Blog Tour and Giveaway: Tides of Healing by Sandra Merville Hart

About the Book

Book: Tides of Healing

Author: Sandra Merville Hart

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: February 11, 2025

A Southern belle fights to reclaim her home, but will her spying destroy the Union officer she never meant to love? 

Savannah Adair has endured the unimaginable, hiding in a cave while her beloved Vicksburg was under siege. With the city now occupied by Union soldiers, Savannah cannot stand by and do nothing. So when one of the gaunt, half-starved Confederate prisoners asks her to spy for the South, she can’t refuse the chance to take back her home.

First Lieutenant Travis Lawson takes pride in the Union army’s hard-fought victory, but he quickly realizes that the challenges of rebuilding and reconciliation are just beginning . . . and not everyone is appreciative of changes he’s making. Namely, the fiery and alluring Savannah Adair. Despite their differing loyalties and the societal divide between them, Travis cannot deny the growing feelings he has for her. When he is tasked with finding Southern spies in Vicksburg and he captures a female spy, Travis is forced to consider that the woman he’s beginning to love may be the enemy.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Sandra Merville Hart, award-winning and Amazon bestselling author of inspirational historical romances, loves to discover little-known yet fascinating facts from American history to include in her stories. Her desire is to transport her readers back in time. She is also a blogger, speaker, and conference teacher.

 

 

 

 

More from Sandra

As I typed away on this final book in my Spies of the Civil War Series, it felt as if I’d written the entire series to tell this story.

Previously, I had felt a similar importance of an as yet unpublished two-book contemporary series, but the sense that the whole series climaxed with the final book was as surprising as it was welcome.

Because it seemed as if everything that happened in all the earlier books culminated in Book 6 for me as an author. Its significance reverberated in my soul while still researching the events…and weeks before I sat to pen the first page, the first paragraph, the first sentence.

That sense of importance made this book difficult to begin. The early chapters took far longer to write than normal.

I believe that those who only read Tides of Healing will have a satisfying, complete story. Those who read the entire series in order—or at least Books 4-6 set in Vicksburg—will experience a deeper impact as the characters’ stories build on one another.

There is a song in Tides of Healing. As an author, the impact of the lyrics within the story preceded it, meaning that I knew a certain song would play a significant role while still in the research phase.

Let me explain.

When I’m researching a story, I read a variety of nonfiction resources including diaries, journals, and newspaper accounts. My research for Vicksburg during the Civil War led me to song lyrics written by the enslaved.

African American Spirituals, also called Negro Spirituals, were sung before and after the Civil War. These Christian songs served a variety of purposes beyond bolstering hope and faith during dark days. They told stories about Biblical characters like Moses. Some comforted the sorrowful and some rejoiced with the joyful. They were sung in churches, in camp meetings, and in the fields.

They often contained secret messages. “Home” in a song can refer to Heaven, but the secret meaning was a free country. Author Frederick Douglas had been a former slave. He wrote that the lyrics to “O Canaan, Sweet Canaan” signified more than a hope of Heaven. Repeated singing of the lyrics “I am bound for the land of Canaan” announced an intention to go North, their Canaan.

The Underground Railroad is a theme in Tides of Healing. In 1828, Reverend John Rankin built his home on a hill overlooking the Ohio River in Ripley, Ohio. As a station on the Underground Railroad, this home was easily seen from the opposite side of the river in the slave state of Kentucky. Runaways waited for a boat to take them across the river.

It surprised me to learn that the lyrics of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” are about this station. “I looked over Jordan and what did I see?” refers to the Ohio River. The band of angels are people who rowed them across the wide river to the free state of Ohio.

Neither of these songs is referenced in Tides of Healing. The tune that is in my story was a popular spiritual leading up to the war. I listened to it many times. The message took root in my heart long before it affected my characters.

My research trip to Vicksburg’s battlefield and museums inspired the writing of Streams of Courage, Book 4, River of Peril, Book 5, and Tides of Healing, Book 6.

Avenue of Betrayal, Book 1, is set in the Union capital of Washington City (Washington DC) in 1861, where a surprising number of Confederate sympathizers and spies lived. Boulevard of Confusion and Byway to Danger are set in Richmond, the Confederate capital in 1862. Actual historical spies touch the lives of our fictional family. The heroines in Books 1 – 3 are two sisters and their cousins. Another set of characters begin with Book 4, and three friends are the heroines in Books 4 -6.

