THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY ~ Rachel's Valley ~ Alice Patron

IT'S THROWBACK THURSDAY!

Please welcome author Alice Patron as she shares . . .

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

Rachel’s Valley, by Alice Patron

Book Summary

Not long after saying “I do,” Rachel Wood finds herself abandoned by her husband in a mining town in the West. After a year and a half of waiting for his return, she needs to move on. She responds to an ad in the newspaper and becomes the caretaker for two girls in the small town of Breckenridge, Colorado.

The moment he sees the beautiful young woman climbing into his wagon, widower Clint Harvey second-guesses his decision to hire someone to teach his daughters. But Rachel Wood is just what his girls need. And it doesn’t take long to realize that she is exactly what he needs, too—if only she didn’t keep holding him at arm’s length.

Clint is the only man who has ever shown Rachel true love and friendship, and it becomes almost unbearable to not let herself fall for him. But she doesn’t want to cause a scandal in such a small town, so she keeps her marital status under wraps. But when she finally receives a threatening letter from her “husband,” she begins to question whether her marriage was even legally binding in the first place.

Now, she must unravel the status of her supposed marriage before her chance of happiness with Clint has passed—and follow God’s law no matter the outcome, which just might be the most difficult thing of all.

Some of what has inspired Rachel’s Valley:

 I live in and love the west. I may live in the suburbs, but I don’t have to travel far to see the mountains, the desert, and the tough ranchers and farmers out caring for their land and animals in the heat and the face-hurting cold. There is real grit and gumption in the people and culture of the west. That hardiness is shown in the main characters of Rachel’s Valley.

Clint and Rachel are not only physically tough, but they also both have a strength of faith and character that keeps them from crumbling in response to pressures of tragedy and betrayal. That strength also keeps them from succumbing to their desires. I wanted to write about strong people – I believe we can all be as sturdy as an 1880s cowboy if we have the faith of an 1880s cowboy.

FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED

About Alice Patron:

Alice Patron

A Utah native, Alice was born in the perfect small town – she could roam the neighborhood at night, the sledding and hiking trails were abundant, and the neighbors were neighborly. During college, she spent several years abroad and learned to speak fluent Spanish. Now she can communicate with her husband’s family when she visits them in Mexico.

Follow Alice on:

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/authoralicepatron/

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NZN9LGF/

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44125723-rachel-s-valley?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=fpDWNPVUJk&rank=2

 Thank you, Alice, for sharing your book and your story with us. May God continue to bless your writing journey.

GIFTS FROM THE GREATEST GENERATION

Dust Between the Stitches: The Great Depression

By Cleo Lampos

A bundle of quilting materials derived from chicken feed bags and sugar sacks.  A trunk full of diaries and letters from Iowa dated throughout the decade of the 1930’s. From these humble scraps a story threaded its way into a book. An historic novel, Dust Between the Stitches, brings the dust storms and the desperation of the Great Plains farmers to life.

When my mother died in 1988, she left very little earthly goods behind. In a hall closet, we found a bag of muslin feed bags and flour sacks that were cut into 12-inch squares and firmly ironed. On many of these textural pieces, a transfer of a bird and flower was visible in faint blue ink. All 48 states were represented. I started to embroider the state flower/birds to complete the quilt. Significantly, I developed a curiosity about the quilting practices of the Great Depression and began an obsessive collection of quilts from that era. Several years ago, my granddaughter helped to finish this abbreviated version of the State Bird and Flower Quilt of the 1930’s.

The Bird and Flower Quilt created from feed sacks.

In an old trunk, a stash of diaries from my mother’s marriage lay under white linens with deep tatting on the edges. Married in June of 1930, my father and mother began their wedded bliss just as the drought hit the West and Great Plains. My father owned a drag-line and was able to find work as he dug irrigation ditches and spud cellars in Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas. Twenty-three different addresses in five years, then they settled in Greeley, Colorado, with my kindergarten-aged brother.  Reading these diaries, letters from folks back in Iowa, and some newspaper articles, brought the heart ache, insecurities, and fear of the Dust Bowl into reality.

