Valentine’s Day is the perfect day for Search Beyond Lies: Fact or Fiction – The Romance. Is the romance between Charlie and James fact or fiction? Since that question is multifaceted, we’ll take a look at its parts.
The Hero and Heroine
The actual hero and heroine are inspired by real people. Writers envision who their characters look like and often keep a photo handy of these characters to keep them on track. The photo can be a snapshot of people they know, or a photo of a popular actor or actress or … .
J.C. & Priscilla Jane
Search Beyond Lies: Fact or Fiction — Missing revealed that the character James, was inspired by my son, J.C., who actively participated in the search for Brian. But how about James’ love interest, Charlie?
Charlie
The heroine, Charlie, was inspired by a real person – Priscilla Jane (P.J.). Charlie’s physical description mirrors that of P. J., a true 6-foot beauty.
Many of Charlie’s character traits are actually those held by P.J. who is beautiful on the inside and out. However, her history and participation in the search is mixed with fact and fiction.
Charlie’s background as an expert skier is fact. At one time she considered training for the Olympics until a high school soccer accident made that impossible is fact. That same accident made P.J. unavailable to be on the front line in the search for Brian. She needed surgery from that same injury years prior.
However, P.J. worked in the background in the search for Brian by getting volunteers, and doing all the behind the scenes work on her computer.
Charlie’s military background is another story. It is pure fiction.
the romance
The romance between J.C. and P.J. is real. They are engaged to be married this year and although I already consider her a part of my family, it will be official.
How they met and the romance as portrayed within Search Beyond Lies is fiction. Speaking of romance, do you consider Search Beyond Lies a Romantic Suspense Thriller or a Suspense Thriller with a dash of romance? The next article will look at the “rules” for determining genre and survey what the readers feel, after all, it’s the readers that count, not the rules.
Part 1 of The Sojourners’ Quest, “Fact or Fiction,” discussed the hard facts of life for pioneers who crossed the American continent by wagon train on the Overland trails. In Part 2, we’ll consider three elements of fact or fiction in the story.
1. The Sojourners’ Quest opens with Irish-born heroine Sarah Byrne riding on the box of a Prairie Schooner with her employer, the Reverend Matthew Sinclair—a protestant clergyman—walking next to the wagon nudging his team of six mules forward. Which scenario would be most accurate—riding or walking?
Teams of six to twelve mules or horses or four to six oxen comprised the animals hauling the Prairie Schooners. Still, men, women, and children usually walked alongside the wagons due to the rough terrain and lack of suspension on the wagons.
Only the sick or weak would ride inside the Prairie Schooners. Sarah had walked most of the way, but her shoes were so thinly worn that they hurt her feet to walk in them. Unfortunately, ragged shoes and sore feet were facts of life for the emigrants who walked the two thousand miles across the continent.
2. The Sojourners’ Quest takes place during the summer of 1869. Hadn’t wagon trains become a thing of the past by then?
Not entirely, but they were on their way out. Between 1836 – 1869, more than 420,000 people traversed the continent on wagon trains. By May 10, 1869, the Transcontinental Railroad between New York and San Francisco gave people a different option. Though wagon trains operated through the 1880s, most people migrated west on the railroad. Steam locomotives could travel 40 miles an hour—4 days from coast to coast with less time in between. Wagon trains took 4 to 6 months, depending upon the weather.
Taking the wagon train made sense for Sarah, Matthew, and his two children. Matthew had books and heirlooms to carry. Besides, the first railroad to climb the steeper elevations connecting Denver with the mining communities wasn’t built until 1872 into Black Hawk through the steep and narrow Clear Creek canyon. The railroad didn’t stretch as far as Georgetown, Colorado, until August 1877.
Sarah and Matthew would still have had to get to Georgetown by Prairie Schooner once they arrived in Denver.
3. Early in the story, Sarah says of her life in Ireland, “How could any of us [women] survive the kind of poverty so devastating that it’s driven us to descend upon this United States in droves?” Several factors contributed to the mass emigration of men and women to the United States from Ireland in the nineteenth century.
The most significant influence for women like Sarah after the Irish potato famine of the 1840s and 50s was a change in the social and economic climate that discriminated against unmarried women, particularly those from the lower class. The combination of inheritance laws that favored the moneyed class and a lack of opportunities for employment made options for making a living nearly impossible.
