Friday Fun with Kathleen Rouser

 I'm excited to welcome a blogging buddy of mine to Stitches Thru Time today.

Welcome Kathy! We're so glad you could visit us today. Let's start off with you telling us about your book.

Here’s the back-cover copy for Secrets and Wishes:

Stone Creek, Michigan - April, 1901: Maggie Galloway and Thomas Harper clash after their sons collide in a fistfight. Both widowed, they're each doing their best as a parent to their children. Outgoing Maggie has dreams for a home of her own and a business to provide for her son as she searches for God's path for her life as a widow. Reserved Thomas struggles to establish his new pharmacy and take care of his four rambunctious children, while wondering how a loving God could take his beloved wife.

When Thomas becomes deathly ill, Maggie is recruited to nurse him back to health. Taking the children in hand, as well, is more than she bargained for, but she is drawn to help the grieving family. Both nurse and patient find themselves drawn to each other but promptly deny their feelings.

A baking contest sponsored by the Silver Leaf Flour Company brings former beau, Giles Prescott, back into Maggie's life. When Giles offers Maggie a position at their test kitchen in Chicago, he hints that, along with assuring her a good job, it will allow them to possibly rekindle their relationship.

But then a charlatan comes to town, and tragedy soon follows. Maggie and Thomas discover the miracle potions he hawks aren't so harmless when an epidemic hits Stone Creek. Thomas and Maggie realize they must work together to save lives.

Maggie finds herself caught up in battles within and without: The battle to help the townsfolk in the midst of illness and chicanery, and the battle to know which man, Thomas or Giles, deserves to win her heart. 

Where did the inspiration for your story come from? 

The heroine, Maggie Galloway, is Reverend Ian McCormick’s feisty widowed sister who keeps house for him as a secondary character in Rumors and Promises. She also kindly befriends Sophie Biddle despite the rumors about her. I enjoyed writing Maggie’s character and the way she teased her younger, taller brother by calling him “little brother.” As her character grew through her actions and the humorous brother/sister banter, I became quite fond of Maggie and decided she needed her own story.

Turn-of-the-century pharmacist, Thomas Harper, was a peripheral character in my first novella, The Pocket Watch. I thought it would be interesting to bring Maggie and Thomas together by intertwining their lives in Secrets and Wishes. I was fascinated by the role of the druggist over one hundred years ago and what passed for safe remedies. It was interesting research.

How does your faith and spirituality work in with your writing? 

My desire is to serve the Lord Jesus with my writing, using it to point others to Him as the solution. However, my goal is to write my stories in such a way that they exemplify the struggles and lessons learned through life and faith without coming across as preachy.

With my two novels I have had theme verses that have been in the background of writing them. For example, in Rumors and Promises, the theme verse was Exodus 20:2 (KJV) – I am the Lord thy God who brought thee out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Both of my main characters, Sophie and Ian, had to be healed from hurts and mistakes from the past. They needed to learn more about God’s grace, mercy, and power as they made choices and lived out their daily lives.

The theme verse for Secrets and Wishes is: A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. Proverbs 17:22 (Authorized KJV)

Maggie and Thomas, both in the midst of grieving, are trying to figure out how to be parents without the help of their deceased spouses and not expecting love to come into either of their lives. Yet, God has different plans for them than they expected, plans of healing and hope.

There is also quite a bit of humor in this book, some of it stemming from the fact that Maggie and Thomas are opposites that attract. It also stems from some of the comical situations with their children. I hope my readers will find some healing humor in the story despite the serious situations as the Lord works in interesting ways in Maggie and Thomas’ lives.

I kind of sum up the faith and spirituality part of my writing in my bio this way: “She longs to create characters who resonate with readers and realize the need for a transforming Savior in their everyday lives.”

Why did you choose this genre?

I’ve currently been focusing on inspirational historical romance, because I enjoy reading a good historical romance and also learning about how people lived long ago as well as helping transport readers to times past. Knowing people went through harder times than ours and came through victorious is an inspiration to me. Writing about love overcoming obstacles in bygone eras I hope will encourage my readers.

What are you working on next? 

I’m blessed to be working on a novella for Barbour’s Great Lakes Lighthouse Brides Collection coming in 2018. My story is about the Mackinac Point Lighthouse and involves a shipwreck survivor with amnesia and the lighthouse keeper.

Very interesting. Looks like you have some great stuff going on. Thank you so much for being with us! 

Thank you, Amber, for having me as a guest on Stitches Through Time! It’s been a pleasure.

About the Author:

Kathleen Rouser is the award-winning author of Rumors and Promises, her first novel about the people of fictional Stone Creek, Michigan, and the novella, The Pocket Watch. She is a longtime member of American Christian Fiction Writers. Kathleen has loved making up stories since she was a little girl and wanted to be a writer before she could even read. She longs to create characters who resonate with readers and realize the need for a transforming Savior in their everyday lives. She lives in Michigan with her hero and husband of 36 years, and the sassy tail-less cat who found a home in their empty nest. Connect with Kathleen on her website at kathleenrouser.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kathleenerouser/, and on Twitter @KathleenRouser.