Sunday Drive in the Country

My next release, coming April 20th, is set in 1888 where I grew up. The countryside of my childhood--dirt roads snaking through thick woods of pines, oaks, and cedars, wild blackberry bushes and plum trees. Hidden along the way were decaying barns and farm houses that invigorated my imagination.

Maybe you're old enough to remember when the family would pile into the car for a Sunday afternoon drive in the country. That experience is now lost, like the ghosts those old houses held. This old house reminded me of the abandoned farmhouse my family would stop by to gather black walnuts from the trees that stood in back. I think my sisters told me it was haunted to keep me from exploring, and it worked. I was sure the ghosts were watching us. Incidentially, the bobby pins of the era were useful for picking out the nuts, a tiresome chore, but goodness, how delicious were the black walnut cakes my mother baked.

Have you ever sucked the nectar from honeysuckles? I have. Not from the small vine flowers but the wild, tall bushes with large honeysuckles. Along one of the dirt roads was a field of such bushes, and we would pick huge bouquets. The stems were long and thick, and the flowers would last the whole week, filling the house with the sweet perfume.

Even during the heat of July, the thick woods kept the temperature cool and pleasant. We also stopped to harvest blackberries and plums, not only to eat our fill on the way home, but to make jams and jellies. None of the land was posted back during those days, and fortunately, the fruit bushes and trees grew close to the roads. One didn't venture too far into the woods during the summer because snakes were as prevalent as the berries.

I learned to drive a car on one of these dirt roads in a car that look like this one. You didn't have to worry about staying inside the lane of these roads. There was only one and the ditches were unforgiving.

The only way I could explore those old roads of my childhood was in my mind. The countryside has changed, the roads either closed or paved. All the old buildings torn down or fallen to dust on their own. It didn't matter, since my book is set a hundred years prior to the land I remember. But it still gave me a flavor of the setting. Be on the lookout for Escaped, Book 4 of Intrigue under Western Skies.

  Juliette Kendal has vowed to protect her siblings from their abusive step-father after their mother’s death. When she finds him attacking her younger sister, Annie, she accidentally kills him.  

  Jake Gresham is known as a fun-loving, careless cowboy, as good at finding trouble as he is roping cattle. So far, he’s managed to avoid God and decent women. But on a scouting trip for his boss, he steps in a bear trap in a South Georgia swamp. Facing certain death changes his outlook, and Juliette, who fights tenaciously to save his life, changes his opinion of women.

  When Jake asks Juliette to marry him and take her family with him when he returns to his Nebraska ranch, she sees it as an escape. But she can’t marry Jake without confessing to him and God the secret buried in her backyard.

Old Houses that Talk with Special Guest Marilyn Turk

Have you ever driven by a big old house and wondered what stories it would tell if it could talk?

No? You mean, that’s just me? I’ve always been fascinated by old houses, not ones built in 1950, you know, but really old homes built around the turn of the 20th century or before. I especially like the historic mansions because I imagined the family who lived there at one time was wealthy. I wondered what kind of occupation the owner had that afforded him such a big house.

So you can imagine my delight when I discovered the Millionaires’ Village on Jekyll Island, Georgia. I had gone to the island on a business trip and did not previously know about the historic section of the area until then. Talk about stories! These homes, now being restored by the state of Georgia, once belonged to some of the wealthiest people in America. I was fascinated to learn about the Millionaires Club that once owned the island.

A few years later, my husband and I took a vacation to the area, and I wanted to revisit the historic village and read more about its history. During this time, I learned that a publisher was looking for a southern gothic novel, and I decided the Millionaires Village would be the perfect setting for one. As a historical author, I look for actual events that happened in a setting and see my characters responding to the events. During the fifty years of the club’s existence, many historic events took place, but I decided that 1942, the last year of the club’s operation, would be the best time for a slightly “spooky” novel.

Of course, being a Christian author, my novels have a faith element and at least one of my characters struggles with a question related to their faith. Alexander (Lexie) Smithfield, my main character, had some unresolved issues from her family’s past that needed to be dealt with amidst growing threats to her personal safety. Lexie faced fears from without and fears from within, and had to identify which fears were real and which were not. And it just so happened that Russell Thompson, a former childhood friend and current manager of the club, was there to help her sort it out.

Well, I can’t tell you anymore without giving away the whole story. But speaking of giving away, I’ll give away a copy of the book, The Gilded Curse, to someone who leaves a comment.

By popular request and to answer people who asked what happened to Lexie and Russell after the book ended, the sequel, Shadow of the Curse, will come out in 2018.

About Marilyn:

Marilyn Turk loves to study history, especially that of lighthouses and the coast of the United States. She is the author of Rebel Light, a Civil War love story set on the coast of Florida, A Gilded Curse, a historical suspense novel set on Jekyll Island, Georgia, in 1942, and Lighthouse Devotions - 52 Inspiring Lighthouse Stories, based on her popular lighthouse blog. (@ http://pathwayheart.com) The sequel to A Gilded Curse, Shadow of the Curse, will be out in 2018.

To find out more about Marilyn’s new releases, sign up for her newsletter at marilynturk@pathwayheart.com. You can also find her on Facebook -facebook.com/marilyn.turk.9 and twitter.com/MarilynTurk.