See more Peek Behind the Curtain posts in Andi’s Attic >>
I started a new category, “Peek Behind the Curtain.” These will be fun posts, sharing where I came up with the ideas for various characters or plots. I am often asked, “Where do you get your ideas?” or “How did you come up with the Circle C stories and characters?”
So, to get you ready for the Jenny Grant character quiz tomorrow (Friday), I want to give you this first “Peek Behind the Curtain” post and share how I came up with Jenny Grant, Andi’s friend.
Confession time. I rarely think up characters all on my own, except maybe for my main character, Andi. She is a combination of girls based on myself, Laura Ingalls, Anne of Green Gables, and Caddie Woodlawn.
I wanted to create a character to become Andi’s friend in San Francisco. Someone with whom she could share adventures in San Francisco Smugglers.
This is how it happened . . .
Many years ago as a teen, I loved the short-lived TV series, Here Come the Brides. Set in 1860s Seattle, the show took many liberties to retell the true story of one of Seattle’s founders, Asa Mercer, who in 1864 brought a number of “brides” (called the “Mercer Girls”) from New England to marry the loggers in a mudhole called Seattle.
Here Come the Brides is fun, wholesome storytelling. Instead of Asa Mercer, three logging brothers Jason, Joshua, and Jeremy Bolt own Bridal Veil Mountain. The loggers who work for them are going to quit if they have to live here much longer. They want to marry and start families, but there are few (if any) women in the territory. Jason has a plan to keep his men in Seattle. He borrows money from rich sawmill owner, Aaron Stemple, and sails around the Horn (of South America) to bring back brides for the loggers. He “bets” Aaron that he can keep the brides in Seattle for at least one year. The episodes are always in conflict, because if any of the brides quit and go back to New England before the year is up, Jason will lose his bet and Bridal Veil Mountain will go to Aaron Stemple.
As usual, I liked to imagine my own version of the show. In my world, the Bolt Brothers have a younger sister, Jenny, age 14. And there you have it. I lifted the “Jenny Bolt” from my fan fiction imagination, gave her a sawmill owner’s family (with more brothers than the Bolt family had. I also gave her a living mom and dad). I set Jenny Grant and her family in Tacoma, and then sent her to San Francisco to be Andi’s friend. Note: Can you see how “Bolt” could easily become “Grant”?
I have three fun “peeks” behind the curtain to share.
Peek Behind the Curtain #1:
“Homecoming” is my original (and only) fan fiction story I wrote about Jenny Bolt and her brothers (10,000+ words). I’ve included lots of pictures. I hope you enjoy it.
Peek Behind the Curtain #2: (you might want to read the story last).
You can watch the opening credits (1 minute) to Here Come the Brides with a snippet of the title song “Seattle.”
Peek Behind the Curtain #3
If you want more, you can watch the 3.5 minute song, Seattle, sung by Bobby Sherman (Jeremy Bolt) with snippets from the TV series.
Andi Carter's Blog 
That’s really neat how you came up with Jenny Grant! I’ve been wanting to watch that show! I’m a huge fan of old western shows set in the 1800’s!
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Go to YouTube. It’s there.
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I’ve seen that show before! Its really good. Now as I watch it, I will have to imagine Jenny in there too hahaha
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Yes, you will! And you will wonder why they did not do that for the second season?? Instead, they added Candy’s little brother and sister and
the show went downhill from there. 😭😭
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That’s interesting to know how you came up with Jenny!
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Oh, I’m full of fun and interesting trivia like that!
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I watched Caddie Woodlawn before!
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I mean the book. It’s a classic and better than the movie!!!!
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What if you added “Jenny Bolt Homecoming” to the Stories tab even though it isn’t a Circle C story?
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I can if you want. 👍 If you think fans would be interested and like it.
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Jenny is one of my favorite characters in the Circle C Adventures series. Red curls flying, she and Andi make an unbeatable pair. If she had been older, and lived on the East Coast at the time of Asa Mercer, she would have been among the first to sign up for his boatload of brides bound for Seattle.
As a Washington State resident and logger’s daughter, the story of Asa Mercer fascinated me as well as Mrs. Marlow. The heroine and her best friend in my “Flower of Seattle” runs away from home and sails on the SS Continental.
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You should have included a link in your post. I allow links and then kids can click over and read about it. 👍
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That is so neat on how you came up with Jenny! You definitely should do more of these posts! I absolutely love them!!!
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Hmmm…. I will think about it…. But it means I works have to go back and watch all the episodes. Lol
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Can you do one of these posts on how you came up with the Carter brothers???
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Oh yes! I have plans!
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Great!! I can’t wait! 🥳🥳
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Wow!! that was really really fun to read!
Thanks so much Mrs. M for this fun post! 🙂
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What is your Circle C stories blog? You mentioned it on the Fans’ Blogs page
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when you click on a story from the STORIES tab each story is posted on a different site (my CCstories site). The only way to get there is to click on one of the stories from this tab. I don’t post other things there, just the stories I want and the contest winners’ stories are there too.
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So the pics you used for the Jenny Bolt story came from a TV show?
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They came from the TV show that the Peek Behind the Curtain post is about. That was the whole point. 😉
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