Through both real and fictional characters, this series highlights activities spies were involved in and some of the motives behind their decisions.

I invite you to read the whole Spies of the Civil War Series!

Blog Stops

Bizwings Book Blog, February 26

Holly’s Book Corner, February 27

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 27

Locks, Hooks and Books, February 28

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 1

Pause for Tales, March 2

Texas Book-aholic, March 2

Devoted To Hope, March 3

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, March 4

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, March 5

Betti Mace, March 5

Life on Chickadee Lane, March 6

Cover Lover Book Review, March 7

Books You Can Feel Good About, March 8

Connie’s History Classroom, March 9

For HIm and My Family, March 10

Stories By Gina, March 11 (Author Interview)

Blossoms and Blessings, March 11

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Sandra is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54163

My Review

I have loved reading the first five books from the Spies of the Civil War series by Sandra Merville Hart. I was excited to have the chance to read the sixth installment, Tides of Healing. I believe this one is by far my favorite of the series. I adored getting to know the main characters, Savannah and Travis. I thought they had great chemistry and wanted to keep turning the pages until I was completely finished with their story. 

Five plus stars is what I will be giving Tides of Healing. I highly recommend it for fans of clean historical romance. I look forward to reading more reading from Sandra Merville Hart in the future.

I received a paperback copy of Sandra Merville Hart's Tides of Healing from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion. 

Blog Tour and Giveaway: River of Peril by Sandra Merville Hart

 

About the Book

Book: River of Peril

Author: Sandra Merville Hart

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: October 15, 2024

Amnesia stole his memory, and now he’s fighting for the wrong side.

Orphaned and alone at sixteen, Felicity has found solace in serving others as a volunteer nurse. When she discovers her Confederate soldier beau, Luke Shea, among the wounded in her ward, her worst nightmares come true. Luke’s shrapnel wound has stolen his memory, leaving him with no recollection of their love or his past. As Felicity struggles with the loss of the man she once knew, she turns her attention to the service of her broken country. But the more she learns about the brutal war, the more she realizes she can no longer stay silent. She becomes a Union spy, plunging herself into danger.

When Luke Shae awakes in a hospital with no memory of the last five years, he’s shocked to learn he’s been fighting against the Union he once so strongly supported. And when he learns of his past courtship with his nurse, Felicity, he struggles to understand the man he was and what happened in those missing years. Determined to atone for his Confederate past, Luke also joins the Union cause as a spy.

As danger lurks at every turn, only a Divine hand can not only protect their lives, but give them a second chance for love and the future they both crave.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Sandra Merville Hart, award-winning and Amazon bestselling author of inspirational historical romances, loves to discover little-known yet fascinating facts from American history to include in her stories. Her desire is to transport her readers back in time. She is also a blogger, speaker, and conference teacher.

 

 

 

 

More from Sandra

“History will never know how indebted it is to folks like you in ending the war.” ~ River of Peril

People spied on their government, their soldiers, and their neighbors during the Civil War. Union spies in the South lived dangerously. Everyday citizens, including enslaved and free black spies, became heroes to speed the war’s end.

Secret messages were sewn into hems, vests, and coats. Cyphered messages were hidden in bodices, hoop skirts, trees, hats, styled hair, books, custard dishes, hollowed-out eggs, and even in vaults with a dead body. Raised/lowered shades and clothes hanging on a line might also be clues for spies.

Some spies were already actors. Others disguised themselves to deliver secrets and to protect their identity. There were female spies who disguised themselves as men. If they could manage to remain anonymous, it saved them from their neighbors’ retaliation during and after the war. This was especially true in the South because the North emerged as victorious.

Many spies were caught during the Civil War and often imprisoned for days or weeks, up to a year. Confederate spies could sign an Oath of Allegiance to the United States to be released from Union prisons. Both sides executed spies.

For reasons already discussed, history doesn’t record most of Mississippi’s spies. Two Mississippi spies, Robbie Woodruff and Philip Henson, didn’t slip into obscurity.

Robbie Woodruff was a courageous farm girl who fetched Confederate messages from town and hid them in a hollow stump for couriers. Philip Henson, one of the Union army’s greatest spies living in the South, was captured and imprisoned for several months.

