Jody here! Today I have the privilege of hosting a guest, author Keli Gwyn. Keli is a dear friend of mine. Over the years she’s helped me grow in my writing skills, been an encourager-extraordinaire, and given me lots of help and advice when I needed it the most.
I’m thrilled that she’s releasing her second published book! She’s an awesome writer and excellent story-teller. So I highly recommend heading over and pre-ordering Keli’s newest release, Family of Her Dreams, just as soon as you’re done reading this post! I’ve already ordered my copy and can’t wait to read it.
Today, Keli is sharing a little bit about what inspired her upcoming release. So please join me in welcoming Keli! (And she’s graciously agreed to give away a signed copy of her new book, so don’t miss the entry form at the bottom of this post!)
Take it away, Keli!
Inspired by California’s Gold Country
By Keli Gwyn
When it comes to a place to live, I’ve hit pay dirt! My historic town of Placerville is nestled at the foot of the majestic Sierras in the heart of the Gold Country. Just eight miles away you’ll find Coloma, where James Marshall discovered the shiny nuggets that sparked the Gold Rush.
The rich history of the area inspires me. A visit to a Gold Rush-era town or historical museum starts story ideas swirling in my head. Such was the case when I passed the railroad depot in nearby Shingle Springs one day.
As writers often do, I asked myself questions. When did the rail line reach Shingle Springs? What was the depot like in its heyday? Who were the men working there?
The Placerville & Sacramento Valley Railroad, featured in my first Love Inspired Historical, Family of Her Dreams, was formed in 1862. In June 1865 the line reached Shingle Springs, which was the terminus until 1888, when the rails were finally extended to Placerville.
Shingle Springs Depot
Before the Central Pacific Railroad connected the East and West in 1869, the P&SVRR was a busy line. Three depots were built at the Shingle Springs station to handle the abundance of freight bound for the silver-rich Comstock region in Nevada.
Little is known about the men who worked at the station. Being a writer, I set my imagination loose. Before I knew it, my fictional stationmaster, Spencer Abbott, introduced himself to me. A forward-thinking man, he realizes the station’s business will fall off as soon as the Central Pacific and Union Pacific meet, so he plans to go into cattle ranching, as did many in Shingle Springs when the gold ran out.
What Spencer didn’t plan was losing his wife and being left with two young children to raise on his own. The grieving widower is forced to hire a housekeeper, and Tess Grimbsy is eager to fill the position.
I’m excited about my upcoming book release for many reasons. One is that my launch party will take place at the Shingle Springs rail station, the very place where Spencer and Tess meet. The owner of Antique Depot, a quaint shop operating in one of the historic buildings, graciously agreed to host me. There will be train rides operating out of the station that day, too. How cool is that?
When’s the last time you rode on a train?
Here’s a little bit more about Keli’s book to whet your appetite!
Headstrong Tess Grimsby loves her new job caring for the children of a recently widowed man. But she never imagined that she’d fall for her handsome employer. Yet Spencer Abbott is as caring as he is attractive, and Tess can’t help but feel for him and his family. Though, for the sake of her job, she’ll keep any emotions about her boss to herself.
Between his stationmaster responsibilities in a gold-rush town and trying to put his family back together, Spencer has his hands full. He soon finds his new hire’s kind personality warming his frosty exterior. But could he ever admit to seeing her as more than just an employee?
Award-winning author Keli Gwyn, a native Californian, transports readers to the early days of the Golden State. She and her husband live in the heart of California’s Gold Country. Her favorite places to visit are her fictional worlds, historical museums and other Gold Rush-era towns. Keli loves hearing from readers and invites you to visit her Victorian-style cyber home at www.keligwyn.com, where you’ll find her contact information.
Sorry, this giveaway is open to U.S. addresses only!
Jody Hedlund
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I enjoy meeting new authors. I would love to win a copy of this book.
Thanks for stopping by, Tonya! I enjoy meeting readers. 🙂
at Six Flags over Georgia when i was a kid. i guess that counts doesnt it??
Barbara, a train ride at Six Flags totally counts. Sounds like that is a fun childhood memory.
The last time I rode on a train was 2 years ago, in Italy and Switzerland. They are fast, comfortable, and fun. 🙂
Cheryl, my husband and I lived in Germany for a number of years early in our marriage and rode the trains quite often. You described them perfectly. Did you ever ride one of the cog trains in Switzerland? There are some mighty steep tracks there.
