Welcome Kelly Goshorn

Today I’d like to welcome another fellow writer. Kelly Goshorn is joining us. Welcome, Kelly!

Tell us a little bit about yourself, Kelly.

At heart, I’m an old-fashioned girl trapped in the 21st century who loves Jesus and her family. Speaking of family, I’ve been married to my best friend, Mike, for thirty-three years. Together we’ve raised three children, four cats, two dogs, a turtle, a guinea pig, a gecko, and countless hamsters. For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved history and historical romances, both in print and on screen. As a native Virginian, I’ve had the privilege of living near some of our nation’s greatest historical treasures and can often be found dragging my family to a battlefield or a museum where I insist on reading every descriptive detail.

It sounds like we have a lot of similarities. Tell us something quirky about you.

I have an aversion to sidewalk grates. I refuse to walk on them. When in the city, my family will jump up and down on them to show me they’re safe, but I won’t do it. I’ll wait till the path is clear and then go around them.

Chuckle. I’m the same way! What were your favorite books to read as a kid?

As a child, my mother says I was obsessed with The Whales Go By by Fred Phelger. I have no recollection of this or why it fascinated me, but apparently mom got so tired of reading the book she’d hide it so I’d be forced to pick something else. The first book I remember absolutely loving was Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White.

I haven’t heard of the whale book, but I did love Charlotte’s Web too. Tell us about your recent release.

Chiseled on the Heart is a historical Christmas novella collection that follows four generations of the Hawkins family who each carve a piece to an heirloom nativity set. The stories are primarily set in Loudoun County, Virginia and span multiple eras from the Revolutionary War to post Civil War.

Sounds intriguing. What is the back cover blurb for your new book?

God’s perfect plan seen in a simple nativity.
Generations changed because God’s love never fails.

The Gift of a Lamb by Elaine Cooper

In 1776, 14-year-old Charlotte Hawkins and her brother, 10-year-old Elias, are still grieving the death of their parents. Their parents left instructions to be sent from their home state of Virginia to live with relatives they barely know, in Connecticut. The trip was dangerous, as war raged between the Redcoats and the Americans. To make matters worse, the churches in Connecticut don’t celebrate Christmas at all. Will this be the orphans’ worst Christmas ever?

A Lasting Legacy by Cynthia Roemer

Loudoun County, Virginia, 1814. After a disabling injury sends Daniel Hawkins home from war, he struggles how to provide for his young wife, Maggie and the child she’s carrying. As Christmas approaches, he finds a sheep his grandfather carved and attempts to carve a Nativity set for Maggie. When she goes into labor during a Christmas Eve blizzard, Daniel is forced to face his feelings of inadequacy. And perhaps learn that God has a plan for his life after all.

Healing within the Pieces by Candace West

Prison shackles haunt Nathaniel Hawkins upon his return home only to discover it occupied by a woman in hiding. Bad men are no strangers to Delia Evans, but the intruder who barged into the farmhouse shrinks from her. With no other refuge, they must endure each other. But have they misjudged? When the past shadows their doorstep, is a grudge worth the price of a man’s life?

The Christmas Carving by Kelly Goshorn

Wyatt Hawkins dreads Christmas. Memories from the fatal shooting of his childhood friend on Christmas Eve, 1864, has left a bitter taste in Wyatt’s mouth toward God, the holiday season, and his former fiancée, Madelyn Cunningham. As Christmas draws near, can the star he’s carving for his family’s heirloom Nativity point Wyatt back to the woman he’s never forgotten and the faith he’s left behind?

Tell us a little about your research for this book.

The Christmas Carving uses the tragic true account of Flemon Anderson’s death on Christmas Eve, 1864, as a catalyst for the story. While that may not sound like your typical warm and fuzzy Christmas story, my novella begins three years after Flemon’s death when my fictional heroine has returned to Taylorstown to help bring hope and reconciliation to the community she loves, including her former fiancé, Wyatt Hawkins.

The Loudoun Independent Rangers, of which Sergeant Flemon B. Anderson and my fictional hero, Wyatt Hawkins, were members, was an independent Calvary unit formed from the largely Quaker and German communities of Northern Loudoun County, Virginia to combat the guerilla-style raids by Confederate marauders like White’s Commanches. The men who formed these units had been raised side-by-side, attended the same churches and schools, knew where one another lived, and the names of their intended, now picked up arms and violently clashed on the same land where they’d spent their childhood together. Over time, their frequent skirmishes began resembling the notorious feuds of the Hatfields and McCoys and embedded themselves in the local folklore.

Interesting! How is faith interwoven in your books?

All my books include a strong faith arc that I hopefully weave into the story without the reading feeling like they just left Sunday School. It is my prayer that God will use my stories to encourage and bless the body of Christ while also giving them the opportunity to do some introspection and hopefully some spiritual growth of their own.

In The Christmas Carving, I wanted to explore how the events of Christmas Eve, 1864, may have affected those who witnessed them firsthand, as well as the ripple effect they would have throughout the tight-knit community of Taylorstown. How do you love your neighbor as yourself in the face of such an abhorrent act? Would they choose to forgive or remain shackled to bitterness and anger?  And, what do those first steps of reconciliation look like? It is my hope that after reading The Christmas Carving the reader will come away more determined to lay grievances at the foot of the cross, choosing instead reconciliation over bitterness, kindness over animosity.

Where can readers find you online?

My website would be the best place to find me online. Once there, readers can learn about my books, find links to my social media accounts, and sign up for my author newsletter.

Thanks for having me on your blog today, Jodie. I enjoyed the opportunity to meet your readers.