Books in the Hall: Little Milly and the Great Lakes by Kelly McInenly

Monday, May 4, 2020

Little Milly and the Great Lakes by Kelly McInenly

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Kelly McInenly will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Pretend your protagonist is at school and opens his/her locker – what will we see inside?

Little Milly’s bugle would have prime position in her locker. It would be flanked by a wet bathing suit, a pet frog and some sweet treats. Some of Milly’s sisters’ arts and crafts would be stuck to the inside of the locker door, as well as a photograph of her mother and father. Since we are talking about a Maritimer, there would a lobster roll in there too, for her lunch.

What books were your favorite as a youth and why?

The Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. They consumed me completely and I would be so devastated every time tragedy struck the family (which was often), that my mom would have to put the books out of my reach on top of the refrigerator for days until I was up to the emotional strain again. To this day the word ‘locusts’ gives me a pit in my belly! My stories based on Little Milly’s childhood in the early 1900s are definitely lighter than these accounts of growing up in the American Midwest in the late 1800s.

What’s your favorite sweet treat?

Butter tarts! If fat, sugar and carbs had a baby, it would be a batch of butter tarts. I prefer no raisins, a firmer filling and a glass of milk on the side. My mom still makes them for me every time I am home for a visit, but she has modified her original recipe to use maple syrup now that corn syrup has such a bad reputation… not sure they qualify as a healthy snack yet, but it’s a step in the right direction.

What would you write in a letter to your teen self?

I was a pretty good kid, so I might only need to write a postcard, but a very pointed one:

SAY YES TO                                                          SAY NO TO
Cross-country running                                              Perms
Alex Yang’s marriage proposal                                 Pleated Pants
Mom & Dad’s offer to sign you up for golf lessons   White Eyeliner

Coal or candy in your Christmas stocking? Why?

While I think I have Candy-deserving behaviour, sugar has been deemed the new smoking. As of yesterday, Coal stock is growing at 9% and Candy is only growing at 2%, so I would prefer Santa leave me some lumps. You can take the writer out of business school, but you can’t take the business school out of the writer!

What superpower would you love to have? Why?

My son’s – ages 10 and 14 – quiz me on this constantly, so I have given it a surprising amount of thought. I usually pick the ability to make Wishes, as it gives me the most flexibility, but my kids don’t think that is a valid superpower, so I default to Flying. I read recently – in Love is the Killer App by Tim Sanders – that in this age of artificial intelligence, Empathy and Compassion will be our superpowers… the two abilities computers will never master.

What book is on your nightstand currently?

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss is a fun read for anyone, whether or not you consider yourself a negotiator. He combines stories from his years as an FBI hostage negotiator, with present day examples of how the same techniques can help improve the outcome of business discussions. My favourite concept of his is ‘You only fall to your highest level of preparation’.

Favorite hot beverage. Why?

I love an Americano – a shot of espresso in a tall double-walled glass, topped up with boiling water. Every morning I have two to supercharge my daily run. I once heard someone say if you can’t handle coffee, you can’t handle life, and I tend to agree!

Favorite pizza toppings.

I would eat ANYTHING on a pizza. It is my favourite food and a Friday ritual with my kids. Neapolitan, Chicago-style… I love them all, but I recently discovered Detroit-style and it was life-changing. The pizza is rectangular (because it was originally baked in industrial parts trays from Michigan factories) and characterized by a thick crispy crust with sauce applied on top of the ingredients (vs. on top of the crust). Descendant is the only pizza joint I know of that offers this style in Toronto, but I hope everyone has a source of this deliciousness in their neighbourhood.

Create an ice cream flavor. What’s it called?

I have to admit that while I did not invent this ice cream flavour, I am on a mission to promote it! Humphry Slocombe ice cream of San Francisco created a flavour called ‘Secret Breakfast’… it’s a combination of cornflakes and bourbon… perfect for an Irish early-bird like myself.

Kelly knew Little Milly Lake as Grandma Mill McInenly. The usually serious Mildred would occasionally surprise her granddaughter with tales of the fun and mischief that she and her five older sisters found growing up in the Maritimes in the early 1900s. The combination of little money or supervision, and a notoriously grumpy father, made for simple stories with just the right blend of silly and sweet.Little Milly and the Great Lakes is Kelly's first creative writing endeavor... she has been distracted by Little Mateo and Little Lucas.

Get silly with Milly on her other adventures...Bess and the Boil, Marj and the Medal, and Peg and the Party Line.

Read an Excerpt

In the Lake girls’ time – nineteen hundred and nine,

Many homes were connected by telephone line.

Neighbours had their own numbers – but the phone line was shared:

You could pick up and listen to all, if you dared.

And the Lake girls did dare – they goaded each other,

“Peg, pick up the phone and pretend you’re a mother!”

About the Author: Kelly knew Little Milly Lake as Grandma Mill McInenly. The usually serious Mildred would occasionally surprise her granddaughter with tales of the fun and mischief that she and her five older sisters found growing up in the Maritimes in the early 1900s. The combination of little money or supervision, and a notoriously grumpy father, made for simple stories with just the right blend of silly and sweet.

Little Milly and the Great Lakes is Kelly’s first creative writing endeavor… she has been distracted by Little Mateo and Little Lucas.

Connect with Canadian author Kelly McInenly:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/little-milly-and-the-great-lakes
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littlemillyandthegreatlakes
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19237406.Kelly_McInenly