Creek Breakfast: An Ode to the Beauty of Brunch on A Summer Weekend
Plus: The Page Turner on TV & in Airports! Great Gifts for A Great Cause: Our Viola Summer Gift & Clothing Line! My Final Tour Dates for The Page Turner!
June 2025! Happy Summer!
A Big Creek Breakfast!
Growing up, I spent my childhood summers with my grandparents at an old log cabin on an ice-cold creek in the middle of nowhere in the Missouri Ozarks. In college, my parents built a cabin on a river in a little resort town called Noel. The log cabin had fun house floors and an ancient gas stove that was so warped it slanted: You cracked an egg on that griddle, and it would slide into an opening in the back never to be found again. The new cabin had a new stove: Eggs — along with bacon, French toast, and pancakes — only disappeared down on our throats.
But one tradition never changed: We always had weekend breakfasts together as a family.
At the old cabin (I document my childhood in my memoir, America's Boy, which was just reissued), my parents would come down on Fridays after working all week, and still rise at dawn on Saturday and Sunday. My dad would fish with my grampa, my mom would read the Bible with my grandma. Then they would all gather to make — as my mom called it — “a big Creek breakfast.”
A big Creek breakfast consisted of the following: Fried eggs, bacon, hashed browns and toast with my grandma’s homemade jam or preserves depending on the season (strawberry, blackberry, blueberry, peach, raspberry); French toast and sausage patties (always patties with French toast), maple syrup, powdered sugar and lots of whipped cream; pancakes (often blueberry or strawberry) with sausage links (always links with pancakes) and tater tots.
My grandma had an old speckled coffee percolator that set on top of the stove burner. It was small, and coffee was always being made, no matter the time of day. The old coffee cups were small, too, tinier than our mammoth mugs today. I didn’t drink coffee then but that changed as an adult.
My grandma usually always served our big creek breakfasts on her good china.
“Life’s too short to save it for special occasions,” she’d say. “Every moment is a special occasion.”
Especially our weekends together. When my brother passed away and our old cabin was sold, I didn’t know if those moments could ever be recreated again. But, as the years passed, my parents wanted our family to be together as they were when we were young, and they built a new cabin right on the river in an old resort town where they used to go as teenagers and dance in the summers.
This cabin was all new, but it had nods to the log cabin: A stone fireplace, swinging chairs, wide windows overlooking the water, canoes, fishing poles, books … and each other.
The one tradition that didn’t change? Our big creek breakfasts. And that continued for many decades.
It was the same for my husband, Gary, growing up: Summer vacations were spent at an old log cabin on the lake in Hayward, Wisconsin. Turns out big breakfasts were a part of his family as well.
When our parents passed, one of the things they passed to us was not only the love of a weekend breakfast together but also the things that brought that to life, including the desert rose dishes on which many a weekend breakfast was served.
Now, Gary and I are keeping that tradition alive.
Most weekends during the summer — when we are not traveling on book tour — we spend weekends making big creek (now lake) breakfasts at our old cottage outside Saugatuck, Michigan. We make breakfast for our friends who are visiting, but we also make it just for ourselves. We make the same things our parents did, and the incredible seasonal fruit we gather at U-Picks or roadside stands often determines the direction of our breakfast: Rhubarb-strawberry coffeecake; blueberry muffins and pancakes; and — into the fall — pumpkin waffles. And there is coffee, always coffee.
When we serve our big lake breakfasts, we serve them on the same dishes our grandparents and parents used.
Life is hectic. We need to slow down, cook together, drink coffee, talk, laugh, listen to the birds and plan a day that involves, well, nothing much beyond getting out on the water, going to the beach, floating in the pool, having friends over for a BBQ, enjoying a glass of wine on the screened porch … just being.
My one piece of advice this summer? Make a big creek breakfast with your family and friends. And serve it on the nice china.
I get it now. What my grandma knew so long ago: Every moment is a special occasion.
Going on A Trip This Year? Take A Copy of The Page Turner! It’s in Every Airport!
Taking a vacation this summer? Then take along a copy of THE PAGE TURNER with you on your trip! You'll find it right now in nearly every airport in the U.S.!
Annmarie spotted it in the Martha's Vineyard Airport, and DeAnn saw a copy in the Detroit Metro Airport!
Thanks to HarperCollins & Hudson Booksellers for featuring THE PAGE TURNER in airports this summer!
Want a copy now? Click HERE!
Happy summer, travels & reading! XOXO!
