Author: Cindy Thomson

Author

Meet Lydia Gallagher of Beyond Shattered Dreams by Cynthia Roemer

~ Cindy Thomson ~ 1 Comment

After months in a Confederate prison camp, Private Will Everett boards the Sultana eager to return home and leave behind the horrors of war. One day into the voyage, the overcrowded steamboat explodes, rendering Will injured and unable to recall his identity. With only a pocket watch and the name Will E. etched inside to guide him, Will begins a relentless quest to find his forgotten past. Scarred by her father’s untimely death, Lydia Gallagher struggles to trust God with unwanted changes in her family after the war. The arrival of an elusive, but handsome, stranger only adds to her angst. Until the intricacies of his true nature and the mysteries of his past come to light. As they work to thwart a ruthless man’s efforts to sabotage the farm, their admiration for each other deepens. But when Lydia becomes privy to information that could forever alter their lives, she must choose between losing the man she’s come to love or denying him the one thing he longs for most. 

Welcome to Novel PASTimes! We’re pleased you stopped by today.

Thank you. It’s wonderful to be here.

Share a bit about yourself—your name, where you’re from, what occupies your time.

I’m Lydia Gallagher. I live on a farm four miles west of Elmira, New York. I’ll soon turn eighteen and have two older brothers, Drew and Luke, both of which recently returned from fighting in the War Between the States.

Oh, my. I’m so glad they survived to return home. Such a terrible war. Which side did they fight on?

They fought for the Union. Yes. Truly, the war was a terrible hardship on everyone. I was not yet eleven years old when the war began. Sadly, it stole much of my youth. I still remember waving goodbye to my father as he left to fight. It would be the last time I would ever see him.

I’m so sorry. How about your mother. Is she living?

Yes. She and I grew quite close after my father’s death and my brothers left to fight. We prayed day and night for my brothers’ safe return.

With only the two of you there, how did you manage the farm?

We had Luke’s help until he left for the war in 1863. Mama and I were able to maintain a sizeable garden and our neighbor, Hal Perkins, helped put in some of our crop, but much of the land remained fallow until Drew and Luke returned.

So, with the war over, have your brothers remained on the farm or married and followed other pursuits?

Surprisingly both brothers met and fell in love with Southern women during the war. Drew married Caroline and Luke eventually married Adelaide. While I dearly loved my new sisters-in-law, I disliked the unwanted changes that came about in our family after they wed. I had such great hopes of us all remaining together. But they and God had other plans.

Hmm. Sounds serious. So, were all the changes you experienced bad ones? Or did God have anything good in store?

Grin. Well, there was one positive change that came about. A stranger happened by our place and informed us Luke had hired him to help manage the farm. I was suspicious at first. He seemed quite vague about himself and wouldn’t give any straight answers. But once I learned the reason behind his ambiguity, I understood.

Ah, and was this stranger handsome?

I’ll admit he immediately caught my eye. He was ruddy and well-muscled with sandy hair and amazing hazel eyes. Up until now, no young man had sparked my interest. I’d had a few callers, but honestly, until I met Will, not a one of them struck my fancy. Will definitely changed that. But I had a hard time discerning if he felt the same about me.

So, have things turned out as you hoped for you and Will?

Smile. That’s something you and your fellow readers will have to learn when you read my story in Beyond Shattered Dreams.

Cynthia Roemer is an inspirational, award-winning author who enjoys planting seeds of hope into the hearts of readers. Raised in the cornfields of rural Illinois, she enjoys spinning tales set in the backdrop of the mid-1800’s prairie and Civil War era. Cynthia feels blessed the Lord has fulfilled her life-long dream of being a published novelist. It’s her prayer that her stories will encourage readers in their faith. She and her husband reside on the family farm. Visit Cynthia online at: www.cynthiaroemer.com

Meet Gunther Schneider from Michelle Shocklee’s All We Thought We Knew

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During the turbulent days of World War II, thousands of foreigners were interned in the United States. Men, women, and even children with ties to Japan, Italy, and Germany were sent to detention camps all across the country. In Michelle Shocklee’s new novel All We Thought We Knew, readers meet Gunther Schneider, a German medical student who finds himself caught up in a frightening and seemingly hopeless situation. 

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NP: Hello, Gunther. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for stopping by Novel PASTimes to chat with us. 

Gunther: Danke. I’m happy to be here.

NP: Tell us about where you’re from and how you ended up in the United States. 

Gunther: I was born in Krefeld, Germany. It is very beautiful, close to the Rhine River. My parents were Gott-fearing people who believed in the truths taught in the Bible. When Hitler came into power, Mutter feared what would become of Germany. By then Vater had passed away and my older brother had joined the Nazis. Mutter thought it best for me to leave Germany and go to medical school in the United States. She believed I would be safe there.

NP: It must have been hard to leave your homeland and family. 

