This is not the spring that any of us imagined, and I fervently hope that you and yours are well. Mr. Ernst and I are fine, and grateful for the books that allow us to roam the world from home. We hope you can do the same.
To help put books in readers’ hands, we’re happy to announce the first “Shelter and Soar” Giveaway. Three readers will get to travel with Chloe and Roelke, while staying safe at home. Each winner will receive a signed and personalized copy of the Chloe Ellefson trade paperback of their choice.
The Giveaway starts now! To enter, leave a comment below by 11:59 PM (Central US time), Wednesday, April 8, 2020.The three winners, selected randomly from all entries here and on my Facebook Author Page, will be announced here on Thursday the 9th. Good luck!
Not many businesses claim a lineage dating back almost 300 years. The Utne Hotel, which can, is known as Norway’s oldest continuously-operating hotel.
The Utne Hotel in 2018.
In 1722 Peder Larsson Børsem was given a license to run a guesthouse in the village of Utne. The village was home to the district court, which kept travelers coming and going. A post office was established in 1826, and steamship travel in 1861. Explorers were followed by tourists.
For years boats beached right in front of the inn. This photo was taken between 1880 and 1887. (National Library of Norway/Wikimedia Commons)
The inn began modestly, with just a living room and one bedroom. Although the inn has grown, those rooms are still in use.
Women have provided much of the Utne Hotel’s hospitality over the years. From 1830 until 1900, Torbjørg Johannesdotter Utne was responsible for keeping the inn running. “Mother Utne,” as she was known, became legendary for making visitors welcome at the guesthouse.
Painting of Mother Utne by Eilif Petersen. (Photographed at the hotel.) In Fiddling With Fate‘s historical timeline, Torhild works for Mother Utne. Gurid Aga, who ran the inn with her husband Lars from 1918 to 1956. They restored the hotel in 1930. (Photographed at the hotel.)Hildegunn Aga Blokhus served as hostess in the 1940s. In 1956 she officially took over the hotel from her parents, and served until 1996. She thrilled guests by wearing her Hardanger folk costume and preserving food traditions. She had a fictional cameo appearance in Fiddling With Fate. (Photographed at the hotel.)
The hotel has never lost it’s reputation for warm hospitality and fine food. When I planned to have Chloe and Roelke visit Utne in Fiddling With Fate, the 9th Chloe Ellefson mystery, where else would they stay?
Photo taken between 1945 and 1960. (National Library of Norway/Wikimedia Commons)
They checked into Room 15. In the photo above, its window is just above “Utne Hotel.” As mentioned in Fiddling With Fate, a tragic legend tells of a young woman who jumped from that window after romantic heartbreak.
Room 15.
Roelke dubiously eyed the twin beds, pushed together to make a double. “Footboards. We’re both on the tall side for footboards.”
“Who cares, when we have the best room?” Chloe asked happily, as if the prospect of bruised toes was of no importance. “Look at this view!” She crossed to the open window and put her hands on the sill.
Today the view from Room 15 also includes the ferry dock.
Common areas include many antique pieces that have served the hotel for over a century.
A parlor.
The dining room.
Mr. Ernst after an exhausting day of research.
My husband and I enjoyed our stay at the Utne Hotel immensely, so it wasn’t difficult to imagine Chloe’s joy at the opportunity to spend time there too!
I’ve been dithering about whether to announce the Chloe tour scheduled for this summer. In the spirit of optimism…here you go.
The 9th Chloe Ellefson Mystery, The Lacemaker’s Secret, takes place in northeast Wisconsin where early Belgian immigrants made their homes.
When readers asked for a special book-themed tour of the area, I turned to my friends at the Belgian Heritage Center in Brussels, WI.
We’ve planned a very special excursion for readers on Saturday, July 11, 2020. I hope you’ll join Mr. Ernst and me as we explore featured locations and learn about the inspiring history of one of Wisconsin’s lesser-known ethnic groups.
Activities will include:
Great Fire Presentation
This powerful program will be provided by Barb Chisholm, historian at the Belgian Heritage Center. The Great Fire, which happened on October 8, 1871, was devastating for southern Door County’s Belgian community. Two of Barb’s ancestors survived the fire by hiding in a well, and part of her presentation shares her great-grandmother’s experience.
Guided Bus Tour of Namur National Landmark Historic District
Experience Belgian culture and tradition on a narrated tour of the largest Belgian settlement in the United States. The tour will include Belgian architecture, Roadside Chapels, and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help.
