by Crystal Caudill | Jun 13, 2023 | Character Interview
I’ve had the pleasure of knowing M.N. Stroh for a few years now. While we’ve yet to have the pleasure of meeting in person, I can tell you she is a wonderful person with a fascinating interest in writing edgy Christian historical fiction set in Medieval Ireland. In fact, I get the privilege of introducing you to one of her characters, Nessa ingen Aengus. Before I do, let me introduce you to the series and then her book.
Put on a pot of Irish breakfast tea, grab an Irish lace cookie, and be swept away by the saga of Viking-era Ireland, a forgotten age where cattle lords vie with foreign jarls for dominion, bards spin tales, brehons establish law, monks inscribe annals, and maidens alter the course of kings.
Rise of Betrayal is book two in the series, and here is the blurb:
Rise of Betrayal by M.N Stroh
Ireland, 962 AD
Nessa’s father arranges her betrothal to the son of their warmongering overlord. Horrified, Nessa realizes that marrying the rogue warrior will thrust her family into the heart of their clan’s longstanding conflict with the Danes of Luimnech.
Nessa accepts her seemingly sealed fate until tragedy presses her to make a desperate escape, though her brash act costs her intended’s life. Now his family seeks revenge.
Sanctuary among distant kindred proves short-lived and Nessa’s rescuers entangle her into their schemes. With the balance of power shifting in southern Ireland, her knowledge could pave the way for her former chieftain to claim the provincial throne. Yet, offering that knowledge may expose her identity to her estranged clansmen… and to the man whose brother died because of her.
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Check out the whole series at Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Now for our interview with Nessa.
CC: Would you mind telling us a little bit about yourself?
Nessa: Good day to you! I’m Nessa, daughter of Aengus mac Ruadh and Camma. We’re farmers tending the land of our overlord, Davan mac Duncan, a powerful warrior of the Dal Cais clan, and kinsman to Chief Mahon, who rules over our home in Thomond, a small but powerful túath in the province of Mumhain, nestled on the western coast of Éire.
My father and brothers labored long under Davan so that they might gain noble status and thus a voice in our clan. But one terrible winter stripped nearly all hope of that from us. I say nearly, for there’s but one wretched alternative, and it seems I’m to pay it. All our debt and renders will be forgiven and counted as dowry if my father gives me in marriage to Davan’s son, Ardan. A rogue of a man entangled with his father in secret assistance to Chief Mahon’s rebel brother, Prince Brian mac Cennedigh. Brian and his warband draw trouble to us as faithfully as a foreigner’s ax. Indeed, they draw the foreigners themselves to our lands time and again, for Brian refuses to keep the peace with them that his brother established. I fear what shall become of my family once we are doubly bound to Davan through this betrothal.
CC: That sounds like a terrible situation to be placed in! So I take it that Lord Davan is one of your least favorite people to deal with?
Nessa: Yes. Lord Davan is a stern and cold man. Da says it was not always so. That great tragedy wrought the bitterness festering in his soul. Still, I see naught but deception in him and don’t relish the thought of living under his roof.
CC: That would not be something I look forward to. So let’s talk of happier things. Who is your favorite person?
Nessa: My brother, Tiarnán, is the closest friend I possess in the whole wide world. There’s little he wouldn’t do for me. Still, he’s a might more stubborn than I and just as prone to tug my locks as Davan’s sons and call me “Red”.
CC: Those pesky nicknames are awful. We know others call you “Red”, but how do you think others view you? Do you think this is an accurate representation of you?
Nessa: I suspect most nobles would take no note of me at all. Unless I fall prey to Lord Davan’s foul sons. They’re naught but trouble, especially the younger twins, Ronan and Niall, who are near my age. Some say I’m stubborn and have a fearsome temper. Perhaps so, but only to those who deserve it. To those who show kindness, they should find me a faithful friend.
CC: I can only image how much the Davans deserve that temper, but that is probably not a wise thing. What is your biggest fear?
Nessa: I fear losing Da and my brother, Tiarnán in battle. They’re pledged to serve Lord Davan in that manner as tenants under him. My eldest brother, Callann, fought faithfully alongside Davan’s men and now he’s lost to us, though not dead. They banished him for an indiscretion against the Dal Cais. ‘Tis a fearsome thing to fall prey to the ill will of our overlords. Da may still secure a lesser noble status in our clan, but to do so by my betrothal to Ardan mac Davan, means we shall never be free of the ties that bind Da and Tiarnán to Davan’s warband.
CC: And it does not free them from having to go to battle, though, and that is indeed a scary thing. Tell us a little more about this villainous family. Who are the worst?
Nessa: Lord Davan and his eldest son, Ardan, are alike in every manner. The Devil take them! Both set my skin to crawling. Of the two, Ardan is most arrogant. He hates Tiarnán, and riles him to fearful rows just for the pleasure of it.
CC: They do sound like an intimidating pair. But surely they are not all bad. After all, it appears you may have to marry one of them. Could you tell us a little bit about your love interest in this story–if love can even be used to describe your relationship?
Nessa: All the women of our clan find Lord Davan’s sons handsome and many dream of a match made betwixt them. They’re all rogues to my eyes! Still, if one was to be named best of all, I’d point to Gideon mac Davan. He bears a kindness uncommon to his brothers, and a far leveler head about him. But he reveres his older brother, Ardan…practically worships the ground Ardan trods upon! Neither fear God nor man.
CC: Men who neither fear God nor man are bound to fall–and it seems like with them, a lot of people will suffer. Will you tell us a little bit about the personal journey you are on throughout this story?
Nessa: Ma says, ’tis our lot in life to marry and bear up God-fearing families. From my youth, I knew ’twas a fate meant for me. But I ne’er believed I should be bound to some sullied noble’s son. How can one trust a faithless noble from a faithless family who pledged our safety for service yet failed in that duty time and again? They’ve done naught but betray our loyalty and I dread what further sacrifice they might demand.
CC: This is definitely a story that already has me anxious to read and discover what happens to you and your family, and if love is possible with such a clan.
Readers, if you like epic historical adventure stories, influenced by Irish hero tales and Icelandic sagas, mixed with a heavy side of romance, and grounded in Christ, you need to check this series out. Man of Sorrows is the novella prequel and doesn’t need to be read before reading this book, Rise of Betrayal. However, the rest of the series does need to be read in order. BTW, you can download Man of Sorrows for free by signing up for M.N. Stroh’s newsletter and downloading a copy through Bookfunnel.
About M.N. Stroh:
M.N. Stroh is fueled by her love for storytelling and history. She writes Christian Historical Fiction with an edge, to inspire the downtrodden and outcasts through adventure-laden escapes leading them back to their First Love, as showcased in her debut series, Tale of the Clans. M.N. serves as Director of Communications for Serious Writer Inc. affiliate, Writers Chat, director of Serious Writer Book Club, and a member of ACFW and Historical Novel Society’s Interviews Admin Team. Connect with her at mnstroh.com and social media.
Connect with M.N. Stroh: Website | Newsletter | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon
Readers, what medieval stories have you read? Are you familiar with the Viking history of Ireland?
by Crystal Caudill | Jun 6, 2023 | Counterfeit Faith, History Facts
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Initially, in my research for Counterfeit Faith, I began my studies looking at the history of orphanages intending for my story to be set there. However, during my research, I stumbled upon the concept of a House of Refuge. Having worked a summer during college at a camp for at-risk youth, my heart was immediately drawn to this setting and the stories of the children who were deemed juvenile delinquents. I had to know more, and you can read the results of that study in the story. However, like any historical novel, I couldn’t include everything I learned. So this is blog post is an attempt to give a brief overview of Houses of Refuge.
