Character interview Tim Beatrice Carraway from the novel The Girl From the Papers by Jennifer L. Wright

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment

Inspired by one of America’s most notorious couples, Bonnie and Clyde, Jennifer L. Wright delivers a riveting tale set during the public enemy era of the Great Depression. 

Welcome to NovelPASTimes! Today we’re joined by Miss Beatrice Carraway. Welcome, Beatrice!

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Beatrice: Thank you for having me.

Why don’t you go ahead and tell our readers a little bit about yourself?

Beatrice: Well, my name is Beatrice Carraway, but I guess you’ve already told them that. I’m nineteen years old, and I live in Dallas, Texas, with my mother and my little sister, Eleanor. 

Dallas! That sounds exciting!

Beatrice: Well . . . West Dallas. 

Oh.

Beatrice: But I work across the river in Dallas proper! It’s my grandparents’ house, you see, over there in West Dallas, and my mom, sister, and I are just living there until we can save up some money. We don’t plan on actually staying in that dirty, mosquito-infested, smoke-covered pit. I mean, I trust you’ve heard what they call it?

No, actually.

Beatrice: The Devil’s Back Porch.

Oh my.

Beatrice: Exactly. Nothing but petty thieves, drunks, and factory workers. No thank you. But it won’t be long before I’m across that Trinity River for good, like I’m supposed to be. I’ll have the fancy house, fancy car, fancy clothes. All of it. I mean, having you seen some of the dresses they sell downtown? Silk with dropped waists and creeping hemlines? Goodness. I’d just die to have some of those frocks in my closet.

Well, you look very lovely as it is, Beatrice.

Beatrice: Thank you. I do my best with what I have. This one I’m wearing today I altered from an old dress that had grown thin in the collar. See how I cut the neckline into a V shape and added some fringe? And I added this patch of white cotton to the left shoulder, which I also fringed, to make it a bit more with the times. I based it on a dress I saw in a window display downtown.

You seem to know a lot about fashion.

Beatrice: Well, I have to. It’s part of the job.

The job?

Beatrice: I’m an actress. And we actresses have to stay on top of the latest trends. I mean, what would our fans think if they saw us out in a prairie dress or hobble skirt? Would you want to watch a woman dressed like that up on the stage?

I—

Beatrice: You wouldn’t. Trust me. I may have been born with a face fit for the silver screen, but the clothes are what really make a dame stand out above all the rest.

Is that so? Well, that’s very interesting, Beatrice. I’ve never met an actress. What shows have you been in? Anything I might have seen?

Beatrice: Umm . . . well . . . nothing in Dallas. Yet. I’m fairly new to the city, and I’m still waiting for the directors here to finally figure out what a talent has landed on their doorstop. I mean, I was Little Miss Firecracker, 1916. I performed a rendition of “Alabama Jubilee” that had the judges two-steppin’ faster than a three-legged cat on a Texas sidewalk at noontime in July.

Interesting metaphor.

Beatrice: Thank you.

Well, so, what are you doing in the meantime? As you wait for the actress thing to pan out?

Beatrice: Right now I’m waiting tables at Hargrave’s. It’s right downtown, and the tips are pretty good, especially being so close to the medical school. Lot of lonely college boys looking for a good time, if you know what I mean.

I’m not sure I do. By “tips” you do mean just extra change for good service and a quick meal, don’t you?

Beatrice. Yes . . . *winks* and no.

*Coughs*

Beatrice: Oh, stop. It’s not like that. They just like to take us waitresses out for drinks and dancing sometimes. It’s nice to have a night out on the town. I certainly wouldn’t be able to afford it on my paycheck. 

So I’m guessing you have your fair share of beaus, then?

Beatrice: *shrugs* I’ve been on a lot of dates, but none of them have been keepers. I’m still looking. But I’ll tell you one thing.

What’s that?

Beatrice: When I do find the right man, it’s going to be forever. Just me and him until the very end, whenever and however that may be. 

Well, thank you for your time, Beatrice. I look forward to seeing your name up in lights—or in print—very soon.

Beatrice: Oh, you will. I guarantee it. 

About the Author

Photo by Pure Simple Photography, 2021

Jennifer L. Wright has been writing since middle school, eventually earning a master’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. However, it took only a few short months of covering the local news for her to realize that writing fiction is much better for the soul and definitely way more fun. A born and bred Hoosier, she was plucked from the Heartland after being swept off her feet by an Air Force pilot and has spent the past decade traveling the world and, every few years, attempting to make old curtains fit in the windows of a new home. She currently resides in New Mexico with her husband, two children, one grumpy old dachshund, and her newest obsession—a guinea pig named Peanut Butter Cup.

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Meet Eleanor from Tracie Peterson’s Finding Us

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment

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

Tell us a little about yourself:

My name is Eleanor Bennett and I’m twenty-one years old.  It’s 1909 and I’ve done a very daring thing. I left my family home in Kansas to come to Seattle for the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. It’s a world fair where millions of people are planning to attend. It’s so exciting and I decided to stick around for a while.

You came to see the exposition and stayed on.  What are you doing for a living?

I hired on with Fisher Photography. They put together a group of young ladies called Camera Girls and we’re going around the expo taking pictures of families and individuals to advertise the new Brownie Camera from Kodak.  We take a person or family photograph, and they can buy it for just ten cents. This gives them a nice souvenir of the expo, as well as a beautiful picture of themselves or their family. And if they decide to buy a camera and mention my name, I get a commission.

