Author Interview (and a Giveaway!): Rachel Fordham & Where the Road Bends

Delighted today to chat with Rachel Fordham about her new historical romance, Where the Road Bends!

Rachel Fordham is the author of The Hope of Azure Springs, Yours Truly, Thomas, and A Life Once Dreamed. Fans expect stories with heart and she delivers, diving deep into the human experience and tugging at reader emotions. She loves connecting with people, traveling to new places, and daydreaming about future projects that will have sigh-worthy endings and memorable characters. She is a busy mom, raising both biological and foster children (a cause she feels passionate about). She lives with her husband and children on an island in the state of Washington.

You can connect with Rachel on her website, Facebook, and Instagram.

WHERE THE ROAD BENDS by Rachel Fordham
GENRE: Inspirational Historical Romance
PUBLISHER: Revell
RELEASE DATE: June 7, 2022
PAGES: 336

As Norah King surveys her family land in Iowa in 1880, she is acutely aware that it is all she has left, and she will do everything in her power to save it–even if that means marrying a man she hardly knows. Days before her wedding, Norah discovers an injured man on her property. Her sense of duty compels her to take him in and nurse him back to health. Little does she realize just how much this act of kindness will complicate her life and threaten the future she’s planned.

Norah’s care does more than aid Quincy Barnes’s recovery–it awakens his heart to possibilities. Penniless and homeless, he knows the most honorable thing he can do is head on down the road and leave Norah to marry her intended. But walking away from the first person to believe in him proves much harder than he imagined.

Rachel Fordham invites you to experience the strength and beauty of love forged in the crucible of hardship in this heartwarming story.

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Hi Rachel! Welcome back to the blog!

Rachel: Apples! I had a few apple trees on my property growing up and still love a tart, crisp apple.

Carrie: i want apple trees!

Rachel: I could have music on all day long and not get sick of it. When I’m feeling off the right song is the perfect reset. The right song makes me want to dance. I really feel like music speaks to my soul.

Carrie: yes! me too 🙂

Rachel: I have a houseful of kids. I am just happy if the toilet paper roll is replaced. The bar is low around here!

Carrie: hahaha

Rachel: I’m a water girl! When I’m thirsty I don’t want to sip on anything, I want to guzzle.

Carrie: Nothing better than a good guzzle of cold water (or milk or juice or lemonade or – for me – diet coke) when you’re thirsty 🙂

Q: Which books are “on your nightstand”?

Rachel: I have a huge stack on my night stand right now. Nichole Deese’s most recent book is waiting for me, but first I have to finish the Spice King by Elizabeth Camden that I am loving and almost finished with. Wow, she is great at writing a scene and making her stories rich with history!

Carrie: ooo two of my fave authors – yay!

Q: Characters often find themselves in situations they aren’t sure they can get themselves out of. When was the last time you found yourself in a situation that was hard to get out of and what did you do?

Rachel: This one isn’t recent at all, but it’s what jumped to my mind. When I only had two kids (a long time ago) and they were both little. I had them in the car and we were three blocks from our house in Buffalo, New York (my husband was in dental school) and I was dropping one letter in a blue mailbox in the middle of a snowstorm.

It was freezing, but I was only popping a letter in the mailbox so no coat for me. I somehow locked the car with both kids inside of it. They had the heat on and were fine, but I was stuck outside. I tried to talk them through unbuckling their car seats but they couldn’t do it. I was so close to home, but couldn’t leave them. I still didn’t own a cell phone (pretty sure I was one of the last people on the planet to get one).

It was awful.

I finally flagged a stranger down (who must of thought I was nuts) and begged him to let me use his phone. I called 911 because I couldn’t think of anyone else to call and they sent the police who helped me pick the locks.

My retelling didn’t do it justice, it was a pretty horrible couple hours!

Carrie: oh no!!! That does sound horrible :-/

Q: Which of your main characters in Where the Road Bends is most like you?

Rachel: I hope that I have some of Norah’s optimism. She faces some incredibly hard things in this book and somehow has the strength to keep going. I haven’t faced what she has, but life has thrown us some big curve balls and even though I might struggle, I try to always keep going.

Carrie: she sounds like an inspiration!

Q: Some authors like to hide little things in their stories. Is there anything you have hidden in Where the Road Bends?

Rachel: I LOVE hiding things in my books. Some of the “Easter eggs” are for specific people, but some are for my readers. This book has nods to all my previous books!

Carrie: oh yay! how fun!

Q: What do you most want readers to take away from Where the Road Bends?

Rachel: I hope readers close this with a happy sigh, and feel completely entertained. I also hope they pause before judging someone and deciding they could never change.  I would love it if they would think about how we’ve all had bends in our road, but with the right love and help we can have a great future.

Carrie: i love that. yes.

Thank you so much for taking time to talk with me! 🙂 Before we say goodbye for today, tell us what‘s coming up next for you.

Rachel: I have a lot of projects in the works, and a lot of question marks about how these books will come out and when. I have two historicals I hope readers get to dive into someday (one is loosely based on Beauty and the Beast and the other has a bit of a You’ve Got Mail Vibe) and I have a contemporary story that touches on foster care (which is super dear to my heart).

Revell is offering a print copy of Where the Road Bends by Rachel Fordham to TWO of my readers! (US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What makes you want to read Where the Road Bends by Rachel Fordham?