“To accomplish the work of reformation, it is essential that depraved children should be removed from the contaminating contact with wicked associates, both adult and juvenile, and transplanted to a purer and more health-inspiring moral atmosphere. Many of them have been roughly treated by the world, and should be looked upon ‘with a countenance more in sorrow than in anger.’ The light which guided them was not that of virtue, but the lurid glare springing from the polluted and deathly quagmires or society. If any man proud of his integrity and high social position should be tempted to look sternly on erring youth, he should reflect on what he might have been, if penury and ignorance had been the only endowments of his childhood.”
Thomas Budd upon the opening of the new White Female Department Building, January 20th, 1872
Why They Were Created
Prior to the early 1800s, convicted youths were confined to jails and penitentiaries with hardened criminals, regardless of the crimes or noncriminal behavior that placed them there. A child who had been picked up off the street for vagrancy may have been in the same cell as a man who had brutally murdered someone. Not only were they housed with adults, but the institutions were also overcrowded, many of them decrepit. It was a terrible situation that came under the notice of a social welfare movement.
Thomas Eddy and John Griscom organized the Society for the Prevention of Pauperism, establishing the first House of Refuge in 1825. It was located in Manhattan, New York, and remained open until 1935. Many other institutions throughout the country followed suit, creating their our state or privately ran Houses of Refuge. These institutes were designed to house poor, destitute, and vagrant youth who were deemed by authorities to be on the path toward delinquency. In other words, Houses of Refuge were the predecessors to today’s juvenile justice system.
How Did a House of Refuge Work?
There were some varying differences from institution to institution, but in general, youths under the age of 21 who had been abandoned, convicted of a crime, or homeless could be referred to the institution through a judge or mayor for at least one year. Many of those children actually spent an indefinite amount of time in these institutions before being placed into indenture agreements, where the inmates would work and train under the supervision of their employer until they reached the age of 21. If a child could not be indentured in cases of mental physical infirmity or otherwise, they could be returned to friends (as they believed the parents were generally a bad influence on the children), sent to the almshouse (poorhouse), or otherwise “placed out.” Girls were trained in housewifery, sewing, washing, and cooking. Anything that went along with managing a house or serving in a house that could afford paid help. Boys were apprenticed sed to apprentice as farmers, printers, tanners, carpenters, blacksmiths, and shoemakers.
Indentured Locations May 1834
However, before children could reach this position of indentured service, they had to earn the right of relative freedom granted through such an agreement. When children were brought into the institutions, they were divided up by sex and then advanced through the following classes. (*This was the class system of the Philadelphia House of Refuge, but each institution had its own variant.)
About Division of Inmates
“The children shall be divided into eleven classes, class No. 10 being the lowest–advancing to No. 1–and the eleventh being the Class of Honor. When admitted, they shall be placed in Class No. 10, and be promoted (when deserving) monthly, until they have gone through the first ten classes, when they shall be placed in the Class of Honor. After they have been two months in that class, they shall be placed in charge of the Indenturing Committee: Provided, that nothing in this rule shall prevent the Board of Managers from discharging a child when it is obviously to the advantage of the child that he or she should not be longer retained.” – By-laws, Rules, & Regulations of the Board of Managers of the House of Refuge: Adopted 1876 (Philadelphia, PA)
An Inmate’s Day
The children’s days were highly regimented with a focus on moral, intellectual, and physical improvement. Days began at 5 am and went until an 8 pm bedtime. The children would labor for six to seven hours, have schooling for three hours, have 30 minutes for each meal, 30 minutes of devotional time, and three hours of recreational time–all of which was strictly supervised. The concept was that idle hands are the devil’s workshop. The children’s labor supported the operating expenses for the reformatory. You can see the items produced in 1834 by the Philadelphia House of Refuge below, as well as a sample schedule.
