Please welcome my guest, Jessica Lawson. She has just released her second middle grade novel, Nooks and Crannies. She’s here to talk about secret passages, fun words, and of course, her novel!
I just finished Jessica’s first novel, The Actual and Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher, which is fun historical fiction set in the time of Tom Sawyer. Becky has a unique and humorous voice, and I truly enjoyed her adventures. I can’t wait to read Nooks and Crannies. Don’t forget to leave a comment so that you can enter the giveaway, and please spread the word!
And here’s Jessica:
In terms of a dream home, my husband and I are on the same page: if we had the resources to live in any kind of house, an old stone farmhouse would be our first choice. I’d prefer if it had a hidden passage, but if that’s not in the cards, maybe we could add one (in fact, this being a “dream” house, I’m sure we could).
I love the idea of hidden spaces and passages so much that when I started working on a manuscript featuring an old English manor home, I had to include a few sneaky hideaway spots.
That manuscript became my newest middle grade book, Nooks & Crannies (summary at the end of this post). To enter the giveaway, all you need to do is leave a comment—feel free to share which hidden passage you’d like best from the ones pictured below.
But first, since this IS a word blog, I thought I’d share the origin of the words in my title:
Nook
1: chiefly Scottish : a right-angled corner
2 a: an interior angle formed by two meeting walls; b: a secluded or sheltered place or part- searched every nook and cranny; c: a small often recessed section of a larger room
Cranny
1 : a small break or slit : crevice
2 : an obscure nook or corner
Nook and Cranny:
I’ve searched for it in every nook and cranny, and I still can’t find it.
This metaphoric idiom pairs nook, which has meant “an out-of-the-way corner” since the mid 1300s, with cranny, which has meant “a crack or crevice” since about 1440. Neither noun is heard much other than in this idiom.
-via The American Heritage Idioms Dictionary
And now, here are some hidden spaces/passages that you could have built in your home. Which design do you like best?
Given the choice, I’d go with one of the last two options (though bending over to scoot through the fireplace might not be as much fun as I get older).
NOOKS & CRANNIES summary:
Tabitha Crum is a girl with a big imagination and a love for mystery novels, though her parents think her only talent is being a nuisance. She doesn’t have a friend in the world, except her pet mouse, Pemberley, with whom she shares her dingy attic bedroom.
Then, on the heels of a rather devastating announcement made by her mother and father, Tabitha receives a mysterious invitation to the country estate of the wealthy but reclusive Countess of Windermere, whose mansion is rumored to be haunted. There, she finds herself among five other children, none of them sure why they’ve been summoned. But soon, a very big secret will be revealed— a secret that will change their lives forever and put Tabitha’s investigative skills to the test.
Don’t forget to leave a comment! The giveaway is open until Tuesday, June 23.
Jessica Lawson does not live in a fancy manor house, but she does deal with mysteries on a daily basis. Most of those mysteries involve missing socks and shadowy dessert disappearances. She lives in Colorado with her husband and children. Visit her online at jessicalawsonbooks.com or connect with her on Twitter.
This looks like a book that my daughter would LOVE. I just put it on my Amazon wishlist. 🙂 Thanks for telling us about it!
Don’t buy it yet- maybe you’ll win it in the giveaway!
I am waiting to see before I do!
I love the hidden room behind the staircase. Looks like an awesome book
I like the hidden wine cellar – very cool! Every time I hear “nooks and crannies” I think of English Muffins. That’s what they used to say in the commercial for them in the 70s.
As cool as this book sounds, don’t enter me in the giveaway – someone with middle schoolers should win!
I thought of the same thing, Dana! Thanks for commenting, and we’ll honor your request about the giveaway.
I have always loved the idea of a hidden room. Hidden passages would be fun too.
I love the idea of lifting up the staircase to get to the space underneath (although I probably wouldn’t find it as useful as a closet in the same space.
Thanks for the chance to win Nooks and Crannies!
I’m dying to get my hands on this book; I’m a big fan of the talented Jessica Lawson! As for the nook of my choice, a hidden room behind the bookcase is very appealing in an Agatha Christie kind of way…thanks for the post and supporting a fellow writer!
That bookcase door would be so fun with a secret reading room behind it!
I loved Jessica’s Becky Thatcher book, and I am looking forward to reading Nooks and Crannies! I would really like to have that bookcase secret passage!