Gunther: Ja, it was, but I wanted to come to America and study to become a doctor. Although things did not turn out the way I’d hoped, I do not regret leaving Germany. 

NP: You were eventually arrested and detained in a camp for enemy aliens. Can you tell us about that?

Gunther: I was a student at Columbia medical school in New York City when Pearl Harbor was attacked. It may sound naïve, but I didn’t believe the US government would consider me a threat to society, being that it was Japan who’d attacked Hawaii, not Germany. I was quite shocked when I was arrested.

NP: Were your friends arrested too? 

Gunther: Ja, all of them. I’m not certain where some of them ended up, but I was sent to Camp Forrest in Tullahoma, Tennessee. 

NP: I’m not familiar with Camp Forrest. Was that a military installation?

Gunther: It was. I’m told it was one of the largest in the United States. While I was there, I saw thousands of young American men training for war. I felt sad knowing that many of them would die. Had I stayed in Germany, I would have been forced to join Hitler’s army. I’ve often wondered if I would have had to fight against some of the same soldiers I saw at Camp Forrest. 

NP: I’m sure it was hard being held as a prisoner. Was there anything about your time at Camp Forrest that brought you happiness?

Gunther: I met a special friend while I was in Tullahoma. Ava Delaney worked at the camp. She did not treat me like the enemy, which was refreshing. Unfortunately, as a German, I wasn’t always treated kindly by Americans. It was nice to have someone to talk to who didn’t judge me for where I was born. 

NP: It sounds as though you’ve been through many challenges in your life. Can you tell us where your find the strength to face them?

Gunther: My parents taught me to trust in the truths found in the Bible. When I left for America, my mother gave me my father’s Bible. Reading it reminds me that I’m not alone, even if it feels like it sometimes. The stories also remind me that people have always faced difficult challenges, but they also reveal hope. With Gott, there is always hope. 

NP: That’s very true. Thank you for sharing your story with us, Gunther.  

Michelle Shocklee is the author of several historical novels, including Appalachian Song, a Christy Award finalist, Count the Nights by Stars, a Christianity Today fiction book award winner, and Under the Tulip Tree, a Christy and Selah Awards finalist. Her work has been featured in numerous Chicken Soup for the Soul books, magazines, and blogs. Married to her college sweetheart and the mother of two grown sons, she makes her home in Tennessee, not far from the historical sites she writes about. Visit her at MichelleShocklee.com.

Book Review: Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner

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This touching story begins in 1938 with a teenage girl named Rosie in California who becomes an orphan. Taken in my her parents’ employer, she falls victim to the man of the house and gets pregnant. But Rosie has a secret that made her different, and her secret is betrayed so that she is not sent to a home for unwed mothers but to a mental institution. This thread is intriguing by itself but Meissner links Rosie with a woman, Helen, who works in Europe as a nanny as the Nazis are targeting disabled children. Her heartbreaking experience leads her to do what she can to save as many children as possible. Many years after the war Helen goest back to California and learns that her brother was the father of Rosie’s baby, the only relative Helen has left. Helen had met Rosie when the girl was younger and corresponded with her a few times, But where is Rosie now and what became of her baby?

There are so many lessons we can learn from this story, inspired by the eugenics movement that existed in some places in the US until the 1970s, according to the author’s note, which is not to be missed.

I’m a fan of all of Meissner’s books, but my goodness, this one is exquisite. Highly recommend!

Reviewed by Cindy Thomson, http://www.cindyswriting.com

An Interview with Naomi Wolff from A Wolff in the Family by Francine Falk-Allen

~ Cindy Thomson ~ 1 Comment
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Interviewer: We’re here today with Naomi Wolff, whose exciting western American life was full of twists and turns, especially during the Depression. Naomi, what would you like us to know about yourself?

Naomi: Omigosh. My life exciting? I hardly think so! I just did whatever had to be done, puttin’ one foot in front of the other. I was born in Kansas, lived on farms a lot, except when I was livin’ in Ogden with my husband and family for… lessee, about eighteen years. I have been a mother most of my life. So most folks know how that sure takes up your time. It’s not like you get to do much else.

I: To start with, then, how did you meet your husband and what was it like marrying him?

N: I met Frank at a dance in Kansas City. If me and my family went anywhere at all, off the farm, we went to the little bitty town of Turner to buy feed and supplies, or we went to Kansas City for a day sometimes. Now, Frank was not really much of a dancer, but I think he went to these dances to see if he could meet a pretty girl! And I guess that’s what he did.

I: I can see you’ve always had a pretty face.

N: Well, I never had much time to fuss about my appearance. But Frank told me I had a nice face and I heard that from other people. It’s probably on the verge of sinful to brag, so I won’t say any more about that. Frank courted me a bit and then asked me to marry him pretty early on. He was handsome and had a good job with the railroad, so I thought, this is prob’ly as good as I’m gonna get around here and I said yes. I was eighteen and we married in early 1908. I think I loved him and I thought he loved me too.