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Example Schedule from the By-Laws
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Items Produced by Boys
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Items Produced by Girls
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
The goal of a House of Refuge was to reform, educate, and provide a Christian moral foundation for inmates so that they could become productive and desired members of society. Unfortunately, like many institutions, Houses of Refuges had the best intentions but suffered from the same issues that plagued the adult facilities. Houses of Refuge quickly outgrew their capacity and became overcrowded, suffered from deteriorating conditions, and staff abuse. In 1876, the Philadelphia House of Refuge underwent a nine-day investigation into abuse. Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives “found that the board punished children by banning play, sending them to bed without supper, placing them in solitary confinement, and even imposing lashings. The board forced children to labor in institutional workshops six days a week without pay and, to make matters worse, thousands of dollars in profits from the goods produced went directly to the board. Despite the prevalence of punishments, the House committee deemed that the board’s actions were not abusive.” (The Encylopedia of Greater Philadelphia, “House of Refuge” by James Kopaczewski.)
By WWII, most, if not all, Houses of Refuge had either closed or restructured and changed their names or taken on the new concept of juvenile jails. You can still find private and state-ran boarding school situations for at-risk youth all over the country. While they hold many similarities to the Houses of Refuge of old, it is my hope they do not suffer from the same issues that plagued their predecessor.
So what are your thoughts on Houses of Refuge, reader? What questions do you have?
RESOURCES: (A Small sampling)
Budd, T. A. (n.d.). An address delivered at the opening of the new building of the White Female Department of the House of Refuge, January 20th, 1872. HathiTrust. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.rslvjr (Address given on January 20th, 1872.)
Henry, A., & Barclay, J. J. (1835, May 1). Annual report of the House of Refuge of Philadelphia. 7th. HathiTrust. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/umn.31951002246474k
Juvenile Justice History. Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. (n.d.). https://www.cjcj.org/history-education/juvenile-justice-history
Kopaczewski, J. (2022, March 28). House of Refuge. Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/house-of-refuge/
New York State Archives. (1989). The Greatest Reform School in the world: A guide to the records of the New York House of Refuge. The Greatest Reform School in the World. https://www.archives.nysed.gov/sites/archives/files/res_topics_ed_reform.pdf
Pickett, R. S. (1969).
House of Refuge: Origins of Juvenile Reform in New York State, 1815-1857. Syracuse University Press.
https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv64h7hd
Teerters, N. K. (n.d.). The Early Days of the Philadelphia House of Refuge. https://journals.psu.edu/phj/article/view/22729/22498
by Crystal Caudill | Jun 4, 2023 | Book and Writing Events, Writer's Life
*Cue announcer voice* I’m interrupting our normal posting schedule with this special announcement:
Counterfeit Love has been selected as a semi-finalist for the Carol Awards!!!!!
The Carol Award is a major publishing award given by American Christian Fiction Writers for outstanding work in Christian fiction. To be listed among the same amazing authors I admire is a truly humbling and exciting moment. Check out the other authors who also are semi-finalists in my category:
Debut Author
Sara Brunsvold – The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip
Crystal Caudill – Counterfeit Love
Dawn Ford – The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes
Elizabeth Jacobson – Not by Sight: a novel of the patriarchs
Anna Rose Johnson – The Star That Always Stays
Kathy Maresca – Porch Music
Linda W. Rooks – Pieces of Dark, Pieces of Light
Have you read any of them?
It is an honor to have made it this far, and I hope you’ll join me at the ACFW Conference in St. Louis from August 24 to August 26 for a lot of bookish fun, including a massive book signing in conjunction with StoryFest. Just check out this lineup!
