NIGHT BIRD CALLING - Cathy Gohlke - one Free Book

Bio Three-time Christy and two-time Carol and INSPY Award–winning author Cathy Gohlke writes novels steeped with inspirational lessons from history. Her stories reveal how people break the chains that bind them and triumph over adversity through faith. When not traveling to historic sites for research, she and husband, Dan, divide their time between northern Virginia and the Jersey Shore, enjoying time with their grown children and grandchildren. Visit her website at http://www.cathygohlke.com and find her on Facebook at CathyGohlkeBooks. 

Welcome back, Cathy. What inspired you to write Night Bird Calling? Years ago I wrote a number of short stories based on some quirky characters in a fictional North Carolina foothills town called No Creek. I loved those characters, but in order to create a novel, I needed an outside character who could see both strengths and foibles in my town folk and still care about them, still want to become part of their community, and who could tie their stories together.

For many years I’ve also wrestled with the idea of writing about the racial divide and abuse I saw growing up during years of the civil rights movement in the South, as well as domestic abuse and church oppression, things I experienced in my youth and young womanhood. Night Bird Calling is the marriage of all those experiences and stories.

Night Bird Calling involves some very challenging topics like domestic abuse, racism, and church abuse. What motivated you to write on these topics? I grew up mostly in the South during years of the civil rights movement, where I witnessed segregation, desegregation, racial oppression, and abuse but also heroic stands against injustice and some hard-won changes. I learned that attitudes do not change just because laws change. Transformation of the heart is also needed. That is as true today as it was then.

As a young woman, I ran away from an abusive marriage and an oppressive church. My journey toward emotional and spiritual healing took many years. I want women in similar situations to know that they are not alone, that God loves them so very dearly and that the condemnations of their oppressors do not come from Him.

I wrote Night Bird Calling not only for victims of abuse, but in the hope that readers might gain insight, sympathy, and empathy for those who’ve been abused or pushed down, that they might better understand and see creative ways they can help, ways they can be a voice for the voiceless or those needing someone to walk alongside them.

The novel is set in a rural community divided by racism, in a country on the brink of World War II. What prompted you to write about this particular time period and setting? I see a number of correlations between the years leading up to WWII and our present day. Economic fears, joblessness, uncertainty about where our world is headed, questions about our responsibility and ability to help those who’ve been abused or are in need, and our serious racial divide are all issues people grappled with in 1941 just as we do today. Sometimes it’s easier to understand our complex difficulties and find creative solutions by viewing them through the lens of a historic time frame rather than the busyness and political divides of modern day. Historical fiction provides that little bit of distance to enhance our objectivity.

How do you expect the novel, especially the struggles of your characters, to resonate with your readers? We all have ingrained in us a bit of prejudice and a hesitancy to get involved in the troubles of others. We’ve said or done things we later realized were not honorable or kind and have regretted our words or actions. Many of us have at one time or another been the victim of abuse or oppression or at least marginalization. Some of us have wondered if God could really love us, forgive us, or if we could possibly be welcomed into the church community. Sometimes we’ve stood as lions against injustice and been that needed voice for the voiceless. Sometimes we’ve been the accuser. Sometimes we’ve been the accused. Sometimes we’ve cowered when we know we should have stood strong against injustice. No Creek is a community that contains all those characters, with their strengths and foibles. At heart they’re mostly good people who learn they need to change so they can do better, be better and kinder, wiser. I think we all relate to those characters, for at one time or another we’ve all been or known them. I think that seeing ourselves or our loved ones in the shoes of these characters helps us realize that we, like they, can stand against injustice and work for change and growth within ourselves and our communities.

The novel is set in a rural community divided by racism, in a country on the brink of World War II. What prompted you to write about this particular time period and setting? I see a number of correlations between the years leading up to WWII and our present day. Economic fears, joblessness, uncertainty about where our world is headed, questions about our responsibility and ability to help those who’ve been abused or are in need, and our serious racial divide are all issues people grappled with in 1941 just as we do today. Sometimes it’s easier to understand our complex difficulties and find creative solutions by viewing them through the lens of a historic time frame rather than the busyness and political divides of modern day. Historical fiction provides that little bit of distance to enhance our objectivity.

How do you expect the novel, especially the struggles of your characters, to resonate with your readers? We all have ingrained in us a bit of prejudice and a hesitancy to get involved in the troubles of others. We’ve said or done things we later realized were not honorable or kind and have regretted our words or actions. Many of us have at one time or another been the victim of abuse or oppression or at least marginalization. Some of us have wondered if God could really love us, forgive us, or if we could possibly be welcomed into the church community. Sometimes we’ve stood as lions against injustice and been that needed voice for the voiceless. Sometimes we’ve been the accuser. Sometimes we’ve been the accused. Sometimes we’ve cowered when we know we should have stood strong against injustice. No Creek is a community that contains all those characters, with their strengths and foibles. At heart they’re mostly good people who learn they need to change so they can do better, be better and kinder, wiser. I think we all relate to those characters, for at one time or another we’ve all been or known them. I think that seeing ourselves or our loved ones in the shoes of these characters helps us realize that we, like they, can stand against injustice and work for change and growth within ourselves and our communities.

