Writer’s Window–Ann H. Gabhart
Joining us today for Writer’s Window is historical-fiction author Ann H. Gabhart.
One lucky commenter* will win a signed copy of Ann’s latest book, Angel Sister. Deadline for leaving a comment to enter the drawing is Friday. To enter the drawing, you must answer the question posed by Ann at the end of the interview. Only one comment per person will count toward the drawing. You do not need to include your e-mail address in the body of your comment—just make sure it’s correct when you sign in to leave your comment. The winning name will be drawn next weekend and announced on the next Writer’s Window post. Congratulations to Sally Bradley, who won the drawing for last week’s featured book.
- *U.S. residents only, void where prohibited. If you win the drawing, you will be ineligible for the next three drawings, though hopefully you will still come back and join in the discussion.
__________________________________________________________
It is 1936 and Kate Merritt works hard to keep her family together. Her father has slipped into alcoholism, her mother is trying to come to grips with their dire financial situation, and her sisters seem to remain blissfully oblivious to all of it. Kate could never have imagined that a dirty, abandoned little girl named Lorena Birdsong would be just what her family needs.
In this richly textured novel, award-winning author Ann H. Gabhart reveals the power of true love, the freedom of forgiveness, and the strength to persevere through troubled times, all against the backdrop of a sultry Kentucky summer.
Welcome, Ann!
What do you like best about being a writer?
- The thing I like best about being a writer is writing stories. I love coming up with new characters who have a story to tell. I get so close to my characters while I’m writing about them that they become like family members. When that book is written and new characters necessarily push the old characters out of the way in order to tell me a new story, I sometimes miss the old characters.
What do you like least about being a writer?
- That worrisome time that sometimes comes in the middle of book when I think I’m sinking in quicksand and losing the storyline.
Pop, Soda, or Coke? What do you call it, and what’s your favorite variety?
- I say “Would you like a Coke?” That’s covering all kinds of soft drinks and is what most people say in this area. But my father-in-law, a dyed-in-the-wool Pepsi lover never said that. He would say, “Do you want a Pepsi?” He’d have made a good guy for the Pepsi people to have on their commercials.
I don’t have a favorite soft drink. (That’s what I say if I don’t say Coke.) My drink of choice is tea.
What’s your favorite dessert?
- My favorites have changed over the years. But you can’t beat a homemade Angel Food cake with that delicious divinity type icing. We call it Seven-Minute Frosting because that’s how long you have to stand there and stir it while it’s cooking. We had laying hens when I was a kid and my mom would make this cake when we got an over-abundance of eggs. I haven’t made it from scratch for years, and back when I did, the cake didn’t always turn out right and the icing rarely did. The weather even has to be right to make that icing. But I know this one lady who still does it all the old-fashioned way. Delicious. I think I’ll go visit her for tea and cake.
What’s the most fun/interesting/crazy/scary/unique hands-on research you’ve done for a book?
- Gee, now I feel boring. I do most of my research by reading history books or journals of people who lived during the times of my books. I’ve never done anything crazy/scary/unique to research my books. I leave that stuff up to my imagination. It’s safer that way. But for my Shaker novels, I have gone to the Shaker village near me and walked through their buildings and stood in their meeting house and heard the echoes of their worship. And for Angel Sister, I did listen to my mother’s stories of growing up during the Great Depression years and I got to be a young person with her in my imagination. That was fun.
What’s your favorite movie from childhood?
- We didn’t do much movie going when I was a kid. They tell me my aunt took me and my two sisters to see Gone with the Wind, but I don’t remember much about that. The only other movie I can remember going to as a little kid was a horror film another aunt took us and her two boys to see. I still remember a scene in an insane asylum from that film, but I’d never say it was a favorite!! My cousin had nightmares that night after we got home. Maybe not the best decision my aunt ever made. We read books instead of going to the movies.
If you were to write a novel about what your life would have been like if you’d become what you wanted to be at eight years old, what kind of character would the story be about?