The Novel’s Characters Come Alive

Addy Meyers is a first-year teacher in a one room schoolhouse near Greeley, Colorado. She faces the Board of Education as they assess her teaching skills. The eighth-grade boys challenge her authority. The dust storms bring her to the reality of dust, pneumonia, and poverty.

Foreclosure of grandpa’s homestead threatens the security of Addy, grandpa and the two orphan children that Addy’s grandparents adopted. Jess Dettmann is a single man who helps them keep their wits and possibly the homestead. The homeless people who occupy the Hooverville nearby are introduced to Addy by Jess. Her compassionate heart reaches out to these resourceful families who have lost everything. Addy is shocked when she cans applesauce at the community canning center that other women are canning weeds to be eaten in the winter.

Creating a quilt from her Grandmother’s stash pile serves as a way for Addy to cope. Despair, dust, and drought weave through the Great Depression and Dust Bowl producing a fabric on which vivid threads of hope will appear. Will Addy save the farm, her job, and her heart on the Colorado ranch?

From Great Depression to Greatest Generation

The gifts of an unfinished quilt and a treasure trove of written accounts of a forgotten decade ignited my imagination. It is my wish that those who read this novel will realize that the children of the Dust Bowl grew up to be the members of The Greatest Generation. The children and young adults during the Great Depression learned to persevere in tough times and used those lessons in frugality all of their lives. We owe them a debt of gratitude that cannot be repaid.

Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Sam quilt that Addy created.

While teaching behavior disordered/emotionally disturbed students in a Chicago suburb, I discovered that historical fiction is an excellent way to learn about the issues and people of a time period. To help students write a book report on Dust Between the Stitches, an aid has been created. The insights help junior high and high school readers to understand the dust bowl’s uniqueness in the Great Depression, and to write an organized and thoughtful book report.

Cleo Lampos, M.Ed.

www.cleolampos.com

FB: Author Cleo Lampos

FB: Quilters: Mind, Heart and Soul

Books are available on amazon.com.

CLEO LAMPOS ~ A Mother's Song ~ Giveaway

Hi, everybody. It's "Throwback Thursday" here on Whispers in Purple Blog which gives authors a chance to spotlight a book from their back-lists. Please welcome Cleo Lampos as she talks about her historical novel A MOTHER's SONG, a fascinating peek into the historical Orphan Trains. 

While researching documents for the historical fiction, A Mother’s Song, the issues of the nineteenth century and the crisis of present times coincided. The challenges of the past mirror those of today.

Reading books on the orphan trains that transported over 200,000 homeless waifs from New York City to farms on the Great Plains occupied several years of my life. Each true account from the point of view of a train rider captivated my imagination. The resiliency of the children, their defenses, the fears, and the ability to cope brought their plights to life. Their stories stirred my heart.

The women who rode the trains for years with these children, helping them find “forever homes” inspired me. These agents of the Children’s Aid Society became the forerunners of social work as they fought against exploitation and work issues of their charges. They became heroes.

But the mothers of 1890. They astounded me. Those Irish immigrant mothers in New York City, Five Points, who had more children than they could support gripped my soul. The difficulties they faced on a day to day basis. The choices that haunted them. The ability to allow their children to ride the orphan train to a life that they could not give to them. Hard decisions. Life giving chances. Deep regrets. Their plight haunted me.

My husband traveled with me to the National Orphan Train Museum in Concordia, Kansas, to gather more books and information about the ragamuffins and agents who traveled the tracks between NYC and the west. He attended the Little Falls, Minnesota, Reunion of the descendants of the trains.  We heard the stories from four surviving riders and warmed at their positive attitudes toward life. Then I wrote this book, A Mother’s Song.

