In THE NIGHT WOODS, which debuts this week, my heroine Mercy is very, very pregnant with her first child. It’s been a long time—okay, some thirty years—since I last gave birth, and even longer since I bore my first child. When I sat down to write the story, I worried that I’d have trouble calling up my memories of that (pregnant) time. But to my surprise, I remembered every grand and gory detail—from the initial, interminable nausea—I threw up everything I ate around the clock for the first five months—to the moment I heard those three most glorious words from my doctor, “It’s a girl!”
Of course, I wasn’t chasing murderers through the Vermont woods like my character Mercy, or being chased in turn by wild boar in that same woods. I could only imagine what that might be like. That’s what we writers do. We make stuff up. The trick is to ground the unreal in the real—and the real came rushing back to me as if my water was breaking all over again.
When it came to describing the sinking feeling that I was somehow stuck on a bobbing boat on choppy seas for nine months or the tender thrill that accompanied every baby’s sharp kick or even the realization during labor that I was no longer in control of my own body and that there was nothing to do but hang on and hope that the little alien passed quickly through that absurdly narrow portal to the world beyond my vagina—I didn’t need to use my imagination. I still have muscle memory on my side.
It turns out that motherhood is like riding a bike. You never forget. When I held my first grandchild in my arms for the first time, I knew what to do. Little Elektra was a crier, and only I could coax the baby girl to sleep. My daughter, who’d rolled her eyes at practically everything I said from the age of fourteen onward, was impressed. I went from well-intentioned idiot to Best Babysitter Ever overnight.
Now Elektra is sixteen, and she’s rolling her eyes at her mother. But not at her grandmother. I am “Grandmama Paula”—and as such, I am beyond reproach. Because as nice as being a mother is, being a grandmother is way better. It’s all the fun and none of the responsibility. You can spoil your grandkids silly and if they turn out to be serial killers, it’s not on you. And your grandchildren love you unreservedly; they’re never embarrassed by anything you say or do. No “Okay Boomers” from them.
I love being a grandmother so much that I wrote mothers and grandmothers into my Mercy Carr novels, too. Grace is Mercy’s mother, and like my own (lovely) mother, she’s a paragon of chic, setting a standard for style her daughter can never meet. Mercy, who lives in cargo pants and Henley T-shirts, has come to terms with her mother’s disapproval, but under duress will don one of the designer outfits her mother buys her for special occasions.
I’m not as cool or as self-possessed as my heroine; I really am still trying to please my mother. She’s 89 and lives with us, so there’s no escape. She expects me to “do my toilette” and dress elegantly and appropriately for the day, no matter that my day here in what my children call “Nowhere, New Hampshire” is spent at a computer in a house in the woods.
Apart from the wildlife, the only creatures who see me are the dogs, the cat, my husband, and my mother. The dogs don’t judge me, my husband doesn’t judge me, but the cat and my mother totally judge me. To appease Ursula The Cat and Marilyn the Mom, I feed the cat first (feline before canine, every time) and put on makeup and “casual chic” clothes. I know when I get it right, because she tells me. (If I don’t, I am greeted with a disdainful silence.) There is an upside to this: I’m always ready for an impromptu Zoom meeting. Still, in my next life, I’m going to wear cargo pants and Henley T-shirts. Just like Mercy.
Patience is Mercy Carr’s grandmother, the one character all readers seem to like. Patience is a veterinarian, and most everyone in the village loves her, too—even the most persnickety of cats. She’s the one Mercy turns to when she needs advice—and her grandmother never disappoints. She sweetens her unvarnished guidance with good eats—from Yankee pot roast to doberge cake—just like my own grandmother used to do.
