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!

Mudlavia and IAPA: Farm to Table From Past to Present

           A couple of months ago, our family was approached at the farmer’s market to participate in the first farm to table dinner in Warren County. We are delighted to be a part of this dinner and I’m really excited for the permission to blog about the dinner, as well as for my love of gardening and writing!

           The farm to table movement is one of the biggest movements across the United States right now. People want to know where their food comes from, how it’s grown, and who grows it. One only needs to pick up popular magazines such as Family Circle and Martha Stewart’s Living to find farm to table articles and recipes. Last month Rachael Ray regrammed farmer’s market pictures, and several Food Network and PBS shows feature farm to table stories.

            Not only is it trendy, but it’s a movement based on health concerns. My husband and I jumped on the bandwagon six years ago when I was diagnosed with a carcinoid tumor the size of a golf ball, with tentacles that wrapped themselves around the lower and middle lobes of my right lung. While the doctors couldn’t give an exact cause, we had several conversations about the pesticides and herbicides used on the orchards surrounding my childhood home; the ones I breathed in and out every day as I played outside and trained for cross-country.

            As a kid, my family gardened as a hobby and as a way to feed our family of eight, but as an adult with carcinoid cancer, knowing where my food came from and how it was grown became something much more than a hobby and food trend. It became a way of life to provide healthy, chemical-free meals for my family.

            As a writer I have to find ways to connect my stories to myself and to the lives of others. In the research for my historical fiction novel about Mudlavia, I found this connection through Mudlavia’s garden and food. When the hotel was running from 1889-1920, farm to table wasn’t a movement, it was a way of life. There was no Wal-Mart or online ordering services. The 250-room hotel had guests from all over the world to feed, as well as its many employees.

            According to sources, Mudlavia had a 400-acre farm to grow the food they needed to feed the plethora of guests and employees. Not only did they provide vegetables and fruit, but they also had a poultry farm and cattle. A creamery on the hotel grounds produced the dairy products they needed from their dairy cows.

A big thanks to Denny Myers for permission to use this picture!

            Old menus from the Mudlavia hotel feature their locally produced food; fancy cuts of beef, poultry dishes, pickles, asparagus, potatoes, beets, corn on the cob, fried cabbage, sliced tomatoes, and fruit pies.

            Mudlavia never did anything “blah”, but everything was done with grandeur and elegance. One ad states, “Mudlavia! Where even a potato is made fancy!”

            At Mudlavia, a potato wasn’t just a potato, it was an ingredient they grew and appreciated, and an ingredient they would make into something beautiful and delightful for their guests.

            This summer we visited the garden at Monticello and Washington’s garden at Mount Vernon. These gardens, still preserved today, were absolutely stunning. While many people often wonder what Warren County would be like if Mudlavia was still here, I often wonder if they would still have that huge garden. Would people get to tour it and learn the history of it? Would their menu would still feature their gorgeous, locally grown food?

            It is such a cool piece of Warren County history that for a span of thirty years, the booming Mudlavia Hotel turned the produce from their 400-acre farm into an extravagant dining experience for guests from all over the world.

            This weekend the Illiana Antique Power Association is bringing a piece of that farm to table history back to Warren County. The Illiana Antique Power Association showgrounds provides a unique look at history through their steam show every summer, which features the history of farming in Indiana, and the fourth grade history day, where the fourth graders walk through the historic village and participate in fun activities.

            This year they are having a farm to table dinner for their fall fundraiser. They had to tear down their old clubhouse, and proceeds from the farm to table dinner will go to building a new assembly hall to use for meetings and events at the showgrounds.

            I love that they have sourced shrimp from Oxford, beef from local sources, and vegetables from local growers. Everything served at this meal comes from within 60 miles! I also love that they are honoring the ingredients. Local chef and Seeger Culinary Arts director, Brian Greene, has created a fancy five-course meal to celebrate the local food, from bite size appetizers featuring local tomatoes, herbs, and shrimp, to a fancy tart with a twist for dessert!

            The farm to table dinner will be held at the Illiana Antique Power Association Showgrounds at 6:00PM, Saturday, September 9^th. Tickets, which include a five-course meal, entertainment, and a gift, are $50 per person. Come celebrate our local farmers, the historical village on the grounds, and the coming together as a community to fundraise for a place that celebrates our history.

*For more info you can call or text 765-585-9555, or find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/illianaantiquepower/