Hello, everyone! I’m so excited to welcome and introduce today’s guest! I recently had the opportunity to interview Christian Author Heather Wood! I had the pleasure of reading (and loving) Weaving Roots, the first in her Gathering of Mercies series. Earlier this week, the second book in the series released.

First I’d like to share a bit about her latest book, Sowing hope, that just released, then we’ll move on to the interview portion of the post.

Encounter the True Story of Abolitionist Editor Elijah Lovejoy

Patrick Gallagher has done all he can—and it hasn’t been enough. Now in his mid-thirties, he battles discouragement over his inability to make a difference in eradicating slavery. Longing to regain the hope and passion that once fueled his calling, Patrick sets out from his home in Maryland to meet his hero, Elijah Lovejoy, an anti-slavery editor in Missouri.

Anna Markland actively serves her community and those traveling on the Underground Railroad. But her efforts feel small when she is constantly beset by headaches that leave her prostrate for days on end. When the enigmatic Mr. Gallagher enters her life, she discovers their hearts beat with the same dreams. Yet Anna knows that if she allowed him to pursue her, her weakness would hinder him from reaching his potential as an abolitionist leader.

In the free states along his path, Patrick discovers that the Black and abolitionist communities are anything but free. Violent mobs, hateful rhetoric, and spineless politicians create a tinderbox of danger. What will he sacrifice for the cause he’s devoted his life to—and will God finally use him to make the difference he longs to see in society?

Expected Release Day:
September 16, 2025

Genre(s):
Historical Fiction
Christian Fiction

Where to Buy:
// Amazon \\

Other Places To Check It Out:
\\ Goodreads || Bookbub || StoryGraph //

Hello, and welcome to Books Less Travelled! I’m so excited to have you here with us today. First, care to tell us a little about yourself and the stories you write?

I’m Heather Wood, an accidental author of thought-provoking Christian fiction featuring strong faith, tender romance, and real history with an emphasis on true stories of American heroes of the faith.

An accidental author of thought-provoking Christian fiction…I love that, haha. And I suspect you aren’t the only ‘accidental’ author. Honestly, I love everything about this description!

1. When not writing, how do you enjoy spending your time?

As a homeschool mom, I get to spend my days on my couch reading to my kids, which is one of my favorite things in the world. As an extrovert, time with friends fills my cup. As an armchair historian, I love exploring historical sites around my adopted state of Virginia.

Ooo, sounds like you’ve been doubly blessed. I love that you’ve been giving a life that you can enjoy to the fullest.

2.  Did you always have a plan for Patrick’s story or was it something that came together over time? Did discovering the abolitionist editor Elijah Lovejoy and learning about his role in history affect that plan?

Sowing Hope actually came about in the reverse. I’ve been inspired by Elijah Lovejoy for most of my life and have found that he’s generally unknown in the world today. When I began drafting the Gathering of Mercies series, I created a character who could interact with Lovejoy. Patrick is that long-sought after link!

That’s so interesting! I always love hearing about that missing piece finally shows up and everything fits into place.

3. What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned while researching for a book?

I have learned so many crazy interesting things, and they can’t always fit into the book’s plot. My favorites are when something clicks when reading a research book and I realize, “ooooh, that’s why we are the way we are today! This idea/business/product started HERE.” As a native Chicagoan, I loved learning about Chicago at the time of the Great Fire for Until the Light Breaks Through – there were a million interesting little tidbits that I could talk about for hours, but I loved making connections of gospel songwriters who lived in the area at the time, and the advent of department stores was fascinating. In addition, the entire story of the abolitionists and free Black community in Sowing Hope is absolutely nuts, but I don’t want to give away spoilers.

Oooh, I bet you find all sorts of fun tidbits along the way! History is so fascinating, but I have to agree that finding out the where/why/how things came to be and where they came from is always super interesting!

4. What type of scenes do you find are the hardest for you to write? Which scenes are your favorite to write? Why?

I love to write scenes where the whole family is together and interacting and each sibling’s personality comes out. The hardest are the “filler” scenes where you have to get the character from Point A to Point B and there’s no readily interesting way to transition them.

Good point. I love the family scenes too! I don’t often hear them talked about, but they are usually some of my favorites scenes in a story. On the flip-side, I have heard of a few authors who said that transitions can be difficult, and it makes sense. They really are more ‘filler’ but also necessary, which makes things a little harder. Especially if you’re an author that already has the bigger scenes planned out or written ahead. I think as humans, we always want to jump the the ‘fun stuff’ (like as children when wanting dessert, but being told we have to eat our veggies and clean the plate first, lol). It just seems to be a normal part of how we work.