The Page Turner Summer Tour & Publicity
I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response to The Page Turner from readers, bookstores, critics and media. Some of my recent interviews follow below; they not only provide a deep dive into the novel itself but also what it’s like to be an author today, my writing process, using our voices to change the world for the better as well as what’s next (hint: My new novel will publish March 3! Stay tuned for LOTS more about it coming soon!). Enjoy the interviews, and the remaining dates for my tour follow … these are my last appearances of the summer, so I hope to see you at one of the events!
BUY YOUR COPY OF THE PAGE TURNER HERE!
PS: It’s now 20% off for a limited time!
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SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 12:00 pm ET in Grand Haven, Michigan
Book Cellar
Outdoor Garden Party at Central Park Place
Free! Fun! Bring a chair or blanket!
For more information, call: 616-296-0465
Or email: the_book_cellar@yahoo.com
MONDAY, JUNE 16, 7:00 pm ET in Fenton, Michigan
Fenton's Open Book
Fenton Community & Cultural Center
*NOTE: BIG venue! A few tickets remain!
$25 ticket includes a personalized, autographed copy of The Page Turner as well as delicious desserts and refreshments.
Get tickets here! https://www.fentontickets.com/product/Author-Talk-with-Wade-Rouse
THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 6:30 pm ET, Glen Arbor, Michigan
Cottage Book Shop
FREE! Event info here: https://cottagebooks.com/event/2025-06-19/viola-shipman-cottage-book-shop
Or you can call (231) 334-4223 or email info@cottagebooks.com
for more information
SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 7:00 pm ET, Petoskey, Michigan
McLean & Eakin Booksellers
An Evening with Wade Rouse celebrating THE PAGE TURNER!
NOTE: BIG venue!
FREE! Special event at Crooked Tree Arts Center - Petoskey
RSVP by emailing events@mcleanandeakin.com with the number of people in your party or by calling 231-347-1180
OUR SUMMER GIFT LINE IS HERE! Check Out The Viola Gift & Clothing Line … All Benefitting A Great Cause: Adults on the Spectrum
We started a Viola gift line a few years back in conjunction with a woman who not only runs an organic farm in Michigan, URBAN VINE, but also whose son is on the spectrum. I was deeply touched by her story: For those who aren’t aware, adults on the spectrum — unique, talented, incredible souls that want to be a part of our society — are “cycled” out of the system at the age of 26, often left without any type of support. Amy told us about the work she did on her farm — making organic teas, soaps, salves — and how she employed adults on the spectrum. Amy ended up creating companion teas for my books: Organic teas whose flavors “complement” my novels. Over time, we expanded our line to include candles, tea towels, bookmarks and so much more. We also started a Viola SHIPMANt box for subscribers that includes an original novella written by me with special, handmade gifts that coordinate with each chapter (each box and chapter is sent every other month … more about our 2026 SHIPMANt box — featuring my novella, THE MUSIC BOX — coming soon! If you are interested in subscribing for 2026, please email gary@violashipman.com to get on the list now). Many of those at Urban Vine not only package our boxes but also help create our products (felting of the bookmarks, hand embroidering tea towels and aprons, etc.). Proceeds from these items go back to Urban Vine to provide employment for adults on the spectrum (as we like to say, we help give them a place, purpose and passion). Our efforts have been so successful we were also able to start a women’s program thanks to your support. Our Viola gift and clothing lines also support two small, women-owned businesses in Michigan and are chock full of the most adorable bookish gifts for those who love to read: We offer organic teas (check out our Tea Time Passport Books — a collector's item box featuring the South Haven Lighthouse from The Page Turner on the cover that includes eight small batch tea bags created as themed companions to my heartfelt, intergenerational novels, including A NOVEL-TEA! which was created in honor of The Page Turner) as well as handmade candles, hand-designed garden flags, Page Turner-inspired writing journals as well as the CUTEST T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, totes, tumblers, mugs and inspirational cell phone cases!
Shop our gift line here: SHOP NOW!
Shop our clothing, mug, tote & tumbler line here (SO MUCH NEW STUFF: POOLSIDE WINE CHILLERS, HEIRLOOM GARDEN MUGS + THE CUTEST SUMMER TEES!) SHOP NOW!
I have so many memories of when I was young and going to our cabin in the lake in the summer. Living in Maine we always had a lobster feast at least once during the summer.
I knew about your Granby connection, but this is the first I’ve heard about Noel. I lived there for fourteen years in the 70s and 80s. It was a beautiful little town with the river and bluffs. I’m still nearby, just over the Arkansas line. I enjoy your books and look forward to The Page Turner. Write on!