Episode 123: Romance in the Midst of Disaster with Kelly Goshorn

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You’ve described yourself as, “An old-fashioned girl trapped in the 21^st century. How has that shaped your passion for historical fiction?

Kelly: As long as I can remember, I’ve loved history. I had a wonderful grandfather who would tell us stories about his life growing up and stories about our ancestors. The random things I’d find – my dad’s World War II Navy picture or my mom’s ration book from World War II – I always found them fascinating.

But I suspect Little House on the Prairie probably had something to do with it. That was my favorite show growing up. If I did anything to get in trouble, all my mom had to do was threaten to take that away. Because back then, we didn’t have unlimited access to shows. If you missed it when it was on, you didn’t get to see it again until summer re-runs.

Then when Laura called Almanzo “Manly” and I discovered historical romance, I think that just sealed the deal.

KyLee: Honestly, that sounds similar to my experience. I had grandpas who were in World War II in the Korean War, and we got to hear all their stories. And I watched a lot of old black-and-white shows, lots of westerns. I love that, as adult women, God’s allowed a way for us to look back on those good memories and the values we developed, and now we’re creating with them.

Can you share how your youngest son inspired you to start writing?

Kelly: When the time came to move on from my career as a childcare provider, I wasn’t sure what the next step was, but I sensed from the Holy Spirit that it was not going back to teaching. So my husband and I , and our small group, started praying about it.

Now my youngest son Noah always love to write. He might be watching SpongeBob, but he had a notebook he always carried with him, and he’d be writing some kind of story.

I remember watching Noah one day and thinking how I always loved writing research papers in college and grad school. I thought of myself as hopelessly un-creative, but I loved to play with the sentences, move them around, tweak them. And that day I thought, “I should give fiction a try.”

So I started writing, just for myself, no secret desire to be published. And after a few nights of me sitting in front of the TV with my laptop, my husband asked what I was doing. And when I told him, he wanted to read it, so I let him.

And he said, “This is good, but you should write our story.” Shortly after that, I switched to writing our story, but set in the 1870s, and it became something I couldn’t wait to do each day. I started study the writing craft, and in that process of writing and learning, I realized that was the answer to my prayer. And our story became my debut, A Love Restored.

Darcy: I love how you say discovering your new path was a process. You had your family and church family praying, but the Lord didn’t drop you a note in your lap to “write novels now.” You were curious, and you tried it, and in that, He show you this was what He wanted you to do.

Sometimes we really want the writing on the wall, but God’s like, “No. You’ll find out. Just trust Me on this.” I think that’s cool.

KyLee: I was just about to tell you, Kelly, that you should go on the Hope-Filled Romantic Podcast with Heather Tabers. She and I chat quite a bit, and she just started her podcast for Christian romance lovers who believe in both storybook love and the hope that God provides in real life.

So I was double-checking her podcast name on Instagram, and I see Kelly Goshorn has already been on the Hope-Filled Romantic Podcast! Authors get to share about their books, but also their real-life love stories, if they’re comfortable doing so.

Just a quick shout-out for Heather – our listeners should definitely check out Kelly’s episode on her podcast.

Kelly: And secondary shout-out, I had the privilege of reading and endorsing Heather’s book that just released, Their Burden to Bear. If people like the World War I era, I highly recommend it. A fantastic novel.

Do you have a favorite battlefield or museum or site that you visited that inspired a story scene?

Kelly: I’m really inspired by the area where I live in Northern Virginia. Loudoun County has a lot of Revolutionary War and especially Civil War history. We’re in a border county in a border state – the next county over became West Virginia. In the western part of our county, we had Quakers who were pro-union, and we have people who were pro-slavery and voted for Virginia to secede from the union.

If I could set all of my stories here, I would. I have two, A Love Restored and The Christmas Carving set in Loudoun County.

Is there anything especially interesting you could share with us, or something God has laid on your heart that you’d like to share with your readers?

Kelly: I like to write about flawed characters that overcome their obstacles with faith and fortitude. Recurring themes in my books are about self-acceptance, and forgiveness, and second chances. The world can be so unforgiving, and we can be so hard on ourselves.

