I’m so excited about this week’s interview with author Ann H. Gabhart. I’ve loved her work for years, so when I learned that she wrote a book about the packhorse librarians of the Depression era, Along a Storied Trail, I knew I was going to love it. Ann + librarians? What’s not to love?
Ann talks about the WPA programs of the time and how those play a part in this delightful story!
If You Love Books and History, This Is the Book for You
Written in her typically engaging style, Ann H. Gabhart’s latest release, Along a Storied Trail, touches hearts and minds alike. Rich characterization, fine attention to historic detail, and a love of the area and its history shows on every page. Listen to where Ann got the idea for the book, who her favorite character was to write, and some of the things she learned as she wrote the story. You won’t be sorry.
I couldn’t help but draw a parallel between how literacy was a big deal in turn of the 20th-Century Kentucky and how librarians came along twenty years later. You can see what I’m talking about in Episode 49.
Ann and I also chatted about her other books, and does she have a fabulous catalog of them. From her Hidden Springs Mysteries (where I was introduced to her), to a series about the Shakers, to the other books in her Appalachian series, Ann has variety and consistency on her side.
About Along a Storied Trail
Kentucky packhorse librarian Tansy Calhoun doesn’t mind the rough trails and long hours as she serves her Appalachian mountain community during the Great Depression. Yet she longs to find love like the heroines in her books. When a charming writer comes to town, she thinks she might have found it–or is the perfect man actually closer than she thinks?
Perdita Sweet has called these mountains home for so long she’s nearly as rocky as the soil around her small cabin. Long ago she thought she could love, but when the object of her affection up and married someone else, she stopped giving too much of herself away to others.
As is so often the case, it’s easier to see what’s best for others than to see what’s best for oneself, and Perdita knows who Tansy should choose. But why would anyone listen to the romantic advice of an old spinster?
Saddle up for a heartfelt story of love–love of family, love of place, and the love of a lifetime–from bestselling author Ann H. Gabhart.
Some of the other books/series we discussed were:
The Heart of Holy Hill (The Scent of Lilacs etc.)
The Refuge (The one about the Shakers)
You can learn more about Ann H. Gabhart on her WEBSITE where you can find her links to social media as well!
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If you’d like to be on the Because Fiction Podcast, please go HERE and submit your topic idea! I’d love to hear about it.
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