Shadowy bookshelves contrast with sunlight streaming through the windows to bathe the vintagestyle desk in warmth.
The quietly friendly office is a physical embodiment of local historical fiction writer Sandra Wilkins.
Wilkins will be holding a book signing at the Lincoln County Museum of Pioneer History in Chandler, 2-4 p.m., Saturday, July 31. Refreshments will be provided and Mike Loper, of Chandler, and John Brzowski will perform live acoustic guitar and vocal music.
The event will celebrate the release of her new book, “In the Light of Day,” which came out this month—the second novel in her inspirational romance “Melody Makers” series set in Chandler in 1908.
“The first one is about a half Native American girl who was kind of tormented as a child, and so she tried to hide that part of her heritage,” Wilkins said, “and it’s just about her trying to learn through God’s help that she needs to be all of who she is. She can’t just hide parts of who she is. And of course, it’s a love story.”
The new second book tells the story of the girl’s cousin, Lydia.
“It’s her trying to get past some physical infirmities,” Wilkins said, “and realizing also that she just needs to be who she is and not worry about what other people think.”
A longtime resident of the Meeker area, her debut series, “Heartland Romances” was also placed against a local backdrop, set in Shawnee, Okla.
“I do like to write about places I’m familiar with, and then put things about the town in there,” she said.
Researching her stories included visits to local libraries or museums, reading old newspapers, and pouring over Sears & Roebucks catalogue reproductions that line the shelves of her office.
It is in her office that most of her editing happens, but before that, her stories often first find their shape in a rocking chair on her front porch, where she often writes her earliest drafts.
“I actually write it out in longhand, then I type it, so I can edit it,” Wilkins said.
The characters help her shape the story. “I have a little kernel of a story idea, like some characters, mainly character ideas, and then I work on where and then I start to do some research,” she said. “And that gives me more ideas. And I’ll have an idea for a few scenes here and there once I get my characters in my head, and then I do some research and then it helps me tie in where I go from there.” Creating the friendship between two of her male character in the “Melody Makers” series was an enjoyable experience, she said.
“They just have a fun relationship, the two guys, and I just like having them joke together,” she said. “It was a lot of fun to write.”