Love Inspired Historicals discussion

Hey everyone, Q&A week for February starts tomorrow and we have a wonderful heartwarming line-up of books just in time for Valentine's Day!

Monday, February 3rd: Lyn Cote, Heartland Courtship

Tuesday, February 4th: Milinda Jay, Her Roman Protector

Wednesday, February 5th: Patty Smith Hall, Hearts Rekindled

Thursday, February 6th: Sherri Shakelford, The Marshal's Ready-made Family

I hope you'll drop by this week to meet our authors (including one making her debut!) and hear all about their February books. I know I'm looking forward to it!

Welcome, everyone to the start of our February Q&A week! Today's featured author is probably familiar to many of you. Lyn Cote has written many wonderful inspirational novels over the years, both contemporary and historical and she is very active in our LIH Goodreads Group!

Lyn's February book is Heartland Courtship, the latest in her Wilderness Brides series.

Quaker Rachel Woolsey dreams of having her own bakery and her own homestead. But the odds are stacked against her—until the handsome ex-soldier she nurses back to health offers to help her. Like Rachel, Brennan Merriday is an outsider. But he'll be the temporary ally she needs, and her foolish attraction will fade once he's gone.

At first, the only thing Brennan wants to know about Pepin, Wisconsin, is how fast he can leave it. Perhaps in Canada he'll find peace after a bloody war. Yet repaying his debt to the pretty baker offers unexpected solace. She saved him once. Now he longs to rescue dreams of family—for both of them.

Welcome, Lyn! Heartland Courtship sounds like a wonderful addition to your Wilderness Brides series. Do any of the characters from The Baby Bequest or Their Frontier Family make return appearances in this story?

Love the sound of this story, Lyn.

Will there be any more stories in the Wilderness Brides series, or are you starting a new series?

Deborah wrote: "

Welcome, everyone to the start of our February Q&A week! Today's featured author is probably familiar to many of you. [autho..."

Yes, Deb, Noah Whitmore & Sunny from book one and Ellen and Kurt from book two and of course the Ashfords who run the general store and Martin and Ophelia and others.
I love re-occuring characters.

Wendy wrote: "Love the sound of this story, Lyn.

Will there be any more stories in the Wilderness Brides series, or are you starting a new series?"

This is the final book in my Wilderness Brides series. I am writing a bigger book series for Tyndale right now. The first in that series, 3 Quaker Brides, debuts in Sept.

Like the sound of that too ~ I'll be keeping an eye out for it come the autumn!

Wendy wrote: "Like the sound of that too ~ I'll be keeping an eye out for it come the autumn!"

I'll keep you posted. ;-)

Hi Lyn,
Just wanted to pop in and say hello.
Congratulations on the Tyndale books.

Judy wrote: "Hi Lyn,
Just wanted to pop in and say hello.
Congratulations on the Tyndale books."
Thanks, Judy. I love the challenge of writing something longer on occasion--at least till I start writing and then I think--this is going to take a lot of days to write! Silly me.

I love re-occurring characters, too! Congrats on ending a series and starting a new one with Tyndale!

Karen wrote: "I love re-occurring characters, too! Congrats on ending a series and starting a new one with Tyndale!"

:-)

Lyn wrote: "Judy wrote: "Hi Lyn,
Just wanted to pop in and say hello.
Congratulations on the Tyndale books."
Thanks, Judy. I love the challenge of writing something longer on occasion--at least till I start w..."

Lyn, how long does it take you to write a longer book?

Stopping in to say hi!

Hi Lyn! I love this series and I can't wait to read the newest. Thank you for chatting with us today. :)

Amy wrote: "Hi Lyn! I love this series and I can't wait to read the newest. Thank you for chatting with us today. :)"

Amy, did you discover anything new about history in this series? Not wanting to put you on the spot, but I was surprised by learning what "the Real McCoy" meant and more.

Lyn, I have enjoyed this series a lot. I especially enjoy the fact that you bring up "foreigners"! You wouldn't think that was a problem back then but it was! I have found that an interesting thread in your series! Thanks for getting me to think about such things in your previous book! Does the new book have anything about that in it?

Reoccuring characters are the best! Sometimes I just don't get enough in one book! :)

I'm the same, Melody!!!

Valri wrote: "Lyn, I have enjoyed this series a lot. I especially enjoy the fact that you bring up "foreigners"! You wouldn't think that was a problem back then but it was! I have found that an interesting th..."
In this book, I bring a Southern to this northern town--just a few years after the Civil War.

Melody wrote: "Reoccuring characters are the best! Sometimes I just don't get enough in one book! :)"

I agree! They become like old friends.

BTW< if you want to double your chances of winning a copy of Heartland Courtship, drop by my website today.

http://booksbylyncote.com/SWBS/new-bo...

Hi Lyn,
Love the sound of this story and can't wait to read it!

Oh, bringing a Southerner to a Northern town was probably a big thing in those days! Especially after the war. I don't know about Wisconsin's "leaning" during the war - were they involved in the Civil War at all? Does your book deal with that regarding this "Southerner"???

Valri wrote: "Oh, bringing a Southerner to a Northern town was probably a big thing in those days! Especially after the war. I don't know about Wisconsin's "leaning" during the war - were they involved in the ..."

Oh, yes, WI became a state in 1848 and was a free state. WI sent many soldiers to fight for the Union. BTW, remember in book one, my character who was an Ojibwa widow--had a husband who'd been killed in the war. A lot of WI tribes also fought on the side of the Union.

Janet wrote: "Hi Lyn,
Love the sound of this story and can't wait to read it!"