Can you tell us about the historical research that went into writing this novel? Did you learn anything new that surprised you? Much of my prior WWII writing has focused on foreign shores, but for this story I researched the American home front before and during WWII through books, Internet research, archival film footage on the Great Depression, Jim Crow laws and their results, the history of lynching and the KKK, racism and the great migration, and the work of Eleanor Roosevelt, as well as histories of Wilkes and Surry Counties in North Carolina and the Appalachian home moonshine industry and its culture. I read about and visited lifesaving stations on the Outer Banks.

Legal sources were interviewed for information regarding trusts, wills, and divorce proceedings in 1941. Newspapers archives for Wilkes County were helpful. I interviewed some wonderful older people who had lived there during those years and pulled some reallife stories from them, my family, and my own life, then enjoyed a trip to the North Carolina foothills and mountains, soaking up its music and a visit to the church and cemetery where some of my ancestors were buried. For the Oswald and Biddy Chambers threads, I found wonderful information in the biography Mrs. Oswald Chambers by Michelle Ule and in Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God by David McCasland, as well as pertinent passages in My Utmost for His Highest.

I was surprised to learn how close to civilian life the military in North Carolina practiced war games as they trained recruits. I can only imagine it was startling and perhaps frightening to those able to observe.

Stories of racial division and wartime highlight the difficulty of living in uncertainty and dealing with the unexpected. How does faith play into this aspect of the novel and into the novel more generally? None of us know the future. We don’t control the present. Life—our own and the community and nation in which we live—can turn on a dime. We all need a source, a touchstone, a safe place that also presents a moral lens and a high, stable bar. Jesus Christ and faith in His unfailing love and provision fills all those needs. Lilliana, Celia, Gladys, the McHones, and others to a lesser extent all learn this lesson and grow from it.

As an author, what did you particularly enjoy about crafting this story? I loved writing the big personalities of small-town characters in No Creek, especially precocious eleven-year-old Celia Percy. Celia possesses a lion’s heart in a small body and is ready to rail against injustice and champion the underdog no matter what. Lilliana, the story’s timid young heroine who flees abuse, grows into the woman God intended her to be by relinquishing misguided beliefs, trusting in the Lord’s love for her, and reaching outside herself to help others.

The town is peppered with courage, love, and kindness, as well as prejudice, meanness, and oppression. Such a diverse and racially divided town is a microcosm of our world. Only by embracing the worth of others while acknowledging the “beam” in their own eye could change come to No Creek. That is true for each of us. I love the parable in that.

Night Bird Calling presents intriguing and lovable characters in heartbreaking and challenging situations. Did the journeys of any of the characters surprise you as you wrote? Marshall, the fifteen-year-old nephew of Olney Tate, descendent of slaves, surprised me. Marshall was sent to live with his aunt and uncle, Mercy and Olney Tate, after his father was murdered in Georgia. Though Marshall could barely read or write, he had a keen eye and a thirst for learning. I knew Marshall was a hard worker and an honorable young man, but I did not anticipate his excelling so quickly or that he would develop a passion for healing and a desire to apprentice himself to Dr. Vishnevsky—a desire cut short due to the dangers of racism in No Creek. But it is in leaving No Creek that Marshall finds his future—a future that will be explored in my next book.

Opening a lending library from their home to everyone in the community, regardless of race, was a radical move in 1941 Appalachia. What inspired this? Sometime after fleeing my abusive marriage as a young woman, I bought an old trailer in a run-down neighborhood—a far cry from Garden’s Gate—but the best I could afford at the time. Children in that neighborhood ran as wild and untended as weeds in a garden run amok. I befriended many of those children—or they befriended me—bought a used bookcase and books at yard sales, and opened a lending library right there in my trailer. Children came for hours sometimes to color pictures, read or be read to, enjoy glasses of milk and homemade bread with jam, and just talk, asking questions about life and God and prison (where one of their fathers served time)—everything imaginable. Parents often took advantage of their community’s new “free” babysitter, but those were precious and healing days for the children and for me. Years later I remarried and bore my own precious children. When they were old enough, I worked as a children’s librarian in a school. Those memories became the inspiration for Aunt Hyacinth’s lending library in Night Bird Calling.

Is there one character whose experience you especially identify with or one whose story grew out of lessons you learned in your own life? I identify closely with both Lilliana and Celia, for different reasons. Like Lilliana, I ran away from an abusive marriage and oppressive church as a young woman. It took many years to work through the issues surrounding that and to find healing, to believe that God could really love me. Helping others in need (by opening the lending library and offering literacy help to the community, opening her home to the Percys, and doing what she could to rescue Ruby Lynne, a girl with similar problems to her own) was important on the path to Lilliana’s healing. Reaching out to help others in need has been a help to me, too.

