ELIZABETH G: Please celebrate with Janet and me!

I'm thrilled to have my friend and fellow romance author, Janet Dean, as my guest today. Janet is an inspiration to anyone who has worked long and hard for a dream and then watched as it finally came true. After nearly a decade of trying to get her first novel published, COURTING MISS ADELAIDE is now in bookstores everywhere.

EG: First, I want to congratulate you on your 4 1/2 star review in Romantic Times! And a fabulous book signing in our city where 229 copies of COURTING MISS ADELAIDE were sold by the store and autographed by you in less than three hours. That's amazing!

JANET DEAN: Thanks, EG. It was a wonderful and exhausting experience, but I enjoyed every minute of it.

EG: I love reading and writing about small Midwestern towns. Probably because that's where I grew up and lived most of my early life. What attracted you to the time period and the setting for COURTING MISS ADELAIDE?

JANET DEAN: COURTING MISS ADELAIDE is set in Noblesville, Indiana in 1897. I love American history. And I’m particularly drawn to the last decade of the 1800s when a flood of immigrants poured into our country, often living in terrible poverty. Children were exploited, working in sweatshops under appalling conditions. Many were homeless, living on the streets.

This was also a time of freedom for women never experienced before. They became embroiled in controversial issues such as suffrage. This fascinating period fit my heroine perfectly.

Noblesville is a charming town with shops and a courthouse that fit the timeframe of my story. I knew an “orphan train” stopped there many years earlier so I saw no reason why it couldn’t stop again.

EG: I know the orphan trains actually existed. (Because you told me so.:) How did you find out about them? And which came first: the historical fact of the orphan trains or a kernel of an idea for your story?

JANET DEAN: The historical fact triggered my story. My father, a Social Studies teacher, sent me a newspaper clipping about New York City’s orphaned and half orphaned children riding trains to new homes in the Midwest and beyond. More than 250,000 children rode these trains between 1853 and 1929, but that phenomena didn’t find its way into history books for years. The majority of the riders were immigrants living on the streets or in crowded orphanages. In some cases, a parent, unable to care for his children, brought them to the orphanage, hoping to give them a better life.

I thought of the countless stories these children and their new families could tell and immediately wanted to put that slice of history in a book. My “what if” moment became the kernel for Adelaide’s story—what if a lonely spinster wanted a child and saw the “orphan train” as her last chance for motherhood?

EG: What do you like the most about your heroine, Adelaide? And your hero, Charles?

JANET DEAN: I like Adelaide’s strength and her strong faith. She isn’t afraid to take a stand. Even to risk everything if necessary to do what’s right. I admire Charles’ readiness to protect the vulnerable and his deep yearning for what he never had—a happy home.

EG: What is your favorite part of COURTING MISS ADELAIDE?

JANET DEAN: If I can pick only one, then it would be the scene near the end of the book between Charles and William, one of the orphans. It’s a precious time of healing for both of them. Writing that scene was emotional for me. I hope readers feel the same.

EG: That was one of my favorite scenes, too. I found it very moving and got really teary.

JANET DEAN: One of the things I love about writing is when others relate to the character’s emotional journey and are touched by my story.

EG: I know your second book is already written and scheduled for publication: COURTING THE DOCTOR'S DAUGHTER, Steeple Hill Love Inspired Historical, May 2009. What are you working on now?

JANET DEAN: I’m working on a proposal for a new series with a different setting. I’m excited to start fresh with new bunch of characters to torture. ;-) I’m also promoting COURTING MISS ADELAIDE. Steeple Hill Love Inspired books are on the shelves for only one month so I’m wasting no time getting the word out.

EG: Congratulations again, Janet, and thanks for joining us here at RWQ.

Folks, Janet is going to give away a signed copy of CMA to one lucky winner from among those who post a comment to her blog between now and Thursday. The winner will be chosen at random Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. EDT.

You can also visit Janet at:
www.janetdean.net
www.janetdean.blogspot.com
www.seekerville.blogspot.com