Stephanie Brick, in addition to writing portal fantasy for middle grade readers, is a licensed architect. As a passionate and respected expert in salutogenic design, an evidence-based design strategy to improve human health and well-being in the built environment, she is especially dedicated to applying this design across military installations to improve the well-being of our service members.
The Secret Doors of Cannondale plot synopsis
An outcast girl looking to belong discovers a secret doorway to other realms in a thrilling portal fantasy novel for middle-grade readers.
When twelve-year-old Adeline Perle’s transient military family finally plants roots in an old, creaky mansion, Cannondale, the girl craves to build the lasting friendships that she, as a constant outsider, never had. At last, on the cusp of bonding with a new group of affable teens on Cannondale’s grounds, Adeline discovers an unusual treasure behind a secret door, unveiling portals to extraordinary realms where she is confronted with disappearing creatures and magical people, good and evil, and a boy who’s desperate to help her find her way back home.
But not all friends are as they seem. Some will go to any length to get what they want, including a secret Adeline does not even know she possesses. It is a secret so important, all the magic in the universe is at stake. Wars have been waged over it, and Adeline finds herself right in the middle of it all. She must overcome all inhibitions and face her greatest fears not only to survive but – after a lifetime of wanting – to find her place and way home.
Fill in the blank: “People will like your book if they like stories about…”
Magic, friendship, portals, and adventures! If you’ve ever hoped to find secret passages in old houses, or discover hidden treasures that lead to unexpected journeys, or get thrown into thrilling new places where friendship and adventure await, then this book is for you!
What are your passions/obsessions outside of writing?
Outside of writing, I have three big passions: design, travel, and food. I’ve been designing for 15 years, traveling for 25, and eating for 35!
I followed my passion for design to my career as an architect. I used to love visiting all kinds of houses when I was a child: houses that were for sale (with my parents), houses of new friends, and old houses when we visited extended family. Just seeing how the houses were laid out, where all the furniture was, what was unique or detailed about the architecture – like the style of the staircases, or windows, or entrances – I couldn’t get enough!
When I’m not working, I try to use my vacation time to travel to new places. I love taking in new perspectives and immersing – if only for a short while – in a completely different culture, environment, or rhythm.
The world is so big and broad, and there are so many places that are completely different than where I live. I’ve been fortunate to travel to over 20 countries across four continents, and many of these foreign experiences influenced the magical places I write about in The Secret Doors of Cannondale.
Finally, I think most people who know me would agree I am obsessed with delicious food: cooking it, eating it, even talking about it – and certainly writing about it! I love to make people happy with food: it’s my love language.
Sharing a meal with people is a special opportunity that I take great joy in. You’ll also find evidence of this in my book, too!
What are your thoughts on typewriters?
I was constantly revising the manuscript of The Secret Doors of Cannondale, getting that one word juuuuuust right, deleting and rewriting a line here or a section there, adjusting the language each time I read through a section. On a typewriter, my pages would have so much “character” to them, you’d hardly be able to read them by the time the first draft was done!
I admire those who choose the noble typewriter as their tool of the trade: my sense of perfectionism is just too strong. Instead, I rely on a laptop, a pencil and sketchbook, and a near-infinite roll of 3-foot-wide brown paper that helps me organize many thoughts and plot points before committing them to a page. (Committing, of course, being a very loose term!)
Do you have any writing rituals?
My dog, Peppermint, always knows when it’s writing time. She knows because I’m carrying a cup of tea, maybe a bite of chocolate, and my laptop across the living room to my primary writing nook: a comfy chair right next to a nice window.
The house is quiet, the sunlight is warm, and Peppermint curls up next to my feet. I consider that my writing ritual!
How do you name your characters?
I went through a lengthy story development process before allowing myself to start writing The Secret Doors of Cannondale. By the time I finished that process, I was champing at the bit to get writing.
I remember the moment when I finally got to sit down and actually begin: it was glorious! Until just a few sentences later…when I suddenly realized I hadn’t chosen a name yet for the protagonist.
Names are so important! They define characters! They can even define stories! Analysis paralysis (a condition I’m well acquainted with) threatened to take over.
But I had spent so much time thinking and planning and developing. I needed to be done with planning and start “doing.” Despite the pull to make things perfect, I didn’t have the patience to delay writing any longer to find just the right names.
The fastest and simplest solution I could think of was to use “placeholder” names. So, I picked names alphabetically as I encountered each character using the first name that popped into my head for each letter (unless that name already belonged to someone I knew – in which case, it was on to the second name!).
I figured these would be good temporary names until later in the writing process when I could dedicate time to finding exactly the perfect name for each character. But…the names grew on my beta readers, and then on me.
It felt like the characters had somehow come into their own with each of these temporary names. I ended up changing very few by the end of the first draft (If you read closely, you might still be able to spot an alphabetical leaning!).
I didn’t start with iconic, “perfect” names and write characters to fill them. Ultimately, I realized that a name doesn’t define character. You define character. A lesson just as true in real life as it is on the page for authors!
If Hollywood bought the rights to your book, would you want it to be turned into a movie or series?
There is something special about movies: big screen, low lights, an audience with full and focused attention. A movie allows you to be completely enveloped in their audio-visual world for two nonstop hours. I love this kind of experience for an immersive book like The Secret Doors of Cannondale.
TV series don’t offer the same kind of immersive experience, but they do allow for greater variety and exploration of new spaces episode to episode or season to season. This is also extremely appealing in its own right! No spoilers, but there are some features of The Secret Doors of Cannondale that would be stunning to creatively express through a series – perhaps especially an animated series.
In the beautiful, fantastic world that is my imagination, if the book were to make it to Hollywood, ideally it would be made into a live-action movie first – to capture its realism – then an animated series down the road – to embrace artistic expression!
Who would you most want to read your book?
The Secret Doors of Cannondale is dedicated to my childhood self and all others searching for their own secret door adventure. It’s a book for children, especially in the 10- to 12-year-old range, and anyone who’s a child at heart – anyone who still finds wonder in the world or believes that maybe their own magical adventure could be just around the corner.
Those are the people I’d love to read my book. Or, perhaps even more, the people who have lost a little of that feeling and want to get it back, this book is for you, too.
Especially, though, I want children in military families to read The Secret Doors of Cannondale. As an architect, I’ve dedicated half of my career to improving conditions for military service members, an endeavor that holds great meaning to me.
It’s no coincidence that the protagonist in my book is an only child in a military family: as an author, I wanted to give back to the families and children who are also making sacrifices in support of our country, too.
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