The Lacemaker’s Secret Illustrated Presentation
Learn more about the stories, places, and artifacts that inspired Chloe’s—and Seraphine’s—stories.
Time to explore the Belgian Heritage Center’s exhibits.
Traditional Lunch of Booyah, Bread, & Belgian Pie.
Optional add-on tour of Heritage Hill State Park’s Belgian Farm (Friday, July 10)
Space will be limited, so save the date!
I sincerely hope that all of us feel comfortable traveling by July. Since we don’t know how events will unfold, however, I am not yet taking reservations for the tour. When the time is right I will announce registration here on my blog, in an email to those signed up for my mailing list, and on my Facebook Author Page.
For centuries, Norwegian farmhouses had open fireplaces. A raised hearth was built in the center of the floor, with a smoke hole in the roof above. These “smoke houses” with a central hearth and/or corner fireplace were common along the western coast.
Tveismestova, the oldest building in the Hardanger Folk Museum Collection.
Kroting was a simple way of decorating a house with smoke-stained logs and few or no windows. In Fiddling With Fate, the 10th Chloe Ellefson Mystery, Chloe senses why it was important:
Chloe imagined living through a dark, cold winter in this dark, sooty room. Firelight flickered against the walls. Wind whistled through cracks, and sleety snow beat against the lone window. The air smelled of smoke and unwashed bodies. Somehow she understood that the designs brought comfort.
Kroting at Tveismestova.
Women mixed chalk with water or sour milk, and used their fingers to paint the geometric designs on the walls. Kroting was often done in conjunction with the major housecleaning undertaken for holidays or a wedding.
Kroting at Tveismestova.
Some of the geometric designs may have been decorative, but some employed symbols invoked to ward away evil and protect the inhabitants.
Another building at the Hardanger Folk Museum, Tronestova, dates to between 1650 and 1750. The kroting here uses white and a red derived from local minerals.
Kroting at Tronestova, Hardanger Folk Museum.
Several buildings now restored at Oslo’s Norsk Folk Museum also came from the southwestern part of Norway. The example below was copied in the 1940s from a pattern in a Hardanger farm.
The chalk decorations were not permanent. Very few original examples of kroting exist today, but fortunately some of the designs were saved. The reproductions found in these historic buildings provide a glimpse of life in dark Norwegian cabins hundreds of years ago.
Launching the 10th Chloe Ellefson mystery, Fiddling With Fate, was a whirlwind of fun last fall! It was a joy to meet and hear from so many readers. One question came up frequently.
What’s next for Chloe and Roelke?
Over a year ago I learned that my publisher, Midnight Ink, was shutting down. Fiddling With Fate would be the last Chloe book that they printed. The news was a shock.
Still, the announcement did give me a chance, after ten very busy years, to take a deep breath, and take stock. There were two basic questions to answer.
Did I want to keep writing the Chloe series?
For me, the choice was simple. I am not ready to say good-bye to Chloe and Roelke. There are lots more stories, historic places, and ethnic traditions to explore.
And thankfully, as many of you know, I have an amazingly supportive spouse. Mr. Ernst’s take was this:
So what if you don’t have a contract yet for Chloe 11? You didn’t have one when you wrote the first book in the series. If you want to write another Chloe mystery, you should definitely write one.
The second question was equally important.
Did readers want the series to continue, especially after the momentous development in Fiddling?
I can’t speak for all readers, of course. But as I considered options, notes like this one from Sharon B. warmed my heart.
I am currently deep into my third reading of Fiddling With Fate. Though not Norwegian, I feel a kinship to Chloe and miss her company when her stories finish. Please keep her world alive for all of us.
Right now, the only thing I can announce with certainty is that I am working on the 11th book in the series.
My ritual when starting a new book is to select a journal that feels appropriate for the project. This seemed right for Chloe 11.
It’s way too early to share many details, but Chloe 11 does involve a new historic site and ethnic group.
I’ve spent time exploring archival collections, squinting at old photos, driving back roads searching for immigrant barns, and learning about new folk arts and ethnic foodways from local experts.
I’m happy, focused on the work, and gratefully leaving the business end of things to my savvy literary agent.
So while I don’t have specific publication information to share, there will be an 11th Chloe Ellefson mystery. Thank you for your encouragement, and for hanging in there as I find my way through this transition period.
In the meantime…I want to set up another special tour at one of the settings featured in the Chloe Ellefson mysteries. If you’d be interested in such a tour, which historic site or museum would be your top choice?
