The Frontier Nursing Service has a saying that nobody comes to the Service by accident. I think that might be true with writers too. We don’t come to stories by accident. A writer is pulled to a story by some spark of an idea. For me that spark was learning about the nurse-midwives in the Frontier Nursing Service. Reading their first-person accounts allowed me to vicariously experience their adventures of riding Appalachian Mountain trails, fording rivers, and delivering babies in log cabins, and then let my characters have some of those same adventures.
I’m thankful for the opportunity to write this story. I appreciate my agent, Wendy Lawton, who was excited when I proposed the idea of writing about a midwife in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky. Her enthusiasm for the story helped me keep pushing through when the writing got hard.
I’m so blessed to work with a wonderful editor, Lonnie Hull DuPont, who is always ready with encouraging words and ways to improve my stories. Barb Barnes has made me a better writer with her careful editing. I appreciate the ready help available from Michele Misiak and Karen Steele with publicity, reviews, and more. Cheryl Van Andel and her team never fail to design eye-catching covers for every story. The whole Revell team works to make my books be the best they can be and then find their way out to you, the readers.
I especially thank you, the readers, for picking up my books and letting my stories come to life in your imagination. Thank you for reading and for your friendship and prayers. I’m blessed beyond measure by you and by my loving family. Most of all, I thank the Lord for opening the door to let me write stories of faith, love, and life.