Love Inspired Historicals discussion
Monthly Author Q&A
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Q&A with September 2013 Authors!
Yay! Look forward to this every month! :)
I hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend. I'm eager to meet this month's authors.
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Good morning, everyone! Starting off our September Q&A is Janet Lee Barton. A Place of Refuge is Janet's second book for LIH, part of her Boardinghouse Betrothals series. This series really resonates with me because my great-uncle met his wife at his boardinghouse. She was the niece of his land lady and recently come from Ireland, just like Kathleen O'Bryan, the heroine of A Place of Refuge.
Past events have made if difficult for Kathleen to trust, but the kindness of handsome writer Luke Patterson might be just what she needs to restore her faith and make her believe in love!
Janet, I the opening scene of this story is so dramatic, when Kathleen is delivered to the boardinghouse beaten unconscious. Can you tell us a bit about her and Luke?
Good morning, everyone.I can tell you a little about Kathleen and Luke. Luke is a dime novelist living at Heaton House and Kathleen is an Irish immigrant who's been living with her sister and her husband and children in the tenements. She works for Tiffany Glass, and her contribution to their livelihood is necessary because her brother-in-law likes the bottle too much. He's sometimes violet and Kathleen has been taking the brunt of his anger to keep him away from her sister who is expecting her third child. Kathleen and Luke met briefly in Somewhere To Call Home when Luke came to her and her sisters aide in Central Park.
Janet, I've read A Place of Refuge and it was great. A very emotional read that kept me interested in the working of early New York. Were the tenements as bad as they sounded in your story?
Hi Rhonda, thanks for stopping by!I think they were probably much worse than they sounded in my story. During my research, I found pictures that broke my heart. Very crowded conditions and apartment buildings in very bad disrepair. It wasn't an easy place to work ones way out of and those who did are to be admired.
What a great setting for a series! It sounds like a dynamic opening, with the heroine being brought in beaten.
Thanks Brittany! Kathleen had my heart when she showed up in the first book and had to have her own story. :)
I enjoyed this one. I liked Luke when I met him in the first book, and I was glad to read his story. I'm curious as to what other sorts of adventures on the road to romance the other boarders will get up to? Mrs. Heaton sounds like she did a lot for battered women, almost like the shelters common now. Did you find that places for women to go who had been abused were common in the period?
What a great setting! It sounds like you really enjoyed the research you did for this book.
Hi Dawn! I'm so glad you enjoyed A Place of Refuge. The next book up-coming out next year, but I don't know the month yet-is Elizabeth's story and I've enjoyed being able to go into the tenements again--as well as some of the apartment buildings and mansions the well to do lived in, in her story. New York city offers so many different settings and as boarders move out, others move in and so it goes. The ideas for stories seem to be endless. Mrs. Heaton and others in that time did try to help battered women and others who were in need. But the need was so great, they couldn't reach everyone. I think what I like most about this series is showing how regular people, the middle class you might say, reach out to help. Of course the wealthy do their part in raising money and donating it, and without them there wouldn't be as much help, but it's others like Mrs. Heaton and her boarders who seem to be out doing mo the actual work.
And thanks so much for stopping by Julie! I LOVE doing the research for these books! And it's ongoing for each one, so that I can show things that happened at that time. :)
hi Janet did you learn any interesting tibets when you were doing research for this book? The book sounds interesting not liking the brother in law
Hi Janet, wow looks like this is a winner, I see a 5 star review at goodreads already...I like AusJenny don't think I will like this brother-in-law much. It has to be hard for her to see her sister living with a man like this. Is there a chance he can get himself straightened out since they are a family soon to have 3 children? Maybe this new child will make him become a better person.
Welcome, Janet! I am so eager to read your boardinghouse series. Is it set in the Five Points section of NYC? I've recently read a couple of other novels with that setting and just wondered. It certainly makes for some great storylines.I noticed that on your bio, you mentioned a "generational living experiment" where you bought a home with your daughter and son-in-law. My husband's sister did the same thing and it is working out extremely well.
Deb, you certainly had a "working" Labor Day! Maybe you can sit back and read a while.
Hi Ausjenny!In this book, I found out so much about Coney Island--it would have been great to visit it back then. But I did find out that the Elephant Colossus that Kathleen's nephew's thought was so great the spring of 1895 actually burned down in 1896. So I barely got it in the series. :)
Hi Paula-O! That brother-in-law wasn't a good person, but I'll not give away what happens to him--it's spoil the story. And Carole, my boarding house is located in Gramercy Park. By the time my stories begin, many of those families who started out around Gramercy Park had moved out to bigger and ' better' places and many of the homes had been rented or sold to other families or people like Mrs. Heaton who opened up boarding houses.
