Ann Gabhart Visits

Ann Gabhart is an excellent storyteller, and I'm excited to host her this week. She's sharing about her latest book, These Healing Hills. I haven't read it yet, but if it's anything like her previous books, it's sure to be a winner. 

I had the privilege of meeting Ann some years ago at a local writer's conference. Among my favorite authors, she's as sweet, friendly, and down to earth as she sounds in this interview. Ann's offered to give away a paperback copy of These Healing Hills to one of my followers, so don't forget to check out the details below.

 
Welcome, Ann. Congratulations on your latest book, These Healing Hills! What sparked the idea for this story?  


Thank you, Karen. I’ve been writing a long time. These Healing Hills is my 33rd published book, but I’m still excited each time a new book is out there for readers. Many of my books have been historical novels set in Kentucky with Kentucky history as background of the stories. So while searching for a new idea, I came across information about the Frontier Nursing Service. I was immediately fascinated by the history and wanted to know more about it and its founder, Mary Breckinridge. With a vision of better healthcare for impoverished mothers and children, Breckinridge established the Frontier Nursing Service in the Appalachian Mountains. As I delved deeper into her life, I knew I’d found my idea. I wanted to write a story about a woman who became one of her nurse midwives.  

Wow, 33 books, that's exciting and impressive. The story idea is intriguing. Can you give us a quick overview?

These Healing Hills is a stand-alone book set in the Kentucky Appalachian Mountains at the end of World War II. The heroine, Francine, has her life planned out until the soldier she expected to marry after the war sends her a “Dear Joan” letter. Devastated, Francine seeks a fresh start in the Appalachian Mountains, training to be a nurse midwife for the Frontier Nursing Service.

Meanwhile Ben Locke, deeply affected by the horrors he witnessed at war, has never thought further ahead than making it home to Kentucky. With his future shrouded in as much mist as his beloved mountains, he has to find the right path for what’s next for his life.

When Francine’s and Ben’s paths intersect, it’s immediately clear that they are from different worlds and value different things. But love has a way of healing old wounds...and revealing tantalizing new possibilities.

That is the back cover copy and a little more. The fascinating history of the Frontier Nursing Service and the beautiful mountain setting were great additions to my characters’ story in These Healing Hills. I did really like my characters and I enjoyed letting Granny Em, who was a healer who helped families with their medical needs prior to the Frontier nurses showing up, step into some of the scenes with her mountain wisdom. I had fun salting in some mountain lingo too, such as the edge of dark for night falling or getting a soon start for leaving early in the morning.  

 

Sounds like a winning combination. I love a good story laced with genuine historical details. Looking forward to reading this one. Who are your main characters?  

Francine Howard is my main female character. She’s the one jilted by her high school sweetheart. She can’t stand the thought of staying in her Cincinnati neighborhood where everybody will feel sorry for her. So, already a nurse, she remembers a recruiter for the Frontier Nursing Service talking about training to be a midwife in the Appalachian Mountains. She packs up and starts a new life. 

Ben Locke has been across the ocean fighting in World War II for several years. Home has whispered through his head through every battle, along every march. If only he can get home to see his beloved mountains again. But then once the war ends and Ben makes it home, he is unsettled and not sure what's next. He wants to take care of his widowed mother and his younger siblings, but he knows he needs more. And then he gives Francine a dog and adds new complications to his life. 

Complications help make the best stories, don't they? Was there any special knowledge or research required to write this book? 

I did need to find out as much about the Frontier Nursing Service and its origins as I could. Mary Breckinridge started the Service in 1926 after seeing the need for professionally trained midwives to help the people in the Appalachian Mountains who had little access to medical care. Breckinridge had a heart for children and wanted to give them a better start in life by helping their mothers have healthy pregnancies and births. She established the Frontier Nurse Service in Leslie County, Kentucky with midwives from overseas since there were no midwifery schools in the States. When war broke out in England, years before America was drawn into the conflict, several of the English midwives felt compelled to return to England to help with the war effort. So Breckinridge established the Frontier Midwifery School in Hyden, Kentucky to train midwives to keep her Frontier Nursing Service going. One of the recruitment posters I came across in my research promised the nurses their own dog, their own horse and plenty of adventure as they saved children’s lives. That seemed the perfect start for my character.  

