For today’s Sunday Dinner author interview, I’m here to talk about Escape with the Prodigal, a Christian Historical Romance Christmas novella.

Danielle Grandinetti is an inspirational romance author fueled by tea and books, and the occasional nature walk. An award-winning author and FHLCW Reader’s Choice Finalist, her stories span from the Great Depression to present day. Originally from the Chicagoland area, she now lives along Lake Michigan’s Wisconsin shoreline with her husband and their two young sons. Find her online at daniellegrandinetti.com.

Sunday Dinner is a traditional (noon) meal served after church on Sundays. Whole families, including extended family, would gather over a large meal to celebrate a day of rest. Multiple cultures enjoy this Sunday Dinner tradition. In my experience, I know it from both my Midwestern farm family as well as my Italian-American family. Now, I’d like to bring Sunday Dinner virtually to you. So, pull up a chair as we invite various guests to join us each week!

This or That Quick Takes

*Author’s choice is in bold.

Ten Questions

Tell us something interesting readers would enjoy learning about you.

I love snow, so I especially love writing stories where snow plays a factor. Like this one!

Can you tell us about your latest novel?

Only a Christmas miracle will save an unwed mother and the lumberjack protecting her.

Wisconsin, 1930—Since her late fiancé was killed in a supposed logging accident, Meredith Hughes knows her only safe choice is to keep her unexpected pregnancy hidden, especially from her father. But Supervisor Emyr Hughes, demands his daughter remain at the logging camp with him through the winter, leaving Meri at his mercy.

Patrick Martins has no interest in responsibility and going up to the lumber camp is a chance to get away from Crow’s Nest and his hovering grandmother, nosy great-uncle, and drunk of a father. If only his older brother wasn’t at the camp, too.

Though Patrick doesn’t expect to be taken with his boss’s daughter, when Meri’s volatile father learns of her pregnancy, Patrick refuses to let harm come to Meri and her unborn child, even if he has to sacrifice his life and that of his brother in order to save her.

Welcome to Crow’s Nest, where danger and romance meet at the water’s edge.

Escape with the Prodigal is the third book in the Harbored in Crow’s Nest historical romantic suspense series. It originally released as part of Holiday Menace, a 10-novella Christian romantic suspense Christmas e-book collection.

In what city is your story set and why did you choose to set your novel there?

Escape with the Prodigal is set in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. I set the story there because that is where the lumber camps operated at the time.

Describe your setting.

Picture snowy pines and you’ll get a feel for the setting.

What research was required to set a book there?

A special thank you to my Uncle David and Aunt Lois for sharing their expertise and Wisconsin lumber camp history, including stories of my grandfather.

Between the Crash of 1929 and the over-deforestation during Wisconsin’s lumber heyday, most lumber companies either moved west or went bankrupt in the 1920s. Those that struggled on to the end of the decade found small pockets of trees, often far from the water and railways they usually used to transport the lumber.

As far as I could ascertain, the last functioning camp occurred during the winter of 1929. Though Escape with the Prodigal takes place the following year, I felt it feasible that a small lumber company could attempt one last desperate year in the Northwoods, especially if the owner employed the newer technique of replanting trees—something the Civilian Conservation Corps did once President Roosevelt instituted the organization in 1933, thus revitalizing the Northwoods to be as we know them today.

What does a day in the life of one of your characters look like?

Lumber camp work was hard and dangerous. Because it was often wintertime work, the camps could be cutoff from the outside world. As I mentioned before, by 1930, most camps had moved out of state, which means those who where left worked in even more remote places. They would pack down the snow and create ice roads for the horses to pull sleds laden with logs to the trains that would take them to the mills.

Then there were the widowmakers – the trees that would get hung up in the other trees. If one of these fell, it could crush whoever was underneath it, so it was imperative to get them loose. However, doing so, meant climbing up to hack it free. Not the safest job either. Especially in such remote conditions.

Were resources easy or difficult to find on these topics?

Thanks to my uncle and aunt, resources were easier to find than it could have been. And the research was fascinating!

What is one piece of your research that you couldn’t include in the book, but wish readers could know?

I wish I could have delved more into the technique of replanting trees, but since the Civilian Conservation Corps didn’t begin until 1933, the timing was off to do so.

Do you have another book in the works? What can you tell us about that book?

Of course! The next book in the Harbored in Crow’s Nest series releases on February 20. Relying on the Enemy is available for preorder here.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?

If you haven’t read the Harbored in Crow’s Nest series, Escape with the Prodigal is a great introduction, even though it is book three. However, if you’d like to appreciate the stakes even more, then you’ll want to read book 1, Confessions to a Stranger, first.

The Wrap-Up

The afternoon is slipping away, so we have to draw the stories to an end. Thank you for joining us today!

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If readers would like to purchase a copy of your book, where might they be able to do so?

Amazon | Direct from the Author | Goodreads

If readers would like to learn about you or your other books, how might they find you online?

Website | Amazon | BookBub

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Question for Readers

*Answer in the Comments!

If you had to live in an isolated wood for the winter months, what three things would you bring with you?

Over Sunday Dinner next week, author Cindy Stewart will be joining us. See you then!

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