Talkshow Thursday: A Post by Lorri Dudley

 

Behind the Curtain of Regency London’s Ballet

by Lorri Dudley

Becoming a ballerina who floated across the stage with graceful movements was a childhood dream of mine that never came to fruition. But when I began writing The Ballerina’s Bargain, I discovered the next best thing. I could live that dream through my characters.

There is a romantic whimsy to ballet—the airy skirts, graceful movements, and illusion of defying gravity as dancers rise en pointe and extend their limbs with such elegance that they seem almost weightless. Yet my research took me behind the heavy stage curtains of Regency England’s opera-ballet, where I discovered that the fanciful world of the stage could be far darker than the enchanting performances suggested.

Ballet demands extraordinary physical endurance. Even today, dancers spend countless hours rehearsing, pushing through blisters, aching muscles, and injuries. During the Regency era, many ballerinas began training as children, often coming from families who struggled to put food on the table. For these girls, a career on the stage could offer an alternative to some of the grueling occupations available to working-class women. Instead of spending their days as scullery maids scrubbing floors and emptying chamber pots, laundresses laboring around scalding water and hot irons, or factory workers tending dangerous machinery, a talented young girl might find an opportunity to earn money through dancing.

But the stage offered no guarantee of an easier life.

It did hold the possibility of applause—provided the performance pleased the audience. And Regency spectators could be notoriously unforgiving. Performers might be heckled, shouted down, or even pelted with food. Fights were known to break out among spectators in the pit or upper gallery, turning an evening at the theatre into a spectacle both on and off the stage.

And then there was Fops’ Alley.

This area at the front of the theatre was notorious for attracting fashionable young men who came not

only to watch the performance but to admire the ballerinas themselves, and sometimes just for a scandalous peek at a ballerina’s ankles. To modern eyes, the attention might sound flattering. However, for many young women on the stage, the attention could carry a troublesome price.

Wealthy men could become what was known as a ballerina’s “protector,” offering gifts and financial assistance in exchange for the dancer’s exclusive attention and companionship. A pair of ballet slippers, ribbons, jewelry, or other small trinkets were luxurious gifts to a young woman whose family had little money.

Behind the applause, these arrangements could leave a vulnerable young ballerina with very little power of her own, and the word protector appears to be a misnomer. Becoming in a family way (or with child) brought a devastating end to her career. A dancer who could no longer perform might find herself without an income and facing the additional burden of supporting a child. For a family already struggling financially, the consequences could be heartbreaking.

The darker side of Regency ballet forms the premise behind The Ballerina’s Bargain. Yet I didn't want the novel to dwell upon the most sordid aspects of backstage life. Instead, the story focuses on two people’s heroic determination to spare the young ballerinas from a wretched fate by those who’d take advantage of their innocence.

Still, the danger is always there, lurking backstage.

Because sometimes the greatest threats in a theatre aren't waiting in the audience. They're waiting behind the curtain.

In The Ballerina’s Bargain, saving the theatre may require far more than keeping its doors open—it may mean fighting for the young women whose dreams depend upon it.

To learn more, check out my website at lorridudley.com or follow me on: 

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-ballerina-s-bargain-danforth-theatre-book-1-by-lorri-dudley
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/254456688-the-ballerina-s-bargain
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dudleylorri/

About The Ballerina’s Bargain

A burdened earl. A determined ballerina. Saving the theatre may cost them both their hearts.

London, 1815
Emmeline Laurent has survived by grace and grit. After her parents’ execution in France, she has learned to live unseen as a humble ballerina instructing young pupils in a small London theatre. When whispers spread that the Danforth Theatre may be sold to an unscrupulous buyer, Emmeline fears not only for her livelihood but for the safety of her impressionable students. With no time and no options, she does the only thing she knows to do: leap into a moving carriage and bargain with the new lord who holds their fate. 

Grant Atherton, the Earl of Quincy, has inherited the crushing weight of duty along with a failing theatre, an arranged engagement, two younger sisters to usher into society, and a mountain of his father's secrets. Selling the Danforth is the only way to save his family from ruin. The last thing he needs is a beautiful, infuriatingly determined ballerina turning his careful plans upside down.

 
But when Emmeline's hidden past begins surfacing and the danger circling the theatre proves far deadlier than either of them realized, Grant must choose between the life he planned and the one God may have been preparing all along.

For fans of Roseanna M. White and Jen Turano — a sweeping Regency romance about the grace found in surrender, the courage it takes to trust, and the God who makes a way when every door seems closed.

Purchase link: https://amzn.to/4bVdTuc  

About the Author:
Lorri Dudley is the bestselling author of The Leeward Island Series and The Agents of Espionage Series. She has a master’s degree in psychology and lives in Ashland, Massachusetts with her husband and three teenage sons, where writing romance allows her an escape from her testosterone filled household.

Photo credits:

Author Photo and book image: Courtesy Lorri Dudley

Ballet Shoes: Pixabay

Ballerina: Pixabay/mgnorrisphotos

Talkshow Thursday: Welcome Sarah Hanks!

Talkshow Thursday: A Guest Post by Sarah Hanks 

Braving Red Waters, the third book in my Time Sailors series recently released. This series offers a unique twist on time travel and is full of faith and historical adventure. Braving Red Waters features the USS Red Rover, the first fully outfitted hospital steamboat in the Civil war. Phoebe is a competent but less-than-compassionate nurse in modern-day who time-sails to Civil War St. Louis where the Red Rover is being converted into a hospital ship. She ends up nursing wounded Union soldiers on the steamboat and learning about tenderness and compassion in the process. And she meets Miles, who I introduced in book 2. He’s a time-sailor as well, but he has no intention of returning to his original time in 2001. He’s avoided boats for years, not wanting to risk leaving his new home in 1800s St. Louis. Phoebe and Miles hit it off and bond over Pop Rocks and Friends references. Think you know where this is going? You may be right… or not. You’ll have to read to find out.