Perhaps for me, the creation of this novel served personal therapy. My father died when I was young, and my mother married an alcoholic. Several years of my life were spent in foster care. The stories from the orphan trains touched areas of my emotions needed healing.

When I presented a lecture on this book to a group of South Side Irish women, they leaned into the information. For them, the book represents the most complete view of what happened to Irish immigrants who escaped the Great Famine. They empathized with the main characters only in a way that hardship can generate.

A Mother’s Song follows the main character, Deirdre O’Sullivan, her husband, son, and four year old Ava Rose in Five Points, NYC. This 1890 washerwoman is pregnant with her third child.  When her husband is killed in an accident, Deirdre is left with three children and no support. Her older son becomes a newsie and lives on the streets. Rather than let the baby and Ava Rose starve to death, she signs for them to be put on an orphan train.

 In Nebraska, Claudine has suffered multiple miscarriages and is depressed. She adopts the children. Will the adoption provide the safety and opportunity that Deirdre hopes? This researched story of two mothers and the child who lives both is heart wrenching. It is a poignant tale of hope and courage against unfathomable odds for a better life free from prejudice and poverty.

 

The author, Cleo Lampos, is a retired educator who taught emotionally disturbed/behavior disordered children for 26 years. She lives in a suburb on the south side of Chicago where she quilts, helps her husband with their urban garden, and enjoys eleven grandchildren. She is the author of eight books and numerous magazine articles.

Cleo Lampos’ books are available on amazon.com.

The Giveaway: One free copy of this historic novel will be given to one reader of this post who leaves a comment below with name and contact info (so we can notify you if you're the winner).

Giveaway will run for one week from today on Thursday, July 23, 2020, at MIDNIGHT central time. Winner will be drawn via random.org and notified via email.

WOMEN AT SEA ~ Susan Page Davis ~ Giveaway

It's "Throwback Thursday" here on Whispers in Purple blog.

So . . .

Please welcome author SUSAN PAGE DAVIS

and let's talk about

 WOMEN AT SEA 

Take it away, Susan

In 1830, there were 7 men for every woman in Victoria, Australia. Both free settlers and female convicts were sent to Port Phillip, where the city of Melbourne grew up. The labor shortage was so severe that many single women sailed out with families, to work as domestic servants. The life was hard, and servants who lost their jobs or became pregnant found themselves on the street.

For female convicts, a sentence of transportation, or being shipped to England’s colonies in Australia, often meant unwilling prostitution. The conditions were so unbearable that some women chose execution over transportation.

Alice Packard, the heroine of The Seafaring Women of the Vera B., rescues several women from a brothel in Melbourne to help sail her ship. After her husband’s death, she feels compelled to deliver his ship and cargo to Massachusetts, but the crew deserted in favor of Australia’s gold fields. Desperate for workers, Alice meets several women who are willing to work hard and dangerous jobs to escape from their life in Melbourne. With help from her aging boatswain and a British noblewoman who is disillusioned with colonial life, Alice hires a full crew and helps the women flee.

My son Jim and I wrote this book together, inspired by the stories of courageous women who fought to make a better life for themselves.

In the second book of the series, The Scottish Lass, sailor Fiona Campbell is captured and forced to accompany a band of cutthroats on their quest for a lost treasure. Shifty Samuel Trafton has betrayed his friend Elwood Stark and stolen the new Stark’s commanding from under him. Stark approaches Alice Packard for help, but she’s not sure she can trust him. Fearing for her life, Fiona fends off her kidnappers and prays Captain Alice and her crew will come to the rescue. Meanwhile, first mate Tommy Mercer tries to help Fiona and suffers for his efforts. Can Fiona save Tommy’s life? Will the Trafton keep her captive when he leaves the islands?

Alice has many lives depending on her, and she can’t afford to make a mistake. Could Stark be in league with Trafton to gain control of the Vera B. as well as Stark’s schooner? The Hearts of Oak series is full of adventure, but it’s also about loyalty, forgiveness, and faith.