Now, Frank was a little different once we got married. We were always amorous, if you know what I mean, when he come home from the rails. But he could be… whaddaya call it? Stern, I think. And given he was bringin’ home the bacon, he expected things a certain way… he wanted the kids quiet and his dinner at 6:00. I knew that was my job so I did things how he liked. Mostly.

I: How many children did you have?

N: Ha! A whole lot of ‘em. I had my firstborn, Frances (she was named after her daddy; his name was Frank Joseph and we named her Frances Josephine)…  Frances was born in November, 1908. And after that, I had eleven more, plus stillborn twins. That was a sad month for us. And then later on another one after those twelve; she was a surprise. 

I: How did you manage a houseful like that? 

N: Oh, I knew how to stretch a dollar real far. Plus we grew vegetables and berries… But with that many kids sometimes you gotta use a yardstick on ‘em, else they run roughshod. I never liked doin’ that but you got to. And Frances started helping me early on, as soon as she could fold a diaper or wash a dish. Anita was next, so I was lucky to have girls as my two oldest so they could help with the housework, the cooking, and taking care of the kids who were younger. Frances, I think she resented it a little…

I: How was your relationship with your children?

N: My relationship? I’m not sure what you mean. Did I love them? Of course I did! If you mean did we get along or were we close… well, Frances was her daddy’s girl. He was real attached to her. And since I was the one left home alone, I was the one who had to teach her right from wrong and tell her no. It wasn’t easy for me to see Frank pay more attention to Frances, either. But Anita and I, we were close. She didn’t always get along with her dad and she and Frances, bein’ so close in age, only a year apart, they butt heads a lot too.

My other kids… well, sometimes they maybe didn’t get enough attention. I loved ‘em so much, but things happened in the middle of my life that not everybody understood. So there came a time when I think some of the kids didn’t like me too much. But their dad was no saint. Lot of things he did, not all of ‘em knew about. He was gone so much… that was hard for me. 

I: Did you know Francine, who wrote this book about you?

N: Oh, for heaven’s sake. I can’t imagine why anyone would write a book about me. I’m just a mother from the country, like my mother was. But no, I never met Francine. I knew about her but my husband had died so I didn’t have a way to drive out to California to see her when she was born. I met her big sister and brother though; we went out there one time. I got to see a lot of my kids and grandkids. That was a real good time for me… prob’ly around 1941 or’42.

I: Do you want to tell me about the things that happened that people didn’t understand? 

N: Oh, no, I’d rather not. If Francine told that story, well, I just hope she told it fair. Frank… he had kind of a mean streak. He put our youngest kids in an orphanage… and I’ll just let people read the book to see why that happened. I have a few regrets in my life but mostly I think things turned out just the way God wanted. You don’t always know in your life how the cookie’s gonna crumble. We had a real hard time around 1929 but things got better.

I: That was the start of the Depression. I’m sure that was mostly what caused the strife in your life.

N: Ha! You might think. But there’s a whole lot more happened that had nothin’ to do with money or the Depression. Nothin’ at all. No, I didn’t have a whole lotta choices in my life, but I made one, changed my life, and the lives of a lotta other people. I guess that’s the story here. Yes, that would be a story worth tellin.’

FRANCINE FALK-ALLEN grew up in northern California, where she still lives. She had polio in 1951 and has lived her life as a disabled person efforting to be a “normie.” 

Falk-Allen was originally an art major and later completed her BA in Managerial Accounting, running her own business for over thirty years. She has always sought creative outlets, such as painting, singing, and writing.

She began doing extensive family genealogy research in 1999, and has traced both her maternal and paternal ancestors back to the 1600’s. 

Her two books, Not a Poster Child: Living Well with a Disability—A Memoir  and No Spring Chicken: Stories and Advice from a Wild Handicapper on Aging, and Disability, have received the Kirkus star for excellence and won other awards.

Her third book is A Wolff in the Family, a riveting early twentieth century saga set in the western United States and based on scandalous family history.

Francine facilitates a writing group and volunteers on her town’s Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Committee. She loves the outdoors, swimming, gardening, movies, well-written literature, being with friends and sharing British tea and a little champagne now and then. She resides in San Rafael, California, with her husband, Richard Falk.

Meet Adelaide from Lynn Austin’s Waiting for Christmas

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In this hope-filled Gilded Age Christmas novella from bestselling author Lynn Austin, the year is 1901 and the hustle and bustle of the holidays is descending on New York’s Fifth Avenue.

For the first time in her privileged life, Adelaide Forsythe won’t be swept up in it. She couldn’t be happier about the prospect of a quieter Christmas. That’s not to say her transition from Miss to Mrs. has been without challenge. Though she doesn’t regret marrying for love instead of wealth, she can barely light the hearth or cook more than burnt toast. She feels woefully unprepared to run her own household.

