NOTE: I met Kathleen Bailey at a writer’s conference (American Christian Fiction Writers) a few years ago. We quickly became friends. Kathleen is witty, authentic, and intelligent. I enjoyed cheering her on when she won an award in the Romance category at the conference. Even though she lives in New Hampshire, we’ve kept in touch. I was excited to read Westward Hope, her first novel in the Western Dreams series. It was an entertaining read where I felt as though I was transported to the mid-1800’s traveling in a covered wagon on the wild Oregon Trail.
1.) Who are some of your favorite romance characters?
Thank you for having me, Sarah. I’m a voracious reader and not always in my own genre or in the romance genre. I will always love Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice though that’s more a comedy of manners. I respect the way she stood up for her values in a time and place where women had very little say in anything. I also like her sister Jane.
I ADMIRE Scarlett O’Hara because she did what had to be done and I respect the way Margaret Mitchell got inside that brain of hers and made us understand her even though we couldn’t always approve. Bodie Thoene’s Jerusalem novels aren’t strictly romance, they’re history (and old), but I have always admired and loved Rachel, the former SS prostitute in the Zion Chronicles. And I love Ingeborg in Lauraine Snelling’s Red River series and how Snelling develops this character, who is less than perfect but has a perfect heart. Recently I’ve loved Laurel in Pepper Basham’s Laurel’s Dream and Ruthann in Kelly Goshorn’s, A Love Restored. Both women overcame amazing odds!
2.) What interested you in writing in the romance genre?
I enjoy the development of relationships. I love the idea that there’s one person for each of us, those who are not called to single-hood, and that person was chosen for us before the beginning of time. That part gives me chills. Like the concept of “iron sharpening iron,” and especially the idea that a good relationship involves him, her, and God. I look for relationships in every genre I read.
3.) What is the inspiration for Westward Hope?
I’ve always been fascinated by the Oregon Trail, from my childhood watching Wagon Train. My local library (LOVE YOU GUYS) had a thick book, Women’s Diaries of the Westward Journey, and I stumbled upon it about 10 years ago. I was impressed with what these people went through, particularly the women, many of whom didn’t want to go in the first place. The Trail was a man’s idea. Kind of like the Crusades. I was impressed with how these people went off into the unknown, or barely known, with nothing but a wooden wagon, a team of oxen, and a shotgun. Some of them, like Caroline, had no choice. They were dead broke. Others were running from something, the law or a painful past. Others had everything, like Caroline’s friends Ben and Martha, but they couldn’t rest until they saw what was on the other side of those mountains. I wanted to pit a character against this and Caroline took shape, then Michael.
4.) What is your protagonist, Caroline’s best trait? And Michael’s, her ex who’s returned into her life, best trait?
Caroline’s best trait is her heart. She finds it easy to love people and she’s a giving person. Michael’s best trait is that he gives people hope, he can light up a room and get anyone through anything.
5.) What issues do you dive into in Westward Hope?
The main theme is forgiveness. Caroline is a Christian now, thanks to her late husband Dan, but she has trouble letting go of her anger toward Michael for what he did back East. Michael needs to accept God’s forgiveness and to face up to what happened further “back east” and what he did and should have done in Ireland. Michael is running from his past and Caroline is running from Michael. Of course, this being 1846, there’s also the issue of women’s roles and how Caroline was ostracized back in Summer Pasture (her former residence) and the general treatment of women, minorities, and the vulnerable.
6.) What are you currently working on now?
Oh, Sarah, I am having SO much fun! My publisher, Pelican Book Group, has accepted the sequel to Westward Hope and we’re calling it Settler’s Hope. It deals with a group of pioneers (including Michael and Caroline in supporting roles) who carve out a living in the Oregon woods. Pace Williams, the wagon master from Westward Hope, is the hero and Michael’s insane sister Oona is the heroine. I have a cover and have done a couple of rounds of edits, so this should be out this fall.
I published a novella, “The Logger’s Christmas Bride,” as part of Pelican’s Christmas Extravaganza collection this past December.
Also dipped a toe into the waters of nonfiction. My daughter and I are doing a book for Arcadia Publishing on Exeter, New Hampshire, an historic and beautiful town about 20 miles from us. Arcadia does those town histories with the sepia covers, you can see them in Barnes and Noble, and this has been quite the experience. That should be out this fall too, so I’ll be doing back-to-back book signings.
I’m working on the sequel to Settler’s Hope, which involves the former saloon girl Jenny Thatcher. Yes, Jenny finally gets her own book. It’s a challenge because it’s more of a saga, involving a great deal of travel through the known world, real historical characters, and a convoluted plot. It wants to be a saga and I’m letting it as long as we stay within Pelican’s word limits.
I’m very busy, but I’ve waited for this all my life, so I try not to complain.
About Kathleen:
Kathleen Bailey is a journalist and novelist with 40 years experience in the nonfiction, newspaper and inspirational fields. Born in 1951, she was a child in the ’50s, a teen in the ’60s, a young adult in the ’70s and a young mom in the ’80s. It’s been a turbulent, colorful time to grow up, and she’s enjoyed every minute of it and written about most of it.
Bailey’s work includes both historical and contemporary fiction, with an underlying thread of men and women finding their way home, to Christ and each other. Her first Pelican book, Westward Hope, was published in September 2019.
For more information, contact her at ampie86@comcast.net; @piechick1 on Twitter; Kathleen D. Bailey on Facebook and LinkedIn or on her website: www.kathleendbailey.weebly.com.
Purchase her books on Amazon:
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Featured Image by Artodidact from Pixabay
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