• Home
  • Blogs
    • Adults
    • Young Adult
    • Youth
    • Interviews
  • About
  • Contact Me
  • Disclosures & Policies
  • Other
    • Book Challenges >
      • Yearly Reading Challenges
      • Bout of Books
      • LDS Fiction Reading Challenges
    • Resources
    • About the Logo
Singing Librarian Books
  • Home
  • Blogs
    • Adults
    • Young Adult
    • Youth
    • Interviews
  • About
  • Contact Me
  • Disclosures & Policies
  • Other
    • Book Challenges >
      • Yearly Reading Challenges
      • Bout of Books
      • LDS Fiction Reading Challenges
    • Resources
    • About the Logo
Singing Librarian Books

Author Interviews

Check out the author interview index HERE.

Mini-view with Kathleen Denly (Waltz in the Wilderness)

2/4/2020

About the Author

Picture
Kathleen Denly lives in sunny Southern California with her loving husband, four young children, and two cats. As a member of the adoption and foster community, children in need are a cause dear to her heart and she finds they make frequent appearances in her stories. When she isn’t writing, researching, or caring for children, Kathleen spends her time reading, visiting historical sites, hiking, and crafting. 
 
Waltz in the Wilderness is Kathleen’s debut novel and the first in a series of three stand-alone historical Christian romance novels connected by secondary characters and their beautiful Southern California setting.
 
Kathleen would love it if you visited her website at KathleenDenly.com. You can also connect with her on social media: ​
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

The Interview

1. What inspired the idea for writing Waltz in the Wilderness?
Waltz in the Wilderness began with research. I knew I wanted to write something set in California around the time of the gold rush, but I didn’t want it to be set in Northern California. Many wonderful books have already been written about that area during that time period and I wanted to feature my hometown, San Diego. Many people don’t realize how slowly San Diego grew, especially compared to San Francisco. In 1854, San Diego was still a relatively small port town with a county-wide population that could be counted in four digits. Also, its proximity to the newly established Mexican border gives this area a uniquely cross-cultural feel during that time period. Then I came across information regarding the mail system of the time and my mind took off with possibilities of how such a system might affect friends and families trying to stay in touch over long distances. Mail was frequently delayed for months or even lost entirely during this time period. I wondered, what would I do if someone I loved suddenly quit writing and no one knew where they were—whether they were safe or healthy?
 
2. What did you as an author take away from writing Waltz in the Wilderness?
The moment I became a mother I learned what it was like to have part of my heart living outside my body. It took a long time before I was comfortable letting my child out of my sight for longer than a church service. (Okay, so I sat in Sunday school with them a couple weekends before finally going in to hear the sermon.) I’ve always known in my head that God is in control and that He loves my kids more than I do—more than I can comprehend. He loves them enough to have sent His own Son to die for them. What more proof do I need? Still, I struggled with fully embracing that truth in my heart. Worry for them became a daily battle. As a foster parent and volunteer within the foster community, I witnessed and learned of many situations where the roles of care are reversed. In too many situations, otherwise loving parents struggle to overcome personal tragedies in order to adequately care for their children. In these cases, typically the child steps into the role of caretaker. The foster system—when doing what it is supposed to—helps these families return to their appointed roles and relieves the child of that burden while restoring the parent’s ability to care for themselves and their child. Writing Waltz in the Wilderness helped me process all of these various aspects of the parent-child relationship and how God is at work in each and every situation.
 
3. What was your research process like for writing this book?
I began in one of my favorite places to research—my local archives. Specifically, I began by reading the microfiche copies of the San Diego Herald and the Daily Alta California (a San Francisco newspaper). I came across announcements for the arrival of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company which sparked my curiosity. From there I read books about everything from the Mexican-American war, to collections of first-hand accounts of the California gold rush, to San Francisco’s early days. I studied the oldest photographs, drawings and written descriptions of San Diego and San Francisco. I discovered that although the Alcatraz Lighthouse had been built, it had yet to receive its light at the time my characters were sailing past. I learned that Mission San Diego de Alcala was no longer a mission in 1854 and had been taken over by the United States Calvary who used the bottom floor of the sanctuary as stables and the upper floor as a hospital. And really, I could fill several pages with all the fascinating facts I discovered while writing this book. Actually, I did. At the back of the book, I included a long Author’s section expanding on the parts of history I was able to incorporate into the story.
 
