Author Interview with Jody Hedlund

I’d like to welcome Jody Hedlund to the blog today in celebration of her new release, Together Forever!

Marianne Neumann has one goal in life: to find her lost younger sister, Sophie. When Marianne takes a job as a placing agent with the Children’s Aid Society in 1858 New York, she not only hopes to give children a better life but seeks to discover whether Sophie ended up leaving the city on an orphan train.

Andrew Brady, her fellow agent on her first placing trip, is a former schoolteacher who has an easy way with the children–firm but tender and funny. Underneath his handsome charm, though, seems to linger a grief that won’t go away–and a secret from his past that he keeps hidden. As the two team up placing orphans amid small railroad towns in Illinois, they find themselves growing ever closer . . . until a shocking tragedy threatens to upend all their work and change one of their lives forever.

What is the inspiration behind your orphan train series?

I have long been fascinated by the era of the Orphan Trains and the heart-wrenching stories of the homeless and helpless young orphans that were taken from the streets of New York City and other eastern cities and shipped west by the dozens. I was familiar with stories of those scared orphans who were placed out in what was thought to be a more wholesome, healthy environment of the newly settled Mid-Western states. Some of the orphans found happy endings and were adopted into loving families. Others experienced great abuse and heartache in their new homes.

While stories of the orphans who rode the trains have been told—and rightly so—the stories of the women who were involved in the movement are not as well known. One of the things I particularly like to do when telling my stories, is focus on women who have been overlooked by the pages of history. I consider it a great privilege to be able to bring forgotten women to life for our modern generation. Thus, throughout this series, I’ll be focusing each book on a different aspect of the Orphan Train movement, particularly from the perspective of women who experienced riding the trains in one form or another.

How did you come up with the idea for the second book in the series, Together Forever?

Since the first book in the series centers around the jobless and homeless adult women who rode the orphan trains, I decided for this second book to show the orphan train experience through the eyes of placing agents who worked for the Children’s Aid Society.

The Children’s Aid Society (CAS), started by Charles Loring Brace, was the major placing organization of orphans in New York City from its inception in 1853 well into the twentieth century. CAS hired numerous ministers, single men and women, as well as married couples, to escort orphans from the east to their new homes in the west. The agents spent weeks and months on the road caring for the children, all the while trying to place them in loving homes.

Thus the main characters for Together Forever take on the role of the placing agents, giving readers a glimpse into the lives of these dedicated men and women who wanted to make a difference to the many homeless children living on the streets of NYC.

You make the conditions of New York City and the orphans sound so bleak. Was it really as bad as you portray in your books?

It’s hard to believe, but an estimated 30,000 homeless children really did roam the dirty city streets and alleys of New York City in the 1850’s.

30,000. Children. Let that sink in for a minute. That’s the size of a town.

Historians look back on that time and try to make sense what led to such horrific conditions for children. The influx of immigrants was at an all time high. The financial disaster of 1857 caused even more problems. Jobs and housing were scarce. Diseases were rampant. Hunger and poverty became a norm.

What do you hope readers take away from Together Forever?

I pray that in reading this story, not only will readers gain greater insights and a different perspective of the orphan train movement, but that they will also be encouraged to know God is present in their weakest moments.

He doesn’t necessarily promise to give us the courage of a lion or to make everything perfect. But He does promise that His strength is available and that His power will rest upon us. Perhaps that strength will be just enough to get out of bed for another difficult day. Or perhaps it will be just enough to face the illness or hurt or heartache we bear.

We can rest assured it will always be just enough. His strength is made perfect in our weakness.

Together Forever is the second book you’ve released in 2018. How many other books are slated for publication this year?

This year, I’ll have a total of four books releasing. The first book, A Loyal Heart, released in March. It’s part of my young adult medieval romance series that started several years ago. I’ll be finishing this particular series with a final book in the fall.

Then in addition to Together Forever, the next book in the orphan train series, Searching For You, releases in December. The original plan for publication was next June, but when my publisher asked if I could turn it in for an earlier release, I decided why not? Then readers won’t have to wait quite as long to find out what happens next!

What are you working on next?

I’m in the editing phase of the third and final book in the orphan train series, Searching For You, which releases in December. It wraps up the story of the Neumann sisters by finally giving long-lost Sophie her happily-ever-after. I don’t want to give too much away, but I can tell you that Reinhold Weiss also has a major role in helping Sophie as she struggles to make a new life for herself.

Do you have any parting words?

I love hearing from readers! Make sure you stop by one of these places and say hello!

I hang out on Facebook here: Author Jody Hedlund

I also love to chat on Twitter: @JodyHedlund

My home base is at my website: jodyhedlund.com

Find me on Instagram: instagram.com/jodyhedlund/

Come pin with me on Pinterest: pinterest.com/jodyhedlund/pins/

Thank you, Jody, for spending time with us today. I really enjoyed Together Forever and look forward to sharing the review on my blog!

You can read my review of Together Forever on the blog tomorrow!

Posted By: Kristin Filed Under: Bookish Things Tagged With: author interview, Jody Hedlund