With more than 25 children’s and young adult books already under her belt, Bridgman author Marcy Blesy embarked on a new writing venture.
This April, the former elementary school librarian released her first novel for the adult reader, The Secret of Blue Lake. Inspired in part by her own experiences with loss at a young age, Blesy said her new book should appeal to fans of contemplative works like Mitch Albom‘s Tuesdays With Morrie or A Man Called Ove by Swedish writer Fredrik Backman.
The Secret of Blue Lake follows Chicago news reporter Meg Popkin as she attempts to figure out why her recently-widowed father makes a surprise move to a small town called Blue Lake in Michigan – away from Meg, her sister and his grandkids. With the help of a new reporter (and possible love interest), Meg goes sleuthing into Blue Lake and finds that it’s not just her father moving to this unique town. As Meg unravels the mystery of this little town, important life lessons are revealed.
“She learns a lot about herself, her dad and the end of life,” Blesy said. “There’s a lot of what happens at your end of life, the decisions you make at the end of your life in this book. Meg’s dad’s making some of those decisions that Meg doesn’t understand and realize. When she does, it gives her new perspective on not only her life, but the decisions all people are forced to make at the end of their life.”
For Blesy, the topic of death and dying been has been prevalent in her writing in because she experienced the loss of both her parents at a young age. Blesy’s father died when she was 13, and her mother died when she was 24. She has also worked at grief counseling center Lory’s Place in St. Joseph.
“I don’t go into a book saying, ‘oh, I’m going to write about somebody dying,’ but I always do,” she said. “And the theme of life and death, for me personally, it’s always right under the surface. … I kind of was forced into that fight or flight mentality by the tragedies that happened in my life. So, I’m very in tune to the circle of life, I guess – and my characters tend to be, too.”
In Blesy’s first book, Am I Like My Daddy?, the seven-year-old protagonist learns about the different ways people grieve while processing the death of her father.
“I was at a family function in my thirties and my uncle looked at my sister and said, ‘you are so much like your dad.’ In my head I was having a mild temper tantrum, like, ‘why is [she] like my dad? Why am I not like my dad?'” Blesy said. “So, that story is about a young girl who has that same question. She lost her dad when she was young and has very fond memories of him. In the process of learning about who her father was through the eyes of others, she learns about who she is today because of her father’s personality and love.”
In The Secret of Blue Lake, Meg struggles to understand the decisions her father is making as he advances toward the end of his own life. Blesy said while the story was therapeutic to write has some profound messages, she tried to make sure it wasn’t heavy-handed. She understands people need to be hooked into the plot, and said this book is also entertaining – with enough romance, mystery and humor to help move the story along.
Blesy – who also teaches creative writing to children all over the world on Outschool – said whether her audience is a child or an adult, she ultimately wants the reader to feel something.
“I like to make my readers laugh. … I like to make them cry,” she said. “I like to make them feel things because I feel my characters and what they’re feeling when I’m writing it. It’s always therapy for me to write no matter what I’m writing.”
The importance of being able to process death, Blesy said, is an important skill to learn at all ages.
“We’re all gonna die, right?” she said. “So, If you can find a way to find peace with it when that time comes, or look at your loved one who’s going through those decisions themselves and find a way to find peace and comfort in the decisions they’re making, then I think that’s a healthy thing for sure.”
The Secret of Blue Lake is independently published through Kindle Direct Publishing, and can be found online at Amazon. To see Blesy’s full catalog of books, visit marcyblesy.com.
By Ryan Yuenger
ryany@wsjm.com
