Tag: North Carolina story

Where Do Writing Ideas Come From?

February 11, 2021

Where Do Writing Ideas Come From?  by Guest Blogger, Theresa P. Pierce 

About ten years ago, as a Curriculum Coach, I met children’s writer and curriculum instructor Lester Laminack. Over dinner, at the Wrenn House in Salisbury, NC, he taught a room full of educators how to inspire and instruct student writing. It was a great place to meet because it had been an academy in the 1800’s. The Wrenn House had been home to many of Historic Salisbury’s ministry candidates and leaders. 

The Wrenn House is under reconstruction as part of The Historic Bell Tower Park. (photo credit: Aaron Kepley) http://www.rowanmuseum.org

Now, I am working on a manuscript that takes place in that very spot. 

The day after the meeting with the teachers, Lester Laminack addressed an auditorium full of excited children who had read his books. The children squirmed in their squeaky chairs until the long anticipated author stepped on the stage.

  When their visiting author spoke, they sat up and listened and so did I.  

We had read his books, Saturdays and Teacakes and The Sunsets of Miss Olivia Wiggins. The children held treasured autographed book copies on their laps. 

Mr. Laminack told us about his writing journey. He suggested we start keeping a journal. He encouraged us to draw pictures and write down funny stories that included people and places. Now in 2020, I keep my notes on my iPhone, but the documenting is the same. 

Over the years, I began to think about writing a story about Historic Salisbury and Rowan County. I kept prolific notes that (I hoped) would one day be part of my historic fiction manuscript. As I led tours that included the Wrenn House and other historic sites,  my first attempt at writing a middle-grade novel began.

Lester Laminack inspired me to journal. This led to creating characters and then their stories began to take on a life of their own. I wanted to write a novel about Salisbury that would inspire students to appreciate their local history. As a result, I have now started a prequel and sequel to Up Dunn’s Mountain that include other historic sites. The stories keep coming and includes other places in North Carolina. 

Are you thinking of a place that will lead to a story? Start a journal and see where it goes. 

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Up Dunn’s Mountain won first place for Young Adult Literature at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s Conference.

COMFORT: A Book Review by Kathryn Dover (and a Giveaway!)

August 17, 2020

Comfort, the third book in Joyce Moyer Hostetter’s Bakers Mountain series, picks up almost exactly where the previous novel, Blue, left off. Ann Fay Honeycutt narrates this novel as well. The polio epidemic and World War II have left her family shattered, and Ann Fay must pick up the pieces.

The beginning is intriguing, but the plot pace is slower than that of the previous two novels. Even so, the story’s many conflicts kept me interested. One conflict involves Ann Fay’s colored friend, Imogene. The author vividly portrays the racial tensions of the time period. Ann Fay states, “Colored and whites being separated was as normal to me as walking. But . . . hearing how things looked from [Imogene’s] side of town made me see things in a new light” (121). During hard times, the people of Hickory bonded together and overcame prejudice. Ann Fay’s experiences give her a fresh, more biblical perspective. However, the central conflict of the novel is Ann Fay’s father’s changed personality due to his war experiences. His war wounds run deeper than his injured arm, and Ann Fay struggles to hold the family together.

While the novel is mostly about Ann Fay, I enjoyed reading how her friend and neighbor, the protagonist of the first novel, Aim, Junior Bledsoe, matures. He continues to look after Ann Fay and her family. Junior also gives Ann Fay sage advice. For instance, he tells Ann Fay: “If you want something bad enough, you can get it” (19). Junior has developed greatly from Aim; several events show his maturity. In Aim, Junior is jealous of Ann Fay and her father’s close relationship, yet in Comfort he watches that relationship fall apart and tries to pull it back together. Additionally, in Comfort, readers learn that Junior’s feeling for Ann Fay go beyond friendship. Ann Fay does not realize Junior’s feelings, and I enjoyed their interactions.

The Honeycutts are in desperate need of comfort: the desire for comfort is so strong it is mentioned several times throughout the novel, making the title very fitting. The family is still healing from the wounds they received in Blue, and the end of these trials does not seem to be in sight. As Ann Fay struggles to find comfort, her father whittles her a tiny doll in the likeness of herself. She names the doll Comfort, and it comforts her by reminding her of her father. Ann Fay also receives encouraging advice from a friend, Mr. Botts. He tells her, “Everyone in life has a handicap, Ann Fay. But the struggle to overcome it is worthwhile” (169).

Altogether, I enjoyed seeing how all the characters developed, especially Ann Fay, her father, and Junior. The ending is happy and would probably be satisfying to most, but it left me wanting to know what happens with Junior and Ann Fay’s relationship. Comfort is almost as emotion-provoking as Blue, and anyone who enjoyed Blue will not want to miss this thrilling sequel. I recommend Comfort to teens and young adults, and I look forward to reading Drive, the next novel in the series, soon.

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Kathryn Dover lives in South Carolina with her family including three cats (and counting!), a dog, two fish, and many house plants. She will be attending Presbyterian College in the fall and wants to study Math and Creative Writing. She enjoys playing the piano, reading, and writing plays.

 

GIVEAWAY

We have a copy of Comfort to give away to one of our readers! Please leave a comment by August 20 and we’ll enter your name.

MASTER FICTION WRITING CLASS

Joyce is leading our first Master Class on September 19. For more information, please click here. One attendee will receive all four books that have been published in the Bakers Mountain series. The fifth book, Equal, comes out in April 2021.