Then, on the first Sunday of Advent, winter winds bring change through two unlikely means: a young orphan boy, hiding near Adelaide’s front steps, and a seasoned housekeeper who seems too good to be true.

The boy, Jack, claims he isn’t an orphan at all and is desperate to reunite his family. Adelaide and her husband Howard work tirelessly to solve the riddle of Jack’s story, while Adelaide’s new endeavors open her eyes to a world beyond her past experience—and all the challenge and possibility it holds. As Christmas approaches, small glimmers of wonder light the way toward the answers Adaleide seeks and the most miraculous gift of all.

book cover

NP: Hello, Adelaide. Thank you so much for taking time from your Christmas preparations to talk with us.

Adelaide: My pleasure.

NP: When we last met (in the novel “All My Secrets”) you had fallen in love with your family’s lawyer, Howard Forsythe. Has that romance evolved since then? 

Adelaide: I am pleased to say that Howard and I were married one month ago with our families’ blessings. My grandmother was especially happy that I married for love and not for money. She was the one who encouraged me to make that choice.

NP: Congratulations! I imagine marriage has brought many changes to your life?

Adelaide: Yes! Too many to count! I no longer live in an enormous mansion, but in a simple townhouse on a quiet street. I don’t have servants to wait on my every need, but I do need to hire someone to teach me to cook, since I don’t even know how to brew tea. I used to buy anything I wanted, and I never had to think about money, but now I’m learning to economize and live on Howard’s salary. And I had to learn how to travel by streetcar since we can’t afford a horse and carriage. Those are just a few things.

NP: What about your interest in the women’s suffrage movement? Will that be ending now that you’re a respectable married woman?

Adelaide: Certainly not! Howard is very supportive of the suffrage movement, and he encourages me to be active.

NP: I’m guessing that Christmas will be very different for you this year?

Adelaide: Yes, in some ways. Our family charity, the Stanhope Foundation, has always played an active role at Christmastime supporting the many orphanages in this city. That won’t change. I’m still helping my mother, who now heads the Foundation. But I won’t be hosting or attending any Christmas parties or balls this year. Those frivolous activities just aren’t part of my life anymore, and I must say I don’t miss them in the least! Howard and I have better things to do with our time. I’m looking forward to a much simpler Christmas this year.

NP: What do you miss the most about your life as a wealthy heiress?

Adelaide: I think it’s pointless to look back at the past and moan about it. Life always brings change, and if we’re not prepared for it, we will live miserable lives indeed. The better question is, what am I looking forward to in the future? The answer is, a long and happy marriage to my wonderful husband. 

NP: Any other notable changes or surprises in your life?

Adelaide: Well, I was certainly surprised to return home the other day and find a raggedy orphan boy hiding beneath my bushes. He had run away from one of the orphanages Mother and I had visited that day. I am trying to figure out how I can help the poor child. He refuses to return to the orphanage, insisting that he isn’t an orphan.

Lynn Austin has sold nearly two and a half million copies of her books worldwide. A former teacher who now writes and speaks full-time, she has won eight Christy Awards for her historical fiction and was one of the first inductees into the Christy Award Hall of Fame. One of her novels, Hidden Places, was made into a Hallmark Channel Original Movie. Lynn and her husband have three grown children and make their home in western Michigan. Visit her online at lynnaustin.org.


Meet Raymond from Matthew Donald’s Teslamancer

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Welcome to Novel PASTimes, Raymond Calvert! We appreciate your interest.

Thanks, happy to be here! I must admit, the technology present here astounds me. When I was a kid in the early 1900s I never imagined such incredible devices as I’ve seen these last few years. I was introduced to the Teslanauts in 1922, and from there I learned of the world of volt-tech, the secret advanced technology first created by the great inventor and my boss Nikola Tesla. Now I’m getting interviewed by a, what is it called, a website? A page much like that in a magazine or newsreel but on screens rather than paper and accessible to everyone in the world? That’s the bee’s knees, I gotta say.

Where do you live? Where did you grow up?

I was born in Brooklyn, New York in October 1904, and other than my globe-trotting escapades as a Teslanaut I’ve rarely left my home city. New York is a great place, anyone ever tell you that? It’s got towering skyscrapers, dazzling shows on Broadway, and is the home to many famous and important figures. Mr. Tesla moved here at the end of the nineteenth century after immigrating from Serbia, and boy, he picked a ritzy place. So much has happened here. When I was seven years old I saw the Carpathia dock in the harbor with all the surviving passengers of the Titanic, and that’s one of many experiences I’ll never forget. 

Who were your parents?

