Ann Gabhart and Free Books!

Packed with history, bestselling author Ann H. Gabhart introduces readers to the fascinating and difficult life of frontier nursing in These Healing Hills.

Before we meet today's author, I want to announce that the winner of the e-copy of Any Man of Mine, by Carolyne Aarsen, is:

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Congratulations! We'll get your book right out to you. I encourage readers to keep commenting and/or subscribe at right (above my list of books) in order to participate in future book give-aways! Subscribers are entered a second time when they comment.

And now let's chat with novelist Ann Gabhart, author of the historical These Healing Hills (Revell Books, September 2017).

Ann H. Gabhart has been called a storyteller, not a bad thing for someone who grew up dreaming of being a writer. She has penned many novels, including her popular Harmony Hill Shaker series as well as historical novels like Angel Sister, Small Town Girl, and Love Comes Home, a Selah Book of Year winner. She’s also known for her Heart of Hollyhill books and Hidden Springs Mysteries (as A.H. Gabhart.)

Ann, a lifelong Kentuckian, likes dropping her characters down into Kentucky historical events and settings. So it may be surprising that Ann’s thirty-third novel, These Healing Hills, is her first historical novel set in the Kentucky Appalachian Mountains.

She and her husband have three children and nine grandchildren and enjoy country life in Kentucky.

Please tell us one random thing we might not know about you.

I’m a rabid University of Kentucky basketball fan even though I didn’t attend UK. My kids did become UK students, but I was a fan long before that. I remember listening to the games on my little transistor radio when I was maybe twelve or thirteen. I still bleed blue. It’s a Kentucky thing!

Please tell us a bit more about the plot of These Healing Hills.

When the soldier Francine Howard planned to marry after WWII writes to tell her he’s in love with a woman in England, Francine is devastated and in need of a change. She seeks a fresh start in the Appalachian Mountains, training to be a nurse midwife for the Frontier Nursing Service.

In the mountains, Francine crosses paths with Ben Locke, a soldier still very much suffering from the horrors of war. With his future shrouded in as much mist as his beloved mountains, he’s at a loss when it comes to envisioning what’s next for his life.

While Francine and Ben are from completely different worlds and possess very different values, they both learn that things don’t always go according to plan. Will they be able to accept the healing power of love…and step forward toward tantalizing new possibilities?

What is it about Francine that will make your readers care about her?

Like many of us, Francine Howard feels awkward and unattractive at times, especially after her high school sweetheart breaks off their engagement because he’s fallen in love with a petite English beauty. But Francine has a can-do attitude and strong faith that help her find a new start with the Frontier Nursing Service. The Frontier Nurses share a saying that nobody comes there by accident and Fran begins to see the truth of that. I hope readers will enjoy sharing Fran’s adventures as she rides a horse up into the mountains to “catch babies” as a midwife nurse and discovers God’s plan for her life.

Aw, just her losing her fiancé to a smaller, prettier woman makes her endearing. 

Have you attended any writers’ conferences in the past? What are your thoughts about their merits for up-and-coming, or even established, writers?

I’ve been to a few writers’ conferences, usually as an attendee, but occasionally as a presenter. I had been writing for years and had already published many books before attending my first conference so it was a different sort of experience for me than for a new writer.

However, I do often advise those new writers, who approach me for help in writing or publishing, to take advantage of how writing conferences can open doors for them. When I began writing long before anyone even imagined the internet, it was much more difficult to connect with other writers and those in the publishing companies. But now writers can attend conferences and brainstorm with other writers while getting valuable contacts when meeting editors and agents. That’s a good thing not only for the up-and-coming writers, but for writers like me. Nobody knows it all and we can always learn something new to inspire us on our creative journeys.

So true. Social media has made it easier to be in touch with other writers, even if one can't make it to conferences.

What is the last novel you read that you would recommend?

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer. I enjoyed the history in this story and the unique way it was told–all through letters and telegrams. Some of the scenes are tragic with the World War II history and others brought smiles as the letters brought the people of Guernsey to life in my reader’s eye.

I loved that book! I recommend it as well.

What are you working on now?

Next up after These Healing Hills is another historical novel, River to Redemption. My initial idea for the story was a true event that occurred in the small Kentucky town of Springfield after the 1833 cholera epidemic. The citizens of the town collected money to buy a slave’s freedom in gratitude for him single-handedly digging the graves and burying the fifty plus victims of the disease after most of the able-bodied citizens fled the town to escape the disease, leaving the sick and dead behind. My book, which is completely fictional except for that initial true historical fact, is how I imagine that might have come about.

That sounds like a fascinating story, Ann. I would definitely read that book.

Where else can readers find you online?

Readers can find out about my books and me at my website, www.annhgabhart.com. They can find my blogs there, sign up for my newsletter and find the links to social media. I love it when readers join the conversation at my Facebook author page where I have weekly features like Friday smiles, Shaker Wednesdays and the popular Sunday morning coming down.

The book can be purchased online via the following button:



Finally, what question would you like to ask my readers?

Have you ever had a disappointment in your plans that eventually led to something better for you? Have you noted God’s providential care in your life or your family’s?

Great question! Thank you, Ann, for visiting and telling us about yourself and your book. Readers, Ann has offered to give away a signed copy of her book. To enter, leave a comment and your email below in answer to Ann's question, above. "Please enter me" won't get you entered. Remember that subscribers are entered an additional time in each drawing. The drawing is done by email, so leave your email address, like so: trish[at]trishperry[dot]com. Many commenters are left out of the drawing because they forget to include a way for me to notify them of their win (their email).

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