I read several first person accounts of midwives to help me get a better idea of what my character might face as she helped mothers deliver their babies in the mountains. I worried I might not know enough about the nuts and bolts of midwifery, but so far the story has received good response. 

If it's anything like your other books, I'm sure you did a wonderful job with every aspect. What's next on the horizon? Any new books or other adventures?  

Next up after These Healing Hills is another historical novel, River to Redemption. My initial idea for the story was a true event that occurred in the small Kentucky town of Springfield after the 1833 cholera epidemic. At that time, people thought cholera might be caused by bad air, perhaps from the discarded fruit and vegetable peels and other discarded garbage. So when they heard about a case of cholera, all those who had the means to do so, immediately left town. Sometimes this simply carried the disease with them to other places, but sometimes it did help them escape the disease which was actually due to contaminated water or exposure to others who were ill. So when Springfield was hit with a cholera epidemic in 1833, as was most of the United States, everybody who could left town. That included the owner of a local hotel, George Sansbury. He gave his slave Louis the keys to the hotel and told him to keep things going. Louis was one of those fortunate people unaffected by cholera. So he, along with another slave, a cook, Matilda Sims, tended those who were ill and Louis singlehandedly dug the graves and buried the fifty-five victims of the disease. 

Twelve years later George Sansbury died and his property, which included his slaves, was up for sale or auction. The citizens of the town collected money to buy Louis’s freedom in gratitude for his service to the town during the cholera epidemic and they also set him up in a blacksmith shop. A plaque to Louis Sansbury is in the Springfield, Kentucky graveyard. My book, which is completely fictional except for that true historical fact about Louis, is how I imagine that might have come about. River to Redemption is scheduled to release in the summer of 2018. The book is going through edits at the publishers. Now I’m working on coming up with a new story set in my fictional Shaker village of Harmony Hill. Every time I write a Shaker novel, I say it’s going to be my last, but I’m pretty sure I mean it this time. Pretty sure. 

That sounds like an excellent idea for a story. Will look forward to reading River to Redemption as well. :) You'll have to come back and see us when it releases. Thanks so much for stopping by, Ann. Wishing you all the best with your books and writing!  

Thank you for letting me come visit, Karen. Always fun to visit with you here. And I look forward to hearing what you and your reading friends have to say. 

How about I turn the tables on all of you a bit here and ask you a few questions? Do you know the history of the Frontier Nursing Service? If so, how do you know about it? If not, does a background history of nurse midwives helping mothers and children in the mountains sound interesting?  


More About Ann   

Ann is the bestselling author of over thirty novels, has been called a storyteller, not a bad thing for somebody who grew up dreaming of being a writer. In addition to her popular Harmony Hill Shaker novels, Ann writes about family life in novels like Angel Sister and Love Come Home as well as cozy mysteries (as A.H. Gabhart) set in small towns like the Kentucky town where she grew up. These Healing Hills is her first historical novel set in the Appalachian Mountains. She and her husband have three children and nine grandchildren and enjoy country life in Kentucky. 

Find Ann  

Website 
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Giveaway Info

1) Please leave your email address with your comment. I'd also appreciate it if you were a Google Friend Connect Follower (see sidebar). Thanks so much.
2) Open to US residents only.
3) Deadline to enter is midnight Eastern time, Thursday, 11/16/17. Upon notification, winner will have 36 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

Do you have any answers to Ann's questions above? Do you have any questions for Ann? What are you reading this week?

