Starting a New Project

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There is something exciting and a bit daunting about starting a new writing project. There are new characters to shape and flesh out, a setting to be explored, and a pile of historical research to dig into to help inspire the plot and breathe authenticity into the story.

On New Year’s Day, I turned in the completed manuscript for Book 3 in my Texas Ever After series. It felt so good to finish that one up over the holidays and get it sent to my publisher. But there was no time to rest. I have a contracted novella that I need to start on. One that is bringing out my nerdy side.

This story is to be a fun, quirky holiday read that will be part of a Christmas novella collection. Since Christmas is fresh on my mind, and a bit of holiday spirit still lingers in the air (since I haven’t gotten around to putting up my Christmas decorations yet), it seemed like the right time to start developing this story.

The first sentence of the story is a newspaper headline:

THREE WISE MEN FROM THE EAST TO ARRIVE TOMORROW

No, this isn’t a Bethleham tale. Our three wise men are mathematics professors from Harvard who are coming to Waco, Texas for an academic symposium sponsored by Baylor University. And one of those “wise men” just happens to be our Christmas hero.

Meet Frank Stentz (middle initial N, if you were wondering 😉 ). Age thirty and one of the most promising young mathematicians Harvard has ever produced. Over the Christmas break, I happened to watch bits and pieces of the Fantastic Beasts series, so Frank bears a striking ressemblance to Newt Scamander.

Our heroine is Stella Barrington, named for the Sirius B star that was discovered in the year of her birth 1862. Her father is a professor of mathematics and astronomy at Baylor. I’d already planned to name her after a star since that fit well with my three wise men, but when I learned about the discovery that just happened to have taken place in the same year she would have been born–well, it was just too good not to use. Research rabbit trails can turn up some great ideas!

Stella is a plain woman with a large nose and oversized feet and has never turned the head of any marriagable mister. She’s content to tend house for her widowed father until a certain scientific gentleman shows up in town.

During my research, I uncovered some fascinating history about Baylor as well. Baylor University is the oldest institution of higher learning in Texas, chartered by the Texas Baptist Education Society in 1844 while Texas was still a Republic. Baylor was also a strong proponent of educating women and boasted the highest female graduation rates west of the Mississippi. They offered literary societies, and my heroine serves as a volunteer sponsor for one of them.

I look forward to weaving the lives of these two intellectual characters together beneath a Texas sky. And who knows? Maybe I’ll run down another research rabbit trail that will inspire more plot ideas.

Frank is a math expert. Stella prefers literature. What was your favorite subject in school?

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For those who love to smile as they read, bestselling author Karen Witemeyer offers warmhearted historical romance with a flair for humor, feisty heroines, and swoon-worthy Texas heroes. Karen is a firm believer in the power of happy endings. . . and ice cream. She is an avid cross-stitcher, and makes her home in Abilene, TX with her husband and three children. Learn more about Karen and her books at: www.karenwitemeyer.com.

68 thoughts on “Starting a New Project”

    • I raised a pair of Math nerds and actually really enjoyed it myself even though I never took any in high school. But it’s definitely one of those subjects you either love or hate.

  8. Hello Karen
    This is awesome news as I’ve read all of your books! I also enjoyed the Fantastic Beasts series. My favorite subject was English because you got to read in class.

  9. Hi Karen – History was my favorite in school! It still is! I was thrilled when my youngest daughter majored in it in college! We both love to watch history shows together or just talk about historical things! However, I majored in English in college because I was going to go on to law school later. I worked for a major law firm in Los Angeles for several years in their recruiting department after college until I decided that the “law” wasn’t for me! Seeing what they did, it just wasn’t for me! I loved what I did at the firm though!

  11. I love reading but I think history was my favorite. I love learning about the history of places and things.

    • I love historical research when I get to pick what to investigate. 🙂 Some of my favorite things to do is tour historic homes and buildings and hear the docents share all kinds of fun historical tidbits.

