About the Book
Book: A Hundred Magical Reasons
Author: Laura DeNooyer
Genre: Biographical historical fiction, literary fiction, book club fiction
Release Date: January 7, 2025
Most fairy tales have happy endings, but is it too late for this one? After all, Mrs. Charlotte Rose Gordon, the disgruntled town recluse, is eighty-eight and has grown weary of fighting the dragons of her past—including the desire to clear her husband’s name of a 1918 crime.
Dragons of a different kind pursue Carrie Kruisselbrink.
During 1980, the summer of her private rebellion, Carrie defies parental expectations and pursues her café dream. While waiting for funding, she takes a job with Mrs. Gordon.
As Mrs. Gordon unfolds the story of her oppressive childhood and delightful friendship with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz author, L. Frank Baum, Carrie never expects to encounter her own fears and soul-searching.
In this modern-day fairy tale that weaves between 1980 and the early 1900s, Mr. Baum’s influence impacts each woman’s personal quests on a hero’s journey neither anticipates. Can Carrie and Mrs. Gordon find common ground in battling their respective dragons?
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Laura DeNooyer thrives on creativity and encouraging it in others. A Calvin College graduate, she is a teacher, wife, parent of four adult children, and an award-winning author of heart-warming historical and contemporary fiction. Her novels are perfect for fans of Patti Callahan Henry, Erin Bartels, or Amanda Cox. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her reading, walking, drinking tea with friends, or taking a road trip.
More from Laura
Smitten!
That was me—smitten—after reading a biography about L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). Baum was an innovative, larger-than-life personality—no surprise there, given that he created the Land of Oz.
He was also a family man with a keen understanding of children and a high regard for women. (His mother-in-law was a suffragist!) His humor and creativity gave him the capacity to bounce back from failure many times.
Having always wanted to write a novel set in the turn of the century, Baum fit perfectly into my plans.
Fun fact: The Baum family summered at the same lake where our family vacations yearly. Though we were at opposite ends of Lake Macatawa near Holland, Michigan—and opposite ends of the century—I felt a connection.
Unstoppable Imagination meets Doubt & Fear
Imagination plays a huge role in the story. My main character Janie is at odds with her rigid parents who have no use for fiction, fantasy, or fairy tales. She is only allowed to read The New England Primer, The Pilgrim’s Progress, and the Bible. Then eight-year-old Janie meets the inimitable L. Frank Baum who stretches her imagination in every way possible. This is a major tension throughout the story.
This ties to 1980, where my protagonist Carrie wants to run a literary-themed café against her parents’ wishes. They have their own goals for her. As grown-up Janie (now eighty-eight-year-old Mrs. Gordon) unveils her childhood troubles to Carrie, they both make startling discoveries.
Bonded by stories and baking Oz-inspired recipes, Carrie and Mrs. Gordon’s intergenerational friendship gradually grows and deepens—one facing fears about her future, the other living with regrets about her past.
Brains, Heart, & Courage
Whether you’re an Oz fan or not, I believe you’ll enjoy getting to know L. Frank Baum. Besides getting the facts straight, I wanted to create his essence on the page so readers experience what it was like to sit on the Baums’ Macatawa porch with him, whether running a printing press or drinking lemonade.
Baum’s stories are all about stirring the child’s imagination, and that’s a key element of my novel. Since we’re all made in the Creator’s image, everybody is creative in their own way. I hope this story inspires readers to use their own imagination to pursue dreams.
But dreams only grow in the soil of confidence. As Mrs. Gordon challenges Carrie, “Do you want to live by your passions or by your fears?” One of those fears is being yourself vs. wearing a mask.
Join the journey of two women who are hugely impacted by the wisdom, heart, and courage of the creator of Oz.
Interview with the Author
- What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
While I was writing A Hundred Magical Reasons, my main research about L. Frank Baum was completed through reading books or online resources. To supplement, I took three major road trips and several minor ones to become more familiar with Baum’s old stomping grounds and visit a few Oz museums.
I was familiar with the former Macatawa Park area in Michigan, but I wanted to get a feel for other places he lived. That included Chittenango and Syracuse, New York; Aberdeen, South Dakota; and Chicago. A couple of scenes take place in Syracuse.