The wonderful Francis and Martha Calvert. My mother Martha is a seamstress and took care of me financially over the last couple of years, as my father Francis has been… well, it’s a long story. All I knew for the first seventeen years of my life is that he worked for a secret government agency and couldn’t tell us what exactly he did, but from what little I gathered it seemed like a bunch of wild adventures just like in the books I’ve always read. One day when I was twelve during the last years of the Great War, two men from his agency came to our house and told my mother that he would not be coming back home, which, to put it mildly, I took quite hard. I spent the next five years of my life trying to figure out what had happened, and believed with all my heart that he was still alive and needed to be rescued. After hounding City Hall with classified papers I found in his office, I was finally told the truth, or at least part of it: my father was a Teslanaut, and he intended me to become one too when I came of age. I then got recruited and, well, here I am. As for what really happened to my father, I didn’t find that out until later, but that’s a story for another time, and the answer probably isn’t what you expect.

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What exactly is a Teslanaut?

An adventurer. A scientist. An engineer. An espionage agent. Basically anyone in service of this great volt-tech organization. Volt-tech is the most incredible stuff I’ve ever seen. Through hidden towers all over the world emitting rippling power waves, our specialized wireless gadgets, vehicles, suits, and what have you can do things beyond what I had ever thought possible before. You like cars? How about house-sized walking machines? You like running fast? How about a suit that turns you into a bolt of lightning so you can zoom about at over a thousand miles an hour? You have a pet dog? How about a loyal hovering automaton that likes the buzz of electric shocks? It was Nikola Tesla who first invented volt-tech, and other scientists followed his wake, until eventually many governments around the world formed their own volt-tech factions all answering to an overarching organization called the Electrocracy. Almost every developed country on Earth has their own volt-tech faction; the Teslanauts are just the ones based in upper America. As for why you haven’t heard of us, well, it seems the common people can’t be trusted with the power of volt-tech, and many warmongers, corrupt forces, and mad scientists have tried to use it in terrible ways. As a Teslanaut, I’ve helped save the world a few times from these nasty ne’er-do-wells, and history will never know about it. To keep the public safe for the time being, all use of volt-tech is classified, and any witnesses have their memories erased by a shadowy group called the Cleanup Squad. They’re probably on their way to visit you right now since I’ve told you all this, so sorry about that.

Surely you don’t go on these adventures alone?

Well, when I first joined the Teslanauts I definitely felt alone, but I was used to it; I’m an only child and I didn’t have many friends in school. My obsession with figuring out the whereabouts of my father kind of took a toll on my social life. But once I got recruited and I finally felt like I was making progress on my longtime goal, I opened myself up a little and managed to make some friends in the volt-tech foundries. Becky helped me build a gadget whose blueprints were left behind by my father. Arthur is younger than me and already has multiple college degrees. Watson is a crazy enigma in human form. And Helen… oh, Helen. I’d like to think I’m playing the long game with her, but I just don’t know how she feels about me. I like her a lot though, and I know she likes me too, but in what way? A friend? Something more? Sorry, I got distracted there.

What is your primary goal as a Teslanaut?

Find my father, to the point that it drowned out everything else in my first few weeks as a Teslanaut agent. Another friend of mine in the agency asked me a question that I pondered for a long, long time: “What do you want to do?” And to be honest… I’m still trying to figure that out. I’m here because of my father. He gave me this job. But what do I do with it myself? Do I live in my father’s shadow forever, or find my own path? Maybe I should consult someone about this.

You said you have some friends in the agency, but do you have any enemies or rivals?

Obviously when I fight bad guys who are threatening to restart the Great War to line their pockets or who build massive volt-tech superweapons, those folks tend to be my enemies. Some of them my father might have been involved with in particular, and boy, that took a bit for me to come to terms with, although there’s more to that story that you’ll probably learn at some point. In the Teslanauts though, there’s this fellow agent named Lei Ji who, while not an enemy, does kind of treat me with disdain due to him thinking I didn’t earn my place here and was just given it by my father. The worst part of that is, it’s kind of true, but that’s why I push myself to get better.

When do your adventures take place, and do you think there could be more on the way?

My adventures with the Teslanauts started in the great year of 1922, a few months before my eighteenth birthday, and have continued for the two and a half years since. I’ve had many smaller missions in between, but the two big ones were when I first started and in the current year of 1924. As for if there will be more, I can only assume. I’m not retiring anytime soon. I imagine I’ll be here for decades to come. I wonder if anything big or world-shattering will happen in the decades after these roaring twenties…

Thanks for allowing us to get to know you a little better!

Thanks, happy to answer the questions for this… what is it called again? A website? Golly, technology truly is out of this world where you come from. I hope to see some of it someday, but the volt-tech I encounter daily is pretty fun, too.

Matthew Donald has been an obnoxious snarker and dinosaur fanatic for all his life. After first winning a writing contest at age six, he made it his lifelong goal to write a bunch of books and release them upon the world. He graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in 2014 with a B.A. in English and Creative Writing, and is currently working on four sequels to Teslanauts among some other projects. He lives in Highlands Ranch, Colorado with his cockatiel, Lyra. Learn more at www.matthewdonaldcreator.com.

