Cathy Gohlke and Free Books!

After fleeing an abusive marriage, Lilliana seeks sanctuary with her great-aunt in No Creek, North Carolina, where she helps a young girl hiding troubles similar to her own, works to open a library for all regardless of the color of their skin and risks everything in a stand against violence and injustice that threatens them all.

Before we talk with today's author, I want to announce that the winner of the free Kindle copy of the historical romance, A Song for Her Enemies, by Sherri Stewart, is:

nj.bossman@...

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 learn about new releases! U.S. subscribers are entered in the drawings a second time when they comment.

And now let's chat with novelist Cathy Gohlke, author of the historical World War II novel, Night Bird Calling (Tyndale House Publishers, January 2021).

Best selling and four time Christy Award-winning author, Cathy Gohlke, writes novels steeped with inspirational lessons, speaking of world and life events through the lens of history. She champions the battle against oppression—chains forged upon us and those we forge ourselves—and celebrates the freedom found only in Christ. 

When not traveling to historic sites for research, she and her husband of thirty-eight years, Dan, divide their time between Northern Virginia and the Jersey Shore, enjoying time with their grown children and three grandchildren.

Cathy is one of my very favorite novelists, I should mention.

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

I’ve always loved wild birds and gardening, but after a move to a townhouse during the early days of the pandemic, I feared I’d lose access to both. With so much time at home I became fascinated with container gardening and feeding birds from my back deck and small front garden dogwood tree. Flowers in pots during warm months and “flowers with wings” in the winter—I’ve loved the colors and songs in every season and have discovered we can truly bloom wherever we’re planted.

How wonderful. I swear, I lived in my townhouse for ten years, always intending to try container gardening, and I never got around to it! My brown thumb intimidates me (and the plants).

Please tell us a bit more about the plot of Night Bird Calling.

When Lilliana Swope’s beloved mother dies, Lilliana gathers her last ounce of courage and flees her abusive husband for the home of her only living relative in the foothills of No Creek, North Carolina. Though Hyacinth Belvidere hasn’t seen Lilliana since she was five, she offers her cherished great-niece a safe harbor. Their joyful reunion inspires plans to revive Aunt Hyacinth’s estate and open a public library where everyone is welcome, no matter the color of their skin.

Slowly, Lilliana finds revival and friendship in No Creek—with precocious eleven-year-old Celia Percy, with kind-hearted Reverend Jesse Willard, and with Ruby Lynne Wishon, a young woman whose secrets threaten to destroy both them and the town. When the plans for the library also incite the wrath of the Klan, the dangers of Lilliana's past and present threaten to topple her before she’s learned to stand.

With war brewing for the nation and for her newfound community, Lilliana must overcome a hard truth voiced by her young friend Celia: Wishing comes easy. Change don’t.

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

Though Lilliana flees an abusive husband and father, she determines to help a young woman with troubles not unlike her own. At great risk to herself she’s a valiant protector and helper of those in need, even while making the emotional journey to learn that she, too, is a valued daughter of God and worthy of love, forgiveness and help.

Imagine you’ve been contracted to write a novel about a real person. About whom would you want to write?

I’d love to research and write about Mary Morris Knowles (1733-1807), a British Quaker widow active in the abolition of slavery movement.

I'd definitely read that book, if you ever got the chance to write it.

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

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger taught me much about the Native American experience in orphanages and schools determined to strip a people of its language and culture, and the extent which all people will go to be free. Beautifully, exquisitely written with much heart and pathos, This Tender Land is a story and an author I will not forget.

It sounds terribly sad, too, as most novels about Native American history are. Thanks for the recommendation, Cathy.

What are you working on now?

I’ve just finished writing a second No Creek Novel, A Hundred Crickets Singing, and am ready to begin edits. Here is a rough idea: When a 1944 storm rips open a sealed attic room, the contents of a false bottom trunk expose old wounds and reveals a hidden longstanding wrong. Can clues from a Civil War diary lead Celia and Joe to right that wrong and help No Creek’s citizens toward reconciliation and a path forward, or is the threat of danger still too great?

Exciting! A follow-up ready once we've finished Night Bird Calling!

Where else can readers find you online?

www.cathygohlke.com
Face Book @ cathygohlkebooks
Bookbub
YouTube Book Gems with Cathy Gohlke
Twitter
Instagram
Goodreads


The book can be purchased online via the following button:



Readers, you can access a sample from the novel by going HERE and clicking on Look Inside.

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

When reading historical fiction, what time period and country do you most like to read?

Thanks, Cathy, for visiting and telling us about yourself and your book. Readers, Cathy has offered to give away a free copy of her book. To enter, click on the word "comments" below to reach the comments page, and leave your answer and your email in answer to Cathy's question above. "Please enter me" won't get you entered. Remember that U.S. 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. 

Only United States residents are eligible for the drawing, but anyone can subscribe to the blog posts via the GDPA-compliant Feedblitz box above my list of books, at right.

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Annoying legal disclaimer: as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases; drawings void where prohibited; open only to U.S. residents; the odds of winning depend upon the number of participants. See full disclaimer, GDPA notice, and my Disclosure of Material Connection HERE