I was looking for my great-grandfather when I walked into the historical society that day.
Not him, personally, but clues about him—who he was, newspaper clippings, photographs. Anything that might align the man featured in a charming heirloom portrait with the one in a sketchy family legend.
I found him smirking out from a group photo of his graduating class and left the historical society all smiles, marveling that the answer to a long-standing mystery could come down traveling to the right city and knocking on the right door to find a forgotten picture hanging on a wall.
I wasn’t thinking of story seeds that day. They took years to sprout. When they did, it was no longer a story about my great-grandfather, but about two characters, the heart and soul of a historical society, with a mystery of their own to solve.
A few fun and funny facts about this inspirational Christmas novella—
- Originally, I called this story “I Think That’s the Last of Them.” I have no excuse for this hilariously bad title.
- I wrote an almost nonsensical first draft in a joyous three-week burst using the “No plan? No problem!” approach. However, I paid back the time with interest on the rewriting and editing, and I have now decided to never ever do that again on purpose.
- Last to Know is dedicated to my sister Isy, and it contains a few “winks” that hopefully will make her smile. 🙂
- I experimented with using voice-to-text to rewrite scenes while on the treadmill. This got a little dicey, because the software couldn’t always understand when I mentioned the character Nadine. At various times, it gave me “Nate Dean,” “eighteen,” “Canadian,” and, for laughs, “mating.”
- Also in the category of Tales from the Treadmill: This is what happens, if you’re using voice-to-text and walking at a comfortable 2 mph, when you accidentally hit the 12 mph quick-start button.
On a serious note—
When I first dreamed up Last to Know, I gave Nadine a handful of troubles. Enough (I thought at the time) to qualify as “a tough year.”
Without mentioning any topics that we’re all tired of thinking about, I’ve been schooled on that point.
Nonetheless, I decided against changing the story to reflect the real world. Practically speaking, I didn’t want to overhaul the plot to inject current events. And otherwise, I think most of us pick up a Christmas novella for a little sweetness and escape from the challenges of our complicated lives.
So my hope is that this story will bless you with a few hours of Christmas cheer in a fictional Pennsylvania city, far from real-world troubles, but never beyond the reach of the peace we find in Jesus.
Last to Know is available in paperback and Kindle editions, and I hope you love it!
Thanks for reading,
~Brandy
P.S. Are you a book blogger or reviewer?
Good news! You can request Last to Know on NetGalley! Click here or the image below!
