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 š ). 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 theĀ 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?
The second collection is western through and through. This is a two-in-one novella collection that contains my story from The Christmas Heirloom,Ā “Gift of the Heart” along with a separate novella that carries on the legacy of my all-time best-selling Archer Brother series – “An Archer Family Christmas”.