How does time-sailing work? Here’s what we know by book 3:

 

• Time sailing is time travel from one boat to another boat in the past.
• It’s initiated by touching an antique mailbox on board a boat. If a person gets a shock, then travels up or down stairs or an elevator, he or she time-sails to the past.
• The time-sailor can communicate with friends and family in modern day through the mailbox onboard. There will be a matching mailbox on both boats.
• The time-sailor must complete a mission before she can return to modern-day.
• However, no one can tell her what that mission is. She must figure it out. The time sailor cannot change history books, or she’ll die in both times.
• There is a time sailor guide in the 1800s named Dr. Duncan. He explains what’s happening to time sailors and provides nominal help in discovering and completing their mission. Everyone descended from Dr. Duncan is drawn to time sailors.
• In order to return to present-day after completing a mission, the time-sailor must go on a boat.

In each book, readers learn a little more about the time-sailing process. In Braving Red Waters, they learn something big.

If you like time-travel books, historical fiction, or stories that include nurses, romance, whales and other marine life, spies, or mother-daughter stories, I invite you to give Braving Red Waters a try.

Here’s the back cover blurb:

Phoebe Bristow has spent a decade guarding her heart after her father walked out and shattered her family. When she touches a mysterious antique mailbox aboard a whale-watching cruise in Baja California and wakes up in Civil War St. Louis, she must learn to trust again, first the quick-witted man who greets her on shore, then the God who placed her there for reasons she cannot yet understand. Back on the cruise, her mother Erica clings to the mailbox as the only thread connecting her to her missing daughter, while a thoughtful marine biologist, Rodney Duncan, steadily dismantles the walls around her wounded heart. Together and apart, mother and daughter discover that the courage to love again may be the most dangerous mission of all.

This series is best read in order, so start with Braving Strange Waters then move to Braving Fiery Waters before reading this one.

Talkshow Thursday: Welcome Caryl McAdoo!

 

Inspiration for “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”

By Caryl McAdoo

Thank you, Linda for inviting me to visit!

I’ve always loved God’s music, and several years ago, the idea struck me that writing stories based on favorite old hymns would make a great multi-author collection. Was it me or God’s Spirit prompting me? The idea kept coming back again and again until I organized it, so I believe Holy Spirit initiated it.

I chose to call it “Hymns to Stir the Heartstrings Collection.”

To open it to more authors—and considering I was writing a personal End Times series I intended to use my hymn titles for—I left the genre open. All are Christian based (no cursing or on-scene intimacies), but they could be historical, contemporary, or futuristic, romance, thriller, or mystery!

 
My first book for that collection debuted in February 2026, TRUST & OBEY. The second book

launches next month, GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS. These titles are also a part of my “Days of Trouble” End Times series wherein each book represents one year of the coming seven-year tribulation.

These main characters are descendants of my Texas Romance Family Saga series. Readers have followed the Nightingale family beginning with little Charley, born in captivity as the blonde, blue-eyed son of Commanche chief, Bold Eagle (not his blood father, obviously) and Sassy back in 1852. He’s introduced in HEARTS STOLEN, book two. Charley stole my heart when he brought his mother a sparrow and ordered her to cook it when only four.

His son with Lacey (readers were there for her birth in that same book two), Nathaniel Nightingale, grows up to be a tent preacher with a great healing ministry. He married Evelyn Eversole who readers got to know in Book Eight, COVERING LOVE. She’s one of my favorite heroines! He and Evelyn had a son, Broderick Eversole Nightingale, known as Buddy.

So he has a gift of singing and often heard the angels’ harmonies. He identified with King David, his favorite Bible character who besides being a psalmist, loved women as much as Buddy did . . . and the ladies loved him as well. In CHIEF OF SINNERS, the tenth and final book of the series, while married to Abigail, Buddy fathers a son, John David Nightingale, with his first true love, Sandra Harris.

Oh, what a tangled web, right?

This family has been sorely tempted and tried over more than a century from 1840s through 1970s. Many Nightingales sinned and fell far short of God’s glory—as have we all—but they repent and are redeemed.

John David—he goes by David—earned his own short series, “The Revivalist Trilogy” with his wife, Hannah. They are the main couple followed through the “Days of Trouble” End Times series.

I know these awesome people like they’re real. They so love God, yet, I understand how they got into their troubles through bad choices. Don’t we all make them? Readers count my characters as family or beloved neighbors! 😊 You just get so involved with them and know them so well, you keep wanting to know more of their lives, as I did—and still do.

So, GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS finds us in Year Three of the tribulation’s prophesied seven, and God’s sweet mercies still flowing new every morning. His everlasting faithfulness abounds toward David as His servant obediently follows Father’s direction.

Times are getting hard as the spirit of the anti-Christ’s is loosed, and evil runs rampant in the world.

The story encourages readers to hang on and trust God, because no matter how hard things get. He is faithful. He never leaves His children or forsakes them. Miracles abound as God is glorified with around the clock prayer—a vision that includes a wheel within a wheel from Ezekiel that David had seen many years before in a vision.

We, His children, will not suffer His wrath, but that wrath will be all around us as He takes care of our enemies. The fields are ripe for the harvest, and the worst of times for many become the best of times for those who trust God and are obedient to His Word. Jesus said we—His own—the Church—would do the things He did and greater, right? But that hasn’t happened yet!

However, so many Christians are disillusioned in our story because they find themselves still here when they expected to be raptured before those terrible days such as the world has never seen or will see again. They believed false teachers in the pulpits, and their faith is shaken to its core.

GIVEAWAY: I’d like to gift JOHN DAVID’S CALLING, Book One in the “Revivalist Trilogy” to all of Linda’s readers today and have arranged for it to be free at Amazon from Thursday, August 20th through Monday, the 24th! Please feel free to share this link with your friends and family who love reading Christian fiction!

