Edith (Edie) Hemingway’s newest middle grade novel, “That Smudge of Smoke,” takes place in 1929 and 2015. Protagonists Piper and Garrett are living through serious upheavals in their young lives.
The 12-year-old characters are linked by Piper’s diary, known as Dorie. Eighty-six years after it was written, Garrett finds Dorie hidden in a door salvaged from a Chesapeake Bay steamboat. The diary itself takes on the role of an unexpected narrator in this story of hope and unusual friendship.
Hemingway will be at Curious Iguana to sign copies of her latest book on Oct. 22.
We caught up with her to chat about it ahead of her appearance in town.
When did you realize that you wanted to be a writer?
My fourth-grade teacher was a published author, and she gave us quiet writing time every day. I won a class writing contest and decided someday I, too, would be an author.
Why did you choose middle grade readers as your audience?
I wanted to write the kind of books I loved to read at that age. But I don’t really like putting age limits on a book. So far, my books seem to appeal to adult readers, as well as younger readers.
I start with a setting and an idea for a plot and then try to find the voices of my characters. I do not follow an outline, but I do have a rough idea of how I want it to end. Once I get to know my characters, they are full of surprises.
What was your inspiration for ‘That Smudge of Smoke’?
For 21 years, my husband and I lived in a log cabin in Braddock Heights, known as Misty Hill Lodge [it’s now an Airbnb]. All the doors were salvaged from an old Chesapeake Bay steamboat, the SS City of Atlanta. For years, ideas brewed in my head until I finally figured out how to bring two settings and two time periods into one story.
Can you explain your decision to use of an unexpected narrator?
On my third round of revisions, I decided I needed a totally different approach to my story. I had recently read “The Book Thief,” which has Death as an unexpected narrator, and thought I might try something similar. Since the diary is the tangible object that links the two characters and two time periods, I decided it would be the perfect narrator.
How long did it take you to write?
Ten years from the start of my research until publication, but I wasn’t working on it full-time, and that includes three complete revisions and the submission process.
What would you most like the readers of 72 Hours to know about your book?
Part of the story takes place locally in Braddock Heights, and the book delves into a lesser-known aspect of Maryland and Chesapeake Bay history, that of the Steamboat Era.
What are you currently working on?
I’m working on another novel set on an island off the coast of Maine.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
My husband and I do a lot of kayaking on the Great Wicomico River, where we live in Southern Virginia, very close to the Chesapeake Bay. My other creative outlet is making colorful quilts.
Karen Peacock is a freelance writer and visual artist based in Frederick. Her mixed-media works can be found at TAG/The Artists Gallery and other venues throughout the region.