- A writer. When I was about that age or a little older I used to tell people I wanted to live in a house in the woods with a dozen dogs for pets and write. Sounded like heaven to me at the time. Writing and dogs. My two favorite things then.
What makes you happy?
- Grandkid hugs. Walks with my dogs. Listening to my husband’s Southern gospel quartet. Holding a new book in my hands that has by Ann H. Gabhart on the front. Writing a good scene. Laughing with my sisters. Just to name a few things.
What makes you nervous?
- Lots of things used to make me nervous – even calling somebody I didn’t know well on the telephone, but I got over it. Now not much makes me nervous. Okay, waiting to hear back from my editor after submitting a new story – that can make me nervous. And high places if I have my grandkids with me. Of course if I had to walk across a swinging bridge over a river of crocodiles, I’d definitely be nervous. But I only imagine that sort of thing.
What’s your biggest dream for the future?
- So many of my dreams have already come true. My beautiful family. Twenty plus books published. Seeing my books on a couple of Christian bestseller lists. My dream now in regard to my writing is that I’d like to write stories readers love so much that my books stay on store shelves for a long time. And I can dream big and want to see one of my titles on the NY Times bestseller list. Mostly I want to dream up some new stories and have time to write them.
Tell us about your newest release and what you’re working on now.
- Angel Sister is a story about a family during the Great Depression years. My characters and story are completely fictional, but the seed of the idea came from the stories my mom and her sisters used to tell me about growing up during the Depression years. They were so happy in spite of the hard times and some family hard times too. I borrowed their background. Their dad was a blacksmith and served in WW I. My dad in the book is a blacksmith and served in WW I. There were four sisters in their family. There are four sisters – sort of – in my family. They had a number of odd characters in their community. I picked two of them, imagined reasons for their oddities and dropped them into my story. Kate Merritt is fourteen and the middle sister in her family. The responsible sister. When the pressures of the economic times cause her father to turn to the bottle for relief and her mother begins to shut him away, Kate works to hold her family together. And then a little girl is abandoned on the church steps, and the Merritt family will never be the same. The story’s romance is between the parents; a flashback WW I story of how they fell in love is woven throughout the book as they try to hold onto that love in the face of the problems besetting them.
I just finished the edits on my fourth Shaker book, The Blessed, to be released in July 2011. I’m looking forward to editing a historical novel set in Louisville, Kentucky in 1855 with a working title of Words of Fire. My work in progress is my fifth Shaker novel. No title yet, but it’s set in 1849 and has an engaging heroine who makes her Shaker sisters shake their heads and say, “What are we going to do about Sister Isabella?”
Where can people find out more about you/connect with you online?
- You can visit me at my website www.annhgabhart.com and keep up with what’s going on in my writing life and down on my farm by reading my One Writer’s Journal blog at www.annhgabhart.blogspot.com. You can also join in the conversation on my Facebook author page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ann-H-Gabhart/132862247566, or follow me on Twitter, http://twitter.com/AnnHGabhart.
Now it’s your turn to ask the question. What question do you want to ask the commenters to answer?
- If you could be any fictional character for a day, who would it be and why?
__________________________________________________________
Ann H. Gabhart has published over twenty novels for adults and children. The Scent of Lilacs, her first inspirational book, was one of Booklist’s Top Ten Books in Christian Fiction. Her first Shaker novel, The Outsider, was a finalist for the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association Fiction Book of 2009. Summer of Joy (2009) and The Believer (2010) were finalists for the ACFW Carol awards. Ann lives on a farm in Central Kentucky with her husband, Darrell, a bass singer in the Patriot Quartet. They have three children and nine grandchildren. When Ann’s not writing, she enjoys reading, playing with those grandkids, watching UK basketball, and hiking on the farm with her dogs while trying to figure out what happens next in her stories. She attends a little country church called Goshen.
Comments are closed.
KayeDacus.com 
Great interview, Ann and Kaye. I love getting to know the ‘person’ behind the author.