A Chat with Ellie Lou from Jodie Wolfe’s Convincing Lou

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment

How hard can it be to round up one delinquent groom?

Ellie Lou Williams will do just about anything to save her ranch, even going undercover as a man to round up a fella who is late to his own wedding. The reward will more than cover the money she owes the bank and solve all her problems.

Caleb Dawson agrees to one final job as a deputy US Marshal before he starts his new life away from the trail and tracking criminals. What he isn’t counting on is a mysterious bounty hunter who’s determined to undermine his every step.

Will one reach their goal first? Or will they learn to lean on God and work together?

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hello, I’m Ellie Lou Williams and I live a few miles outside of Burrton Springs, Kansas on a horse ranch. The author, Jodie Wolfe, wrote about me in Convincing Lou.

You might be wondering about the Lou part of the title. Let me tell you a little bit about my background first before we get to that. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing a few of the women in Burrton Springs – Jules (Julia) Walker, Annie McPherson, and Gertrude Miller. These women in one way or another have helped me get through the loss of my dear husband.

How have you handled things without your husband?

Times have been difficult, so I had to take out a lien on the ranch. Unfortunately, I lost the contract my husband had with the military to supply horses for them, so I’m in desperate need to pay off my loan from the bank before the end of the year, or else I’ll lose everything.

What ideas do you have to save your home?

When an opportunity comes up to track a delinquent bridegroom, I snap at the chance to earn easy money. I know it’s not safe to be a woman alone on the trail, so I go in disguise as a man and shorten my name to Lou. 

Do you have any family?

No, it’s just me alone in the world now.

What goals do you have?

To save my husband’s legacy. The ranch was given to him by his grandfather, and I’ll do whatever it takes to hang onto it.

Is there any significant event that happens in your tale?

I’m not sure if I should say it or not, but there might be a blizzard or two.

What spiritual struggles are you going through?

I’ve always been an encouragement to my friends, but I find my faith flailing as I go through some of the most difficult storms I’ve ever experienced in my life. I believe Scripture to be true and know the Lord hears me, but it’s sometimes hard to trust Him when you don’t get any answers in return.

What would your friends say are your best characteristics?

Well, I think they would’ve said something about my strong faith in the Lord, but right now I’m struggling. I haven’t been as open with them because they have their own things they’re dealing with.

What is one of your regrets?

That I took out a loan in the first place. I should’ve come up with some other way to deal with my financial concerns. I tried selling off stock, but that only helped for so long.

What do you want people to know about you?

I’m faithful to my friends. I try to help them however I can. I’m also a prayer warrior, well, at least I have been in the past. Sometimes lately I feel like my prayers aren’t getting very far. Have you ever felt like that?

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

I hope you’ll enjoy reading my tale in Convincing Lou. Here’s a little bit about it:

How hard can it be to round up one delinquent groom?

Ellie Lou Williams will do just about anything to save her ranch, even going undercover as a man to round up a fella who is late to his own wedding. The reward will more than cover the money she owes the bank and solve all her problems.

Caleb Martin agrees to one final job as a deputy US Marshal before he starts his new life away from the trail and tracking criminals. What he isn’t counting on is a mysterious bounty hunter who’s determined to undermine his every step.

Will one reach their goal first? Or will they learn to lean on God and work together?

Jodie Wolfe creates novels where hope and quirky meet. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), and Faith, Hope, & Love Christian Writers (FHLCW). She’s been a semi-finalist and finalist in various writing contests. A former columnist for Home School Enrichment magazine, her articles can be found online at: Crosswalk, Christian Devotions, and Heirloom Audio. When not writing she enjoys spending time with her husband in Pennsylvania, reading, knitting, and walking. Learn more at www.jodiewolfe.com.

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Book Review: Maria by Michelle Moran

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment
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Maria von Trapp, a novel? Yes, please! Add to that it’s written by a highly skilled novelist and this is a must-read this summer.

I was excited to receive an advanced copy of this novel from the publisher. This is my unbiased opinion.

I admit, I knew very little about the real people in this story before reading Maria. Now I feel like I have the bigger picture. I love when a novel teaches me something. (You’ve heard me say that before if you’ve read my other reviews, but it’s still true!) What I did know, or thought I knew, came totally from the movie-or was it from watching high school musicals over the years? I’m not sure.

The story takes us to the real Maria, and her discontent with the play that has gone into rehearsals. The author created a character that is assistant to Oscar Hammerstein. The assistant, Fran meets with Maria and hears her concerns while knowing there isn’t much that can be changed at this point. I appreciated knowing about Maria’s pious nature, her sternness, her disapproval with how the family is portrayed (her husband as the strict disciplinarian that in fact Maria was, the oldest child as a girl when he was actually boy … and more) While we know deep down that stories inspired by someone’s life are not usually 100% factual, it’s still good to know what was real and what was Hollywood, or in this time setting, Broadway.