  18. I loved bookkeeping and typing class, although my typing always remained in the minus’ when I tried to add speed. It has improved, considerably since then. I still LOVE bookkeeping and most of my jobs have been with lots of bookkeeping. To this day, I keep all our expenditures in my own spreadsheet each day, to help manage a budget and help when filing income taxes. I also liked English and LIBRARY was definitely in capital letters as I have always loved reading.

  19. I loved literature in school and avoided math if at all possible. In college I majored in history and graduated with only taking 2 math classes.

  21. Good morning, Congratulations on finishing your book, and your new one you are starting sounds really good and very intriguing! My daughter went to Baylor and she really loved it there. My husband and I really liked it there also. I loved visiting the Armstrong Browning Library & Museum it really is a Must to visit. I also loved the Ranger Hall of Fame Museum. Have a great day and a great rest of the week.

  22. This may come as a surprise to you, buy my favorite subject in school was Math. I went as high as possible in math that we had available until I reached Calculus. I enjoyed it until we reached a tough part, I missed some days from sickness & our teacher wasn’t one to go over stuff that was missed, so I had to drop the class at semester. But I enjoyed the five-&-a-half years of math I had in four years of HS!!!!

    I loved English & grammar & spelling, but I actually hated real literature in HS. I didn’t enjoy the classic books & short stories & poems that were the literature part of the class. I didn’t like being told what the author was “really” meaning when he wrote said project… symbolism was lost on me! It wasn’t until after HS that I developed a love for reading, but it was books that I chose. Now I love to read! 🙂

    • We have so much in common, Lori! I loved math but only got to pre-calculus in high school. I scored high enough on my ACT math section that I didn’t have to take math in college. I have fun listening to my kids geek out over math even though they progressed so much farther, and I had no idea what they were talking about.

  23. Hello Karen! I’m late again. Trying to fit in everything in my mornings! Anyway, I like the sound of these books! I wasn’t nerdy in school, but I had many friends who were! And are now! History was my favorite subject. I like every subject though. Whether I’m good at it or not! Wishing you the best!

  25. Best.News.Ever!!! I can’t wait Karen! All your books whether they are novels or novellas are always worth the wait! You are my favorite author & one of the few who I will always eagerly pre-order your books.????
    I always preferred literature in school. Probably why I was in English major in college.

    • Emilee – You are such a sweetheart! Thank you for the generous jolt of encouragement. What a blessing. I can totally picture you as an English major. Such an avid book lover. 🙂

  26. Historical Literature will always draw me in! In school I loved reading! Even word problems in math were fun because I got to read!

  28. I’ll bet you can guess! In 7th grade Math class I got reprimanded for reading one of Walter Farley’s Black Stallion novels during class (yup, concealed behind my open math book). English! And Spanish was my 2nd favorite; Senora Zentz was a great teacher.

    • That’s amazing, Lois. What a blessing. Most of my history teachers in school were coaches who didn’t care much about teaching. An inspiring teacher can make such a difference.

  32. My favorite was and is still science. Chemistry, not so much (it ate my lunch in school). I concentrated on the biological sciences and enjoyed Geology and Meteorology & Astronomy.
    Is the picture above of Baylor University? Are those wonderful buildings still there? I will have to look it up.

  33. In 1968 I was a Junior at Lovington High School in New Mexico. American History was my favorite class. Mr. Haynes taught with passion. When we studied the Westward Expansion and The Oregon Trail I was besotted. That part of history landed in my heart.

    Now, 56 years later, my book Rebecca’s Journey which takes place on the Oregon Trail in 1845 will soon be published by The Wild Rose Press.

    I love the premise of your novella, the character names, and Newt Scamander.

    • What a wonderful story, Winona. The power of a great teacher to sow seeds that come to beautiful fruition in the lives of students. That’s exactly what is supposed to happen. I bet Mr. Haynes would be thrilled to see you publish your book!

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