If you need to refresh your memory, click HERE to reach the series page on my website.
Although most of Fiddling With Fate centers on the Hardanger Folkemuseum, I also wanted to include the Voss Folkemuseum, a sister site. The museum, founded in 1917, preserves the old farmstead at Mølster (Mølstertunet). That museum has a special claim: all of the buildings at the site stand on their original locations.
Historians believe the farm at Mølster was established over a thousand years ago. In western Norway, it was once common for several small farms to be clustered together.
This drawing showing clustered farms, on exhibit at the museum, was made by historian Arne Berg.
Individual families had their own buildings and plots of land, but shared a common courtyard. In Voss, these jumbled patches didn’t start getting consolidated until about 1860.
(Diorama on exhibit at the museum.)
Two families lived at the farm until 1924, when the property was formally transferred to the folk museum.
The museum board visiting the farm in 1919. (Photo displayed at the museum.)This old postcard shows the farm perched on a hilltop. (Enerett Normanns Kunstforlag A/S Oslo)
In the book, Chloe visits the Voss Folkemuseum with a colleague. After a meeting, she’s able to enjoy a quick tour of the site:
The guide slogged across the muddy lane. “Let’s start in the barn. We’ll be out of the rain and we can see the whole farmyard from there.” She headed toward a large barn with side bays for hay and grain, and a central drive-through/threshing floor. “There have probably been two families farming here since before the Black Death in the thirteen hundreds …”
Chloe tried to listen, she really did, but on this cloudy day the deserted old homes and cowsheds and storage houses—their logs weathered almost gray, with roofs of slate or turf—seemed especially evocative.
The courtyard, as viewed from the barn.This is the barn Chloe visited.
Focus, Chloe ordered herself, but the palpable rage and joy lingering in the barn were too strong to ignore. …And from a distance, she heard a hardingfele’s irresistible call.
The barn became the setting for the 1888 fiddle competition and dance which Britta and Erik attended.
My visit to the folk museum provided lots of other details for the mystery. The oldest building is an årestove, a log house with a central open hearth, which has been dated to about 1500.
This provides another view of the type of kitchen described at the high farm, in the early years, in Fiddling With Fate
The cluster includes a more modern home (the building on the left in the photo below).
Some of the artifacts in the home helped inform my descriptions of the later years in Fiddling With Fate’s historical timeline.
The room below, in a storehouse, is similar to the one Lisbet visited with Gudrun in 1838: They climbed to the loft, where the family stored wooden chests filled with rye and barley, her mother’s silver jewelry, her father’s savings, their best clothes. Those included Lisbet’s bridal attire.
And this shows the type of bunks provided in the outbuilding for farm workers. Torhild and Gjertrud slept in a storeroom like this while working at the Hotel Utne in the 1850s.
Mr. Ernst and I visited the Voss Folkemuseum on an evocative rainy day, which turned out to provide lots of inspiration. If you have the chance to visit the Hardanger region, keep this historic site on your list!
For the final scene in Fiddling With Fate, the 10th Chloe Ellefson mystery, I needed a special and festive Norwegian cake. The decision was easy: kransekake!
The Norwegian kransekake, or wreath cake, is formed from a series of concentric rings, stacked to make a cone.
(Wikipedia)
I like to experiment in the kitchen, but to learn about making kransekakes, I turned to some experts at the Sons of Norway-Mandt Lodge in Stoughton, WI.
Vicky, Joyce, and Carol
Special pans allow bakers to create perfectly sized tiers.
My reader-friend Larry, who also writes about Norwegian heritage, recently speculated that immigrants would not have been likely to pack such tins in their trunks. It is possible to make the rings without the pans, although it is much harder to get them sized correctly! I don’t know when the special pans became popular, but today you can buy them in a set from most any Scandinavian import shop. (The cakes are also popular in Denmark. Kransekage is the Danish spelling.)
The thick dough is made of almond meal, powdered sugar, and egg whites. You can grind your own almonds, but buying meal saves time.
Once the dough is mixed, small portions are rolled out into long lengths by hand. It takes practice to get them even and sized properly for the pans. (I could identify my rings because they were less uniform than the others!) It’s also best to work quickly so the dough doesn’t dry and crack.
Once a roll is made, the baker breaks off pieces and fits them into the pans.
Kransekakes commonly have eighteen layers (some even more), although you can also make smaller ones. That’s what we did, which is why all the rings weren’t filled.
It takes a careful eye to get the rings baked properly. They must be chewy, but firm enough to stack.
