Storyteller's Journey

Photo by Michael Lindstrom

Writing in Winter

This month's been historic for the Pacific Northwest: it's been seventy years since we've received so much snow. While our area didn't receive as much snow as Seattle, we did get more than usual.

While we were hunkered down last weekend, I was able to get in not only a good amount of reading, but a lot of writing, too. Normally I take the weekends off from writing, but the snow always inspires me.

That's why I've written two children's books set in winter:

The manuscript for my third installation of our Lindstrom Wintertime Tales - The Whim of Winter - is complete, but unfortunately, the illustrations are taking a while to finish. Right now, I'm hoping for a September 2020 release, but that date could change. (My husband, who is the illustrator of the books, is a full-time businessman and a gallery-represented artist; his plate is extremely full right now. Consequently, I'm currently working on a MG novel set in Guatemala.)

I've blogged before about how winter's snow inspires me; its silent beauty seems like the closest thing to magic in our real world. Creating a story set in winter gives you a head start on making a story magical - at least that's how I feel. It's as though the planet has put on a cloak of fairy-tale enchantment...that is rarely seen in SW Washington State!

This was the view from my window on the morning after we'd received snow overnight. Doesn't that bring The Chronicles of Narnia to mind?

Does snow inspire you to write or create?