Jenny Knipfer: In a Grove of Maples

My friends, I’m pleased to introduce one of my newest author friends. Jenny Knipfer is sharing a bit about her novel In a Grove of Maples. Welcome, Jenny!

Firstly, thank you, Candace for inviting me to be a guest blogger today and talk a little about my newly released Christian historical fiction novel, In a Grove of Maples. 

Set in the late 1890’s on a Wisconsin farm, In a Grove of Maples is inspired by my grandparents. Sadly, I never knew my grandparents; they died many years before I was born. When I finished my first series, By the Light of the Moon, I mulled over what else I could write about and felt a pull to craft what my grandparents’ story may have been like, as newlyweds, forging out a living together on a farm in Wisconsin far from where they grew up in Quebec. 

Thankfully, I grew up on the same farm, and have so many great memories of my upbringing and the family farm. When I was a youngster, my father told me some stories of the lives of my grandparents, what they were like as persons, and a little about life on the farm, back when he was a child. 

But I didn’t know all that much about his folks. Before my dad died I wish I had asked him more and listened better. My siblings, who are all much older than me, couldn’t fill in the gaps in my knowledge, either. They were all young when our grandparents passed and don’t remember them very well. However, my brothers offered some very helpful historical tidbits about farming back then. 

Despite only being armed with a few details of my grandparents’ lives, I started writing, and the story of a struggling newlywed couple, Beryl and Edward Massart (I did not use my grandparents’ real names), came to life. 

Told in third person narrative and dialogue, the story unfolds in a sort of split timeline with heart-wrenching diary entries—set in the future—that open each chapter. I like to give a taste of what is ahead for readers. I enjoy reading novels that follow that format, and so naturally those are the kind of stories I like to write. 

Here is the opening diary entry:

November 5th, 1897

Maple Grove, Wisconsin 

Dear Diary, 

I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this. This broken wing. This storm between us. All the unmade memories I held dear before I put on my dress of white wound me. I grieve for a wish which hasn’t come to pass—a wish for happiness. My disillusioned, childhood fantasy has taken flight like a dandelion seed blown off course. Happiness has not come to germinate inside of me. I’m not even sure how to define that most elusive of desires. I simply know—I do not possess it.

Is there a way through the tornado of our differences, or will the cold and the heat in us clash and destroy what we’ve built? Will we topple like a house of sticks or stand because we’ve chosen to construct our home, our hearts, together, from something more substantial?

I don’t know. All I can do is try and pray that Edward is willing to do the same…

 

Thanks for reading a little about my newly released novel, In a Grove of Maples, and thanks again to Candace for having me as her guest. 

Purchase In a Grove of Maples: 

https://jennyknipfer.com/in-a-grove-of-maples/

About Jenny:

Jenny lives in Wisconsin with her husband, Ken, and their pet Yorkie, Ruby. She is also a mom and loves being a grandma. She enjoys many creative pursuits but finds writing the most fulfilling.

Spending many years as a librarian in a local public library, Jenny recently switched to using her skills as a floral designer in a retail flower shop. She is now retired from work due to disability. Her education background stems from psychology, music, and cultural missions.

Jenny’s favorite place to relax is by the western shore of Lake Superior, where her novel series, By The Light of the Moon, is set. She deems a cup of tea and a good 

book an essential part of every day. When not writing, Jenny can be found reading, tending to her many houseplants, or piecing quilt blocks at her sewing machine.

Her new historical fiction, four-part series entitled, Sheltering Trees, is set in the Wisconsin area Jenny grew up in, where she currently lives in Wisconsin, and places along Minnesota’s Northern Shore, where she loves to visit. She is currently writing a four-part novella series entitled: Botanical Seasons.

Connect with Jenny:

Ways to connect with Jenny can be found on her website at https://jennyknipfer.com/ or select the following links:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/jennyknipfer.writer/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/jennyknipferbrave/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JennyKnipfer/

Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/JennyKnipfer/

Join Jenny’s Author Team: https://jennyknipfer.com/join-my-author-team/