Katie Seehusen
Katie Seehusen asked Melanie Dickerson:

Hi Melanie! I love your books, I've read all of them and I can't wait to one day (hopefully, if God wills) to pass them on to my girls. You are one of the few authors who I buy their books without knowing anything about the story, I just know it will be good. Do you have family trees for all of your books? You weave so many stories with related characters, I wonder how you keep them straight. Thanks for the stories!

Melanie Dickerson Hi, Katie! Thank you so much! I feel honored that you would want to pass my books on to your daughters someday. :-)
Someone else recently asked me about a family tree for my characters. I have not created one, but as I told them, I really need to do that. I'll try to post it on my website when I get past my next deadline. :-)
I know it must be difficult to keep up with the characters. It is a bit complicated, but I spend so much time with them, I don't have any trouble keeping them straight. :-)
There are basically only two families--the Gerstenbergs from Hagenheim, Germany; and the le Wyse family from Glynval, England. The Thornbeck books are completely separate, and I don't actually have multiple family members as main characters in their own books in that series like I do with the Hagenheim books. I do mention Thornbeck in The Golden Braid, but none of the characters from Thornbeck appear. :-)
But yes, it is a good question, and I do plan to create a family tree for my website in the near future. Thanks, Katie!

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