Ada Brownell's interview with Diane Kalas, author of FAITHFUL HEART.
Journey Home
Series
- What research did you do for this
book? Did you visit Civil War sites?
Answer: I had
already researched and visited Andersonville Prison for book 1, so didn’t need
to do more. However, for a Texas cattle ranch after the Civil War, I had to
research extensively what training a raw cowhand needed to keep himself alive.
I learned so much about life on a Texas cattle ranch and enjoyed working the
details into the storyline.
- Have you always been interested in
history?
Answer: American
history, yes. My favorite is the last half of the 19th century.
- Is Brice troubled with gruesome
memories from the war?
Answer: Yes, his
sleep is disturbed with horrific memories of Andersonville.
- Why is he angry with God?
Answer: First: he
was in the Union Army when the Confederates invaded his homeland of
Pennsylvania and he couldn’t defend his family or farm. Second: his wife feared
living under enemy occupation so she and their daughter fled to their only
living relatives in far off Texas. Third: his wife died while he was serving
the Union but he didn’t know until the war ended two years later. Fourth: he
postpones his plans to travel to Oregon and start over, when he learns of his
wife’s death. He can’t travel with a young child and no wife, so he’s angry and
confused about why God is allowing his life to go up side down.
- Was Lainie, who is taking care of his
child, a friend of Brice’s deceased wife? Did he know her previously?
Answer:
Lainie met Brice’s wife and became new friends shortly before the wife died.
Brice didn’t know Lainie.
- How did his wife
die?
Answer: Lainie
tells the little girl that her mother got sick and the doctor couldn’t do
anything to help. I didn’t go into details because the child is just 5 years
old. Instead, Lainie emphasized how the child’s mother loved her and wanted
Lainie to promise to raise her to be a Christian.
- Why is Lainie single at her age? Did
her man die in the war?
Answer: Lainie’s 30
yrs old. The men in her small world wanted a housewife who could pull her
weight on an isolated ranch. They didn’t love her, nor she them. Most eligible
men she knew died during the war.
- Has Brice had any experience with
children? How old is the child now?
Answer: Great question,
Ada. Brice has no clue how to raise a little girl and that’s the cause of
arguments between him and Lainie. Child is almost 5 years old.
- Is Lainie cowgirl to the bone, or more
the domestic type?
Answer: Lainie is
one hundred percent domestic, although she knows how to use a rifle to protect
herself and her home. She longs to become a mother and wants a large family.
- Is Brice noticing other young women in
the community?
Answer: Not really,
although Lainie thinks he may be interested in a beautiful widow. For the first
6 months of story, he’s grieving for the loss of his wife and still planning to
leave for Oregon in the spring to start over.
- What happens that causes Brice to
notice Lainie as more than his child’s caregiver?
Diane Kalas
Answer: Now, this
made me smile as I wrote the scenes. Lainie’s an excellent cook, and every single
day Brice sits down at her table to enjoy the most flavorful food he’s ever
eaten. He becomes less annoyed at Lainie’s permissive ways, regarding his
daughter, as time goes by. Six months after arriving at the ranch, he “goes up
the trail” with the herd and misses not only his daughter but also Lainie for
her kindness and loving nature. He yearns for a ranch of his own and knows he’s
been falling in love with Lainie a little at a time.
- What’s the biggest crises for Lainie?
Brice?
Answer: For Brice
it’s the past and all that he’s lost: his wife, his farm, and early years with
his daughter. For Lainie, she lacks confidence with Brice because she’s a plain
range woman and struggles to hide her growing affection for him that turns into
love.
- Is this a sequel to Patriot Heart,
with some of the same characters?
Answer: My 3-book
series is about three Civil War POWs who met in the infamous Andersonville
Prison for Union soldiers and survived because of their friendship and
Christian faith. Each book is about one of the men and their journey home after
the Civil War ended. I wrote a reunion scene in Faithful Heart, book 2, to
introduce hero of book 3. As a reader, I enjoy those kinds of characters with
history that pop up in other stories.
- Will there be another heart book?
Answer:
Yes, book 3 “HOPEFUL HEART” has the third POW and his story. Should be
published in the spring of 2016.
- Anything else you’d like to share?
Answer:
Yes, my research on Andersonville Prison was tough to deal with and brought me
low in spirits for quite awhile. Hopefully, readers will be encouraged as my
stories unfold and see that even the worst of times and experiences can turn
around. There’s hope for the future when you place your trust in God, the
Father, and Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Back Cover Blurb for Faithful Heart
September
1865. Brice Bruton lost his farm to the Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania,
while he served the Union Army. He’s angry with God and guilt-ridden, knowing
his family had to flee their home before the Gettysburg Battle. Brice travels to
Texas, to reunite with his wife and daughter before heading to Oregon, his
lifeline of hope while a POW in Andersonville Prison.
Lainie
Colbert, spinster, lives with her father and brother on a cattle ranch outside
of Waco, Texas. Lainie’s been a foster aunt to Emily Bruton for two years and
loves the child with her whole heart. When Brice Bruton arrives to take his
daughter away, Lainie’s desperate to keep the little girl. She prays God will
intervene and allow Emily to remain at the ranch.
Grief
stricken to learn his wife died, while he served the Union Army, Brice knows he
can’t travel with a child on his own, so he accepts a job as cowhand at the
Colbert spread. Amid ranch life, Lainie and Brice clash over how to raise Emily.
Lainie fears that Brice will leave and take Emily to Oregon. What’s worse,
Lainie’s falling in love with Brice and knows he’ll never be attracted to her, a
plain range woman.
Lainie’s
love and devotion to Emily turns Brice’s opposition to admiration and romantic
love. Brice goes up the trail with the Colberts’ herd, and decides he wants his
own ranch and Lainie for his wife. Would Lainie accept him after all the
arguments over Emily? He’s afraid to ask.
Available on: www.amazon.com - E-book and paperback editions
www.facebook.com/dianekalas - author's page
http://dianekalas.blogspot.com - Transporting you back in
time
https://pinterest.com/dianedreams - 19th Century history,
architecture, and fashion
MEET DIANE KALAS
Diane
collects antique books written by men and women who lived through the American
Civil War, and/or who pioneered out West. With a degree in interior design, she
enjoys touring historical sites, especially Federal era homes with period
furniture. Diane is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. Her biggest
challenge is writing Inspirational Historical Romance. Her biggest distraction
is her fascination with historical research.
No comments:
Post a Comment