Grandma Emma was a wise and practical woman from Indiana farm country. She married very young and had my dad when she was only sixteen. She worked at the local GE plant for thirty years, got divorced long before it was socially acceptable, and raised two kids on her own. (Years before the rest of the family acknowledged my miserable first marriage, she took me aside and told me to leave my husband.) Grandma Emma married three times and left a string of bereft beaus when she died in her early sixties. She could bake a fine pie, make her own dandelion wine, can and preserve all manner of fruits and vegetables. Every year on my birthday she sent me a card with a $100 bill inside. The woman was strong and resourceful and indefatigable—and I miss her every day. But she lives on in Patience.
Writing Mercy and Grace and Patience allows me to celebrate the relationships between mothers and daughters, grandmothers and granddaughters. In so doing, I salute the women who’ve loved and nurtured and supported me all my life—and I redouble my efforts to do the same for those who come after me. It’s my way of honoring the knowledge and wisdom one generation of women imparts to the next, and passing it on.
Maiden, mother, crone—and I’m living them all. And writing them all. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
How about it Readers? Do you enjoy multigenerational tales? Why or why not?
PAULA MUNIER is the USA TODAY bestselling and award-winning author of the Mercy Carr mysteries and Senior Literary Agent at Talcott Notch Literary. She’s also written three popular books on writing, including the bestselling Plot Perfect. Along with her love of nature, Paula credits the hero dogs of Mission K9 Rescue, her own rescue animals, and her volunteer work as a Natural Resources Steward as her series’ major influences. She lives in New England with her family, four dogs, and a cat who does not think much of the dogs.
Congratulations, Paula, on your newest book . . . whatever mystery Mercy is facing, I am certain it will be exciting.
ReplyDeleteDo I enjoy multigenerational tales? Indeed I do; the specialness of these relationships is so relatable for the reader . . . .
Thank you so much! I come from a long line of strong women and I love writing stories with generations of strong women.
DeleteThank you Paula for sharing your multigenerational family. As you know I LOVE the Mercy Carr series and the family that makes up this book. Congrats on your upcoming release.
ReplyDeleteAww thank you, Dru! Your support means so much to me....and to Mercy!
DeleteIs your novel a suspense or thriller?
ReplyDeleteSuch a tough question. Most crime fiction is some mix of mystery, suspense, and thriller. Not much of an answer, I know LOL We call my Mercy Carr novels "traditional mysteries" but they do have elements of suspense and thriller as well. If you like dogs and series like Julia's and Margart Mitzushima's and Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway, you might like Mercy Carr.
DeleteLove stories about dogs. Thank you! Currently reading a nonfiction novel JAMES AND EMMA by James Middleton. He wrote about how his dog helped him during a mental health crisis.
DeleteDogs are AMAZING. What they can do and all the ways in which they help us humans. One of the joys of writing the series is getting to learn about (and meet!) all these wonderful working dogs....
DeletePaula, love the post so much! I have the book ordered and will try to savor it slowly. I'd love to hear a little more about the decision to have Mercy get pregnant and how hard that is to write for a main character who's often in jeopardy!
ReplyDeleteWell, Julia did it in her series LOL (And as you know, Julia is my North Star when it comes to writing his-and-her mysteries.) That said, Mercy is at that age where young women often choose to marry and have children and since she is so family-oriented, I knew she would want to have a family of her own, so I decided to give her what she wanted. And of course Troy her husband will make a great father. And Elvis and Susie Bear are very good with kids. Not to mention the possible storylines....
DeleteI really enjoyed your essay, Paula. But now I'm wondering if Mercy's mother has it in her to step in as "Grammy" to offer childcare when it's needed...how will Mercy manage once the baby arrives?!?!
ReplyDeleteThank you for asking. Grace is very good with babies (less good once children start having minds of their own ;-) But Mercy has so many people in her life--her grandmother, her father, her cousins, and Troys family as well. Most importantly, Northshire is the kind of village they're talking about when they say, "It takes a village to raise a child." So Mercy's very lucky in that way.
DeleteCongratulations, Paula - I'm a couple of books behind on your series and need to fix that, stat. Thanks for sharing your family with us. My mom's name was Marilyn, too, and I'm the proud and delighted grandma of a tiny girl who will be one year this month!