Where are you living while in Seattle?

I live with a young woman named Rosemary Connors.  She advertised for a roommate in the newspaper and I answered the call.  She says I’m very spirited which sometimes exhausts her, but that’s just my nature. I’m red-headed and I think red-headed people are more enthusiastic about life. Most people say I’m vivacious. I’m afraid Rosemary doesn’t always agree with the way I manage things.

What has been your favorite part of your work?

Meeting the people has been amazing, but…well you see I am passionate about botany. I really want to study it and so when I realized that the expo was actually taking place on the University of Washington’s campus, I thought I would check into classes they were offering on botany and explore the grounds. Seattle looks nothing like Salina, Kansas, let me tell you.  I was hoping to save up money and take a class or two at the college, but God allowed something much more wonderful to happen. I met Bill.

Who is Bill?

Bill is William Reed and he just so happens to be a botanist.  I was photographing some plants the day we met and Bill saved me.  I won’t go into how, but he was wonderful, and he promised to teach me about botany.  I’m so excited about learning, and about Bill.  I’m also going to help him get his manuscript re-typed and sent in to his publisher.  It’s a wonderful way to learn all about botany since the book is about plants in Alaska.

What was your life like before the exposition?

I lived in Kansas, as I mentioned.  My father has a photography studio so I was naturally drawn to being a Camera Girl. I know how to develop photographs and even work on cameras. My mother and father weren’t too excited when I decided to come to the exposition. They were even more upset when I told them I wanted to stick around for a while. Now, however, I think they understand.  They know I have good discernment and a strong faith in God.  I seek to know His will in everything I do, and it just feels right that I’m here now.

 What has been the best part of the exposition?

Besides being a Camera Girl and making so many great friends, oh and of course, meeting Bill, I have found myself in the middle of quite an intrigue.  I can’t say too much, or I’ll give the story away, but I love a good mystery and have found myself quite excited by the entire matter.

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

I can’t really think of anything more.  I mean, I don’t want to spoil the story for the readers, and this is quite the adventure.  I’ve already mentioned Bill, and you might as well know that we both believe in love at first sight, but a whole lot of other people and circumstances seem determined to keep us apart. It gets to be a real mess at one point, but God teaches me a lot about trusting Him. I’m so glad He’s patient with me.

We will look forward to reading more about you, Eleanor Bennett in FINDING US by Tracie Peterson.Thanks for allowing us to get know you a little better!

Often called the “Queen of Historical Christian fiction”, Tracie Peterson is an ECPA, CBA and USA Today best-selling author of over 130 books, most of those historical novels.  Her work in historical fiction earned her the Life Time Achievement Award from American Christian Fiction Writers in 2011 and the Career Achievement Award in 2007 from Romantic Times, as well as multiple best book awards.  Throughout her career, Tracie has also worked as a managing editor of Heartsong Presents, Barbour Publishing, speaker of various events and teacher of writing workshops. She was a co-founding member of the American Christian Fiction Writer’s organization and has worked throughout her career to encourage new authors.  Tracie, a Kansas native, now makes her home in the mountains of Montana with her husband of over 40 years.

Meet Hepsy from Letters from My Sister by Valerie Fraser Luesse

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Sisters Emmy and Callie have no secrets between them until a mysterious accident robs one of a crucial memory and sparks troubling visions. Only through letters they exchange while painfully separated do the sisters reveal hidden truths leading back to a fateful springtime day—and a chilling September night—that changed them both forever.

August 15, 2023; ISBN 9780800741600; Ebook ISBN 9781493439744; $16.99; Paper. Affiliate link used will not cost you more but supports the blog.

Welcome to Novel PASTimes! Let’s start with the basics. Tell us your name.

I ’preciate you havin’ me. My name’s Hepzibah Jordan. Ever’body calls me Hepsy. I was named for a queen in the Bible, but Mama spelled it her own way—same as the Baptist church where we go. Might seem strange or a colored woman in Alabama to have a queen’s name, but Mama says that’s the name I was meant for. 

And who is your mother?

Tirzah Randolph. Mama came to Alabama as a slave. Got pulled away from her people in South Carolina when she wasn’t but fifteen. Didn’t get freed till after the war. When she got down here, all by herself, she asked God to send her a balm to sooth her soul and heal the hurt in her heart. He gave her a home and a family, and she promised to go where he led from then on. He gave her the gifts o’ sight and healing and led her to the birthin’ bed, where she saved many a woman and her babies, most ’specially, Miss ’Relia Bullock. Miss ’Relia don’t trust nobody but Mama when it comes to her chil’ren. And she made it her business to look after Mama and her family. The Bullocks are good people. They saved my family from a lot o’ hardship. But then again, my Mama saved them. It’s a circle that don’t never end. Sometimes it’s hard to say who’s dependin’ on who.

Can you tell us a little bit about where you live and work?

I live in Shelby County, Alabama. My husband—he’s done passed from the cancer—he built us  a cabin on some land Mama bought from Mr. Ira Bullock, right on the Coosa River. I work at the Bullock house on one of the biggest cotton farms in the whole state. Mama ran the house till she got too old and needed a rest. That’s when her and Miss ’Relia made a promise to each other. Mama promised she’d train me to take over the house if Miss ’Relia would teach me to read and write and cipher. They both kept their word. Miss ’Relia hires me help when I need it, and I keep the house runnin’ smooth and meals on the table. Her chil’ren treat me like fam’ly—much as I let ’em. Sometimes they got to be reminded o’ the lines white folks drew a long time ago.

