In the 1970s after my parents and I moved back to the United States from England, my dad’s dream was to own and operate a campground—and so we did. We bought Bethel Woods Campground in Holderness, New Hampshire, by Squam Lake (where they filmed the movie On Golden Pond!).
As an only child, our campground was one of my favorite places to live because I always had other kids to play with.
It’s also where I fell in love with nature—and loons! Also, hiking as you can see here with the beautiful lakes region of New Hampshire behind me.
And where I learned how to fish. My dad got me my first tackle box and took me out on the lake where he nearly rammed his Boston Whaler into a rock just so I could reel in my first fish—a pike!
I never forgot this place of my childhood and in 2013 it shaped itself into a story. In 2015 I went back in time to visit the campground (now under another name) for a book research trip. It was an emotional trip for me as my mother had since passed, but also a nostalgic and healing one.
The book started out as a young adult for teens but soon morphed into a middle-grade for younger audiences to embrace the magic and wonder of that time in our youth—and the inspiration of a lakeside campground. After working with many editors over the years in revisions, the book is finally coming out!
I’m super excited to now reveal the cover for my new middle-grade book publishing on May 6, 2025, by Wild Trail Press—LOON COVE SUMMER!
HERE’S WHAT LOON COVE SUMMER IS ABOUT:
Thirteen-year-old Sarah Richardson is determined that her life will finally get unstuck this summer. She just knows it. Her to-do list? Brave the lake again. Save the loons. Stop missing Mom. Her one bright spot: volunteering at the local wild bird rehabilitation center.
The summer looks even brighter when Sarah meets Theo, the boy staying at her family’s Maine lakeside campground who cares about protecting the loons just like she does. But when Sarah’s family may have to move, she adds a new to-do item: save their home. And when she suspects Dad is dating Theo’s aunt, the naturalist helping research environmental dangers to the loons, Sarah is caught in a new world of grief.
With the looming reality of losing her dad, her home, and the loons, Sarah must make a big statement to take control of her life. Capturing inspiration from her late mother’s Appalachian Trail hiking journal, she boldly plans a solo wild adventure. But as her challenges mount, she wonders if her courage will earn her the voice she seeks—or if she’s made a reckless choice that just might claim her life.
It’s bittersweet for me that I can’t share this book with my dad as he passed in 2023, but I smile knowing he would have enjoyed reading it and revisiting our campground in his mind. I wish he were still here to share more stories about our time there. What a gift that would be.
Finally, I want to say thank you to these wonderful children’s book authors who read and blurbed LOON COVE SUMMER pre-publication. Be sure to check out their books!
Jess Rinker
Cathy Carr
Paul Greci
Kate Allen
You can pre-order LOON COVE SUMMER here in hardcover, paperback, or eBook from your favorite bookstore: https://www.donnagalanti.com/loon-cove-summer/
Watch for the Loon Cove Summer Book Trailer coming next month!
I loved reading the backstory and finding out more about what inspired the story. Awesome to see all the pictures! I am sure your dad would be so proud and love that you wrote this book. 🙂 I can’t wait to start reading my copy!
Stephanie, thanks for stopping by and reading! I’m so honored you are reading Loon Cove Summer pre-publication :).