Okay — the question. It’s HARD!!! Which fictional character would I like to be? Well, a heroine for starters. Think of the possibilities! In order to choose, I’d have to think about the hunky heros because I’d obviously want to be a heroine who is in love with a hero I’m in love with. But then, I’d have to consider the angst in the plot too because with my luck I’d get to spend a day being the character in the most angst filled moment in the book and not the most romantical moment which just wouldn’t be fair…but Murphy’s Law would place me there sooooo……
I’d like to be Winnie the Pooh for a day because I have a yearning for the kind of peace having fluff for brains would bring. No complicated thoughst, no second guessing, no thinking too deeply…just me and my honey pot in the hundred acres woods…sounds downright cozy to me.
LikeLike
Now that’s a great idea, Kav. Just relax for a day and eat honey and enjoy a little walk in the woods with your friends. Just don’t dream about Heffalumps and Woozles. LOL.
Gee, I hope I didn’t ask a question that’s too hard to answer. But I think I’ll be Superman and fly around and save the day!! I’ve always thought it would be fun to fly a little.
LikeLike
Wow, hard question!! I’m going to say a character in a Christian fiction book I just read…..Allie, who appeared in each of the 3 books of Colleen Coble’s Lonestar series. She was always so mature and “so there” for each person having a problem! She had many great features which I greatly admire! Would love to read one of your books, Ann. Enjoyed this post.
LikeLike
You know, Jackie, I didn’t think about it being a hard question. I guess that’s because as a writer, I’m imagining I’m this or that character all the time. Sounds like you’ve picked a great person to be for a day. But you’re probably “so there” for your loved ones already all the time.
LikeLike
That’s a tough question Ann! When I read a novel (and I have read hundreds) I almost always fall in love with one of the characters and think “Wow wish I was ___” And then there are times when I say “Wow how silly! If I was ____, I’d ____.” Hmm. OK here goes. I’d like to be Arwen Evenstar, Lord of the Rings. Arwen is so kind and gentle and fiercely loyal…turning away from the magical life of an elf to become mortal and marry the man she loves. She’s brave and what an adventure she lives. Or maybe Lucy, Chronicles of Narnia. I love her sweet spirit and the relationship she has with Aslan. And how much fun to be to a daughter of Eve and rule in Narnia! Or maybe Claire from the Outlander Saga, what life she has! Or maybe Chloe in Left Behind – if I could go choose what day and for once make her use her brain do as she’s told…SEE? I could go on and on.
LikeLike
Love your answer, Lisa. But I’m thinkuing I should go back and ask something easier. Oh well, maybe my question will get everybody thinking about favorite characters. And I’m like you. Why pick just one? Think of a dozen or two and pull out a few that pop to the front of your mind. You certainly picked some good ones. So let’s see. Who can I think of this time? How about Jo in Little Women? I’ll pick a day before Beth gets sick so I can be happy while I’m writing in my journal.
LikeLike
Hi Ann! Great interview!
Characters . . . . Hmmmm. Laura Ingalls when they moved to Minnesota. The dugout house on Plum Creek has always fascinated me. I would also love to see the snow up to the second-floor windows in South Dakota as it did in “The Long Winter.” Before they started having to grind wheat for flower and hay into sticks for heating fuel, though!
LikeLike
It’s going to be cold with all that snow, but one day might not be bad. Thanks for reading the interview, Regina and joining in the fun of thinking about a character to be for a day. I’m still thinking up characters for myself. Maybe I’ll just go back and be Kate in my book Angel Sister for a day so I can see how things were for my mom in the 1930s.
LikeLike
I would love to be Osh Popham from Summer Magic, a man who loves life and helping people, but not doing hard work. My question for Ann would be “If you had three months to write a new book, would you rather write that book secluded in a mountain cabin during the winter, or alone in glass-front oceanfront home during the summer?