Key characters are spies for the Union in River of Peril, Book 5 in my Spies of the Civil War Series. The spies in my Vicksburg portion of the series (Books 4 – 6) are fictional. The stories show the type of challenges faced by historical spies.

My research for this novel began with a trip to Vicksburg, Mississippi. I was greatly inspired by the battlefield, the museums, and the people in the historic city. That inspiration—and a whole lot of research!—led to the writing of Streams of Courage, Book 4, River of Peril, Book 5, and Tides of Healing, Book 6.

Avenue of Betrayal, Book 1, is set in the Union capital of Washington City (Washington DC) in 1861, where a surprising number of Confederate sympathizers and spies lived. Boulevard of Confusion and Byway to Danger are set in Richmond, the Confederate capital in 1862. Actual historical spies touch the lives of our fictional family. The heroines in Books 1 – 3 are two sisters and their cousins. Another set of characters begin with Book 4, and three friends are the heroines in Books 4 -6.

Through both real and fictional characters, this series highlights activities spies were involved in and some of the motives behind their decisions.

I invite you to read the whole Spies of the Civil War Series!

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, October 16

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, October 17

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 18

Devoted To Hope, October 18

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, October 19

Texas Book-aholic, October 20

Locks, Hooks and Books, October 21

CONNIE’S HISTORY CLASSROOM, October 22

Betti Mace, October 23

For Him and My Family, October 24

Holly’s Book Corner, October 25

Pause for Tales, October 26

Cover Lover Book Review, October 27

Life on Chickadee Lane, October 28

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, October 29 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, October 29

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Sandra is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf5469

My Review

River of Peril is the fifth installment from the Spies of the Civil War by Sandra Merville Hart. I have enjoyed the previous books and this one is no different. I adored Luke and Felicity's story. I loved the element of faith within the pages. It was weaved into the tale that I found to be inspiring. I thought this was a great book to read and could not put it down until I was completely finished.

I am going to give River of Peril five plus stars. I highly recommend it for readers who love to read clean historical romance, particularly those set during the American Civil War. I would love to continue to read more releases from the talented Sandra Merville Hart in the future.

I received a Sandra Merville Hart's River of Peril from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion. 

Blog Tour and Giveaway: A Spring at the Greenbrier by Sandra Merville Hart

About the Book

Book: A Spring at the Greenbrier

Author: Sandra Merville Hart

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: April 30, 2024

Marilla will sacrifice anything for her family. So when her sister’s doctor suggests daily sulphur spring baths, an amenity her family could never afford, Marilla takes a job at The Greenbrier resort bathhouse in order to give her sister the care she needs. When her sister befriends another girl staying at the resort with a similar health condition, Marilla finds herself crossing paths with the girl’s handsome, charming, older brother. And despite their growing attraction to each other, courting Wes must remain a dream. After all, resort staff cannot court guests and Marilla will not risk her sister’s health for her own happiness.

Wealthy resort guest, Wes Bakersfield, has dreams for a future and plans to make his family’s business his own. And while he finds himself drawn to Marilla, despite their differing social classes, he can’t help but wonder if she is really interested in him, or in his wealth.

Can the couple find the trust to help their love succeed, or will their differences pull them apart?

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Sandra Merville Hart, award-winning and Amazon bestselling author of inspirational historical romances, loves to discover little-known yet fascinating facts from American history to include in her stories. Her desire is to transport her readers back in time. She is also a blogger, speaker, and conference teacher.

 

 

 

 

More from Sandra

In A Spring at The Greenbrier, Book 7 in Romance at the Gilded Age Resorts Series, Marilla, our heroine, is as desperate as her mother to find healing for her younger sister’s polio. When the doctor recommends daily bathing in the sulphur springs, her family cannot afford the cost. Marilla transfers to the bath wing at The Greenbrier where her new boss allows her to bring her sister at the end of each day after the guests have finished their bathing sessions. It makes for a long day yet the sacrifice is worth her exhaustion if the springs can help her ten-year-old sister.

The Greenbrier, a beautiful and elegant resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, first received its fame from healthy benefits of drinking the sulphur springs and bathing in its waters.

Both the hero and heroine in A Spring at The Greenbrier have younger sisters who can benefit from heated spring baths.

