Today’s Forecast: A Guest Post by Jen Calonita

What if you were told you had a massive fortune waiting for you… but first you have to complete an epic and mysterious quest? That’s what awaits Benny in this thrilling new series. Read on for an exclusive essay from author Jen Calonita on writing Isle of Ever.

Some people start their day doing Wordle.

I start my day by checking the weather app on my phone.

I’ve been obsessed with the weather ever since I was a kid. I have three weather apps on my phone. I watch the daily local forecast on my local cable station, follow several meteorologists on Facebook, including one in the state where my son goes to college, and have some of my favorite cities saved in the weather app so I can check their weather forecasts too. If we ever have dinner together, chances are the weather forecast will come up at some point during the meal. My family jokes I am an amateur meteorologist.

I’m not sure how this weather obsession started, but I know one of the first short stories I wrote was about a family riding out Hurricane Gloria on Long Island (just like my family did). Many of my early stories featured characters overcoming obstacles during huge thunderstorms, raging blizzards and thick fog. There’s something about weather that I’ve always found awe-inspiring, and sometimes, terrifying. Maybe this hobby stems from having a Type A personality. I’m a planner. I make contingency plans for everything. And I definitely feel more settled when I know the forecast and can decide whether I need my winter hat, an umbrella, or extra sunblock to start my day.

Is it at all surprising then that weather takes center stage in my new middle grade mystery-adventure series, Isle of Ever? My main character, Everly Benedict, age 12, finds out she is the heir to an ancestor’s fortune, but she can only collect the money if she finds an island that doesn’t exist on any maps. She has two weeks to find it. As she puts cracks riddles and clues, she learns about a cursed pirate treasure, a mysterious Blood Orange Moon, and a group of kids who went missing looking for the island in the 1800s. There is definitely more than an inheritance at stake.

If you’re going to write a story about an island that appears and disappears every few hundred years, it deserves to have a spectacular backstory. Mine, of course, involves a made-up Blood Orange Moon that—you guessed it—causes severe weather. Think heavy rain, high winds, thunderstorms, and fog that is meant to distract the people of Greenport, New York from realizing that just offshore, for the select few meant to see it, is a mysterious island just waiting to be discovered. I hope you have fun exploring this island in Isle of Ever. Just remember: Bring your umbrella.