Happy reading and writing,
Karen

: 

Book Review - No Other Will Do

No Other Will Do by Karen Witemeyer
Bethany House Publishers

Twenty something Emma Chandler, founder of the women’s colony in Harper’s Station, TX, is as spunky as they come. She is a champion of women, the sometimes battered, suffering casualties of society in 1894. Emma and her aunts created a safe haven for abused and homeless women, and the town is home to a bank, general store, café, and boarding house, to name a few. Harper’s Station boasts no male residents. Just yet anyway.

Malachi Shaw is an explosives specialist working for the railroad in southern Montana. He had the privilege of living with Emma’s aunts when he was orphaned in his early teens.  He credits a young Emma with saving his life, and consequently they became fast friends. After he left Texas, he and Emma kept in touch through letters. Malachi promised Emma and the aunts he’d come if they ever needed anything.

There’s trouble brewing in Harper’s Station in the form of a masked man leaving threatening notes that say “Leave or die”. When he opens fire on the women during a meeting, Emma wires Malachi for help. Malachi drops everything and heads to Texas intent on helping the town’s residents.

The situation continues to heat up, literally, as the mysterious perpetrator continues to wreak havoc, setting fire to Harper’s Station’s church.  Folks in the nearby town of Seymour aren’t anxious to help, and the sheriff is occupied with cattle rustlers in the surrounding area.  So it’s up to Malachi, Emma, and the ladies to solve this life threatening puzzle.

In the meantime, Emma and Malachi get to know each other as adults, in person versus through letters, and find themselves increasingly attracted to each other. Malachi will do anything to keep Emma and those she cares about safe, and Emma is staunchly supportive of him as well. Not only are their crime fighting skills tested, but their convictions and faith in God are as well. To further complicate matters, Emma and Malachi believe that there is a traitor among the women. Someone is supplying the masked man with information and carrying out his tasks around town, including killing livestock.

Many secrets come to light as Emma and Malachi formulate a plan to meet the deadline the perpetrator has imposed. Tension mounts as precious hours tick away and lives hang in the balance. Will they catch the man responsible for the upheaval in Harper’s Station? I’ll give you a hint: this book has a happy ending in more ways than one, but it’s not without a wonderfully tense and action packed conclusion.

Ms. Witemeyer is a master at bringing the reader into the heart of the characters. I was engaged from the start, drawn to Emma and Malachi through their backstory and present challenges. Her characters are multifaceted individuals, real people to whom we can relate. The plot and setting are perfect complements to the characters, and she weaves rich historical detail throughout, further layering the story. It’s a wonderful balance of action, mystery, hope, despair, love, and faith that entertains and inspires.

I came away with not only the satisfaction of having read a wonderful story, but challenged to examine my own heart and faith as well. I hope Ms. Witemeyer continues this series of strong and inspiring women (and men!). This one gets two thumbs up!

Please note: I received this complimentary copy of No Other Will Do from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.

What are you reading this summer?

Happy reading and writing, 

Karen

Book Review - A Noble Masquerade

A Noble Masquerade by Kristi Ann Hunter 

Miranda Hathaway is officially a "Lady" in her social circle, but that hasn’t prevented her from teetering on the edge of spinsterhood at the ripe old age of twenty. It’s not that she’s discontent really, for she would make a wonderful aunt to her siblings’ future children. But she does get lonely. Her long standing habit of writing letters (but not sending them) to the Duke of Marshington, her brother Griffith’s friend, is rather therapeutic. She’s never met the Duke, but has formulated a persona based on Griffith's stories from their school days.

She finds herself bumping into Marlow, Griffith’s new valet, at every turn. Even though he belongs to the working class, Miranda is drawn to him.  Although she isn’t quite sure what he’s all about, she finds him interesting and looks forward to opportunities to speak to him. 

To her great dismay, one of her missives somehow finds its way to the Duke. When he responds, she is stunned and embarrassed. The plot thickens (for real!) when Miranda discovers Marlow caught in the crossfire of shady dealings around the estate. Of course, she has no choice but to intervene.