LikeLike
Hey, Steve. Thanks for coming over to read the interview. I don’t know Osh Popham but he sounds like a good character to be for a while. You’ve got a neat question. Tell you what. I’ll write one book in the mountain cabin and the next one in the oceanfront home. It might be harder to write with the ocean beckoning me outside though. It would be easy to hole up in that cabin as long as the fire kept burning to keep me warm.
LikeLike
I think i’d want to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Not just so i’d be a Princess for a day and have a hot guy as my husband and live in a castle, but to have her library! All those books, I don’t know where I would begin! Plus her yellow ballgown is my dream dress.
LikeLike
Ah, a princess, Audrey. I’ve got several granddaughters who’d be right there with you. Cute that you put a picture of Belle with your answer. And I’ve always felt a few moments of envy whenever I read a book that describes one of those wonderful libraries in a house with shelves of books ceiling to floor.
This time I’m going to pick a person from a story in the Bible. I know that’s not a fictional character, but I made up the question. So I can bend the rules a little. :o) How about being that little boy who gave his lunch to Jesus? Can you imagine being there to not only witness that miracle but to have your lunch be what Jesus used to feed those thousands of people?
LikeLike
Ooo! I’d like to be Lazarus’ sister Mary. Or even Martha. Can you imagine EITHER occupation? Sitting at the feet of Jesus OR serving Him dinner?
LikeLike
Or seeing their brother walk out of the tomb, throwing off his death clothes. You’ve got something there. I saw a storyteller present a story as Martha once. It was fabulous.
LikeLike
I enjoyed this interview so much! Thanks for having Ann here today, Kaye! Your Writer’s Window is fun!
So what fictional character would I like to be for a day and why? Depending on the novel I’m working on the time, I would, above all else, love to be one of my heroines so I could experience first hand her life. Other than that it must be Elizabeth Bennet so I could be kissed by Mr. Darcy. ‘Nough said!
LikeLike
Thanks, Carla. It was kind of you to come over to visit Kaye’s Writer Window this morning. I guess all of us as writers do become our characters for a day while we’re writing. And you certainly got us thinking some romantic thoughts with your character pick.
LikeLike
cool interview. I think I would go back to one of my childhood favourites and be one of the children from Enid Bytons the magic faraway tree so I could explore one of the lands at the top of the tree also.
as a second I would be Lucy in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. I always wanted a magic wardrobe.
LikeLike
I was thinking earlier of the Secret Garden, but yours sound fun too. When we’re kids we always think it would be fun to be transported into another world. You know, I suppose as readers we’re still wishing to be transported through our imaginations. My grandkids have enjoyed the Magic Treehouse stories.
LikeLike
If I could be any character for a day it would be a character from my current wip Rebekah Reed. She has a lot of secrets. I want to get to know her better. Second best to being her for a day is spending time with her.
Love and Blessings ~ Sharon
LikeLike
Getting to live in your character’s skin for a day should help you know her better, but then again sometimes I wonder about myself and I’ve lived in my skin a long time. 🙂 It’s a good sign for your story that you like your character so much you’d like to visit her one on one for a day or two. Bound to make a good story to come for us readers.
LikeLike
Hi, Ann! I usually want to be the lead female character in whatever romance I’m reading. I also like detective mysteries involving the FBI or other strong mystery-solving lead. So, I’m going to go with Nancy Drew. The adult version of her who is falling in love while solving crimes and mysteries. Someone should write that story.
LikeLike
Great of you to come read my interview, Heather. I like mysteries too. In fact wanting to be a character solving a mystery is why I started writing when I was a kid. But it wasn’t Nancy Drew I wanted to be so much as one of the Hardy boys. Maybe that was because I was my parents’ third daughter and it was easy to imagine they were hoping I’d be a boy. LOL
LikeLike
Wonderful interview, Ann! And what a fun question . . . Since this adventure is only for a day, I’d like experience something totally foreign. Growing up, I read Scott O’Dell’s “Island of the Blue Dolphins” maybe 12 times. The main character, Karana, is left alone on an island, and the book is about how she survives. It’s based on a true story, and in real life the girl was left on St. Nicholas Island, which is part of the Channel Island off the shore of California. If it’s just one day, that’s who’d I’d be.