4. How did you decide that you wanted to write in this specific time period for this book?
I’ve grown up in California, so I have a personal connection to the history here. I have also always been fascinated by the nineteenth century in general. (Perhaps sparked by my love of Jane Austen, L.M. Montgomery, and Laura Ingalls Wilder.) So I knew I wanted to feature the American part of California’s nineteenth century, which meant it had to be after the Mexican-American War. So I began my research with reading newspapers from the years immediately following that war. The rest you already know from my previous answer.
 
5. When you are not writing, what else do you like to do? What hobbies do you have?  Do you have a day job?
My day job title is Homeschooling Mama. I have four kids age 14,11,9, and 3 whom I homeschool full-time. The fun part about that is getting to impart my love of history and writing on the next generation, not only to my own kids but also as a teacher for our local Cooperative Class Day. For those unfamiliar, this is a day when members of our local homeschool group meet at a church once a week and have a class day similar to what traditional schools have. In our case, though, all the teachers are parents and all the kids have a parent on campus throughout the entire day. So, teaching takes up most of my non-writing time.
Outside of that, I squish reading into every spare minute I can find, and I LOVE crafting. If I weren’t an author, I’d probably open my own Etsy shop. (In fact, I might still try it once my kiddos all graduate!) I love to sew, knit, papercraft, paint, decorate cakes, build furniture…you name the craft and I’ve probably tried it. After that, my next love is hiking. There’s nothing as peaceful as sitting on a mountaintop with my Bible in my lap. 

Giveaway

Picture
Enter the giveaway HERE.
9 Comments
Kay Garrett
2/5/2020 05:25:43 am

Thank you for the interview with Kathleen Denly. Checked it out and WALTZ IN THE WILDERNESS sounds like a great book and one that I would love the opportunity to read. Great cover!

Reply
Kathleen Denly
3/11/2020 07:03:46 pm

I'm glad you enjoyed the interview and hope you get a chance to read the book!

Reply
Cynthia Roemer link
2/5/2020 01:25:12 pm

So happy for you, Kathleen! What a great giveaway! Blessings on your writing journey!

Reply
Kathleen Denly link
2/24/2020 09:00:27 pm

Thank you! :)

Reply
Sonnetta Jones
2/5/2020 03:37:56 pm

I am loving this book. It has one of my favorite scriptures before chapter 1. I am already laughing With Eliza’s anticsz

Reply
Kathleen Denly link
2/24/2020 09:00:52 pm

So glad you're enjoying the story!

Reply
Kathleen Denly link
2/5/2020 05:10:14 pm

Thank you so much for this fun interview!

Reply
Susanne
2/10/2020 08:03:59 pm

This sounds great!

Reply
Amanda Whitley
2/12/2020 04:35:48 pm

i enjoyed reading the interview. If i ever wrote a book i would base it in my hometown too so i can relate.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Request an Interview

    Hello and welcome to my author interview page.  Here there will be interviews with some fun and amazing authors.
    ​

    ​If you would like to request an author interview, please contact me via the contact page or email me at singinglibrarianbooks@gmail.com.

    ​Check out the author interview index HERE.

    How to comment on the blog due to weird theme issues: 
    -Name
    -Email
    -Website
    -Comments
    -Notify me of new comments to this post by email
    Need to search the site?  Use the search engine below...
    Follow the author interviews blog via email:

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    May 2021
    March 2021
    June 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

Follow the blogs via email here:

adult reader blog
teen reader blog
youth reader blog

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner


Author interviews
slb tours landing page
CFSRS

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner


Search the site here:

follow or connect with me on:
​
​AMAZON | GOODREADS | BOOKBUB