The blurb: He’s a reporter determined to uncover the truth, but the secrets he finds could crush her family—and their second chance at love.
Taken from her family’s farm to be raised by her wealthy aunt and uncle, Nora Armstrong has accepted that not only will she never realize her dream of becoming a teacher, she’d also rather be a spinster than submit to her cruel aunt’s society selection of a suitable husband. The one man who caught her eye betrayed her best friend. And she’s got enough on her hands, hiding her sister’s shameful secret from her aunt.
When the local home for unwed mothers burns down, the arson investigation brings big-city reporter James Cooper back to Stone Creek—and back into Nora’s life. James also has a meddling aunt who raises more questions than she answers about his past. Not to mention, he can’t figure out why Nora constantly rebuffs him. When his reporting casts aspersions on the local church and lays the blame for the fire and a series of robberies at the wrong feet, he risks losing his new position at the paper.
Writing Scandals and Mercies presented several challenges as writing any book does. Making your character’s stories believable is first and foremost in importance. The hero and the heroine need their separate internal and external conflicts, not to mention goals and motivations. And when you right faith-based fiction, having a spiritual conflict in each of their lives is important too.
For Nora, she grapples with what she wants for her life versus what her aunt and uncle and what she perceives God may want for her life. It’s a fight within throughout the book—obligation versus desire. In James’s case, he thinks life would be simpler without believing in God, but when his aunt’s revelation shakes his neatly ordered world, he has a lot to come to grips with.
Of course, they face the externals of the town—the fire at Hope’s Place and the people who thwart their ambitions—whether to become a teacher for Nora or advance the cause of truth as James writes news stories.
Exact research can be tough to find. How did they fight fires in 1902 in small town Michigan? Most small towns had volunteer fire departments at that point. The fire wagons often had steam engines that helped to pump water from the nearest source, whether pond or well. And people from the community might be enlisted to help. It was complicated.
Reading about the running of newspapers at that time was fascinating too. Wire services were becoming more popular, sot the local paper might have some of the national news too. The newspaper and the printer needed each other.
When I had one of the men at the paper chewing gum, it was fun to look up the latest fad at the time. (add more here)
It’s fun but also challenging to find the correct resource material. I try to be as accurate as possible.
Also, as a writer, even though it’s partly an escape, it can also wind up being cathartic. It’s not unusual to find your character has to work through something similar to what you’re going through. I was working through a few things while I was writing Nora’s story. You can read more about it in my interview with Gina Holder HERE. And I’ll soon be posting a devotional related to this.
Is there anything you’d like to know about the writing of Scandals and Mercies? Feel free to ask your question in the comments below.