ReplyDeleteI grew up with two sisters and always write lots of women and generations of them into my books, even though I raised two boys (OMG, seeing my son be a gentle, sweet father is almost more than my heart can take). I can't wait to read the new book!
Oh thank you! And congrats on the grandbaby! Aren't they the BEST? As an only child, I desperately wanted brothers and sisters, but I was especially envious of my friends with sisters. My mother came from a family of four girls and she's always been so close to them. My daughter has three daughters, and I always tell them how lucky they are to have each other. In my own life I've named my dearest friends my "sisters," whether they like it or not LOL
DeletePaula, no sisters here, either, but my best friend since third grade and I refer to each other as "sisters from another mother." We feel very blessed.
DeleteHow lucky you are to have this friend! As an army brat we moved all the time (and there was no Facebook) so I lost track of many of my childhood friends. But my two BFFs from high school have been true constants in my life.
DeletePAULA: I am happy to read a new Mercy Carr book.
ReplyDeleteMultigenerational stories can be fun to read. The relationships and interaction of characters can bring conflict, joy and/or togetherness in dealing with the same situation.
Thank you! I hope you like it. And how right you are about conflict, joy, and/or togetherness. That's what make multigenerational families so much fun to write!
DeleteCongratulations, Paula, on the upcoming release. I already have it pre-ordered in print and audio. I love the female family dynamic of Mercy and her mom, and Patience is the kind of grandmother we should all be blessed with.
ReplyDeleteAwwww thank you! Yes, Patience is the grandmother we should all be blessed with, and my role model as I try to be a good grandmother to my granddaughters. I was doing a pretty good job until this summer, when we went to a big event in the country and getting out of the parking lot took more than an hour because they didn't have the help they need directing traffic and I started cursing. The girls were surprised, because they'd never seen me lose my temper before. They thought it was hilarious. But I'll try to be more Patience Zen next time.
DeleteYou mean your granddaughters got to find out you’re a real person?! It’s good for them! — Pat S
Deletehahaha yes well they are very Swiss so they think I am très américain LOL
DeleteCongratulations, Paula! Happy book birthday!
ReplyDeleteYour mention of grandmother, mother, daughter, granddaughter reminded me of the Rosamunde Pilcher stories and other stories set in England and Scotland. Multigenerational stories can be fun and I am intrigued by the names Though we see the name Grace in the 21st century, the names Patience and Mercy seem to be from the 17th century. I wanted to ask how you picked the names.
Just saw Dru's Musings mention your book this morning.
Love love love Rosamunde Pilcher. I read all her stories when I was younger. I'll have to read them again. As for the names....I wanted the Fleury women to have the tradition of giving the girls "virtue names," which was common in New England once upon a time. The name Mercy suits my heroine, as the other names suit the other characters. Plus: I love Colin Dexter's Morse, and his first name was Endeavor. So in a way it's an homage....
DeleteCongratulations, Paula. I must catch up with Mercy. I love the richness of possibility with intergenerational stories.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I confess that I'm having a good time writing this family!
DeleteI really do enjoy reading intergenerational stories; somehow they make the fiction more real. there is always someone I can relate to. I loved reading about your real-life inspirations for Marcy's family.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Judi. Someone once said something like anyone who'd survived childhood had a book in them (who was that???) and I think there's a corollary that anyone with a family has a book in them LOL
DeletePaula, I'm so enjoying your Mercy Carr series, and one of the reasons is your portrayal of the family relationships. I'd much rather read stories with multi generations than ones where the characters appear to have sprung, fully formed, from the cabbage patch. Family dynamics are messy, and full of possibilities for fiction.
ReplyDeleteAwww thank you! My family looms large in my life, past, present, and future. And in my writing life as well. I'm so glad you enjoy Mercy et al!
