About the Book

Book: Secrets and Wishes

Author: Kathleen Rouser

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: January 30, 2024

She only wants a fresh start, but her past might be the only hope to save his life—and the lives of countless innocents.

Determined widow Maggie Galloway dreams of a peaceful life and a successful business. And winning the Silver Leaf Flour Company baking contest could be the key to that success. She even has a chance at a prestigious position through a dashing former beau. But when her son gets into a fight with the local pharmacist’s son, Maggie’s peaceful life is derailed.

Reserved pharmacist and recent widower Thomas Harper is also looking for a fresh start for himself and his four children. But when Thomas falls gravely ill, his only choice is to enlist the help of the local baker with a knowledge of concocting remedies. He’s even more reluctant to admit that Maggie may also be the remedy for his grieving heart. And when a traveling medicine man’s medicines beget tragedy, Thomas and Maggie must overcome their differences to save the children of Stone Creek—and face the growing attraction between them—before it’s too late.

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About the Author

Kathleen Rouser is a multi-published, award-winning author of historical and contemporary Christian romance. She is a longtime member of American Christian Fiction Writers and a member of Faith, Hope and Love Christian Writers. She resides in southeast Michigan, a location which she often uses in her novels, with her hero and husband of forty-some years and two sweet cats who found a home in their empty nest.

More from Kathleen

Maggie Galloway’s Prizewinning Recipe

Maggie Galloway was a secondary character in my first Stone Creek Brides novel, Rumors and Promises. As the older sister and housekeeper of hero, Ian McCormick, she liked to have her say. I enjoyed getting to know Maggie as I created her character. She was so much fun to write I knew she needed her own story.

She has a knowledge of remedies from working with her pharmacist husband in the past, but Maggie is also a prizewinning baker because of her creative and cherished recipe for pecan snickerdoodles. I hope you’ll enjoy her recipe.

Increasing the vanilla in her favorite snickerdoodle recipe while adding toasted chopped pecans to the dough and the cinnamon sugar made for the delightful crunch and a nutty taste, which had won her second place in the recipe contest. (From Maggie’s musings in Secrets and Wishes.)

Maggie Galloway’s Pecan Snickerdoodles

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 ¼ cup flour

½ cup chopped toasted pecans

Cinnamon sugar mixture:

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon finely chopped toasted pecans

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly grease cookie sheet.

Beat butter until creamy. Add 1 cup sugar, baking soda, and cream of tartar, mixing well.

Beat egg and vanilla into the mixture. Slowly add flour and chopped pecans to the mixture.

Set dough in the refrigerator (or the icebox in Maggie’s day) for at least a half an hour to make it easier to handle.

While you’re waiting, mix the cinnamon sugar ingredients together with the 1 tablespoon finely chopped pecans.

When the dough is ready, roll into small balls and roll in cinnamon sugar/nut mixture.

Place a couple of inches apart on the cookie sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes, only until slightly golden brown along the edges. Yield is approximately two dozen cookies.

Interview with Kathleen

Share something your readers wouldn’t know about you.

I’m a  teacher at heart. I homeschooled my three children for over twenty years and continued teaching children Biblical truth through Community Bible Study’s Children and Youth program. This is my first year as the children and youth director for our local CBS. By God’s grace we have over ninety children enrolled from baby through high school age!

Perhaps that’s why I often write children into my stories. That, and I loved being a stay-at-home mom, and I miss that time in my life. I’ve been an empty nester for a long time.

If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would they be?

Child of God.

And I don’t mean to be glib. There’s so much to unpack in those three words, such as being redeemed, sanctified, adopted into God’s family, and loved.

What book is currently on your bedside table?

My Kindle, which holds many books! I just started reading Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus. But also nearby in a basket next to my nightstand is The Ultimate Guide to the Daniel Fast by Kristen Feola and I’m currently reading When I Lay Down My Isaac by Carol Kent. I mostly read fiction so it’s unusual for me to be reading several non-fiction books at the moment.

