I am writing this blog post from a writers’ retreat in Tennessee. Four writers are gathered in my sister’s lakeside house to work on our various book projects, as I mentioned in my last blog.

At this moment, all is quiet except for the sound of fingertips on keypads, as each of us works individually. There is a certain sense of creativity floating in the air, and I try to absorb it.

How Imagination Shapes Reading

This retreat is not all silence. The four of us prepare meals together and laugh and discuss over those meals. We laugh a lot! In the evening after supper, we plan to read aloud from our work to the others. It’s a good chance to get feedback.

Over lunch today, we discussed a topic I have given a lot of thought to over my years of writing. How important is it in a book to be able to visualize the main character? Do you need to know hair color, eye color, body type, and if that character has freckles?

When I read books as a child, those descriptions were always written. The author would create a scene where the character looked in a mirror or saw her reflection in a pond to take the opportunity to tell readers what the main character looked like. It seemed important to tell us she was “almost pretty.”

Inside the Character’s Eyes

As a reader myself, I want to be able to put myself in the main character’s shoes. I would rather know what the character sees, hears, smells, and feels than what she looks like. I think a reader will visualize my characters based on that reader’s own experience.

As an author, my goal is to take a reader there! Not beside my character, but inside my character. In Like a River, I never tell what main character Leander looks like. Does it matter? Do readers even notice?

In that book, Polly, on the other hand, is introduced to the reader through Leander’s eyes, so I describe what he sees. The reader knows what she looks like, the sound of her voice, and how watching her makes Leander feel.

In Empty Places, I describe Adabel’s red hair, not because I feel it’s important for the reader to picture her, but because her father has red hair. Adabel believes she inherited her father’s temper along with his red hair. That was the reason for the descriptor.

I want my readers to take each step the character takes, to feel his or her fears and hopes, to share in his or her adventure.

However, opinions on this subject vary. What do you think? 

It has been several months since I last wrote a blog post. Those months have been filled with both good and bad. Personally, I try to focus on the good.

Working on a New Book

I finished a manuscript in 2021, revised it for my editor’s assistant in early 2022, but it was not green-lighted for publication. Very discouraging, but I know it’s a good story, and I will not give up on it. I just need to find the right editor. Searching for a new publisher is not a fun process, but I believe in the project, so I will do it. I can’t let this rejection get me down.

I can also focus on my newest work-in-progress, a novel I enjoy writing. It’s always fun to get to know new characters and find a fresh start. I am happy when I’m creating and putting words on the page. 

Winter Doldrums

It’s hard to ignore cold weather and bleak, gray skies, but I can focus on the neighborhood men who showed up to shovel my sidewalk and driveway during last month’s snowstorms. They appeared unasked, and I barely had time to thank them before they finished the job and left.

Those acts of kindness were not the only ones I experienced last month. The week before Christmas, neighbors came by three days in a row to bring home-baked cookies for us. Different neighbors each time. The kindness people show is uplifting. How can I dwell on unpleasant things when four young children appear on my doorstep, holding out a tin of cookies, saying, Merry Christmas?”

I was sick recently, and family members picked up my medicines and brought me groceries. Acts of kindness can be almost as healing as the meds.

Reflecting on 2022

The year 2022 gave me a lot of good things to remember: a family reunion, get-togethers with friends and family, school visits to meet readers and talk about my books. These things were rarely possible in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid, and it was a joy to be able to do them again.

People we cared about died in 2022, and we mourned. There were also births, and we celebrated. There were war, destruction, and poverty, but we witnessed moments of strength and resilience. There were also acts of kindness along the way. We saw the worst in people, but the best in others. I try to focus on the positive.

Life comes with both good and bad. If we can, we let the good help us get through the bad. And when we feel our worst, an act of kindness—whether we are the giver or on the receiving end—can brighten any day.

Happy 2023! Focus on the good, and be ready to create it when you can.

It has been months since I wrote a blog post. I have been busy with numerous things during that time, but the one I’ll tell you about today is our family reunion.

Our every-three-years reunion (though this time was four due to COVID) is a gathering of my paternal grandparents’ descendants and their families. Dad was the oldest of nine children, eight of whom survived to adulthood, and he and Mom had seven children. Dad’s branch alone is extensive, but I also have 27 first cousins, many with children and grandchildren of their own. One of my sisters has two great grandchildren now. We are a family tree-full! My daughter Kelly draws up that tree to display at each reunion, so we can all see just how we are related.

Just About 115 of Us

Our family reunions are not run-of-the-mill reunions. We take an entire weekend with campfires to gather around on Friday and Saturday nights. We provide breakfast, lunch, and supper on Saturday. We have activities available for every age group, from building blocks to water balloons to euchre games. Everyone gets a can coozie to use for the day and take home afterward. This time, we had T-shirts! We even have door prizes. There’s an In Memoriam display to pay homage to those who have passed on, a table with memorabilia from past reunions, and, for the first time this year, a veterans display to honor family members who have served in the armed forces. There’s also a booklet that updates what family members have been up to since the last reunion.

It’s the Connections to Our History that Makes it Come Alive.

These reunions have become true events, though they began small with a discussion between me and my cousin Tim in 1983. We took the idea to my dad, he talked to his siblings, and the first Cannon Family Reunion launched in 1984. (Sadly, both Dad and Tim are now honored In Memoriam.)

