Ann Gabhart and Free Books!

Romance and adventure are in the Kentucky mountain air in this story of a woman yearning for love but caught between two worlds—each promising something different.

Before we revisit today's author, I want to announce that the winner of the free copy of Jim Denny's science-fantasy/spiritual warfare novel, Battle Before Time, is:

tinybutmightyml@...

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 Ann Gabhart, author of the historical romance, An Appalachian Summer (Revell Books, June 2020).

Ann Gabhart has been called a storyteller. She’s lived up to the title with thirty-five books published and more stories on the way.

Ann likes wrapping her stories around interesting historical times and events in her home state of Kentucky. She’s written about the Shakers in The Refuge, The Outsider and more, gone to the Appalachian Mountains for These Healing Hills and An Appalachian Summer, mined her family history for Angel Sister and Scent of Lilacs, found a feel good story during the 1833 cholera epidemic in Springfield, Kentucky, and more. Even her cozy mysteries under the author name A.H. Gabhart take place in the little town of Hidden Springs, Kentucky.

Ann keeps her keyboard warm out on her farm where she likes walking with her dogs or discovering the wonders of nature with her nine grandchildren. \

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

It’s been years since I bought a loaf of bread, but I’ve bought plenty of bread flour. I’ve been making sourdough bread over thirty years. At first when everybody was passing around the starter back then, I said I didn’t want to do that. Too much trouble. But then I decided to give it a try. About a zillion loaves of bread later with some doughnuts and cinnamon rolls thrown in now and again, my starter is still going strong (I actually keep two going now to be sure I have plenty) and I’m still making bread usually two times a week. I give some away and chow down on some. The scarcity of bread flour on grocery shelves has been weird during this pandemic, but so far I’m still baking.

I did the sour dough thing for awhile several years ago! I loved it--a little too much, as my waistline will attest.

Please tell us a bit more about the plot of An Appalachian Summer.

In 1933 Louisville, Kentucky, even the ongoing economic depression cannot keep Piper Danson's parents from insisting on a debut party. After all, their fortune came through the market crash intact, and they've picked out the perfect suitor for their daughter. Braxton Crandall can give her the kind of life she's used to. The only problem? This is not the man–or the life–she really wants.

When Piper gets the opportunity to volunteer as a horseback Frontier Nursing courier in the Appalachian Mountains for the summer, she jumps at the chance to be something other than a dutiful daughter or a kept wife in a loveless marriage. The work is taxing, the scenery jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and the people she meets along the way open up a whole new world to her.

The longer she stays, the more an advantageous marriage slips from her grasp. But something much more precious--true love--is drawing ever closer.

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

Piper Danson is a young woman caught in an era when more freedoms for women were opening up while at the same time her father is insisting she follow a more traditional path. She’s a reluctant debutant in love with a man her father no longer considers to be someone she can marry since his family lost all their money in the market crash. Piper tries to escape making decisions about her future by going to the mountains for the summer to work as a volunteer with the Frontier Nursing Service where she’ll run errands, take care of horses, and whatever needs doing. I think readers will admire her pluck and the growth of her faith as she discovers what’s most important in life.

What’s the most positive thing you can tell my readers about the state of Christian fiction today?

Readers have so many choices in Christian fiction today with mysteries, historical stories, suspense, contemporary stories that cover a range of topics, and even speculative and futuristic novels. Readers can find their favorite genres and be assured the story will have a Christian worldview.

So true! I've seen that in watching the various authors I've featured here through the years. 

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

Key to Everything by Valerie Fraser Luesse. It’s a heartwarming story about a fifteen year old boy set in the 1940’s who makes a bike ride through Florida to Key West to honor the father he loses early on in the story. I think readers will enjoy the characters, especially Peyton, and be glad to share his many adventures on the trip.

The book has definitely received high marks from reviewers. 

What are you working on now?

Right now I’m doing edits on Along a Storied Trail that is scheduled to release in the summer of 2021. I went back to the Appalachian Mountains for another story, but this time instead of Frontier Nursing history, I’m following around one of the Packhorse Librarians who carried books up to people in the hills of Kentucky. Some of the people in these areas had no libraries and had never had access to books. This works program established during the Great Depression was very popular with the local people. My character shares some of the experiences along the trail and some of the stories of the people she meets. There’s romance, beautiful scenery, and books. What more could a story need?

Really! That sounds wonderful, Ann.

Where else can readers find you online?

Readers can find out more about my books and check out my blog posts at www.annhgabhart.com. I have fun talking with readers on my Facebook Author Page, Instagram, and Twitter. They can also find me on Pinterest and Goodreads . Readers can follow me on BookBub where they will be sure to hear about my new books or any special book sales.

The book can be purchased online via the following button:



Here’s a link to a sample reading of An Appalachian Summer

Or you can check out a sample on Amazon. HERE (click on Look Inside)

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

Piper spent a summer volunteering with the Frontier Nursing Service. How important do you think volunteer workers are to our world? Have you been a volunteer in your community?

Thanks, Ann, for visiting and telling us about yourself and your book. Readers, Ann has offered to give away a free copy of her book. To enter, leave a comment and your email below in answer to her 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.

Also readers, I'd love it if you'd connect with me on Facebook. Just click on my name at the right of today's post title.

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

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:

forest_rose@...

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).

Also, I'd love it if you'd connect with me on Facebook. Just click on my name at the right of today's post.

Remember, if you'd like information on additional new releases, check out Christian Book Heaven, a new email newsletter for Christian book deals in whatever genres you select. You can subscribe here: ChristianBookHeaven

Annoying legal disclaimer: drawings void where prohibited; open only to U.S. residents; the odds of winning depend upon the number of participants. See full disclaimer, as well as my Disclosure of Material Connection HERE