Things I’ve learned researching my next book…
…most of which are about Finland, because I am going down the rabbit hole (which is an apt metaphor because my work-in-progress has some definite Alice in Wonderland vibes):
Finland has ten trees for every person… on EARTH.
Lichen is not a single organism but a symbiosis of algae, fungi, and yeasts.
The Finnish word for earth is maa. The word for air is ilma. The word for world is maailma.
Bears and squirrels are omnivorous.
The heaviest known living organism is a giant clonal aspen in Colorado with 47,000 “stems” or individual trees, more than half a mile long, and weighing more than 13 million pounds. It is estimated to be between 9000 and 12000 years old
Finland prohibits charging tuiting for school. Schools are generously funded by taxpayers. This means the wealthy, the poor, and everyone in between send their kids to the same schools and have the same investment in making those schools great. It also means kids from all socioeconomic classes go to school together.
Speeding tickets, over a certain mph, are based on income. So the CEO of Nokia might pay $50,000 for speeding, while I might pay $100.
Piirakka is a pie. Pierakka is a fart. Finnish is dangerous like that.
Finnish schoolchildren have almost no homework and a shorter school year, yet still significantly outpace most of their UK and European peers.
The cute little mushroom with the red top and the white spots that they print on everything from greeting cards to baby onesies? It’s highly poisonous.
Are we having fun yet? I am. Research for a book is one of the best parts of being a fiction writer. There’s little that gives me such delight as learning some fascinating fact about something I know nothing about (like the lichen thing—that blew my mind).
This book I’m working on now is a little different for me—sort of fantastical realism. It’s Wizard of Oz meets Guillermo del Toro in the Nordic wilderness, about a heartbroken woman who doesn’t remember anything before the age of twelve who is lured into the spirit world and collects a team of other misfit beings to chase a shadow monster to the frozen north in pursuit of her lost memories. But the hunt becomes a rescue mission when she realizes what the shadow really is.
Yeep! I can’t believe I’m writing this stuff. Talking bears? The Sauna of the Spirits? I’m really allowed to just make this shit up? If you’ve seen Hiyao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away—as I’m writing I keep thinking, what would this look like if Miyazaki did it?
I’ll keep you posted :)
If you haven’t yet read my first two books, you can buy them at Bookshop.org, Bluebird & Co. or anywhere that sells books. Or request them at your library!
Upcoming Events
This is a teaser… full information to come… but I can’t stand keeping this to myself! (And have Flannery’s permission to share :)
BLUEBIRD & CO. IS THROWING A BOOK FESTIVAL!!!!!
It will be the weekend of October 26, 2024. So many amazing authors, interactive panels that make the audience part of the conversation, fun & games hosted by the amazing audiobook narrator Marni Penning, and autumn in the Blue Ridge! What could be better???
More to come.
What I’m Reading: Shadow Speaker by Nnedi Okorafor
I wanted to feed my writer brain with something fantastical, creative, and daring, and does this book deliver! It’s a chosen-one story about a girl with special powers who is instrumental in saving the world, but there its similarity to many other books of the same description ends. This one is near future, African, talking animals, an alien world within our own world, ghosts, and the coolest warrior queen I have ever seen in literature. Plus amazing writing. Plus that cover! Wow. Highly recommend.
From the Craft Bookshelf
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I can't wait to read something (a chapter, a draft, anything) from your new book- sounds so fun!
That's a lot of trees!!
I'm so looking forward to reading this! My parents lived in Estonia for several years and I always enjoyed visiting that part of the world!