Moreover, without a dowry, young women had no chance of marrying. Their families encouraged them to emigrate, and the majority worked as domestics in the homes of wealthier Americans, allowing them to earn a living. It would be a fortunate Irish maiden who also found love while serving in such a home.
(c) 2022 Donna Wichelman
The Sojourners’ Quest
Novelette Prequel to the Singing Silver Mine Series
Sarah Byrne left everything behind to escape the poverty of her Irish homeland. But will she make a better life in America and find love?
Born into the
lower class of Irish society, Sarah Byrne had no dowry, no chance of marrying
well, no way of earning a living to rise out of her miry bog. When best friend
Mary insists she must emigrate to America to make better than butter and egg
money and find a man to marry, Sarah risks her life on a disease-ridden ship to
sail across the Atlantic.
But
leaving the land and people she loves proves more difficult than she had
thought as Sarah combs the streets of New York for a job, and everywhere she
turns, the signs read, “No Irish Need Apply.” Her only option: become the nanny
for two children of a widowed minister who has accepted a position in the Rocky
Mountains.
But will Sarah
have the strength to cross the Great American Prairie in a covered wagon during
the dusty heat of summer? And will her grief-stricken employer ever return the
profound feelings she has developed for him?
Find out how and where love blooms in this novelette prequel to the
Singing Silver Mine Series, an exciting new Historical Romance series
that will take you on a journey into our deepest longings for love and
contentment.
This novelette is a Giveaway. You may click on the following link to receive your free copy. https://BookHip.com/BGKHGJN
Donna worked as a communications professional before turning to full-time writing. Her short stories, essays, and articles have appeared in various inspirational and secular publications, and she has two self-published books available on Amazon.com. Weaving history and faith into stories of intrigue and redemption grew out of her love of history and literature as a young adult while attending the United World College of the Atlantic—an international college in Wales, U.K.
She still loves to explore the peoples and cultures of the world and views her writing as a ministry, developing plots that show how God’s love abounds even in the profoundly difficult circumstances of our lives. Her stories reflect the hunger in all of us for love, forgiveness, and belonging in a world that often withholds second chances.
Recently, my husband and I took a road trip in a 300 hp Jeep
Grand Cherokee to visit friends and family and sightsee the Midwest, Blue Ridge
Mountains, and Eastern Seaboard. With autumn upon us, we packed the SUV with
clothes and extra gear for inclement weather. A small ice chest and picnic basket
held a stash of food, utensils, and paper products for eating along the road. Other
times we pulled off to get a bite to eat. Gas and hotels were plentiful.
Jeep Grand Cherokee: Compliments of Pixabay
Ice Chest: Compliments of Dreamstime
We reveled in comfort on our twenty-first-century high-speed freeways, loving our heated seats on cold mornings and audiobooks downloaded on an iPhone to keep us from boredom on long stretches of road. Minus the days we enjoyed with friends and sightseeing, we spent seventy-two hours on the road and drove forty-six hundred miles from door to door.
United States Map: Compliments of Dreamstime
Our trip provoked reflection on how my characters fared, migrating across the continent in the nineteenth century on the Oregon and Overland Trails in a covered wagon.
Abandoning their homes in the east, pioneers left most belongings behind in favor of necessities to sustain them throughout their travels. They drove in covered wagons—Praire Schooners—wooden boxes that measured four feet wide, ten feet long, and three feet deep.
The box sat on four wheels made of wood, iron bands fastened to the outside rims, and was covered with a double-thick canvas coated with linseed oil for waterproofing. They tied the ends for privacy or protection from the elements
Prairie Schooners weighed thirteen hundred pounds and
required teams of horses, mules, or oxen to pull. Poor suspension and rough
roads meant people preferred to walk alongside the wagons rather than endure
lurching in the box. They wore through their leather boots quickly, tolerating run-down
shoes. Traveling two miles per hour—fifteen to twenty miles per day—the two-thousand-mile
trip took four to six months, depending on the weather.
Pioneers constructed their wagons with interior storage;
some had false bottoms with extra storage below. Few towns and scarce services meant
carting hundreds of pounds of flour, lard, bacon, beans, fruit, coffee, and salt.
They also carried cornmeal, eggs, potatoes, rice, yeast, and a large barrel of
water tied to the side of the wagon. Halfway across the hot, barren prairie,
water often ran out, and they collected it crossing rivers or during rare rainstorms.
