Rainy days should be spent at home with a cup of tea and a good book. ~ Bill Watterson
Rainy days
Are perfect days
When you have a book.
~ G. Johnson
I’m reading Only the River Runs Free by Bodie and Brock Thoene. Thoene is a new-to-me author, so I’m excited to read this used book store find.
Now, your turn. What Christian Fiction story are you reading?
Good morning!
Welcome to Facts, Fiction, and Friends. Here, we learn fun facts about our favorite authors, discover their latest Christian Fiction, and meet new friends. Joining me today for a quick game of This or That is Holly Varni.
Good morning, Holly. Use this or that to tell us about yourself.
hiking/walking
Walking.
extrovert/introvert
Introvert.
log cabin/castle
What better ambiance is there than a cozy log cabin?
rain/sunshine
Rain and more rain!
floral/herbal
Herbal and musky. Anything with sandalwood makes me melt.
Share your choice when reading.
mystery/romance
Romance. Can you hear my sigh as I say it? 🤗
big city/ small town
I’m all about small-town drama.
ebook/paperback/hardback
Can I say all three? 😂
novella/novel
The longer, the better. I never want it to end.
Describe your writing style.
setting/characters
Characters always. Characters are what stay with you. If they are good, they will haunt you for a long time.
writing/editing
Both. Writing is creating. Editing it is seeing it at a deeper level.
pantser/plotter
I have no plan for the story. I only know where it begins and that I have to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I can only see the next scene and write on the hope that more will come.
music/silence
Silence. But if I need to block out noise, I put on the sound of rain.
dialogue/description
Dialogue. And more dialogue. I can write endless conversations between characters.
desk/couch
I love my desk. Just like I loved my school desk in elementary school. It’s only mine, and it makes me feel very professional.
Cora Matthew’s life has been turned upside down. She has just broken off her engagement two weeks before the wedding when her mother dies, leaving explicit directions to be buried in the small town she grew up in. Cora finds herself transported back into the world of Moonberry Lake. She arrives in the cozy town in the North Woods of Minnesota filled with unresolved questions about her mother’s past and tugging memories from early childhood that continue to haunt her.
Cora’s “quick” trip to Moonberry Lake is thwarted when she learns that her grandparents’ dilapidated lodge on the lake is her inheritance—but it comes with the surprising stipulation—she must live there for a year. With her life uprooted and nagging questions to answer, Cora resolves to accept the year in Moonberry Lake.
However, challenges abound for Cora, and the disheartening condition of the lodge is only the beginning. The residents of Moonberry Lake present their own set of conundrums, including a cantankerous handywoman, an eccentric artist, a grumpy neighbor, an elderly woman who spends all her time talking to the “residents” in the cemetery, and a very handsome neighbor who somehow always manages to catch Cora at her worst. As Cora seeks to put together the physical and emotional pieces of her past, she must decide if she is willing to let go of the emotional wounds of the past and open her heart to a new family and home that is more than she could have ever imagined.
This homespun tale of new friendships, sweet romance, and ordinary miracles will have readers wishing they could spend a summer (or a lifetime) on Moonberry Lake.
Debut novelist Holly Varni is poised to captivate readers with her heartwarming novel On Moonberry Lake. Drawing on her Midwestern upbringing, Varni crafts a tale filled with quirky characters and homespun charm set in the Minnesota town of Moonberry Lake.
Sure to appeal to fans of Jan Karon, Garrison Keillor, and Fannie Flagg, On Moonberry Lake will lure readers into an enchanting story of reconciliation, growth, and community to discover how friendships can transform into family, and genuine love can heal even the most broken-hearted.
Publisher: Revell (September 26, 2023)
Publication date: September 26, 2023
Printed length: 328
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Cora Matthews’s life is a mess. A broken engagement and the unexpected death of her mother have left her wondering if things will ever return to normal. Whatever “normal” is.
It certainly isn’t what she finds at Moonberry Lake. After she receives her family’s dilapidated lakefront lodge as an inheritance–with a surprising condition attached–Cora finds her life overrun by a parade of eccentric neighbors who all have something to say and something to teach her.
As Cora works to put her life back together, she must decide if she is willing to let go of the past, open her heart to love, and embrace the craziest version of family and home she could ever have imagined.
I connected with Holly Varni years ago on Twitter after reading the On Moonberry Lake stories she shared on her blog. What I thought would be a one-sided, girl-fanning tweet became a full-blown chat. I was surprised by Holly’s warm and friendly personality.
That sweetness is also found in her characters and stories. Reading On Moonberry Lake, I was struck by how much it reminded me of Jan Karon’s Mitford series. Like Mitford, the setting is a small town with quirky, lovable characters.
A tale of hope, freedom, and renewal, OML is about finding friends who love you like family. Or, in Cora Matthew’s case, better than family.
As a fan of character-driven fiction. I enjoyed Varni’s characters. I may have laughed out loud several times. And why not? Widgy was something else. Her coffee recipe was the best surprise.
On the other hand, Kitty was a mixed bag for me. If I met her on the street, we would be friends. But I would have to share the truth about her New Age beliefs.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not upset about Kitty’s character. As writers, we don’t always get to choose what our characters say or do. Still, as creators of Christian fiction, we must shine the light in the darkness lest our readers think non-Christian practices are okay. However, as I said before, this is a series, so I can’t know what Varni will do with her characters in the upcoming stories. I can only hope.
Moving on . . .
As for Cora Matthews, I empathized and cheered for her. A little lamb in need of nurturing. For the rest of the population On Moonberry Lake, they didn’t disappoint.
Like Ben Walker. The scene at the dance. The picture. The kiss. Memorable.
I thank the author and Revell for a free copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.
Holly Varni is a native Minnesotan of strong Norwegian descent, who was raised in the Lutheran Church that Garrison Keillor made a career depicting. Between the lutefisk, grumpy grandparents, and crazy neighbors who mowed their lawn wearing pajamas, the seed to
becoming a storyteller was planted. Though she, her husband, and their three sons live along the Central Coast of California, her beloved Midwest roots continue to haunt everything she writes. She hosts the Moments from Moonberry Lake podcast where she shares more stories of her beloved characters. Learn more at http://www.hollyvarni.com.
Gail Johnson 