My Grandma’s Kitchen

Tuesday 6/25/24 is release day for The Summer of Keeping Secrets! Woohoo!

I’m so thankful to have a new book out in the world. When I first started writing this story, I wasn’t necessarily thinking of my own grandparents. But as I continued to write, pieces and memories from my grandparents seeped into my mind and occasionally found their way onto the page.

Slade Henderson refers to her grandparents’ home as a haven in the book. It’s a place she and her brother Reed spent a month each summer as children. And while I didn’t stay a month at my grandparents’ home each summer, I definitely have many memories of good times spent there.

In particular, I remember my grandma’s kitchen.

My grandparents were both alive at the time, but there is something about the kitchen that felt like my grandma’s domain.

My grandparents lived in a small farmhouse with one bathroom. Our extended family would often hang out in the kitchen, as it’s also where the dining table was located. As the youngest, I remember sitting on a few laps. But I never remember feeling squished. Just at home.

There was always polka music playing on the radio station and some kind of food–from baked goods to the special summer sausage my family still gets from the same meat market even though it’s a two hour drive now for my parents. If you’re from small-town Minnesota, you definitely have your preferred meat market. 🙂 There was also my grandma’s calendar on the wall, where she kept notes of all that she did and accomplished–from someone they saw to an errand she ran.

In The Summer of Keeping Secrets, “Gran” keeps journals. But in them, she writes the details of her days versus relaying her emotions. This was inspired by my grandma’s calendar that she kept.

When we would leave her house, my grandmother would open her kitchen drawer full of candy–mostly Milky Ways, which were her favorite, and give us a handful along with some Doublemint gum. Such good memories!

In The Summer of Keeping Secrets, both Slade and her brother Reed have many great memories of being at their grandparents’ home–everything from baking to fishing to simply feeling loved. So, when they meet to purge the home along with their mother, they are of course met by a slew of emotions.

It’s always interesting to create a “world” within a story. And while this is my character’s world and not mine, it was fun to remember those good days from my childhood while writing. And to add in a few nods to my own family in the book.

And I’ll let you in on one more secret.

When I mention chocolate covered cherries in the opening line of the book, that’s an inside joke for my family. Every year for Christmas, my mom wraps up some of those as gifts. And every year, there’s trading that goes on to either gain or get rid of that gift. People either love ‘em or hate ‘em. I’m in the dislike category, and Marin agrees with me in the opening line. But I’ve already gotten a few comments from people who love them. The debate continues!

So now you know a couple secrets that went into creating The Summer of Keeping Secrets. 🙂

I thought it would be fun to put together a bookish giveaway that is a nod to those childhood memories. It includes a Colorado book tote, a signed copy of The Summer of Keeping Secrets, and a package of Milky Ways. 🙂 Details & the Rafflecopter entry form can be found here or on my news page.

You can find The Summer of Keeping Secrets wherever you prefer to buy books, and there are also links on the book page of my site.

Thank you so much for the support. If you pick up a copy, I hope you enjoy!

Also – I’d love to hear a favorite childhood or grandparent memory of yours in the comments below.

Blessings!

Jill Lynn

“With humor and heart, Jill Lynn explores the power of family, the complicated nature of love, and the price we pay for things left unsaid. An unforgettable read from a standout voice in romance.” —Kristy Woodson Harvey, New York Times bestselling author of The Summer of Songbirds

For fans of Denise Hunter and Susan Mallery, a captivating story about a single summer that could completely break a family apart—or bring them back together.

Recently widowed Marin Henderson considers time with her two adult children a gift. And she’s intent on not prying into their lives while they’re all together, cleaning out her late parents’ Colorado home. But from the start, nothing goes as planned. Her free-spirited daughter, Slade, and her strait-laced son, Reed, both arrive ahead of schedule, and no one is explaining why. Marin knows they’re hiding issues in their personal lives. But she can only push so far because she, too, is keeping secrets.

Setting aside family tensions, the three of them get to work purging the house. But when Slade discovers a decades-old newspaper clipping about a body found on the rocks below the house, questions arise. Marin insists the death was ruled an accident, but Slade’s curiosity is piqued. And when a roof leak compels Marin to call on an old friend and flame for help, it’s the catalyst for a wave of revelations.

Between a daughter bent on distracting herself from her own career turmoil, a son desperate to hold on to his marriage and a mother forced to confront her choices from that long-ago summer, pieces of the past and present begin to unravel. And before the summer is over, they each must decide what to hold on to and what to let go…