About the Book

Book: Tides of Healing

Author: Sandra Merville Hart

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: February 11, 2025

A Southern belle fights to reclaim her home, but will her spying destroy the Union officer she never meant to love? 

Savannah Adair has endured the unimaginable, hiding in a cave while her beloved Vicksburg was under siege. With the city now occupied by Union soldiers, Savannah cannot stand by and do nothing. So when one of the gaunt, half-starved Confederate prisoners asks her to spy for the South, she can’t refuse the chance to take back her home.

First Lieutenant Travis Lawson takes pride in the Union army’s hard-fought victory, but he quickly realizes that the challenges of rebuilding and reconciliation are just beginning . . . and not everyone is appreciative of changes he’s making. Namely, the fiery and alluring Savannah Adair. Despite their differing loyalties and the societal divide between them, Travis cannot deny the growing feelings he has for her. When he is tasked with finding Southern spies in Vicksburg and he captures a female spy, Travis is forced to consider that the woman he’s beginning to love may be the enemy.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Sandra Merville Hart, award-winning and Amazon bestselling author of inspirational historical romances, loves to discover little-known yet fascinating facts from American history to include in her stories. Her desire is to transport her readers back in time. She is also a blogger, speaker, and conference teacher.

More from Sandra

As I typed away on this final book in my Spies of the Civil War Series, it felt as if I’d written the entire series to tell this story.

Previously, I had felt a similar importance of an as yet unpublished two-book contemporary series, but the sense that the whole series climaxed with the final book was as surprising as it was welcome.

Because it seemed as if everything that happened in all the earlier books culminated in Book 6 for me as an author. Its significance reverberated in my soul while still researching the events…and weeks before I sat to pen the first page, the first paragraph, the first sentence.

That sense of importance made this book difficult to begin. The early chapters took far longer to write than normal.

I believe that those who only read Tides of Healing will have a satisfying, complete story. Those who read the entire series in order—or at least Books 4-6 set in Vicksburg—will experience a deeper impact as the characters’ stories build on one another.

There is a song in Tides of Healing. As an author, the impact of the lyrics within the story preceded it, meaning that I knew a certain song would play a significant role while still in the research phase.

Let me explain.

When I’m researching a story, I read a variety of nonfiction resources including diaries, journals, and newspaper accounts. My research for Vicksburg during the Civil War led me to song lyrics written by the enslaved.

African American Spirituals, also called Negro Spirituals, were sung before and after the Civil War. These Christian songs served a variety of purposes beyond bolstering hope and faith during dark days. They told stories about Biblical characters like Moses. Some comforted the sorrowful and some rejoiced with the joyful. They were sung in churches, in camp meetings, and in the fields.

They often contained secret messages. “Home” in a song can refer to Heaven, but the secret meaning was a free country. Author Frederick Douglas had been a former slave. He wrote that the lyrics to “O Canaan, Sweet Canaan” signified more than a hope of Heaven. Repeated singing of the lyrics “I am bound for the land of Canaan” announced an intention to go North, their Canaan.

The Underground Railroad is a theme in Tides of Healing. In 1828, Reverend John Rankin built his home on a hill overlooking the Ohio River in Ripley, Ohio. As a station on the Underground Railroad, this home was easily seen from the opposite side of the river in the slave state of Kentucky. Runaways waited for a boat to take them across the river.

It surprised me to learn that the lyrics of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” are about this station. “I looked over Jordan and what did I see?” refers to the Ohio River. The band of angels are people who rowed them across the wide river to the free state of Ohio.

Neither of these songs is referenced in Tides of Healing. The tune that is in my story was a popular spiritual leading up to the war. I listened to it many times. The message took root in my heart long before it affected my characters.

My research trip to Vicksburg’s battlefield and museums inspired the writing of Streams of Courage, Book 4, River of Peril, Book 5, and Tides of Healing, Book 6.

Avenue of Betrayal, Book 1, is set in the Union capital of Washington City (Washington DC) in 1861, where a surprising number of Confederate sympathizers and spies lived. Boulevard of Confusion and Byway to Danger are set in Richmond, the Confederate capital in 1862. Actual historical spies touch the lives of our fictional family. The heroines in Books 1 – 3 are two sisters and their cousins. Another set of characters begin with Book 4, and three friends are the heroines in Books 4 -6.

Through both real and fictional characters, this series highlights activities spies were involved in and some of the motives behind their decisions.

I invite you to read the whole Spies of the Civil War Series!

Interview with Sandra

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I visited a library for the first time as a third-grader. Each week our class visited this magical place where filled bookcases lined every wall, except at the windows where the rows were arranged perpendicularly.

I remember staring at the books, wondering where to start. The librarian suggested biographies. Week after week, I checked out books about famous people. After about a month, I asked the librarian where books came from.

“Authors write them,” she said, folding her hands.

“What are authors?” I’d never heard of such a thing.

“Authors are people who write books.” Her smile broadened.

“People write books?” I’m certain my jaw dropped. “I want to be a people who writes books.”

From that day, the dream of writing books never stopped. It got kicked around multiple times, but the dream never died.

How long does it take you to write a book?

Months of research can come first. Depending on the topic of the book—such as Civil War spies—that study can take two-four months. Non-war related topics might require a month or less. Research actually continues as I begin writing because surprises pop up in my stories but that is usually completed in a few hours.

Once I begin writing, a novel of 80,000 words takes between two to three months, with two pushing me and three being a more comfortable pace.

Writing novellas are like a breath of fresh air to me. I can usually write these in three weeks.

Do you base your characters on real people?

Not usually, though my parents and grandparents have inspired several characters. I miss them so much that having a character respond in ways they would have in similar situations makes me feel like I’m sharing a piece of them with my readers.

I’ve discovered that using the first or last name of a friend or family member makes some folks feel that they are taking a journey with me so I sometimes do this with a character who shows up on only one page. It’s not them or their personality—just that I was thinking of them on that day.

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

I love to connect with readers! My blog, Historical Nibbles, is a great way to find historical recipes, articles, and book reviews. I also share history for my books or other topics from American history.

I’d also love for everyone to join my Facebook group, Readers of Author Sandra Merville Hart. I’m also one of the ERASERS who started the Facebook group geared to encourage writers,  Writing with the Erasers. I hope you will join both groups.    

Here are my other social media links:

https://www.facebook.com/sandra.m.hart.7

https://www.pinterest.com/sandramhart7/_saved

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8445068.Sandra_Merville_Hart

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/sandra-merville-hart

https://twitter.com/Sandra_M_Hart

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

I’ve already started writing the first book in my next series. There’s a bit more research to do before writing in earnest. I’m really excited about this one, but it’s not yet ready to share. Just know that I’m continuing to write. Stay tuned for details!  

Blog Stops

Bizwings Book Blog, February 26

Holly’s Book Corner, February 27

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 27

Locks, Hooks and Books, February 28

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 1

Pause for Tales, March 2

Texas Book-aholic, March 2

Devoted To Hope, March 3

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, March 4

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, March 5

Betti Mace, March 5

Life on Chickadee Lane, March 6

Cover Lover Book Review, March 7

Books You Can Feel Good About, March 8

Connie’s History Classroom, March 9

For HIm and My Family, March 10

Stories By Gina, March 11 (Author Interview)

Blossoms and Blessings, March 11

Giveaway

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

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

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54163