A Walk Through the Past (With a Sneak Peek at Bleeding Heart)

This past weekend I had the pleasure of taking a walk at Headwaters Forest Reserve, along with my mom, sister, two of my uncles, and one of my aunts. It was a really pretty day, although a bit cold (which is not unusual for this area by any means!).

So, since I've been bombarding you with book reviews right and left, I thought I would share something different today: some pictures from our walk (thinking of you, Aunt Becky!), and a glimpse at my WIP, Bleeding Heart. Hope you enjoy! =)

A Walk Through Falk

Not much remains of Falk Town - just some remnants of the caretakers' home, one transported storage building, some artifacts, pictures, and some signs along the trail to point out what used to be. But the forest that gave the logging town its purpose is still there, as beautiful and mysterious as ever.

The signs with their old pictures help you to visualize the way things used to be:

Imagine the sounds of trees crashing to the forest floor, the train chugging with its heavy load of lumber, the men chomping food in the cookhouse, the musicians playing a fast tune at the Saturday night dance...

This is one of the settings of Bleeding Heart.

Can't you just feel a story waiting to be told here?

 

Perhaps I should write another story set here - lots of "scope for the imagination," as Anne of Green Gables might say! I've barely scratched the surface of this setting's potential. =)

And look! We saw the flower that shares the name of my first novel, the prequel to Bleeding Heart:

I love exploring this place...

...especially with family. (That's me with my dear sister below!)

A Brief Scene in Falk

And here's a brief snippet from my first draft of Bleeding Heart (inspirational historical romance), where Joe discovers that ranching never prepared him for a stint as a lumberjack...

***

Never had Joe seen such huge trees. Stories about the redwoods seemed more like fiction than fact – and yet here they were, taller than anything he could have ever conceived. There were other tall trees here, too. And he had to chop them down.

Standing on a springboard held in place by notches in the tree, Joe wondered if he didn’t fear heights when he was younger because he’d never been up in a tree like this one before. One false move, and…

“Stop lookin’ down at the ground. Ain’t gonna help ya none.”

 Joe grimaced. “Thanks, Myghal, but I could’ve figured that one out on my own.”

Myghal waited, using a handkerchief to wipe away the sweat on his brow and looking for all the world like he was at home in this giant of a tree.

Finally, Joe grabbed onto his end of the saw again, and they continued to cut into the tree. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. Just like Joe’s thoughts regarding Sally.

Two nights ago he had been proud to hold Sally in his arms. The radiance of her smile thrilled his heart, and he hadn’t thought of Elizabeth once the whole evening. The beautiful sight of Sally dancing was enough to fill his mind, and then some. But now he wished that he could take it all back. Becoming attached to Sally was the last thing he needed. He had promised himself that no one would have a chance to break his heart again. And if there was one guarantee when it came to Sally, it was that someone’s heart was bound to get broken.

Well, it won’t be mine.

***

Hope you enjoyed the sneak peek! And I hope I get to share more with you soon! Preliminary steps have been taken toward starting on the cover design (can't wait to work with the talented Lena Goldfinch on that!), and the manuscript is now with the lovely author and editor Elizabeth Ludwig. We'll see where God leads from here!