A Writer's Day in Ocean City, Maryland

So far all of my research for Mirror of Souls, which takes place in 1526 France, has been done through reading. But once I have a real contract for a book (any book!) with real money, I desperately want to go to France for some serious on-site research.

In the meantime, I'm also working on a middle-grade (ages 9-12) time travel novel, tentatively titled Rescued in Time, which takes place in 1902 Ocean City, Maryland. The main characters are 12-year-old cousins Peter and Caroline. Peter is technology-dependent, and isn't enjoying his beach vacation. Athlete Caroline lives in Ocean City, and has romanticized its past. They're both in for an abrupt reality check when they land (literally) in 1902.

I can drive to Ocean City in about 3 hours, and there are plenty of resources available about its early years. So earlier this week we took a day trip "downy ocean, Hon," and had an awesome time researching and playing!

First stop was a "Flashback" photo studio, where Amy graciously posed for a picture in an old-timey bathing suit. This was not her idea of a good time, but she did it for my sake. :) I'm sure the suit isn't vintage 1902, but the picture will be great inspiration for me as I write anyway.

Next, (purely in the name of research!) we did a taste-testing of the three major brands of Ocean City salt water taffy. The verdict? Fischer's tastes the best, Dolle's was a close runner up, and Candy Kitchen, which tastes like wax, was way, way, last. Fischer's was softer and stickier than Dolle's, which held up better in the heat. Dolle's won the contest in the long run, with extra points for labeling their flavors. No wondering whether the yellow was lemon or banana (yecch!)

The kids were ready for the beach, so David and I walked down to get a few pics before we headed off to the Museum. Awesome big brother Doug said he was dedicating his day to making sure Amy had fun! And Carrie and her best friend Em had a blast, too.

The Ocean City Life Saving Museum is a treasure. We met the assistant curator, appropriately named Sandy, who said she'd be happy to answer my questions via e-mail. I'll be sending her lots! I bought the book City on the Sand by Mary Corddry, which Sandy often uses as a resource.

I was most impressed by the exhibit of early life-saving equipment, such as the Lyle gun. If a ship was wrecked off the coast, the life saving service guys would literally shoot a rope out to it. Attached to the end of the rope was a board with instruction to the crew, in English and French, about how to secure it to the mast. Then the guys on shore would ferry the sailors back using a Breeches Buoy (think zip line!). More museum pics!

The exhibit on the early years of the boardwalk was also fascinating. I learned, for instance, that while the new carousel was being installed at Trimper's Amusements in 1902, the installer was called back to the factory on an emergency...so the 12-year-old son of Mr. Trimper finished putting it together!

Oh, yes, there was lots of grist for the imagination mill in that museum!

Of course, we had to check out the carousel, which is still in operation after 107 years. I tried to get pictures of most of the animals...which went far beyond the typical horses to a dragon, several fanciful pigs, a frog, a tiger, a bunch of cats and dogs, an emu, a crane, a camel... and my personal favorite, the reindeer! Amy and I took a ride later, again, purely in the name of research. More carousel pics!


Games, rides, and the obligatory late lunch/early dinner at Dough Roller finished out the day. Doug and Em braved the sling shot. When I called Em's mom, Marti, to tell her that her daughter was flying into the air, Marti told me to tell Em that if she lived she was going to kill her! :) The girls traded their game tickets in for prizes, turning themselves into "The Three Princesses of the Boardwalk." (Wondering about the oddly normal color of Carrie's hair? I was stunned when she actually dyed it BROWN! Turns out she had been told to dye it before her Peabody Children's Chorus trip to London earlier this month. Apparently teal hair isn't part of the Peabody image!) Lots more OC pics!

It started raining just as we were leaving, and stormed so heavily on the way home that David wasn't sure we'd crossed the Bay Bridge until we were already over it!

Mirror of MY Soul

What I'm writing: I'm continuing research for the sequel to Spinning Coins, Mirror of Souls. Spinning Coins took place in an imaginary village in 1526 Denmark, so I was able to create the location, buildings, geography etc. to fit the needs of my story. Mirror of Souls, however, takes place in France, in real places that still exist today. I've spent far too much time on the internet trying to find out if the Cathédrale St-Jean in Lyon, France still has a side chapel with statues of sleeping soldiers. And better yet, if there are any cathedrals with sleeping soldiers closer to the main action of my book (between Paris and Orléans). I went to a very educational break-out session at the regional SCBWI (Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) conference in Westminster, MD this weekend where author/illustrator Lita Judge suggested contacting local archivists to ask questions. Oddly, this never occurred to me. I'll try contacting the cathedral directly. What I'd really love to do is go to France myself, but with two kids in college that's not happening -- at least until I sell the first book. :)

I've also been musing about a middle-grade time travel series to take place in Ocean City, Maryland in 1902, when the hotel owners got together to create the first boardwalk, which they would roll up at night or high tide and store on their porches.
The boardwalk was destroyed by a hurricane in 1903. The advantage of a story taking place in Ocean City is that I can drive there in less than four hours, and they even have a historical museum right on the boardwalk. And by having it take place in the near past I should be able to find photographs, newspaper articles, etc. to do more direct research. Amy is excited about this one, because the main character would be about eleven and she can give me input and ideas.