Here is the complete and final booksigning schedule:
| Friday |
9-10am |
Robin Caroll |
| Friday |
9-10am |
Colleen Coble |
| Friday |
9-10am |
Pam Hillman |
| Friday |
9-10am |
Dineen Miller |
| Friday |
9-10am |
Kimberley Woodhouse |
| Friday |
9-10am |
Cara Putman |
| Friday |
10:30-11:30 am |
Diane Tatum |
| Friday |
10:30-11:30 am |
Ruth Wu-Wong |
| Friday |
10:30-11:30 am |
Mary Connealy |
| Friday |
10:30-11:30 am |
Pepper Basham |
| Friday |
2:30-3:30 pm |
Sara Davison |
| Friday |
2:30-3:30 pm |
Allie Pleiter |
| Friday |
2:30-3:30 pm |
Tracy Higley |
| Friday |
2:30-3:30 pm |
Cynthia Ruchti |
| Friday |
2:30-3:30 pm |
Kathleen Y’Barbo |
| Friday |
4-5 pm |
Denise Hunter |
| Friday |
4-5 pm |
DiAnn Mills |
| Friday |
4-5 pm |
Sara Brunsvold |
| Friday |
4-5 pm |
Judy Kelly |
| Friday |
4-5 pm |
Melanie Stevenson |
| Friday |
4-5 pm |
Dana Lynn |
| Saturday |
9:30-10:30 am |
Janyre Tromp |
| Saturday |
9:30-10:30 am |
Sarah Hamaker |
| Saturday |
9:30-10:30 am |
Sandra Merville Hart |
| Saturday |
11:00-noon |
Carrie Turansky |
| Saturday |
11:00-noon |
Lynette Eason |
| Saturday |
11:00-noon |
Kelly Irvin |
| Saturday |
11:00-noon |
Brandy Heineman |
| Saturday |
11:00-noon |
Sarah Kohnle |
| Saturday |
2-3 pm |
Crystal Caudill |
| Saturday |
2-3 pm |
Jerusha Agen |
| Saturday |
2-3 pm |
Deb Raney |
| Saturday |
2-3 pm |
Ashley Clark |
| Saturday |
2-3 pm |
Amanda Cox |
| Saturday |
3:30-4:30 pm |
Carmen Peone |
| Saturday |
3:30-4:30 pm |
Lenora Worth |
| Saturday |
3:30-4:30 pm |
Candice Sue Patterson |
| Saturday |
3:30-4:30 pm |
Dawn Ford |
The finalists will be announced on that first night, and then the winner will be announced at the fancy gala on the last night. . . and you could be there with me. You can check out more information about StoryFest here, and if you do register, be sure to put Crystal Caudill as your “referred by” person. I won’t lie. It gives me a shot at getting a free hotel night off my conference stay. 🙂
Here’s a bit about Counterfeit Love if you haven’t read it yet:
Can this undercover agent save the woman he loves–or is her heart as counterfeit as the money he’s been sent to track down?
After all that Grandfather has sacrificed to raise her, Theresa Plane owes it to him to save the family name–and that means clearing their debt with creditors before she marries Edward Greystone. But when one of the creditors’ threats leads her to stumble across a midnight meeting, she discovers that the money he owes isn’t all Grandfather was hiding. And the secrets he kept have now trapped Theresa in a life-threatening fight for her home–and the truth.
After months of undercover work, Secret Service operative Broderick Cosgrove is finally about to uncover the identity of the leader of a notorious counterfeiting ring. That moment of triumph turns to horror, however, when he finds undeniable proof that his former fiancée is connected. Can he really believe the woman he loved is a willing participant? Protecting Theresa and proving her innocence may destroy his career–but that’s better than failing her twice in one lifetime.
They must form a partnership, tentative though it is. But there’s no question they’re both still keeping secrets–and that lack of trust, along with the dangerous criminals out for their blood, threatens their hearts, their faith, and their very survival.
And here’s a snippet from one of my favorite moments:
The window above him slid open, and a pair of boy’s boots thudded to the ground inches from where he crouched. If shoes fell, a body was bound to follow. Broderick crept behind an unkempt bush and waited.
Black-stockinged feet and legs protruded from the sill’s edge, followed by blue skirts. Delicate hands adjusted the material before the familiar slender body swung from the ledge’s safety to straining twigs.
Of all the dangerous stunts! It was one thing for him to climb up, another for her to attempt climbing down. The little imp would get herself killed.
Broderick moved from the bush’s safety and resisted the urge to call out. Startling her could end in disaster, but words of rebuke played through his mind as displaced snow plopped around him. She couldn’t possibly see her next step beneath those skirts. Making it to the ground without mishap would be—
A branch snapped.