:-)

That's one of the reason I love reading Historical Fiction! I love history anyway (was one of my minors in college!)...because I love learning tidbits like this! Thanks, Lyn! Oh, yes, I do remember the Ojibwa widow!

Hi Lyn, hubby back to dr this am so late here on puter today...I enjoy reading about Brides so will be looking for these series mentioned. Congrats on your Tyndale book or books? I always enjoy your blog and your books, thanks for sharing today on LIH....

Congratulations on the new books!

Hi Lyn!
You know I love this Wilderness Brides series :-) So looking forward to returning to the town of Pepin again. Congrats on Tyndale.

I have to agree that I have learned so much history through my fiction reading. Little bits of info that I would not have known. Like the attitudes toward foreigners in The Baby Bequest and in another book I read a few months ago that dealt with the attitude toward the Irish immigrants coming to America. So very interesting.

Deborah-since I won a book last month I am just stopping by to chat rather than entering book drawings.

I started Heartland Courtship last night and will probably finish tonight. I have enjoyed all the books in the series, I especially liked Sunny and Noah's story.

>>Noah Whitmore & Sunny from book one and Ellen and Kurt from book two and of course the Ashfords who run the general store and Martin and Ophelia and others.

I figured you would! I always like revisiting old friends from past stories. I think that's what make series so popular.

Sharon wrote: "I started Heartland Courtship last night and will probably finish tonight. I have enjoyed all the books in the series, I especially liked Sunny and Noah's story."

That couple was close to my heart too!

sounds interesting and with the war element (albeit after the war). Did you learn any interesting tibits in research?

Congrats on the tyndale series.

Wonderful news on the Tyndale contract! Can't wait to read!

Ausjenny wrote: "sounds interesting and with the war element (albeit after the war). Did you learn any interesting tibits in research?

Congrats on the tyndale series."
I was able to do more research on the Great Peshtigo Fire in WI, that took place on the same day as the Great Chicago Fire in 1871.
A horrible tragedy.

Good morning everyone! I know how much you like to meet new authors and today you'll get to chat with one who is making her debut. Please give a warm LIH Group welcome to Milinda Jay!

Those of you who like different story settings will be happy to see Milinda's February book Her Roman Protector.

When her baby is stolen out of her arms, noblewoman Annia will do anything to find her—even brave the treacherous back alleys of Rome to search for her. Desperate to be reunited with her daughter, Annia finds herself up against a fierce Roman soldier who insists her baby is safe. Dare she trust him?

Rugged war hero Marcus Sergius rescues abandoned babies for his mother's villa orphanage. When he witnesses Annia's courageous fight for her child, he remembers that some things are worth fighting for. Helping Annia means giving up his future…unless love is truly possible for a battle-hardened Roman legionary.

Doesn't this sound good -- a tough Roman legionary with a soft spot for babies?

Welcome, Milinda! Since this is your first book for LIH, can you tell us a bit about your journey to publication? How long were you writing before you sold your book?

Thank you so much, Deb, for that sweet introduction!
I've been writing since I was young enough to hold a pencil in my hand! I wrote my first play when I was 9 (my sweet fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Norris, bless her heart! allowed us to perform it even though it was not exactly good!--I was so proud!)
I continued to write poetry, keep a journal, and write stories to entertain my friends all the way through high school.
I didn't write much during college other than essays about the books I was reading, but when I became a college professor, I wrote book reviews for my local paper and did commentaries for my local NPR affiliate station. I remember thinking what hard work it was to write! Teaching was so much easier!
But then, my children hit middle school, and teaching full time did not allow me to care for them the way they needed caring for, so I quit my job and stayed home with them.
It was during that period that I began writing novels seriously. Her Roman Protector started out as Baby Villa, my fourth novel. It was eight years from the time I began writing novels, and writing seriously every day before I was finally able to sell this first manuscript.

I would love to hear from readers about the sort of writing they do!

Welcome, Milinda & congratulations on your debut with LIH! Are you planning on writing more with LIH?

Sounds a great story ~ I just love ones with children in! (Love the cover too!)

Thank you, Wendy, and, yes, I plan to write as many more for LIH as they will buy!

All of my novels have children in them--I have five of my own, and children are what I know best :) So glad you enjoy reading about them!

Milinda wrote: "All of my novels have children in them--I have five of my own, and children are what I know best :) So glad you enjoy reading about them!"

:) I don't have any of my own, but I work with 3-5 year olds...so they are what I know best!

I love that age group! Filled with wonder!

Yes! ~ That's definitely one of the things I love about that age group!

Does anyone out there like to sew?

Hi Milinda,
Congratulations on your LIH debut...and the many more to come. I adore your cover. It is stunning. And I am not a very proficient sewer, although I wish I could sew up a storm.

Blessings,

Belle

Someone asked me about how to get published without an agent, and my advice is this: submit to every contest you hear about, submit to every editor of the sort of books you write that is accepting unagented manuscripts.
Most importantly, make friends in the industry. The people who are writers are the people like you, and in them, you will find kindness and a generous spirit. I would have never gotten published without the help of my writer friends.

Hi Milinda,
I love hearing your journey to publication. May it be the start of a long, successful journey.

Blessings,
Linda

Belle wrote: "Hi Milinda,
Congratulations on your LIH debut...and the many more to come. I adore your cover. It is stunning. And I am not a very proficient sewer, although I wish I could sew up a storm.

Bles..." I'm so excited to find a fellow writer/reader/sewer!
I love sewing--it's what I do for stress relief. I love machine embroidery, and right now I'm obsessed with making key fobs! What do you like to sew?

Linda wrote: "Hi Milinda,
I love hearing your journey to publication. May it be the start of a long, successful journey.

Blessings,
Linda"

Thank you, Linda! I love your books! What are you working on now?