By AARON MUELLER
Niles Daily Star

Margaret Willey has been writing youth fiction for 30 years and has written 13 books, but writing one of her most recent novels was a process like she had never experienced.

It was a 10-year journey of her delving into a childhood fascination with silk moths, her love for nature and her desire to communicate a message of intergenerational healing.

The result was an award-winning teen fiction novel, called “A Summer of Silk Moths,” released in October of last year.

“I did comprehensive re-writes twice,” she said. “(The book) is very special to me, because it changed me as a writer.”

The novel is also special to the Grand Haven, Mich. author because its setting is based on a place that she loves to visit, Fernwood Botanical Garden in Niles.

Willey has a brother who used to work at Fernwood and she visited often to conduct research for the book.

“It’s such a wonderful nature center and diverse ecosystem,” she said.

Willey will be conducting a presentation and book signing at Fernwood on July 10.

The novel follows the story of a fatherless girl named Nora and her summer at a nature center called Riverside where she meets another teen named Pete. According to a description on the book’s website, “Pete and Nora begin to piece together their shadowy pasts and discover their lives intertwine in a way they never imagined.”

“The teenagers really heal their wounds from immersion in the natural world,” Willey said. “It’s not a very common topic in novels for teenagers these days.”

Specifically Willey uses silk moths as a symbol of transformation.

Willey said the nocturnal creatures were a main source of inspiration for the book.

“They’re just amazing,” she said. “They’re amazingly complex, mysterious and beautiful creatures.”

The strong theme of nature resulted in the novel winning the 2010 Honor Award from the Green Earth Book Awards.

Incorporating all the elements of the book was a real challenge for Willey.

“The book just refused to be finished,” she said. “It took so long to write because it just surfaced very, very slowly in bringing together all the different things — the silk moths, the setting and the characters.”

But Willey says she is a better writer as a result of the writing process marathon.

“It’s a project that is close to my heart,” she said. “I learned so much by working on something so slowly.”

Willey will discuss the writing process and how Fernwood helped inspire “A Summer of Silk Moths” at the book signing in July.

Book signing and author presentation

Who: Margaret Willey, author of award-winning “A Summer of Silk Moths,” inspired by Fernwood Botanical Garden in Niles
When: July 10, 1-2:30 p.m.
Where: Fernwood Botanical Garden