5.  What is your favorite thing about being an author?

I love researching, and honestly just the writing, when the story is flowing and I’m in the groove.

6.  Thoughts on audiobooks: Is it really reading?
And where can readers find your stories in audio if they wanted to?

I don’t want to lose readers over this, but it depends on the definition of reading! Reading a page and listening to an audiobook use different parts of the brain and each builds different valuable skills, so they’re technically not the same thing.

If reading just means intaking a story then yeah, they’re the same. Three of my books are on audio, and you can find them on Audible’s Plus library.

Hmm, good point! I tend to agree. As far as knowing the characters and story, yeah you can experience that with either, but in other ways they are also different. I used to read the books first, then go back and listen to my favorites. It’s been a while, but I would love to get back into listening to audiobooks again. 🙂

7.  Where is your preferred place to write?

I usually write on the couch after the kids are in bed.

8. Where is a historical site that you’d really like to visit?

I’m looking forward to visiting the Harriet Beecher Stowe house in Cincinnati next week. I didn’t have time when I last drove through the Queen City of the West.

Oh! That sounds like fun. The name sounded familiar but I had to look her up. I’ve probably heard of her from Uncle Tom’s Cabin, but also remember seeing her picture around. I hope you have a wonderful time on your trip!

9.  Is there a historical time period you would like to set a story in that you haven’t yet?

I’d like to get back to Chicago in my writing and am looking forward to exploring the 1880s and the next generation of my characters from the Finding Home series at the time of the Haymarket Riots.

Oh, nice! I love how you feature lesser known or talked about times, people, and events in your stories. I know the Chicago fires are fairly well known, but haven’t heard of many other stories featuring Chicago’s history. (I did recently find one about the Pullman Company, although I forget what year it was set in.)

10. What makes a good story? 

You have to have characters that people want to spend time with. Not sugary sweet, but people you could see yourself being friends with. 

There has to be a connection that’s relevant to today, a lesson that we all can relate to. As a Christian writer, to me, that’s Jesus. I write from the belief that everyone benefits from being reminded of the gospel regularly.

If you have those two things and drop them into any point in history, the real history will do the rest. It’s so much stranger than fiction.

So true!

11. What originally drew your attention to the time-period you chose for the Gathering of Mercies series? Has your perspective of history and events during that time-period changed any now that you’ve researched and published the second book in the series?

I was stuck with this era when I decided to write the story of the parents from the Finding Home series. The dates were therefore all predetermined, and it was just up to me to find out what God was doing in that era and write about it.

Yes, my perspective on the 1820s and 30s has absolutely changed, foremost because I knew precious little about America during this time period before I started. Probably the biggest surprise was how secular it was – three in eight went to church, and that went up to about four in eight during the Second Great Awakening. I learned that all the stuffy ideas of the later Victorians weren’t around yet. Which led to learning that the stuffy ideas of the Victorians had far more to do with what was being published in an attempt to reform society than a reflection of what society was actually like.

Interesting! I had heard about the Second Great Awakening, and it makes sense that it was a largely secular time, but hadn’t really heard it described like that. I feel in a way we’ve sort of slipped back into that sort of mentality even today, which makes learning about in history all the more relevant and eye-opening, I’d think.

12. What is a piece of advice that you’ve found helpful as an author?

A recent one is when Jaime Jo Wright told my friends and me that God never uses discouragement to speak to His people and redirect them away from a work. So when you’re feeling discouraged is not the time to decide that God isn’t in it and to quit. That was actually incredibly helpful.

Oh, that’s wonderful advice! It’s very true, and definitely a good piece of advice to remember. Thanks for sharing that!

I hope you all enjoyed this delightful interview as much as I did. I had to much fun getting to talk to Heather and reading her responses. If you haven’t read any of her books yet, I highly recommend Weaving Roots, and look forward to reading Sowing Hope!

If you want to know more about Heather Wood and her books, or if you are looking for more ways to support her and her stories, be sure to follow her on social media, signup for her newsletter, or subscribe to her blog!

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book cover for Weaving Roots by Heather Wood

Heather Wood grew up in the Chicago suburbs, loving history, classic literature, writing stories, and Civil War reenacting. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree in Bible/Theology from Appalachian Bible College, she settled in Virginia with her husband David. Her early passions fuel her writing today, although she spends most of her days now working to infuse her love for God and good literature into the hearts of her four small children.

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