Here’s the link to get your copy: https://www.amazon.com/John-Davids-Calling-Revivalist-Book-ebook/dp/B07B6WJNZ3

My author’s motto is praying my story gives God glory. I rejoice that many of my 4 and 5-Star reviews say that is the case! I hope you think so. I appreciate you taking the time to read JOHN DAVID’S CALLING and leaving a review for me. Of course, you’re likely to want to read Book Two, HANNAH CLAIRE’S WILDERNESS, and Book Three, KING DAVID’S TABERNACLE! Then you’ll be ready and set to start the “Days of Trouble” End Times series with Year One already under your belt!

Love and hugs and Blessings!

About Caryl McAdoo

Praying her story gives God glory, award-winning author Caryl McAdoo writes stories honoring Christ from The Peaceable Farm & Bookery in the piney woods of Northeast Texas, where she and her husband Ron are building a legacy of faith, family, and hospitality. Her bestselling books earn thousands of 5-star reviews from readers around the world and span the genres from historical and contemporary romance to Biblical fiction, historical mystery, and titles for children. Caryl also enjoys sharing the new songs God gives her (https://www.youtube.com/@CarylMcAdoo) and awaits the next door He will open for the McAdoos.

All photos courtesy of Caryl McAdoo

On Tour: When the Wind Blows South

 

About the Book

Book: When the South Wind Blows

Author: Barbara A. Curtis

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: July 14, 2026

He’s spent his life chasing headlines—until the woman behind the story captures his heart.

Elizabeth Canton never planned to abandon her budding theater career, but after witnessing a crime, she has no choice but to disappear. When a family invitation offers refuge at the Double E Ranch, she seizes the chance to hide and finds unexpected purpose helping her young cousin rehearse for the stage, never expecting to be drawn to the local reporter who sees past her carefully kept secrets.

Ranch hand Logan Palmer has always dreamed of writing stories that matter, not livestock columns for the town paper. Elizabeth’s grace catches his eye. But it’s her patience and tenderness with her cousin that captures his heart, even as her mystery stirs his reporter’s instincts. The closer he grows to her, the more he questions whether some stories are better left untold.

As Elizabeth and Logan grow closer, danger follows her to Idaho. When her past catches up with her, she’ll have to choose between protecting her heart and trusting in love. And Logan must decide what matters more—the story that could launch his career, or the woman who’s stolen his heart.

Set against the rugged beauty of the American West, this touching historical romance explores the healing power of family, second chances, and learning that sometimes the greatest role we can play is simply being ourselves.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Barbara A. Curtis lives in Connecticut with her husband, and they have one grown son, a blessing to their hearts. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Novel Academy.

 

 

 

More from Barbara

Chocolate, Chocolate

What part does chocolate play in When the South Wind Blows? To little Susannah, it plays a big part, as Logan is going to help her frost her salvaged cake.

“Miss Lizzie?” Logan hadn’t moved from his spot next to the stove. “If it’s all right with you, may Susannah and I make the frosting for the cake?”

He knew how to make frosting? And again, he included the little girl.

“Thank you. Susannah, why don’t you pull out the cookbook for chocolate that your grandma and I like, and you and Logan will be in charge?”

“Oh yay! The Hershey’s Cookbook? They have the best frosting recipe.”

 

Yes, in 1934 Hershey’s had published a cookbook, so it would have been well loved and used in the Double E Ranch kitchen in 1950.

And Nestlé’s Toll House cookies weren’t far behind, as Nestlé acquired the rights to the original recipe in 1939. By World War II, the cookies were a staple included in packages sent to US servicemen overseas. Do you think they’d mind that Elizabeth called her version Victory cookies? Though they had nothing to do with the war but a little victory right at home.

Have you ever renamed a favorite recipe just for your family for fun?

I hope you enjoy When the South Wind Blows, the final book in the Blooms of the Bitterbrush series. Maybe with a cup of tea and a chocolate chip cookie to go along with it.

 Blessings.

Barbara

Interview with Barbara

What is your favorite thing about being a writer? I love seeing what was a blank page at one moment be filled and “come to life” with characters and words that didn’t exist when starting out—especially words that can offer hope in God to readers.

What questions do you ask yourself when preparing to write a new book? Often the first question starts with what are the characters’ names. Until I find the names that fit them, I have trouble writing anything about them. Then I ask what is it that they want, and then what obstacles will stand in their way and how will they get to their goal.

What was the best money you spent as a writer? The best money spent and also my biggest investments are the in-person writing conferences I was able to attend and joining the writing classes and community Susan May Warren offers through My Book Therapy and Novel Academy.

How do you come up with story lines/book topic? Sometimes ideas come from a snippet of reading or hearing something and wondering who the people were and “what if.” And those what-ifs can lead to more questions and looking into research of an area or era. I like writing about small-town communities, so it’s a matter of imagining and “finding out” what’s going on in these towns among the imagined characters. It’s not so much as selecting a topic to start with but somehow letting these townspeople “take on a life of their own.” But ultimately, I believe God plants the story seeds and walks alongside as they grow.

What was your favorite childhood book and why? I’ll have to say “books”—as I can’t pinpoint just one, as I loved the Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew series. One of my elementary school teachers would read a chapter a day from these books after lunch, and each day’s new chapter was something to look forward to as the stories unfolded. I believe that’s where my love of mysteries started. And I also loved the Black Stallion series—and horses often end up with a role in my stories as well.

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 4

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 5

Simple Harvest Reads, August 6 (Guest Review from Marilyn)

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, August 7

Texas Book-aholic, August 8

Life on Chickadee Lane, August 9

lakesidelivingsite, August 10

Books Less Travelled, August 11 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, August 11

DevotedToHope, August 12

Connie’s History Classroom , August 13

Cover Lover Book Review, August 14

Sydney Schmied Books, August 15

History, Hope & Happily Ever After, August 16 (Author Interview)

Holly’s Book Corner, August 17

Pause for Tales, August 17

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Barbara is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/oVpBV/when-the-south-wind-blows-celebration-tour-giveaway

Talkshow Thursday: Welcome Denise M. Colby

 Talkshow Thursday: Welcome Denise M. Colby

I’m pleased to welcome fellow Heroes, Heroines, & History blogger Denise M. Colby to my blog today. Read on to learn more about Denise and her books.

