Welcome Kimberley Woodhouse!

by

Hey, y’all! I’m super excited to be with you today. Not only is this one of my favorite blogs, but two of my favorite people are here – Karen Witemeyer and Mary Connealy. (Waving at you two!)

Today, I’d love to share an excerpt from A Mark of Grace, book three in my Secrets of the Canyon series from Bethany House Publishers. My readers have been begging for Ruth’s story and it’s finally here.

A little background: Ruth Anniston has been a Harvey Girl for a long time. Since the El Tovar opened on the rim of the Grand Canyon in 1905, she’s been the head waitress there. But a tragic and horrifying accident with a mountain lion (which took place near the end of A Gem of Truth – book two), has left her injured. But not just physically. Every aspect of her world—professional, physical, emotional, spiritual—has been upended and she’s struggling. Big time.

The series has been so much fun to write. The Grand Canyon, the historic El Tovar, the Harvey Girls, and the still-untamed-remote-West. I hope you enjoy this little snippet from the Prologue of A Mark of Grace. (And don’t forget to check out the giveaway details below.)

 

1907

Thirteen years later

El Tovar Hotel, Grand Canyon

“You’re such a pretty young lady, Ruth. Don’t sell yourself

short.”

Pretty young lady. As the memories of the past washed over her, Ruth couldn’t believe how many years had rolled by since that day.

But now look at her. No longer did she have a pretty face. No longer was she young and eligible. Had she let her stubborn pride get in the way? Was she destined to be alone forever?

At this moment, the mirror across the room was the worst villain she could ever imagine.

The more Ruth thought about it, the more she wanted to throw something at it and make it shatter into pieces. But she wouldn’t do that. Couldn’t do that.

Because she was a Harvey Girl.

The head waitress.

In control at all times.

An example to all the girls under her. Mother hen. Mentor. Friend.

She couldn’t allow herself to lose all command of her faculties just because her world would never be the same again. This had been her dream.

Even though she now faced the nightmare before her.

Ruth gingerly patted the bandage on her cheek. Lord, give me strength to handle whatever comes. She’d repeated the prayer too many times to count as she waited for the doctor to arrive.

She wasn’t a vain woman. At least she hadn’t been before a mountain lion mauled her face. Had she? Now she spent an agonizing amount of time consumed with her appearance and how it affected her future.

She was thirty-two—almost thirty-three. A veritable spinster. If she couldn’t work, what was she to do? Where could

she go? Working as a Harvey Girl had been her entire adult

life. It had brought her so much satisfaction. Hopefully, she’d brought God glory through it all. And even when she was younger and struggled when all the other girls were getting married and settling down, the Lord had given her peace.

Now she was the head waitress at the crown jewel of the Harvey Empire—an accomplishment she’d worked hard to obtain. It was all she’d ever wanted after donning her first black-and-white uniform. And after a year on the job, it had been easy to think she still had plenty of time for God to bring the right man into her life. She’d been completely content.

Being a Harvey Girl was the perfect job for her. More to the point, it was the only job she knew. What if she couldn’t do it anymore? Harvey Girls made people feel comfortable. They were trained to be efficient. Pleasant. And spotless.

Without blemish, as the Bible verse went. Her soul might be spotless before the Lord, but people were far less forgiving than He. And she was no longer without blemish . . .

Mr. Owens had bent the stringent Harvey rules for Emma Grace in her time of need. Surely he would do the same for her. Only, Emma Grace could still do her job. Ruth couldn’t.

Not to the Harvey standard. Her leg would take a long time to heal. And she’d probably always walk with a limp. But that wouldn’t be as visible as her face. She closed her eyes.

What would she look like?

Reaching up with her right hand, she covered the bandaged area of her face. And for a moment, she looked normal again.

Lord, give me strength to handle whatever comes.

Against the doctor’s orders, Ruth began to peel back the edge of the bandage. She stepped close to the mirror, hoping the damage was far less than she feared…

I’m going to give away three paperback copies of A Mark of Grace to three wonderful readers. All you have to do is comment with answers to these questions: Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon? If so, what was your favorite spot? If not, is it on your bucket list?

Until next time, keep on reading!

Kimberley

+ posts

79 thoughts on “Welcome Kimberley Woodhouse!”

  4. Luckily, I’ve visited The North Rim twice. Loved the north woods vibe! Lots of trees and deer. The Grand Lodge is beautiful and the view is incredible!
    Favorite thing to do was the scenic drive with numerous outlook stops along the way, Cape Royal Drive.
    Bright Angel Point is a short trail from the lodge and then you can go back and take a trail along the rim the other way. Not strenuous! They have a Night Sky program too. Stars cover the sky! It’s amazing what we miss due to lighting.
    It’s also less busy/ crowded here.

  5. I’m very sad to say that I lived in Tucson, AZ for 18 years (until I was 20), and never once did we go to the Grand Canyon. Not sure of the exact reason why, whether it was the cost or the crowds. Then I got married and we moved across the country. I’m hopeful someday we’ll get back there to see it.

  6. Yes – my husband and I enjoyed our visit immensely! While we were there a lightning storm moved in and poured rain and actually it sleeted for a while as well. We camped in one of the campgrounds and enjoyed listening to people from various walks of life talk about their adventures. You are a new author to me and I enjoyed learning about your book series. Thanks for coming and sharing today.