DeleteI keep thinking I'm up-to-date with this series, only to discover you've got a new book out! But catching up makes for some great reading! I grew up surrounded by generations of strong women and their sometimes messy relationships with each other--so this kind of a story resonates strongly with me as a reader.
ReplyDeleteOh I'm so glad. It is complicated. My grandmother, whom everyone loved, did not speak to her sister for thirty years. And everyone loved my great-aunt as well, but you could never visit them at the same time.
DeleteJust bought book one of the series and looking forward it it. I love multi-generational books. I never knew my mother's parents and saw my dad's only a hand full of times, but I had strong ties to my great grandparents and they grounded me in a love of family and a respect for generational knowledge. To say nothing of how to judge the heat in a Queen Anne stove, milk a cow, and outsmart chickens when you collect their eggs!
ReplyDeleteWe can learn so much from them. My grandfather was a school teacher who always bought me books to read, including his favorite The Bears of Blue River. I think he'd get a kick out of Mercy. And my grandmother! I miss her all the more now that I live in New Hampshire, where there's room to grow vegetables and keep chickens and whatever else we decide to do (no chickens yet). She'd help me learn to bake bread and make dandelion wine and can tomatoes and pickle cucumbers and preserve fruits and on and on.....
DeletePaula, first off I LOVE THE MERCY CARR BOOKS!!! Congratulations on THE NIGHT WOODS. If all you wrote were the dogs I'd be a fan, but *generations of women* is my all time favorite plot device. Though I can do without the term "crone". Ick. And it's getting harder and harder for *me* to write the young women characters... fortunately like you, I have my own daughters and grands to consult.
ReplyDeleteThank you, that means so much coming from you. (BTW, you are one of the "sisters" I've named as mine, like it or not.) No one writes women better than you! Partly because you are brilliant, and partly because you know women so well, coming from a family of four girls, just like my mother. And okay, no more crone LOL
DeleteI do enjoy multigenerations tales, especially when the family is close and supportive of each other. Yes, there can be conflict, but there should be an underlying love.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. I was born into a quiet military family (mostly me and my parents on some farflung military base), where the rule was save the conflict for the battlefield. You could either 1) fix the problem or 2) grin and bear it. Then I married into a loud, loving, quarreling family where every dinner was a no holds-barred debate. What a shocker for me--but it taught me a lot, and prepared me for the noisy reality of having three kids of my own, not to mention blended families...
DeleteI adore multi-generational tales, in part because the richest aspects of my life have always been in connection with my families - the one I was born into and the one I made with my husband.
ReplyDeleteAnd Paula, I know our mother's can push our buttons forever, so you do you, but I really can't imagine you in cargo pants and Henley T-shirts!
Ha! Well, if I live in New Hampshire long enough, it may come to that LOL
DeleteAnd yes, like you, I've been lucky to be part of such wonderful families all my life. A blessing indeed !
I really need to know what "casual chic" looks like, lol! Obviously not what I wear when home writing...
Deleteha! I hope it means Banana Republic, where I do all my shopping these days, at the outlets in a nearby town LOL
DeleteAlso wanted to thank you, Paula, for including a neurodivergent child in your series. I love your sensitive treatment of Henry and his original and fascinating take on the world.
ReplyDeleteOh thank you so much! I adore Henry, who's inspired by neurodivergent people I've known and loved in my own life. I'm so glad you thought I wrote him well. You made my day!
DeleteOh, I love Henry, too! Hope we see more of him in upcoming books.
Deletehmmmmn good idea, maybe I'll weave into the next book.....
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ReplyDeletePaula, you know how much I adore the series, and this book! And mulitigenerational women are the best. You are so right about not losing those pregnancy/childbirth memories--Mercy had me practicing my breathing there for a while!! I'm so glad you (and Julia) have been daring enough to give your heroines babies. I love getting to relive the experience (without the nausea and sleepless nights:-)) Big hugs!
