The Wings of Poppy Pendleton by Melanie Dobson introduced me to the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River between New York and Ontario. I’d never been there in person or in fiction. Since this is a dual timeline story, I received a double portion of the immersive experience—in 1907 and 1992. 

In January 2023, I featured Melanie’s World War II novel, Catching the Wind. 

Melanie is a master of writing the dual timeline novel, and The Wings of Poppy Pendleton is no exception. She and Morgan Tarpley Smith wrote a handy guide for authors: A Split in Time: How to Write Dual Timeline, Split Time, and Time-Slip Fiction. If you write time-slip fiction, or are considering it, I highly recommend this book with its practical tips, examples, analysis of two novels, and author interviews.

 Blurb

In this compelling new time-slip mystery, a little girl goes missing from her family’s castle in the Thousand Islands of New York. Eighty-five years later, a journalist teams up with a woman living on Koster Isle to find out what happened to Poppy, once and for all.

1907. On the eve of her fifth birthday, Poppy Pendleton is tucked safely in her bed, listening to her parents entertain New York’s gilded society in their Thousand Islands castle; the next morning, she is gone, and her father is found dead in his smoking room.

1992. Though Chloe Ridell lives in the shadows of Poppy’s castle, now in ruins, she has little interest in the mystery that still captivates tourists and locals alike. She is focused on preserving the island she inherited from her grandparents and reviving their vintage candy shop. Until the day a girl named Emma shows up on Chloe’s doorstep, with few possessions, save a tattered scrapbook that connects her to the Pendleton family. When a reporter arrives at Chloe’s store, asking questions about her grandfather, Chloe decides to help him dig into a past she’d thought best left buried. The haunting truth about Poppy, they soon discover, could save Emma’s life, so Chloe and Logan must work together to investigate exactly what happened long ago on Koster Isle.

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My thoughts

This immersive experience began on page one in 1992 as Chloe boats her way through a storm to her home on Koster Isle—making me think the author has surely done this sort of thing herself!

Though Chloe lives next door to the Pendleton family’s former Gilded Age castle, she has never entered or explored it or cared to unravel its mysteries. Until ten-year-old Emma shows up one night—eighty-five years after Poppy disappeared. And later, a reporter, Logan Danford, wanders into Chloe’s candy store, wanting to know more. 

I particularly liked Logan’s personality. It was no easy feat for him to convince Chloe to help his investigation.

I was equally intrigued by both timelines, and enjoyed seeing how they melded together—through Poppy’s mother Amelia’s perspective (mostly) in 1907 and beyond, and Chloe’s (mostly) in 1992. 

The night Poppy disappeared, another tragedy occurred. But it seems the real tragedy leading up to those was people living a shell of a shallow life, wrapped up in dependency on other people’s approval, based entirely on wealth, connections, reputation, and appearances. But the story didn’t end there, fortunately. The main characters ended up having more depth than the St. Lawrence River’s deepest point.

Though Koster Isle is imagined, the research on the Thousand Islands and its castles is obvious. The Pendletons’ castle has an aviary, very fitting for the pervading metaphor of flight and wings.

One little thing bothered me. As a child, Chloe lost her parents in a car accident while they were driving to Woodstock in 1969. I kept stopping to do the math, thinking I had made an error. Her father would have been around age fifty-five—not the average age of hippies who attended Woodstock! So don’t stress about this. The Woodstock thing isn’t important. Just get on with reading the story.

A few caveats in case they are triggers. Opium is prevalent, even used in children’s medication at the turn of the century. Other tough themes include child abuse, drug smuggling, murder, mental health, child abduction, neglect, and child sex trafficking (nothing graphic). Just be aware. 

Overall, Melanie has created a vivid world with her beautiful, evocative writing, full of mystery and intrigue and multi-faceted characters with a touch of romance. Despite a few possible coincidences, the plot is well-conceived. There’s a faith thread without preachiness. I highly recommend this engaging story.

Join me for some Q & A with Melanie Dobson.

Questions about The Wings of Poppy Pendleton

What was your inspiration for writing this story? What’s your personal connection to the setting or situation?

The story was actually inspired by a photograph that I discovered a few years ago in my aunt’s closet. My great-grandparents were in the picture along with my grandfather and great-uncle as children, but there was also a baby girl. No one had ever told me that they had adopted a girl in the 1920s. 

Sadly, my great-grandparents died during the Great Depression, and I learned that their sons went to live with an aunt. But no one in my family knew what happened to the girl. Writing The Wings of Poppy Pendleton, in a sense, helped me reconcile some of this loss in my head. While I was working on the first draft, our family discovered Marjory’s name and a little more of her story.

I don’t have a personal connection to the Thousand Islands, but I was intrigued by their beauty, lore, and Gilded Age castles. The mysterious and stormy St. Lawrence River seemed like the right place for Poppy to disappear.

How sad to learn about Marjorie, but good that you can write about it through fiction. Which historical parameters were imposed on you? Where did you have to fill in the gaps with your imagination?

I spend a lot of time researching before I write the historical portions of my novels. I knew I wanted this story to take place at the height of the Gilded Age, and I had to work within the confines of the boating industry during that era and the much slower distribution of information. 

