Talkshow Thursday: Debut Author Kathleen D. Bailey

Talkshow Thursday: Debut Author Kathleen D. Bailey

Linda: Thanks for joining me today. Congratulations on your upcoming release Westward Hope. It sounds like a wonderful book. Where did you find your inspiration for the story?

KATHLEEN: I have always been fascinated with the West, and especially with the wagon train period. It brought out the best and the worst in people as they threw themselves against the wall of this great continent. It’s one of the things that embodies the spirit of America. I gorged myself on TV westerns as a child.

LM: Research is an important part of the writing process. What sort of research did you do for Westward Hope? Did you unearth anything that was totally unexpected?

KATHLEEN: Well, I learned that the wagons themselves were far smaller than the ones shown on TV or the big screen. The TV show “Wagon Train” shows people traveling with pianos and bookshelves. Um, no way. I did make my wagons larger in the story, but I addressed that early on. Still no pianos, though.

LM: What is your favorite part of the writing process?

KATHLEEN: Seeing my characters come to life.

LM: In addition to be a novelist, you are also a journalist. What sort of similarities and differences are there in the two fields?

KATHLEEN: Both demand accuracy and the ability to put together a good English sentence. But fiction is more subjective, and the market now is unpredictable. I can write a nonfiction piece and be almost certain it will be printed. Fiction is a roll of the dice.

LM: What has been the most challenging part of the road to publication for you? What advice do you have for fledgling writers?

KATHLEEN: Don’t lower your expectations for yourself or your book. But be aware of what’s happening in the market and the book world in general. It could change at a moment’s notice. Write what’s on your heart but make it marketable.

LM: Here are some quickies:

KATHLEEN:

Favorite season: spring

Favorite vacation spot:NH lakes or mountains

Favorite place to write:my desk

LM: What was your favorite childhood book?

KATHLEEN: The Betsy-Tacy series by Maude Hart Lovelace. Similar to “Little House” but half a century later, just before World War I, in a small Minnesota town. Childhood pranks and scraps and coming of age. Betsy Ray, the heroine, wanted to be a writer and scribbled on a five-penny tablet in her treehouse. She made me realize it was possible. And a childhood dream took place this fall at the age of 68. God’s timing.

LM: What are you currently working on?

KATHLEEN: The sequel to “Westward Hope,” “Settler’s Hope,” will be published by Pelican/White Rose in 2020. “The Logger’s Christmas Bride,” a loosely-related novella, will come out in Pelican’s “Christmas Extravaganza” Dec. 1 of this year. I’m researching the third book in “Western Dreams” and also working on one more related novella, “The Widow’s Christmas Miracle.”

LM: Where can folks find you on the web?

KATHLEEN: Kathleen D. Bailey on Facebook and LinkedIn; @piechick1 on Twitter; and my Web site, www.kathleendbailey.weebly.com.

About Westward Hope:

Why him? Why here? Why now?

Caroline Pierce O'Leary expects to work hard to earn her passage to the Oregon Country. She doesn't expect to find that the wagon train scout is a man with whom she shares a troubled past. Thought Caroline is a Christian now, thanks to her late husband, she find forgiving Michael to be the hardest part of her journey, harder even than the trail.

Michael Moriarty thought he'd left his past behind in "green and hurting Ireland." Seeing Caroline on his wagon train brings his past to the forefront. With a price on his head, he doesn't want her to get hurt, but he can't deny what they were...and could still be.

Michael once betrayed Caroline in the worst possible way. Can she trust him to get her across the Oregon Trail? Can he trust himself to accept her forgiveness and God's?

Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/32GGpts