What are the Bullock children like?

Good gracious, they’re all so different. Mr. James is the oldest—probably in his early thirties by now—done married and out o’ the house but works the farm with his daddy and his brothers. Mr. James is a fine farmer. He’s real quiet and polite. Next is M’George—I can’t say his name without smiling. That one just warmed my heart from the time he was a little bitty boy. Made me so sad to see Miss Lucinda break his heart. I just have to believe something’s gonna bring ’em back together one day. Mr. Sam is a wild one—fifteen years old and can’t wait to get off the farm and go sail a ship or something. Mr. Theo is the baby—just five years old. And amongst all them boys are Miss Emmy, who’s twenty, and Miss Callie, who’s eighteen. Mama says Miss Emmy’s got the tender heart, but Miss Callie’s got the questionin’ heart. She wants to understand the world and find her place in it. And she don’t take anything for granted. Just because white people say “this is how it is,” that don’t mean Miss Callie’s gonna go along. That’s prob’ly why she’s so close to my heart. 

We hear Callie just met somebody new?

That’s right. Mr. Solomon Beckett moved down here from Missouri and bought the old Cruz place. None of the boys around here’s up to Miss Callie. She’s too smart for ever’ last one of ’em. They ain’t man enough for her. But Mr. Solomon? I expect I’ll do what has to be done to move that along.

What do you hope readers can learn from your story?

That all people—not just the white ones—are God’s chil’ren. I’m not just a housekeeper. I’m not just a cook. I’m a person. Got my own joys and sorrows that don’t have a thing in the world to do with the people I work for. Got fam’ly I love. I might work for you, might even care an awful lot about you, but I’m not yours. I belong to Almighty—flesh and blood, heart and soul.

Valerie Fraser Luesse is the author of five novels set in the South: Christy Award winner Missing Isaac (2018), Almost Home (2019), The Key to Everything (2020), Under the Bayou Moon (August 2021), and Letters from My Sister (coming in 2023), all published by Revell Books. An award-winning magazine writer, Luesse is perhaps best known for her feature stories and essays in Southern Living, where she wrote major pieces on the Mississippi Delta, Acadian Louisiana, and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Her editorial section on the recovering Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, photographed by Mark Sandlin, won the 2009 Travel Writer of the Year award from the Southeast Tourism Society.  Luesse earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from Auburn University and Baylor University, respectively. She is a native of Harpersville, Alabama, and lives in Birmingham, where she creates Southern fiction from a tiny writing studio she calls the Story Shack. 

Book Review: The All-American by Susie Finkbeiner

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment

368 pages, Paperback
Published
July 11, 2023 by Revell
ISBN
9780800739362

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I really enjoyed this story. Baseball, books, a writer, a lesson from history, what’s not to like? The story is told from the perspective of two young sisters. The way they each view situations (due to their different ages and interests) makes this a little different than most novels and certainly special and fun. I think young girls would enjoy reading this. The story of a family uprooted due to being falsely accused of belonging to the Communist Party offers the look at history I’m always interested in. And really, have we learned anything? I hope so.

Being a baseball fan, I was looking for more in the story, but it’s there, especially at the end and it’s obvious the writer knows the game. It’s always painfully obvious when a writer doesn’t.You don’t have to be a baseball fan to enjoy this novel, however. The emotional twist at the end makes this a book well-worth reading. You’ll enjoy it.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Cindy Thomson

www.cindyswriting.com

Meet Flossie from Susie Finkbeiner’s The All-American

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment

Hello. I’m Susie Finkbeiner (I’ll be SF throughout the interview). I’m the author of All Manner of Things, Stories That Bind Us, and The Nature of Small Birds. My ninth novel The All-American releases July 11.  This novel is set in the early 1950s Michigan. 

Pre-order by clicking on the book cover.

Today I’m happy to interview one of the characters from that book, eleven year old Florence Mabel Harding (who will be FH throughout).

FH: Actually, you may call me Flossie.

SF: All right. And, I guess you can call me Susie.

FH: Oh, I don’t think I can. My mother would never allow me to call an adult by her first name. She’d give me a severe look and I wouldn’t want that. Would you?

SF: I would not. 

FH: So I’ll just call you Mrs. Finkb…Finkbeener? Finkenbinder? What a name. Is it German or something?

SF: Yes, it is.

FH: That’s unfortunate.

SF: Well, moving on. Tell me what it’s like to be one of the main characters in a novel.

FH: It’s peachy, I guess. Of course it would be better if I didn’t have to share the spotlight with my big sister Bertha. Who cares about Bertha’s part of the story? All she does is play baseball. What’s so interesting about that? 

SF: A lot, actually. It wasn’t all that common for girls to play sports, let alone professional baseball in 1952.

FH: Well then why didn’t you just write her part this way, “Bertha went off to play baseball. The end.”? Do you really think people want to hear more about it than that?

SF: Flossie.

FH: Yes?

SF: Did you even read the book?

FH: Of course I did!

SF: Did you skim over Bertha’s chapters to get to your own?

FH: I’d rather not answer that question.

