HOPING FOR TREASURE

HOPING FOR TREASURE
Friday, July 7, 2023 by BETTIE BOSWELL

Categories: Friday's Fiction / GUEST AUTHORS

FICTION FRIDAY

please welcome today’s guest author

Bettie Boswell

Hoping for Treasure*

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

Hoping for Treasure is the third book in a trilogy centered on Ginny Cline-Hallmark. In this concluding book in the series, she is a newlywed. A few months after Ginny and Scott's marriage begins, tragedy strikes. Ginny seeks comfort when she reads a previously hidden manuscript written by her grandmother about her great-grandparent's post-WWII romance. She discovers secrets about her family and the Woodson House's hidden history on the Underground Railroad.

I really enjoyed writing the split-time aspect of the story. I first experimented with this approach in a previous book in the series called Free to Love: a prequel to On Cue, which involved Ginny researching the local Woodson family and their historic home, an Underground Railroad station.

The story is discovered through a journey north that helps tell the story. In real life, there is a place in Sylvania, Ohio called the Lathrop House which helped inspire the story. In the early part of this century, the Lathrop House was nearly destroyed. People from the neighborhood rallied to save the building with a real hidden room for runaways.

Inspired by Lathrop House’s story, I added the Woodson House to all three stories in the series. In the first book, On Cue, Ginny writes a musical about an Underground Railroad event at the Woodson House and meets Scott when a benefactor forces him to direct her play.

Sparks of all kinds fly until the happy ending. In this newest book, Hoping for Treasure, Dale and Betsy, the couple from post-WWII, rediscover where the secret room is located. In the Sylvania house, the owners discovered the hidden room when renovations took place in the 1950s, but my imagination came up with an interesting way to shake things up, literally.

Dale and Betsy are living in a boarding house when they meet. The buildings in the story are combinations of the real Underground Railroad station home and my own grandmother's house. My grandparents did take in borders during WWII which was helpful to my research. I spent several summers with my Grandmother when I was a preteen and fell in love with her house. My imagination turned it into a much grander home than it was in reality, but the memories helped shape the abodes in Hoping for Treasure.

The story for Ginny isn't a perfect one when she and Scott face a miscarriage and a possible job cutback. Miscarriages are a tragedy that many women face during their lifetime. I experienced that loss myself. I hope that Ginny's struggles and eventual peace will help many women find hope for the future and release from the past.

Last, but not least, there are some interesting pets and senior citizens in all the books. Those characters add humor to the stories. The dogs are inspired by my past pets, and some of their antics are ones that I experienced in real life. I can laugh now. I hope you will check out the fun and drama of my novels.

AN EXCERPT FROM HOPING FOR TREASURE

Scott wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders as he surfed through channels and settled on a newscast about the local weather. The scrolling ticker along the bottom of the screen confirmed Ginny's days off and his employer's decision to go digital for the next few days. After the weatherman announced the roads were hazardous and people who traveled them would face ticketing by law enforcement, Scott flipped the TV off and kissed Ginny's neck.

Carlos growled. Jezebel crawled across both of their laps.

"I think they want us to pay them some attention." Ginny snuggled into his side as she attempted to pet both beasts.

"I guess we have been pretty busy getting to know each other." Scott wiggled his eyebrows in his best attempt at playful flirting. "So what did you do with these animals hounding you all day?"

Carlos jumped into the pile and managed to push his rump between the couple while resting his head on Jezebel's back.

"I followed my husband's advice and read from my Grandmother Stuart's treasure box."

"Did you find out anything interesting or romantic?" He smooched her cheek. Carlos licked their faces, resulting in laughter all around. Leave it to Carlos to ruin the moment.

"It’s a mixed bag of mysteries so far. One of the treasures was another packet of poetry from Missy Hollings, the woman I researched for the musical."

"How did your relative come across those?"

ABOUT BETTIE BOSWELL

Bettie Boswell always loved to read and create stories for family and friends. In 2016, she began writing and illustrating stories to share with the world. She is now an author/illustrator of both children's and Christian adult fiction as well as non-fiction books. Her efforts include novels, chapter books, picture books, contributions to educational works, leveled readers, magazine articles, and devotional and short story anthologies. Bettie has two grown sons, one daughter-in-law, three grandchildren, and a busy minister husband.

https://sites.google.com/view/bettieboswellauthorillustrator/home

BUY LINKS

Hoping for Treasure

On Cue

*Guest authors’ contributions are for reader information about the authors’ books. They are not intended as endorsements or reviews by the blog’s owner.

Share This Blog: