The idea came to me while on vacation a few years ago. I wanted to write a series of books about bookstores—not a single bookstore and multiple books about that, but about multiple bookstores in small towns across America. My problem? I didn’t know what the point would be. What connected those books?
Ideas flew at me, and each time, I batted them back. An online group of small booksellers who supported each other? No. Maybe a family who had run bookstores for centuries. That one intrigued me, but then I got another idea for how to use the family thing.
For years, the idea swam free as I cast about for an idea that would really work well with unconnected stores in small towns. Then, an idea bit, and I reeled it in. (Why yes, I did go there and use that metaphor. Yes, I did!)
Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.
The movie (probably a Hallmark—it’s kind of their bailiwick) had a familiar theme. Big bad corporation comes to take over little struggling company. I sat there, the story playing out, and I wondered. Why didn’t someone have a career in saving businesses from bankruptcy or takeover?
Why couldn’t that be a thing?
The answer, at least as far as fiction goes, is obvious. Conflict. There’s a whole lot less natural conflict in saving a business than fighting the big, bad corporate wolf. Fiction thrives on conflict and tension.
I can’t recall what I was doing when the two ideas heated up and merged in a perfect smooshing reminiscent of a literary s’more. I just know that one day, I had my series. Actually, now that I think about it, I do remember!
It’s James Michener’s quote about writing. He said, “I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.” When I realized that those swirls and swings came through the pages of books, I thought, “Instead of heartstrings, they’re ‘bookstrings.’”
With that, the Bookstrings series was born.
After that title and a premise, my main character, Milton Coleridge, (yes, I did that to him!) was born. He’s a small man, late thirties, kind of ordinary in a retro hipster kind of way. A business doctor, he explores the United States with his Land Rover, a travel trailer, and his parrotlet, Atticus (not finch). People pay him tens of thousands of dollars to save their businesses from bankruptcy and/or takeover, and he’s good at what he does.
So when he steps into a hole-in-the-wall bookstore near Joshua Tree National Park and discovers that it’s dying, he’s tempted to stay a bit longer and see if he can help. If he happens to help the store owner’s daughter and the local deputy see each other in the process, well…
Milton gave me the series tagline, too. One day he just said it. “Books are the strings that tie hearts together.”
There’ll be five novels in the series and a couple of novellas. Except for the first and final books, all will take place in real towns across America. First up: Tamarisk, California. It’s a fictional town near Joshua Tree National Park on the south end of the park near the real “Tamarisk Lake.” It’s unconnected, though. That book is the introductory novella, Spines & Leaves and is part of Song of Grace a Mosaic Collection anthology releasing… TODAY! Yes, the Spines & Leaves release is today!
This anthology features several other excellent authors including Angela D. Meyer, Candace West, Deb Elkink, Eleanor Bertin, Johnnie Alexander, Sara Davison, Stacy Monson, and me!
I hadn’t planned to do it, but I came up with a fun idea for a Christmas novella, too, so… yeah.
We’ve got one of those.
Anyone who read 12 Dates of Christmas and the accompanying bonus short story, “A Noel Christmas,” will recall the little building there in Noel, Missouri that I so wanted to be a bookstore. There’s just one problem. It’ll never make it. That town can’t support it. But Milton has a few ideas up his sleeve, so it’s going to be a thing now in Hart of Christmas.
The first full-length novel takes place in Red Wing, Minnesota where my brother-in-law lives. It’s also home of Red Wing Pottery, the more well-known Red Wing Shoes, and… a huge… Bic plant. Yeah. Milton will not be impressed. You’re welcome, author April Hayman. The name of that one is Twice Sold Tales and comes out in November of 2022.
After that, we’re moving over to Berne, Indiana—Amish country, but this isn’t an Amish story! There are two more undetermined locations before the series wraps up in none other than my own fictional New Cheltenham. Yep, Inklings Booksellers is in trouble, and Milton’s here to save the day! What a guy.
So, I’m going to need a little help.
