Reader friends! We have a special guest today! Kelly Goshorn has set us up with a fictional friend from her debut novel, A Love Restored, and a giveaway! I don’t know about y’all but I love visiting historical time periods through wonderful stories.

meet Ruth Ann Sutton

Ruth Ann: Let me begin by telling you a little bit about myself. I am twenty years old and the youngest of two daughters born to my parents, Charles and Hannah Sutton. My father died suddenly when I was thirteen and I miss him terribly. I can usually be found wearing the locket he gave me.

My older sister, Sarah, was married by my age. She is beautiful and petite—just like mama. I’m quite the opposite. With broad shoulders, round hips and a head full of unruly curls, I haven’t had many suitors.

Mama has arranged for me to marry James Thornton, the son of a prominent Virginia politician. Although we get along just fine, I find him a bit dull and if you don’t mind me being frank, which I am prone to be, I believe he’s more interested in my familial connections than me, as a woman.

Mama says I should be grateful for his attention. I’m not sure how long I can put off our nuptials, but when we marry James will expect me to “take my place in society.” Which is his and mother’s way of saying I’ll need to stop teaching at the nearby Freedman’s school.

What I want more than anything is to be loved and accepted for who I am. But I’m not sure such a man exists. Look at me prattling on and I barely know you. If mama were here, she’d remind me that “young ladies should be seen and not heard.”

Beth: Well, I think you’ll find we’re a bit more casual around here! It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ruth Ann! I’m so glad you could join us today!

five favorites

Ruth Ann: I adore tea and abhor coffee. The smell of the latter makes me want to retch. I hope that isn’t too much detail.

Beth: I was raised on sweet tea and I think I’ve had my fill. I’m not a coffee drinker but the smell doesn’t bother me.

Ruth Ann: I way prefer dogs to cats. I have an adorable Welsh corgi named Buddy. He is usually by my side. James doesn’t really care for him. That’s another reason why I shouldn’t marry him, isn’t it?

Beth: Perhaps James is jealous?! Men often have a hard time expressing their feelings but if he’s not a dog-lover… 

Ruth Ann: Although I usually have my copy of Pride and Prejudice on my dressing table, I secretly favor the writings of Mr. Jules Verne. Whenever I can, I slip away to the creek and read.

Beth: Great variety, I love it!

Ruth Ann: I enjoy singing to playing the piano. I am often found humming a tune but my newest male acquaintance, Benjamin Coulter, doesn’t think I can “carry a tune with a handle on it.” I probably should have spent more time on my voice lessons but as I mentioned earlier, I much prefer a good book.

Beth: I envy your musical abilities but agree that reading is the top priority! 

Ruth Ann: My two closest friends are Charlotte Peterson and Maggie Wythe. We grew up together in Catoctin Creek. They truly love me just the way I am, opinions and all. I don’t think it’s revealing too much to say that when my heart gets shattered into a thousand pieces, it’s these dear friends who comfort me and eventually encourage me to forgive so that my own heart doesn’t grow bitter. They are wise, Godly women indeed.

Beth: Friends like that are such a blessing!

 

q&a

Tell us about the author.

Ruth Ann: Oh, sweet Beth, I cannot wait to tell you about Kelly. She created me to tell her own story. Did you know that? A Love Restored is the retelling of her real-life romance with her husband, Mike. She chose to set the story in the 1870s because she is a . . . what’s the word I’m looking for here? Oh right, she calls herself a “history geek.”

Apparently, it was Mike’s idea for her to write their story. She questioned him at first because in her words, “you don’t look so good in that story for quite a long time.” Like me, Kelly’s fuller figure has been the source of significant self-doubt and heartache. But her story, as told through me, is about her journey to self-acceptance, to seeing herself as our heavenly Father does—fuller figure and all.

And dear Mike? He says and I quote, “I think it {their story} turned out pretty good.” I’d have to agree.

Beth: How wonderful! I’m looking forward to reading it!

What do you want readers to gain from your story?

Ruth Ann: A Love Restored is not only a story of love, romance, heartache, and restoration, but also a story about the power of words over our lives. It is a story about the struggle each of us faces to take our thoughts captive to the truth of Scripture so we may experience the fullness of God’s unequivocal love for us. As Benjamin and I discover, it is only then that we are truly able to give and receive love, unconditionally.

Our prayer for you and your lovely readers is that you will not allow the enemy to steal the joy that is rightfully yours as a child of God. Speak the truth of the gospel over yourself every day and ask God to give you His eyes to see yourself as He does.

1 Samuel 16:7b “For the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”

Beth: Amen, that is beautiful!

Will readers be able to follow your story in future books?

Ruth Ann: Kelly began a sequel to A Love Restored but has chosen to set it aside for now. Something about another series speaking to her heart. Can you imagine? But she has been discussing with me the possibility of taking the sequel in an entirely different direction.

She would like to write what she calls a generational series. Book two would focus on my daughter and book three, my granddaughter. Kelly says in this way I’d be able to vote in the 1920 Presidential election at the age of sixty-seven. I think that would be a fine thing, don’t you Beth?

Beth: Absolutely! What a wonderful concept!

After Ruth Ann’s lovely visit, she sent this thoughtful handwritten thank you note along as well…

 

about the book

She was nothing like the woman he’d envisioned for his bride, but he was everything she’d ever dreamed of—until a promise from his past threatened their future.

Twenty-year old Ruth Ann Sutton doesn’t measure up to society’s vision of a perfect lady. She would rather read Jules Verne or teach Negro children to read and write than join the Women’s Benevolent Aid Society or practice her voice lessons. Her pert opinions and less than perfect figure keep many suitors away. When Ruth Ann accepts a position teaching at the new Freedman’s School, it threatens the only marriage offer she is likely to receive. Should she risk life as a lonely spinster or reinvent herself to accept a proposal from a man she does not love?

Determined to rise above his meager beginnings, Benjamin Coulter’s reputation as a fast learner and hard worker earn him the opportunity to apprentice with a surveyor for the railroad—a position that will garner the respect of other men. All he needs now is a woman to share his promising future. When Benjamin has a chance encounter with Ruth Ann Sutton, he is smitten with her pretty face, quick wit, and feisty personality. When others ridicule his choice, Benjamin must decide whether he will listen to his heart or put ambition first.

 goodreads | amazon | bookdepository

 

about the author

Kelly Goshorn weaves her affinity for history and her passion for God into uplifting stories of love, faith, and family set in nineteenth-century America. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America.

Kelly has been enjoying her own happily-ever-after with her husband and best friend, Mike, for 28 years. Together they have raised three children, four cats, two dogs, a turtle, a guinea pig, a gecko, and countless hamsters. Thankfully, not all at the same time.

When she is not writing, Kelly enjoys spending time with her young adult children, scrapbooking with friends, board gaming with her husband, and spoiling her Welsh corgi, Levi. Her debut novel, A Love Restored, releases June 29^th from Pelican Book Group.

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giveaway

Kelly has generously provided an ebook copy of A Love Restored for one Faithfully Bookish reader!

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Do YOU take time to write thank you notes, reader friends?!
Share your thoughts about Ruth Ann & her story!