Fiddling With Fate

Is there anything more exciting for an author than turning in a manuscript for a new book? Yes! Anticipating publication day.

The 10th Chloe Ellefson mystery will be published on September 8, 2019—just six months away.

Chloe has a devil of a time unraveling the mysteries of Norway’s fiddle and dance traditions.

After her mother’s unexpected death, curator Chloe Ellefson discovers hidden antiques that hint at family secrets. Determined to find answers, Chloe accepts a consultant job in Norway, her ancestors’ homeland. She’s thrilled with the opportunity to explore Hardanger fiddle and dance traditions . . . and her own heritage.

Once their plane lands, however, Chloe and her fiance, cop Roelke McKenna, encounter only disharmony. Chloe’s research reveals strong women and the importance of fiddle music in their lives. But folklore warns against “the devil’s instrument” and old evils may yet linger among the fjords and mountains. As Chloe fine-tunes her search for the truth, a killer’s desire to stop her builds to a deadly crescendo.

I hope you’ll join Chloe and Roelke on this special trip to Norway!

Hardanger Folk Museum

Fiddling With Fate is available for preorder from your favorite vendor.

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Happy reading!

Our Lady Of Good Help

Adele Brise was born in Belgium in 1831, and immigrated to Wisconsin with her family in 1855. The Brise family settled about 16 miles northeast of the city of Green Bay in Robinsonville, now Champion, Wisconsin.

Little is known of Adele’s early years, but she was remembered as a devout young woman.

(Photo on display at Our Lady of Good Help)

In October, 1859, apparitions of the Virgin Mary occurred to Adele as she was walking through the woods. Mary instructed Adele to teach local children in the faith. Adele devoted the rest of her life to that charge.

Adele Brise with students. (CatholicLane.com)

Many church leaders doubted the veracity of Adele’s story. Her friends and neighbors believed, however, and Adele’s father built a chapel nearby. In time it was replaced with a larger chapel, and facilities for students.

In 1871, during the Great Fire, some area residents fled to the grounds. They processed around the chapel carrying the statue of Mary. Conditions almost overwhelmed them, but Adele instructed them to pray. When the firestorm finally passed, everything around the chapel grounds had been destroyed. The outside of the fence was charred, but the grounds were undisturbed. 

Adele Brise was not a nun, but she adopted attire similar to a nun’s habit. (Photo on display at Our Lady of Good Help)

Adele’s vision was not accepted by the church before she died in 1896. Finally, over century later in 2010, the apparitions were formally approved. Today, The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help is the only Marian shrine in the United States on the site of an approved apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

I read about Adele while doing early research for The Lacemaker’s Secret, the 9th Chloe Ellefson mystery, which focuses on Belgian immigration to Northeast Wisconsin. I wanted to include Adele’s story. As a non-Catholic, I also wanted to be respectful.

Before making any final decisions, I visited the site itself.

It includes a small museum that tells Adele’s story.

The apparition appeared between a maple tree and a hemlock tree. These are pieces of the roots of those trees.

The site includes a contemporary church, home to an active congregation. The sanctuary is beautiful.

Around a corner and down some stairs is the Apparition Oratory.

These crutches near the entrance are testament to reports of visitors being healed of illness or affliction after a visit.

To me, even more powerful was the absolute, reverential beauty of the small chapel.

 

I knew that if Chloe visited the chapel, she couldn’t help but be moved as well. I decided to have her visit at an emotionally low point, so she could find solace.

The grounds are also peaceful and inviting.

This is Adele’s grave.

The building below is a roadside chapel that was moved to the site and restored in 2003.

Visitors are welcome to visit any day of the year, from 7 AM to 7 PM.

* * * 

To learn more about The Lacemaker’s Secret, or my other books, I invite you to visit my website.

Click here for a more detailed account of Adele’s story.

Giveaway Winners!

Congratulations to Jacki Bedworth, Sue Gallagher, Kay Johnson, Karen Mayers, Hope McLeod, Cindy Patterson, Linda Roehrig, Beth Rogers, and Margaret Wurth! Each has won a signed and personalized copy of the 9th Chloe Ellefson Mystery, The Lacemaker’s Secret.

Winners were chosen at random from all entries here and on my Facebook Author Page. Huge thanks to all who entered! Your interest and lovely comments warmed my heart on this frigid winter day.

The Lacemaker’s Secret Giveaway!

I’m celebrating last fall’s successful launch of the ninth Chloe Ellefson Mystery with a Giveaway! Nine winners will receive a signed and personalized trade paperback copy of The Lacemaker’s Secret.

To enter the Giveaway, leave a comment here before 11:59 PM (Central US Time) on Wednesday, January 30, 2019. One entry per person, please.

Nine winners will be chosen at random from all entries here and on my Facebook Author Page. Winners will be announced here on Thursday, January 31. Good luck!

