Beyond All Measure

Today, I get to review Beyond All Measure by Dorothy Love.

Beyond All Measure by Dorothy Love puts a historical spin on a “fish out of water” plot. Ada Wentworth had no idea what she was getting herself into when she applied to be a lady’s companion in the small town of Hickory Ridge, Tennessee. Living in Boston and wanting to leave ghosts behind and start fresh she figures, what trouble could a small town in Tennessee have? Boy, was she surprised! From her first hour in her new hometown, nothing went as planned. The woman who was her contact did not show to pick her up at the train station, leaving her to ride with the handsome, Wyatt Caldwell. Romance does not fit in Ada’s plan. She is just trying to take a break, heal from her broken heart and make enough money to start her own hat shop. That’s all. Once again, her plans do not go, well, as planned. Dorothy Love does a fantastic job of bringing her characters to life and weaving not only the main plot line, but the sub plot lines gracefully together to form a wonderful story. With minor characters that make you want to come back to Hickory Ridge again and again, Beyond All Measure is a great starting off point for her series.

Doesn’t she have the BEST name for a historical romance writer? I love it! I was super blessed to get to ask Dorothy a few questions, I tried to come up with questions that were a bit different from the usual author interview questions. I wanted to see more of what made Dorothy Love tick as an author more than talk about the book. Here is my short, but sweet interview with Dorothy Love:

1- How old were you when you “knew” you wanted to be an author?
I was nine years old and in third grade when a teacher encouraged me to write stories. I got so excited I started writing one right in the middle of social studies class. Consequently I was on the wrong page when the teacher called on me to read aloud. She made me copy out, in cursive, the entire chapter of the social studies book as a reminder to pay attention. But even that did not deter me; I’ve loved stories and storytelling all my life.

2- About how long did the process take to go from wanna be writer to published author? Was it smooth sailing?
I came to fiction writing from a journalism background and paid the bills by freelancing for magazines while I learned how to write a novel. I began writing for children and young adults, and after five years of rejections, sold my first novel to Holiday House, a small independent publisher of children’s books in New York. I went on to write five or six novels for them before moving to Simon and Schuster. In 2010, I made the move to writing for adult readers of inspirational fiction at Thomas Nelson.
Like most other authors, I weathered a lot of rejections before getting that first contract. It was mostly smooth sailing, once I got past the beginner’s Sea of Rejection.

3- Tell us about the first time you saw one of your books on a shelf either in a store, a library or if you have been out and about and noticed someone reading one of your books.

I remember it as distinctly as if it were yesterday. It was the summer of 1996 and my first book for Holiday House had just been published. I was on vacation in Charleston, South Carolina with my husband and we went into the Books a Million at the mall. I made a beeline for the shelves….and there it was. I tried not to cause a scene that might get me arrested, but I was very very excited. It was the best feeling after so many months of revisions, galleys, and cover art discussions. Beyond All Measure was my fourteenth or fifteenth book and when I saw it on the shelf of a local Barnes and Noble back in July, I had that same feeling all over again. It’s such a thrill every time.

4- On your blog you have a recipe for Red Velvet Cake, other than Carrot Cake, Red Velvet is my favorite. Is this your favorite flavor of baked goodness?
Oh yes, anything with chocolate. When we lived in California I discovered the dark chocolate muffins at Costco. They are huge, moist, rich…studded with chocolate chips. There is no telling how many calories are in one of them, but they are totally irresistible.

5- How did you make the jump from YA fiction to adult fiction? Which is more challenging?
After 15 years in the YA/ children’s market, I wanted to write more complex books free from the dark, graphic, so called “edginess” that seems to be in such favor right now. I believe stories should appeal to our better natures, and should always offer hope. I wanted to indulge my passion for Southern history while telling stories that I hope will lift readers up and offer an oasis of wholesomeness amid all the dark stories out there. I queried an agent who specializes in the inspirational market and she agreed to represent my proposal for a series of historical romances set in the Cade’s Cove area of the Great Smokies. This series was sold to Thomas Nelson as the Hickory Ridge romances. The first novel, BEYOND ALL MEASURE was published in June.

I think the markets are equally challenging. In YA, it’s all about getting the teenage voice exactly right, mining those adolescent emotions we all remember, and telling the story in first person. Adult fiction is more challenging in terms of plotting and in developing themes complex enough to carry an 85,000 to 100,000 word novel. And in inspirational fiction there is the added challenge of incorporating a spiritual element into the story in a way that feels organic to the plot and to the characters.

6- Lastly, if you could live anywhere you have been in your travels, where would it be?
I’m a beach girl through and through. Many of my travels have been to some of the best beaches in the world. Bermuda, the Caribbean, Hawaii are all favorites. But the place that keeps calling me back is Kiawah Island, South Carolina. There is something about the Carolina low county that once it grabs hold of your heart just won’t let go. My dream house is a little sea-weathered cottage there, or nearby. Folly Beach, Sullivan’s Island, Wild Dunes…I could happily call any of them home. I hope one day I will.

Beyond All Measure
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (May 31, 2011)

Unless she can trust God’s love to cast out her fears, Ada may lose the heart of a good man.
Ada Wentworth, a young Bostonian, journeys to Hickory Ridge, Tennessee, in the years following the Civil War. Alone and nearly penniless following a broken engagement, Ada accepts a position as a lady’s companion to the elderly Lillian Willis, a pillar of the community and aunt to the local lumber mill owner, Wyatt Caldwell. Ada intends to use her millinery skills to establish a hat shop and secure her future.

Haunted by unanswered questions from her life in Boston, Ada is most drawn to two townsfolks: Wyatt, a Texan with big plans of his own, and Sophie, a mulatto girl who resides at the Hickory Ridge orphanage. Ada’s friendship with Sophia attracts the attention of a group of locals seeking to displace the residents of Two Creeks, a “colored” settlement on the edge of town. As tensions rise, Ada is threatened but refuses to abandon her plan to help the girl.

When Lillian dies, Ada is left without employment or a place to call home. And since Wyatt’s primary purpose for staying in Hickory Ridge was to watch over his aunt, he can now pursue his dream of owning Longhorns in his home state of Texas.

With their feelings for each other growing, Ada must decide whether she can trust God with her future and Wyatt with her heart.

About the Author:

A native of west Tennessee, Dorothy Love makes her home in the Texas hill country with her husband and their two golden retrievers. An accomplished author in the secular market, Dorothy makes her debut in Christian fiction with the Hickory Ridge novels. Hometown: San Antonio, Texas.