Wilderness Lodge

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WILDERNESS LODGE:

Betrayal - Second Chances - Life or Death - Falling in Love

Welcome to Wilderness Lodge! It stands amidst its own forested kingdom stretching along the shores of the Great Lake Superior in Michigan's majestic Upper Peninsula.

But, its magnificence is overshadowed by tragedy.

Andi Forester is sole heir to the Forester family dynasty, the family who owns Wilderness Lodge and all the vast territory surrounding it. Now, after years away, she reluctantly returns to the Lodge in hopes of purging the ghosts of her past.

But, the Lodge is deserted.

Worse, a deadly blizzard rages its way over the land and suddenly Andi finds herself stranded in the middle of nowhere, cut off from the world, and help.

When she discovers something mysterious in the deep snow drifts outside the Lodge Andi is catapulted into a series of chilling, heart throbbing events that force her to reclaim her fiery Forester spirit and to summon the courage necessary to face impossible challenges against all odds.

Talking With Jane Chemacki

What was the inspiration for writing Wilderness Lodge?

There were several inspirations for writing this novel:

FIRST: I had a recurring dream during an unseasonal blizzard, here in Michigan, about being stranded in a winter storm and rescuing a huge white dog. As it recurred, the dream stayed with me, and I began writing the first draft of Wilderness Lodge.

SECOND: My enchanting, charming, rescue dog, a giant Alaskan Malamute named Big Jake! It was his magnetic personality, intelligence and loyal guard dog instincts that I modeled the hero rescue dog, Aspen, in my novel after. Big Jake was by my side every single day as I wrote Wilderness Lodge. Without him I'm sure the book would never have gotten to first page.

THIRD: Again, my dog Big Jake. I named the Wilderness Lodge patriarch Big Jake after him. To me this famous, wise man was Big Jake from the moment of his character's conception.

FOURTH: The majestic, forested wilderness of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. America's last wilderness. Its beauty and wildness was my inspiration for the setting of my Wilderness Lodge novel.

FIFTH: Atticus Finch, of To Kill A Mockingbird fame, and his wisdom, intelligence, strength of character, kindness, generosity of spirit, and genuine goodness, was the inspiration for my novel's patriarch Big Jake Forester. Even his handsome and rugged good looks are mirrored by Gregory Peck, the actor who played the character of Atticus Finch in the original movie.

SIXTH: The raw natural beauty of Michigan's majestic Upper Peninsula was my inspiration for the Wilderness Lodge setting. From the moment I put pen to paper I knew the story was alive inside the forested wilderness of the U.P.

SEVENTH: The unseasonal winter blizzard here in Michigan that spurred the dream that sparked my story about Wilderness Lodge.

What was the writing process like for Wilderness Lodge?

My writing process while writing Wilderness Lodge was EXHILARATING! From the moment I began taking notes about my dream, I wrote nonstop until I had my first full draft. I was obsessed with getting it all written down. The words literally flowed from me. I felt as if I were possessed, I couldn't write fast enough for the words to get onto the paper or type fast enough for them to get into my word document. I spent weeks at my computer for ten or twelve hours a day and then jumped back to it the minute I woke the next morning. Then, there were months on end that I didn't even think of it and didn't write a word. It was as if my brain longed for a break. However, the storyline was always in the back of my mind, it never left me. The most difficult part of the process was editing and polishing it for publishing. I spent the next two years rewriting, editing and just plain driving myself crazy until I had to accept that I would never, ever feel finished nurturing the story because it was my baby. After that I was able to decide whether to self publish or publish conventionally. After speaking to several literary agents and realizing that even if I signed a contract with them chances were my book still might not get published, so I chose self publishing because this way I had control over my work and time. For me, my time is too valuable to wait on others.

What music did you listen to while writing Wilderness Lodge?

No music. While writing, I'm so completely focused that I don't see or hear anything else.

What was your favorite scene in Wilderness Lodge to write?

In Wilderness Lodge's first chapter there's a scene in which the main character, Andi Forester, has just returned to the Lodge after many years away. It's when she walks out to its white wintered lawns and gardens that she's hit with a memory of a deeply rooted family tradition, it's a connection to their French-Canadian and native Ojibwe ancestry. Andi raises her face to the sun, lifts her hands out to the land with palms up and thoughtfully whispers these words: "I honor this land and all its inhabitants." Her words flow through the wind and over the land. Now, Andi is overcome with a sense of peace and rightness with the world that she hadn't felt for all the years she was away.

What was the hardest scene in Wilderness Lodge to write?

Second chapter: When, at the height of the blizzard, Ethan became incapacitated leaving his courageous rescue dog, Aspen, to guard over him.