Shenandoah Hearts by Carrie Fancett Pagels
Shenandoah
Hearts is set in 1754 on the Great Wagon Road from Philadelphia down into the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. As
the French-Indian War commences, Magda Sehler wonders if Jacob Owens lost his
mind to have abandoned his Philadelphia business and moved to the Shenandoah
Valley. Or has he lost his heart?
Of the setting, Carrie writes:
Jacob
Owens is a prosperous merchant, owning and running a Philadelphia shop. He’s
had the wonderful ladysmith, Madga Sehler, working with his family for years.
But the Sehler family is relocating to the Shenandoah region of what is today
Virginia. This backcountry area was dangerous. Beautiful but dangerous. Far from
Jacob’s home. And did I mention dangerous?
In
romance we always have the “why?” and the “why not?” I’m a big proponent of
understanding the characters’ backstories. So what do we have in Jacob’s
present day and in his backstory that would lead him to abandon his livelihood
in Philadelphia? Jacob’s parents lived in Philadelphia and brought him up
there. But wait – his grandparents had lived in the backcountry. And every
visit to Philly brought tales of the glorious beauty of the Blue Ridge
mountains. So his grandparents had lived there in the early 1700's, my oh my –
and what adventurers they had to have been. Jacob’s eldest brother is, in fact
(and fiction!), living in western Virginia, developing a forge and
iron working business in which Jacob will share partnership.
But…Jacob’s
next eldest brother is in the military. He has been sent to the western area of
Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley, to guard against encroaching French
interests. And he tells Jacob this is an area brewing with trouble. These two
brothers are particularly close. And Jacob’s brother has planted the notion that
if ever Jacob should wish to journey to their grandparents’ former “backyards”
that he’d be welcome in the milita. Or as a supplier to the forts, which was
badly needed.
What’s
a man to do? When Magda leaves with her family, apparently accepting an offer
of marriage from the older wagonmaster, many a man might decide – she’s made up
her mind. But a wise customer shares her advice. And Jacob seeks God’s
direction in his life.
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Shannon notes: This story is companion to the Colonial Quills serial, A Forted Frontier Holiday, which ran November 2012 through January 2013. A richer understanding of Carrie's novella is gained by reading the serial story alongside. :-)
Shannon notes: This story is companion to the Colonial Quills serial, A Forted Frontier Holiday, which ran November 2012 through January 2013. A richer understanding of Carrie's novella is gained by reading the serial story alongside. :-)
Carrie Fancett Pagels, Ph.D., is the award-winning
author of fifteen Christian historical romances, including ECPA bestsellers. Twenty-five years as a
psychologist didn't "cure" her overactive imagination! A
self-professed “history geek,” she resides with her family in the Historic
Triangle of Virginia but grew up as a “Yooper,” in Michigan’s beautiful Upper
Peninsula. Carrie loves to read, bake, bead, and travel – but not all at the
same time!
Carrie's Website: www.carriefancettpagels.com
Carrie's Blogs: Overcoming
With God and Colonial
Quills
Carrie's Pinterest page for 18th Century clothing: https://www.pinterest.com/carriefpagels/18th-century-clothing/
Other places to connect with Carrie:
Check at your local Christian bookstores, e.g., Lifeway, to
see if they have copies, too
~*~*~
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Thanks for hosting me, Shannon!
ReplyDeleteThank YOU, Carrie, for everything you do!!
ReplyDeleteYou ladies have done a splendid job. Loved this collection! Blessings for future success!
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