What has been your favorite part of the publishing journey?

When I’m working with a traditional publisher, as hard as it is sometimes, going through the edits and rewrites to make my story stronger is probably the best part. I’ve especially enjoyed working with my current editor at Wild Heart Books.

Though, I also must say I love getting a new cover, knowing it’s one step closer to publication and it gives me a visualization of having the paperback book in my hand.

When I’m working on an indie book, I’m amazed at the process of putting my book into formatting software and to see how it comes out. When I get to that stage I feel I’ve accomplished something.

Can you share with us something about the book that isn’t in the blurb?

Sure. The reader will get more of a glimpse into Maggie Galloway’s past, her wistfulness over when she was a young carefree woman, and how her former beau, Giles Prescott, represents a part of her past. He comes into town to present her with her prize for winning second place in the Silver Leaf Flour Company baking contest. And that stirs up the proverbial emotional hornet’s nest. Like most people have at one time or another, she struggles to let go of the past and trust God for a potentially better future.  

But of course, her irritating frenemy, pharmacist Thomas Harper, unwittingly tugs her toward that new future. He’s struggling through his own grief and guilt over the loss of his wife. Faith, hope, concern for each other’s children, and tragedy in Stone Creek become the catalysts for pushing this apprehensive couple into their happily-ever-after.

Does one of the main characters hold a special place in your heart? If so, why?

I’d say Maggie Galloway, the heroine is special to me. When I created her to be Reverend Ian McCormick’s sister/housekeeper in Rumors and Promises, I enjoyed developing her character. It seemed so natural creating the banter between older sister and younger brother, her mothering him to a degree since their parents were gone. She was fun to write. I appreciate her spunkiness and her big heart. Since Ian believed Sophie Biddle was telling the truth about Caira being her sister, so did Maggie. And when they found out otherwise she was there to be a support. Plus, she loves to bake goodies for others as do I.

What were the highlight or key challenges you faced when writing this book?

Researching the medicines of the time and trying to be as accurate as possible were the biggest challenges. I had to speed up the usual timeline for how long a remedy might take to relieve someone from an overdose, but I do explain that in my author’s notes. I visited an old-time drug store museum in another state, now gone, to get a feel for what Harper Apothecary may have looked so I put some effort into it.

What is the key theme and/or message in the book?

As far as the theme goes, here is the theme verse of book: Proverbs 17:22 – A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

And this theme sentence sums it up: This faith-based historical romance is a story of opposites attracting and potentially blending families while navigating widowhood and single parenting with a dose of humor.

It’s a story of healing from grieving over lost spouses and finding purpose in a new and different life.

Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

My website: https://kathleenrouser.com

You can also find me on social media on the following social platforms:

Facebook Author Page

BookBub

Pinterest

Instagram

LinkedIn

Amazon

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Any current or upcoming projects you’d like to tell us about?

I’m working on a contemporary category romance with the working title A Family of Her Own. And I’m very excited that the all-new third book in the Stone Creek Brides series, Scandals and Mercies, will release in April of 2024. It’s musician Nora Armstrong’s and want-to-be big city journalist in a small town, James Cooper’s, story. They were introduced in Book One.

Thank you, Gina, for the opportunity to be a guest on your blog today.

Blog Stops

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, February 20 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 20

Locks, Hooks and Books, February 21

Books You Can Feel Good About, February 22

Life on Chickadee Lane, February 22

Devoted To Hope, February 23

Vicky Sluiter, February 23

Texas Book-aholic, February 24

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 25

ABBA’s Prayer Warrior Princess, February 26

lakesidelivingsite, February 27

Betti Mace, February 28

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, February 29

Cover Lover Book Review, March 1

For Him and My Family, March 2

Holly’s Book Corner, March 3

Pause for Tales, March 4

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Kathleen is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2a256/secrets-and-wishes-celebration-tour-giveaway