When did you know you wanted to be an author? I never planned on being an author, but after a school field trip to Sacramento with my oldest son, and visiting the one-room schoolhouse there, an idea for a story took root. It wasn’t until the same trip two years later with my second son did I attempt to actually write something. God put the desire on my heart, but it wasn’t anything I myself had thought of doing.

What is your favorite thing about being a writer? I love different aspects. One of the best things is all the writer friends I’ve made throughout this journey. I also love creating a world my characters live in and writing them in that world. I’m just now writing my next book and there is something about creating the first draft and finding all the ways for the story to evolve and fit together. I have to thank God for that, and it’s so amazing when it all comes together.

How did you learn how to write? Funny you should ask. I took a creative writing class in high school and loved it because the grading was on the story aspect not the grammar (which is where I struggle the most). I earned a degree in Communications, work in marketing and write copy for literature, but that is very different from fiction writing. I didn’t know what I was doing at first, but I read a lot and followed what those writers did to start. Then I attended a local writers group, went to local conferences, and joined online classes. I feel as if I earned another degree with everything I’ve done. Slowly my skills grew and I figured out my own voice. I entered contests and received lots of feedback. When I wanted to quit, God would put what I needed in front of me, whether it was a person or a topic I needed more clarity on.

Do you hear from your readers? What do they say? What I do hear from readers is they love the

faith elements written within the story. I’m so grateful for that, as I love to write from my heart and share God’s truth. But I also whole-heartedly believe that is all from the Lord. I have done as He has asked and He does the rest.

Readers also love Bert, the rooster. Bert sort of stole the show in the first book and I try to include him anytime I can.

How many books have you written, and which is your favorite? I’ve written four books and recently a novelette. I love them all for different reasons. In my mind it’s like a tv show where each book is a new episode and the story continues. The characters are all real to me, and so I root for all of them.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books? Keeping track of specifics about characters can be challenging. I never realized that I thought of names that started with the same letter, till I had to change some (first and last) so that they didn’t all sound the same. When I picked the five names for the five teachers, same thing. They started with different letters, but they ended the same. When they are all in a scene together it can sound repetitive and I didn’t realize that until after the first book was printed. I had given Olivia the nickname Livvy, but then she’s in scenes with Jenny. But then there’s Lydia in this last book.

Other things too. Such as hair color, eye color, and age. I don’t usually pay attention to my friends eye color. I just know who they are. Sounds funny. I’m laughing right now. But it’s all true.

Who is your favorite author and what is it that strikes you about their work? I read Janette Oke as a girl, and her stories stayed with me. Those along with Little House on the Prairie, influence my writing as I picture my one-room schoolhouse in the same way. My reading time is more limited right now, but some of my favorite authors to read are Karen Witemeyer, Mary Connealy, Lacy Williams, Kimberly Keagan, and Susan May Warren. They all write stories that are filled with encouragement and make you laugh and cry. They are heartfelt and there’s growth in the characters. I feel like I grow right along with them.

Can you share a real life event that inspired your writing? In my first book, When Plans Go Awry, I mention the many-years long project of raising up Sacramento. Old-town Sacramento is a great piece of history showing how they built roads on top of itself and raising many of the buildings to keep the area from flooding. I grew up in the area and always thought this piece of history was fascinating. I wanted to include that in my first book.

If your book is part of a series: Did you set out to write a series? Why did you decide to write a series? I love reading series! So I definitely wanted to write a series. I find every time I introduce a new character, I start finding pieces that connect them to the story world and then want to write their story. Which makes it all so much fun. I have different series ideas that will be a loose tie to the one I’ve currently built. Susan May Warren does this really well.

What draws you to the time period about which you write? Ha! I knew I wanted to be around later 1800s, but I had my characters coming from Cincinnati and didn’t want them coming via wagon train, so I timed it to be after the railroad joined. But since then I’ve written a prequel (where the train didn’t exist). I’m writing right now and 8-chapter free story and it’s set before as well and I had to do research on the travel and locations where it switched from train to stagecoaches.

Why do you write in your particular genre? I love history. And I love reading this genre. I do love regency England, but I was afraid to write that. The details you have to know scared me.

About A Whole New Plan:

Sometimes God’s best plan is the one we never expected.

California, 1870. Pastor William Baker has built his life on faith, routine, and safe choices—until Lydia Spencer walks in and turns everything upside down.

Independent, outspoken, and guarded, Lydia is unlike any woman he’s ever known. She has no interest in church… and no intention of revealing the truth she’s hiding.

Because Lydia isn’t just a schoolteacher. She’s a Pinkerton detective, sent west to track a dangerous crime boss—and she’ll do whatever it takes to protect those she loves, even if it means keeping her distance from the one man who sees straight through her defenses.

But when unexplained thefts shake their quiet small-town rural community, and a desperate boy appears with ties to a deeper mystery, Will and Lydia are forced into an uneasy partnership. As danger closes in, so do their hearts. What begins as a reluctant alliance soon becomes a forced proximity neither of them expected—and neither can ignore. Yet the very things that draw them together may be the ones that tear them apart.

Lydia’s life is built on secrets. Will’s is built on truth. And when her past catches up with her, they’ll have to decide what matters most—holding on to their own plans… or trusting the One who sees the bigger picture.

Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4vOorTP  

About Denise:
Denise M. Colby is passionate about all types of stories—whether they are from songs, theatre, movies, or novels. She loves history and constantly finds herself contemplating how it was to live in the 1800s. An avid journal writer, Denise usually can be found with a pen and notepad whenever she’s reading God’s word. Each year, Denise chooses a word to focus on. She shares her learnings about that word throughout the year on the two blogs she writes for.

A wife for thirty years and mother to three boys and daughter-in-love, Denise loves to read, watch movies with her family, sing 80s and musical songs, dance, and spend date nights with her husband. Writing Historical Christian Romance novels combines her love of learning about history and reading. Visit Denise’s website to sign up for her newsletter or connect with her on her social media.