I like to write those kind of stories where you kind of dig inside yourself and your faith, and you come out on the other side. And hopefully readers also find a swoon-worthy romance ’cause I’m a romance girl.

Darcy: I love that. I was actually reading in Luke this morning, the stories of the prodigal son and the scriptures around there where the Pharisees condemn Jesus for hanging out with sinful and unrighteous people.

And I was thinking how we know the story of the lost sheep where Jesus said, “I leave the ninety-nine, and go after the lost one.” Yet, even as we’re trying to follow Jesus, we build this sense of self-righteousness. And then we start comparing: “I’m not as holy as that person. I’m not as far along as this person.”

So I love that you write about flawed characters who learn to accept that. Because God uses flawed people. He says that over and over in His Word.

Book Two in the Enduring Hope series, six stand-alone novels by six different authors, examining manmade catastrophes and how the characters overcome. When life seems weighed down by challenges, there are always pillars of enduring hope and love to be found.

Henrietta “Etta” Maxwell, heiress to the Maxwell fortune, is a hard-hitting investigative reporter for The Enterprise Daily. The catch? Etta must pen her columns under the nom de plume, Henry Mason—a fact that routinely puts a knot in her knickerbockers.

Leo Eriksson is a second-generation firefighter with a passion for rendering aid to those in need. When Leo discovers that Henry Mason is really Henrietta Maxwell, the fire department’s wealthy benefactress, he agrees to keep her identity secret.

After a sudden blast rocks the Grover Shoe Factory, Leo and Etta team up to determine if the explosion is related to a series of suspicious fires in the area. When an unnamed source reveals Etta’s secret identity to a rival reporter, she falsely accuses Leo of being the informant. As the truth comes to light, Etta must persuade Leo to give her a second chance or lose the only man she’s ever loved.

What inspired your heroine, Etta Maxwell – a wealthy heiress living a double life as an undercover reporter?

Kelly: I am not a plotter. I never know how the story will go; the Lord kind of brings it all together for me. But one thing I did know is I didn’t want my characters to be employees of the factory because I thought that might take the reader too close to the grittiness of the disaster.

I knew I wanted to make Leo a fireman, and I needed to keep Etta active in the story, so I decided on making her a reporter. Now there were some female investigative reporters, like Ida Tarbell or Nellie Bly, but most female journalists were relegated to domestic or social columns. So I decided Etta would have to masquerade as a man to pull it off.

She also writes for The Gilded Gown, a social magazine in Boston. And her parents let her move back to Brockton and work with their charitable foundation, unaware she is secretly the top-notch reporter Henry Mason.

How did you go about researching this real-life disaster, this shoe factory explosion?

Kelly: I started with a list on Wikipedia of manmade disasters in America, and I’m not exactly sure why I clicked on the Grover Shoe factory. I can only say it was the Holy Spirit. And I immediately saw two images: one of this giant factory, four floors that covered three-quarters of a city block, and an after-picture in which literally nothing is left but the smokestack.

And I instantly thought, “Nobody could have survived this. What happened?” I found myself reading more out of my own curiosity. And I just felt like I needed to tell these people’s stories.

I found a document called, The History of the Brockton Relief Fund, which was compiled a couple years after the disaster. And that became my bible, so to speak because it was written so close to the time. Sometimes even newspapers from the time contradicted one another, so this document became my ultimate primary source.

I also found a lot of great information on the Brockton Fire Department through a document online. They have a fire museum there. And I found YouTube documentaries on early 20^th-century firefighting and fire investigation techniques. Many of their techniques have now been proven to not be the best way to get to the bottom of an arson, but it’s what they used then.

Oh, and I found great information on the fire dogs and how they were used, why they were Dalmations. It was fun to incorporate so many details into the book.

How do you balance the historical material with the romance?

Kelly: It was kind of tricky to build a romance in the midst of such a disaster. It was the beginning of the workday when the fire started, so the building was full – nearly 400 people. And between the broken gas lines and floors treated with linseed oil, they had to call off the rescue within twelve minutes.