Cattle and people withered without it.
Typical Prairie Schooner: Compliments of Pixabay
They also carried a reflector oven (tin kitchen) to cook meals, consisting of meat hunted along the trail, baked bread, hard tack, beans, bacon, and dried fruits. Without an ice source, they preserved their food with salt, and without kindling on the prairie, they collected buffalo chips (dried animal feces) to fire up the reflector oven and start campfires.
Reflector Oven: eBay Collection
Kettle: Compliments of Pixabay
Movies and historical fiction novels give romantic notions of travel on the Oregon Trail. But diseases such as cholera, accidents, swollen rivers, and exhaustion took nine out of ten lives. The Oregon Trail afforded little time for leisure. Most pioneers spent their days walking the trail, tending camp, and fending off various dangers, including snake bites and nefarious folks stealing vital resources. Suicide was common.
Only faith and long-suffering kept the pioneers’ hopes and dreams alive. They deserve great honor and respect for risking all to obtain a better life in the west.
(c) 2022 Donna Wichelman
The
Sojourners’ Quest
Novelette Prequel to the Singing Silver Mine Series
Sarah Byrne left everything behind to escape the poverty of her Irish homeland. But will she make a better life in America and find love?
Born into the
lower class of Irish society, Sarah Byrne had no dowry, no chance of marrying
well, no way of earning a living to rise out of her miry bog. When best friend
Mary insists she must emigrate to America to make better than butter and egg
money and find a man to marry, Sarah risks her life on a disease-ridden ship to
sail across the Atlantic.
But
leaving the land and people she loves proves more difficult than she had
thought as Sarah combs the streets of New York for a job, and everywhere she
turns, the signs read, “No Irish Need Apply.” Her only option: become the nanny
for two children of a widowed minister who has accepted a position in the Rocky
Mountains.
But will Sarah
have the strength to cross the Great American Prairie in a covered wagon during
the dusty heat of summer? And will her grief-stricken employer ever return the
profound feelings she has developed for him?
Find out how and where love blooms in this novelette prequel to the Singing Silver Mine Series, an exciting new Historical Romance series that will take you on a journey into our deepest longings for love and contentment.
This novelette is a Giveaway.
You may click on the following link to receive your free copy. https://BookHip.com/BGKHGJN
Donna worked as a communications professional before turning to full-time writing. Her short stories, essays, and articles have appeared in various inspirational and secular publications, and she has two self-published books available on Amazon.com.
Weaving history and faith into stories of intrigue and redemption grew out of her love of history and literature as a young adult while attending the United World College of the Atlantic—an international college in Wales, U.K. She still loves to explore the peoples and cultures of the world and views her writing as a ministry, developing plots that show how God’s love abounds even in the profoundly difficult circumstances of our lives. Her stories reflect the hunger in all of us for love, forgiveness, and belonging in a world that often withholds second chances.
Thanks for having me, Karen. Today I’m going to talk about my Peaktop Dude Ranch series. The comment I get most often from readers of this series is “I want to vacation at Peaktop Dude Ranch. Is it a real place?”
peaktop dude ranch–Is it real?
The short answer is no. Sorry, but Peaktop Dude Ranch is not real. Neither is Peakview County where the ranch is located or the two nearby towns of Peakview and Aspen Ridge, which are other series I’ve written.
A little history
Having said that, Peaktop Dude Ranch is based on my extensive experiences of both staying as a guest and working on dude ranches in Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. My love for dude ranches started when I was five years old, and my parents took our family to a Colorado dude ranch where I got my first experience of riding a horse.
Dude Ranch
I still remember that small, black and white horse named Little Joe (those of you who are old enough to remember “Bonanza” will understand the name). Anyway, we continued to vacation at a different dude ranch each summer until I was thirteen. That’s when we found Lost Valley Ranch near Deckers, Colorado. We loved it so much that we vacationed there as a family for the next six years, and later I worked there for three years. I always refer to it as “my happy place.”