The bulk of my research for this story was for the springs and what illnesses benefit from them. I had to discover the illnesses for which doctors recommended the baths historically.

Soothing soaks in hot springs are recommended even today. They can boost blood circulation, reduce pain, improve skin conditions, reduce stress, decrease inflammation in joints, and detoxify the body.

Most resort guests in the early days drank tumblers of the water before each meal. A resort doctor in the 1800s cautioned taking a maximum of 12 glasses daily. Health benefits for the bowels, liver, kidneys, and skin most often appeared between three to six weeks. The resort began to sell it in bottles at drug stores. It was labelled as A Natural Laxative.

Major renovations were done by new owners for a grand reopening in September of 1913. Marilla, our heroine, begins working at the Women’s Department of the new bath wing. Female guests enjoyed heated sulphur spring baths in bathing rooms. Doctors sent their wealthy patients to the springs with a recommended regimen of bathing that might also include drinking the spring water. The temperature of the water, the frequency, and the length of the baths were set by their doctor.

Folks suffering from a variety of ailments sought benefits from the spring waters, including gout, rheumatism, arthritis, neuritis, dyspepsia, jaundice, scurvy, hay fever, malaria, bronchitis, asthma, and chronic diseases of the skin, stomach, bowels, and liver.

Mineral waters can harm people with aneurisms in the heart and large arteries, cancer, tubercular consumption, and some brain complaints.

The springs were of great benefit for folks suffering from chronic complaints. These benefits happened so gradually that patients started to feel better “without being able to account for it.”

So there were a lot of conditions to choose from for my two ailing girls in my story.

A Spring at The Greenbrier is a nostalgic story set in 1914. I invite you to read the whole series!

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, May 1

Book Looks by Lisa, May 1

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 2

Devoted To Hope, May 3

Texas Book-aholic, May 3

Locks, Hooks and Books, May 4

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, May 5

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, May 5

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, May 6 (Author Interview)

She Lives To Read, May 7

Books You Can Feel Good About, May 7

Blogging With Carol, May 8

Simple Harvest Reads, May 9 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

For him and My Family, May 9

Blossoms and Blessings, May 10

The Lofty Pages, May 11

Bizwings Book Blog, May 11

Connie’s History Classroom, May 12

Holly’s Book Corner, May 13

Pause for Tales, May 13

Life on Chickadee Lane, May 14

Cover Lover Book Review, May 14

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Sandra is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2b35d/a-spring-at-the-greenbrier-celebration-tour-giveaway 

My Review: 

I have really enjoy the first six releases from the Romance at the Gilded Age Resorts series and was looking forward to the seventh installment, A Spring at The Greenbrier. I do not live far from the Greenbrier and loved the author's historical vision of what it was like many years ago. It was sweet how Marilla and Wes different backgrounds still brought them bond together. I wanted to keep reading until the very end to see what would become of them. 

I am giving A Spring at The Greenbrier five stars. I highly recommend it for readers who love to read clean historical romance. i look forward to continuing the Romance at the Gilded Age Resorts series with the eighth book, Denise Weimer's A Summer at The Niagara of the South. 

I received a copy of Sandra Merville Hart's A Spring at The Greenbrier from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.

Blog Tour and Giveaway: Streams of Courage by Sandra Merville Hart

About the Book

Book: Streams of Courage

Author: Sandra Merville Hart

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: March 26, 2024

In a world turned upside down by war and betrayal…will his role as a spy bring them closer…or tear their future apart?

The war that Julia Dodd prayed to avoid is now reality, and with it, her world has been turned on its head. Her fellow citizens, who stood with her in their support of the union, have crossed firmly to the side of the south. And her mother, lost in her grief over the loss of her husband and children, can think of nothing but protecting Julia’s brother’s inheritance. She insists that her daughter seek a wealthier husband than Ashburn Mitchell.

Ash knows what his fellow citizens think of him when he refuses to fight for the Confederacy. Shouldering the accusation of being a coward and refusing to hide behind his limp, Ash remains in Vicksburg to support his family as a saddler while his two best friends join the fight. Struggling to increase his business so he can marry the woman he loves, Ash becomes a spy in support of the Union. He can’t fight for the South but won’t raise a musket against them.

