THREADS OF HOPE Book Give-away Contest

Announcing my first book give-away in conjunction with my brand new historical romance release, Threads of Hope. It's easy to enter, just leave me a comment below, completing the following sentences:

My favorite time of day to read a good book is ______________. The reason is__________________.

Fill in the blanks. You can enter as many times as you want to.

On Sunday afternoon, January 29th, I will randomly select TWO winners from the list of comments below. In addition to receiving a free copy of my book, Threads of Hope, winners will receive a special surprise gift, designed to enhance their reading experience.

So let me know about your reading habits and you could be the winner of a signed copy of Threads of Hope along with a surprise gift.       

Good luck, everyone!

Preserving the Past For Future Generations

While researching my upcoming novel, Threads of Hope (Realms/Charisma House) the first book in my new Fabric of Time series, I garnered the help from Wisconsin’s Brown County Historical Society and learned about the Hazelwood Historic House Museum. Built to face the Fox River in Green Bay, Hazelwood was the original home of Elizabeth and Morgan Martin. As I gazed at Mr. Martin’s portrait, I thought of my own characters, Sam Sundberg and his father, Karl, who are Indian Agents and involved in local politics – just like Mr. Martin had been. I laughed at the coincidence.



The parlor





The kitchen

A guided stroll through Hazelwood revealed so much to me about life in the 1840s, particularly 1848, the year Wisconsin became a state. I had actually assumed life in Green Bay, Wisconsin at that time was rustic and uncivilized – and much of it had been. However, as both a busy port on Lake Michigan with access to the Fox River, Green Bay was nearly as sophisticated as Milwaukee and vying with it and other cities to be Wisconsin’s major port. The Erie Canal had opened in 1825, so by 1848, Green Bay received shipments from all over the world, although much of the commerce consisted of fur trading. The Fox River, I was told, was like a freeway system. Barges, canoes, and sundry other boats filled the river and traveled to and from the Bay of the Great Lake.

The characters in my story seemed to come alive and, after my tour, I felt confident about the historical facts I’d used in my upcoming novel, Threads of Hope. No textbook could have taught me what I’d learned on my tour of Hazelwood.

Years ago when I wrote my novel, Love Finds You in Miracle, Kentucky (Summerside Press), I learned that hands-on research fuels the imagination. I had visited Stanford, Kentucky and learned Miracle is the rural part of that town. I talked to some of the locals, viewed homes where my characters might live, and found the church I thought they’d attend. While such research enhanced my contemporary novel, it’s imperative, I think, when writing today’s historical fiction.

How blessed we are to have places like the Hazelwood Home and organizations such as the Brown County Historical Society. Without them, lovers of history and writers of historical fiction, like me, would be nearly helpless in both our passions and our imaginations regarding the truth about days gone by.