    • Thank you so much! I love that you were able to see a lightning storm there – that’s one of my favorite things I saw there as well. That, and a blizzard that moved in and all of a sudden, you couldn’t even tell the Canyon was there!

  10. Yes, I have been to the south rim. My husband has hiked down a couple times including when he was 5. I think it’s beautiful.

  11. We have visited the southern rim and the northern rim of the Grand Canyon and I thought the northern rim was the prettiest but all in all, it is an amazing place to visit.

  12. So fun to have you here today, Kim! I love the Grand Canyon. It simply takes my breath away. My husband and I visited as part of our honeymoon trip (driving from California where we got married back to Texas). I remember we hiked a mile or so down into the canyon then got rained on as we hiked back out. We were covered in red mud, but we loved every minute of it. 🙂

  14. I have never been to the Grand Canyon. I would love to go, if I can find a friend to go with me. That would be a great trip.

  18. My family and I went to the Grand Canyon when we went to Las Vegas. It was so beautiful!! My husband just commented last night how he would like to go back to visit again.

  21. We’ve never been and it has been on our bucket list. Unfortunately age is making things difficult and we don’t travel much anymore. The Harvey Girls has always seemed interesting to us. We’re going to have to do some research as the excerpt peeked our curiosity.

  23. I’ve been to the Grand Canyon twice – once on our honeymoon and then again when my husband and I took our son when he was 5. It’s amazing. I loved visiting El Tovar and eating lunch there both times.

  24. Yes, I have been to the Grand Canyon. I do not recall the name of the spot we stopped at but the scenic display is beautiful and breath taking. It is hard to imagine the bottom of the canyon is at least 3 miles distant from where you are viewing it. If we would have had the time, the tour to the bottom would have been very worth the while. I still can tell you all, being in Arizona and seeing the variance in the topographical landscape is something everyone should get the chance to see. We stayed in Flagstaff and fell in love with the area. It was in June or July and we drove in from Kentucky wearing shorts, only to see the snowfall in the distance and upon arriving in Flagstaff there were about 2-3 inches on the ground and it was still falling. We had not come prepared for this wonder. Thank GOD for the Walmart just a block away. The memories will warm me for many years to come. We did not visit any restaurant there, however.

  26. Good morning, yes I have been to the Grand Canyon, and what I saw was spectacular, I loved it ! My husband and I went there and took our then 2 now adult children when they were very young. Your book cover is Beautiful! and your book sounds like a Great read! Have a great weekend.

  27. I’ve actually been to the Grand Canyon only once probably about 30 years ago or more now & all I remember is standing at the edge looking down & not seeing anything due to the heavy fog & cold. I’ve seen pictures of how beautiful it actually is & might like to go back & see what I missed.

  28. I haven’t been to the Grand Canyon, but I want to go! It’s definitely on my bucket list! I will NOT be going on the glass overlook, though!!

  29. I have only seen the Grand Canyon from the air. The captain tipped the plane slightly to give us a better view.

    I have been to other canyons in Nevada.

  30. Yes! I love it! My parents did that hike where you hike down and back, and camp at the bottom. It sounds like it was tough. I don’t know if I would do that! But I do want to go back sometime.

  31. I have been to the Canyon many times during the year. i live in Arizona, so not a problem getting there.
    I have seen it in winter when it is cloaked in snow, I have seen it on cloudy days, and in the spring when it is bright and sunny. it is ever-changing in its appearance.
    The depth of it, the striations on the canyon walls, and the different colors that are revealed are amazing.
    Should be a must for everyone to visit.

  33. No, I have never been to the Grand Canyon, but I enjoy seeing it via photos and reading about it. Grateful for books so I can be an “armchair traveler.”

  36. welcome today. thanks for sharing about the book. sounds like a page turner. yes I have been to the Grand Canyon many times. I grew up in CA and once a year we would go to different parts of the Canyon. My favorite time and place was when my dads parents joined us and we went way up north. we stayed in a log cabin and got to go for miles along the canyon among the pines. it was breathtaking. I would love to take my husband there some day. quilting dash lady at comcast dot net

  37. Hi Kimberley, No, I have never been to the Grand Canyon, but; the pics I have seen of it are Awesome. Yes, I would love to see it. I really enjoyed, Yosemite National Park, all the huge trees & El Capitan. Your book sounds like one I must add to my TBR list. Thanks, for the chance to win a copy.

  38. We have been to the Grand Canyon twice. However we really didn’t get much of a chance to see much. We had our elderly aunt with us on one trip, and it turned out to be a quick one. Pull into an overlook, get out & look, hop back in and drive to the next overlook. We took our children and it was a little better but we still didn’t see as much as we wanted. Our son was a baby on a backpack and the girls in maybe 4th and 5th grade. We started down Bright Angel Trail but about an hour in our oldest got sick. She had an alergic reaction to some medicine she was on. We turned back. My husband, son, and other daughter didn’t take long to get back up. The two of us took much longer. That cut that visit short. We were scheduled to go back again about 5 years ago, but a family emergency called us home before we got there. We hope to get back out West in the next year or two. I hope this time the 2 of us get to take our time and really get to see as much as possible.

Comments are closed.