Chloe Ellefson Mysteries Update

The 10th Chloe Ellefson Mystery, scheduled for release in September, 2019, will be the last one released by publisher Midnight Ink—which is shutting down.

The setting for book 10!

While that isn’t good news, since the announcement I’ve been overwhelmed by the support from wonderful Chloe and Roelke fans. Thank you!

I do want to continue the series. My upbeat and savvy literary agent has already sent a proposal to a press which has expressed interest. The publishing industry wheels can grind slowly, but—fingers crossed!

In the meantime, I’m focusing on finishing Chloe 10. The manuscript is due to my editor on March 1. My recent Chloe books have been about 95,000 words in length, and I’m at 85,000 words now. I’m getting there!

Mr. Ernst and I also want to do everything we can to demonstrate to potential publishers that the series is still going strong. Thanks to you, we had a very successful launch of the 9th Chloe mystery, The Lacemaker’s Secret, in October. Now we want to keep expanding the circle of Chloe Ellefson Mystery readers.

To that end, next week we’re going to hold, here and on my Facebook page, a special Giveaway for The Lacemaker’s Secret. We hope that loyal readers who have already read the book will encourage friends to enter.

Writing online reviews, and recommending the books to your local library, are also enormously helpful.

Over the past decade, Mr. Ernst and I have had an amazing time exploring historic places and meeting new reader-friends. We’re grateful! We’re optimistic that with your help, the adventures will continue.

Libby’s Legendary Banana Bread Pudding

Sometimes you just need some comfort food—something steaming and fragrant and utterly delicious.

The 9th Chloe Ellefson Mystery, The Lacemaker’s Secret, begins at just such a moment.

   “Something is burdening you,” Libby told Roelke McKenna. “Spill it. Now.”

   “Nothing’s wrong.”

     Libby’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe you.”

   Roelke turned to the kitchen counter where an old-fashioned percolator burbled with promise. Trust his cousin to just know. He’d had another rough night, but he didn’t want to talk about it.

   . . . Libby turned and cracked the oven door. A rich wave of banana, vanilla, and cinnamon swirled into the room.

   “Please tell me that’s Libby’s Legendary Banana Bread Pudding.” Roelke’s favorite Sunday-morning treat at his cousin’s house.

I came up with this recipe for Banana Bread Pudding on a frigid Wisconsin morning. It pairs beautifully with the delectable maple sauce, so don’t skip that step! 

Pudding Ingredients
3-4 ripe bananas
4 c. 1-inch bread cubes (French, Italian, or any other sturdy type)  
3 large eggs
2 cups milk (soy or dairy)
2 t. vanilla extract
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 t. ground cardamom (optional)
1 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Note: Because the sauce is sweet, I used no sugar in the bread pudding itself. If you prefer a sweeter version, add 1/4 c. or 1/2 c.

 Maple Sauce Ingredients
3 T. butter
2 T. sugar (raw or granulated)
1 T. cornstarch
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. maple syrup
1-1/2 t. vanilla extract

Instructions
Grease a 2-quart casserole. Pre-heat oven to 375.  

Place the bread cubes in a large bowl.

I used half a small loaf of Italian bread. Bread that’s a day or two old will retain its texture better than soft bread.

In another bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Stir in milk, vanilla, and spices. Add sugar, if using.  

Set one banana aside, slice the others into this mix, and stir to coat. Add this mixture, and walnuts if using, to the bread cubes. Gently stir.

Stir the pudding into the casserole dish. Slice the final banana over the top.

Use banana that are ripe but firm if you want to retain their texture. Over-ripe bananas can be mashed and mixed with the bread mixture.

Bake for about 40 minutes. Towards the end of the bake start the maple sauce (directions below).

Remove the casserole when the pudding is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center emerges clean.  

Fresh from the oven.

When the pudding is partly baked, begin the Maple Sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan. Mix the sugar and cornstarch together and stir into the melted butter.

Add the milk and maple syrup, whisking continuously. Continue stirring until the mixture comes to a low boil. Let simmer until thickened, about a minute or so.

The silky-smooth sauce just coming to a simmer.

 Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Serve the pudding warm, topped with the warm maple sauce.

I think Libby and Roelke would enjoy this version of Banana Bread Pudding. I hope you do as well!

Belgian Spice Cookies

The latest Chloe Ellefson Mystery, The Lacemaker’s Secret, celebrates Belgian heritage, so of course my research included foodways. I quickly came across references to Belgian Spice Cookies, also called Speculoos.

These crisp spiced shortbread cookies are also popular in the Netherlands, where they’re called Speculaas. Children in both countries often receive the cookies on St. Nicholas Day in early December.

In North America the cookies are often known as Windmill cookies, because several bakeries produce them in that shape, or Biscoff cookies. (Delta Airlines has been handing out Biscoff cookies since 1986.)