At that point, they come out of the pan to cool. If you’re doing multiple cakes at once, keep the rings organized in sets!
The ladies assured me that all the wobbles and bobbles in my rings would disappear when the traditional drizzle of frosting was applied. Below is my first mini-kransekake, and it did look much nicer once I decorated it.
It’s also possible to pack the baked rings away in the freezer, to be assembled right before serving.
When I celebrated the launch of Fiddling With Fate with a special dinner and program at the Lodge, my baker-friends kindly agreed to make kransekakes so guests could enjoy the cake Kari made for Chloe and Roelke in the book. We baked a small one for each individual table. Doesn’t it look festive?
The ladies also made one full-sized kransekake so guests could get the impact of a full tower!
It also let Mr. Ernst and I demonstrate a wedding tradition. After the feast the groom covers the bride’s eyes, and she picks up the top layer of the kransekake. However many layers come up with it, attached by frosting, indicate how many children the couple will have!
I’m glad I had tutelage, but once you get the hang of it, making kransekakes is easier than it might appear. And while the simple loops of white frosting might be most common, bakers can decorate however they wish. Sometimes small gifts are attached, or—at weddings—tiny objects of importance for the bride and groom.
If you want to try baking a kransekake, a set of purchased pans will come with a recipe. You can also find recipes online and if you feel daring, try baking one free-form. Let me know how it turns out!
I’m delighted to announce that I will be teaching a writing workshop at Vesterheim in Decorah, Iowa, on April 24-26, 2020.
(photo by Rebecca Hanna)
Cherished family stories can be preserved in many ways. This workshop will introduce you to several types of writing, including poetry, memoir, fiction, and creative nonfiction.
You will enjoy a variety of short writing activities designed to help capture memories or explore what interests you most about your unique family, ethnic group, or community heritage.
(photo by Rebecca Hanna)
Inspired by Vesterheim’s rich collections and your own personal memories or heirlooms, you will leave with drafts of several poems, character sketches, essays, and short stories.
(photo by Rebecca Hanna)
Both beginning writers and those with some experience are welcome. Returning students will find some familiar activities, some new, and a chance to continue your work.
For more information, and to register, click HERE.
I hope you will consider gifting yourself a weekend of creativity and reflection. If you have any questions, let me know. I look forward to seeing you!
When I give programs about the Chloe Ellefson Mystery Series, I often mention overarching goals I developed long ago for the series: celebrating real historic places, highlighting folk arts, using artifacts from museum collections to help tell stories, and honoring our ancestors.
Ten books in, I need to add one more goal. I hope that each Chloe book can honor the volunteers who do so much to make sure local history, family stories, or cultural heritage isn’t lost.
Barb Chisolm telling the story of the Great Fire as seen through her own ancestor’s eyes.
I’ve had the opportunity to visit many local historical societies in Wisconsin and neighboring states—sometimes to do research, sometimes because I’m invited to make a presentation about the Chloe mysteries or my nonfiction book, A Settler’s Year: Pioneer Life Through the Seasons. I usually leave feeling awed that a small group of people is making such a big difference in their community.
Three generations of milling technology, from ancient stone grinding to the modern roller mill to modern electricity, are preserved in The Messer/Mayer Mill, owned by the Richfield County Historical Society, WI. (RCHS Photo)
Some groups focus on ethnic heritage, preserving important traditions brought to the Upper Midwest by their own parents and grandparents.
Volunteers often perpetuate food traditions—often giving their time to support bake sales that fund educational programs and other projects.
Vicky, Joyce, and Carol taught me how to make Kransekake, a traditional Norwegian almond cake made of stacked rings that I mentioned in Fiddling With Fate. These ladies and many other bakers at the Sons of Norway-Mandt Lodge in Stoughton bake lots of goodies to raise money for important programs.
Some share music…
Alphorn players at Swiss Volksfest, New Glarus, WI.Hardanger fiddle players, members of Fykerud’n Spelemannslag, performing at Syttende Mai, Stoughton, WI.
…and some dance.
The Pommersche Tanzdeel Freistadt dancers are organized into three age groups. I love seeing the young ones involved! The group is located in Western Ozaukee County, WI, site of the oldest German settlement in the state.
Stoughton High School Norwegian Dancers have been delighting crowds since the 1950s.
Some individuals focus on folk arts, honing their own understanding of techniques and, often, sharing it with others by teaching or giving presentations.