When we discussed how to pay for the first one, we asked should we charge by the person? Dad didn’t want cost to keep anyone away, so his idea was to ask for donations. Family members should donate according to their means. He said, “If we come up short, we’ll pass the hat at the reunion.” Thanks to the generosity of this wonderful family, we have never had to pass the hat. Dad’s youngest sister (Margaret Ann) greatly enjoyed the reunions and believed they were important, so she specified a donation for the next one before she passed away in 2018. This summer’s reunion was paid for entirely by her!

Many of my first cousins grew up in Ironton, OH, where we drove to visit them every summer when we were kids. Even though we didn’t live close together, we were and are a close family. Seeing them again at reunions is a marvelous opportunity to reconnect and catch up, but it’s also a chance for the next generations to get to know one another and build new friendships. Margaret Ann knew how important family is, and this family knows how to celebrate it.

February was a month of sports in our house—spectator sports.

I am an avid fan of the Olympics, so I watched figure skating, skiing, snowboarding, and curling for hours each day, and even a little hockey. I recorded events that were shown when I was asleep or in a meeting and watched them back later.

I was impressed with Lindsay Jacobellis and Nick Baumgartner, who won gold in mixed-team snowboard cross. She is 36, and he is 40. Living proof you don’t have to be a kid to excel in sports.

As is often the case, there was as much drama off the ice and snow as on. A doping scandal plagued the figure skating. And Covid kept more than one athlete away from his event.

Lost Luggage, Positive Test – History Being Written

Covid also affected speedskater Casey Dawson. He tested positive for Covid before the Games began and had to stay home. When he finally tested negative, he jumped on a plane, changed planes a few times, and arrived in Beijing 36 hours later, shortly before his first event. But his luggage was lost—including his skate blades. He was forced to race, not only without rest, but also on borrowed blades, which a former champion described as worse than skating with jet lag and fatigue. He finished 28^th of 29 skaters.

Casey’s Olympics weren’t over yet. After his luggage caught up with him, he had another distance to skate—and came away with a bronze medal.

On the subject of medals, I always am disappointed in athletes or fans who look down on silver or bronze medals. Finishing just out of the gold is an achievement worthy of acclaim. Most sports figures will tell you of the pride that comes with being named an Olympian in the first place, no matter how they finish.

I heard many Olympians describe how much fun they had just participating. And isn’t that how it should be?

Not Just the Olympics

At Christmastime, my daughter Wendy and I talked about how frustrating it would be that the Super Bowl was scheduled right in the middle of the Olympics. We knew primary coverage would be on the Super Bowl, and Olympic events would be skimped on that day.

Confession time: I am not much of a football fan. (Baseball is my sport of choice). I rarely watch the Super Bowl and didn’t plan to this year.

But then! Our own Cincinnati Bengals won play-off game after play-off game and made it to the Super Bowl, so the Olympics weren’t the only sport on my TV in February. For the first time in decades, I was eager to watch the game.

No, the Bengals didn’t win (in case you haven’t heard), but my thinking is this: The Super Bowl is the gold-medal event of the NFL, which means the Cincinnati Bengals won the silver medal. Awesome achievement, guys! We are proud of you.

As we begin a new year, I am also beginning a new novel. Over decades of writing novels, I have learned many things I want to remember as I embark on the journey again. I thought I’d share a few of them with you.

If you’re a writer, I hope these tips are helpful. If you’re a reader, I hope your next read touches your heart.

     Happy New Year! Happy reading!

Six years ago this month, my novel, Like a River, was awarded the Grateful American Book Prize. This prize was an extra-special honor because it goes to a book that makes history interesting to readers in Grades 7-9, and making history interesting is my goal every time I write historical fiction.

History Lectures or Historical Stories?

History class can be dull, but it doesn’t have to be. A student can get bored if the focus is on memorizing dates and names. The names and dates aren’t likely to be remembered for long after class is over, but if the focus is on the story part of history, that’s different. Who doesn’t like to hear a good story?

Telling a compelling story is my main mission. I want to entertain, not to teach a history lesson. I set my story against an event in history, and work hard to give an accurate account of that event. If a reader inadvertently learns something about history, that’s a bonus. If my story makes a reader want to learn more about a particular event, that’s a double bonus.

My friend and fellow writer of historical fiction, Joyce Moyer Hostetter (author of Aim, Blue, Comfort, Drive, Equal, and Healing Water) said;

“For me, history writing is a treasure hunt and an opportunity to share the gems I find from the past with readers who might not know about them otherwise. History has always been about stories, and fictionalizing them can make the story more personal and accessible.”

Joyce Moyer Hostetter

I agree.

Compelling History Drive My Stories

I have lost count of the number of times I have been told, “I had never heard of the Sultana until I read Like a River.” The truth is I didn’t learn about it until long after I was out of school. It was one of those “gems” Joyce talked about. I learned about it in a visit to a museum and made it my mission to tell other people. (If you haven’t heard of the Sultana, it was a US steamboat that exploded on the Mississippi River on April 27, 1865, and killed more people than died on the Titanic.) If I had heard about it in history class, it definitely would have caught my attention, and I would have wanted to know more.

If my writing draws attention to an event that is danger of being forgotten, I am excited. When people who lived through these events are long gone, who will recall their deeds and sacrifices? Joyce and I and writers like us are determined to keep these people and events alive. If you read historical fiction, you help keep them alive as well.