Welcome Keli. Your book launch sounds like fun. Wish I lived in California.
Lynn, I’m excited about the launch. So is the shop owner. She’s telling all her customers about it and asked me for 200 fliers. Talk about supportive. I’m blessed!
The last time I was on a train was 2 summers ago in Germany. I used trains all through college to visit home. I wish trains went to all the places planes do; I much prefer train travel to flying in many ways.
Forgot to say that I pinned the picture. 🙂
Thanks for pinning it, Megan.
Megan, my husband and I lived in Germany for a number of years early in our marriage and rode the trains often. We lived in Fürth by Nürnberg in the state of Bavaria. What part of Germany did you visit that summer?
Looking forward to reading your books.
Thanks, Kim! I hope you enjoy them.
Looks like a great book! Fun cover!
I’m glad you like the cover, Linda. I love it! The design team at Love Inspired does a great job on their covers.
I love Historical Romance. This sounds so good. Right up my alley. Thanks for sharing.
Dana, I’m a huge fan of inspirational historical romance. There are so many wonderful authors writing it that my to-be-read stack rivals the Empire State Building. Who are some of your favorites?
I actually haven’t ridden on a train except one time in the 4th grade (unless trams at airports count). What’s pathetic is I live in a town with a famous 1880 train that runs several times a day all summer. I’ll get around to it someday but it’s pricey!
And I pinned the image. Oops!
Thanks for pinning it!
Oh – since everyone is mentioning Europe thought I’d add that it was when my family was stationed on a military base in Italy and my girl scout troop went on a day trip to Florence. I remember the train being very sleek and modern – although this was 1988…
A train ride in 4th grade totally counts! I hope you’re able to splurge one day and ride the historic train in your town. There’s nothing like the hiss of steam and clackity clack of those large wheels on the rails.
How cool that you got to live in Italy as a girl. I visited once during the years my husband and I lived in Germany. I was a chaperone on a youth trip and saw lots of the beach outside the campground where we stayed, but we did get a whirlwind bus trip to Rome and Pisa. Our daughter is living in Austria and has an au pair job lined up for the summer. The father is Italian, and our gal will have to spend the month of June in Venice. The poor thing. How she suffers. 🙂
I dont think Disney World counts, so I would have to say the little train near Paradise, Pennsylvania, the Strasburg railroad.
Merry, since I live in California where Disneyland is a BIG deal, I totally count the tram at Disney World. Your Strasburg Railroad ride sounds like fun. Is it a historic line?
I have never ridden on a train….
Rita, I hope you get to ride on a train one day. It’s quite a moving experience. (Pun intended. 🙂 )
I rode a train last summer in Chicago- it was a blast! I love how the seats can be folded over to face the opposite way.
Heidi, I’ve ridden on some historic trains with seats that flip over. They’re way cool.
Hmmm, the last time I rode on a train….
It was a couple of years ago, when the Union Pacific hosted an excursion trip for all past and present employees. My husband put himself through college as a brakeman for the Missouri Pacific, so we were able to go. It was a short trip behind a steam locomotive, my favorite!
The trip I remember most happened September 2001, when my husband-to-be came to Michigan to meet me for the first time. At the end of his 10-day trip, he booked an excursion from Owosso, Michigan to my home town of Clare behind the Pere Marquette 1225, another steam locomotive. That was my first trip aboard a train and it was memorable for that.
But the most memorable part was that at the turn around point in Clare, we got off the train and went to the front so I could take pictures (I was a newspaper gal). That’s what I thought, anyway. I was put up on the front of that great, breathing beast and when I looked down, there he was, on one knee! Yep! You guessed it. He proposed to me right there in front of half the town!
I’ve always loved trains. I now have a special additional fondness for them.!
Best wishes with your new release,
Carrie
Wow, Carrie! I got goosebumps reading your story, starting squealing and had to slap a hand over my mouth to keep from giving my cat heart failure. What a romantic and memorable proposal! The romance writer in me is downright giddy. 😀
Welcome to Inspired by Life…and Fiction, Keli! It’s so nice to have you visit us here.
Congrats on your new release! All my very best wishes to you.
Thanks for the warm welcome, Becky! I’m honored to be here.
Love trains! I took my kids on a day trip by train to Portland, OR when we homeschooled–so much fun for them. The train was a lot nicer than when I travelled home from college on it many years before. Good luck on your debut novel. My sister lives near the Calif. gold country in Sutter–pretty area.