This story offers an action packed glimpse into England’s “genteel” society in 1822 – from the rules and expectations to treason and deceit. Danger lurks in unexpected places, as does love and heartbreak. A Noble Masquerade is full of intrigue and surprises. Miranda, Griffith, Marlow, and the Duke find their loyalty, mettle, and faith tested as they sort through exciting events and details to find the truth. This book kept me on my toes – I like that!

Kristi Ann Hunter does a wonderful job, combining an entertaining and action packed story with great characters. Rich historical details complement this deep and well-balanced tale. It had me engaged from the first page, and didn’t let go until the end - I enjoyed this book from start to finish. 

Ms. Hunter is a delightful and talented storyteller. I’m adding her to my list of favorite authors, and will be on the lookout for more of her books.

I received this book free of charge from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.

Purchase A Noble Masquerade


Just in case you missed it - here's the link to last week's interview with Susan J. Reinhardt complete with info on her new book, Out of the Mist. 

Do you like mysteries? What are you reading now?

Happy reading and writing,

Karen

A Visit with Ann Gabhart

Please join me in welcoming Ann Gabhart! Her newest book, The Innocent, a post Civil War story set in the fictional Shaker Village of Harmony Hill, was just released. I had the privilege of meeting Ann at a writing conference - what a treat!  She is funny and smart, and just as warm and friendly in person as she is here. Ann's giving away a copy of The Innocent to one of my followers, so be sure and check out the giveaway details below. .

Hi Ann, welcome back to Write Now! Congratulations on your new release, The Innocent! What inspired this story? 

Great to be back visiting here with you and your readers, Karen. I’m excited about this new Shaker book and hoping readers will enjoy Carlyn’s story. 


My inspiration for The Innocent is a bit unusual, at least for me. You may know that I’ve written several books set in my fictional Shaker village of Harmony Hill. The first, The Outsider, was published in 2008. Since that first Harmony Hill book, I have set five more books in the same place with new characters each time in different historical eras, including a Christmas book, Christmas at Harmony Hill. I didn’t really expect to write any more Shaker books. I was busy writing my Rosey Corner stories, historical stories set in a small town. Those stories about family life with love and romance mixed in were totally different from my Shaker books. I have to sneak romance in the back door of those Shaker houses since the Shakers didn’t believe in marriage and romantic love. But ever since my first Shaker book came out, readers are always asking when I was going back to Harmony Hill for a story. One of those, my son-in-law, kept telling me I should write a Shaker mystery. When I would say I didn’t think mystery and my Shaker books went together, he would suggest ways to make that work. 


Keep in mind that, although he is a voracious reader, I don’t think he’s ever read any of my books. Not his style of books. He thinks they are too romantic. I tell him they have all sorts of history in them along with that romance, but that hasn’t convinced him. But he did keep pushing for a Shaker mystery and one of his favorite suggestions over the years was to have a sheriff as a character. A sheriff and a Shaker. So, when I did decide to go back to Harmony Hill, I thought why not see if I could write a story something like he suggested. I came up with a Shaker sister, albeit a reluctant one, a sheriff, and a dog named Asher. In the process of getting to know them, they told me their story and I wrote it down to share with my readers. I don’t know that The Innocent has enough mystery in it to catch the reading interest of my son-in-law, but I’m hoping others will enjoy the story. I do think they are going to like that sheriff! 


I did enjoy the addition of the sheriff and mysterious elements - it was a great idea! Having written several books set at the Shaker village of Harmony Hill, you must be very familiar with that period and culture. Was there any special or unusual research though, for this story? 

I reviewed some of my Shaker history and Civil War history since this book is set shortly after the Civil War with some general references to Civil War battles. I tried to find out about sheriffs in the 1800’s and how a few other things worked in 1865. But mostly, I drew on the research I had done for my other Shaker books for the Shaker background. So, mostly I would say I did more reviewing of my Shaker research than new research. Of course, there’s always something new, or perhaps I should say old, that I need to understand or know better when I’m writing a historical story. 

Your stories all have a wonderful authenticity to them, so your research has paid off. Are you a plotter or a seat of the pants writer? Has your approach changed from when you first begin writing fiction? 