ReplyDeleteAhhh, thank you! Giving birth is like having an orgasm--it's a one-of-kind experience that you never forget LOL
DeleteCongratulations on your newest book, Paula, and thanks for sharing your own family stories with us along with Mercy's. I, too, love multigenerational stories---my (old-fashioned!) favorite as a teenager was PILGRIM'S INN by Elizabeth Goudge. It's the middle book of three about the Eliot family, all of whose members are loved and ruled by the iron-willed grandmother Lucilla. I still reread it as a comfort book when I'm worrying about something.
ReplyDeleteI'm part of a multigenerational women now. There's me, my daughter, and my granddaughter. But, growing up, my grandparents were all gone before I was born. That my mother was 43 and my father was 52 when I was born helps to explain the absence of grandparents in my life. I know that I missed an important link there. I especially would have loved to have known my mother's mother. It's nice that I can read about grandmothers and imagine one for myself though. Congratulations on your new book, Paula. I'm sure it will be another success.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. Very hard that you didn't know your own grandparents, but lovely that you have a daughter and granddaughter. Being a grandmother is so much fun and soooo rewarding.
DeletePaula: Looking forward to new book and the continuation of your multi-generational approach as a critical element of the story. I have been a big fan of yours since the very first Mercy Carr book and, as hard as it is to do, I think each book keeps getting better and better, with more intricate plot development and complexity. I have recommended the series to every serious mystery reader I know, and look forward to many more adventures with Mercy and Troy (and Elvis and Susie Bear too) to come in the future.
ReplyDeleteWow wow wow. Thank you for these generous words. Every book is a new challenge, and it never really gets any easier (she says, as she writes the next Mercy Carr #7). But I keep on keeping on!
DeleteHi Paula. I love your Mercy Carr series! As someone said above, if you only had dogs in it, I would be sold. But your human characters are so interesting and multi-dimensional that it all makes for great reading. I, too, love Patience and wish I had had a grandmother like her. My own mother and grandmother had a very complicated relationship (my maternal grandfather having died before my mom was a year old; had he lived I imagine he either would have been a buffer between the two females or maybe my grandmother would have been different if she hadn’t had to work and raise my mother on her own). My father’s parents died long before I was born so I only had the one grandparent. Patience is the ultimate grandmother! Congratulations on your newest release! — Pat S
ReplyDeleteAwww thank you. I don't remember my mother's parents, who died when I was small, but I heard so many stories about them I feel like I knew them. (They were beloved, so they were good stories.) I did get to know my dad's parents, they were both interesting in their own right, and interested in me (my father being the son they adored and me being his only child). So I was lucky. And luckier still to be able to write about them...maybe I'll put my grandfather in the next book LOL
DeleteI have just been coming to terms with transitioning from mother to crone - it's a slow transition - but honestly, I'm happier in my life and myself than I've been since I was a child. Can't wait to read The Night Woods! Thanks so much for visiting us today, Paula. Fabulous post.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure. The great part about an empty nest is that once you get used to the idea, it's LIBERATING. Enjoy!
DeleteCan't wait to get my hands on the latest Mercy Carr book! I love this series. Many thanks and congratulations for another book in the series. I suspect it can get old at times and keeping it fresh is a challenge. Certainly, Mercy's pregnancy offers so many opportunities to weave an excellent story. As for multigenerational books, I like them when they are done well. Having grown up in a fairly dysfunctional multigeneration household, I find it interesting to see how authors treat each generation. Who is the outlier, who berates those who don't quite meet their expectations, who has wisdom, sometimes beyond their years. Always so much that can be done with that dynamic available. Thanks for always rising to the challenge! -- Victoria
ReplyDeleteThank you, Victoria! It is defintely a challenge trying to keep the series fresh. That's another reason it's great to have multigenerational families, as they make a great supporting cast of characters. When I get stuck in a scene, I just bring on Patience. Everyone loves Patience LOL
DeleteLove these books….can’t wait to read this one!
ReplyDelete