LinkTree - https://linktr.ee/denisemcolby
Website - https://denisemcolby.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/denisemcolbywrites
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/denisem.colby/
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/denisemcolby
GoodReads - https://www.goodreads.com/denisemcolby
BookBub Author Page - https://www.bookbub.com/authors/denise-m-colby

Photo credits:

Author photo and book image: Courtesy Denise M. Colby

Rooster: Pixabay/JHenning

Old-Town Sacremento: Pixabay

Talkshow Thursday: Welcome back, Amanda Cabot!

 

Changing Times

by Amanda Cabot

First of all, thanks so much for inviting me to be part of Talkshow Thursday, Linda. I always enjoy my time with you and your followers.

When I first announced that I was writing a book set in the post-WWII era, a number of my readers wondered why I’d made what seemed like such a dramatic change. I suspect that others have the same questions, so I thought I’d conduct a mock interview with myself to answer them.

Most of your books take place in the nineteenth century, so why did you decide to set Beyond the Melody in 1946? As is true for many of my readers, Sweetwater Crossing holds a special place in my heart and I didn’t want to leave it. The problem was, I felt as if I’d exhausted the Vaughn sisters’ stories. At the same time, I kept thinking about them and wondering what their descendants’ lives would be like. I could have done what some authors do and write a story about their children, but that didn’t excite me. Instead, I felt drawn to the twentieth century and specifically to the World War II era.

Books set during that war are very popular now. Why did you choose 1946 rather than one of the war years? The answer to that is two-fold. First of all, I didn’t want to write a war story, because I knew I’d find the research painful. But, more importantly, I knew I couldn’t compete with the many outstanding authors, including Linda, who are writing WWII books.

What fascinated me was the adjustment both the soldiers and their families had to make in the aftermath of the war. It’s been decades since I’ve watched Best Years of Our Lives, and I’ve forgotten much of the plot, but what was indelibly etched on my memory is that both the returning soldiers and their families were faced with huge challenges. That was the kind of story I wanted to write. And when I started my research and learned that a well-respected magazine declared that it should take no more than three weeks for soldiers to put their war experiences behind them, I knew that debunking that ridiculous statement would be part of my story.

You mentioned research. What kinds of research did you do? I’m a huge fan of Time-Life’s This

Fabulous Century series, which has a volume dedicated to each of the first six decades of the twentieth century. The combination of pictures (and, yes, a picture is worth a thousand words) and articles about everything from world events to pastimes puts these books at the top of my research list. I learned so much about life before, during, and after the war from the volume on the forties and had a lot of fun incorporating some of the more interesting details in Melody.

In addition to books, I was fortunate to have had an aunt who, with her husband, had a jukebox route. When my husband and I would visit her, she would regale us with stories of the work they did on those jukeboxes. Those tales were the reason I gave my heroine her own jukebox route.

What were the most interesting aspects of the forties for you? In some respects, that era felt almost modern. Notice that I said “almost.” Families had phones and indoor plumbing. They no longer had to cook over wood-fired stoves. Women no longer wore floor-length dresses unless, of course, they were going out for a special evening. All that felt modern.

On the other hand, there were many aspects of life that made it clear that it was eighty years in the past. No air conditioning, no GPS for easy navigation, no internet for quick research. But, when all is said and done, although the outward trappings of daily life may differ, people are essentially the same. They face the same problems and they long for the same things. It doesn’t matter whether they’re living in the nineteenth century, immediately after the Second World War, or in 2026. Though their external circumstances are different, my characters seek the same things we all do: love, a place to call home, a purpose for our lives.

Will there be another post-war book? That depends. When I started writing Melody, I had no plans for a second book, but by the time I finished it, I realized I’d planted the seeds for one—maybe two—others. Whether or not they get written depends on how readers react to Anna and Jim’s story.

Have you abandoned the nineteenth century? Definitely not. I’m currently writing Blossoms at Twilight, the third of the Sisters of the Heart trilogy. And while that was supposed to be the final book in that series, several characters in it are demanding their own stories. I also have an idea for another Christmas story set in nineteenth century Sweetwater Crossing. The challenge now is which book to write first.

Thank you all for listening, or should I say reading? If there are other questions you’d like answered, please add them to the comments. I’ll check in frequently.

Beyond the Melody
Neither one is looking for love, but sometimes all it takes is one dance.

By the spring of 1946, life in Sweetwater Crossing is almost back to normal after the war. Not Anna Finley’s. She lost her chance at happily-ever-after when the man she loved was killed in France. Anna does her best to hide her sorrow—and a secret that haunts her—as she works on the jukeboxes she inherited when her brother died in combat. There’s no point in dreaming about what might have been.

Jim Smythe is also grieving a shattered life. His fiancée broke their engagement, reminding him that a respected magazine said it should take no more than three weeks for a veteran to forget the war. But Jim cannot forget the men in his platoon who didn’t return home, and he’s made it his mission to visit each of the fallen soldiers’ families, hoping to give them some small measure of comfort. Sweetwater Crossing is his final stop. After that, he’ll have to return to Boston and the life that holds no appeal. If only he could find an alternative, one where people saw him for himself, not his family’s name.

He’s given up hope that anyone will understand what his parents and fiancée did not, but everything changes when he enters a small café and sees a woman whose eyes reflect his own pain standing next to a jukebox. Jim knows he’ll never see her again, yet it somehow feels right to extend his hand and say, “May I have this dance?”

It’s a once-in-a-lifetime moment for two wounded people unless they can overcome their fears and find the courage to love again.

Purchase link: https://amzn.to/4o1Y49R

About Amanda
From the age of seven, Amanda Cabot dreamed of becoming a published author, but it was only when she set herself the goal of selling a book by her thirtieth birthday that the dream came true. A former director of Information Technology, Amanda has written everything from technical books and articles for IT professionals to mysteries for teenagers and romances for all ages. She is now the bestselling author of more than forty novels and a variety of novellas. Her books have been honored with starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal and have been finalists for the ACFW Carol Award, the HOLT Medallion, and the Booksellers’ Best. For her, a day is incomplete unless it includes books and at least one pot of tea.

