About the Book
Book: A Hundred Magical Reasons
Author: Laura DeNooyer
Genre: Biographical historical fiction, literary fiction, book club fiction
Release Date: January 7, 2025
Most fairy tales have happy endings, but is it too late for this one? After all, Mrs. Charlotte Rose Gordon, the disgruntled town recluse, is eighty-eight and has grown weary of fighting the dragons of her past—including the desire to clear her husband’s name of a 1918 crime.
Dragons of a different kind pursue Carrie Kruisselbrink.
During 1980, the summer of her private rebellion, Carrie defies parental expectations and pursues her café dream. While waiting for funding, she takes a job with Mrs. Gordon.
As Mrs. Gordon unfolds the story of her oppressive childhood and delightful friendship with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz author, L. Frank Baum, Carrie never expects to encounter her own fears and soul-searching.
In this modern-day fairy tale that weaves between 1980 and the early 1900s, Mr. Baum’s influence impacts each woman’s personal quests on a hero’s journey neither anticipates. Can Carrie and Mrs. Gordon find common ground in battling their respective dragons?
Excerpt from the Book:
After six summers of restaurant work in Barrowdale and making a fifteen-page business plan with her mentor Rita, she was ready to obtain financing. Then she’d tell her parents. They’d watch her succeed following her own dream instead of theirs.
After lunch, Carrie called the bank’s loan officer to make an appointment—the culmination of Phase One.
She walked McKinley Street, a stroll through yesteryear: Victorian homes with turrets, wraparound porches, gingerbread trim, and perfectly placed pansies as dainty as ruffles on a lady’s dress. But the disastrous year of midnight studies and student teaching still trailed her. Critiques and comparisons. Rough, ineffective classroom management skills. Fighting nausea every time she entered the classroom. Carrie couldn’t measure up. Just like at home.
Shaking off memories, she meandered through a park and circled back to a shady street. One dark green house with white shutters and plum-striped awnings sported a picket fence. An invitation rather than a boundary, the fence drew her to peek at the yard’s secrets.
Four triangles of spring blooms surrounded a winding brick pathway. Similar colors clumped together. Lilac bushes hovered over purple pansies and early irises. Yellow daffodils and primroses cheered in unison. Rosebushes huddled with fading tulips. Blue splashed over violets and late hyacinths.
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About the Author
Laura DeNooyer thrives on creativity and encouraging it in others. A Calvin College graduate, she is a teacher, wife, parent of four adult children, and an award-winning author of heart-warming historical and contemporary fiction. Her novels are perfect for fans of Patti Callahan Henry, Erin Bartels, or Amanda Cox. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her reading, walking, drinking tea with friends, or taking a road trip.