I love how we get to go back in time with Maria and experience her struggle to leave the nuns. Her backstory makes the elder Maria much more relatable. How her decision to marry The Captain came about. How he felt about her. How the children felt about her. The actual songs they sang together. If you knew someone about the von Trapps, this might not surprise you. It did me. The Sound of Music is so fun and entertaining that it’s easy to forget the story is loosely based on real people, so I for one appreciated learning all the backstory.

An important character both in this novel and in real life was Hammerstein. I enjoyed getting to know him and his genius. The last song written was an important factor in resolving Maria’s issues with the play and perhaps, as Moran has suggested, with her children.. You’ll have to read the book to find out which one. I mean, what fantastic musical scores were created!

The only down note, in my opinion, was the unexplored, brief relationship between the two fictional characters, Fran and Peter. I would have liked to have seen more of. a parallel drawn between Fran in the later timeline and Maria in the 1930s I thought that was going to happen seeing as Fran was in an unhappy relationship with a man named Jack and Maria’s early life was also unhappy. But there might not have been enough similarities for that. The ending seemed to be missing something. Maybe it was that. However, this novel was fun to read, educational, and entertaining. If you love The Sound of Music you must read this!

Reviewed by Cindy Thomson

A Chat with Joanna Vaughn Richter from Into the Starlight by Amanda Cabot

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to Novel PASTimes! We are pleased you stopped by today.

Into the Starlight by Amanda Cabot (Secrets of Sweetwater Crossing 3)

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July 16, 2024; ISBN 9780800740665; Ebook ISBN 9781493445493

Her career as a concert pianist at an end, Joanna Vaughn comes home to Sweetwater Crossing, widowed and unsure what the future holds. The arrival of a pair of newcomers stirs up a decades-old mystery, a shocking revelation—and the chance for Joanna to find true love.

Thanks so much for inviting me. I’m delighted to be here.

Tell us something about where you live.

For almost all of my life, I’ve lived in Finley House, the largest—and some would say the most pretentious—house in a small town in the Texas Hill Country named Sweetwater Crossing. I enjoyed living there and knew it would always be home, but about a year and a half ago I was given the opportunity to go to Europe. It should have been a dream come true, but it turned out … Let’s just say it didn’t turn out the way I’d expected.

Is there anything special about your name? Why do you think you were given that name?

If you’d asked my father, he’d have said there was something special about my name. My mother wouldn’t have agreed. All the while they were expecting me, Mama insisted that if the baby was a girl, she should be named Josephine, since my father’s name was Joseph. But when she died giving birth to me, Father wanted to be certain I’d never forget that my mother’s name was Anna, and so he called me Joanna.

Do you have an occupation? What do you like or dislike about your work?

I am—or, rather, I had hoped to be—a concert pianist. That’s why I was in Europe. I was studying with maestros, perfecting my skill. I loved everything about playing the piano, and the idea that my music could touch people’s hearts filled me with joy. But then everything changed.

Who are the special people in your life?

Without a doubt, the most special people in my life have always been my sisters. Even though no two of us have the same two parents, we’ve been as close as any three girls could be. Oh, there were times when I resented Emily’s bossiness—she’s the oldest—and when I thought Louisa was being spoiled because she’s the youngest, but most of the time they were my closest friends.

What is your heart’s deepest desire?

To make a difference in the world. I believe that each of us is put on Earth to make it better in some way. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a big way or a small one; what matters is that we change things for the better. I had thought I’d do that as a pianist, but now … Now I don’t know what I can do.

What do you expect the future will hold for you?

Oh, how I wish I knew! At first I thought the future would be concert tours, but that ended. Then I thought I’d have a happily-ever-after with my husband, but he was taken from me far too soon. Now the future is cloudy.

What have you learned about yourself in the course of your story?

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s never to give up hope. My future may not be the one I planned or even the one I thought would be best for me, but I’m certain that if I wait and trust and never give up hope, God will lead me to the future he knows is the right one for me. 

Thanks for allowing us to get know you a little better!

Amanda Cabot is the bestselling author of After the Shadows and
Against the Wind, as well as several historical and contemporary
romance series, including Mesquite Springs, Cimarron Creek
Trilogy, Texas Crossroads, Texas Dreams, and Westward Winds.
Her books have been finalists for the ACFW Carol Awards, the
HOLT Medallion, and the Booksellers’ Best. She lives in Wyoming.
Learn more at AmandaCabot.com.

Meet Nelly from Tim Piper’s The Yellowstone Campaign

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment
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Welcome to Novel PASTimes! We are pleased you stopped by today.