Photo credits:

Author image, book cover, book page: courtesy Amanda Cabot

Jukebox: Pixabay/schubinger

Release Day! Eye of the Beholder

 

Release Day!

Eye of the Beholder is part of the Apron Strings Tea Tales,

fairytale retellings set during the interwar years of 1919-1939

Shunned for his appearance, a disfigured veteran encounters acceptance and love where he least expects it.

Left with physical and emotional scars after the Great War, Hank Drake has been shunned by polite society as the Ugly Duckling. Fine by him. He’d much rather be alone. Until he meets the kind proprietress of a tea stand at New York’s World’s Fair who isn’t repulsed by his appearance. Can he hope for acceptance…or even love?

Grace Sutton has no interest in marrying and is tired of her parent’s snide comments that she’s still single on the eve of her 40th birthday. After she loses her job thanks to budget cuts, she decides it’s time to follow her dream of feeding others. Armed with Mrs. Canfield’s cookbook, she opens a refreshment stand at the World’s Fair unaware how one man will turn her life upside down and upset the apple…er, tea cart.

Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3Pz88KO

Talkshow Thursday: Welcome Back Denise Farnsworth!

 Talkshow Thursday: 

Welcome Back Denise Farnsworth!

I've known Denise Farnsworth for quite a while, and I'm a total fan-girl of her stories. Her books are well-researched with complex characters and relatable themes. Grab a "cuppa" and get to know this interesting author.

Can you share a real-life event that inspired your writing?

Oh, yes! This one doesn’t have to do with the books I’m featuring this summer, but it does have to do with a great summer beach read, The Curator’s Secret. My mom and I went to Jekyll Island, Georgia, to research this story, which was originally dual time period. (To preserve the faster pace of the modern romantic suspense main story, I ended up taking out the historical scenes and offering them as bonus material.) The Curator’s Secret is about a young woman starting a job as a curator opening a historic cottage to the public on an island that was a retreat for Gilded Age billionaires. But her grad school stalker has somehow followed her there. She also must work with her high school sweetheart, now the island’s director of landscaping. While Mom and I were on Jekyll researching, a huge hurricane approached the coast. We had to cut our trip short. When we were leaving, they were boarding up the historic cottages. I thought about what a neat climax that would make to the story…the heroine stranded on the island as a hurricane bears down and the stalker has trapped her in the cottage. Read it to find out what happens.

What was your inspiration for the story?

The Schoolmarm and the Miner is the book I’m highlighting today—the third novel of my Twenty-Niners of the Georgia Gold Rush, set in Dahlonega, Georgia, in 1839. The unique backdrop of the Georgia Gold Rush, which most people aren’t even aware happened, prompted my research for the tales of three resilient women—a singer, a miller, and a teacher—who brave the wild boomtowns and goldfields in search of identity, freedom, and love.

Have you ever considered writing under a pseudonym? Why or why not?

Not a pseudonym, exactly, but I did have a name change when I got married last year. Since my readers

knew me as Denise Weimer, it took a lot of work to gradually change my professional name online and on book covers to Denise Farnsworth. I always explain when I’m at book signings in person why I might be signing a new name to a book with the old name on the cover. But believe me, it’s all in the name of love! We authors need a bit of real-life romance too.

If your book is part of a series: Did you set out to write a series? Why did you decide to write a series?

Wild Heart Books, my publisher, and my employer as an editor, only publishes books in series. It’s a great concept because of the momentum it builds for advertising and satisfied readership. My Scouts of the Georgia Frontier novels are also with Wild Heart Books, including A Contrary Betrothal, releasing in August (previously published as Bent Tree Bride). I also wrote two books for WHB’s Romance at the Gilded Age Resorts multi-author series. And I’m super excited to be part of a WHB collection called Freed by the Frontier, with authors Sherry Shindelar and Susan Craft. Our novellas involve romances in American wilderness settings. Mine, Ofuskee Trail Surrender, features a character from book one of my Scouts series who was abducted from a frontier town during A Counterfeit Betrothal. Readers get to find out what happened to Keturah Caldwell, the fiancée from “back East” who ends up in Creek Territory during the War of 1812, protected by a mysterious brave.

If you were to write a spin-off book about one of your secondary characters, which one would you choose and why?

Interesting question since the books I’m talking about today kind of are spin-offs. The hero of The Schoolmarm and the Miner was the sheriff and best friend of the hero in book one, The Songbird and the Surveyor, who hangs up his guns when he lets the bad guy escape. He gets a second chance to bring the culprit to justice in The Schoolmarm and the Miner. Characters from book two, The Maiden and the Mountie, also show up.

And as mentioned above, Keturah in Ofuskee Trail Surrender/Freed by the Frontier is a character from A Counterfeit Betrothal. Susanna Moore, the heroine of A Contrary Betrothal, also crosses paths with Keturah in Ofuskee Trail Surrender. The locations and time periods of all three stories overlap. Before you get too confused, just know you can read all the books independently without any mix-ups. But I hope the hints of each character’s story will keep you reading.

What draws you to the time period about which you write?
 

I enjoy writing anything from the Revolutionary War through the Edwardian Age, especially Colonial or Federal frontier or Civil War romances. After falling in love with Gone With the Wind and North and South, I started doing Civil War re-enacting as a teenager. Consequently, my earliest writing was set in the mid-1800s. I do find it a breath of fresh air to write the occasional contemporary romance, but you’ll often find some good history woven in.

How does/did your job prepare you for being a novelist?

I stayed home with my daughters except for occasional part-time jobs and slowly developed my writing career, then my editing career. But God used the odd jobs and volunteering I did as a historical interpreter and a leader of a vintage dance and living history group to educate and prepare me…even down to speaking in public, which we authors must do on occasion. Being an editor has sharpened my technical writing skills and taught me disciple and efficiency.

