Chilton Teacher to Publish Middle-Grade Mystery with Fresh Water Press
Fresh Water Press is happy to announce our next book: The House on Hemlock Hill by Brittni Nelson, forthcoming in summer 2026! This is Fresh Water Press’ first middle-grade book, geared for ages 8–12. We’re excited to connect with a new audience of readers.
About the Book
The House on Hemlock Hill is a dual-timeline middle-grade mystery that follows 12-year-old Alyssa Scott as she unravels the decades-old disappearance of a girl through the pages of a forgotten diary.
Alyssa and her parents move from Chicago to a neglected farmhouse on Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin. Unenthusiastic but curious about their new home, Alyssa stumbles upon a hidden door in her attic bedroom. Inside, she finds an old diary, written by a girl her age who lived in their house in the 1950s.
While learning about life on a mid-century dairy farm, Alyssa navigates her own rural life. A reclusive elderly neighbor seems to watch her every move, she struggles to fit in at her new school, and she’s bombarded with talk of a haunted house and suspected killer from her classmates.
As she reads the diary, Alyssa finds herself in a 70-year-old mystery when the entries turn from a pleasant account of the life of a farm girl to the girl’s troubles with her father due to her friendship with a questionable neighbor boy. Then just as things seem to be falling apart for the girl, the entries suddenly stop. Alyssa takes on the search for answers and finds her creepy neighbor might not just be a lonely old man.
About the Author
Brittni Nelson grew up the Fox Valley area. She has a bachelor’s degree in fine art and a master’s degree in teacher leadership. She worked as a photographer and is now a middle-school art teacher at Chilton School District, where she’s been teaching for twelve years. She loves working with middle schoolers—they’re spunky, fun, and most importantly, never boring.
Brittni is married and has four children. She and her family live in a 100-year-old farmhouse that overlooks Lake Winnebago, which inspired The House on Hemlock Hill. Many stories in the book came from their experiences fixing up the house, including finding full-page newspapers from 1887 under their kitchen floor.
Brittni wanted to create a book that young people would enjoy, which is increasingly challenging with the distractions of technology. She hopes her experience as a middle-school teacher and as a mom of a middle-school student helped make The House on Hemlock Hill something that will interest young people. She has also illustrated and self-published two books: Grammy’s Quilts and Papa’s Cottage.
When Brittni isn’t teaching or driving her children around to their endless activities and lessons, she loves to read, travel, and go to the theater. Her family has gone on road trips across the country for the last few summers. Family has always been important to Brittni, and she believes sharing the stories of those who came before us helps teach us who we are today.
The Author’s Connection to the Lakeshore
Fresh Water Press is proud to publish authors with a connection to the Northeastern Wisconsin Lakeshore. This specialty is what differentiates the use from other publishers. Here, Brittni shares how she appreciates Wisconsin’s lakes:
I’ve lived in Northeast Wisconsin most of my life, and I’ve always loved living near the Lakeshore. For a few years after college, I was lucky to live in Milwaukee, just a few blocks from Lake Michigan. I felt the lake’s calming effect each day on my way home from work. My home today overlooks Lake Winnebago, where we enjoy nightly sunsets. While Lake Winnebago is different from Lake Michigan, there is something about watching the sunset that provides a sense of peace. Now that I live in a rural town, I’ve learned to appreciate being part of a small community where people care about their neighbors. My summers are spent at my parents’ cottage on a smaller lake, and I love to kayak, drive the boat, and just be on the water.
The greater Lake Michigan area has shaped me to be the mom, daughter, and educator I am today. As a character says in The House on Hemlock Hill, which takes place on a dairy farm between Lake Michigan and Lake Winnebago, this place is magic.
Follow Brittni Nelson on Social Media
Facebook: Brittni Nelson Author
TikTok: @brittniphelannels