Tell us something about where you live: 

Thank you for inviting me. I was born on a farm near Bloomington, Illinois, but we moved to town when Papa took a job at the carriage shop. I hated to move away from my best friend, Jubilee Walker, who lived on a neighboring farm, but we continued to go to school together and maintain our friendship. I grew up in a house my father built, and completed my basic education at public school. After high school, I was planning to live at home and attend Illinois State Normal University to gain training as a teacher. But events transpired that caused me to change my plans. I made a difficult decision to leave home, and the comfort of my friends and family, to move to Poughkeepsie, New York, where I currently reside as I continue my education.

Is there anything special about your name? Why do you think you were given that name? 

My Christian name is Cornelia—Cornelia Mae Boswell. I was named in honor of my mother’s mother, who died before I was born. Thankfully, my parents didn’t care much more for the name than I do, and they’ve always called me Nelly.

Do you have an occupation? What do you like or dislike about your work?  

I am a student at Vassar College, studying for a career in the literary arts. I love the intellectual challenge of my studies and the feeling of accomplishment I gain from meeting those challenges. I’ve gained a much broader and clearer understanding of issues in our society, and I’ve made the acquaintance of inspiring people. But being so far away from the people I love is difficult. At times, the freedom of being away from my family and Jubil is a guilty pleasure, but at other times, I desperately miss their love and the ease and comfort of being with them.

Who are the special people in your life? 

My family foremost, but Jubilee Walker also feels like family. He and I were best friends throughout our childhood, then as we grew older, our friendship deepened. Now that we are adults, our relationship has gotten complicated, but we care very much for each other. Lily Warner, the wife of Jubil’s business partner, is a mentor to me and an important influence. And her sister, Professor Maria Mitchell, is my chaperone and benefactor while I am at college. She introduced me to her friend, Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who has also become a friend and mentor, as well as my inspiration in the struggle for women’s social equity.

What’s your family like? Do you have brothers and sisters? 

I have twin brothers who are two years younger than me. They are annoying! They are identical twins, but easy to tell apart—Ike has good sense, and Eli does not—but they are an inseparable team. The boys are loud, overly energetic, clever to a fault, and determined not to let their elder sister rule the roost. My father can be opinionated and overbearing, but my mother reminds me that I take after him. She deserves a sainthood for her efforts as a peacekeeper and shepherd to such a rowdy flock. I love them all dearly.

What is your heart’s deepest desire?   

To be in control of my own destiny and circumstances. To live a life filled with accomplishment and exciting experiences. Hopefully, to find someone to share love and life with.

What are you most afraid of? 

That I will be forced to live in a way that goes against my nature. That I’ll live a dull life and accomplish little, and that my convictions will drive love away. I also harbor a deep concern that I will lose Jubil to some fatal event while he is on one of his adventures, but I accept that he must live his life as he chooses.

Are you harboring a grudge against anyone, and why or why not?

You could say I harbor a grudge against males in general—at least those who feel that women should remain subordinate to men and live without the same social rights and status that they enjoy. For example, I find it difficult not to resent my father for his efforts to control my life. He insists that I live according to his wishes, regardless of my own interests and my own will. His viewpoints are widely shared today, but times are changing, and people should change with them. I was also upset for a time with Jubil for upending our marriage plans, but that turned out to be a blessing in disguise for me, so I am no longer holding that grudge.

Do you have a cherished possession? 

Ever since childhood, I have maintained a journal of my experiences, thoughts, and feelings. My brothers got into my writings once, but my parent put a firm end to that before it became a habit. I also have a beautiful pair of beaded moccasins given to me by Jubil. He brought them back following one of his Colorado expeditions with Major John Wesley Powell. I wear them almost every evening, and they remind me of him and of home.

What dreams do you have for your future?  

I want a career, to be able to support myself financially and to live wherever I choose. I’d like to be recognized for my talents, though I am not entirely sure yet what those are. I would like to be a writer, but I am not sure yet whether I would be a better journalist or novelist. I am quite willing to accept a position with a publishing business until I find my literary wings. I also have romantic dreams, but I feel those will have to be fulfilled after my career ambitions have been realized.

Is there anything you’re afraid people might find out about you? 

Not really. I have no deep dark secrets. I suppose I do have a phobia about people discovering my first name, and deciding to use it publicly.

What have you learned about yourself in the course of your story?  

That I am willing to stand up for myself and do what I must to be an independent woman in the world and to fight for the same rights and opportunities as any male.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you? 

Despite my very feminine appearance and demeanor, I am quite capable on horseback, and not at all squeamish about the outdoors.

Thanks for allowing us to get know you a little better!

Tim Piper is retired from a long career in Information Technology and has been a lifelonghobbyist musician. In his earlier days he was an avid hiker and backcountry camper, but his adventures these days are less strenuous and more comfortable. He began his education at Illinois State University as an English major, but life circumstances put him on a more pragmatic path, and he graduated with a BS in Business Admin, a degree he finds appropriately named. He lives in Bloomington, Illinois. You can stay in touch with him at www.timpiper-author.com or follow him on Facebook.

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