Tag: A Promise to Break

Categories
Historical novel

A Road Trip to Hollis

Hollis, where my father grew up, is a little town in the far southwest corner of Oklahoma, still charming in many ways. It took about three hours to drive there from Oklahoma City. On the trip, my brother, sister, and I passed cotton fields that looked like patches of snow, visited a cemetery that was as hot, dry, and dusty as if going back to the Dust Bowl age, and took pictures of old stores, churches, and schools where my family once walked.

The day trip was fun, especially with my siblings in tow. Since all of us had visited there as children, we reminisced about our childhood and favorite relatives. Thank you Keren and David for accompanying me.

We visited the Harmon County Historical Society where we found pictures of my dad when he graduated in 1948 and many names of relatives mentioned in historical books. Then we went to the Harmon County Courthouse, where a nice lady helped us look through monster books that went back to the beginning of time, or the beginning of the county’s statehood. Marriages. Divorces. Testaments. We found a great aunt’s marriage licenses from the 1920’s, and my great grandparents’ will and testament. What a find!


Joe’s Grill, a hometown café, gave us an awesome lunch. If you ever go through Hollis, try the special catfish meal. It came complete with homemade German Chocolate cake.

I’m considering writing a short story or historical novel about my father’s family from Harmon County. Set in the 1930’s like my other historical books, this one would be about the five sisters and the baby girls they lost during the Great Depression. Where was God when the Dust Bowl hit Hollis residents so hard?

The Bible instructs us to remember the past. Remember what God has done. Deuteronomy 32:7 states, “Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you.”

Digging into the past has been a challenge. I love looking back to see how God worked through people. He was always there, always helping, always loving. However, sometimes you have to look really deep to see it!

You can find my Christian novels based on real people, A Promise to Break, and A Promise Child, on Amazon.

Categories
Historical novel

Where to find my historical novel

My new novel, A Promise Child, second book in the Promise series, continues the story of Sibyl, a banker’s daughter, who falls in love with Fremont, a penniless hobo. It is now available at several places:

Memory House Publishing: http://memoryhousepublishing.net/a-promise-child/

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2szydtf

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36107109-a-promise-child?from_search=true

Best of Books at 1313 East Danforth, Edmond, OK

The Living Word, at the Shawnee Mall, OK<img

The Arts 317 317 E Main St, Shawnee, OK 74801

Pottawatomie County Museum, (Santa Fe Museum)

If you like this book, or the first one, A Promise to Break, I would appreciate a review on Amazon or Goodreads! Thank you! God has blessed me more than I deserve!

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Categories
Historical novel

Guest at Book Release Party!

The 1930s party to release my novel, A Promise Child, is almost here! We’ll have a Special Guest at the party – Margaret Pope Akin, the first baby born in A Promise to Break, the first book in the series – and my mother! 1933 margaret pope (2)
Thought you might like to see her baby picture. The books about the Trimble and Pope families could not have happened without her help. She is a delightful, intelligent and godly woman.

This is as much Margaret Pope’s book as it is mine. She has a clear memory and has been willing to spend hours and hours discussing and dissecting the family history, the town of Shawnee back in the day, and the details surrounding life in the ‘30s. I hope you get a chance to meet her! 2007 Margaret 2

Enjoy the journey with Sibyl and Fremont as they live out the late 1930’s in A Promise Child.

More about Book Release Party

Categories
Historical novel

A Café with a past.

Shawnee, Oklahoma has some interesting places that have existed since the 1920’s or 30’s, some mentioned in my book, A Promise to Break. Last week, when I was in Shawnee, my mother and I ate at the Hamburger King.
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She says they make the best hamburgers she’s ever eaten with toasted buns, fresh lettuce, tomatoes and pickles. They also make many kinds of homemade pies. Oh, delicious.

What important people or dignitaries may have eaten at this hamburger joint during the past decades? Many famous people came through Shawnee and could have stopped in. It’s strange to think that my great-grandparents probably ate at the same café I did. That history connects me to them in a tighter way.

Which makes me think of my ancestors’ godly, Christian lives and the way their values have been passed down through the years. Some history never fades. I hope my great-grandchildren remember the values I’ve been taught and tried to live by. Maybe that’s one reason I write historical fiction based on true stories, so future generations won’t forget their past.

Author

Categories
Memory House Publishing

The Tempting Curves of a Classic Car

Saturday I took a walk with a friend through Hafer Park in Edmond, Oklahoma, and about a hundred smooth-looking, shined-to-perfection classical cars were lined up. My heart lurched. It was the Liberty Fest Car Show and I love, love, love old cars.

I took a picture with the owner who won “The Best Car of the Show” while another car owner, Jack Sweeden, gave me his book “How to Wire Your Street Rod.”


My love for these classics started back in the early 70’s when a Model T convertible sat in our driveway. I piled my three little daughters into back seat (no seat belts) and drove into town. Since it had no gas gauge, I’d always stop and get a dollars’ worth of gas. Those were the good ole days!

One of the main characters of my historical novel, A Promise to Break, was a mechanic back in the 30’s. Maybe I got my love of cars from Fremont Pope, my grandfather. I tried to describe some of the old classics in my novel. Here’s an excerpt from Chapter 4 in my book.

“The Chrysler’s body was long, smooth as silk and classy as a mink stole. A neighborhood mutt chased the wire wheel spokes, and a gardener turned to stare at the curved fenders and rear bumper guards passing by.
Through the speckled Saturday afternoon sun, I drove the sleek motorcar south under the tall oak trees past Wallace Street. Their limbs stretched high over the road like people standing on tiptoe, struggling to touch in the middle.”

I’m still gathering notes for the rest of the 1930’s novels based on a true story. See A Promise to Break: Love, Faith, and Politics in the 1930s.

Kathryn Spurgeon