Like Celia, I was the creative child with big ideas, a strong sense of social justice, and a determination to speak out against injustice no matter the consequences that my mother didn’t know what to do with.

What did you learn by writing this novel, and what lessons do you hope your readers take away? Night Bird Calling is fiction, as are its characters, though parts of Lilliana’s escape from an abusive marriage and her challenged growth into believing that God really loves her and has a plan for her life were drawn from my own life. I found the dredging up of memories I’ve wanted to forget and the necessary baring of my soul to write this story emotionally challenging, yet in the end I also found it freeing. Shame loses its hold once confessed. It is truly a gift if that confession helps free others. Abused women are often told not to tell of their abuse and are threatened with dire consequences to ensure their silence. Often they are filled with shame that they cannot stop the abuse, cannot change their abuser, and feel helpless to change themselves or their circumstances. They believe their situations are unique, that no one will believe them, that they are truly alone. I hope that in writing Lilliana’s story, other women will realize those things are not true, and that abuse does not come from God, no matter what their abuser or oppressor insists. I hope women realize their value lies in the very life God has given them and that He is above all the Husband who never fails us, never hurts us, the One who loves us and always wants a strong and healthy relationship with us. He wants us to be whole.

What upcoming projects do you have in the works? Our country’s racial divide and its demand for both justice and mercy is not new. As I wrote Night Bird Calling, I realized there was a fascinating Civil War history for the characters in No Creek, both black and white, as well as changes bound to come as a result of those families’ participation in WWII. Intriguing parallels in the long ago and more recent past captured my imagination. The more I thought about it, the greater potential I saw to weave story threads with a hint of mystery and a long-standing issue of injustice through generations. I’m writing a stand-alone time slip novel between the American Civil War and WWII and its aftermath for many of No Creek’s characters that I love and with whom I wrestle—as well as some new faces. My working title is A Hundred Crickets Singing—but we’ll all learn the final title when it releases in 2022.

Thank you, Cathy, for sharing this new book with my blog readers and me. I’ve loved every book of yours that I’ve read. I’m eager to read this one. My blog readers will be, too.

Readers, here are links to the book.

https://amzn.to/3pTeSR2 - Paperback

https://amzn.to/2L5YspF - Kindle

https://amzn.to/2XaKOnQ - Audiobook, Hardback also available

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link: Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com 

UNTIL WE FIND HOME - Cathy Gohlke - One Free Book

Welcome back, Cathy. What are some of the spiritual themes you like to write about?

I write about characters, like us, who break the chains that bind—those chains forced upon us and the ones we forge ourselves—to triumph over adversity through faith. I also write about forgiveness—received and given. Neither come naturally to us. Both need our surrender, and Divine intervention.

What other books of yours are coming out soon?

My next novel, currently titled The Medallion, will release in June 2019. Inspired by true accounts of Poland’s darkest days and brightest heroes, The Medallion is the illuminating story of the separation and sacrifice of two couples—one Jewish and one Gentile—whose lives are ravaged by Hitler’s mad war, yet eventually redeemed through the fate of one small child.

Sounds interesting. If you could spend an evening with one contemporary person (not a family member of yours), who would it be and why?

I would love to spend an evening with the author, B J Hoff. BJ’s lyrical prose, strong characters and well drawn tales of the Irish and Irish immigrants in America have long inspired me—even before I believed I could write a book. The beautiful hearts of her main characters make me feel as if we might be kindred spirits. I just read her new release, Harp on the Willow, and thought again how very much I’d like to sit with her and share a steaming pot of tea, scones with jam and Devonshire cream, and talk story shop.

What historical person would you like to meet (besides Jesus) and why?

I’ve always said that the historical person I’d most like to meet is William Wilberforce, who championed the end of slavery in Great Britain. And I would still love to meet him, but lately I’ve come to think a lot about John Sherrill. John and his wife, Elizabeth, co-wrote The Hiding Place with Corrie ten Boom. Not only did that inspiring book (and the movie Billy Graham produced by the same title) greatly impact my life when it was first released, but Corrie’s story was a big part of my own writing of Secrets She Kept.

Beyond that, John’s story of his journey to faith in Jesus Christ while going through a frightening cancer diagnosis meant a great deal to me as I battled my own cancer. At a very low point in my chemo treatments, I realized that if John had never given his life to Christ and if he’d never survived cancer, he would not have gone on to write that amazing book. It gave me courage to continue my own fight with a surrendered heart and trust that the Lord might one day again use me to write stories that matter, stories that glorify Him and encourage others. I never contacted John while he was living to let him know how truly he had blessed my life through his faith and work. I’m sorry I did not, but look forward to doing that in the ages of eternity.

How can you encourage authors who have been receiving only rejections from publishers?

First, embrace the harsh reality that there are few publishing spots for the many manuscripts sent to publishing houses, and acknowledge that rejection of a manuscript is not personal. Those things simply mean there is more work ahead to reach one’s goal.