What is your next project?

I’ve just finished researching and started writing a series about Western North Carolina’s earliest forest service rangers and their brides. These rangers worked in Biltmore, Pisgah, and Nantahala forests, with the stories set in 1908, 1916, and 1919. They faced dangers from forest fires, floods, wild animals, moonshiners, and greedy timber barons. The heroes don’t expect women equal to the hardships of their lifestyles, but enter a naturalist, a botanist, and an archeologist with lots of heart and grit. More coming soon!

BOOK BLURBS:

The Schoolmarm and the Miner:

A teacher seeking independence. A widower guarding his heart. In Georgia's gold country, the richest prize may be the love they’re afraid to claim.

Adelaide Duncan's dream of teaching is within reach until her father's drinking and gambling force her to start over. Taking a position in the rough-and-tumble gold rush town of Dahlonega, she’s determined to prove herself. But unruly students, strict rules against teachers courting, and her growing feelings for a certain widowed father threaten the independence she’s fought so hard to claim.

Wade Coulter walked away from the law after he lost his wife and unborn son. Raising his daughter alone is safer than letting anyone else in. But Lotty’s beautiful new teacher makes him question everything. Just as he begins to trust again, a dangerous man from Wade’s past threatens both the women he loves.

A gold strike on Wade’s property promises security…but also revives old dangers. Scarred by her father’s choices, Addie fears any man who might put selfish desires before love. As deadly threats close in and the past refuses to stay buried, Wade must prove he's changed or risk losing his chance at happiness forever.

https://www.amazon.com/Schoolmarm-Miner-Twenty-Niners-Georgia-Gold-ebook/dp/B0GMRS3Q88/

Freed by the Frontier:

Three remarkable women find themselves caught between two worlds on the American frontier. A

captive of the Comanche must choose between escaping to white society or her growing feelings for a rising war chief in 1850s Texas. A Georgia judge’s daughter flees an unwanted betrothal during the War of 1812, only to be captured by Creek warriors but protected by a mysterious brave. And in 1754, an English lady traveling the Great Wagon Road to become a music teacher discovers her carefully planned future may not survive her attraction to a protective frontiersman.

From quaint civilized towns to treacherous mountain passes and wilderness villages, three couples navigate cultural divisions, overcome past wounds, and face deadly dangers to discover that love knows no boundaries. But as war clouds gather and ancient tribal alliances shift, will their newfound relationships survive the coming storm? Or will the clash of worlds tear them apart?

Three unforgettable romances prove that God's greatest blessings often come disguised as our greatest challenges, and that true love can bridge any divide.

Pre-order: https://www.amazon.com/Freed-Frontier-Denise-Farnsworth-ebook/dp/B0G71K2R8B/

Talkshow Thursday: Welcome Carol McClain!

 

Talkshow Thursday: Welcome Carol McClain!

The most frequent question asked me is, “Which is the favorite book you authored? I will address my final answer to my favored book at the end. I want, first, to address the second most frequent question: “How do you get your story ideas?”

With seven books on the market, the answer is easy: the messy, beautiful, sinful, redemptive lives of those I know and love. The genesis of my newest book Choices We Make will illustrate.

Several years ago, by the hand of God, my sister-in-law of only eight years, saw something off with my brother. She rushed Art to the hospital where he had a massive cardiac issue as she pulled up to the ER. At that moment, my beloved brother’s implanted defibrillator shocked him and restored him.

Once inside, emergency staff shocked him with the AED many times. Between the ER doctors’ shocks,

his surgical defibrillator continued. Together, over thirty times. At last, my sister-in-law signed a DNR. With human hands off him, instead of dying, my brother’s heart settled. In an induced coma, we did not know if he would be brain dead, or almost worse, brain-damaged.

Thus, the genesis of my story. The two were relatively newlyweds. What would life be like having to care for a brain-compromised husband you were only just getting to know?

Art survived with no apparent damage.

Not so for my antagonist, Wyatt. His wife Tallie has to come to grips of a life with a man, who through no fault of his own, suffered damage that physically and psychologically affected his family. What would God require of us? What could we endure? Choices We Make was conceived.

What would you do if the man you married was no longer a person you recognize? If he jeopardized you and your child? What does God desire?

So, my second most frequent question is answered. All my stories come from life experiences—mine and others.

 
As for my first most frequently asked question about my favorite work : my usual answer is, “Who is your favorite child?” (And shh. Don’t tell my other novels. My favorite book is the one I never thought I’d ever love.)

About Choices We Make

What happens when the vow “for better” becomes dangerously worse?

Journey into the heart of a marriage tested beyond imagination. Tallie Peters, a devoted wife and accomplished marriage counselor, cherishes her life with her soulmate, Wyatt. They share dreams of growing old together, filling their days with love and children. Yet, life has its own plans. A tragic accident leaves Wyatt with a brain injury, transforming the energetic, loving man into a stranger grappling with uncontrollable impulses, anger, and an increasing dependence on alcohol. For her faith and for her son, Tallie must confront the reality of her marriage and her choices. She must decide whether the life she’s loved can be saved.

Purchase link: https://amzn.to/430NG8J  

About Carol

Carol McClain is the author of seven published novels She loves God, glass, good books, and goats—especially when the goats are not eating her manuscript. Carol also edits, teaches Bible studies, hikes the Smokies, and pursues many other interests that allow her to avoid housecleaning. Why make a bed when you’re only going to mess it up again? When she’s not writing stories filled with people making spectacularly messy choices, she’s wrangling goats or chasing shiny bits of stained glass.

Sign up for her newsletter at http://www.carolmcclain.com

Photo credits:

Author photo, book cover image: Courtesy Carol McClain

Emergency sign: Pixabay/ElasticComputeFarm

Emergency Room gurney: Pixabay

Talkshow Thursday: Meet Jessica Brodie

Talkshow Thursdsay: 

Welcome Jessica Brodie!