Beautiful Memories
In my adult life, I have spent many weekends in the spring and fall there with my kids and grandkids. Four generations of my family have now fallen in love with the dude ranch
The inspiration behind the ranch
Peaktop Dude Ranch is based on my personal experiences at Lost Valley and other dude ranches. You can be sure that when you read my books, they authentically portray a dude ranch. Several of the books in all three of my Colorado series have covers that were taken at Lost Valley Ranch. In my Peaktop Dude Ranch series, the corral in the background of Peaktop Dude Ranch Homecoming is the actual corral and some of the wranglers at Lost Valley.
the fires
In the fall of 2020, when Fort Collins, where I live, was blanketed in smoke and ash from the Cameron Peak wildfire, I was inspired to write a romance including a Colorado wildfire, so Peaktop Dude Ranch Aflame was born. Click on the title to check it out.
Lost Valley Ranch was actually in the middle of the Hayman Fire, one of the largest wildfires in Colorado history in 2002.
As a result of thousands of people praying for the ranch worldwide, a thirty foot wall of flames that roared through the canyon and came within a mile of the ranch shifted and went around the ranch, burning all the surrounding hillsides, but not a single building of the ranch. (If you ever doubt the power of prayer, all you have to do is look at the photos from after the fire).
Colorado Fires
The fire at Peaktop Dude Ranch is loosely based on that. The photo on the cover of the book is an actual photo taken by firefighters right outside of the Lost Valley ranch house after everyone had been evacuated.
If you read my series and want to vacation at a real dude ranch, you can go the Dude Ranch Association website and connect with hundreds of dude ranches spread throughout the western United States. It is a truly magical vacation if you want to ride horses and pretend to be a cowboy or cowgirl for a few days.
(c) 2022 Jill Haymaker
Currently she is busy writing a Montana Pines Series, set in western Montana. She also has had several short stories published by Chicken Soup for the Soul, the most recent in the book my Hilarious, Heroic, Human Dog.
Jill Haymaker was born and raised in Indiana and Ohio. After high school, and college she moved to Fort Collins, Colorado. She practiced family law in Fort Collins for over 20 years before closing her law office to become a full-time author. She has three grown children, a son and two daughters. She also has six granddaughters and one grandson.
When not writing, Jill enjoys the Colorado mountains, horseback riding, gardening, long walks with her Toy Australian Shepherd, Merlin, and spending time with her children and grandchildren. She enjoys their numerous sporting events. She is also an avid football and basketball fan and can be found on weekends cheering on her favorite teams. She has a passion for working with high school youth, she serves as a mentor to at-risk youth, is a youth group leader at her church, coaches a high school mock trial team, and is a volunteer at cross country and track meets. She loves to hear from readers. Feel free to email her at jillhaymaker@aol.com or follow her website and blog at www.jillhaymaker.com
Welcome Brad Leach to Thyme for Writers as he shares Our Five Year Mission — To Seek Out New Life and New Perspectives…
Romance writers want to entertain readers – and to help them. This is especially true with writers of faith. If something from their story encourages a reader, it gratifies the author. With the fantasy genre, I hope to do the same.
I remember how a Star Trek episode (the original series) helped me see racial issues in a new way. I attended junior high in the early 70’s, and race relations had been turbulent. Think 1960’s. StarTrek had the Enterprise come across a planet where the entire population had died, save two humanoids. Beaming up these two individuals for a rescue, Captain Kirk and his crew were surprised to discover a violent and mutual hatred existed between the two men. Each survivor demanded that Kirk intercede with his power and authority to render “justice” against the other.
Our Five Year Mission — To Seek Out New Life and New Perspectives… with Brad Leach
It was obvious that these aliens had a peculiar pigmentation pattern that divided their bodies vertically. One half of their body was black, and one half was stark white. Doctor McCoy noted that they were clearly derived from the same species. The only difference, but a major one to the aliens, was which half of their body was white or black. One alien’s right face and hand was white, while the other alien’s right hand and face was black. This minor difference over which side was black versus white festered for centuries, culminating in planet-wide violence, that killed all but these two survivors.
StarTrek Crew
Now the aliens blamed each other. The Enterprise members had to break up several assaults. The crew couldn’t understand such bigotry, while the aliens couldn’t understand how these humans accepted the differences between Asians, Blacks, Whites, and Vulcans. Someone had to be superior, someone subjugated. The episode ends with the aliens transporting back to their dead world, driven by their hate to try and kill each other.
I then imagined how earth’s racial strife might look to some alien. They wouldn’t have had the biases, the history, or the past wounds and insults that our various cultures had suffered. They would only see deep divisions over minor differences. Then I imagined how God must view such differences. He made all these places and cultures. Did He make skin of one color so it could hate another color? Star Trek didn’t solve bigotry, but it let me bypass the culture to see the issue in a different way.