LikeLike
I read that book too, Victoria, some years ago. I remember it being a great book. And that’s a nice idea for – as you say – one day. To be on an island with the ocean all around you. I didn’t realize the story was based on a true story. I’ll have to read it again.
LikeLike
Good interview, Ann. The other responses are so good and it’s hard to come up with an answer. I would like to be Hermine in the Harry Potter series. I loved her and wanted her to marry Harry, but she doesn’t. I love all the struggles they have and the magic. WOW! I would love to do that. If I couldn’t be Hermine, I would want to be the character in my finished book, Callie. She is strong, outspoken, and lovable. She loves all people, but stands up for what is right. In a way, I’m living her right now.
LikeLike
Thanks for coming over to read my interview, Kathy and for answering my question. I thought maybe somebody would just say Harry Potter. I mean playing Quidditch (that’s how it was spelled, wasn’t it?) might be fun for a day. There I am wanting to fly again. Maybe I should just want to be Jonathan Livingston Seagull. A bird for a day. As you can see, I don’t mind imagining being things I can never be, like boys who know magic and super heroes and birds. Of course I did have Kate in my character for a day list, the young girl in Angel Sister I based on my mom with her can-do attitude. I always wanted to be like my mom.
LikeLike
Oooo, I loved the interview and the great responses to your questions. I enjoyed reading them & imagining being Winnie the Pooh (love that guy) or Nancy Drew (wanted to be her too!), but I think I’d go w/ one of Jane Austen’s heroines: maybe Elizabeth or Emma. I also adored Christy when younger. So many great characters, so few lives! LOL. Good question.
LikeLike
Christy’s a good one, Carole. I loved that book.And you’d certainly be entering a different era with Elizabeth or Emma. You’re right about so many great characters to try out for a day, but I have to agree with Kav in her answer. I’d want to be able to pick my day. Our favorite characters generally go through so rough days. But since I haven’t picked a character for a few replies now, I think I’ll pick Phileas Fogg going around the world in eighty days. Floating along in a balloon – on one of the calm and peaceful days. There I go wanting to fly again.
LikeLike
Interesting question and answers, Ann. I’m going to show my age here! I would like to be Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple–her analysis of the crime, her ten green thumbs evident in her gardening (mine must surely be black), her understanding of young women in trouble, her neverending patience with the Scotland Yard men who think she’s dotty. I would be inclined to knocks their heads together!
LikeLike
What fun to be Miss Marple, Peggy. She was very astute as best I remember. Isn’t it great that characters never have to get any older? Miss Marple is still the same age, still solving crimes in Agatha Christie’s books for new readers.
LikeLike
Thanks for the great interview!
If I could be a fictional character for a day, I’d like to be Lucy Pevensie on the day she witnesses Aslan’s death and, especially, his resurrection.
LikeLike
Great interview and great question! I don’t think it is hard at all except to narrow it down to one character! But the first character that popped into my head was Jo March of Little Women, one of my favorite books and characters when I finally got to check out from the adult side of the library! Her spunkiness and love for family and writing follow me to this day, so it would be fun to be her for a day! ps. don’t enter me in the drawing because I have already read Ann’s new book Angel Sister and LOVED it!
LikeLike
Thanks for coming over to join in the conversation, Rose, and for the nice Angel Sister shout out. I’ve already mentioned Jo of Little Women and like you I think it’s because she had that writing dream. Like me. I appreciate the Bluegrass Writers rallying around to join in with their comments. It’s fun hearing everybody’s wanna be characters.
LikeLike
Ah, Ginny, leave it to you to want to be somebody who has a life changing experience while I’m just up in the air trying to fly. LOL. But knowing what those books mean to you, I’m not surprised by your choice. A great choice too. Lucy has already been picked by three people here. I think I should read those books again. My kids all read them but I’m wondering if I ever read all of them myself. My reading background may be seriously lacking.
