Catherine lives in Michigan with her husband, Edward, of
forty years and her Arabian horses. Her children are grown and married. She and
Edward are blessed with three grandchildren.
Cathy, it’s great to have you at my blog
today! I am so glad to have gotten to know you through the Great Lakes Chapter of ACFW. I truly appreciate your perseverance. Could you share with us some of the surprises you’ve encountered along
the road to publishing?
First of all, I would like to thank you for inviting me. I
feel so very blessed and honored to be here and I pray there is something for
everyone in my answers. Not everything I say or write in this blog will be of
value to you, but dig out the editable and just throw away the bones and keep
the meat, so to speak.
Now back to your question. I think the most surprising part
of publishing road is how long it takes to get to the end! I never knew that so much went into the
publishing process. It took a year
from signing the contract and then the process of book covers, endorsements,
edits and more edits before the proof is complete. Yet, I must admit, looking back, it seems a blur. I really
still cannot believe Wilted Dandelions is out!
Please tell us
something about your latest novel, Wilted
Dandelions.
Wilted Dandelions begins in April, 1837, during the high
peak of America’s Second Great Awakening, when tent revivals sprang up like
mushrooms, and preachers would preach sometimes for three days nonstop.
Spinster Rachael Rothburn is stirred by what she feels and
believes God wants her to become a missionary in the west. She is determined to
share the love she felt when she accepted Jesus as her Savior and after hearing
Reverend McCray talk about the Native Americans of the Rocky Mountain region,
she sends her letter to the missionary alliance asking to be one of the
missionaries going west.
Then she learns that the missionary alliance will only allow
married couples. Well, there are no suitors knocking on her door and Rachael’s
dreams look impossible to fulfill! When Jonathan Wheaton, another missionary
hopeful learns of the restrictions, he is desperate to find a wife. So he
offers Rachael a marriage of convenience.
She is forced to agree to a loveless marriage with a man she
only just met. She receives Jonathan’s proposal through her father and so
Rachael and Jonathan sets off for Oregon to share Jesus with the Native
Americans. They battle sickness, raging rivers, hostile Indians and treacherous
mountain passes. After Rachael escapes from a Native American, Rachael
discovers she’d grown to trust and love Jonathan. But she wasn’t sure exactly
how he felt. She comes to realize the deep, deep depth of God’s love. That it wasn’t just a coincidence that
Jonathan came along when he did. No, an almighty and loving God doesn’t create
coincidences—He designs possibilities.
What drew you to set Wilted Dandelions during the second
Great Awakening in our country’s history?
Because the Second Great Awakening was God inspired, you
know it started in a little town called Cane Ridge, Kentucky in 1802. Then in
1803, France decides to sell the United States of America all the land they
owned west of the Mississippi River. This treaty was known as the Louisiana
Purchase and this purchase doubled the size of the United States. Was it just a
coincidence that the Second Great Awakening started in America one year before
the Louisiana Purchase? I do not believe so; I believe it was Divine
Intervention. God was directing this country established “Under God” to
becoming the great evangelistic hub for the entire world.
This Great Awakening brought the missionaries willing to
sacrifice their wealth and lives to travel through the unknown in order to save
the souls of those Native Americans living in darkness. It was here, at one tent revival with the odors of
perspiring bodies and moldy canvas, the Bible thumping preacher caused such
echoing cries that Spinster Rachael Rothburn found meaning for her quintessential
life kneeling in the dirt floor, asking Christ’s forgiveness. You know Rachael
was a regular church participant, yet she had never felt the Holy Spirit in her
brick and mortar church like she felt the Holy Spirit in that smelly tent.
What or who inspired
you to write inspirational fiction?
Gee, that is a good question. Really, I haven’t thought
about it. I always liked to read, and I always wanted to write my own novel.
But, honestly, I think the whole writing thing grew when I knelt down before
the television set one evening after listening to a Billy Graham telecast. I, like Rachael, had always gone to
church. I was a catechism teacher for a couple of years.
Yet, that night, when I knelt before my television set and
repeated Billy Graham’s words, I have to admit, something stirred me. That confession did something inside of
me. I know that because I began looking forward to reading the Bible every day.
Everything took on a new meaning for me. I even got re-baptized! I loved it. I
loved anything that was Christ related. That’s when the idea to write
inspirational fiction took hold.
How does that keep
you plodding ahead with your writing each day?
I try to commit my writing and my words as if writing for
Jesus. I always start out telling him, especially when I’ve received another
rejection letter or e-mail, “Well, Lord, are you sure you want me to write? I
really want to know Your will. If you do, please be my guide and don’t let this
rejection upset me for long.
If it is Your will that I do write, I don’t want to play god
with my characters, I want you to use me as Your instrument. Make my characters
real and tell me how, Lord. Show me what you want my readers to learn through
my characters. In thy name I pray, that thy will be done. Amen!
Thank you, Cathy, for
joining us at Novel PASTimes. It has been a privilege to interview you. I look
forward to reading Wilted Dandelions. Thank you for sharing this beautiful testimony of
your writing.
Connect with Catherine Brakefield in the following places:
You can e-mail her at catherineulrichbrakefield@yahoo.com
Find out more about Wilted Dandelions at: Facebook.com/CatherineUlrichBrakefield
Cathy is giving away
a copy of her book, Wilted Dandelions here this week. Leave a comment,
join this web site or Tweet one of the tweets below, each for a chance to win. Come
back next Friday for the announcement.
Tweet this: Heard of the Second Great Awakening? @CUBrakefield Read about it in
Wilted Dandelions #ChristianHistory #BookGiveAway
Tweet this: Catherine Brakefield @CUBrakefield prays to
write for Christ’s glory #writer #ChristianHistory
Tweet this: Like Christian romance? Catherine Brakefield @CUBrakefield
is giving away, Wilted Dandelions. #SweetRomance #BookGiveaway