As tragedy instigates Ash to risk greater danger to speed the end of the war, Julia can only pray it won’t cost them everything. She’s already lost her father and two siblings. Must she lose the man she loves too?

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Sandra Merville Hart, award-winning and Amazon bestselling author of inspirational historical romances, loves to discover little-known yet fascinating facts from American history to include in her stories. Her desire is to transport her readers back in time. She is also a blogger, speaker, and conference teacher.

 

 

 

 

More from Sandra

In Streams of Courage, Book 4 in my Spies of the Civil War Series, Julia, our heroine, has suffered several significant losses in her life, including her father and two siblings. Her mother’s insistence that Julia stop courting Ash, a saddler, and find instead a rich suitor makes no sense. Surely her father had provided for her.

Then she discovers that her parents have only provided for her younger brother, whom her mother had always adored. Julia will be penniless when her mother dies. The knowledge crushes her.

Ash is already supporting his mother and siblings. As Mama points out, adding a wife and children will stretch his income to the limits. Mama will not give her blessing should Ash propose. Julia, who had been raised in comfort, must find some means of support.

As I considered how Julia could make money in a war-time economy, it was clear her mother, as the daughter of a wealthy plantation owner, would never condone her working in a shop. What can she do?

Tatting lace.

Her lace patterns have received compliments in the past. With fewer ships bringing goods into the city, lace is in short supply. Granted, the demand for lace has diminished because even dress fabric isn’t as available as before the war.

I enjoyed researching this skill that was once so prevalent among young ladies in society. I watched videos on making lace with a special needle called a tatting needle.

The most basic stitch is the double-stitch. There is a special way to hold the needle and thread so that the first stitch grabs thread from under the thumb and the second stitch grabs it from over the thumb. There is a rhythm to the stitching in the hands of a skilled lacemaker.

I watched videos that demonstrated making rings with picot trim. There is a variety of stitching. The variations create beautiful patterns. The lace is then rolled for storage.

Fascinating. It’s mesmerizing to watch the different patterns emerge.

Tatting is a small yet interesting aspect in the adventurous story. Ash has become a Union spy. For her and her family’s safety, he keeps his dangerous activities a secret from Julia.

Part of my research for this novel and the next two novels included a trip to Vicksburg, Mississippi. I toured the museums and walked the streets of the historic city. Though I wasn’t certain of my story at the time of my visit, I was inspired by the history.

Avenue of Betrayal, Book 1, is set in the Union capital of Washington City (Washington DC) in 1861, where a surprising number of Confederate sympathizers and spies lived. Boulevard of Confusion and Byway to Danger are set in Richmond, the Confederate capital in 1862. Actual historical spies touch the lives of our fictional family.

Through both real and fictional characters, this series highlights activities spies were involved in and some of the motives behind their decisions.

I invite you to read the whole “Spies of the Civil War” series!

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, April 17

Alena Mentink, April 18

Connie’s History Classroom, April 18

Locks, Hooks and Books, April 19

Bizwings Book Blog, April 20

Holly’s Book Corner, April 21

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 21

Texas Book-aholic, April 22

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, April 23

Betti Mace, April 24

Pause for Tales, April 24

Cover Lover Book Review, April 25

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 26

Books You Can Feel Good About, April 27

Lights in a Dark World, April 27

For Him and My Family, April 28

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, April 29 (Author Interview)

The Lofty Pages, April 29

Blossoms and Blessings, April 30

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Sandra is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2afa6/streams-of-courage-celebration-tour-giveaway

My Review

I have adored the Spies of the Civil War series from Sandra Merville Hart. I was excited to have the opportunity to read the fourth installment, Streams of Courage. It was far from being a disappointment. I loved getting to know the main characters, Ash and Julia. I thought their story was wonderful. I thought the author perfectly portrayed what so many went through during the American Civil War. I thought it was a great novel to read set this era in history. 

Streams of Courage gets five plus stars from me. I highly recommend for fans of clean historical romance. I look forward to reading the fifth addition of Spies of the Civil War series, River of Peril. 

I received a copy of Sandra Merville Hart's Streams of Courage from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion. 

Blog Tour and Giveaway: A Not So Peaceful Journey by Sandra Merville Hart

About the Book

Book: A Not So Peaceful Journey

Author: Sandra Merville Hart

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: June 13, 2023

Dreams of adventure send him across the country. She prefers to keep her feet firmly planted in Ohio.