SF: Why not?

FH: Because my mother told me that I should mind my manners and it wouldn’t be mannerly to tell you that those parts were boring.

SF: Okay. Moving on. You are quite the reader, aren’t you? What would you say is your favorite book?

FH: Oh, oh. This is an easy question to answer. Anne of Green Gables. No. Little Women. Oh. Maybe I should say The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Oh, I really can’t choose. This is an impossible question to answer. 

SF: Would you like to know what one of my favorite books is?

FH: I suppose so.

SF: I really like The Grapes of Wrath.

FH: By Mr. Steinbeck? Oh, Mrs. Finkbender, this is disappointing. 

SF: Why’s that?

FH: Because Mr. Steinbeck isn’t a very good writer. He wouldn’t know a happy ending if it came up behind him and knocked him on his keister.

SF: How did you get to be such an opinionated girl?

FH: Well, I don’t know. Weren’t you the one who wrote me?

SF: Honestly, Flo, I never had control over you. Not even once. Moving on. If there’s one thing you would like people to know about you, what is it?

FH: I would like people to know that I’m not just some ordinary little girl. Sure, I’m always the smallest in my class. But that’s not all there is to me. Once I was eavesdropping on my dad and heard him tell someone, “though she be but little, she is fierce”. That’s from a Shakespeare play. My dad was always quoting Mr. Shakespeare. When I asked my dad about it later, he told me that he suspected that Mr. Shakespeare was thinking of a girl just like me when he wrote that. I am small, but I am a force to be reckoned with. 

SF: I have to agree, Flossie. You are one incredible character and I’m so glad I could write you into my book. 

FH: Of course you are. I’m an absolute delight.

SF: You are, my girl. You truly are. And I hope that readers will love to read you as much as I loved to write you. 

Susie Finkbeiner is the CBA bestselling author of All Manner of Things, which was selected as a 2020 Michigan Notable Book, as well as Stories That Bind Us, The Nature of Small Birds The All-American is her ninth novel. Susie and her husband have three children and live in West Michigan. Learn more at www.susiefinkbeiner.com.

Meet Minerva Jane Jenkins from This is Where It Ends by Cindy K. Sproles

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Widow Minerva Jenkins has lived alone in her small mountain home for 40 years where she has guarded her husband’s deathbed request. When a young reporter comes calling and inquires about a rumored box of gold on her property, an unlikely friendship forms. Will she go to her grave with her husband’s secret, or will the weight of it be the death of her?

My name is Minerva Jane Jenkins, and I reckon I’ve always been a force to be reckoned with. As we meet, in the spring of 1902, I have reached the ripe age of 94, and well, my days are numbered. I’ve lived on this mountain for the better part of my life. I can’t tell you why the good Lord opted to number my days to this length, and I sometimes spar that decision with Him. Still, the Lord knows what is best for us, and He’s seen fit to give me 94 years – even though they have been lonesome years, I’ve made do, and I’m happy.

About my family

Lordy, mercy, my family is long gone. Another reason I questioned the good Lord’s reasonin’ for leaving me here so long. I married Stately Jenkins when I was fifteen, and he was seventeen. He’d come from the war with a bummed-up leg and a sour attitude toward the north. But then, he was a true and faithful Confederate soldier. I lived in Lexington at the time, the daughter of a railroad laborer, so when I finished tenth grade, and they was no more school available, the timin’ was right for Stately to come into my life. We married, and he up and moved us to Shoal Mountain, six miles from the tiny town of Barbourville, Kentucky. I never saw my momma and daddy again, but that’s what happens when you marry and move away. I heard by way of a letter when daddy died and then by chance when momma passed. Lordy, I miss them to this day. Still, Stately built us a life on the side of a mountain overlooking the river, and though it was a beautiful place, I was never able to share it with children. I loved my husband, and I thought he loved me. After all, he married me and brought me to this mountain, not some floozy from Lexington.

What advice do you have to share about your 94 years?

Lawsy mercy, I suppose that would be the one thing that still nags me. The one question I’ve asked myself for years. How long does a body keep a promise, even if it’s detrimental? My momma told me once, don’t never make a promise you can’t keep. A promise is a person’s word, and your word is your integrity. She told me, don’t get loose-lipped and trust to tell when you’ve promised not to – and here I sit at 94 years old, holdin’ on to a promise, a secret I regretted making fifty years ago. See, Stately’s heart give out, and as I sat holding his dying body in my arms, he never said he loved me. Instead, he said, “Minerva, keep the secret. Promise me.” Before I had time to think it through like my momma told me, Stately grabbed my arm and shouted in his last breath, “Promise me!” And I did. It’s been a promise that has weighed me down for the remainder of my life. How long do you keep a promise? I’ve asked myself that question for over fifty years on this lonely mountain. Best I can determine is … you keep it to the grave. My advice – don’t make a promise you can’t keep. If you’re waiting for me to give out Stately’s secret, then it might just be until the death of you cause I’ll never utter a word. 

What would you say you are most afraid of?

