Mandy is the lead character of my middle reader novel-in-progress. She has evolved from researching my family history, when I discovered some of my ancestors had served in the Union forces.
One was Uncle James, a widower with young children. He married again and went off to war. I thought this would be a good basis for a story that involved a family coping with change...a stepmother and a father away at the war that was creating such a division in the nation.