Second, ask yourself, and if possible, ask your agent, the publisher who rejected the manuscript (if feasible), or a mentor why they believe your manuscript was rejected. Do your best to correct any mistakes and strengthen portions of your story that you believe may have adversely affected the outcome. Make your manuscript the strongest you possibly can.

Make certain you are submitting to the right agents or publishing houses—agents or publishers that champion and publish the type of book you’ve written.

In the meantime, continue to read, read, read and write, write, write, honing your craft. Study the work of authors you admire and break down their story and yours, seeing how both are put together from the ground up.

Consider employing a professional editor to help you see what you need to do to improve your story. Be willing to edit and rewrite, and know that sometimes we simply need to set a story aside for a time and tackle a new one.

All very good advice. Tell us about the featured book.

For American Claire Stewart, joining the French Resistance sounded as romantic as the storylines she hopes will one day grace the novels she wants to write. But when she finds herself stranded on English shores, with five French Jewish children she smuggled across the channel before Nazis stormed Paris, reality feels more akin to fear.

With nowhere to go, Claire throws herself on the mercy of an estranged aunt, begging Lady Miranda Langford to take the children into her magnificent estate. Heavily weighted with grief of her own, Miranda reluctantly agrees . . . if Claire will stay to help. Though desperate to return to France and the man she loves, Claire has few options. But her tumultuous upbringing—spent in the refuge of novels with fictional friends—has ill-prepared her for the daily dramas of raising children, or for the way David Campbell, a fellow American boarder, challenges her notions of love. Nor could she foresee how the tentacles of war will invade their quiet haven, threatening all who have come to call Bluebell Wood home and risking the only family she’s ever known.

Set in England’s lush and storied Lake District in the early days of World War II, and featuring cameos from beloved literary icons Beatrix Potter and C. S. Lewis, Until We Find Home is an unforgettable portrait of life on the British home front, challenging us to remember that bravery and family come in many forms.

Sounds like a wonderful read. Please give us the first page of the book.

May 1940

Lightning crackled, splitting the night sky over Paris, illuminating letters painted on the bookstore window across the street: La Maison des Amis des Livres. Driving rain pounded the loose shutters of Shakespeare and Company, making them rattle so that Claire Stewart dropped the heavy blackout curtain into place.

“It sounds like cannon bursting, like the end of the world.” Thunder boomed again. She tugged the belt of her trench coat tighter.

“You must go,” Josephine insisted. “The lorry driver won’t wait. This is his last run to Calais. He’s running on nerves, even now. Arnaud told you—”

“Arnaud promised he’d be here. I won’t go without him. I don’t even know our British contact.”

“You know Arnaud. He’ll meet you if he can— last minute, no doubt.” Josephine Ganute—one more aspiring writer, another tumbleweed to make her home amid the burdened shelves of Sylvia Beach’s American bookstore— grunted and gently, firmly pushed Claire toward the door. “This is the last group, and the last driver willing to go. He’s insane to try. The roads must be packed with people fleeing the city.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Contact me through my website at http://cathygohlke.com and on Facebook at CathyGohlkeBooks. I’d love to meet you there!

Thank you so much, Cathy for sharing this new book with us. I’ve loved every one of the books of yours I’ve read. I’m eager to get this one. And I know my readers will be, too.

Readers, here are links to the book.

Until We Find Home - Christianbook.com (Best Price today)
Until We Find Home - Amazon Paperback
Until We Find Home - Kindle

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:

Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

SAVING AMELIE - Cathy Gohlke - One Free Book

Welcome back, Cathy. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?

I see just enough to reach the next bend in this amazing journey—the current releasing of Saving Amelie and the thought provoking questions this book raises among readers, the pouring of my heart into my next book, Into the Valley of Secrets (working title), and the joyful anticipation that a new story will emerge from my recent trip to England’s Lake District and Scotland. What the Lord has in store, I cannot say. But each day is a new adventure. Each door the Lord opens is one I’m thrilled to walk through.

Tell us a little about your family.

My family is growing ... our first grandchild—a granddaughter—was born last year. She’s changed everything—my husband and I have even temporarily moved to Virginia to be near her. I babysit for her 3–4 days per week while her parents work. My husband generously brings or prepares lunch and pinch hits when I have telephone interviews or book club meetings or radio broadcasts. Our grown son studies and works in China. My mother’s health is challenged, and she and we are planning moves. Our nest is not empty, but ever changing.

Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?

Yes, I’ve always loved to read a great deal of fiction. Now, although I still read fiction when possible, I focus primarily on nonfiction for research purposes. I read a great deal of history—something I didn’t consider entertaining early in life, but find absolutely fascinating now.

What are you working on right now?

