From Viola Shipman, Author of The Charm Bracelet, The Hope Chest, The Recipe Box
and now The Summer Cottage

SPRING 2019 ISSUE

The Summer Cottage 
In Stores Tomorrow!

Dear Reader:

The Summer Cottage will be out tomorrow! 

 I’m SO excited for the release of my latest novel, which is a perfect gift for Mother’s Day, as well as the ideal kick-off for your summer reading.

How many of you have dreamed of starting over? Longed to move permanently to the summer vacation town or home that makes you the happiest? Dreamed of doing a full home makeover, just like the ones on TV? Relished the idea of quitting your job and opening your own B&B? Dreamed of being that kid you once were, who built sandcastles, jumped in the lake with abandon and sat on the beach believing anything was possible?

How many of you have just stopped dreaming, period? The Summer Cottage is about dreams lost and dreams buried, and it is the perfect summer escape about the restorative power of family tradition, small-town community and the feel of sand between your toes.

The Plot of The Summer Cottage

The novel centers on Adie Lou Kruger, who spent summers with her parents and grandparents at Cozy Cottage, the family’s charming, ramshackle summer home — complete with its own set of rules for relaxing — on Lake Michigan. But when Adie Lou’s husband leaves her for one of his grad students and pressures her to sell her beloved family home, she faces a test: Become the woman she dreamed of being at the summer cottage, or follow the path of others, which she’s done the majority of her life. With the support of her 19-year-old son Evan, Adie Lou quits her job, leaves her home in Chicago and returns to Cozy Cottage in order to rebuild her life and restore her cottage shingle by shingle, on her terms.

But converting the beloved, weather-beaten structure into a bed-and-breakfast isn’t quite the efficient home-reno experience she’s seen on TV. Pushback from Saugatuck’s contentious preservation society, costly surprises and demanding guests were not part of the plan. But as the cottage comes back to life, Adie Lou does, too, finding support in unexpected places and a new love story on the horizon. And as she uncovers the cottage’s history, she uncovers her own as well. One cottage rule at a time, Adie Lou reclaims her own strength, history and joy by rediscovering the magic in every sunset and sandcastle.

Inspired by My Own Family 

Like my previous novels, The Summer Cottage is inspired by family and centers on those things in life I value: family, memories, history, tradition, heirlooms, and women whose voices are too often overlooked, seemingly ordinary women whose lives are truly extraordinary.

I’m also proud that this novel is a bit more contemporary in feel, poignant yet funny, and celebrates strong women, female friendships, the importance of home and family, taking risks and finding joy.

This novel is about many important things, specifically the tangible and intangible things that we lose, forget, let go of, as we age. The tangible thing that I write about in this novel is, of course, a summer cottage. For me, the sense of place is important not only in my books but also in my life. Home – my knotty pine cottage in the woods outside of Saugatuck, Michigan (the town where the novel is set!) – is where I am best and most creative.

Home has always been important to me. It’s the place that reflects who we truly are; it’s the place that creatively celebrates our spirits and comforts our souls. I love writing about place in my novels, and I’m blessed to live in spiritual places that inspire me creatively. That sense of place is as big a protagonist in my novels as my characters. The beauty of Michigan and Lake Michigan are central characters because they are a huge influence in my life and on my writing.

Moreover, home, I think, has a deeper meaning to all of us. Think of your childhood home. Or your family’s summer cottage, or the vacation place you used to rent growing up. That’s where we played, where we dreamed, where we were carefree and where we considered who we might become.

What Happens to Our Dreams? 

But – to move to another main point of The Summer Cottage – where does that all go, those dreams?  I’ve come to believe that too many of us live in fear. Of pretty much everything. We worry about money, our kids, our parents, our health, our retirement, but we lose who we not only dreamed of being but who we were meant to be in the process of “growing up.” We too often let the influence of others guide us. Most of us are pleasers, aren’t we? We tend to make everyone else happy but lose sight of making ourselves happy. And how does that work out?

Mostly, this is a novel about being happy. Sounds simple, but it’s so hard. Why? We are who others expect us to be. We fulfill the expectations and dreams of others. We lose sight of what makes us happy. This book is about taking control of your life again, returning to that place of home and heart and soul.

Here's a Video of Me Reading
an Excerpt from The Summer Cottage 

I truly hope you love the novel! Like a summer cottage, the novel is meant to be shared among generations. Here’s to finding yourself and your happiness one sandcastle and one sunset at a time this summer!