This company sells Speculoos as Biscoff cookies in the US. (Wikipedia)

Since Speculoos date back only to 1932, when a Belgian bakery started producing them, I included them in the mystery’s 1984 timeline. Chloe Ellefson enjoys a taste at a St. Nicholas celebration at Heritage Hill State Historical Park in Green Bay.  

Even though my maternal grandmother (who was famed for cookie-baking) had family roots in the Netherlands, I had never made Speculoos before.

None of the vintage Wisconsin/ethnic cookbooks on my shelf include a speculoos recipe. The Milwaukee Public Library’s wonderful Historic Recipe Collection turned up this recipe for Brussels Spice Cookies.

Milwaukee Journal, December 27, 1962.

A quick online search turned up lots of Speculoos/Speculaas recipes. The cookies themselves are pretty basic, but bakers use a lot of latitude with spices. The simplest use only cinnamon, while others call for various blends of cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, coriander, and/or pepper. Some people simplify by using Pumpkin Pie Spice.

(WIkipedia)

Traditionally, bakers used shallow wooden molds to imprint elaborate designs in the cookies. The dough can also be cut into shapes or decorated with a cookie stamps. Most recipes call for rolling the dough to no more than 1/8 inch.

However, Wisconsin’s fabulous New Glarus Bakery sells delicious Speculaas that are thicker and unadorned. 

Speculaas cookies from New Glarus Bakery

Some recipes call for sliced almonds to be sprinkled on top of (or even on the bottom of) the cookies; some mix sliced almonds into the dough, as the New Glarus bakers did. And some substitute almond flour for some of the regular flour.

When I put out a call for favorite recipes readers recommended several sources, including the New York Times, A Spruce Eats.and Cooks Illustrated. (The latter requires membership for web access; a free trial is available.) You can also find good information in the September, 2018 print edition of Cooks Illustrated. Belgian Foodie is another good source.

After some experimentation I came up with my own favorite:

Speculoos
1-1/2 c. all purpose flour (I use white whole wheat)
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1 t. cardamom
1 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. cloves
1/2 c. softened butter
1/2 c. dark brown sugar
1/2 c. raw sugar or Turbinado sugar
1 egg

Mix flour, soda, and spices in a bowl and set aside.

I particularly love cardamom, so I only buy whole pods and grind them just prior to baking.

Cream softened butter with the sugars.

I use raw sugar (left), but because the crystals are larger than regular sugar, I buzz them in a spice grinder until fine (right). Belgian bakers used a special dark sugar (sometimes beet sugar) that is not readily available in the US.

When smooth, beat in the egg.  Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until dough is completely blended. Place dough in an airtight container (or wrap in plastic wrap) and store in the refrigerator for at least several hours to allow spices to blend.  Note:  It will be easier to roll the dough if you flatten it into a disc shape before chilling.

Preheat oven to 350 and grease baking sheets.  Roll dough approximately 1/8 inch thick.  Use cutters or stamps as desired to shape the cookies.

Bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until cookies are a light golden brown around the edges.  Remove pans from the oven and allow the cookies to sit for two minutes before removing them to a cooling rack.

For my first batch I used antique cutters passed down from my grandma; for the second, I tried using modern stamps.  

I like soft cookies, so I didn’t worry too much about getting the cookies as thin as 1/8 inch.

With so much variety, you can’t go wrong. Try mixing up a batch for your book discussion group or family. I think they’ll be a hit!

The Belgian Heritage Center

When I first started considering a setting for a Chloe Ellefson mystery about Wisconsin’s Belgian immigrants, I knew it would primarily feature the Belgian Farm restored at Heritage Hill State Park.

Then I discovered that a Belgian Heritage Center existed in southern Door County.  I made arrangements to meet with a Board member and learned about the excellent work being done at the Center. That visit changed the trajectory of the story, because I knew Chloe would enjoy a visit too!

The building which now houses the Center, the former St. Mary of the Snows Catholic Church in Namur, WI, came very close to demolition.

When a group of local residents (many of Belgian descent) learned that the church was slated to be razed, they organized around the idea of acquiring the building and creating a space that would celebrate Belgian heritage. They managed to purchase the church from the Catholic Diocese in 2010.

Today, the Belgian Heritage Center is a shining example of what a few dedicated volunteers can accomplish.  

The Center “tells the story of the Belgian settlement in Wisconsin and works to preserve unique elements of Belgian culture such as foods, beverages, customs, architecture and the Walloon language.”

Visitors will find some formal exhibit areas that tell a broad story.

Other exhibits focus on individual photographs…

…and artifacts.

The panel below is one of my favorites. I’ve read several accounts of women carrying very heavy loads of grain to distant mills in order to provide bread for their children. The Belgian women had a unique way of carrying the sacks of grain, as illustrated. Visitors can now simulate the experience.

The building also has space for programs.

Historian Barb Englebert Chisholm reenacts the history of the Great Fire as experienced by her great-grandmother.

The Center hosts a variety of speakers and special events. Volunteers have produced a growing collection of videotaped interviews with local Belgian-Americans, and are involved with efforts to preserve the Walloon language.

For more information, visit the Belgian Heritage Center website.

And for more information about all the Chloe Ellefson mysteries, visit my website.  Happy reading!

The Belgian Farm

Every Chloe Ellefson Mystery is set at a real historic site or museum. This lets me celebrate special places, and allows readers to visit the scene of the crime.

When I planned the 9th book in the series, The Lacemaker’s Secret, I honed in on the Belgian Farm restored at Heritage Hill State Historical Park in Green Bay, WI.

The house, constructed in 1872, was originally located in Rosiere, Kewaunee County, WI. The farm belonged to John Baptist and Theresa Massart.  (To see photographs of the buildings before they were moved, visit the Belgian-American Research Collection at the UW-Green Bay Archives.)

Members of the Massart Family standing in front of their home. (Photo displayed at Heritage Hill)

The buildings were moved to Heritage Hill in 1984, and restored to show a farm typical for Belgian-American farmers in northeast Wisconsin. The timing was almost perfect; The Lacemaker’s Secret is set in late 1983, so I only needed to make a slight adjustment.

The house was built of logs and covered with a brick veneer—a practice common after the Great Fire of 1871. The low building  to the right is the limestone summer kitchen.

The Massart Farmhouse, restored at Heritage Hill State Historical Park.

When restoring any home, curators choose artifacts that help tell stories about the people who once owned, made, or used them. In the mystery, Chloe accepts a consultant job tasking her to create a furnishings plan for the farm.

The furnished kitchen—what Chloe imagined as she toured the empty farmhouse.

Some of the artifacts currently on display in the farmhouse made their way into my story.

The next lady brought two round crocheted pieces with beads added along the fringe. “Do you know what these are?”

“Doilies?” Chloe hazarded. “Maybe to put under a candlestick or vase?”

“No!” The old woman was clearly tickled to stump the curator. “My mother made these to keep insects out of beer mugs and water glasses.”

“Ah!” Chloe imagined the pieces draped in place, stymieing inquisitive hornets. “Beautiful and practical.”

Glass protectors.

Religious artifacts reflect the strong faith that saw many Belgian immigrants through difficult times.

The skirt and shoes below became Seraphine’s in the book, special attire brought from Belgian and worn to celebrate the first Kermiss.

Seraphine felt festive in her full brown skirt with green and purple stripes near the hem and the Sunday sabots Jean-Paul had carved with flowers for her.

The large log barn at the Belgian Farm, also featured in the book, came from the Lampereur family in Brussels.

Animal stalls were built into each side bay. The center bay of was used as a drive-through when unloading hay. 

 

Inside the center bay.  Note the ladder leading to the loft, and the hay fork hanging from the ceiling.

 

After the Great Fire, a few trees were damaged but standing. Farmers harvested them quickly, before disease could render them unusable for building. One log here shows a large knot left in place, and charred scars.

Incongruously, another structure mentioned in the book is visible from the Belgian Farm:  the Green Bay Correctional Institution. A plotline that involved police business at the prison let me bring cop Roelke McKenna to Green Bay for the final chapters.

One scene in The Lacemaker’s Secret is set at another historic building at Heritage Hill, the Cotton House, which dates to the 1840s.

Mr. Ernst and I had a great time exploring Heritage Hill. I hope you can plan a visit too!

Chloe 10 Sneak Peek!

I was planning to wait a bit before sharing a sneak peek at the 10th Chloe Ellefson Mystery. But word is starting to leak out, and I want faithful readers to be in the know.  

Chloe and Roelke are going to Norway!

 

Here’s the story synopsis:

Chloe has a devil of a time unraveling the mysteries of Norway’s fiddle and dance traditions

After her mother’s unexpected death, curator Chloe Ellefson discovers hidden antiques that hint at family secrets. Determined to find answers, Chloe accepts a consultant job in Norway, her ancestors’ homeland. She’s thrilled with the opportunity to explore Hardanger fiddle and dance traditions . . . and her own heritage.

Once their plane lands, however, Chloe and her fiancé, cop Roelke McKenna, encounter only disharmony. Chloe’s research reveals strong women and the importance of fiddle music in their lives. But folklore warns against “the devil’s instrument” and old evils may yet linger among the fjords and mountains. As Chloe fine-tunes her search for the truth, a killer’s desire to stop her builds to a deadly crescendo.

The book will be published by Midnight Ink in trade paperback and electronic versions on September 8, 2019. I’ll share more details in the new year!