I love road trips! These were particularly fun once I dubbed them Ozzy. Like icing on the cake of my research.
I visited three museums just for fun: the All Things Oz Museum in Chittenango, the Oz Museum in Wamego, Kansas, and the Land of Oz Museum in Wausaukee, Wisconsin. Another fun experience was the Land of Oz in Banner Elk, North Carolina. Its immersive setting and vibrant cast of characters makes you feel like you’re really in Oz with Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion, complete with the MGM movie songs.
- What comes first, the plot or characters?
Most of the time, I start with a premise and a couple of characters.
I used to be very organized and showed up with a plan. Nowadays, I only know the direction the story is headed, but I’m not sure how it will get there. Ideas start percolating when I’m actually sitting down writing a scene. I see connections to other characters and situations that will increase the stakes and further the plot.
I start asking, “What if . . .?” I also brainstorm, considering which juxtapositions of characters and situations would cause the most tension.
For example, in A Hundred Magical Reasons, I had to consider what could make a good contrast or foil for L. Frank Baum. Enter eight-year-old Janie whose rigid parents have no use for fun, frivolity, fiction, fantasy, or fairy tales. But the inimitable L. Frank Baum knows how to draw out her imagination. This is a major tension throughout the story.
From there I planned scenes based on his family and career timeline, then worked the story around those. The details and dialog came as I wrote the scenes.
- How do you select the names of your characters?
In 1980, my protagonist is Carrie Kruisselbrink. She comes from a Dutch family, which is important to the story, so she needed a Dutch surname. I picked the name Carrie because I liked it, and it suited her. Several other characters have Dutch surnames, since the Dutch populate southwest Michigan.
In the early 1900s timeline, my young girl protagonist needed a name she didn’t like, as well as a lovely name used at the Baums’ house. So, her real name is Lodemia Jane (or Janie), but the Baums call her Charlotte Rose. You’ll need to read the book to understand how that came about!
Since my own Dutch, English, and German roots are in southwest Michigan, I used various family names from both sides of the family for certain minor characters, such as Dena, Alice, and Alberta for first names, and Percell, Dunham, and Wiersma as last names.
- What was your hardest scene to write?
In general, the most challenging part of this story was capturing L. Frank Baum’s personality so that readers would experience what it was like to be with him.
In one particular scene, I have him showing eleven-year-old Janie how to run a printing press on the porch of his Macatawa cottage. Having never run a printing press myself, much less one from 1903, I had to research and watch videos to become familiar with the machine. Once I grasped that, I incorporated it into a scene with Mr. Baum and Janie as he sparks her imagination and confidence while running the printing press together.
Whether readers are Oz fans or not, I think they will enjoy getting to know L. Frank Baum.
- If you could invite one person to dinner, who would it be and what would you cook?
Assuming this could be anyone, living or dead, I’d love to invite L. Frank Baum for dinner. If I was feeling brave, I would fix his favorite meal—Welsh rarebit, a cheesy sauce over bread that he often made himself. Supposedly, he made the creamiest sauce. He and Maud hosted Welsh rarebit dinner parties weekly at their Macatawa Park cottage.
I would ask questions about his experiences to elicit as many stories as possible. And I wouldn’t worry about which ones were true and which ones were exaggerated. It’s all part of the fun.
I might ask him to read a few scenes from my book and tell me what he thinks about my portrayal of him. 🙂
Blog Stops
Simple Harvest Reads, May 22 (Author Interview)
Artistic Nobody, May 23 (Author Interview)
Lights in a Dark World, May 23
Guild Master, May 24 (Author Interview)
Texas Book-aholic, May 25
Fiction Book Lover, May 26 (Author Interview)
The Bookish Ledger, May 27 (Author Interview)
Paula’s Pad of Inspiration, May 28 (Author Interview)
Cover Lover Book Review, May 29
History, Hope & Happily Ever After, May 30 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 30
Vicky Sluiter, May 31 (Author Interview)
For the Love of Literature, June 1 (Author Interview)
A Modern Day Fairy Tale, June 2 (Author Interview)
For Him and My Family, June 3
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, June 4
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Laura is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card and a paperback copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://gleam.io/fbEmw/a-hundred-magical-reasons-celebration-tour-giveaway