I'm please to welcome Jessica to my blog for the first time and loved learning more about her. Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and read on.

When did you know you wanted to be an author? I cannot remember a time when I didn’t want to be an author! I’ve been writing in my mind since I was two, when my mom let me play with her old typewriter. I was an imaginative and terribly shy child, and books were my first friends. I started to read at a young age so I didn’t have to wait for an adult to read to me. On that old typewriter I’d invent stories about my stuffed animals, and I’d play elaborate games in my room where my clothing would come to life as imaginary friends, characters in a book I hadn’t yet written. Fast forward a few years, and I began writing as a way to imitate my favorite authors. I wrote everything from short stories and plays to (bad) poetry. I wrote my first novel at age twenty-one (I call it my “practice” novel), and to date I’ve published three novels, along with devotionals and anthologies. Fiction is my heart, and I can’t fathom stopping.

What is your favorite thing about being a writer? I love creating characters who feel like real people I’d enjoy spending time with. In many ways, I’m still doing what I used to do as a young girl—filling my world with imaginary friends, only I get to share these “friends” with the rest of the world. My characters aren’t perfect, and I strive to make them authentic.

How did you learn how to write? I learned to write by reading. I find we humans imitate what we

love, and I love novels—good novels, the kind of books you want to escape into and carry with you throughout the day. I also learned to write by doing—I majored in journalism in college and then got my master’s in English, and I have been a journalist for three decades. For the past sixteen years, I’ve run a Christian denominational newspaper. Having a deadline and an automatic audience forced me to become a better writer, and later challenging myself to write shorter pieces helped me learn to write tighter and stronger.

What does your writing space look like? I actually have multiple writing spaces—that way I never get burned out or stale. Sometimes I write at my desk at my office (either in a chair or standing, depending on my mood and body aches). Sometimes it’s at the kitchen table by a huge window wearing noise-canceling headphones playing some peppy instrumental music. For many years, I wrote in my car before work because it was the only place I could get some quiet. When my kids were little, I’d wake up at four a.m. to write at my grandmother’s old writing desk. One odd place I write is on my feet while taking walks in the neighborhood, voice-texting into the Notes app on my iPhone. It’s surprisingly invigorating—something about movement and fresh air triggers a wave of creative energy for me.

How do you deal with the pressure of deadlines? Deadlines are my “secret sauce,” truly. I crave deadlines. Without a deadline, I can fritter away my time, but when I have a deadline, it forces my fingers to the keys. I hate letting others down, so deadlines become a mantle of responsibility—I know I must fulfill my assignment “or else.” I also use deadlines as a faith challenge. Sometimes doubt will plague me, or I feel like I can’t deliver on a story or an article, but I pray and then choose to believe that God will fill in the missing pieces that I cannot. He always does, and I trust that he always will.

What is one thing you wish you could do? I wish I could do so many things! I’ve always said I write because I can’t paint. I admire how visual artists, particularly oil and watercolor painters, are able to capture a scene and evoke so much emotion and hope and mystery without a single word—I wish I could do that. I also wish I could dance or sing—not just carry a tune but really sing. I think we’re all creative beings in our own way, all striving to imitate the Lord in our own ways and add our gifts to his greater whole.

How do you celebrate when you finish a manuscript? I usually don’t celebrate—because I’m honestly sort of stunned when the book ends. I don’t actually realize I’m “finished” for days, sometimes even longer. By then, I’m editing and onto the next project! Perhaps I don’t want to admit to myself I’m finished, because the characters and worlds I create feel so much like reality that I don’t really want them to be done. When I do remember to celebrate, I usually go out to dinner somewhere yummy with my family, then watch a good movie.

What is your advice to fledgling writers? Keep writing and keep reading. Reading makes us better writers. Writing helps us hone our craft. If you’re doing both of those things every day, then write for publication, even if it’s a volunteer stint or for your own blog or e-newsletter. You’ll surprise yourself with what you’re able to produce when you “have to” do it.

What books are on your nightstand right now? When I discover a book I like, I typically go out and read everything that writer has ever written. Right now, having finished Charles Martin’s Keeper series, I’m now reading everything he’s ever written. Next I’m planning to dive into Francine Rivers.

About Jessica:

Jessica Brodie is the author of the award-winning, Amazon bestselling, faith-based Dahlia Series, where grace meets grit in a small Southern town as faith is tested, hearts are mended, and hope refuses to stay buried. 

About her books: 

The Memory Garden: Book One: This Amazon-bestselling first book in the Dahlia Series is a gripping Southern novel following a broken journalist who finds unexpected purpose in a small town when a troubled boy’s dangerous secret puts them both at risk. 

Tangled Roots: Book Two: Tiff Steadman thought she’d escaped her shameful past—until her recently paroled brother James arrives in Dahlia, threatening the respectable life she’s carefully built. As wedding plans and buried secrets collide, these two siblings must confront the truth they’ve both been hiding and decide if redemption is worth the cost. 

Hidden Seeds: Book Three: Returning to Dahlia after tragedy exposes her fiancé’s betrayal, Natalie Motts rebuilds her life through art and unexpected friendship with Laney, a trafficking survivor hiding a dangerous past. When Natalie’s teenage sister vanishes, Laney must choose between protecting her hard-won safety and stepping back into darkness to bring the girl home. 

Book Four: Coming 2027.

Connect with Jessica:

Website/blog:https://www.jessicabrodie.com/
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/authorjessicajbrodie 
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/jessicajbrodie 
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicajbrodie 
X:https://x.com/JessicaJBrodie
YouTube:https://youtube.com/jessicajbrodie 
Pinterest:https://www.pinterest.com/shiningthelightjessicabrodie
Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/jessicabrodie
Bookbub:https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jessica-brodie
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jessica-Brodie/author/B0BPK3BHBZ

Photo Credits:

Author Photo and book image: courtesy of Jessica Brodie

Reader: Pixabay/Kat Sampang

Restaurant: Pixabay/Pavel Chren