The Wizard of Oz
And I found that equally amazing. Fiction’s power to take an issue, give it a new setting and different particulars, to produce a fresh perspective, intrigued me. Take the Wizard of Oz. Running from something – Dorothy’s black and white home, means running towards something else. In this case, technicolor trouble via a witch. Star Wars? Giving in to the dark side of our nature leads to our corruption.
So how can Christian writers put forth Biblical ideals in new ways? Can a romance novel personalize the pain adultery causes? Could ten mystery books illustrate a violation of each of the ten commandments? How about a science fiction trilogy chronicling an enslaved human race, rebelling against aliens, and after several impossible showdowns, leaving on a 40-year voyage for a new planet?
To Boldly Go…
In what ways can your story offer helpful lessons in a new light? As authors reflecting Christ’s message, let’s strive “to boldly go where no man has gone before” so that people may see what they’ve never seen before.
Ann Gabhart is our guest today on Thyme for Writers. Ann is the bestselling author of over thirty novels, has been called a storyteller. That’s not a bad thing for somebody who grew up dreaming of being a writer. Ann’s historical novels have Kentucky backgrounds like her popular Shaker series and her new release, These Healing Hills set in Appalachia. She also writes about family life, love and sometimes mystery (as A.H. Gabhart) in small towns like her Kentucky hometown. She and her husband have three children and nine grandchildren and enjoy life out on the farm.
THYME TO THINK AND DREAM
by Ann H. Gabhart
Thyme for Writers Ann H. Gabhart, Guest
Here we are almost to November, a month of thanksgiving when we consider our blessings. At my little country church, each Sunday we take a few minutes to mention blessings. Sometimes these are what you might think of as everyday blessings. Things like sunshine and rain. Birds and flowers. A child’s smile. A good sermon. An appreciated card. Being alive. So many reasons to be thankful. A good day at work. A restful night’s sleep. Maybe a baby sleeping through the night for the first time. A new rosebush. An old rosebush blooming.
These days we’re also blessed with numerous electronic ways to be entertained. At least I think that’s a blessing. Not long ago, I came across an article about how we are swamped with electronic means to avoid the uneasy condition of being bored. You’ve seen people with a phone in their hand continually. We can watch movies and shows with the touch of a finger on various devices. We keep up with what everybody else is doing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter while sharing our own doings.
But if we continually look to some device to keep us entertained, we lose those times when our minds are just idling. Times when we might be bored. But those times might be our best daydream opportunities when our thoughts can wander while new ideas surface.
When I started writing for publication, I had two young children, so time was at a premium. That was back in the dark ages before clothes came out of the dryer ready to wear. I had to iron every week. Trust me, nothing is much more boring than pressing a pile of pants and shirts. Yet, at the same time, while my hands were busy with smoothing out wrinkles, my thoughts could take flight. I had time to think up story ideas and imagine characters I might want to meet on my writing page.
These Healing Hills by Ann H. Gabhart
Of course, you don’t have to pull out the ironing board to have quiet time for creative thoughts. How about sitting on the back deck as the sun comes up and letting your thoughts meander? For my new book, These Healing Hills, I let my mind wander right over to the Appalachian Mountains as I considered the history of the Frontier Nursing Service. Then my character, Francine, showed up to take those mountain trails to being a midwife. One thought led to another and on until soon my fingers were on the keyboard coming up with yet one more story.
A person needs quiet moments now and again and a little boredom never hurt anybody. Unless of course you grew up on a farm and made the mistake of telling your dad you were bored. Then you might find yourself out in the field picking up rocks or chopping thistles! So hope you have some restful moments this Thanksgiving season to gather your thoughts, count your blessings and come up with some great new ideas.
When Francine’s plans for her future fall apart at the close of World War II, she discovers new purpose as a nurse midwife in the beautiful Kentucky Appalachian Mountains. Will she also find healing and perhaps discover the birth of new love? RT Book Reviews says, “Gabhart’s latest historical novel intrigues, inspires and entertains. . . Humor, grace and, of course, romance give the characters life and breath, and the message of faith is gently organic and sincere.” These Healing Hills is available at bookstores or online book sites. Find more information about the story and buy links at http://www.annhgabhart.com/books/these-healing-hills/