Karen, what fun times you’ve had making special memories with your children. I’m sure they’ll remember that train ride for years to come.
How neat that your sister lives in the heart of the Gold Country. Is she in Sutter Creek perhaps? It’s a lovely little town that Gwynly and I visit from time to time.
I love Keli, her last book was very good. I live in NC and our church went to Tweetsie Railroad about 10 years ago. We road the train and robbers came on our train and wanted the gold, whew we made it out alive and then Indians tried to jump the train, we were saved once again. Tweetsie is in Boone, NC. There us to be the Tweetsie Railroad in the late 1800 thru 1900. Then it was closed and they made Tweetsie Railroad Amusement Park.
Pam, I love the name Tweetsie. Your train trip there sounds like it was quite an experience. I’m so glad you survived all those raids. 😉
Thanks for your kind words about my debut novel. They’re greatly appreciated.
I pinned on Pinterest.
Thanks for pinning it, Pam!
I rode a train from Birmingham, Alabama to Washington D.C. with a good friend of mine when I was in my early 20’s. We missed our train we were supposed to take to Ohio on that trip to visit her grandmother, so we traded our train tickets for bus tickets.
Gail, what a neat trip your trek from Alabama to D.C. must have been as viewed from the windows of a train. Sorry about the missed connection. It’s nice that we have alternatives these days, isn’t it? If the characters in one of my historicals were to miss a train, they would just have to wait for the next one. As the author, I’d be thinking “plot twist.” 🙂
My last train ride was at Branson, MO in 2006. My last trip on a train was probably in 1962 when my sister and I came home to central Missouri from Tulsa, OK with a layover in Kansas City Union Station.
Joan, I think it’s so cool that you enjoyed train trips back when traveling by rail was more common. My husband, daughter and I rode Amtrak from Sacramento to Reno and back a few years ago just so I could get the feel of what it would have been like for my characters to do so–minus the steam, soot and ash, of course, and with a whole lot more speed.
would love to win.
Thanks for stopping by, Angela.
Good job, as for riding a train I don’t remember I was very young. Love the sound the trains make every night around mid-night. It seems so comforting in a way. Well I know you have to choose someone for the book. I guess if it’s not me then I will have to run out the day it is available. God be with you as you retire and go to see your daughter.
Donna, there is something comforting about the sound of a train, isn’t there? I had an apartment near a railroad track when I was young. When I heard the freight trains pass by with their whistles piercing the air, it felt like a friend saying hello.
Thanks for the well wishes on my husband’s upcoming retirement. It’s hard to believe his only has two weeks of this school year left before he bids a life ruled by bells goodbye. One of his first tasks in retirement is to plan that trip to see our gal over in Austria. It will have been over a year since we saw her in person–the longest we’ve ever been apart. I’ve warned her to brace herself for a great big hug when I enter the airport and see her.
Silver Dollar City Train April 30, 2015 ~ so fun! http://www.silverdollarcity.com/theme-park/attractions/rides/Frisco-Silver-Dollar-Line-Steam-Train.aspx
First ride on Amtrak ~ from south-central Missouri to see our youngest daughter in Texas, two years ago in August.
The Mid-Continent Railway Museum; the former Chicago & North Western Railway La Rue branch. Steam train ride with my daughter’s daycare http://www.midcontinent.org/ ~ the last time about eight years ago.
Santa Fe Railroad ~ Tulsa OK to Chicago IL with transfer at Union Station to Wisconsin line to my parents. A real passenger train ride in the early 1960s.
Wow, Kathleen! You’ve had some great experiences riding trains. I’m sure you have many wonderful memories.
Oh, about 2005 we rode on Thomas the Train! Our son and his family came to visit and Thomas happened to be in a town about 2 hours away so we took our grandson.
wfnren at aol dot com
I pinned the contest at: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/237142736605130334/
Thanks for pinning it, Wendy!
Wendy, what fun to have ridden on Thomas, the Train. I’m guessing your grandson wore a great big grin the whole time.
I have been on a train for many years. I remember taking a train to Washington D.C. once . We went with friends. We slept over night on the train as I recall but didn’t get much sleep because of the noise. This would have been in the late 70s or early 80s.
Your story sounds very interesting and I do love historical fiction. You are a new writer to me. Thanks for the giveaway.
Shirley, I think it would be fun to spend a night on a train, although, like you, I doubt I would get much sleep. I’d be too busy listening to all the unusual sounds and storing them up so I could use them in stories one day. 🙂
Only train I have ever been on was at theme parks. Would love to travel on one someday.