Kasia Drake-Hames (in tan sweater) teaching a workshop in Polish paper cutting, wycinanki. I featured this folk art in Tradition of Deceit.Susan Slinde sharing some history about Hardanger embroidery, illustrated by one of her own gorgeous pieces. Rebecca Hanna teaching carving to young people through the Whittling Klubb for Kids at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. (Photo http://www.thegazette.com)
Many artifacts are saved by the volunteers who preserve them at local historical societies.
This sampler is on display at the William H. Upham House, owned by the North Wood County Historical Society, Marshfield, WI. It was just what I needed when looking for a sampler to reflect a character in A Memory of Muskets.
Volunteers preserve buildings…
Reedsburg Area Pioneer Log Village, WI. I’m looking forward to visiting!No only did descendants of early Belgian settlers save this historic church, they turned it into a gathering place with museum exhibits and cultural programs, preserving immigrant stories, the Walloon language, and local history. I visited to do research, but decided I had to include it in The Lacemaker’s Secret.The Pottawatomie Lighthouse on Rock Island State Park, WI, was in sad shape before volunteers organized to preserve and restore the building. Mr. Ernst and I was privileged to serve as docents there for eight years, sharing the stories of lighthouse families who once lived and worked there. Part of The Lightkeeper’s Legacy was written in the lighthouse.
…and sometimes volunteers even recreate buildings, because they understand that place is important.
The Little House Wayside Cabin allows fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House in the Big Woods to walk the ground where the Ingalls family once walked, and imagine. I enjoyed visiting while writing Death on the Prairie.
Family volunteers—those who collect and stories about their ancestors–make a difference too, in ways larger than they might imagine. Many of my books include details inspired by a reminiscence or family history I discovered.
The list could go on, but suffice it to say that I’m enormously grateful to everyone who helps preserve, protect, perpetuate, and share.
Many of the dedicated and generous people I’ve met on the road merge and blend into characters in the Chloe books. Chloe, and I, couldn’t do our work without you. We’re grateful!
I love exploring historic and ethnic food traditions. Working at Old World Wisconsin in the 1980s and ’90s provided my first opportunity to delve into traditional Norwegian foodways.
Making krumkake on a wood stove at the 1865 Kvaale Farm.
Deciding to make Chloe Ellefson (protagonist of my mystery series) a Norwegian-American rekindled my interest in traditional foods. I imagined taking plates of Norwegian cookies to every library program and bookstore visit.
While writing Heritage of Darkness, a Norwegian-themed book that mentions traditional holiday baking, I took a hands-on class about Norwegian cookies. (You can get a peek at that experience HERE.)
Sandbakkels
I’m sorry to say that the whole idea of baking dozens of cookies for readers never materialized. The traditional Norwegian treats I’m familiar with are putzy. I’m not opposed to putzing; I just don’t have time.
So when I contemplated the idea of refreshments for the launch party for Fiddling With Fate, which is largely set in Norway, I compromised. First, I ordered rosettes from the Fosdal Home Bakery in Stoughton, WI.
Second, I whipped up a couple of batches of rømmegrøt bars.
Rømmegrøt is a Norwegian porridge. In the summer, Norwegian women at the high pastures mixed together sour cream, milk, flour, and butter to make a rich, thick dish topped with melted butter and, sometimes, sugar and cinnamon.
(Wikipedia)
Although I love rømmegrøt, the logistics involved with serving warm porridge in a bookstore seemed challenging.
Rømmegrøt bars are reminiscent of the porridge, delicious, and super-easy to make. I got the recipe from my friend Darlene, who often baked them for students attending folk art classes at Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.
Rømmegrøt Bars
2 tubes Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (or Pillsbury Baking Sheets, which do not have perforations; I’ve also used Crescent Rounds)
2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened (I’ve used Neufchatel)
1 c. sugar
1 egg, separated
1 t. vanilla
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
Grease a 9 x 12 ” pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Open one can of crescent rolls and carefully unroll the dough. Place on the bottom of the pan. Gently spread the dough with your fingers until it touches the sides of the pan. Try not to let it get too thick along the edges.
Cream together cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and the egg yolk. Spread this mixture over the dough in the pan. Unroll the second can of dough and place over this filling.
Beat the egg white until foamy and spread on top of the dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top. Bake 25-30 minutes. Cool and cut. Store in refrigerator. Cut bars can be frozen.
I've worn many bonnets over the years: writer, reader, historical interpreter, curator, reenactor, naturalist, educator. I've never had a job I didn't love. How lucky is that?