Into the Valley of Secrets (working title), due to release from Tyndale House Publishers in 2015. This is my first time-split novel and is the story of a young woman who discovers, much to her horror and shame, that her grandfather was a Nazi who exploited Jewish friends and strangers during WWII, as well as his very own daughter, her mother. The story, separated by decades, follows conflicted mother and daughter—as well as the men they grow to love—on parallel journeys of discovery, each seeking understanding and a road to redemption.

Sounds very interesting. What outside interests do you have?

Right now my chief interest is my granddaughter! Each day is new, and witnessing her accomplishments, reading to her, teaching her and caring for her are great pleasures. I also love reading, cooking, exploring historical sights and gardens, and travel. I’ve just returned from a wonderful trip to England (researching another new book) with author-friend Carrie Turansky (The Edwardian Bride Series) and a fascinating tour of Scotland guided by Liz Curtis Higgs.

I love those two ladies. I read on Facebook about some of those travels. How do you choose your settings for each book?

I think settings choose me. When I traveled to Oberammergau to view the Passion Play, I had not planned to set a book—Saving Amelie—there. But after leaving, I couldn’t help but wonder how this Alpine Passion Village, committed to portraying the sacrificial love of Christ, had responded to the cruelties and dictates of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich. The question would not let me go, so I began to research, and found the story beyond fascinating. That happens often. Sometimes, the very history I’m writing about leads me/draws me to a particular place—as in Promise Me This, when the Titanic sailed first from Belfast, Ireland, and later began its maiden voyage from Southampton, England.

I found Promise Me This a fascinating story. If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?

William Wilberforce. His long commitment, even through terrible health, to the abolition of slavery in England has long inspired me. His crusade to elevate the society in which he lived through his writing, speaking, volunteering, campaigning, and crusades amazes and thrills me. He demonstrated what a life entirely focused can accomplish. I’d love to stand in the presence of such passion and faith.

What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?

I wish I’d better understood technology and the tools needed to reach readers through today’s social media, as well as the importance and “how” of gradually building relationships through social media.

What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

He’s teaching me, day by day, to trust Him for strength and time. I believe He has led me to and is blessing these months of caring for my granddaughter. At the same time, I’m concerned about the management of time for research and writing, for public speaking and the needed promotion of books. Wonderfully, I’m learning that when I lay aside worry and trust Him most, He blesses me with the most productive writing and work sessions—often at unexpected times and in unexpected places. His gifts are new every morning!

What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?

a. Read classics and poetry, certainly the Bible. Nothing better teaches the beauty and rhythm, the essence of words and the economy of expression.

b. Study human nature. Get inside the heads of people you know and love—and love to hate, of those you admire and those you find most difficult, of those you glimpse on the street or hear or read about in the news. Understand what makes people tick and you will write compelling characters.

c. Write. Write. Write. Nothing beats the doing of a thing.

Tell us about the featured book.

Summer, 1939

Rachel Kramer is visiting Germany when a cryptic letter from her estranged friend, begging Rachel for help, upends her world. Married to SS officer Gerhardt Schlick, Kristine sees the dark tides turning and fears her husband views their daughter—deaf since birth—as a blight on his Aryan bloodline.

Once courted by Schlick, Rachel knows he’s as dangerous as the swastikas that now hang like ebony spiders across Berlin. She fears her father, an eminent eugenics scientist, may know about Hitler’s plans for others, like Amelie, whom the regime deems unworthy of life. But when she risks searching his classified documents, she also uncovers shocking secrets about her own history and a family she’s never known.

Hunted by the SS, Rachel turns to Jason Young, a driven American journalist whose connections to the resistance help Rachel and Amelie escape the city. Forced to hide in the Bavarian village of the Passion Play, Rachel’s every ideal is challenged as she and Jason walk a knife’s edge, risking their lives—and asking others to do the same—for those they barely know but come to love. 

Please give us the first page of the book.

Rachel Kramer dropped her linen napkin across the morning newspaper’s inflammatory headlines: “Cold Spring Harbor Scientist in League With Hitler.” She glanced up,  willing herself to smile innocently as her father strode into the formal breakfast room.

“You needn’t bother to hide it.” His eyes, bloodshot and mildly accusing, met hers as he took his chair at the head of the polished mahogany table. “I’ve already received a phone call from the Institute.”

Rachel glanced at their butler’s stoic face as he poured her father’s coffee, then carefully framed her statement. “It isn’t true, of course.”

“In league with the Fȕhrer? You believe the ravings of that maniac hack Young?” he scoffed. “Come now, Rachel—” he jerked his napkin from its ring—“you know me better than that.”

“Of course, Father, but I need to understand—”

How can readers find you on the Internet?

I love to connect with readers at my home on the web, www.cathygohlke.com and on Facebook at CathyGohlkeBooks.

Thank you so much for having me, Lena!

It’s always a pleasure to host you, Cathy.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Saving Amelie - Christianbook.com
Saving Amelie - Amazon
Saving Amelie - Kindle

Christian Book Store

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

BAND OF SISTERS - Cathy Gohlke - One Free Book

What are some of the spiritual themes you like to write about?