 Buy The Seafaring Women of the Vera B. at:

Paperback: https://bookstore.susanpagedavis.com/product/the-seafaring-women-of-the-vera-b/  

E-book: https://amzn.to/3aw21w0

Buy The Scottish Lass at:

Paperback:  https://bookstore.susanpagedavis.com/product/the-scottish-lass/

E-book: https://amzn.to/2K9Jqvb   

Both books are also available on Kindle Unlimited.

Author Bio: Susan Page Davis is the author of more than 90 Christian novels and novellas. She’s a winner of the Carol Award, two Faith, Hope, and Love Readers’ Choice Awards, and two Will Rogers Medallions. She lives in western Kentucky with her husband Jim. They have six children and ten grandchildren.

Her co-author on this series, son James S. Davis, has spent time in Australia, Micronesia, and other far places. He has a degree in agriculture, and he and his wife live in South Carolina with their seven children.

Find Susan at:

Website: https://susanpagedavis.com

Twitter: @SusanPageDavis

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanpagedavisauthor

Newsletter: https://madmimi.com/signups/118177/join

Susan will give away one copy of either The Seafaring Women of the Vera B. or The Scottish Lass, e-book or paper (paperbacks to US addresses only, please). Winner may choose. 

Giveaway runs for one week, ending Thursday, May 7. 2020, at Midnight, Central time.

Thank you so much, Susan (and Jim) for being my blog guest this week.

Both books sound fascinating.

AN INTERVIEW WITH WENDY WILSON SPOONER ~ Once Upon an Irish Summer ~ Giveaway

Please welcome special guest

 Wendy Wilson Spooner who has 

graciously consented to an 

interview -- and a look at her debut 

novel Once Upon an Irish Summer.

AND...there's a giveaway, too!

Welcome Wendy! Thanks so much for spending some time with us and letting us learn more about you and your writing! 

Are you ready?

How long have you been writing?

I’ve kept a journal since I was thirteen years old. That’s when I began consistently writing. As an adult—and in my career as a professional Genetic Genealogist—I’ve written many professional articles and I’ve dabbled in poetry. I love to write. Period.

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how did/do you overcome it?

TIME. Finding the time to write is difficult. One thing I’ve recently implemented that works perfectly is doing writing sprints each evening with a group I belong to. We usually start at 9 or 10 pm by gathering in a Facebook Messenger group, then we sprint for 20 minutes, take a five-minute break, and repeat three times. Even if I’ve already written for several hours during the day, I’ll often still do sprints at night because it’s become a habit. And it’s very productive!

Besides writing, what other hobbies do you enjoy?  

I love so many things in life and the many opportunities this big beautiful planet has to offer that I sometimes have a hard time choosing. But my doable, go-to favorites are:

• ·       Painting. I’ve explored and love to paint in multiple mediums
• ·       Music. I'm a former piano teacher and it’s utter and complete therapy for me to just sit at the piano and play
• ·       Movies. I'm an insane movie buff and I’ve seen pretty much everything
• ·       Travel. Anywhere, anytime! From exotic countries to camping in the remotest of areas, I love to explore ghost towns, historic sites, museums, libraries, parks, rollercoasters, you name it!

If you could travel to any time or place, where/when would it be? Why?

I would travel back in time to Calcutta (now Kolkata), in India. My 4^th great grandfather was a Colonel in the British army and he lived in India with his family in the late 1700s to the early 1800s. He sent his daughter to Ireland to live with his sister—her aunt—to gain an education at his sister’s estate. This true story in my family is similar to that of the Secret Garden. I’ve traveled India three times already, but I’ve never been to Kalkatta. This trip is at the top of my bucket list because there is much that remains from the British Inidia time period all over India!

