Grand View Mother, Daughter Team Up to Write Novel

It's no rarity when two people collaborate to write a book—Anita Bell has done so nearly a dozen times.

As a writer who's lived in Grand View for 18 years, she'll cooperate with another professional—be they a business mogul or fitness guru—and help them put their ideas on paper. But recently, she had an unlikely writing partner: her 12-year-old daughter and South Orangetown Middle School student, Belinda.

The Grand View mother and daughter collaborated to pen 'Twas Ever, a novel that follows a seventeenth-century girl's journey to present day. The 12-year-old from 1683 arrives in modern times to locate a cure for her ailing friend. Readers are then treated to a look at today's world, technology and comforts—like hot showers and flat-screen TVs—through her amazed eyes.

For Bell, working with her daughter came about naturally—they read together most nights.

"People had been saying, 'why not write a book for children?'" Bell explained.

"The book was very jointly created," Bell continued. "We developed the whole plot together—we would just talk about it, what should happen in each individual chapter, who the characters are."

The best part of working together? An adolescent's creativity, Bell said.

"[Belinda] would think of things I would never think of," she explained. "There was a freshness, a creativity."

Living together helped, too. When Bell usually works with a client, the majority of their interactions will be online or over the phone.

"It's nice she was right here in the house," Bell said. "Writing it in person is more fun."

The editing process was a family effort too, with Anita and Belinda passing rough drafts and notes back and forth.

"I would write the first draft, give it to her and she would edit, give dialogue suggestions and pass it back," Bell said. And then they would do it again—and again, a rigorous process familiar to writers, but not so much middle-schoolers.

"Kids don’t realize how much revising goes into polished writing," Bell noted.

Readers may also find a handful of the novel's settings familiar. Although set in a fictional town, several of the book's landmarks are influenced or based on real-life Rockland features. The village green of 1683 is based off Piermont's Flywheel Park, and the narrative's megamall—where a modern-day makeover takes place—is akin to the Palisades Center.

This coming Sunday (May 1) at 2 p.m., Belinda Bell will read a portion of 'Twas Ever at the Piermont Library and discuss the experience of co-authoring it. There will also be a book signing, free refreshments and garland-making to celebrate May Day.