Theresa screamed. Blue and white material waved in surrender to the inevitable as she fell. Broderick lunged for her. The tree limbs cracked like a grand finale of fireworks, stopping moments before she crashed into his arms. His legs buckled, and they dropped to the ground with Theresa landing on his chest.
He lay still, his lungs begging for air but refusing to accept it. Given the force of their impact, a human-shaped crater would exist once he moved—if he ever moved again.
Theresa rolled to her knees beside him and stared in dazed silence.
Pain seared his arms as he pushed to a sitting position. “Are you hurt?”
Confusion creased her face as she blinked at him. She might be sorting through a touch of shock, but no discomfort contorted her features, which was more than he could say for himself. He rotated his shoulders and then flexed his arms. In a few years he might laugh about catching an angel, but right now he felt like he’d caught an anvil.
You can buy it now on sale from Amazon, Baker Book House, and Christianbook.
Have you read Counterfeit Love? What was your favorite part? If not, does it sound like something you’d like to check out?
by Crystal Caudill | May 31, 2023 | Author Interviews
I am so blessed to know Grace Hitchcock. Bless her heart, she has been one of my biggest supporters and I cannot express how grateful I am to her and all her support. I adore her and her books, and it is my pleasure to get to introduce you to her. Grace and I met at my first ACFW in 2016 (I think), and I was so inspired by her kindness and patience with this unpublished author. Now we’re both out in the world, and I am so happy for this opportunity to support her back. Allow me to formally introduce you to her.
Grace Hitchcock is the award-winning author of multiple historical novels and novellas. She holds a Masters in Creative Writing and a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in History. Grace lives in the New Orleans area with her husband, Dakota, sons, and daughter. Connect with her online at GraceHitchcock.com.
You can connect with her through: Website | Newsletter | BookBub | GoodReads
Now for the fun stuff! I have to admit I am partial to my Fast Five. 🙂 So settle in as I hit Grace with rapid-fire.
CC: Sweet or Salty?
GH: Sweet
CC: Print, E-book, or Audiobook?
GH: Audiobook! I used to always be print, or eBook recently, but with a baby, audiobook has been my only option of late 🙂
CC: Coffee, Tea, or Other?
GH: Cafe Latte!
Morning Person or Night Owl?
GH: Morning person, especially when there is coffee to be had!
CC: Favorite Holiday?
GH: Christmas! Now that my kiddos are old enough to appreciate the sparkling lights, Christmas decor, and songs, we love to drive through neighborhoods and point out our favorites. And then, there is the Christmas baking fun!
I’m so not a coffee person, I don’t even know what a cafe latte is exactly, except that latte means it has milk in it. LOL
So tell me, Grace, what does your writing process look like?
GH: After the first whisper of the story in my head, I select names and meet the characters. Next, I write out their story in a detailed synopsis that I use for the first draft. After I get down about 50,000 words, I edit it three times to get the novel up to about 85,000 words and send it off to my publisher! From there, we have a content, copy, line, and proof edits before it goes to press!
CC: I don’t think I could write a manuscript that short if I tried! LOL I love how you know your process though. I’m still working through figuring mine out.
How have you seen God work through your writing journey?
GH: I’d say for certain it is the timing of each book. When I first began trying to get published, I was pitching full-length novels, but Barbour thought I’d do better with starting with novellas. Changing directions and writing novellas taught me how to write tight (given the smaller word count) while giving a full feeling story. Even though it wasn’t my first choice to begin with novellas, it was a great introduction to the writing and publishing world. God knew what He was doing and after my first two novellas were published, Barbour offered me the anchor book in their True Colors series and then, my writing career really got rolling! Time and time again with each offer and contract, His timing was and is perfect.
CC: God is so good. . . and now it makes sense how you can write so tightly. I bet those years of writing novellas really taught you a lot. Which brings me to . . .
Do you have any advice for those who want to write their own stories?
GH: Attending ACFW, the American Christian Fiction Writers conference, was the best move for me as a new writer. Not only do you get to meet those authors you have been reading for years, but you get to sit in their classes and learn from the masters while making lifelong friends and meeting agents and publishers! Going to this writing conference is worth every penny!
