The small town that inspired Scrooge And Marlee

 

 

 

When most Americans think of Missouri, the Gateway Arch comes to mind. Other landmarks they might find familiar include Arrowhead Stadium where the Kansas City Chiefs (including Patrick Mahomes) play, 1800's style theme park Silver Dollar City tucked into the Ozark hills near vacation destination Branson, or the Bass Pro Mega store in Springfield. There's another part of Missouri, however, that brims with history, scenery, and German culture. The Missouri Rhineland includes the city of Hermann, founded by immigrants from Germany in the 1850's.  

            Hermann offers a delicious taste of both German culture and cuisine. In the historic district paralleling the river, visitors can almost believe they're in Europe. In the hills surrounding town, multiple vineyards, some owned by the same family for generations, can be found. In Hermann and just outside, ten wineries can be found as well as five distilleries and two breweries. Several restaurants serve authentic German cuisine and there are multiple festivals each year including Oktoberfest.

            My latest novel, Scrooge And Marlee, is set in Hermann. I chose Hermann because it's one of my favorite destinations within my home state. With a blended heritage that includes German, I enjoy spending time immersed in the culture. Hermann is also home to many quaint bed and breakfasts, inns, and hotels.

            As readers may guess from the title, there's a tie to my favorite Dickens tale, A Christmas Carol and old Scrooge, the literary world's favorite miser who has a change of heart after being visited by three ghosts.

            Here's the blurb that will offer some insight into what my story is about:

           

Theo Scrooge, like the fictional Ebenezer, isn’t fond of Christmas. Any resemblance ends there for the chef and proprietor of Bah Humbug! but his love life is almost nonexistent until he meets a teacher who plans to relocate to the small German flavored town in the Missouri Rhineland. When Marlee falls into the turbulent Missouri River, Theo rescues her. As their relationship grows, so do the obstacles in Theo’s life until his worries about making money and his profit margin overshadow their romance. He’s changed but it’s not an improvement. On the eve of Christmas, Marlee offers him an ultimatum and a copy of Dickens’ book to read. Whether or not Theo will reorganize his priorities will affect if Marlee and their love can both survive.

            Most of my novels, usually begin with a "what if?" question. Scrooge and Marlee is no different. One day, because I am a devoted fan of Dickens, I wondered what if someone had the surname Scrooge now, in the 21^st century. And, what if that individual had been teased about it throughout his life, to the point he loathes the story and has refused to read it or watch one of the  many movies based on the books. Then, I added to the intrigue by thinking what if he got a little miserly himself, so much that it affected his love life.

            That inspired me to write the two opening paragraphs and then the story grew from there…

            " He wasn't old and most of the time he wasn't cranky but in one way he was like the fictional Ebenezer - Theo Scrooge disliked Christmas. He hadn't always - as a child, he'd loved the holiday with all the traditions and trimmings, but as he grew up, that changed.

            Theo didn't care much for Charles Dickens, either. In lit classes, he'd been forced to read classics like Oliver Twist and A Tale of Two Cities, but he balked at reading A Christmas Carol, taking a F on a class assignment in high school which brought his grade down by a full letter.

He wished the author had chosen any other surname for the miserly old character who had a life changing revelation after three ghosts came to set him straight.  If Dickens had just called him Ebenezer Smith or Sands or Sims, things would have been different for Theo."

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B4B3VQC3

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/scrooge-marlee-lee-ann-sontheimer-murphy/1141663786

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1151986

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/scrooge-marlee

https://books.apple.com/us/book/scrooge-marlee/id6442997521

https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=85l1EAAAQBAJ&hl=en_US&gl=US

https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details/Lee_Ann_Sontheimer_Murphy_Scrooge_Marlee?id=AQAAAEACGhVaBM&hl=en_US&gl=US

 

 

           

 

 

Exploring the Book of Knowledge

 

 

 

 

As an adult, there are daunting moments in life when I wish I had a book to consult that had all the answers. And, although we do have the internet, I think we all know it’s necessary to be selective in accepting facts for facts and truth as truth because it can’t always be trusted. Some sites are reputable but others are not. I wouldn’t suggest getting research from Facebook or WebMD on a regular basis and I’m skeptical about Wikipedia.  Some entries, if you know the facts, are sound but others are not – there are no checks and balances.

That said, as a child I longed for a set of cyclopedias. At school, we had them and I enjoyed using them not only to look up data but just to read. In those days I read any and everything, which I still do.  My parents’ friends, Owen and Ilene Pulley, got a set of World Book that I enjoyed.  When we visited their farm, if I wasn’t out feeding the pony or climbing fences or exploring the barn, I could be found curled up with one of the encyclopedias.

At home, we had a set of Childcraft books and they were exceptional, filled with stories and history but I craved something more.

And one Saturday, I was gifted a full set of the Book of Knowledge.

Our friends, Milton and Anne Hochman ran a small grocery store in our neighborhood but to us, they were more than merchants, they were friends who sometimes seemed more like family.  I have no idea if I had mentioned my thirst for encyclopedias or they were just familiar with my ongoing thirst for knowledge but they gave us a full set of vintage 1920’s Book of Knowledge.

The Book of Knowledge – a misleading name since they were multi-volumes – first debuted around 1912, a good five years prior to World Book and decades before Childcraft came along. The earliest sets were an Americanized version of the British Children’s Encyclopedia but that soon changed and they evolved into a new concept.

Our set was bound in dark maroon with black lettering and design. They offered up stories and poems and history and science and more. Although I didn’t fully realize it at the time, the volumes offered a peek into a vanished world, a time between the two World Wars, an era like no other, one that would never come again.  I think they may be stored away at my mother’s house and if so, I would love to unearth them once more.

Now they are more than vintage – they are fully a century old.

Those books offered me many hours of entertainment, education, and enlightenment.  Later, my grandparents bought a set of encyclopedias for the grandchildren to use at their house but by then, we’d moved although I did enjoy them on visits, even as an adult.

Reflecting back on the books, I have to wonder if today’s youth even use encyclopedias. From an early age they are introduced to the world wide web and can type in a quest for information that will be returned with speed.

And, while that offers some benefits, it’s nothing like curling up with a random volume on a rainy day and reading, discovering things new to me. Those volumes opened up worlds to me through their pages and provided information I still retain.

Time has passed and technology has gained great strides in the past century but I wouldn’t trade the experience of reading those books at random for anything.