Let's talk about your book:

Title: Once Upon an Irish Summer

Author: Wendy Wilson Spooner

Publisher: Ambassador International

Release Date: April 3^rd 

Genre: YA/crossover historical fiction romance

Series/Stand-Alone: The first in a series

Target Audience: All girls and women from 10 years old to 110

Is research something you enjoy? To what extent do you go to find answers?

I live for research. I am stopped dead in my tracks by old photographs, historical buildings, yellowed letters, and family heirlooms. I have to know the story behind the letter, or the people in the photo, or who it was that lived in a beautiful old building. I'm utterly compelled to find out. It's like nothing else in the world matters until I know. And then I must write about the discoveries—people’s stories from the past—because every life matters. And what we learn from those who came before has the potential to completely change our futures.

What take-away value do you want readers to gain from your novel?

Emory University has released the results of a study conducted on teenagers knowing—or not knowing—their family history. The study was based on 20 questions. The results showed that kids who knew the answers to these 20 questions had a stronger sense of control over their lives, higher self-esteem, a greater belief in the successful functioning of their families, and they also proved to be more resilient to life’s challenges. So, the take-away from my book? I hope my readers feel inspired to delve into their own family trees to find the people who inspire them!

About Wendy:

My love of what we can learn from history compels me to write the true stories I unearth during research, and I've found that truth is indeed, much more exciting and inspiring than fiction!

I write about family, faith, grief, art, and overcoming obstacles in life by coming to know who we truly are—children of God, and the descendants of remarkable people who paved the way before us—even if they really struggled. I believe in learning from our ancestors, honoring them, and then standing on their shoulders to become someone even better. I know that's what they want for us. How do I know? Because that's what I want for my own descendants, and how great would it be if every generation became just a little better than the one before?

Why I turned to novel writing

As an award-winning author of professional articles and poems, I've turned to novel writing to share the true stories I discover with a greater audience. The spark of the dual-timeline story of Once Upon an Irish Summer came about while I researched an ancestor on location in Ireland. When I unearthed his story and found out why he left his homeland, and then researched his life  after he came to the United States, I knew many readers would relate to what he overcame and feel inspired to successfully work through trials in their own lives.

I wrote the present-day timeline through the eyes of a struggling teenage girl, to show readers the impact of what can happen to us when we come to know our ancestors. It can literally change us.

The study that compels me to write

Emory University has released the results of a study they conducted on teenagers knowing or not knowing their family history. It was based on 20 questions. The results showed that kids who knew the answers had a stronger sense of control over their lives, higher self-esteem, a greater belief in the successful functioning of their own families, and they proved to be more resilient to life’s challenges.

So, this is why I write. To inspire readers—especially the rising generation—to know who they come from, to learn from them, and to stand on their shoulders to become someone even better.

https://wendywilsonspooner.com/

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B084BPSQH4

https://www.facebook.com/authorWendyWilsonSpooner/?modal=admin_todo_tour

https://www.instagram.com/wendyspooner/

https://twitter.com/Wendy_W_Spooner

About the Giveaway:

Wendy is offering a gift eBook copy of Once Upon an Irish Summer to one of the readers of this blog post who leaves a domment below with name and contact information, and answers the (optional) question have you ever been to Ireland? I'd love to get a fun conversation going!.

Giveaway ends one week from today on Wednesday, April1--No fooling!--at Midnight O'Clock CDT. 

OH!! If you're not already a follower of this blog (see sidebar) please consider becoming one, mention it in your comment, and you'll receive one extra entry in the giveawy. What a deal, huh?

 A "two-for-one!"

Thanks, Wendy, for being my guest this week!