I am definitely a seat of the pants writer. I look at the plotters and think that way to write is surely much better. With the plot all drawn out, it has to be easier to fill in the blanks as you write. Probably plotter writing is nothing like that, but we writers do have active imaginations. I can imagine never hitting the writing doldrums out there in the middle of the story and having to wonder which way the story wind is going to shift, or even worse, if the wind of creativity is ever going to show up to push your story on toward the end. I imagine a plotter never having that problem, but I’m sure, if that doesn’t happen, then other creative problems pop up for them. 


As for whether my approach has changed since I first began writing, that was so long ago it’s hard to remember. I began writing my first novel in the early 1970’s. I had high hopes at a young age. At that time, I probably did more detailed plotting in my pre-writing. I never made an outline or a chapter by chapter plan, but I did write pages of “what if” plotting. I also used to write much more about my characters before I began writing the story. Some of that has changed because, after writing so many books, I can put more trust in my writing instincts. That doesn’t mean I still don’t hit those doldrums. It simply means I can have more confidence the creativity winds will start to blow my imagination sails again. 

I might also attribute some of the change to time restraints when I started having contracts and deadlines to meet. I’m the type of writer who could do research and pre-writing such as character sketches, setting details and plotting for way too long and never get anything written in a timely manner. 


As much as I'm not super crazy about deadlines, they do help me get things done more efficiently as well.  :) Have you ever modeled a character after someone you knew? 


In my Rosey Corner books, especially Angel Sister, I modeled the Merritt sisters after my mom and her sisters. In that book, I took the many stories my mother told about growing up during the Great Depression to come up with the setting and background of my story. While my story is completely fiction, under my imagined story is the thread of Mom’s memories and background. I made Kate, the young character in Angel Sister, have a can-do attitude like my mother’s. I modeled Evie on Mom’s older sister who didn’t like the outdoors and was always worried about how things looked. Torie was like my Mom’s younger sister who loved to fish. My mother’s dad was a blacksmith and served in World War I in France. Both my grandparents loved to read. And then there was Fern and Graham. I based those characters on these two odd characters that were the subject of many of the stories my mother told about her childhood. 

So I took all that, twisted and turned it until it was mine, and then wrote the story. I drifted more away from my mother’s background in the follow-up stories, Small Town Girl and Love Comes Home. By that time, my characters had taken on their own lives and followed much different paths than my mother and her sisters. 


That said, I do not generally model a character after someone I know. Perhaps a minor character with a cameo appearance from time to time might be a memory of someone I’ve known or met, but not my major characters. At least not intentionally. While my characters spring totally from my imagination, the truth is that everything I see or read or know feeds into that well of creativity. So, in ways, my characters are modeled after everyone and anyone I’ve ever known in real life or through books and movies. A smile from this one. An attitude from that one. Body shape from another. With enough of these various parts, a character is born. 


It's true - everything we write comes from our life experiences, and it is interesting to see how it all comes together, especially in fiction. I hear you have another book coming out this fall. Can you give us a peek at that story? 


I’ve always been a mystery fan, so I decided to see if I could write one. Then I like setting my books in small towns. Put those together and you have my new Hidden Springs Mystery series. The first book, Murder at the Courthouse, will release in October 2015. It’s considered a cozy mystery even though I, as usual, broke a few of the general cozy category rules. Normally the mystery solvers in cozies are simply people who stumble up on a murder, but my main character, Michael Keane, is a deputy sheriff in the little town of Hidden Springs, Kentucky. Not a real town, but one based on what my own hometown might be like if it had been frozen in time a few years back. For my stories, I eliminated all the big box stores that have pulled people away from downtown and let Hidden Springs still have a lively Main Street. One where murder sometimes happens. 


The stories are so different from my historical books the publishers decided to give my author name a twist, A.H. Gabhart. We’re not trying to hide who I am or anything. It’s just a way to let my readers know that these books might not be what they usually expect from me. Murder at the Courthouse starts with the discovery of a stranger’s body on the courthouse steps. Things heat up from there with some surprising discoveries that send Michael on a bewildering search for a mysterious killer. What he finds has him questioning everything he has ever believed about life in Hidden Springs.  