Can’t say I’m rightly afraid of much. I’ve stared down that ole bear that lives up the holler – managed to draw a line in the dirt for the old cuss when I aimed my rifle at his rear and filled it with buckshot. He quit crossin’ over my line after that. This old woman ain’t got much, but I got smarts. Stately taught me farmin’ so can shoot a squirrel or rabbit. I’ve fished, raised myself a good garden, and stored away taters and green beans. I’ve ground my flour, made butter, traded for my sugar and salt, and cut years’ worth of wood for my fires, but if I was honest. If I was truly honest, my fear ain’t in dying. It’s in dying alone. Wouldn’t nary a soul know I’d passed on up here on this mountain. I’ll just drop dead one day and lay to the bone where I fell ’cause they ain’t a soul up here to bury me.

Is there anyone who has made a difference in your life?

I don’t have to think long on that question, for they’ve only come along in the last year. Oddly, what brought them into my life was that blessed old promise I made – Stately’s secret. The one I was bound to hold quiet by a promise. A young reporter, Delano Rankin, come up from Lexington looking for answers to a story he’d got wind of, one that said my Stately had a stash of gold and that he’d even murdered for the stash. My lips was sealed tight about anything Stately might have said or done, but the man kept hangin’ around. He did something a soul ain’t be able to do in fifty years. Del wormed his way into my heart, and in the few months I had with him, he grew to be like the child I’d never had. It took time for me to believe his intentions was true, but once I come to know his heart, I could see the good Lord had answered the one prayer I’d prayed since Stately died. “Don’t let me die alone.” Del was there. Then there was Robert Jr. and Cherry Blessing. I can only say, Robert Jr. was the spittin’ image of his daddy Robert, Sr. who helped me bury Stately. Robert and Cherry was balm for my soul, the comfort and peace that a good man and his wife could be as an old woman lay dying. Yes, they was the peace my soul needed.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with us that has brought meaning to your life?

I’d have to steal a few words from Del about that. And that is that wealth ain’t always found in a would-be box of gold. It’s found in the relationships we build with others. It’s found deep in the hearts of them “old people” that city folks call “elderly.” There’s a lifetime of experience, insight, and wisdom. There’s a gift of the story in their lives, and the fulfillment of a life well-lived. I’d have to say, spend time with them old coggers that you might consider troublesome or wearin’ on you because when you don’t, you’re passin’ up a wealth that money can’t bring. The gold is in lives of them old folks. Seek it out. Find it. You might just be surprised how your life is changed by knowin’ them.

Cindy K. Sproles is an author, speaker, and conference teacher. Having served for several years as a managing editor for Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas and Ironstream Media. Cindy now works as a mentor, coach, and freelance editor. She co-founded Writing Right Author Mentoring Services with Lori Marett, and Cindy is the director of the Asheville Christian Writers Conference. Cindy is also the co-founder of Christian Devotions Ministries and www.christiandevotions.us, as well as www.inspireafire.com. Her devotions are in newspapers and magazines nationwide, and her novels have become award-winning best-selling works. She is a popular speaker at conferences and a natural encourager. Cindy is a mountain girl, born and raised in the Appalachian mountains, where she and her husband reside. She has raised four sons and now resorts to raising chickens where the pecking order is easier to manage. You can visit Cindy at www.cindysproles.com or www.wramsforwriters.com.

Introducing Bell Night from Bell of the Night by Allison Wells

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment

Tell us something about where you live: 

You would never guess it from the plush furnishings and the opulent décor, but I live in a prison where a few dollars will buy you more than a pound of flesh. It will purchase a piece of my torn-apart soul. 

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

Madam Knight erased the name my parents had given me and replaced it with Bluebell. We all have flower names because we’re all her precious flowers. Most of the girls call me Bell. I think she just has a rotation of names that she works through – Daisy, Rose, Lily, Poppy, Clover, Jasmine – Bluebell is just part of the rotation. It means nothing to her. Or to me.

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

I live and work in Storyville. Do I have an occupation? Sure. I’m what they call a soiled dove. What you don’t know is that a soiled dove is just a pigeon. A plain old pigeon. Do I like it? Of course not. Who would choose this life? I was sold into this slavery when I was a child, but I’ve become numb. I just count the days until I’m used up and cast out.

Who are the special people in your life?  

My best friend, Astrid. She’s also my roommate. She talks about her faith in God, and while I don’t get it, her hope gives me hope. 

What is your heart’s deepest desire?   

To get as far away from the brothel and Storyville as possible.

What are you most afraid of? 

Nothing. I’ve lost it all already.

Do you have a cherished possession? 

Only the memories of my parents before the fire. Before I was handed over to my greedy uncle who sold me for two dollars to Madam Victoria Knight. Those memories are all I have left. 

What do you expect the future will hold for you?  

I have no idea. Part of me wants to fight and run, but the other part of me is tired to the bone and weary.

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

There’s this guy who came in the other day. A religious type, spouting on and on about Jesus loving us. But he doesn’t do it to condemn us, he does it to give us – me – hope. I don’t know, I actually felt like he saw me. The real me. Not only did my heart give a little flutter, which it’s never done, but it also felt hopeful. 

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

People think we chose to do this. Live like this. This is a last resort for some who had no other way of staying alive or caring for their children. Or some like me who were sold to a hardened madam who went through this herself. We don’t choose or love this. We don’t relish in it. We don’t enjoy being leered at, let alone being abused. We want a better life. And I will fight tooth and nail to give that to these girls, even if it means I don’t get it.

Allison Wells is a wife, mother, and sweet tea addict. Allison writes in two genres – Christian Women’s FIction and Sweet Romance. She writes what she calls “gritty Christian fiction,” books that show the hard truths of life but ultimately are stories of redemption in the end. Her sweet romances are clean and fun with a dose of laughter (the best medicine). She loves to bring a word of hope to readers worldwide. Her motto is, “Life is short, eat the Oreos.” Visit her website at www.whatallisonwrote.com.

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Interview with Jack from Ann H. Gabhart’s In the Shadow of the River

~ Cindy Thomson ~ 1 Comment

In the Shadow of the River 
by Ann H. Gabhart
May 9, 2023; ISBN 9780800741723; Ebook ISBN 9781493441327; $16.99; Paper. Amazon Affiliate link used will benefit the blog but not cost you any more.

Welcome to Novel PASTimes! Today we are talking to Jacci Reed, an actress on the Kingston Floating Palace. Thank you for stopping by today, Jacci, to tell us about your life on a river showboat. That has to be amazing.

Thank you for inviting me here. I love to talk about my showboat life, but I do have to say that oftentimes people think my life is more glamorous than it really is.

Really? In what ways? It seems being on stage almost every night would be a dream come true for most actresses.

Oh, I do love putting on the shows. I fell in love with the stage when I was five years old. But doing a show every night no matter how tired or sometimes sick you might be can be taxing. Then we have to work hard in rehearsals to get the shows right. Costumes and stage props have to be made. Plus, at times the crowd can be rowdy and ready to do catcalls no matter how well we think the show is going. I’m afraid not every person who comes to our shows is a lover of the arts. So it’s not all song and dance although those are definitely the parts I love best–those songs and dances with my grandfather and with Gabe.

I guess we don’t always think about the behind the scenes work that goes into a show or how hard it is to please everyone in the audience.

Most of our crowds are wonderful and love the shows. The people run to the river to see the showboat tie up as soon as they hear the calliope playing. Have you ever heard one? Yes? Then you know that they make a unique kind of music using steam valves and pipes. Some call them a steam piano. Marelda Kingston, she and her husband, Captain Dan own the Kingston Floating Palace. Anyway, Marelda is the best on the river at playing the calliope. The music carries for miles and is wonderful advertisement for our showboat. Since we usually tie up early in the afternoon, people out in the country have time to finish their work and make their way down to the river for our evening show.

Can you tell us more about this Gabe you mentioned a moment ago? 

Oh yes. Gabe Kingston is the best friend a girl could ever have. He is Marelda and Captain Dan’s son and was actually born on a showboat. Their showboat has always been a family affair. Duke, my grandfather, has been with them so long that he seems part of their family now. In 1881, when I was five years old and came aboard to live with him due to some tragic happenings, I became part of their showboat family too. Gabe was thirteen then, but he seemed so old to me at the time. He watched over me like a big brother, but now he’s always telling me he is not my brother. But he is definitely a friend I treasure. I can’t imagine my life without him. On the showboat, he directs the plays and is master of ceremonies. He can get the crowd laughing with his jokes and that makes the show even better. People do love to laugh.

Can you tell us about those tragic happenings when you were five, or would you rather not talk about it?

So many years have passed. Fifteen. Much about what happened then lurks in the shadows of my memories. Some of it I remember too well and some I’ve never understood. I do know my mother was trying to protect me from a man who was trying to steal me from her. In the confrontation, she was wounded. She did love me so much. I do know that much. She said it was a miracle from the Lord that the steamship she was working on as a maid was tied up next to the very showboat where my grandfather was part of the cast. We were able to escape from the man and find safety on that early Kingston Floating Palace. The showboat we are on now is much larger and has been beautifully updated.   

Your showboat does look impressive. I can’t wait to go aboard for your show. But let’s go back to what happened when you were five. Do you know why someone was trying to kidnap you?

More truth that hides in the shadows. My grandfather never wanted to talk about it. He avoided answering my questions while I was growing up and continually told me I should concentrate on the present rather than worry about the past. I suppose he is right, but sometimes what you don’t know about your past can come back to haunt you in the present and bring fresh troubles.

But enough about that. Can we talk about something more pleasant?

Certainly, although there does seem to be more we need to know.

And more I need to know as well, but as my grandfather says, it’s better to think on the here and now. Besides, I can’t tell you what I don’t know. I do feel I will pull the truth out of those shadows someday. But don’t you want to know more about the show tonight? 

Yes, of course. Can you tell me about some of the cast members or the specialty acts?

I would love to. I play a character named Penelope and the leading male character, Cameron Drake, plays Penelope’s love interest, Sterling. Cameron is an excellent actor and very handsome, but he’s not very happy on the showboat. He thinks his talents are being wasted. He thinks mine are too, but I love putting on the dramas on the Kingston Floating Palace. 

Then we also have some great variety acts. Perry Wilson is a very accomplished ventriloquist. The Loranda family does all sorts of acrobatic tricks including a tightrope walk. Captain Dan and Marelda do a magic act. Duke does a dramatic monologue and then there are those dances and duets I have with Gabe. We do aim to entertain.

What do you love most about being on the river?

The river feels like my home. I love to feel the water rolling along under my feet, taking me somewhere new each day. I love watching for birds and animals along the river. The sunlight has a way of glancing off the water and brightening the air. I even love the damp smell of the water, especially after a rain. But I suppose most of all I love being part of the showboat family of actors. 

Can I ask one more question about the unknown of your past you mentioned earlier?

Certainly. Ask whatever you want.

All right. How do you think your own personal life story is going to end? Aren’t you nervous that all those shadows you spoke about earlier might swallow you?

You make it sound so dramatic and a bit dangerous just like one of our plays. I suppose things could happen to make it so, but real life is different than shows. One can’t always know how things might end, but you can always whisper a prayer that you will get through the shadows and find happiness and joy. I want to believe that is how my life story will go.

I certainly hope so as well. Thank you so much for doing this interview, Jacci. Do you have any final comments for us?

I am so honored you wanted to know more about my showboat life. I might add one thing. If you ever hear a calliope playing to let you know a showboat is coming to a landing near you, drop everything, hunt your quarters and dimes, and come enjoy a night of fun with a showboat family.  Maybe it will be mine on the Kingston Floating Palace.

Ann H. Gabhart is the bestselling author of many novels,
including When the Meadow Blooms, Along a Storied Trail, An
Appalachian Summer, River to Redemption, These Healing Hills,
and Angel Sister. She and her husband live on a farm a mile from
where she was born in rural Kentucky. Ann enjoys discovering the
everyday wonders of nature while hiking in her farm’s fields and
woods with her grandchildren and her dogs, Frankie and Marley.
Learn more at www.annhgabhart.com.

A Chat With Grace Walker from War-Torn Heart by Allison Wells

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment

Tell us something about where you live: 

  • I live in a tiny South Caroline town you’ve never heard of, but we’ve right at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and we’re very close to Clemson College. 

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

  • When I was born right before the turn of the century, my father named me Grace because he was certain I would be full of it, and because he thought I’d be full of the Lord’s abundant grace. I try to live up to my name.

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

  • I’m a momma to several blessings. I love every minute. That doesn’t mean it’s not hard, it surely us, but our reward is in heaven.

Who are the special people in your life?  

  • My husband, Nathan, and our children – Peter, Abigail, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Jacob, and Gabriel. Oh, and Michael, God rest him. I’m also close to my sisters and our extended family.

What is your heart’s deepest desire?   

  • For my children to grow up knowing the Lord.

What are you most afraid of? 

  • Losing my children. After we lost Michael, I didn’t think I would recover, but God brought my heart through it.

Do you have a cherished possession? 

  • I have a music box that had been my own grandmother’s, brought over from Scotland. I’ll pass it along to Abby, and hopefully on and on. 

What do you expect the future will hold for you?  

  • I won’t even pretend to guess. It’s in God’s hands. But I do hope for grandchildren one day. 

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

  • My story is for the Father to write. He is the creator and perfector.

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

I have tried to raise my children to be strong, resilient, believing people. I think Nathan and I have done a good job. Abby’s a little headstrong, but then, what teenage girl isn’t. I’m sure Eliza and Jake will give me a run for my money, too. They run with the wind, those children.

Allison Wells is a wife, mother, and sweet tea addict. Allison writes in two genres – Christian Women’s FIction and Sweet Romance. She writes what she calls “gritty Christian fiction,” books that show the hard truths of life but ultimately are stories of redemption in the end. Her sweet romances are clean and fun with a dose of laughter (the best medicine). She loves to bring a word of hope to readers worldwide. Her motto is, “Life is short, eat the Oreos.” Visit her website at www.whatallisonwrote.com.

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http://Facebook.com/whatallisonwrote/

http://instagram.com/whatallisonwrote

Introducing Grace Mockingbird from Cindy Morgan’s The Year of Jubilee

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment
book cover image

My guest today for Novel PASTtimes is an exceptional young lady named Grace Mockingbird. Grace, thank you for agreeing to talk with me today.

You’re welcome.

Wow, Grace, don’t knock me over with enthusiasm (wink wink).

Oh, I’m sorry. I guess the truth is, I don’t always feel comfortable talking about myself.

Well, I think that’s perfectly understandable. Even though the teen years are way back in the rearview mirror for me, I remember it being a tricky time. 

Yes, you can say that again.

(Interviewer pauses for a sip of water… thinking, This is gonna be tougher than I thought.) 

So Grace, tell me a little bit about yourself—your interests, where you live.

Okay, well, I just turned fourteen. I live in Eastern Kentucky in a place called Jubilee. It’s a coal-mining town, but believe it or not, we have a nice little downtown area with a movie theater, a diner, and some nice shops on Main Street. I like to ride my bike downtown sometimes. As for my interests, I like to read fiction and sometimes poetry. I also like to journal and write poetry. 

Oh, I also love to read, Grace! Something we have in common. And how wonderful that you’re a writer! I know that lots of people who are creative find that writing can be a very therapeutic exercise for dealing with difficult experiences in life. I understand that this has been a tough summer for you and your family?

Yes, a very sad year. We lost my younger brother, Isaac.

I’m so sorry, Grace. I can’t imagine how difficult that must be.

Yes. Sometimes it’s surreal to think that he’s no longer here and that I can’t play with him in the backyard anymore. He had a pet rooster name Rojo that he loved. I can tell Rojo really misses him too. 

How old was Issac when he passed? 

Seven, almost eight. 

So young. (Interviewer pauses and takes a deep breath to calm her emotions) Grace, I practice a tradition of keeping the memories of those we have lost alive by sharing things about them that were special. Would you mind sharing the thing that you remember most about your brother? 

That’s a cool tradition. I think I remember his curiosity the most. He was extremely intelligent. Genius IQ actually. He read constantly. Anything he could get his hands on. He loved to learn. I really miss the conversations we used to have. Even though he was young, he was so wise for his age.

It sounds like you had a very special relationship with him. Thank you for sharing that special memory you have of him. Grace, I also hear that there are some very special things going on in the town of Jubilee that you live in. Could you share some of those things?

Yes, 1963 is a strange time to be living in our part of the world, obviously, with all of the marches that Dr. King has been leading for equality and integration. Many Southerners are not in favor of this. To tell you the truth, I hadn’t really thought very much about it until my English teacher, Miss Adams, challenged me and my other classmates to think outside of the traditions that we have been raised in.

She sounds like a really special teacher. 

She definitely is. She’s very different from the other people in Jubilee. My dad also likes to hear Dr. King speak. My Aunt June loves his preaching. But a lot of people in Jubilee are afraid of the changes that it might bring. 

Yes, people often like for things to stay the same. Grace, I was going to ask you about your last name, it’s very unusual. Can you tell me about its origin?

Yes, Mockingbird is from my dad’s Native American heritage. He’s very proud of it. His dad was Rowdy Mockingbird. He’s kind of infamous in this area. 

Well, with a name like that, I’m not surprised. (Takes another sip of water) Do you have other siblings?

Yes, my sister, Sissy. She’s sixteen and very bossy.

Oh my! I had one of those too. What are her interests?

Herself.

Ouch! I guess that’s a point for the little sis, eh? Grace, not to return you to a difficult topic, but how are your parents dealing with the loss of your brother?

I mean, that’s a pretty personal question for me to answer on my parents’ behalf, but I guess I think they’re trying to work through all of it the very best that they can. My aunt June says that beautiful things come from suffering. My mom cries a lot. She’s also creating a beautiful garden in his honor. She says she likes to have her hands in the dirt. She says something about it is healing.

Oh yes, I agree with that. 

My dad works a lot. There were so many hospital bills from Isaac’s treatment. Aunt June, she’s the bright spot. She tries to cheer us all up. We love having her around even though she’s a terrible cook.

Oh! Well, I’m not much of a chef myself. Grace, I’m glad Aunt June is there to encourage you. I also had a favorite aunt. Her name is Doris. She also lives in Kentucky.

Cool. 

Any last thoughts about what your family has been through? And speaking of Aunt June and the words of wisdom on beauty coming from suffering she shared with you, can you talk more about that?

Can I have a drink of your water first? My throat is so dry…

Oh, of course! (interviewer slides water glass across to Grace, who drinks every last drop of water)

Thanks! Okay…. I guess when I think about what my family has been through— losing Isaac has forced us to deal with things we had avoided for years. In some strange way it has brought us closer together. I also think it has given us more compassion for other people who are going through difficulties. 

Yes, Grace, if there is ever a silver lining in tragedy, it is that suffering can soften our hearts to be more sensitive to what other people are going through. 

Yes. Before, I only thought about myself, and my own worries and struggles. But now I think it’s easier for me to notice when other people are struggling too.

Grace, I want to thank you for being so transparent today and sharing these very special things with me and with our audience. I have a feeling we will be hearing more from you in the future. You keep reading those good books and writing poems in your journal. Maybe we’ll see one of them in print.

I certainly hope so. 

Thank you again, Grace Mockingbird, for sharing a little part of your journey with us today. 

The Mockingbird family has always lived peacefully in Jubilee, Kentucky, despite the divisions that mark their small town. Until the tense summer of 1963, when their youngest child, Isaac, falls gravely ill. Middle sister Grace, nearly fourteen, is determined to do whatever it takes to save her little brother. With her father and mother away at the hospital, Grace is left under the loving but inexperienced eye of her aunt June, with little to do but wait and worry. Inspired by a young teacher’s mission for change, she begins to flirt with danger—and with a gifted boy named Golden, who just might be the key to saving Isaac’s life. Then the unthinkable happens, and the world as she knows it shifts in ways she never could have imagined. Grace must decide what she believes amid the swirling, conflicting voices of those she loves the most.

 About the Author

Singer/songwriter Cindy Morgan is a two-time Grammy nominee, a thirteen-time Dove winner, and a recipient of the prestigious Songwriter of the Year trophy. An East Tennessee native, her evocative melodies and lyrics have mined the depths of life and love both in her own recording and through songwriting for noteworthy artists around the globe, including Vince Gill, India.Arie, Rascal Flatts, Amy Grant, Sandra McCracken, and Glen Campbell. Cindy is the author of two works of adult nonfiction—the memoir How Could I Ask for More: Stories of Blessings, Battles and Beauty (Worthy Inspired, 2015) and Barefoot on Barbed Wire: A Journey Out of Fear into Freedom (Harvest House Publishers, 2001)—and of the children’s picture book Dance Me, Daddy (ZonderKidz, 2009). The Year of Jubilee is her debut novel. Cindy is a cocreator of the charitable Hymns for Hunger Tour, which has raised awareness and resources for hunger relief organizations across the globe. Cindy has two daughters and splits her time between a small town near Nashville and Holly Springs, North Carolina, with her husband, Jonathan. For more information visit cindymorganmusic.com. 

Helpful links: 

Cindy’s website

Her Facebook

Her Twitter

Her Instagram

To order The Year of Jubilee