A Special Giveaway to Celebrate The Summer Cottage 

I’ve been dreaming and scheming to come up with a giveaway that captures the heart and soul of The Summer Cottage, and I think I’ve done it! So … drum roll, please …

The “Beach, Please!” Grand Giveaway! (You’ll get this when you read the book, lol!)

What do we want to do in the summer? GO TO THE BEACH!

But what’s even better than the beach? Having it live forever in your heart and home, even when it’s not summertime.

Saugatuck, Michigan – the resort town that is not only the setting for The Summer Cottage but also the real life place I call home – is renowned for its art community. In fact, Saugatuck is renowned as an artist lover’s haven – known as the Art Coast of Michigan – filled with galleries galore. Saugatuck exploded in 1910 when a group of artists from the Art Institute of Chicago established the Summer School of Painting on the Ox-Bow Lagoon. Artists from all over the world still come to teach and study there, and I spend many summer Fridays on that lagoon attending exhibitions and auctions. One of Saugatuck’s most famous artists is James Brandess, who is famed for his thick oil paintings of Saugatuck’s landscapes and flowers, and has a popular gallery in town.

I am giving away a stunning print of Lake Michigan, which is like the one I have hanging in my own cottage in Saugatuck. See! (It’s the artwork on the left; as you can tell, I love my Lake Michigan landscapes! The painting on the right is by another great Saugatuck artist, Anne Corlett)

The painting is a view of the sweeping coastline from the dunes on Saugatuck’s Oval Beach, all of which I write about in the novel. The beauty of James’ work is that he captures the movement of the dunes grass, waves and clouds, almost as if you are actually sitting there on the beach. I can feel the sand underneath me, hear the waves crashing and see the colorful clouds drift by.

Painting – and art – as a way to discover yourself and rediscover your joy has a primary focus in The Summer Cottage, and I think having a unique piece of art by a Saugatuck artist of the actual place in the novel, which is also in the home of the author, is beyond perfect (that’s a lot of perfect, btw)!

The art will be matted and framed (16"x20" finished size). These prints on acid-free paper are produced with archival, pigment-based ink to ensure long life and the most vibrant color possible.

To enter, please send proof of purchase that you have ordered a copy of The Summer Cottage (you may forward a copy of an online receipt, or snap a photo, and email or text it) to: gary@violashipman.com … Please put “Painting Giveaway” in the subject line. Enter to win by Saturday, May 11th at 11:59 pm EDT. Drawing will be random and announced on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 12th. Must be in the continental U.S. to win.

Finally, HUGE, heartfelt congratulations to our last giveaway winner, Gail Janke, who won the Valentine's Day giveaway of TWO books, including an advance reader's copy of The Summer Cottage!

THANK YOU to all who enter, and more grand giveaways to come in the future! xoxo!

Order from Your Favorite Retailer

A Summer Recipe!

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!

In The Summer Cottage, I write about an ice cream shop named Lick Effect Ice Cream (yes, I know, probably the corniest name ever, but isn’t it perfect for a Lake Michigan resort town?).

It’s not a real place, but it kind of is: It’s based on two of my favorite Saugatuck-area ice cream shops – Charlie’s Around the Corner in Saugatuck and Sherman’s in South Haven, Michigan (the mannequin legs I reference in the novel are actually real and quite famous, too: They used to sit in the window of Hoopdee Scootee, an infamous gift shop in town that was around forever).

Nothing says summer to me like ice cream. I grew up with a cone in my hand. My family made homemade ice cream in an old, hand-crank machine. We went to the local Dairy Queen nearly every hot afternoon. And now, after I hit the beach or have dinner in town, I stop and get an ice cream cone. I’m still a child at heart. I love all the flavors that the kids order: Birthday cake and bubblegum, cotton candy, cookie dough and cake batter.

But in Michigan and the Great Lakes, there is a phenomenon known as Blue Moon Ice Cream. The ice cream is iridescent blue, marshmallowy sweet and has an elusive taste that many describe as a combination of lemon and fruit. I think it tastes like the leftover milk from a bowl of Fruity Pebbles. It's addictive, and the recipe is largely kept secret by the different dairies, ice cream makers and shops in Michigan and Wisconsin. Blue Moon ice cream turns your tongue blue, and it is a favorite of children. And me!