Oh, And Carole, the tenements I'm writing about would have been in the Lower East Side--not sure if it would have been included in the Five Points area but would have been near there.
Sounds like a great story Janet! I will have to check it out.Deborah since I won a book last month please don't enter me for any of these contests.
Hi, Janet. Your book sounds really interesting, and the setting sounds enjoyable. Did you find out anything interesting about Tiffany Glass Co.? Do you happen to have any passed down in your family?
Oh, Barbara! A book called, A New Light On Tiffany, was what sparked the whole idea for this series. I found out that Clara Driscoll who was over the Tiffany Girls who actually made many of the lamps that are so beautiful--Clara actually designed many of them-but never got any credit for it, lived in a boarding house very close to where I've set Heaton House, and met her husband there--well my imagination set to work. And the Lord helped me sort it all out. :)But no, I don't have any Tiffany glass that was handed down. Wish that I did. :)
Oh, and thanks Laura! I hope you'll enjoy it!
And Deb, Thank you so very much for getting this started off! Oh, how I would have loved to have met your great uncle and aunt and been able to talk to them! I would love to know their love story! :)
My Momma's name was Kathleen, so this is going to be a must read from that alone! I am a sucker for the right name. ;) Sounds good anyway, I have really enjoyed reading everything today! :)
Aww, Melody. I hope you like it! Kathleen is one of my very favorite characters. :)It's been a fun day for me!
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Thanks to Janet for getting the week off to such a great start! Our guest author for today is Dorothy Clark, who has written several popular books for Love Inspired Historical. Falling for the Teacher is the latest in Dorothy's Pinewood Weddings series. I remember awhile back when Dorothy asked the other LIH authors to suggest some possible titles for this book -- I like the one that got picked and that lovely lantern-lit cover!
Cole Aylward finds himself falling for the teacher when Sadie Spencer returns to Pinewood to care for her ailing grandparents. But Sadie wants nothing to do with the brother of the man who caused her to leave town in the first place. She doesn't trust him to continue running her family's business, let alone trust him with her heart. But Cole is determined to make Sadie see that he is nothing like his brother and prove that he is worthy of her love.
Dorothy, I love the idea of Sadie's grandparents being the reason for her return to Pinewood! Do any of the characters from Wooing the Schoolmarm or Courting Miss Callie make an appearance in this book?
sounds good I loved Wooing the Schoolmarm.will there be more in this series?
I too love this series and will have to get a copy of Falling for the Teacher. How appropriate of a time for this book to come out since school just started. What are you currently working on Dorothy?
It is always fun to touch base with Dorothy and to hear about her books, love these about school teachers. How did you choose such a deep problem like being attacked for Sadie, do you know someone that had similar problem? I know Cole will have hard time earning her trust, any man would, but for the brother of her attacker, that is hard.
I love this series! I have been hoping for her story! I am so excited to read this one!
I'M IN! Sorry, I'm late everyone. For some reason Goodreads decided not to recognize me as a member this morning so I had to rejoin, then I had to rejoin this group. And I think my author page, etc. has disappeared. But...I'll deal with that later. For now...I'm so glad to finally get here!!!! Thank you Deb for allowing me to have a part in another Author Q & A. I LOVE these events. It's so interesting to learn what readers think about our books and characters, etc. So, I'm here now everyone. Let's talk books, writing, characters, whatever...you choose.
Deborah wrote: "Thanks to Janet for getting the week off to such a great start! Our guest author for today is Dorothy Clark, who has written several popular books for ..."
Hi Deb, Thanks again for inviting me to take part in this Q & A. To answer your question...Yes, Willa, Callie and others from the first two Pinewood Weddings books appear in this third book. Willa and Callie are very happy to have Sadie back in Pinewood and they are there to support her---even when they may not entirely approve of her actions. But then, that's what best friends do. Right?
Ausjenny wrote: "sounds good I loved Wooing the Schoolmarm.will there be more in this series?"
Hi Ausjenny. It's good to talk with you again. Thanks for the kind words about Wooing the Schoolmarm. There will be one more book in this Pinewood Weddings series. I'm writing the fourth book now. The story takes place in December and I'm really enjoying learning and writing about Christmas in 1841.