With California, Missouri, Minnesota, and Indiana in the offing, what two other small (and real) towns should I consider putting books in? It has to be in the continental United States because Milton has to be able to travel there easily. I’m looking for small, quaint, but not so remote that it isn’t reasonable that it would exist. Leave a comment below with your suggestions, would you?
And meanwhile, I’ve got a fun special going on. Lookie what I have!
I decided to do a special for the Spines & Leaves release. The moment I saw these adorable notes on Etsy, I knew I had to do this!
I had to do it. So, I ordered twenty copies of this book and twenty of these little “bookplates” (that’s what I’m callin’ them!).
Note: This is a novella… a short novella, no less. These are skinny, 120 or so page books. But I love this story so much.
This is a limited-time deal for the Spines & Leaves release. I only have those twenty bookplates (and some cute bookmarks!) Once they’re gone… they’re gone! Get your book signed to a friend, to you, or just signed. Tell me not to sign it so you can give it to a friend with a special note. The bookplates are even removable, so if you don’t like it, you can even toss it (but how could you do that to “Atticus”?).
If you’d like a copy, just click the PayPal button. It won’t let more copies be ordered than are available, so grab it while you can. They are also available HERE but without some of the extra goodies.
And be sure to grab your copy of Song of Grace. I’m sure you’ll love all the stories within its pages. Available on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and in paperback.
I went to Auburn University in Auburn, AL. It is a big college but still a quaint little town with lovely traditions like rolling the trees and everything else in the middle of town when we win a football game! One of the anchors for the town, other than Toomer’s Drugstore that serves their own fresh lemonade every day, is J & M Bookstore. It is larger than when I was in college but is still a fun place to go. It’s not a sit and drink coffee bookstore but the rest of the area is. There is a park right across the street that houses the famous oak trees that, before they were poisoned by a redneck, were over 100 years old. The horticulturists at Auburn had large trees flown in and replanted when it was determined that the trees were really dying. You can Google and read all about that…anyway, if you are looking for a southern town to include, this is one of them along with many more.
Also, I love your storylines. I would also love some about the patrons of the bookstore. What’s going on with them along with the owners ?
Love the idea and premise of this series!! I was born in Tompkinsville, KY and I was the only baby in the hospital at the time. They have a population of about 2500, but might be too big? I also like the idea of a small town in TN, I lived in Lenoir City, TN as a teenager, but they are bigger than the city in KY. I think regardless of where you choose the stories will be great 🙂
My husband’s hometown is Union City. Half of it is Union City, Ohio. The other half is Union City, Indiana! And get this… the Indiana side of town never changes its clocks when Daylight Savings Time happens. So every store has their hours listed “fast time” (Ohio) & “slow time” (Indiania). You could do SO many things with that!
Alesha
Oh, that is COOL!!!!
Sequim, WA would be a great place for a bookstore location!
I love that name!
How about Peachtree City, GA? Our oldest son and his family live near there and apparently you can only get around town on golf carts or on foot.
Or Norco, CA? You probably already know about Norco, the horse town with riding trails in front of all the houses, and hitching posts in front of the stores. But you already have a CA location, so probably not, eh?
Klamath Falls, OR? I know they had a bookstore that died and the town is struggling to survive, period, bookstore or no. My brother in law, sis-in-law and family all live there and they love it, fading and all. Though they’re not happy with how liberal OR has become.
Or Columbia or Franklin, TN? Beautiful places, loads of transplanted Californians, among others, and a church (or 4) on every corner!
Love a bookstore theme, my dream job. Managed a church bookstore once for not quite 2 years, it was a dream come true!
Oooh… so many good ideas! I should have thought of Norco!
Cannon Beach, Oregon
I’ve never been to Oregon. ROAD TRIP!!! I like this!
If you want to go to OR, my BIL and SIL would be thrilled to put you up! (In Klamath Falls, that is). Or if you wanted to go to Columbia or Franklin, TN, got relatives there, too, as well as near PTC, GA, so free lodging any of those places!
