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The Lady's Mine

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We really, we knew right away, Abigail Cowen was right for Angel. But it took quite a journey to find Tom Lewis, we’d watched so many auditions, but they couldn’t pull off pure and innocent for a man, you know, they all kind of were coming on to Angel in a different way. Lewis really understood the role. He read the book once or twice, I think. And then he’s a classically trained actor from England. He could do all the nuances of the emotion—you see so much in his expression when he’s when he’s playing the role of Michael. I was so eagerly anticipating this book, and it let me down with a crash and a bang. Was the pacing good? Absolutely. Did it keep me engaged? Yes. Did the characters make me angry and were there some serious issues within the book? Also yes. Writing as much as I did helped me pass the time while sheltering in place. In some ways, my life didn’t change. As a writer, I spend most of my life at home working. I was able to get through the frustration of the ever-changing rules and opinions by creating characters, scenes, and dialogue. There are so many situations in life that challenge us to trust God. It is so true there is nothing new under the sun. The “new normal” isn’t all that different from trials we’ve faced before. We all have a choice. Grumble and growl over the way things are. Or look for the good and the humorous aspects of life. I choose the latter. What do you hope your readers come to know about God through this story?

My “vanilla” radar rating: You’re reading a book about the Wild West. You will read about drinking, drunkenness, prostitution, gambling and cursing. I assure you, no actual curse words are typed out only referenced. For example: Matthias cursed under his breath. Wiley cursed. I have always been a fan of the great Francine Rivers. This is her self-proclaimed pandemic book and wowzers what a book it is! I am not one to go excitedly into a “western”, that’s exactly what I thought this book was going to be like, but I love Francine Rivers so much, I knew I would like it. I didn’t expect to fall in love with it though and that is sooooo what I did!I went into this one on the heels of recently completing Redeeming Love. I knew from interviews and such that this would be a much lighter read with its emphasis on being a fun historical Christian romance. I definitely wasn’t expecting the same heaviness of RL or even Rivers’ previous release, The Masterpiece, which I also enjoyed. Yet, not surprisingly, this story had much depth along with its wit and charm. Alcoholic beverages are mentioned and consumed by characters. A brothel is part of the town. (Again, think “Gunsmoke”) The only sexual act in the book that was described (in very slight detail, nothing graphic) is between a married man and his wife.

I liked Kathryn and her desire to carve out a life for herself in the midst of trials and turmoil. She is headstrong and self aware in the best way that allows the reader to root for her and her success in life. Give some examples of restrictions women were under in 1875. Did any of these surprise you? Are there areas where women’s rights still fall short today? Or are there certain expectations or burdens placed on women that men don’t carry? In what ways should society strive for equality between genders? Or is it okay to allow for different roles based on a person’s strengths? When Kathryn Walsh arrives in tiny Calvada, a mining town nestled in the Sierra Nevadas, falling in love is the farthest thing from her mind. Banished from Boston by her wealthy stepfather, she has come to claim an inheritance from the uncle she never knew: a defunct newspaper office on a main street overflowing with brothels and saloons, and a seemingly worthless mine. Moved by the oppression of the local miners and their families, Kathryn decides to relaunch her uncle’s newspaper—and then finds herself in the middle of a maelstrom, pitted against Calvada’s most powerful men. But Kathryn intends to continue to say—and publish—whatever she pleases, especially when she knows she’s right. Don’t let the unfairness of life embitter you. Strive to do good no matter what others around you are doing. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Stand up and find practical ways to help the less fortunate. A handout is good for a day. A hand up can change a life forever. Speak truth no matter the cost. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Laugh. Enjoy life. Don’t hold too tightly to your own opinion. Listen and learn from others. And above all, live to please the Lord. What character in this story did you most enjoy crafting? Why?Cassie is an example of the difference one person can make in all her gloriously imperfect brokenness. The author lets us spend a whole year in Calavado, letting us in on all its secrets...even the dangerous ones. She shines a light on social issues of the time and finds ingenuous solutions to fix them. You might say Cassie is a foreword thinking lady! :-) And I love the clever play on word's in the title! Sheer cleverness from start to finish! And a fantastic escape read besides! Kathryn ponders this idea: “What a tangled mess men make when they try to play God.” What messes do various characters in this book make when “trying to play God”? Have you seen any examples of this in your own life? How were they resolved?

I’ve said this before— romance is not my typical go-to genre, but I enjoyed this book. I liked the historical setting. I felt invested and engaged in the story and was able to visualize the world Rivers created. I also thought the Christian romance aspect of it was tastefully done and not too cheesy. I also enjoyed the plot twists and mystery throughout the story. But by the end I felt it was redundant and ended up skimming it. Overall, not mad that I read it but I was hoping for better :/ Yes, because the setting is the old west we have brothels and drunk people and stuff, but nothing crazy at all in my opinion. One observation I’ll make here is that in both this and Redeeming Love there is a man who is determined to marry the woman. And I could see some thinking, ‘Uh, they’re a little pushy, leave the gal alone!’ Sidenote: I guess if I had a criticism for this book it would be that she kept using ‘fillip’ when she said things like Kathryn’s heart did a ‘fillip.’ The actual definition of this word is appropriate for how she used it but I feel like she should have just said ‘flip.’ I felt like I was hiccuping when I read it in my head.]

Agape love has rippling effects in The Lady’s Mine, an entertaining romance novel in which a forward-thinking woman and a former rogue work to energize a boom town. Kathryn looked to God for help and transformation. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd highly recommend this enjoyable historical. I very much enjoyed The Lady’s Mine. It was a charming read that I was sorry to see end. Highly recommended! Finally, you mentioned in the author note that this story has been with you for decades, and that the pandemic was the catalyst for writing it. What was the origin of this idea, and how were things added to it over time?

When Kathryn Walsh arrives in tiny Calvada, a mining town nestled in the Sierra Nevadas, falling in love is the farthest thing from her mind. Banished from Boston by her wealthy stepfather, she has come to claim an inheritance from the uncle she never knew: a defunct newspaper office on a main street overflowing with brothels and saloons, and a seemingly worthless mine. Moved by the oppression of the local miners and their families, Kathryn decides to relaunch her uncle’s newspaper―and then finds herself in the middle of a maelstrom, pitted against Calvada’s most powerful men. But Kathryn intends to continue to say―and publish―whatever she pleases, especially when she knows she’s right. The male lead was such an enigma and you started hating him in the beginning but then you started seeing him grow and mature and you couldn’t help but fall for him , too. In 1875, Kathryn Walsh arrives in tiny Calvada, a mining town nestled in the Sierra Nevadas. Falling in love is the furthest thing from her mind. Banished from Boston by her wealthy stepfather, she has come to claim an inheritance from the uncle she never knew: a defunct newspaper office on a main street overflowing with brothels and saloons, and a seemingly worthless mine. Moved by the oppression of the local miners and their families, Kathryn decides to relaunch her uncle’s newspaper—and then finds herself in the middle of a maelstrom, pitted against Calvada’s most powerful men. But Kathryn intends to continue to say—and publish—whatever she pleases, especially when she knows she’s right.This was a hard book to put down! I finished it in a little over 24 hours and I even woke up once in the middle of the night to read a chapter.

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