I’m pretty sure this is a Justin Bieber song, which makes it even more cringe, but there is some truth to it.

The truth is: I was determined I would NEVER write a certain type of story. I was far superior and I was called to write “more literary, more serious, more impactful literature.”

Guess what?

I did what I said I never would and I’ve written a story that (dare I say it?) IS A ROMANCE!

I was commissioned with the task (by my publisher) to participate in a Christmas Novella collection and the whole experience has been a learning curve as well as a much-needed reprieve from more serious and heavy writing. I wrote about how this story came to be a few blogs back (The Master Editor), but I can now talk about it legally!

My inspiration

When I was given the opportunity to write about anything (that was happy and light, mind you) my mind kept gravitating towards a profession that is largely underrepresented in literature- the milk trade. This profession is woven throughout the tapestry of my family history as well, making it an area of interest for me. My grandma Mae talks about having indentations on her legs from holding the milk pail between them and even my older sister had a milk cow in our childhood and has one still today. I’ve spent time milking and even Steven (my husband) has helped me milk the cow on one of our “dates.” Not only is it a beautiful culture of animal husbandry, but also is a growing homesteading lifestyle trend that has gained a lot of traction (especially since COVID). I’m not sure about you, but my Instagram is bursting with women making sourdough, raising farm fresh eggs, homeschooling their children, milking their cows and I wouldn’t have it any other way! I wanted to showcase a lifestyle that is filled with hard work, cold hands and harkens back to a simpler time, because I think we could all use more of that in our lives.

The Story

So with the desire to write about a milkmaid, I started doing some digging and came across the most astounding story about a Swedish milkmaid from the 1800’s named Pilt Caren Ersdotter (disclaimer: I did change her name because I couldn’t get on board with old “Pilt” or “Caren”)! You guys, she has the most interesting story and I’m particularly drawn to true stories so it seemed like the perfect fit! Because her story is so fascinating I couldn’t wait to fill in some of the “unknowns” with my own twist and tie in some Swedish Christmas nostalgia and aesthetic to fit my assignment.

The title: The Girl From Dalarna

Wanna know what it’s about?

Without giving too much away, I can say that it is about a milkmaid named Linnea who stopped traffic because of her beauty.

What’s the problem with that, you ask?

She LOATHES the attention and would much rather live a simple life away from the spotlight, but the spotlight follows her wherever she goes and scandal is in its wake.

The Romance

This was a fun and challenging story to write and let me tell you, writing romance is no easy task because not just anything goes and it’s a lot harder to weave a realistic love story together than many people might think (I’m many people btw). It was fun though because I fell in love with the male character. As I wrote, I subconsciously wrote my husband into his very fiber. He’s steady, he’s sincere, a little gruff around the edges and he is exactly what the protagonist needs in her life.

Small Detour

As I’ve mentioned before, I resisted this assignment with nearly everything in me because I didn’t want to be misrepresented or misunderstood as I was just beginning my writing career. Throughout this process, I’m learning to take myself a little less seriously and embrace different learning opportunities because that is how we grow. Sometimes we must bumble around in order to find the path our feet should walk and sometimes it’s nice to take small detours to smell the flowers.

This novella is my detour to smell the flowers and I hope (if it interests you at all) it sweeps you up and helps you escape for a little bit, into a Swedish land filled with forests, cardamom buns, scratchy wool scarves and doe-eyed jersey cows.