What I'm reading: The SCBWI conference had a book table filled with volumes by the conference speakers. On Saturday I picked up Siobhan Vivian's Same Difference, read the jacket flap, and recognized my daughter Carrie in her main character Emily. I immediately bought it, got it autographed for Carrie by Siobhan, and took it home. When I left for the conference Sunday morning, Carrie was already well in to the book. She loved it. I read it last night, staying up until 3AM to finish it. Wow! Siobhan has her teen voice spot on. In fact one dialogue passage between Emily and her mom could have been overheard in my house.

What I'm knitting: I'm taking a short break from Doug's afghan to knit a garter stitch elephant for Amy. She found the perfect yarn to match her new pre-teen-green room color at Large Marge's Yarn Shop, and picked out a pattern on Ravelry. In the meantime, Carrie has started another hat, and Amy is inspired to pick up knitting again herself. Time for a review lesson for my 9-year-old.

How I'm feeling: The migraine diet is still going well. I was actually migraine-free on Saturday for the first day of the conference, and thanks to an Imitrex shot made it through Sunday too. I slept most of the day Monday, but I'm up and around today with a manageable migraine and no meds.

Mirror of Souls

Spinning Coins 2 now has a working title...Introducing, Mirror of Souls! The title comes from the Marguerite de Navarre poem 'Le Miroir de L'âme Pécheresse', 'The Mirror (or Glass) of the Sinful Soul'. Marguerite wrote this poem after the death of her infant son in 1530. It was later translated into English by Elizabeth I, then age 11, as a gift for her step-mother Katherine Parr (KP). Katherine was the last wife of Henry VIII. Coincidentally, at one point Marguerite herself was in consideration for marriage to Henry VIII, but outright refused!

I have the setting for the sequel: 1526-1527 France, in the months after the end of Spinning Coins .

I have some plot points, including elements from Molière's play, ' The School for Wives ', and Marguerite de Navarre's The Heptameron . I'm working on knitting these into a cohesive outline and a story that will resonate with 21st century young adult readers.

I have the cast.

My time traveling teens:

• Polly is desperately searching for something (or someone!) she's lost
• Will is brimming with ideas and plans
• Joy is still reeling, not sure where and when she belongs, but trying to cope in her own way

Characters from 'The School for Wives':

• Arnolphe, who thinks he's creating the perfect woman
• Agnes (ah-NYESS), an innocent experiencing her first love
• Horace, the man who adores her

Real-life historical figures (The first three were all students at the University of Paris in late 1526. I have no idea if they ever met, but I'm looking forward to writing about an imaginary encounter!)

• Jean Cauvin, aka John Calvin, 17 years old and studying law, but later to be a major leader of the Protestant Reformation and poster-boy for the doctrine of predestination
• Francis Xavier, a 2o-year-old philosophy student, but destined to become a missionary to Japan, one of the founders of the Jesuits, and a Catholic Saint.
• François Rabelais, a 30-something medical student , a humanist (perhaps Christian, perhaps atheist, depending on who you believe), and writer of satire and bawdy songs. ( Calvin wrote in 1533 that Rabelais' book, Pantagruel, was "obscene."
• And Marguerite de Navarre, sister of King François of France, early feminist, theologian and writer. In late 1526/early 1527 she was newly-betrothed to King Henri of Navarre (a small country near the border of Spain, now part of France). She traveled from Paris south to visit Henri's sister in her convent. In Mirror of Souls, Polly and her companions will travel with Marguerite.

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Spinning Coins sequel needs a title!

The title for Spinning Coins was obvious. After all, Polly, Joy and Will spin a magic coin to travel in time, place, and reality. Their friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern play a game of heads and tails they call "spinning coins." And readers who delve beneath the surface of the novel may find themselves exploring deeper issues of predestination, free will, and chance.

Now I need a title for the sequel. Yes, I know many books don't have titles until much later in the process, but this feels like a loose end to me, and it's distracting me from more important things. Like writing!

I'd l ike Book 2's name to be related to Spinning Coins , but what? Spinning ... Wheels? (They are traveling.) Spinning Rings? (My son wants me to have them melt down the coin and make three rings, one for each teen. Sorry Doug/Will; not going to happen.) Traveling Coins? Nah. Changing Coins? No. Ah, well. Must write plot. Title will come.