Storyteller's Journey

An illustration by Michael Lindstrom from The Scandinavian Santa

When Fantasy Meets Reality

Last fall, my husband and I booked a trip to Scandinavia. We had hoped to take it in 2023 to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, but cancer intervened.

So, we'll be visiting Denmark, Sweden, and Norway for fifteen days in late spring. We also want to research our ancestral roots - mine in Norway and Michael's in Sweden. A final reason for the trip is that the fourth book in my middle grade fantasy series takes place, at least in part, in Sweden. I look forward to researching Varnhem Abbey.

What began as an exciting adventure to anticipate, has now turned into a situation that we must monitor. The current state of affairs with Denmark, Greenland, and our other NATO Allies, has us cautious about visiting that extraordinary corner of the world. So far, I've been able to conduct research in the featured country for each of my books in The Time Travel Tales of Livvi Biddle. Seeing a sign on the news, "Yankee Go Home!" is quite disconcerting...but totally understandable.
 

Storyteller's Journey

A Bookworm from Way Back!

Over the winter holiday, I took a trip down memory lane. I finally went through all the photographs I obtained from my mother's estate after her death a year ago. This one pictures me at my maternal grandmother's home when I was five years old. It's the only childhood photo taken of me reading. (At least as far as I know.) Since my grandmother was the one who taught me to read at the age of four, this photo is precious to me.

Over the holiday I also caught up on my TBR list. This middle grade novel, The Winter Room by Gary Paulsen, is well worth your time. It was a Newbery Honor Book in 2014 and was written with a beautiful lyrical language that made it feel like listening to an older person telling a story fireside. A lovely, heartfelt tale.

I highly recommend The Winter Room to readers aged eight to eighty!

I also read The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, like so many other adults this winter! Many times, I'm disappointed when I read a popular novel, not this time. This fantastic book is written in epistolary style, which makes it even more intriguing to read. Learning about the characters, their history, and ultimately the plot of the novel through letters - by Sybil Van Antwerp - is a wonderful way to take in the story. It felt a bit like finding a bunch of my mother's old letters in her attic and piecing together her history. I highly recommend The Correspondent to readers 18 & up!

Wishing you a Happy New Year... of reading!

Storyteller's Journey

Honoring Renee Nicole Good

After the tragic death of Renee Nicole Good on Tuesday, it didn't take long for the narrative to become political. In the process, the life of Ms. Good was lost in the rhetoric. When I looked into who this woman was, I learned that she was a mother, a writer, and a graduate of Old Dominion University. After discovering that, I penned a simple poem in her honor. 
Photo: Renee Nicole Good/Public

Ode to Renee

She was a writer, a poet, a mother of three,

in that regard she was a lot like me.

But when Renee drove out on the street that day

she was shot in her car trying to drive away.

An American citizen who tried to do right, 

has now too soon entered the kingdom of light.

Godspeed to you, dear brave Renee, 

may Eternity allow us to meet one day.

V.L.

Rest in peace, Renee Nicole Good