The sun finally came out in Wisconsin. I know I start almost every newsletter talking about the weather which—who cares? You don’t live here (probably). But it just truly warms the cackles of my icy little heart when the sun finally peeks out from behind the clouds. Wisconsin summers make Wisconsin winters totally worth it and I’m already daydreaming of the farmer’s market, toddlers at splash pads, beer gardens, state parks, and of course, the Northwoods. I’ve busted out the Birkenstocks and switched my hot coffee order to cold brew.
But I feel like I can’t manage to seasonally link up my books. I spent all winter working on a draft of a book that takes place at a summer camp, and now I’m in 1943 Paris in the dead of winter.
I’m going to be really honest with you and admit that sometimes when I say I’m writing a historical fiction book, I’m reluctant to admit that it’s World War 2. There’s a casual understanding that World War 2 is so overwritten that it’s almost cliche at this point. Everyone has a World War 2 book, and yet we all flock to read them. Some of my absolute favorite books are World War 2 novels (All The Light We Cannot See, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Kitchen Front) including ones for kids (The War That Saved My Life, A Place to Hang the Moon, Number the Stars). I was raised by two amateur history nerds who loved museums and books and documentaries and I, too, love those things. If I did college over again, I’d be a history major, no doubt about it.
So—why? Why are we all so into this time period? I think it’s any number of things: it was such an all-encompassing global conflict that there’s many angles to tell it from; it feels recent enough to still be really relatable; we simply read more about it/enjoy learning about it/read more about it in a chicken-or-the-egg cycle.
But also, there’s something about the human heart that leans into a story of insurmountable odds and brave human beings literally saving the world.
“Let everything happen to you. Beauty and terror. Just keep going.” - Rainer Maria Rilke
The beauty, the terror. The moments of heroism alongside the devastation + destruction. We want to fully understand the horror and then understand how to withstand it. We want examples of people doing The Hardest Things and still finding a way to love and hope and rejoice.
There’s an angry man who’s taken up an odd vendetta in our small town school board meetings, and I told my husband (total conjecture!) that I think it’s because he needs a mission. The human heart naturally needs a purpose; we need something to work towards and fight for. I have mine. You have yours. This dude has his (and it’s odd that it’s refusing to let second graders take ten minutes out of their day to do social-emotional learning but hey, that’s the bizarre hill he’s chosen to die on).
But what we don’t realize is that we all have these hills, day in and day out. You and I are not currently deciding whether or not to join the French resistance. But we’re deciding how we shape the world of today by our actions, our words to others, our votes, our purchasing decisions, our books we support, and about a thousand other ways. There is a battle going on between good and evil right here in this chattery coffee shop where I type, and while it may not be as obvious or gory as the one in Europe in the early 1940s it’s very much there.
These decisions we make every day are not small or easy. At times, they feel just as courageous and gigantic as defending Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge. Sometimes getting out of bed to face the day feels like a miracle, ten times over. And when we turn around, we realize that that was how we spent our days. That was how we lived our life. Saving the world, or giving in to its destruction.
In some ways, I think most of my characters are working to save the world. This character (whose name I won't reveal just yet!) might be doing it in a more physically-dangerous way, but isn’t Anna helping to convince Rachel to tell the truth saving the world? Isn’t Kate standing up for Haddie saving the world? Isn’t Abby realizing her own limitations saving the world?
Let everything happen to you. The beauty and the terror. And then, keep going.
May the 4th be with you! 🤓 The main character in my first middle grade novel, Abby, is a huge Star Wars fan. I’ve heard from a few readers who’ve picked up What Happens Next after discovering What Happened to Rachel Riley and I’m thrilled that the book is having a bit of a renaissance. It’s Northwoods vibes, an eclipse, and living life as the sibling of someone with a severe mental illness. My little COVID book that could. ❤️
Official Fancy Pants Book Description: Astronomy-obsessed Abby McCourt should be thrilled about the solar eclipse her small town of Moose Junction is about to witness, but she’s not. After her older sister, Blair, was sent away for an eating disorder, Abby has been in a funk. Desperate to dull the pain her sister’s absence has left, she teams up with a visiting astronomer to help track down his long-lost telescope. Though this is supposed to take Abby’s mind off the distance between her and Blair, what she finds may bring her closer to her sister than she ever thought possible.
In that spirit, let’s do a giveaway! I have multiple boxes of this book in my basement and would love to clear out a few of them, ha. I’m going to give away THREE signed copies to subscribers of Coffee With Claire. All you need to do is respond to this email with the best book you’ve read lately. It doesn’t have to be new—just new to you!
And just for fun, you’ll get a bonus entry if you can tell me the Star Wars Easter egg in WHTRR. It’s small, and I’m not sure anyone’s caught it yet. ;)
USA/Canada only. Winner randomly selected 5/10/23.
On to some Funeral Ladies business!
Guys. GUYS. I saw the cover and it’s 😍. I’ve been so ridiculously lucky with my book covers. I have literally no idea when I’ll be able to show it to you but it's probably not for a couple of months. Just trust me—it’s everything I was hoping for in a cover. I’ve been with HarperCollins for all of my books and they actually really listen to my opinions + what I think would work, even though I’m far from a designer. I know they say not to judge a book by its cover, but I 110% do. I’ll explain more when I can actually show you!
In the meantime, I wanted to share the Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County playlist. This is an eclectic handful of songs I listened to while writing, daydreaming, or plotting the book. It’s songs that for whatever reason—maybe a line, maybe a verse, maybe just a vibe—remind me of the characters. Music plays a huge role in my creative process; I spend a lot of time in the early stages of book-creation just going on long walks and listening to songs on repeat. They’re songs that Iris dances to and Cooper listens to in the car and Esther plays while she chops pork. If you want to get more of a sense of the book’s feel, pop in your AirPods and take a listen!
Say You Won’t Let Go by James Arthur
Don’t Give Up On Me by Andy Grammer
Then by Brad Paisley
Forever Winter by Taylor Swift
Better Man by Taylor Swift
Favorite Crime by Olivia Rodrigo
Hope UR OK by Olivia Rodrigo
Better Days by Dermot Kennedy
She’s In Love With the Boy by Trisha Yearwood
Sometimes by Ben Rector
Boxes by Ben Rector
Smoke Break by Carrie Underwood
Overpass Graffiti by Ed Sheeran
Visiting Hours by Ed Sheeran
The Breach by Dustin Tebbutt
And lastly, a book I’ve loved lately for…
Kids: My friend Sarah Mackenzie’s new picture book, A Little More Beautiful: The Story of a Garden, is so sweet. My 2-year-old absolutely loves finding the cat on every page!
Middle graders: I really enjoyed Odder by Katherine Applegate. It’s a quick, fun read about an injured otter at the Monterey Bay Aquarium told in verse.
Adults: I read a lot of great grown-up books this month to be honest, but my favorite has to be J. Ryan Stradel’s Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club. I went to his Oconomowoc bookstore stop + got a signed copy—what a treat! If you’re from the midwest in particular, you’ll adore this novel about a supper club through four generations.
Thanks for reading along!
-Claire-
I got to a J Ryan Stradal bookstore stop and got a signed copy of his book too! While there I SO badly wished I had brought one of your books to give him...but then maybe you already did?!
Yesterday I got my book club in Chișinău, Moldova to read Rachel Riley this month. I loved it and think everyone should read it. Our club is very eclectic so I’ll let you know how it was received in June, but getting consensus to try it feels huge. (We also read Marmee which I discovered on one of your newsletter recommendations)