Article by Meghan Taylor

Like many drawn to Muskoka, author Gabriele Wills had a first visit to the region as a teenager that burrowed into her heart and has stuck with her for the rest of her life.

“Growing up in the Kawarthas fostered my love of cottage country,” shares Wills. “But the rugged beauty of Muskoka added a new dimension and I was captivated the first time I visited my friend Fay Patterson's cottage on Mazengah Island on Lake Rosseau when I was 12.”

The cottage she visited as a teen was built in 1879 and had slowly grown into a family compound over the decades. The setting gave her inspiration and a certainty that she wanted to include Muskoka in her writing one day. Wills may not have grown up in Muskoka, but the area holds a piece of her soul.

“I was enchanted by the sublime setting and the cottage culture – women and children staying for the entire summer, as they had for generations,” she says. “And I felt privileged to spend unforgettable weeks there during the summers of my youth. Hearing wonderful tales of the ‘old days’ from aged aunts who had witnessed them, I knew then that one day I would write about that genteel ‘Age of Elegance’ in legendary Muskoka.”

Wills recalls making up stories to entertain herself when she was a child and dreaming of becoming an author. Her fascination with stories and people led her to education and work that connected with writing but never focused solely on her own fiction writing. She studied psychology and sociology at the University of Toronto before completing her bachelor of education there as well. In her career she spent time as a literacy coordinator, educator, website designer and even writing articles for newspapers as well as short stories. Her first short story appeared in the Canadian Authors Association Winners' Circle 5 Anthology.

“After graduating from university, I taught history and English for a few years and soon realized that we all learn more easily when we can relate to events on a personal and visceral level,” says Wills. “I really enjoyed historical fiction, so when my husband and I moved to Ottawa in 1977 and there were no teaching jobs, I decided I would finally try writing one.”

Writing historical fiction takes time to research periods and places for accuracy, as well as building characters who are believable for the period. For Wills, she enjoys the challenge of recreating an era “to enlighten and entertain” her readers while “weaving compelling stories around meticulously researched and often quirky facts.”

The historic subjects of her novels are also close to her own story. Wills was born in a former army barracks in Germany post-Second World War. She is the oldest child of “displaced persons” from the war and her family emigrated to Canada, settling in Lindsay, when she was just three years old. Her connections to the decades she has written about give a reality to her work.

From that first visit as a teenager, Wills has been inspired by Muskoka. Her first iteration of her Muskoka series was a love story that took place on an island in Muskoka, starting in 1914 and spanning over 50 years.

“It took me about a year to write, during which time I read everything I could to hone my skills,” shares Wills. “But after it was turned down by a few Canadian publishers, I felt it wasn’t quite the book I had envisioned. So, I put it into a box and there it has stayed.”

With that idea on the shelf, Wills began writing what became A Place to Call Home – a historical fiction novel based on her childhood stomping grounds of Lindsay and the Kawarthas. Once she’d completed that first novel and her second, Moon Hall, set this time in Ottawa and the Ottawa Valley in the 1870s and 1980, her attention was drawn back to Muskoka.

“I decided it was time to tackle my much expanded and richer ‘Muskoka Novel,’ which turned into four books,” explains Wills. “I was delighted and honoured when Muskoka Chautauqua selected both the first book in the series – The Summer Before the Storm – and the last – Lighting the Stars – for their esteemed Reading Circle.”

In her most recent novel, Once Upon a Summer, Wills takes a slightly different approach. Still historical fiction, this novel looks more closely at Muskoka resorts as they grew from small farm settlements into booming summer escapes and a mentality about summer vacation that rarely exists in the present day.

“I love being on, in, and beside the water any time,” she says. “I also like exploring new places and visiting old ‘friends,’ like Cleveland’s House, which inspired my latest novel, Once Upon a Summer, and Windermere House, where a delightful scene is set in that book.”

Getting outside first thing in the morning to experience the quiet lake, before it's disturbed by the traffic of the day, helps Wills start her days in Muskoka grounded. Her connection to the wind, the water, the trees and even the sand at her feet gives a full sensory experience to awaken her mind and her body.

“Muskoka nourishes my senses and my soul,” she shares.

The five books set in Muskoka include The Summer Before the Storm, Elusive Dawn, Under the Moon, Lighting the Stars and Once Upon a Summer. While the first two – The Summer Before the Storm and Elusive Dawn – are best read in sequence, as they are directly connected as one story, the others can all be read as standalones or in whatever order you choose.

Those looking to delve into historical fiction about Muskoka while they enjoy their dock can find Wills’ novels at Lake Livin’ in Port Sandfield, Muskoka Steamships & Discovery Centre in Gravenhurst, The Rosseau General Store in Rosseau, Dwight Trading Post in Dwight, Simply Cottage and Vernada in Bracebridge or in her online bookshop.

Wills continues to enjoy her summer visits to Muskoka and is writing something new – a “cozy murder mystery set in my hometown of Lindsay in 1994. It’s nostalgic fun!”