The next Hidden Springs Mystery, Murder Comes by Mail, will release next summer. And I’m working on a third mystery now. No title as yet. But there is a cat character. Each book has a different cat that walks through the plot. Those cats help keep the stories in the cozy category. lol 


I am looking forward to these books. It sounds like it will be a wonderful series. Thanks so much for stopping by to see us. Wishing you all the best with your books!


Always fun to stop by your place, Karen. Thanks for having me over. Now I get to ask you and your readers a question. I not only like reading different types of stories, I like writing different kinds of stories too. But these days most publishers want you to have a “brand.” That is, develop a line of stories that have some general theme that ties them all together. The theory is that writers have more success and are able to build a stronger reader base that way. 

*But what do you and your readers think? Do you prefer the authors you read stay with one genre so you know what to expect when you pick up one of his or her books or are you willing to try something different from an author you like?

Ah, good question, Ann. I always look forward to reading the "expected" stories from favorite authors, but I also like to check out their books as they venture into new territory. For example, I enjoyed your book, Words Spoken True, which took readers away from the Shaker theme. 
  

More About Ann 

 Living just thirty miles from a restored Shaker village in Kentucky, Ann H. Gabhart has walked the same paths her character might have walked in generations past. Her thorough research provides a colorful backdrop for her Shaker novels. Ann is the author of several bestselling novels, including The Outsider, Scent of Lilacs and Angel Sister. 

Ann lives on a farm with her husband, Darrell. They have three children, three in-law children, and nine grandchildren. To find out more about Ann or her books visit www.annhgabhart.com, or join the fun on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

 
My Review of The Innocent 

The Civil War is over, and the government told Carlyn Kearney that her husband is missing. Her neighbors call her the Widow Kearney, but she hesitates to accept that status until she has tangible proof.  Her troubles escalate when she cannot make payments on her home. With nowhere else to go, she seeks refuge at the nearby Shaker Village.

Sheriff Mitchell Brodie sympathizes with Carlyn, and while he can’t fix her financial troubles, he lends support as a friend. Their paths cross as he investigates a suspicious fire that destroyed a Shaker barn. The disappearance of a local citizen and other odd events further complicate the investigation.

Will Carlyn find peace with the Shakers? Does she receive news about her husband? Who’s behind the mysterious happenings at Shaker Village? What role does Sheriff Brodie play in Carlyn’s future? I won’t tell, but will encourage you to read this fast paced and intriguing story to find the answers.

If you’ve never read Shaker fiction, this is a good place to start. Ann Gabhart’s knowledge of the community is extensive and reflected throughout this story.  It’s a rich and interesting look at the culture and what someone might have faced when joining as an adult. It also highlights how, past or present, people are much the same and will reap what they sow.   

I enjoy historical fiction because it often offers more depth through the setting and events. This book contains that intensity, as Ann Gabhart weaves a compelling story that challenges readers to examine their own faith. It illustrates Ann’s gift for bringing characters, setting, and action to life. These elements engaged me; I had trouble putting this story down. The Innocent offers an exciting combination of danger and unsolved mysteries, a faithful dog, a damsel in distress, and an honest sheriff. It is a winner, a memorable and heartwarming read! 

Ann gave me this copy free of charge for review purposes.  

Giveaway Info

Ann is giving away one paperback copy of The Innocent. To enter, please note the following:   

1) Open to U.S. residents only.  
2) Please leave your email address. 
3) You must be a Google Friend Connect Follower of Write Now (on sidebar). 
4) Giveaway ends Friday, July 24 at noon Eastern Daylight Time. Winner will be contacted via email and have 36 hours to respond or another name will be chosen.
 
How would you answer Ann's *question? Do you have any questions for Ann? What are you reading this week? 

Happy writing,

Karen