Rennie Hill has no illusions about the hardships in life, which is why it’s so important her beau, John Welch, keeps his secure job with the newspaper. Though he hopes to write fiction, the unsteady pay would mean an end to their plans, wouldn’t it?

John Welch dreams of adventure worthy of storybooks, like Mark Twain, and when two of his short stories are published, he sees it as a sign of future success. But while he’s dreaming big with his head in the clouds, his girl has her feet firmly planted, and he can’t help wondering if she really believes in him.

When Rennie must escort a little girl to her parents’ home in San Francisco, John is forced to alter his plans to travel across the country with them. But the journey proves far more adventurous than either of them expect.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Sandra Merville Hart, award-winning and Amazon bestselling author of inspirational historical romances, loves to discover little-known yet fascinating facts from American history to include in her stories. Her desire is to transport her readers back in time. She is also a blogger, speaker, and conference teacher. Connect with Sandra on her blog, https://sandramervillehart.wordpress.com/.

 

More from Sandra

It was fun to invite readers on this book’s journey!

 

To those who lived in the 1880s, venturing into this newly-settled and largely-unsettled West had become much safer—though not without danger—with the system of railroads already in place. I enjoyed taking readers to Chicago, Omaha, Oakland, Ogden, and Sacramento, as well as frontier towns along the journey such as Cheyenne.

 

Our heroine is a telegraph operator. She temporarily leaves her job to escort a little girl to her ailing mother in San Francisco.

My research about telegraph jobs taught me quite a bit of terminology.

 

For example, a clatter arises when another operator “calls.” The call begins with something like “B m—X n”, which means the B m is the station receiving the call and X n is the caller.

 

B m must signal a reply that she’s ready to receive the call.

 

The Sounder receives sounds of the alphabet in dots and dashes. Some operators sent messages too rapidly to understand. When this occurs, the receiving operating asks for it again with a Break (she opens her “key” to break the circuit) and interrupts with “Please repeat.”

 

“G.A. the—” means “Go ahead” and “the” was the last word she understood.

 

Operators end every message with his/her own private “call” as well as the office’s call and “O.K.” at the end of each message.

Wired Love, which was written by telegraph operator Ella Cheever Thayer in 1879, provided many insights about the job’s daily tasks.

 

One of them was the lack of privacy on the lines. She can hear the messages sent to other wires but only offices on the same wire. In Wired Love, operators heard messages sent to and from twenty offices.

 

By the way, the public grew so fascinated with the role of women in telegraphy that it became the topic of romance novels and short stories, creating a new genre called “telegraphic romance” in the latter 1800s. That’s a little-known fun fact for you!

 

I enjoyed writing this series. I invite you to read the whole “Second Chances” series beginning with A Not So Convenient Marriage, Book 1, A Not So Persistent Suitor, Book 2, and A Not So Peaceful Journey, Book 3.

Blog Stops

lakesidelivingsite, June 14

Alena Mentink, June 14

Betti Mace, June 15

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, June 16

Texas Book-aholic, June 17

Karen Baney Reviews, June 17

Connie’s History Classroom, June 18

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, June 19

For Him and My Family, June 20

Lily’s Book Reviews, June 20

Locks, Hooks and Books, June 21

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions , June 22

Mary Hake, June 22

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, June 23

Blogging With Carol, June 24

Blossoms and Blessings, June 24

Simple Harvest Reads, June 25 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Cover Lover Book Review, June 26

Pause for Tales, June 27

Holly’s Book Corner, June 27

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Sandra is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2658b/a-not-so-peaceful-journey-celebration-tour-giveaway

My Review

I adored the first two installments from the Sandra Merville Hart's Second Chances series, A Not So Convenient Marriage and A Not so Persistent Suitor. I jumped at the chance to read book three, A Not So Peaceful Journey, and was far from being disappointed. I loved taking this wonderful journey with Rennie and John. It was great being transported to their time and experience the story along with them. It is definitely my favorite of the series. 

Five plus stars is what I will be giving A Not So Peaceful Journey. I highly recommend this beautiful story for readers who love books that are quick, easy to read, and clean historical romance. As always, I will be on the look out for more releases to come from Sandra Merville Hart. 

I received a paperback copy of A Not So Peaceful Journey from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.