Emotional Plot of 'The Letter Keeper' Transpires in Northville

Visitors to downtown Northville know well its historic, small town charm, especially on a summer afternoon.

It's picturesque nature seems like the perfect setting for a book. Joanne C. Spencer, author of the new book, "The Letter Keeper," had the same idea. 

"The book is mostly based on personal experiences that I had in my own life. Bullying was one of them," said Spencer, 48, who lived in Northville for 10 years and is now a librarian in Florida. 

The book, which is Spencer's first novel and was released July 27, is fiction but many parts touch on her life. 

The book follows Josie Summers, whose entire life is affected by a series of letters that lead to emotional turmoil, discovery and the test of love. She explores these letters and the memories attached to them when she is faced with the painful task of writing a secret revealing letter to her two children.

These 10 letters in the book are metaphors, Spencer said, for events and people she knew in her life in Northville. Readers will find many Northville references in the book, she said. 

"The streets. The town itself. Many of my friends. Silver Springs Elementary. Parmenter's Cider Mill," she said are just a few.

These and other places around Northville, like Ford Field and Starting Gate Saloon, are woven into the 10 letters that represent 10 stories in "The Letter Keeper."

"The stories in the beginning all come to a conclusion at the end of the book," she said.

Although Spencer does not live in Northville anymore, she said if she does a book tour, she will start in Northville. 

"The Letter Keeper," which Spencer self-published through CreateSpace, is available on Amazon for $8.67 in paperback and for $4.99 on Kindle.