I am thrilled to welcome author Johnnie Alexander to Friday Reading! I met Johnnie last year at the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference (and will see her there again next week! Yay!), and have since read her Misty Willow series and can’t wait to get to her others!
The featured book this week is an anthology called The Erie Canal Brides Collection, and Johnnie’s story is “Journey of the Heart.” Read to the end to see how one lucky US winner can win a paperback copy!
But first, let’s see what the author has to say about her new offering and the research that went into it!
Welcome, Johnnie!
The Erie Canal Brides Collection
I didn’t know anything about canals when I was asked to write a novella for The Erie Canal Brides Collection. Yet the canal system was an important transportation achievement, moving people and cargo from one place to another in much less time than legs and wheels.
The Erie Canal connected the Atlantic Ocean to Lake Erie, and the Ohio-Erie Canal linked Lake Erie to the Ohio River. Additional canals connected other bodies of water to each other.
I grew up in Ohio and, for a few years, lived in a house that may have been part of the Underground Railroad. Though we could never find out for sure if the rumor was true, we found an inconspicuous door in the flooring of one small room that opened up to reveal a similar sized room underneath. Unfortunately, the only thing in the room was a 1960s Sears catalog.
Though Ohio wasn’t free of bigotry and racism, the abolitionist movement had a strong presence there. Anti-slavery groups in riverside towns such as Cincinnati and Portsmouth willingly assisted the runaway slaves who made it across the Ohio River.
Their work was hindered by the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850. The law, also known as the Bloodhound Law, required free states to cooperate with the capture and return of the runaways. Those found guilty of breaking the law faced imprisonment and hefty fines. They even risked being charged with treason.
In my story, “Journey of the Heart,” Charity Sinclair secretly writes abolitionist pamphlets under the pseudonym of Moses Freed while thwarting architect Tavish Dunbar’s effort to redesign her father’s post office, a hidden stop on the Underground Railroad. When a slave-hunter captures a runaway, Charity vows to rescue the fugitive. But can she trust Tavish with her secret. . .and with her heart? You’ll have to read the story to find out!
Enjoy the story’s opening paragraphs:
Charity Sinclair furrowed her brow as she read what she’d written for the umpteenth time. The facts—scratched in dark brown ink on wood pulp paper—were horrid and stark. But she needed something more to convince her fence-sitting neighbors to join the cause.
Perhaps her entire approach was wrong. She should be shouting the injustice on the Capitol steps instead of hiding behind a dilettante façade and masculine pseudonym. In these unsettled times, though, the deception provided safety. For the sake of her father and her aunt, Charity lived the exhausting pretense that pressed against her spirit.
She dipped the quill into the square bottle then blotted the excess ink. But the words she longed to write refused to take shape. The ink dried on her quill as she considered and discarded one idea after another.
The chime of the church bells startled her from her reverie. Noon already. The morning hours had slipped away, leaving no more time to shape impassioned words. The harsh facts needed to be enough.
For anyone with a heart, they would be enough.
Back Cover Blurb
Seven romance stories take you back to the building of the Erie Canal and the opening of the Midwest to greater development.
Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Hudson River, and soon other states like Ohio created canals linking Lake Erie to the Ohio River. Suddenly the Midwest was open to migration, the harvesting of resources, and even tourism. Join seven couples who live through the rise of the canals and the problems the waterways brought to each community, including land grabs, disease, tourists, racism, and competition. Can these couples hang on to their faith and develop love during times of intense change?
Johnnie’s Bio
Johnnie Alexander creates characters you want to meet and imagines stories you won’t forget. Her award-winning debut novel, Where Treasure Hides, is a CBA bestseller. She writes contemporaries, historicals, and cozy mysteries, serves on the executive boards of Serious Writer, Inc. and the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference, co-hosts an online show called Writers Chat, and interviews inspirational authors for Novelists Unwind. She also teaches at writers conferences and for Serious Writer Academy. Johnnie lives in Oklahoma with Griff, her happy-go-lucky collie, and Rugby, her raccoon-treeing papillon. Connect with her at www.johnnie-alexander.com and other social media sites via https://linktr.ee/johnniealexndr.
Social Media
If you’d like to connect with Johnnie, find her on the following Social Media outlets!
Purchase Link
Find your copy of The Erie Canal Brides Collection at the links below!
I hope you all enjoyed visiting with Johnnie Alexander – I’ll try to get a selfie of the two of us next week!
To be entered into a drawing for a paperback copy (sorry, U.S. entries only!) of The Erie Canal Brides Collection, simply comment below! Entries will be from today through next Thursday, March 14, and I’ll announce the winner and contact them on Friday, March 15 – right before I leave for Memphis!
Happy Reading!
P.S. Here’s a link to the video interview I did with Johnnie! Click HERE!
Hi, Regina! So glad to be visiting with you and your readers today–and looking forward to seeing you at the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference next weekend. Yay!
It’s wonderful to have you! Hoping to score a copy of Erie Canal Brides when I see you! 😉
So excited to see you next week, Johnnie. When I win the book you can just bring it too the conference with you. 🙃
Hi, Lynn! I’ll do that! (LOL!) Looking forward to seeing you.
Nice interview. Hi, Johnnie. I’ll see you next week in Memphis. Interesting about the Erie Canal. I didn’t know anything much about it, but I learned some when I read your article. Be safe.
Hey, Kathy! Can’t wait to see you. I learned so much about the canal system while researching for this story. See you soon!