CC: I so agree. Honestly, I’ve met almost every single one of my best friends through ACFW. The relationships formed are the kind that you don’t know how you did without before hand.
Let’s dig in to your newest release, The Pursuit of Miss Parish (Aprons & Veils, Book 2).
Love’s gentle promise becomes nothing more than a withered dream.
With dreams of love and a hope for belonging, shy Belle Parish leaves her position as a maid in Charleston to travel to New Mexico with her best friend to become mail-order brides. Colt Lawson’s letters hold great promise and while his devilishly handsome face matches his picture, something does not add up. Discovering his lie only moments before they wed, Belle flees the church and straight into the Castañeda Hotel Harvey House. Giving up the prospect on ever marrying, she dons her nun-like uniform and focuses on her role as a Harvey Girl waitress until a strong, former Texas Ranger rides into her life.
Colt Lawson didn’t want to send that letter to Belle Parish in the first place, but her first response had all but captured his heart. When he is left standing at the altar alone, he is left with two choices—either release his dream of a love marriage, or attempt to win her heart. Wooing her would be a lot easier if that Texas Ranger wasn’t back in town. Who wants a dusty rancher with a past when she could have a shining knight in a Stetson?
Purchase your copy at Amazon
CC: Where did you get the idea for Maeve’s Pledge?
GH: Mostly from research about the Harvey Girls and also inspired by my girlhood favorite books, The Finding of Jasper Holt by Grace Livingston Hill and Janette Oke’s A Gown of Spanish Lace. Originally, I did not have Belle connected to Miss Fairfield, the heroine from book one, in anything but the location of the Harvey House, but in re-writing book one, I discovered that Miss Fairfield’s maid would be perfect for the leading lady of my next book.
CC: I love how God takes our plans and connects them in ways we never imagined.
Who was the most challenging character to create? What made them so difficult?
GH: Colt! When I first wrote The Pursuit of Miss Parish, I only wrote it from Belle’s POV, but during re-writes, I soon found that I needed Colt’s side of the story. He has been a lot of fun to get to know, but he holds things deep within him, and it took a lot of digging to figure out what made him the way he was, but I think that digging not only gave me a much better insight to him, but it brought the story to a deeper level.
CC: That must have been some rewrite. I love how those types of edits reveal things about our stories, though, and build them into better stories.
How did this story affect you as you wrote it? Did God teach you anything in the writing?
GH: Belle is very shy in nature and it takes great courage for her to act. I feel like for years God has been working courage into my heart as an author, much like the courage Belle needs 🙂 Every time I send off a manuscript to my editor, or launch a new book, I have to always turn my back to my fear and trust God to bless my work.
CC: Amen, and I think that’s something I need to think on myself.
I’d love to know a little more about your research. Who were the Harvey Girls?
GH: Whenever I tell people I am writing about a Victorian Harvey Girl romance, they usually assume the Harvey Girls are associated with an old-time saloon, but nothing could be further from the truth. In the 1890s, there were not many respectable jobs for women, so when Englishman Fred Harvey created his chain of fine dining restaurants along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroads, single women without an education, or in need of earning their own way, were given a chance to earn an honest wage without the speculation that they offered anything else but food as a service. With Mr. Harvey’s strict rules about the waitress’s code of conduct, the women were given their independence while still maintaining their good name and place in society under the protective, fatherly arm of Fred Harvey. These extraordinary, brave women became known as the Harvey Girls, the ladies who tamed the Wild West with fine china, good pie, and exceptional service with complete propriety.
While Harvey Houses were built to serve the needs of the passengers on the rail to encourage tourism in the west, the railroad workers and local townsmen also dined at the restaurant, but usually at the lunch counter. At a time when men filled towns and women were scarce, inevitably, a railroad worker or townsman would express interest in marrying a Harvey Girl. In order to marry, she would need to fulfill her work contract or risk paying a fine of a month of salary. The fine was set in place to ensure that Fred Harvey would have enough workers and that he wouldn’t simply train a girl to have her shipped to a town of bachelors and leave him without a waitress.
