Charles and Clara Tanner are headed to Cripple Creek, Colorado, this month to visit the landmarks mentioned in my Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek Series. Sweet fans of my fiction, the couple gave me permission to share excerpts from their notes to me.
December 2012
Dear Mrs. Hodgson,
What a blessing the four books on the Sinclair sisters have been to myself and my wife…. We have cried and laugh, but more than anything else we have grown closer together. As we read out loud to each other, it seemed to draw us into the story, as if we were there living in the 1890’s and experiencing exactly what the characters were experiencing. Bringing God into the story along with Bible verses made it even more believable, as well as soul searching for each of us.My wife and I are in our 70’s and we have been Christians all of our life. It has been difficult to find good fictional reading, in fact your book about the Sinclair sisters was the first fiction book I have read as I felt I could never get any value out of them and especially a blessing. … I felt it would be a waste of time reading something that could not add value to my life, but your books gave me as well as my wife new meaning to our lives. Don’t ever stop looking to God for a way to tell the stories in your books because if they have found a way into our hearts and lives, I am sure they have done the same to others.
We have done something that probably few others have done. We have been tracing the historical part of your books dealing with Cripple Creek, Colorado. We got a map of Cripple Creek and have plotted where most of the stories took place and next September we are planning to visit that city and trace out the landmarks or at least try to find where these places might have been, including the Phantom Canyon Road where the train wreck took place in Twice a Bride. I have studied on some of the 1890’s history of Teller County and the surrounding area. We plan on spending a week in this area and see these places firsthand….
As we read, these four books they became a part of us, as if we were there and touched our emotions many times.
It was great reading and we look forward to reading other books pertaining to that time in history that you may have written or might be planning to write in the near future. May God bless you for the joy you have brought us with your writing.
Thank you for all the love you have put into these four books. Both of us wish there were more to come. God Bless you and your writings and thank you for lifting our spirits to a new high.Sincerely,
Charles and Clara Tanner
What a blessing Charles and Clara are to me! And how grateful I am that I use real settings in my fiction and write about actual locations and historical buildings for fans of my stories to visit. I had fun telling Charles where to find Tenderfoot Hill, Maggie’s Café, Miss Hattie’s Boarding House, and other story-related settings.
I so wish I could meet up with Charles and Clara in Cripple Creek this month but, alas, I was there to participate in a Cripple Creek District Museum event just last month and I’m headed to Indianapolis later this week for a conference. The good news is that Mr. Tanner agreed to share with us some highlights from their journey to the home of the fictional Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek.
In the meantime, in celebration of the Tanners’ upcoming adventures in Cripple Creek, I’m hosting a BOOK and MUG GIVEAWAY!
Congratulations to Sally Shoupe, Bonnie Traher, Britney Adams, and Kay M who each won a novel in the Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek Giveaway, and to Angela Chesnut, Shirley Blanchard, and Brittney McEwen who each won a Special Edition Twice a Bride mugs!
Have you ever visited the setting from a favorite novel? Would you, if you could? Which location?
All four Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek novels, now available!
Would you like to read excerpts and watch the book videos and the series trailer?
Click here for Two Brides Too Many.
Click here for Too Rich for a Bride.
Click here for The Bride Wore Blue.
Click here for Twice a Bride.