That was supposed to say my vote WOULD be…
My vote writing be for either Bellefonte PA or Wellsboro, PA. Both are quaint and though Bellefonte is just 15 miles from me, I have to be honest and say Wellsboro is even more quaint and would be the perfect place for one of your stories! Check out their Christmas adventures!!
WOW! That sounds cool. I liked PA. And quaint? EEEP
Wheeling, WV.
They are trying to revitalize the town.
When my husband graduated high school, he was one of 500. Now, there are fewer than 50 Wheeling addresses for his classmates.
OOOOH! What a fun idea. Hmmm…
It’s here It’s here! I bought it with the last of my “allowance” and I’m so excited!
I suggested The Golden Bee in Liverpool NY (home of the Salt Museum and center of Willow Basket making during the Revolution). The “incorporated town” is 1 mile square although it has expanded. It sits on Onondaga Lake which has it’s own history and is tied into the saying “burying the hatchet” and the Haudenosaunee Treaty with the 5 nations.
The town has come and gone and started to return when Covid 19 struck. The owner of the bookstore just had a little one. There’s lots to work with there
I’ve never been to New York… hmmm. Sounds like lovely history to incorporate, too!
http://www.villageofliverpool.org/
My husband’s family lives in Harrogate, in the Cumberland Gap area of Tennessee, and do their shopping in Middlesboro, Kentucky. To get there a portion of the drive is through a corner of Virginia. That has always intrigued me. Anyway, Middlesboro is a small town with a great history and large enough to possibly support a local bookstore. I remember how excited we were when Cracker Barrel chose to open a restaurant there.
I’ve been through there a time or three. Maybe I’ll check it out again this fall!
Hernando, MS. South of Memphis. Close to Cedar Hill Farm (think pumpkin patch, petting zoo, hayride, pig races, all the family fun stuff), and home to Velvet Cream (walk-up burgers and shakes place, very yummy). Pretty courthouse, nice square, decent library. But no bookstore that I’m aware of. Does that mean you’ll come visit the town?? If you do, I’ll treat you to Velvet Cream!
Well, I’d have to check it out and make sure it worked, right? Maybe my sister would drive up and say howdy.
Oh, yes!! My small-town Mississippi isn’t quaint enough for your stories, but I was desperately hoping you’d need to do a research trip to my area… ?
Where in Mississippi? I grew up in south Forrest County. Not the quaint vibe she would be looking for, unfortunately.
How about a coastal town? Astoria,OR is a small town with lots of history. There’s a great Maritime museum, some cruise ships stop there, coffee shops.
Interesting! Another vote for Oregon. I really want to see Oregon, too… hmmm…
Well, I suddenly got a notice bringing up the PayPal page so ordered it that way and canceled it through Amazon.
Well, glad it kicked in, silly thing! Maybe the website was loaded down for a minute.
I tried to buy Spines and Leaves through Pay Pal but it didn’t go to a page on Pay Pal that worked. I’m assuming they are already gone. So I ordered it from Amazon. Will read it tonight.
There’s a cute town in PA called Lititz and I think it would be a good place for another location. Maybe it’s too far for hm.
Oh, I’ve always loved that name! And PA is gorgeous. Nothing is too far for Milton. Just has to be in the continental US. I was even wondering about Maine!
We had an adorable little children’s books, toys, and games shop here in Mansfield, Texas (which is not that small!) and it couldn’t make it. We were so sad when it closed! It was called Sock Monkey Junction, and we loved it!
Small town ideas: Rushford, NY, where my parents grew up together, somewhere in the Outer Banks, NC, or somewhere near Savannah, GA, maybe one of the islands nearby?
I love bookstores! This sounds like such a neat story! I think Garden City, Utah would be a lovely little small town for a bookstore. It gets a lot of tourists in the summer but closes down for the winter with only locals remaining.
OOOOH! That could be cool. How does this bookstore keep afloat in winter? What would Milton do there… hmmm… oh, I’m liking this.