Fifty-eight people perished. You almost expect it to be the reverse, that only 58 people survived, because it was just a perfect storm of things contributing to the fire.

So trying to figure out how to put a romance in that, when you don’t want to lighten the gravity of the situation, was tricky. It was another reason to keep my characters outside the factory, and not related to the factory owner or anyone bearing such a heavy weight that they can’t think of romance.

I started the story with fictitious arsonists she’s investigating, and they team up for that. So when the disaster occurred, she already had sources inside the fire department and she’s following leads, which enabled them to have that close proximity needed for a romance.

Darcy: In some ways, the fact that their romance grows out of something so deep and tragic lets us know that these people are not involved in some light infatuation. They can’t hide behind the typical early-romance stage, but have to get to know each other for real.

What’s next for your writing?

Kelly: I don’t have any contracts at the moment, but last week I turned in a proposal for a novella collection, along with Carolyn Miller, Angela Couch and Jacinta Meredith. If it’s picked up, it will be four marriages of convenience at Christmas. (You might be able to tell that marriage of convenience is one of my favorite tropes. I will always pick that up to read – it fascinates me.)

And this weekend, I’m working on a proposal for a book about a mail-order groom that’s got some serious You’ve Got Mail vibes.

Where can listeners connect with you?

Kelly: I would love to have readers visit my website and sign up for my newsletter. I publish monthly, and I include updates on my writing, but I also cover a new historical romance release each month. I do giveaways. And I like to talk about historical tidbits that history-nerd girls like us enjoy.

If you’re on Facebook and Instagram, you can find me there, probably talking way too much about my Corgis. I love my Corgi dogs. Levi, who we mentioned at the beginning, has sadly crossed the rainbow bridge. So now we have another Corgi puppy named Biscuit.

I also have pages on my website dedicated to extras and historical details for the book. Things that don’t always make it into the story, which I hope readers will enjoy.

Christmas at Sugar Plum Manor by Roseanna M. White

THE BOOK

As the beloved stepdaughter of the Earl of Castleton, Lady Mariah Lyons cherishes her home at Plumford Manor, but her idyllic world will be threatened when the estate passes to Cyril Lightbourne, a childhood friend she hasn’t seen or heard from in years. Once, Mariah dreamed their friendship would kindle into something more, but that was before she heard Cyril was courting the cruelhearted Lady Pearl. Now Mariah is willing to welcome him as a friend and pray he will be the heir her stepfather needs, but she’ll keep her heart locked safely away from anyone with such poor taste.

Cyril Lightbourne has long avoided returning to Plumford Manor, yet he reluctantly arrives in time for Christmas. When his friendship with Lady Mariah reignites, he finds himself caught between his affection for her and her family’s misunderstanding of his attachment to Lady Pearl. Then, more trouble arrives in the form of a Danish lord on a mission to win Mariah’s hand by Christmas. Will the magic of the holiday season help lead to the discovery of true love, or will duty to country leave all longing for what could have been?

Bookworm Review

“Oh my giddy gumdrops, this confection of a tale is a sheer delight from beginning to end!

Winsome and whimsical, “Christmas at Sugar Plum Manor” by Roseanna M. White captures all the splendor of the holiday season, from the effervescent joy of childhood to the awe-inspiring wonder of Christ’s birth.

Nods to The Nutcracker will evoke smiles from fans of the classic story as they explore the luxury of an Edwardian Manor and the enchantment of a winter wood, glittering with snow.

If you fancy a Nutcracker suite romance, spend your Christmas at Sugar Plum Manor!”

Read more about Roseanna at her website. (www.RoseannaMWhite.com)

 (www.jaimewrightbooks.com)
~ Angela Bell, author of A Lady’s Guide to Marvels and Misadventure

Thank you, fellow bookworm, for joining us once again! We hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know Kelly and are excited to check out her book!

If you enjoyed this episode, we hope you’ll subscribe for more on your favorite listening platform, and join our newsletter (see the sidebar). Don’t forget to share it with a fellow historical fiction reader!

Until next time, may you find hope even in challenges!

–KyLee & Darcy