Hi, friends! I hope you’re enjoying early spring. Texas peeps, this is when your weather’s best, so I hope you can get outside as much as possible.
Early spring here means fluctuation, or a battle of seasonal wills. It’s really nothing more than winter pushing back when the longer days grow defiant enough to climb above 32F. We’ve had a lot of snow melt and mud (and happier hens) and now another bout of freezing temperatures and snow.
This isn’t entirely dismal, though–it’s what makes the best maple syrup in the country possible. Late winter/early spring is sugaring season, when freezing nights and warmer, above-freezing days create the pressure necessary for sap to flow. So, it might not look like much is stirring yet out in nature, but the truth is, sweet things are happening.
On a similar note, I’ve been quieter here and on Substack, but that doesn’t mean I’ve quit. Instead, I’m making more time, and head-space, to read and write fiction, and it’s been refreshing.
I’m currently reading To Sir Philip, With Love by Julia Quinn (Bridgerton Book #5).
After finishing Season 3 on Netflix in preparation for Season 4, I realized it’d been a few years since I’d read one of the books. So, I picked up where I left off in the historical romance series and am now thoroughly enjoying Eloise’s story. She’s my favorite character in the show, played brilliantly by Claudia Jessie.
Writing-wise, I have three current works-in-progress (WIPs). That’s unusual for me; I tend to hyperfocus on one creative piece at a time. This state of things feels manageable, though, and I’ve just finished a working draft of one WIP and plan to complete the other two by the end of May. Here’s a look at each one:
Untitled winter gothic story
A widower dairy farmer in 1900 tries to make a fresh start, but unresolved issues prevent him from taking any real action to move his life forward. Specifically, he can’t quite allow himself to court the local schoolteacher with whom he’s falling in love. On a bleak, sub-zero Christmas Eve, however, he rescues a lost young woman drawn to his farmhouse by a single lit candle, and this encounter changes everything.
All I have left to draft for this novelette is the resolution, so I’ll have that done fairly quickly. Then, I’ll let it sit until September before I attempt any edits. Once it’s edited, I will probably share it here as a multi-part Christmas story.
Slumber Sickness: A Dark Sleeping Beauty Retelling
This one is a historical fiction fairytale retelling, set in the mid-1920s on a wealthy American family’s vacation estate in the Catskill Mountains. The morally-gray protagonist is Malina, the Romani-Irish daughter of the family’s personal spiritualist and the childhood friend to its heiress, the beautiful Miss Rose Van Ackeren.
Mal and Rose’s relationship is tested, however, when an Austrian baron arrives to court Rose, who then falls ill to a mysterious disease of violent fits and catatonic sleep. In the wake of everything, Mal finds herself torn between her love for Rose and her anger and sense of betrayal, which ultimately fuels her dangerous desire to both protect Rose and seek revenge for certain unspeakable acts committed by this family.
This piece was inspired by the true story of the encephalitis lethargica epidemic, which affected Europe and North America from roughly 1919-1930. Compared to the Spanish Influenza, this sickness is a footnote in history, but it’s a fascinating one that remains a medical enigma to this day.
And while the first draft of this particular story is shaping up as a novelette that I’ll probably post here this summer, it has the most potential to grow into a novella or short novel. I really need to get back to long-form writing, and this might be a piece to develop. The research it would require intimidates me, though. We’ll see.
The One Who Didn’t Jump
This is a short work (4.2 k words) of speculative fiction. It’s set in the fall of 1992 and features Jessica, a little girl who’s just moved into a new house with her divorced mother, but things in her large, private bedroom aren’t right. She’s haunted by a frightening figure that keeps appearing at the foot of her bed, and she wants nothing more than for it to go away.
At the same time, she’s eager to fit in with her new group of friends who enjoy swimming in a local quarry. There, years ago, a construction site flooded when the crew hit an aquifer, and all the equipment remains underwater (this was inspired by a real place where my husband and other local kids in Katy, Texas, used to swim, and where some pretty awful things happened). Prone to dark thoughts, Jess cannot resist the feeling that something terrible awaits her beneath that green opaque water.
This story is finished and self-edited. I wrote it for a publication opportunity, and I need to submit it by April 7th. It was probably the most fun to write–it’s both creepy and nostalgic. I had a blast including little period details about the things Jess, an early Millennial like me, was wearing, reading, watching, and listening to. Please cross your fingers that it gets accepted.
In other creative news, I’ve finished my first punch needle project, and Daphne has done some more painting.
It really is true that “artistic expression brings happiness, purpose, self-worth, and balance… [it is] an essential piece of a rich, productive life” (Deb Caletti, from Writer’s Digest July/August 2015).
On a personal note, I turned 44 on March 23. It was a beautiful day–skiing on Burke Mountain followed by an apres of craft beer and lunch with Jer at Burke’s The View Pub.
That evening, I opened my gifts: a lovely summer dress from KJP and seven new punch needle projects.
We also enjoyed a delicious cake my husband baked himself, and I’ve had a blast spending an Amazon gift card from my in-laws and buying a package of Pilates classes with the money from my own parents. I have been absolutely spoiled.
Daphne started physical therapy two weeks ago and is doing well all the way around. I’ll post more about that soon.
Thank you for taking the time to catch up with me! I’d love for you to share any of your own updates in the comments. Enjoy the springtime!
XOXO,
Jenn
Jennifer Shaw 