Laura AKA Loves 2 Read Romance wrote: "I too love this series and will have to get a copy of Falling for the Teacher. How appropriate of a time for this book to come out since school just started. What are you currently working on Dorothy?"Hi Laura. I'm so glad you love the series. I think I mentioned in previous Q & As that this Pinewood Wedding series is based on the early years of my small town so my heart is truly in these stories. As I mentioned to Ausjenny, I am presently writing the fourth and last book of this series and really enjoying it because it takes place in December and I get to write about Christmas in 1841. I'm learning a lot as I do the research.
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Paula-O wrote: "It is always fun to touch base with Dorothy and to hear about her books, love these about school teachers. How did you choose such a deep problem like being attacked for Sadie, do you know someo..."Hi Paula-O. I'm glad you like books about school teachers. I taught school and my love of teaching has a tendency to sneak into my books. As to how I chose a deep problem like being attacked for Sadie... I wanted something that would cause deep, lasting trauma (to keep Sadie from returning home, or trusting men etc.) and it seemed to me, being attacked would have that lasting effect on any woman. And, having her attacker's brother for the hero added another, deeper dimension to her problems. As you say, Cole will have a hard time earning Sadie's trust. What surprised me was the traumatic effect the attack on Sadie had on Cole. His problem adds a real twist to the story I didn't expect or plan. I LOVE IT when that happens! I like to have difficult to overcome conflicts that cause my characters to grow in faith.
Melody wrote: "I love this series! I have been hoping for her story! I am so excited to read this one!"Thanks for the kind words, Melody. I hope you enjoy Sadie's story. And, there is one more book to the series. Care to guess who it will be about?
I'm so glad Deb mentioned the lantern-lit cover for this book. I really like it! I think all of the LIH covers are great, but, in my opinion, which I freely admit may be prejudiced, : )the art dept. did an outstanding job with this one. They got all of the details right including the moonlit forest path and the lantern!
Hi, Dorothy! I am a teacher, so one reason this story has Interest for me is just because the main character is an educator. Do you have any teachers in your family?
Barbara wrote: "Hi, Dorothy! I am a teacher, so one reason this story has Interest for me is just because the main character is an educator. Do you have any teachers in your family?"Hi Barbara! Yes, my sister and I are both teachers. I say that because, though we haven't taught for years, once a teacher, always a teacher...right?
Having the hero be the brother of the attacker must provide for excellent conflict! I also agree that the LIH covers are just beautiful!
Brittany wrote: "Having the hero be the brother of the attacker must provide for excellent conflict! I also agree that the LIH covers are just beautiful!"You're right about the excellent conflict, Brittany. Not only does having the hero's brother the attacker heighten the conflict between the hero and heroine, but it brought an internal conflict to the hero I hadn't expected. Cole's struggle captured my heart.
Dorothy, I'm so glad you were able to get on Goodreads today! You are one of my must-read authors.I read your "how I became an author" page on your website and got chills! Isn't it awesome how God puts things on our mind, keeps them there, and then sends confirmation from other sources?
And I agree that the cover is beautiful. I'm often drawn to a book purely because of the artwork.
Hi Carole. Thank you so much! Those are some of my favorite words! :) I'm still having some trouble, the internet is not my friend today. If I disappear, you can rest assured it's because there is some sort of problem.Yes, God truly is amazing. I wouldn't be writing if it weren't for Him and His clear direction.
We've discussed (a bit) the traumatic experience (attack) that drove Sadie from Pinewood. But there are also traumatic circumstances that bring her back---her grandparents health. With her grandfather it is physical---a seizure. We'd call it a stroke today. And with her grandmother it is mental confusion. We'd call it dementia now. Have any of you suffered through these illnesses with loved ones? Can you imagine going through that in 1841 when they had little knowledge of the illness, let alone any idea of how to treat it?
Love Inspired Historicals
Books mentioned in this topic
Wooing the Schoolmarm (other topics)Courting Miss Callie (other topics)
A Place of Refuge (other topics)
Keeping Faith (other topics)
The Dutiful Daughter (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Hannah Alexander (other topics)Janet Lee Barton (other topics)
Dorothy Clark (other topics)
Jo Ann Ferguson (other topics)
Jo Ann Brown (other topics)
I'm looking forward to visiting with all our guest authors and of course with our wonderful readers. I hope you all have a lovely Labor Day Weekend!