As you can probably tell, such a set up sends an author’s head to spinning with all the romance that could come from a woman venturing out on her own in a land filled with cowboys, bandits, ranchers, and farmers. The possibilities for romance are endless! There is so much more I could write about these fascinating ladies and their contributions to society, but I hope you enjoyed this taste of history on the Harvey Girls!
CC: I absolutely do. The stories you weave are so fascinating, and I’m so blessed to get to read them. Last question before we hop off!
What animal is most like you?
GH: A Holland Lop bunny. I used to have Holland Lops, and I find that like the bunny, I too enjoy my cozy little home, but given the chance, I’ll dart out for grand adventures 🙂
CC: I love that! I’m definitely settling into the rather be at home feeling the older I get. LOL
Readers, I hope you’ll check out The Pursuit of Miss Parish and then leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, and/or BookBub. You wouldn’t believe how important that is to an author.
Reader, what was most fascinating to you about the Harvey Girls?
by Crystal Caudill | May 31, 2023 | Book Reviews, Reading Challenge
May’s Unlocking the Past Reading Challenge: Unlock an Adventure is over! With the chaos of this month, I read a novella, from a collection but didn’t read the whole collection. If you have a review you’d like to submit for upcoming months, feel free to sign up for a month here and use the Google form to submit your review. As my time has become too limited to do a suggestions post each month, I encourage you to jump over to the Unlocking the Past Reading Challenge page and ask for suggestions from there or from any of a number of amazing reader groups like Avid Readers of Christian Fiction or even visit https://inspirationalhistoricalfiction.com/ for options.
*The list of prizes available from my prize shelf can be found here.*
May’s Theme: Exploration or Pioneering
June’s Theme: Treasure Hunt
Christmas Traps and Trimmings
by Kelly Eileen Hake
Review by: Crystal Caudill
Kelly Eileen Hake has long been a treasured author for me. I don’t think I’ve read anything by her that I haven’t liked. This novella was no exception, although for a few minutes, I was concerned she got her history timeline wrong. I should have known better. It was I who had the wrong century for the earthquake along the New Madrid fault line. Set in the early days of America’s birth and the days when Kentucky was the wild wild west (1811), this is the story of and English lady determined to escape the grasp of her plotting cousin–even across an ocean and into the untamed Kentucky frontier–by running to her appointed guardian who had no doubt not heard of her father’s passing. Her unwilling guardian is an Englishman making his living through trapping and selling animal pelts. He doesn’t have space in his life for an English lady and her elderly maid. However, he can’t turn them away, and forced proximity requires that they get to know each other. Throw in the world-shaking earthquakes along the New Madrid fault line and a half-legible letter from her deceased father into the mix, and these two have no choice but to learn to rely on each other.
I enjoyed the story, and especially the historical perspective of an event I’d heard of all my life but hadn’t realized was so early in our country’s birth. The romance was a bit quick for me, but novellas tend to be rushed, and honestly, what else are two people going to do in the wilds of Kentucky but get married pretty quickly? While Christmas was touched on, I wouldn’t necessarily call it a traditionally Christmasy-feeling novella.
For Fans of: I recommend this story to those who love learning new bits of history, quick-read romances, and frontier settings.
Genre: Historical Romance, Kentucky 1811 – Novella Collection
Plot Overview:
Purchase Links:
Amazon | Christianbook
Giveaway
For your chance to win a print copy, comment with what book YOU read for this month and you will also be entered into the year-end Grand Prize Reader Basket. Use the Rafflecopter below for extra entries and to mark that you left a comment. Entries end on the 7th of each month at midnight EST, and the winner will be drawn sometime that week and notified by email. The winner will be announced don’t the Rafflecopter widget.
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What did you read for the challenge? What were your thoughts on it? Would you recommend it?
About M.N. Stroh:
