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How could Leah’s dad dump his only daughter with an aunt she doesn’t even know—who lives in rural Indiana, of all places? Ugh! Aunt Becky has spent her life running all over Africa and Asia on some kind of a secretive mission. But what?

Things look up when Leah discovers a hidden ladder leading from a window seat in auntie’s old house to a second cellar. At the bottom it’s 1860. The people living in the house, the Newcombs, operate a station on the Underground Railroad. AWESOME! She thinks.

Leah finds a friend in Johannah Newcomb, but then stumbles on a story that will shatter Johannah’s world. Should Leah tell her friend and perhaps save the girl’s father from being killed by a gang of slave hunters? Would that alter history? Could history be altered? Should it be?

And what about God? Can He help? He sure didn’t do anything to save Leah’s mom when a drunken teenage driver killed her in a car crash.

After a neighbor boy, Trevor, reveals that he knows about the ladder and the Newcombs, he and Leah make a pact of secrecy and join in the risky business of helping runaway slaves.

Speaking of secrets, what is Aunt Becky hiding that could change Leah’s life forever? How does auntie’s mission connect with the Newcombs’ good work a century and a half ago?

 

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The idea for The Second Cellar sprang from one of my historical first-person interpretive storytelling program, Abigail Gray: Living Under the Drinking Gourd, in which I tell the true accounts of the Underground Railroad in the Hoosier state and beyond. The stories of the freedom seekers and those who assisted them fascinate me. Both the program and the book are set in southeastern Indiana, specifically the Jefferson County area. The book is a tween (8-13 years of age) historical fantasy involving time travel.

 

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Like many authors, I use Pinterest to collect images related to my works in progress (WIPs). Naturally, I have a board dedicated to The Second Cellar. When I began thinking about a cover for the book, I initially planned to use the house that is the model for Aunt Becky's home, a c. 1840s Federal-style brick house where some friends live. But as I perused TSC's Pinterest board, I came across this wonderful photo of the primitive ladder. Perfect! Problem: I had no idea as to the source of the shot. The picture wasn't connected to a link. I couldn't use it with the photographer's permission, so I went searching. For days I combed through photo sites in a fruitless quest. It began to look like I wouldn't be able to use the picture that so captured my image of the ladder in the book. Then I thought to do what I should have done three days before: I prayed. Within three minutes, the Lord answered that plea! When I saw it among so many others, I stared at it for a moment to take it in. And it was connected to a link to the photographer's site--where he had a contact email posted! I wrote asking permission to use the image. Two days later, he responded favorably. Greg Nyquist, thank you so much for your gracious permission. Gaze in amazement at more of his work HERE.

A Gathering of Inky Sisters

Four friends recently met at my little nest to talk about our shared passion: writing. It had been far too long since we had come together--well over a year.

We met through the now-dissolved Southern Indiana Writers' Salon, a group I co-founded in 2001. Since SIWS's demise early in 2010, some former members--I among them--have felt a bit like a motherless child, wanting to start another group, but hesitant to take the risks of such an undertaking. You see, SIWS did not end well, but that's a subject for different blog entry.

Clustered around my dining room table, we shared current projects, nibbled on fresh veggies and still-warm oatmeal cookies, and exercised our problem-solving skills to address rough spots in our writing. Beyond that, we encouraged and inspired one another. (Hey, oft-pubbed Ramona K. Cecil came up with the name for the novella I'm working on--and that was within five minutes of her arrival!)

Most important, we hold one another in prayer. We seek God's guidance in our writing, our meeting, and our families.

We are a diverse band. Ramona writes historical romance fiction and poetry. Kathi Linz writes whatever suits her fancy. She is an information specialist at our local library, so her interests are like a sunburst, pointing off in many directions. Most of her writing, both fiction and non-fiction, is for children. Natalie Bray, who participates in Renaissance festivals, writes in the genre of speculative fiction, the sub-genre of fantasy. As she unfolds the many layers of her current work, the room becomes crowded with strange, unimaginable creatures, dragons, monsters, courageous heroes and silver-haired heroines. I write middle-grade novels and some poetry. I'm also working on a historical novella and some children's magazine pieces.

So what is the future of this new aggregate of wordsmiths? That vision is still under construction. But this we know. We will maintain our Christian identity. Further, we will remain a small, informal gathering of inky friends, running no notices in the newspaper inviting others to join us. Does that mean we would not accept more writers to our circle? Certainly not. But we won't advertise toward that end.

Writing often is an isolated endeavor. Sure, we leave our writer's caves to conduct research and to be active members of our families, churches and communities, but the actual nitty-gritty work of our craft usually is done apart from the gaping crowd. Nonetheless, we need our fellow scribes. I highly recommend participating in writers' organizations, online communities, and critique groups, but don't neglect the face-to-face meetings, also. We say it often because it's true: Iron sharpens iron.

Your Turn:  Do you belong to a local writers' group? What have you gained from participation? What advice or warnings would you give to others considering starting such a group? Please respond by leaving a "Comment."