The island where the soldiers in my story convalesced was a real place. I wasn’t able to visit the island or find many pictures at the library, so much of that sanitarium was created in my imagination.

How did you develop your heroines Chloe Ridell and Amelia Pendleton? Did they hijack the story or did you have full rein? 

I always create extensive profiles for my characters including their greatest desire and what they need to learn through the story. Then I put my main characters into a hard situation so readers will know how they react under pressure. That’s what I did for both Chloe in the contemporary opening (a storm) and Amelia in the past when her daughter goes missing. 

After that, I followed Chloe and Amelia’s lead as the story progressed, working alongside the women in a strange sort of fictional partnership to find out happened to Poppy.

You’ve written so many dual timeline novels. Has your process changed over time? If so, how? Do you start with the historical or contemporary piece first?

My process has definitely changed over the past ten years. I am still a discovery writer in that I discover my story as I write, but I have much better direction in how I weave together all the pieces. I was supposed to teach about my process at a conference that was canceled during Covid. My friend Morgan Tarpley Smith (who runs the fabulous FB group A Split in Time Fiction) and I worked together to write A Split in Time: How to Write Dual Time, Split Time, and Time-Slip Fiction. I call it my “workshop in a book” since it covers all I’ve learned on how to write in this emerging genre.

In regard to beginning with the historical or contemporary piece, every novel is different. When I decide which character’s desire is most pressing, the story launches from there.

A Split in Time is an excellent guide and resource. What would Amelia and Chloe have to say about you?

I suspect they would be angry at me for putting them into so many challenging situations! It was all meant to help them grow. Really.

They’ll just have to trust you on that! What unusual or interesting thing did you do or discover while researching for this story?

I toured several Gilded Age castles in the Thousand Islands and had the remarkable opportunity to spend an afternoon with a couple named Ken and Melody. Turns out, Ken was a caregiver of an island estate, and I laughed when he introduced himself as a “character.” It was the first time I’ve ever felt like I was meeting one of my characters! 

He explained what Cade’s everyday life might have looked like, and then it turned out that Melody’s grandmother was once the cook on the houseboat that I used as inspiration for my book. I left their home with a clear vision for several characters and a much deeper understanding of my setting.

What a great opportunity that turned into multiple inspirations!

Thanks so much for the great questions! I enjoyed chatting with you.

Likewise. Thank you for your participation.

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Back to Laura . . . On a similar note . . . 

If you like dual timeline fiction, you might enjoy my newest novel A Hundred Magical Reasons  (launched January 2025). This story spotlights L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, his friendship with a young girl, and his impact through the decades. Set in Holland, Michigan, this split-time novel alternates between 1980 and the early 1900s. Read more and watch the book trailer here. 

A Hundred Magical Reasons awards:

• First Place in AmericanBookFest’s American Fiction Awards (AFA) for Literary Fiction (June 17, 2025)
• Hawthorne Prize Finalist (May 17, 2025)
• First Place in The BookFest for Literary Historical Fiction (April 2025)
• First Place in the Firebird Book Awards for Biographical Fiction (April 2025)
• Literary Titan Gold Book Award for Fiction (March 2025) 
• Bronze Medal for the Illumination Book Awards for General Fiction (February 2025)
• 3 five-star Readers’ Favorite reviews

If you like Southern fiction and small town/rural stories about family dynamics and secrets, you might enjoy my novel All That Is Hidden. Set near North Carolina’s Smoky Mountains in 1968, the story spotlights the bond of family and the connections of a tight-knit community. Northern exploitation threatens as a father’s hidden past catches up to him and tests family ties. Learn more and watch the trailer here.

All That Is Hidden awards:

• Pacific Book Review finalist for fiction (May 20, 2025) 
• American Legacy Book Awards finalist for Coming of Age (May 2025)
• Three 5-star Readers’ Favorite Reviews (May 2025)
• First Place in the Firebird Book Awards for Southern Fiction (April 2025)
• First Place in the Firebird Book Awards for Literary Fiction (April 2025)
• Winner of the Artisan Book Reviews Book Excellence Award
• Semifinalist in Serious Writer’s Book of the Decade contest

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Melanie Dobson bio

Writing fiction is Melanie Dobson’s excuse to immerse herself in the past by reading old books, interviewing new friends, and exploring fascinating places around the world. She is the award-winning author of almost thirty novels including The Wings of Poppy Pendleton, Catching the Wind, and Memories of Glass. Five of her novels have received Carol Awards, and The Black Cloister, her novel about a dangerous cult, was named the ForeWord Religious Fiction Book of the Year. Melanie lives with her family near Portland, Oregon. When she’s not writing, she enjoys hiking, hosting a monthly writer’s group, and teaching as an adjunct professor. More information about her journey is available at melaniedobson.com.

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Join me next time for a visit with author Terri Wangard.

Meanwhile, have you read The Wings of Poppy Pendleton or any by Melanie Dobson? Or of the Gilded Age? Any favorites? Answer in the comments below.

Ever reading,

Laura

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