and as you travel the road to Mudlavia, you will find the views both breathtaking and peaceful indeed!

Writing Game Plan 2018

I’ve been trying to find inspiration for a New Year’s resolution writing post. There’s plenty of blog posts and numerous articles about the New Year being a fresh start, a blank page, and time for renewal. While these are all good things, nothing I’ve read has felt right for the inspiration I need to tackle this upcoming year.

I’ve been working on my Mudlavia novel for a little over two years now. It’s been a long haul of writing, researching, doing interviews, and editing, editing, and editing. If this project were a 3200 meter run, I’m on the final lap. I’ve just finished the seventh, and the race official is holding out one finger and mouthing, “One more lap.”

One more lap… that’s it. The hours and hours of editing are drawing to an end. I’m double checking some of my research and adding the final touches to make the story sparkle. It’s almost time to think about agents, my query letter, and synopsis.

So while all the inspiration I’ve been trying to find for 2018 has been about new beginnings and fresh starts, what I really need right now is the strength to hang in there, to finish strong, to take it all the way to the end.

When I stopped reading all the different New Year’s tips and articles, and went to the plain old dictionary, I found what I was looking for. Resolution means to have firm resolve, in other words, to be steadfast, to have determination, tenacity, and perseverance.  This meaning of resolution has grit to it. And I don’t know about you, but I need some grit in my life to finish strong. Whether it’s with my writing, gardening, cleaning the house, or being a good wife and mother, I need tenacity to give my very best, to not give up when the going gets rough, and finish with everything I’ve got.

I hope if you need a fresh start this year, you’ve found it, but I also hope that you have the grit to keep on going and finish it out well!