50 Years of Research Come Together
Now that I'm (mostly) retired, my thoughts have turned more to writing. I've had the idea for a genealogy mystery rattling around in my brain for at least two years, and it started coming together in September 2023, when I attended a virtual writer's conference led by Anne Lamott. In her keynote address, she gave all of us a writing prompt: "There was a tree." Challenge accepted! Here is what I wrote:
Cup of tea in hand, Grace opened the screen door and stepped out onto the wet grass. There was no wind, so Crystal Lake was smooth as glass - a bright blue glass, like nothing she'd ever seen before. Just ahead of her there was a tree. The bark was white and peeling off in places, and the leaves were silvery gray. Underneath the tree, facing the lake, there was a wooden bench.
Watching her steps across the lawn, Grace made her way to the bench and sat down. She was mesmerized by the lake – she had never seen a body of water like this. Her infrequent forays down to the Detroit riverfront with her father were full of noise: seagulls, trolley bells, the deep bellow of ships heading upriver to Bay City and St. Clair, and the constant sound of tires and taxi drivers.
Here was peace.
To Grace’s amazement a bush at the far side of the yard started shaking. First a small fluffy dog and then a boy crawled out from under it. The boy, dark-haired and looking to be about 12, gave Grace a quick inscrutable glance, scooped up the dog and vanished through the trees to the house next door.
And I have to tell you that the boy and the dog popped up out of nowhere, but turned out to be integral to the plot.
So I'm very proud to introduce my seventh book and first work of fiction!
Home to Beulah
Now that I'm (mostly) retired, my thoughts have turned more to writing. I've had the idea for a genealogy mystery rattling around in my brain for at least two years, and it started coming together in September 2023, when I attended a virtual writer's conference led by Anne Lamott. In her keynote address, she gave all of us a writing prompt: "There was a tree." Challenge accepted! Here is what I wrote:
Cup of tea in hand, Grace opened the screen door and stepped out onto the wet grass. There was no wind, so Crystal Lake was smooth as glass - a bright blue glass, like nothing she'd ever seen before. Just ahead of her there was a tree. The bark was white and peeling off in places, and the leaves were silvery gray. Underneath the tree, facing the lake, there was a wooden bench.
Watching her steps across the lawn, Grace made her way to the bench and sat down. She was mesmerized by the lake – she had never seen a body of water like this. Her infrequent forays down to the Detroit riverfront with her father were full of noise: seagulls, trolley bells, the deep bellow of ships heading upriver to Bay City and St. Clair, and the constant sound of tires and taxi drivers.
Here was peace.
To Grace’s amazement a bush at the far side of the yard started shaking. First a small fluffy dog and then a boy crawled out from under it. The boy, dark-haired and looking to be about 12, gave Grace a quick inscrutable glance, scooped up the dog and vanished through the trees to the house next door.
And I have to tell you that the boy and the dog popped up out of nowhere, but turned out to be integral to the plot.
So I'm very proud to introduce my seventh book and first work of fiction!
Home to Beulah
All content (c) Claudia Breland, 2024