Slavery, oppression, setting boundaries—physical and emotional, standing up for what we believe, the all encompassing love of God, the redemption and forgiveness Christ offers, and the ultimate freedom we find in Christ.

William Henry is a Fine Name is about realizing we’re not victims, that we’re free to choose what we believe and how we act on those beliefs. It uses the Underground Railroad to tell that story.

I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires is about surrendering our agendas, our control, our very life and heart to the Lord, and inviting Him to lead us, then stepping up in obedience—and understanding that that process of surrender to God is not defeat, but true victory. It uses the Civil War to tell that story.

Promise Me This is a picture of Christ’s love story to the world, and our response to His amazing, unmerited gift of sacrificial love and grace. It uses the Titanic through WWI to tell that story.

Band of Sisters is about fighting human trafficking—the abolition of modern day slavery—and what we can do to help in a need so desperate. It uses Ellis Island (1910-1911), the plight of immigrants, and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire to tell that story.

What other books of yours are coming out soon?

Band of Sisters will release from Tyndale House Publishers in September. I’m working with my agent on a proposal for a new book now.

If you could spend an evening with one contemporary person (not a family member of yours), who would it be and why?

I’d love to meet and get to know Christine Caine, of A-21 Campaign—which stands for Abolishing Injustice in the 21^st Century. Christine is a highly motivational speaker, on fire for the Lord and for using our God-given potential to be and do all He’s called us to. Specifically, she’s about fighting modern-day slavery and rescuing, restoring, and rebuilding the lives of young women—one person at a time. She travels the world raising awareness for the need for abolition, and bringing countless others into the fight to stop human trafficking. A-21 Campaign began its program in Greece because she sees that as the trafficking hub of Europe, and from Europe to the world. But as the word spreads, so does the rescuing of women.

There are so many questions I’d like to ask her.

Christine has been a speaker at my church’s Women’s conference for several years. We love her, and we connect with her on the A-21 Campaign. What historical person would you like to meet (besides Jesus) and why?

William Wilberforce—Despite ill health, despite the hostility of those who opposed him, and against the all-powerful powers that be, William Wilberforce fought Parliament for over twenty-six years to abolish slavery in the British Empire.

He wrote in his journal, “God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the Slave Trade and the Reformation of Manners (moral values).”

His was the voice of a prophet crying in a wilderness society of greed and self-indulgence, and his words are as applicable to us as they were when he wrote them in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Wilberforce demonstrated what one voice can do—one life surrendered to God, and inflamed by the Holy Spirit—in the face of injustice.

How can you encourage authors who have been receiving only rejections from publishers?

My husband has a saying that begins our every road trip, “When we’re lost, enjoy the scenery.”

It used to drive my let’s-just-drive-from-Point-A-to-Point-B nature crazy (in road trips and writing), but in writing I’ve come to see that I can either embrace the journey that is (rejection and all), or make myself miserable by wishing it was a different journey with a different navigator in the driver’s seat.

Rather than think of the journey as long, I encourage writers to think of it as just what it is—a journey in which we’ve invited God to be the driver and navigator. By making the most of the up-and-down, twist-and-turn opportunities along the way—including flat tire rejections, we have much needed time to learn the craft, improve our skills, build relationships, build platform, and very importantly—to find our writing voice and niche.

This is so important—In every circumstance we can ask God what we can learn from this experience. He wastes nothing—look at Christ’s redemptive act of grace—one life for an entire human race! Knowing how He loves us, knowing how He rejoices in our praise of Him—in words from our mouths and pens—we can also know that He is training us, preparing us for the very best road ahead.

Every journey has a route and a destination. It might not be the one we’ve mapped out. But if we faithfully persevere in learning and practicing the craft, and embrace what we find along the way, we’re sure to have an adventure uniquely designed for the unique writers we are.

I’ve often said that the writing life is all about the journey, not publication. Tell us about the featured book.

New York City, 1910

Driven by a shameful past and perilous future, Maureen O'Reilly and her sister flee Ireland in search of safety, liberty and opportunity. But after surviving the rigors of Ellis Island, Maureen learns that their benefactor has died, and his family—refusing to own his Civil War debt—casts her out. Alone, impoverished, and in danger of deportation, Maureen connives to find employment in a prominent Manhattan department store, only to discover the elegant facade hides a dangerous secret.

Despite her family's disapproval, Olivia Wakefield determines to honor her father's debt but can't find Maureen. Unexpected help comes from a local businessman, who Olivia dares hope will become more than an ally, even as she fears the secrets he's hiding. 

As women begin disappearing from the store, Olivia rallies influential ladies in her circle to help Maureen stand against injustice and fight for the lives of their growing band of sisters. But will they be too late, and in the midst of a world gone mad can either woman open her heart to divine leading or the love it might bring?

Please give us the first page of the book.

