Insider Secrets About Rusty Nail

Insider Secret No. 1

Rusty Nail was inspired by the childhood of Ms. Blume’s mother, who, like Franny, was a piano prodigy growing up in a 1950s Midwestern farm town. 

You can see her picture by clicking on the “Real Star of Rusty Nail” link above.

Insider Secret No. 2

Like Franny Hansen, Ms. Blume’s mother was also mentored by a mysterious, regal Eastern European woman who ended up in the tiny town almost by accident.

Insider Secret No. 3

The famous Duke Ellington and his big band really did visit the little town where Ms. Blume’s mother grew up. 

And, as Franny’s father says in the book, the band “came with three buses of instruments and musicians and people drove in from all over the countryside. And Duke and his boys played hard into the wee hours, and folks were dancing like it was their last night on earth.”

Insider Secret No. 4

In the real Rusty Nail, the local sheriff could never be found in his office.  Instead, he practically lived at the soda fountain, where he drank egg creams.  His stomach was so fat that sometimes he’d walk in and lay it on one of the swiveling bar stools.

Insider Secret No. 5

This is really a secret within a secret: the author never discloses the name of the real Rusty Nail, to protect the identities of the innocent, the ridiculous, and the absurd.

Insider Secret No. 6

The first chapter of Rusty Nail originally featured Franny and her best friend Sandy as they stole Sandy’s dad’s car and accidentally drove it through a chicken farm. 

This too was based on a real life story.

Don’t try this at home.