LikeLike
I would be Heidi. I loved the Heidi books as a child and they helped shape who I am now. I loved the original, Heidi Grows Up, and Heidi’s Children. She was my heroine, always taking an unpleasant situation and turning it into something to overcome and win. I try to do that BUT I don’t always do it as well and I don’t get to live in the ALPS and have all the nature experiences she had.
LikeLike
I don’t remember reading Heidi books. I was too busy reading those Hardy Boy mysteries. But I do remember the scene in the movie where the hateful stepmom or aunt or whoever fell face first in the cow poop. Guess that really impressed me since I lived on a farm and knew how yucky that would be. Of course living in the Alps for a day would definitely be a plus.
LikeLike
What a nice interview. I’d choose to be Goldie the caterer in Diane Mott Davidson’s mystery series. She always creates fabulous food. There’s never a boring minute in her “life.” She finds the dead body in every book, okay so that’s not so great, and she always solves the mystery and finds the killer. She’s loving and wacky and always doing for others. It’s not a Christian series, but I enjoy it anyway.
LikeLike
Great sounding character, Jackie. I need to check out those books. I like mysteries. Are you somebody who likes to cook up fancy dishes like her or just think it would be fun? Loving and wacky sound fun. Maybe the day you pick she’ll just be loving and wacky and uncovering the bad guys instead of finding the dead guys.
LikeLike
Very entertaining interview. I always wanted to live like Elizabeth Robinson in Swiss Family Robinson, most often referred to as “my wife,” as the story was told in first person. She could make so much from so little and what a great adventure they lived.
LikeLike
You’ve come up with another fun idea, Betty. I was thinking earlier about Tarzan and Jane. While I don’t want to be Tarzan while he’s fighting those crocodiles, it might be fun to be able to communicate with the animals and of course “fly” through the trees on those vines. Then you’d get to do that yelling too. I used to practice that when I was a kid, the whole beating on the chest and yelling bit.
LikeLike
Great interview, ladies! I would love to be Scarlett O’Hara for a day, before the War. All of those men in uniforms swooning over you….that might feel pretty good! 🙂
LikeLike
At last somebody has said Scarlett O’Hara. Oh, to be so beautiful, Jill, and to wear one of those lovely dresses. Of course wearing those stays even for ten minutes might be too long for me. 🙂
LikeLike
If I could be any fictional character for a day, I would be Rebecca of Sonnybrook farm. Rebecca is an intelligent, imaginative young girl who makes the best of what life hands her.she learns to cook and sew and keep house, Rebecca still retains her spirit and finds that she takes great joy in writing. At the end of the book, we find a grown-up Rebecca who has learned that while she is glad to have learned how to become a young lady, she is still the girl who loves imagaination and tall tales. It is this charm that wins over her new friends and neighbors at the farm, as well as what inspired her to name the place “Sunnybrook Farm.”
LikeLike
Well you’ve got the name already, Rebecca. I love the way you tell us why you would like to be Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. You have it figured out. You know, she’s sort of the kind of characer I’m trying to come up with from my WIP. A girl who loves imagination and stories. And that’s actually the character I need to be for a few months, the ones I’m writing about now. I’m hoping my girl will come to life and put sparkle in my story the way Rebecca’s story sparkled in your imagination when you read about her. Thanks for reading the interview and telling me about your “character for a day.”
LikeLike
I’d pick Anne Shirley from the Anne of Green Gables stories. She had such a great imagination and would lose herself in what she was writing. As her I would spend all day writing a story without any guilt or worries about the responsibilities of my other life.
LikeLike
Glad you chimed in, Sarah, with your character. You’re the second person to pick Anne of Green Gables. I get the feeling that a lot of us identify with the books about writers. I remember the book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. The heroine in that loved books and writing too, didn’t she?
LikeLike
Thanks so much to everybody who answered my question. Good luck to you all in the drawing. And thank you, Kaye for having me over for the interview. It’s been fun.
LikeLike