ANNIVERSARIES ~ Pat Jeanne Davis ~ Giveaway

ANNIVERSARIES

by Pat Jeanne Davis (Giveaway offered)

Today marks one year since When Valleys Bloom Again released. In several ways having my first full length novel published has changed my life. The work doesn’t stop with finally seeing your book in print. In order to promote and market my debut novel, I needed to learn how to be a businesswoman. Also, it has been necessary to become more outgoing and to step up and engage with readers after speaking at historical societies, book signing events at churches, fairs and at bookstores, sometimes traveling miles from my home to the area in which my novel takes place. To my surprise, I’ve enjoyed being at these events and answering question on the research for my WWII novel and about family members who served with the military in the war. I’ve also enjoyed being a guest on many blogs over the months and connecting with new readers there. During these months my Heavenly Father has been so gracious supplying all my needs along the way.

In the excerpt below, Abby Stapleton, the heroine in my novel, also arrives at a significant one-year anniversary.

August 1940

One year since her arrival. Though Abby wanted to return to England, she couldn’t exclude the possibility that Jim might be part of God’s plan for her life. That her aunt had thrown up a road block only intensified her longing for him. Chafing under her aunt’s prohibition and hating herself for submitting to it, she took refuge in the belief that Jim would keep his job.

She’d botched her attempt to explain things to him. “Something’s come up, and I can’t work with you for a while,” she had told him. What was that supposed to mean? No wonder he’d looked confused. But Jim had taken it with good grace, nodding while she fidgeted and groped for a reason.

Abby scheduled tasks in the greenhouse for Sunday afternoons—the only day Jim was off. Infrequent encounters with him during the summer had been accidental. She gleaned from a remark Jim made that he attributed these absences to anxiety over her family. Abby let the impression stand. Soon she’d be returning to Weston for her junior year and be away most of the day. Still, she wanted to talk with him as before.

Today, as she went about her work Abby consoled herself with the realization she moved in the same space Jim had yesterday. She cherished the written instructions he’d left on the potting table, pinned down with a smooth, shiny stone from the garden. He asked her to “snip the blooms from the sweet peas to keep them flowering,” and to “pay special attention to watering the container plants.” He’d underlined the last task. Abby ticked off each one as she completed it. Boy, Jim was so clever. Thorough, too. Her uncle made a good choice with him. As she puttered about, Abby kept up a running dialogue with Jim in her head.

Abby consulted the final item on his list. “For You,” Jim wrote. At his suggestion, she cut for herself yellow, orange, and salmon gladioli, taking care not to remove all the leaves from remaining stems. Jim had said these leaves feed the bulbs for the following year’s growth. Cradling her bouquet, Abby left the greenhouse, shutting the door behind her. Regardless of what her head told her, her heart pulled irresistibly to him. Oh, yes, and double-yes, she’d fallen in love with Jim. Where would it all lead?

BIO:

 

PAT JEANNE DAVIS lives in Philadelphia, Pa with her British-born husband, John. They have two grown sons. She enjoys flower gardening, genealogy research and traveling with her husband. Pat has published essays, short stories and articles online and in print. She has a keen interest in twentieth-century American and British history, particularly the period of World War II. Pat’s father-in-law served in the British Eighth Army during the war. When Valleys Bloom Again is her debut historical inspirational romance set in that era. She is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). Pat loves to hear from her readers. Subscribe to her newsletter here www.patjeannedavis.com

Links:

When Valleys Bloom Again can be purchased here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Valleys-Bloom-Again-Jeanne-Davis/dp/1948888920/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=154

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/when-valleys-bloom-again-pat-jeanne-davis/1130351044?ean=9781948888929                                          

Social Media:  

Website:  https://www.patjeannedavis.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pat.j.davis.7

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/patjeannedavis/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43600391-when-valleys-bloom-again?from_search=true   

Amazon Author Page:  https://amazon.com/author/patjeannedavis 

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/pat-jeanne-davis-34290422/                   

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/patjeannedavis/   

 BookBub:  https://www.bookbub.com/books/when-valleys-bloom-again-by-pat-jeanne-davis

About the Giveaway: Pat is generously offering to give away one print copy of When Valleys Bloom Again to one of my readers in the US who leave their name and email information in the comments section below. Giveaway ends one week from today on Thursday, January 23 at Midnight, central time.