Mona Hodgson--Interview with Wooly Rutherford Wainwright, character in first novella

   

The winner of last week's blog contest is Rachel from Virginia. Congratulations, Rachel! You'll be hearing from Sarah Sundin soon.
Now meet "Wooley" Rutherford Wainwright-- a character from Mona Hodgson's book, The Quilted Heart. Be sure to read to end to find out how you can enter to win a copy of this book on Mona's blog.

 "Wooley" Rutherford Wainwright is the son-in-law of Mrs. Brantenberg, who has been away in the Civil War for four years, ever since the birth of his little daughter, Gabi, and the death of his precious wife. Gabi can't understand why her PaPa has never come back to see her. As you read THE QUILTED HEART by Mona Hodgson, you might wonder about this man. I did. So here is an interview with him to learn something about his life. He is a man of few words, and he has a sorrow about him that is evident as you read his words: 

Wooley, tell us a little about yourself. What is your job?

I was a farmer, then a soldier. Now my work depends on how I am received by Mrs. Brandenberg.

How would you describe yourself?

As a disappointment.

What do you need most right now?

Forgiveness.

How do you face disappointment or hardship?

In the past I ran. I hope I can do better this time around.

What is your most important goal in life?

To reunite with my little daughter, Gabi, and be a PaPa to her.

What are you most afraid of?

That I won't be given a second chance.

If you could travel back in time, where would you go, and why?

To the day before my daughter was born. I'd like to do things differently. And right.

What do you put off because of dread, or because you just don't want to do it?

Returning to St. Charles.

What is most important to you?

To return to St. Charles and to make sure the daughter I abandoned knows how much I love her.

What do you want others to see in you?

My dependence on God for every step I take, from now on.
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If you have not yet read The Quilted Heart by Mona Hodgson, you can get it and learn about Wooley and his second chance. The sweet love story of Wooley and Maren, and his precious little daughter Gabi is in the first novella, Dandelions in the Wind. All three novellas will thrill you as you read about three women in the town of St.Charles. The women are of different nationalities with different customs but they are tied together because of a love of quilting. In Bending Toward the Sun and Ripples Along the Shore you will meet other beloved characters, all friends, some of whom are making their plans to go to West on a Wagon Train.

BlurbThe Quilted Heart OmnibusLike a beautiful patchwork quilt, the three novellas in The Quilted Heart tell stories of lives stitched together with love and God’s unending grace.
Once a week, Elsa Brantenberg hosts the Saint Charles Quilting Circle at her farmhouse on the outskirts of the riverside town of St. Charles, Missouri. The ladies who gather there have all experienced heartache related to the intense hardships of the Civil War, and together, they are facing their painful circumstances with friendship and prayer. Can the tattered pieces of their hearts be stitched together by God’s grace?
Dandelions on the Wind  Maren Jensen took a job on Elsa Brantenberg'’s St. Charles, Missouri farm, she never expected to call the place her home. As she grows to love Mrs. Brantenberg and her granddaughter, Gabi, Maren is transformed from a lonely mail-order bride-without-a-groom to a beloved member of the Brantenberg household. But when Gab'i’s father, Rutherford “Wooly” Wainwright, returns to the farm unexpectedly, everything changes for Maren, and she feels compelled to find another job. Are her choices in obedience to God, or is she running from His plan?
 Bending Toward the Sun Dedicated to her education and to helping her father in his general store, Emilie Heinrich is convinced she doesn't have time for love. But when a childhood friend returns to St. Charles, Missouri, after serving in the Civil War, his smile and charm captures Emilie'’s eye and her heart. Will she be forced to choose between honoring her father and a future with a husband and family of her own?
 Ripples Along the Shore Change is brewing in St. Charles. A group of brave souls are preparing to head west on the Boone's Lick Wagon Train, led by the mysterious and handsome Garrett Cowlishaw, who served as a Confederate soldier in the war that killed Caroline'’s husband. Despite her dislike for him, Caroline is tempted to join the wagon train and start fresh somewhere new, but when Mr. Cowlishaw forbids her, ­a single woman, ­to travel with them, will one man'’s prejudice destroy Caroline’'s hope for a new future? Or will the ripples of God’s love bring the answer she needs?


Click here to pre-order your paperback or eBook copy of The Quilted Heart. ( http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?work=220625)

Comment on Mona Hodgson Author Page [ https://www.facebook.com/Author.Mona] before Friday,, January 31st to enter the BLOG TOUR DRAWING for one of three signed copies of The Quilted Heart. Which blog did you visit and comment on? You can enter once for each Blog Tour Drawing blog you visit and comment on.




Bio

Mona Hodgson is the author of nearly 40 books, historical novels for adults and children’s books, including her popular Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek Series, The Quilted Heart novellas, and Prairie Song, Book 1 in her Hearts Seeking Home Series. Her children’s books include bestseller, Bedtime in the Southwest, six desert and princess Zonderkidz I Can Read books, Real Girls of the Bible: A 31-Day Devotional, and her six I Wonder books.

Mona’'s writing credits also include several hundred articles, poems and short stories, which have appeared in 50 different publications. Mona is a speaker for women’'s groups, Christian women’s retreats, book clubs and reading groups, schools, and conferences for writers and librarians.


Mona Hodgsonwww.monahodgson.com Prairie Song, Book 1 in the Hearts Seeking Home Series (WaterBrook Press/Random House) NEW!The Quilted Heart Omnibus (Pre-Order for January 21st Release) The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek Series