Talkshow Thursday: Welcome Donna Wichelman!

Talkshow Thursday: 

Welcome Donna Wichelman!

From my days in grammar school, writing for the school newspaper, I loved telling stories. Also, because my Christian parents took road trips every summer to visit family in Washington State, we took various routes across the United States and Canada, and I learned the value of understanding history and geography. Those themes set the stage for the rest of my life.
In high school, a unique opportunity allowed me to attend the United World College of the Atlantic—an international high school. While most of the students lived in dormitories on the “hill,” I lived in a two-room, ten-girl dorm inside St. Donat’s Castle outside Llantwit Major, Wales, on the Bristol Channel. Though the castle has none of Hogwart’s magic, it does have a legendary ghost, Lady Anne, who roams the halls.

As one can imagine, the setting at Atlantic College provided much fodder for imagination. Also, since living in Wales enabled me to travel Europe, I became fascinated with history and culture. Focusing on English Literature, I discovered a desire to delve into concerns touching the soul and write plots showing how God’s love abounds in the profoundly difficult circumstances of our lives.

But, like many novice writers, it took time to tease out the genre that best fits me. Even the plots of my

Author Photo

indie-published books in the Waldensian Series—two contemporary Christian romantic suspense novels—unfolded because the Waldensians joined a movement of persecuted Protestants centuries earlier. Their story of faith and valor touched me, and I believed their story needed telling.

James Rubart’s branding course helped me understand what drives every story I write—what he calls the themes of your life—history and faith. I could finally verbalize my tagline: Weaving History and Faith into Tales of Intrigue and Redemption.

Tales throughout my travels have sparked the concepts for my stories. Researching history makes them come alive on the page. My Gilded Age historical romance, A Song of Deliverance, being released by Scrivenings Press on December 3, 2024, sprung to life during a family vacation in Ireland.

 

20353762|
Dingle Peninsula
@GabrielaInsuratelu|
Dreamstime.com

Standing on a crest overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, I imagined a poor woman in nineteenth-century Ireland destined to emigrate to America. Still, I needed to flesh out the story when I returned to Colorado—research nineteenth-century mining history in Georgetown, Colorado and understand the people who populated the town before Colorado became a state.

I wrote the logline after five drafts: When a poor Irish woman’s hopes for a better life in Colorado crumble after a mining disaster, she must find the faith and courage to create a new life for herself. As she does, Anna Sullivan helps the mine’s owner uncover the nefarious deeds of his nemesis and falls in love with the mining mogul.

Clara Brown stands out in my research. As a formerly enslaved woman, her owner released her at his death before the Civil War. She came to Colorado in 1859, saved the earnings from her cooking, laundering, and birthing babies and invested in local mines. She became known as “Aunt” Clara for her Christian charity and philanthropy. Clara was inducted into the Colorado Business Hall of Fame on January 27, 2022, for being the first black woman entrepreneur in Colorado. Her character influenced the black woman I created in my book, Cecelia Richards, who became a wise Christian mentor for Anna.

I’m also working on a slip-time novel (dual timelines) set during World War II in France. It began with our trip to Southern France in 2023, and I returned later to Libourne to interview historians and people alive during the war.

Pixabay/Pexels

Since discovering my tagline, I voraciously read historical fiction and time-slip authors—Tamera Alexander, Melanie Dobson, Francine Rivers, and Amanda Cabot, to name a few. Their books engage and help me hone my skills in the genre.

If you are a writer and would like more resources to help develop your craft and career, I invite you to visit my website at www.donnawichelman.com/for-writers.

____________

About Donna: Weaving history and faith into stories of intrigue and redemption grew out of Donna’s

Pixabay/Thomas Ulrich

love of travel, history, and literature as a young adult while attending the United World College of the Atlantic—an international college in Wales, U.K. She enjoys exploring the cultures of the world and developing plots that show how God’s love abounds even in the profoundly difficult circumstances of our lives. Her stories reflect the hunger in all of us for love, belonging, and forgiveness in a world that often withholds second chances.

Donna received her master’s degree in mass communications/journalism from San Jose State University and became a communications professional before writing full-time. Her short stories and articles have appeared in inspirational publications. She has two indie-published Christian romantic suspense novels in her Waldensian Series, Light Out of Darkness, Book One and Undaunted Valor, Book Two and her Gilded Age historical romance, A Song of Deliverance, will be released in December 2024 Donna and her husband of forty years participate in ministry at their local church in Colorado. They love spending time with their grandchildren and bike, kayak and travel whenever possible.

Connect with Donna:
• Website: http://www.donnawichelman.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/DonnaWichelmanAuthor
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/donna.wichelman
• X: www.x.com/DonnaWichelman
• Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/donna_wichelman