October 1910

Widowed crones, their ragged skirts and shawls flapping in the rising gale like so many black crows, threw back grayed heads and keened a wild lament. Though slow of gait, they kept a dozen steps ahead of Maureen O’Reilly, the eldest daughter of their dead neighbor. Not one dared walk beside the “Scarlet Maureen,” no matter that they’d been handsomely paid for their services from the young woman’s purse.

Maureen didn’t care so much for herself. She expected nothing more or less from the village gossips. But she did care for the heart of her younger sister.

She pulled Katie Rose, the lily flower of her family, close. Together the sisters trudged up the rocky hill, part of a bleak and broken parade, toward the stone-walled churchyard. Twice they slipped, cutting their palms, the path muddy from the morning’s rain. Once past the churchyard gate, Maureen pushed to the front of the troop, lifted her chin, and set her lips tight as the prow of a ship, daring the women to snub her sister.

The Keeton brothers had dug the grave that morning, and Joshua Keeton, the second eldest, nodded respectfully toward Maureen—an act so out of village character that Maureen turned away without acknowledgment. The priest intoned his series of Latin prayers into the wind, finishing with the “Our Father.”

The Keeton brothers lowered the wooden coffin into its bed.

The priest sprinkled its top with holy water and resumed in his monotone, “Grant this mercy, O Lord, we beseech Thee, to Thy servant departed, that Margaret Rowhan O’Reilly may not receive in punishment

How can readers find you on the Internet?

www.cathygohlke.com

Facebook: CathyGohlkeBooks

Facebook: Transformational Fiction Fans

Amazon Author Central

Thank you, Cathy, for your insightful interview.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Band of Sisters - paperback
Band of Sisters - Kindle


Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Feedblitz, Facebook, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

PROMISE ME THIS - Cathy Gohlke - Free Book

Bio:
Cathy Gohlke is the two-time Christy Award-winning author of William Henry is a Fine Name and I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires. Her second novel also won the Carol Award and was chosen by Library Journal as one of the Best Books of 2008. Promise Me This is available now and Band of Sisters will release September 2012 from Tyndale House Publishers. Cathy, her husband, and dog, Reilly, live on the banks of the Laurel Run in Elkton, Maryland.  www.cathygohlke.com

Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

I often pose questions or dilemmas for my characters similar to those with which I’ve struggled. Sometimes those similarities are simple, but other times they are issues that have challenged me to my core—like how to stand against physical or emotional abuse, the courage to choose rightly when I know that choice will hurt someone I love, or how to know what God wants of me.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

Just before my older sister’s summer wedding (I was her thirteen-year-old maid of honor), I was visiting my aunt. A severe storm had pummeled the island, and another was expected the next day. In anticipation, islanders and members of the Coast Guard had stacked sandbags along the shore. Early the next morning, though the wind was high and the crashing sea had already covered those bags, I climbed to their top and ran, barefoot, along their line (never bothering to read the warning signs forbidding such things).

It was exhilarating—the wind whipping my long black hair round my face and shoulders, my skirt flying round my legs like a ship’s sail gone berserk. Romantic lines raced through my brain, “as sure-footed as a mountain goat; as fleet as a gazelle; fearless in the face of danger,” etc., etc. I ran faster and faster—until I slipped on the bags and fell feet first into a gigantic oyster bed.

Over four decades later I still carry a scar on my wrist to remind me of those razor-sharp shells. The half-mile trek on bleeding feet back to my aunt’s home and the sting of iodine unsympathetically administered stole every ounce of adventure and romance from my mind—briefly. Quirky? Maybe. Painful? Foolish? Yes. But it’s one of the thrilling highlights of my memory.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

I knew I wanted to write from the moment my grandmother revealed to me (at five years of age) the astounding fact that books are not created by magic, but that “real people write books.” In fourth grade one of my poems was selected by my teacher to be included on a mimeographed page and presented to the class as part of our Christmas celebration. Seeing my poem “in print” and realizing that others valued the ideas I’d conveyed was a thrilling moment for me. I remember thinking, “This is the beginning. This is the first one.”

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

My Bible first and foremost—it grows more precious and exciting each day. Books on organization fascinate me because I struggle with that. I enjoy reading gardening, do-it-yourself, cookbooks, histories and books of crafts from long ago, poignant YA and some family sagas. I love historical fiction, mysteries, classics, quirky humor and slice of life stories. The most important thing to me is a great story, well written, with a compelling or distinctive voice.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?

Prayer—all day long I keep a running conversation with the Lord, which reminds me that I’m not in this alone. And while I take my writing seriously, I try hard not to take myself too seriously. I confess to living nose-to-the-grindstone and feeling overwhelmed sometimes, so am working on developing and maintaining more balance in my life.

When I realized that “pray without ceasing” means an ongoing conversation with God all day long and into the night, my life changed. How do you choose your characters’ names?