I found a recipe for Blue Moon Ice Cream that seems to match the taste of Michigan’s blue moon ice cream. Try it this summer, on a hot, hot day, and let me know what you think. I guarantee you’ll feel like a kid again, and there’s no better feeling than that.

What’s New

The Summer Cottage Is An Amazon

Best Book of the Month!

The Summer Cottage was selected by Amazon Books as one of April’s Best Books of the Month in the Heartfelt Fiction category!  I am thrilled as Amazon selects only a few books a month for their “Best Books” categories, and Heartfelt Fiction is the perfect one for The Summer Cottage!

An Interview with Nancy Thayer!

I am thrilled to welcome New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer – Queen of the Beach Reads – for a conversation in advance of the publication of our latest novels, The Summer Cottage and Nancy’s Surfside Sisters, which publishes on July 2nd.

I fell in love with Nancy’s novels decades ago, before I was an author myself. There’s just something about her writing, characters and sense of place that defines summer to me. It’s a rare day at the beach when I’m not carrying around a sand-laden novel from Nancy, Dorothea Benton Frank, Elin Hilderbrand or Jane Green. Moreover, Nancy was one of the first authors I reached out to after writing my first novel, The Charm Bracelet, and her early blurb and support were instrumental in that novel’s success (and meant the world to me).

Read our wonderful Q&A here!

Strong Women Read!

I was so happy to learn that The Summer Cottage was part of the Strong Women Read books campaign. In celebration of International Women’s Day in March, as well as in celebration of women’s friendships and strong women everywhere. I’m humbled that my books resonate deeply with women, especially strong women like my grandmothers, and that readers are sharing my books not only with their sisters, mothers, aunts, cousins, friends and colleagues―all the women who bring joy, friendship and laughter to your lives – but also across generations! Adie Lou is a strong woman in The Summer Cottage … who’s your favorite strong female character or heroine in a book?

Tour Schedule for The Summer Cottage

I’m going to be on tour a lot this spring and summer. I would LOVE to see you at one of the following events. Please check my appearances page on my web site for the latest updates as more appearances are always being added!

Tuesday, April 23, 2019
6:30 pm
Saturn Booksellers
127 W. Main
Suite A
Gaylord, MI 49735
Books available for purchase

Wednesday, April 24, 2019
7:00 pm
Grand Rapids Public Library
111 Library St. NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Reading and Signing
Books available onsite for purchase
Schuler Books

Thursday, April 25, 2019
12:00 pm
Kent District Library
East Grand Rapids Branch
746 Lakeside Dr. SE
East Grand Rapids, MI  49506

Thursday, April 25, 2019
7:00 pm
Forever Books
312 State Street
St. Joseph, MI 49085
Reading and Signing
Books available for purchase

Friday, April 26, 2019
7:00 pm
Bloomfield Township Public Library
Leslie Harcourt Green Community Room
1099 Lone Pine Rd.
Bloomfield Township, MI 48302
Reading and Signing

Friday, May 17, 2019
7:30 pm
Dowagiac Dogwood Fine Arts Festival
Dale A. Lyons Theater
Dowagiac, MI
Books available for purchase
Southwest Michigan College Bookstore
Books available at the Southwestern Michigan College Bookstore
More information here.

Tuesday, May 21, 2019
6:30 pm
A Cook & A Book
Mustard Seed Market & Cafe
6025 Kruse Dr.
Solon, OH 44139
Books available for sale by Mac’s Backs
More information here.

Wednesday, May 22, 2019
7:00 pm
Parma Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library
6996 Powers Blvd.
Parma, OH 44129
Books available for sale by Mac’s Backs
More information here.

Friday, June 7, 2019
6:00 pm
Benefit for Book Trust
Cranes Orchard
6504 124th Street
Fennville, MI 49408

Tuesday, June 11, 2019
6:30 pm
Tamarack Library
832 S. Lincoln Ave
Lakeview, MI 48850

Tuesday, July 16, 2019
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Charlevoix Public Library – Community Room
220 W. Clinton Street
Charlevoix MI, 49720

Wednesday, July 17, 2019
2:00 pm
Special Event at The Perry Hotel’s Rose Garden Veranda
Ticketed event ($15) includes drink and snacks overlooking Lake Michigan!
Reading/signing; books available for purchase
Limited tickets; order before they’re gone!
McLean & Eakin Booksellers
For tickets, call 231-247-1180, or visit the website.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019
7:00 pm
Newaygo Carnegie Library
44 State Rd.
Newaygo, MI 49337