Carol, I’m thankful theme parks have trains. They make a nice introduction for those who are unable to take a ride on Amtrak or a historic line.
Welcome, Keli. Love the cover of your new book! My favorite train the Canadian Rocky Mountaineer. I’ve taken it twice and the scenery is breathtaking.
Thanks for the warm welcome, Cara. I’ve never been to Canada, but I’ve heard it’s beautiful. The views from the train must have been really something. One day…
Oh boy. This sounds so good. I would love to win it. I tried to pin it, but it never brought the picture up for me to pin. Would love to win. Maxie
Thanks for stopping by, Maxie. Sorry you weren’t able to pin the giveaway. I just added it my newly created Giveaways board. If you were to search for Keli Gwyn on Pinterest, perhaps you could find the pin that way.
I forgot about the train question. The last time I rode a train was in 1962. We had round trip tickets from Houston, Tx. to the Texas panhandle. It was me and my four kids, two under 3. Well things went fine and the kids loved it, but when we were returning, when the train got to Dallas, Texas they told me it didn’t go into Houston anymore, so we were stranded there. I was one mad momma. They had to know when we bought those round trip tickets that the Depot was closing the next week. I had to call my hubby near Houston to take off work and come get us. It was a long wait for my little ones, but finally made it home. Maxie Anderson
Maxie, I’m sorry your experience riding the train didn’t have a happy ending. Traveling with four young children is hard enough without unexpected challenges. I’m glad your husband was able to come to your rescue when you were left stranded.
I pinned this on Pinterest. Maxie
Thanks for pinning it, Maxie!
The last time I rode a train was in Pennsylvania when I was a little kid 🙂 I would love to win a copy of the book
Rachel, I’m sure it was fun seeing the Pennsylvania countryside from the windows of that train. What a fun memory to have of your childhood.
I’ve never rode a train. Thanks for the giveaway!
I hope you’re able to ride a train one day, J. It’s quite an experience.
“Family of Her Dreams” sounds like a really great book, I would love to win a copy. I have not read Keli Gwyn’s other novel, but this post has certainly got me interested. I have never ridden a train, but I see them a lot. God Bless.
Em, thanks for the kind words about my story. There are so many wonderful books out there by talented authors that our to-be-read piles are in danger of toppling over, aren’t they?
This sounds like a really interesting book that I would love for an opportunity to read! I’ve never read any of Keli Gywn’s other books, but this definitely caught my interest! I think I’ve ridden on a before back when we lived in Germany. I was really little so I don’t remember. Haha. Thanks so much for the giveaway! 🙂
How neat that you got to spend time in Germany when you were a youngster. My husband and I lived in southern Germany from 1989-1993. We were there when the Wall fell and the country was reunified. Watching history in the making was really something. What part of Germany did you live in?
Oh! I forgot to mention in my comment that I pinned this on pinterest! 🙂
Thanks for pinning it, Becky!
I pinned the graphic on Pinterest!
Also, the last time I rode a train was a trip to San Antonio with my church’s youth group to attend the LCMS National Youth Gathering. We took the Amtrak train from Indiana to Texas and back. It was about 30 hours each way, but we got to see so much of the U.S. and history along the way , plus several other groups were also on the same train, and we garnered some early fellowship opportunities!
Sarah, riding Amtrak to your conference in Texas sounds like it was a great way for you to see that part of the country. Meeting others and fellowshipping was and added bonus.
I’m not sure the when the last time I rode a train is. I think it was when I was a kid. I am thinking it was in Midway, Utah.
Sydney, I’m guessing that train trip was uneventful since it didn’t leave a lasting impression. That can be a good thing when it comes to rail travel, right?
This looks like an amazing read…thanks for the giveaway!
Thanks for stopping by, Hope.
I’ve never ridden on a train, but have always wanted to!! I think it would be a fun way to explore the beautiful U.S. My sis-in-law lives in WA state & it would just be a short train ride from here along the Pacific Northwest. I’ve heard it’s beautiful 🙂 I’d love to see for myself.
Thank you for the chance to win a copy of “Family of Her Dreams”. Love Inspired Historical is my favorite books 🙂
Trixi, I hope you are able to ride a train one day. What a fun way that would be to see the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
I also pinned this on Pinterest! 🙂
Thanks for pinning it, Trixi!