I hope you’re all staying high, dry, and safe in these spring storms. I am in Kansas, knee-deep in projects, indoors and out, and scampering to be ready for summer travel.
Scope for the Imagination
Soon, I will head to my family’s little Wisconsin lake house which is thick with memories of my sisters and me lying crosswise on our beds after lunch, reading our paperback Emilies. The pines outside our window could be the forest through which Len Calloway chased Prudence Schuyler in Hilltops Clear. A starting boat motor could be Melissa Barclay’s Scribbler, headed out to her lighthouse for a picnic.
It doesn’t take much to kickstart the imagination! Emilie proved it time and again as she spun stories from details in the scenes around her.
Where am I?
Here’s a little brain teaser for you. Below are six photos and a quote to accompany each one. See if you can identify the book and remember the scene that each of these real-life places inspired Emilie Loring to write.
Answers are at the end for those of you who know the books. If you’re new to Emilie Loring, let these photos, quotes, and scenes inspire you to give her a try.
“His attention shifted to the bleached oak which was a landmark for miles around. Were his eyes playing pranks or had something dropped from that tree? The glasses brought the boulder-strewn shore so near that it seemed that he might reach out and touch it. There was something on the beach!”
“Trout water… The answer to a fisherman’s prayer. … Dollars to dimes there were wily old veterans darting or lying like dusky shadows on the bottom of that dark basin between two jutting brown rocks… Hang it all, someone had just cast into the pool he had picked for his own.”
“‘SUPERIOR COURT, Jury Sessions.’ Her throat tightened, she moistened suddenly dry lips. Was success or was defeat waiting for her on the other side of that door? … A brass-buttoned, blue-coated sheriff rapped with his striped wand of office, announced in a stentorian voice: ‘Court!'”
“It was the first time she had seen the place at close range, it looked just as her father had described it. Giants must have hoisted the huge granite blocks into place.”
“What a day. The sandy beach curved in between two low promontories walled by jagged brown boulders… ‘Come back!’ A man’s shout. That pesky lifeguard again. She wasn’t anywhere near out of bounds.”
“Far ahead she could see the low bridge and the white patches beneath it where the current boiled over rocks on its swift rush to the bay. If the dog went over those–but he wouldn’t–she would reach him before that–she was almost alongside him now. ‘I’m coming!’ she called again.”
How did you do?
Emilie created an entire story, Lighted Windows, with just a scrap of newsprint as inspiration. Small wonder, then, that these New England scenes inspired her. The greater wonder, for me, is that the places are still recognizable, still there to visit.
Answers:
1. Bleached oak, A Certain Crossroad: Judith has just been pushed out of the tree and lies on the beach. She and Neil are about to meet again, and neither is prepared for it.
2. Trout stream, Where Beauty Dwells. Mac will shout congratulations to Di Vernon when she catches a fish, and that’s not going to go well.
3. Courthouse, Fair Tomorrow. Pamela is about to see wise old Carnation Carr at work in the courtroom–and a unique test constructed by Scott Mallory.
4. Stone House, Uncharted Seas. Sandy is about to meet Nanny O’Day and make scrambled eggs with–whom? The impressive horse trainer or…?
5. Beach and lifeguard stand, To Love and to Honor. The bracelet man is about to drag Cindy underwater to save her from a boat run amok. It will be hard to avoid him now–whoever he turns out to be.
6. Bridge over rushing current, Here Comes the Sun! Jim Trafford to the rescue at the reversing falls! Once again, Sweetie Peach is at the heart of the action.
Traveling to Emilie Loring’s New England
I’m planning this summer’s New England trip now. I’ll spend some time in archives, researching a new writing project, and I’ll test our developing travel guide, Emilie Loring’s New England. I’ll give a “shout,” and if you’re near my route, you can test it with me.
For now, grab an “Emilie” and see what happens next.
The Emilie Loring Collection 