My Story Inspiration for The Calling Birds

  
By Jacqui Nelson

What inspires a story? 

Christmas! And since Christmas is next month, it feels like it's the perfect time to share the Story Inspiration page (a page I included in the back of the book) for the first Christmas story that I wrote...

THE CALLING BIRDS 

Story Inspiration page ~ from the back of the book

When asked, which day of Christmas would you like to write? I immediately chose The Fourth Day because with the title The Calling Birds, I could use the name Jack Peregrine. His name was inspired by Inspector Jack Robinson from the Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries novels & TV series and the Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children novel & movie. Jack and then Birdie’s names came to me lightning quick, and might not have worked as well in more specifically titled 12 days stories such as the Hens, Doves, Geese, or Swans. 

So, I chose the more generic title and then, as seems to be my nature, I became really specific. Peregrines’ Post and Freight had to be the plural because it’s a family-run business. The word “post” had to come before “freight” because when shortened to Peregrines’ Post, it stood for not only a postal office but a post on which a bird might rest AND a place to make a final stand - while trying to keep a business alive and a family together. 

Next, I decided I needed four birds to form my family because it’s The Fourth Day, after all. Jack’s brother, Max, and Grandpa Gus came to life. Now I cannot imagine The Calling Birds without Gus. 

Jack and Gus’ banter was inspired by my relationship with my mom. She was great fun but also incredibly stubborn (to the point where I’d worry for her safety). It became our running joke where I’d call her determined, but I meant stubborn - and she knew it. She was never absentminded, though. That feature is mine but, like Gus, I’d rather find ways to get around my shortcomings instead of dwelling on them.

THE CALLING BIRDS

Noelle, Colorado –  Christmas 1876

Many years have passed since Bernadette Bellamy fled the Cariboo Gold Rush and her reputation as the sister of a French-Canadian gang of thieves. Armed with only an honest talent for sewing and a willingness to lead a solitary life on the run, she stays one step ahead of everyone seeking her brothers’ last—and now lost—heist. Until a craving to settle down makes her reinvent herself as Birdie Bell, a dress shop owner. The arrival of an old foe combined with her desire to hold onto her treasure trove of fabrics has Birdie joining a wagonload of brides bound for a remote town.

After losing his leg and his wife, Jack Peregrine buries his pain under a mountain-high pile of work. He only agrees to sign up for a mail-order bride to save the town of Noelle, keep his freighting business, and care for his absentminded grandfather. But Jack’s request for a sturdy bride who won’t crumble under his burdens brings him a woman as tiny as she is troubled. Can two mismatched people band together to become the perfect match?

Click here to read an excerpt on my website.

MY NOELLE, COLORADO, 

CHRISTMAS STORIES 

The Calling Birds - Christmas 1876

Robyn: A Christmas Bride - Christmas 1877

*  Next month I'll share my inspiration for Robyn *

Click here to see a summary of all of my books on one page.

Hope you enjoyed my writing inspiration and that your Friday and your November are...beginning to look a bit like Christmas but only in the best ways. 🎄❤️ I'm hoping I won't see any snow until Christmas Eve ❄️⛄

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