I start by researching first and last names (and their meanings) that were common in the era and location of my story’s setting—and then I search for uncommon names, often found in diaries and letters from the period. Next, I identify my story characters’ leading traits and try to match characters with names that convey the ideas of those traits. For instance, the primary villain in Promise Me This is named “Hargrave” because her heart is “hard” and cold as the “grave.”

I take into account that particular letters and their combinations evoke mental images (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) when said aloud, as does the unique spelling of a name printed on the page. All of those things go into making a character seem more like a “Scarlett O’Hara” or a “Ben Hur” rather than some less suited name.

And, then, there are times that I’m just partial to a name or wish to honor someone I know or knew—if their name fits the character and era.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

Raising my children. I love them with all of my heart and am very proud of the people they’ve become. Both are loving, giving, and compassionate adults, able to lead but quick to serve and help those around them. In every other way they’re extremely different. They fill my life to overflowing.

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

A horse. I love the strength, stamina and beauty of horses. I love to see them in full run—so independent and free. But they’re also affectionate and bond strongly with people. They can work hard alone and well as a team—with their riders or with other horses, side by side. Those are qualities I admire.

What is your favorite food?

Blackberry Crumble Pie—the recipe for my son’s birthday pie—with vanilla ice cream. It tastes of summer—Yum!!!

Sounds delicious. I loved the huge blackberries that grew in Arkansas. What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

My greatest roadblock was insecurity and fear: not believing I could figure out a plot, build it up, wind it down, and tie up all those loose ends; not believing I could sustain a reader’s interest or write something that others would want to read. I feared failure, but not as much as I feared getting old and not having tried. I expected the road to be long and hard and that I’d learn something new at every junction; I’ve not been disappointed.

Sometimes people have said to me, “I’d never have stuck at it that long.”

But the notion of quitting astounds me. If I needed to walk from Maine to Florida I wouldn’t think of giving up in North Carolina. I overcame my fears by praying constantly, believing that God had given me the passion to write for a purpose, and walking forward each day. The wonderful surprise was that I’ve not had to walk the trail alone—many wonderful sisters and brothers in Christ walk it with me.

Tell us about the featured book.

Promise Me This –Michael Dunnagan was never supposed to sail on the Titanic, nor would he have survived if not for the courage of Owen Allen. Determined to carry out his promise to care for Owen’s family in America and his younger sister Annie in England, Michael works hard to strengthen the family’s New Jersey gardening and landscaping business.

Annie Allen doesn’t care what Michael promised Owen. She only knows that her brother is gone—like their mother and father—and the grief is enough to swallow her whole. As Annie struggles to navigate life in England without Owen, Michael reaches out to her through letters. In time, as she begins to lay aside her anger that Michael lived when Owen did not, a tentative friendship takes root and blossoms into something neither expected.

Just as Michael saves enough money to bring Annie to America, WWI erupts in Europe. When Annie’s letters mysteriously stop, Michael risks everything to fulfill his promise—and find the woman he’s grown to love—before she’s lost forever.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Promise Me This—First Page

The great ship returned late from her sea trials beyond the shores of Carrickfergus, needing only her sea papers, a last-minute load of supplies, and the Belfast mail before racing to Southampton.

But in that rush to ferry supplies, a dockworker’s hand was crushed beneath two heavy crates carelessly dropped. The fury and swearing that followed reddened the neck of the toughest man aboard the sturdy supply boat.

Michael Dunnagan’s eyes and ears spread wide with all the fascination of his fifteen years.

“You there! Lad! Do you want to make a shilling?”

Michael, who’d stolen the last two hours of the day from his sweep’s work to run home and scrub before seeing Titanic off, turned at the gruff offer, certain he’d not heard with both ears.

“Are you deaf, lad? Do you want to make a shilling, I say!” the mate aboard the supply craft called again.

“I do, sir! I do!” Michael vowed, propelled by wonder and a fear the man might change his mind.

“Give us a hand, then. My man’s smashed his paw, and we’ve got to get these supplies aboard Titanic. She’s late from her trials and wants to be under way!”

Michael could not move his feet from the splintered dock. For months he’d slipped from work to steal glimpses of the lady’s growing. He’d spied three years ago as her magnificent keel was laid and had checked week by week as ribs grew into skeleton, as metal plates formed sinew and muscle to strengthen her frame, as decks and funnels fleshed her out. He’d speculated on her finishing, the sure beauty and mystery of her insides. He had cheered, with most of Belfast, as she’d been gently pulled from her berth that morning by tugboats so small with names so mighty that the contrast was laughable.

I will be reading this book very soon. I can hardly wait. How can readers find you on the Internet?

I’d love to hear from you! Visit my website at www.cathygohlke.com . A new website (same address) that includes recipes my characters loved and photos of locations that inspired Promise Me This will be up and running soon.

Thank you so much for having me, Lena. I’ve loved spending time with you and your readers!

And thank you, Cathy, for sharing your newest book with us. I’d love to have you for the next book release.


Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.

Promise Me This - paperback

Promise Me This - Kindle

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Feedblitz, Facebook, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com