Find out about the inspiration behind In a Grove of Maples (Sheltering Trees: Book 1) by Jenny Knipfer #HistoricalFiction #ChristianHistoricalFiction #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub @JennyKnipfer @maryanneyarde

 

In a Grove of Maples 

(Sheltering Trees: Book 1)

By Jenny Knipfer

Audio Narrated By Jenn Lee

"... a heartfelt tale of the struggles of married life on a nineteenth-century farm. Edward and Beryl are both relatable and sympathetic. Knipfer expertly captures the emotion and stress of their lives and relationship. It’s a touching and realistic portrayal of love, loss, and friendship." Heather Stockard for Readers’ Favorite five-star review

A HISTORICAL NOVEL OF THE PERILS OF NEWLYWED LIFE AND ALL THAT COMES TO DIVIDE LOVERS

In 1897 newly married Beryl and Edward Massart travel more than one thousand miles from Quebec to farm a plot of land in Wisconsin that they bought sight-unseen. An almost magical grove of maples on their property inspires them to dream of a real home built within the grove, not the tiny log cabin they’ve come to live in. 

Misunderstandings and tempers get the better of them when difficulties and troubles arise. Just months after they wed, Edward leaves pregnant Beryl in the midst of the coming winter to tend the farm and animals while he goes to be a teamster at a northern Wisconsin logging camp. 

Will Beryl and Edward walk into the future together to build their house of dreams in the grove of maples, or will their plans topple like a house of sticks when the winds of misunderstanding and disaster strike?

Readers of Christian historical fiction, Historical fiction, Women’s fiction, and Christian historical romance will be endeared to this slice of late 19th century farm life.

Publication Date: 1st July 2021

Publisher: Jenny Knipfer--Author

Page Length: 264 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian Historical Fiction

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Let me pass you over to Jenny Knipfer to find out about the inspiration behind In a Grove of Maples!

When I finished writing my By the Light of the Moon series, I knew I wanted to go a different direction for my next novel and make it a less intricately woven story and one inspired by family. 

I never knew my dad’s parents. They died years before I entered this world. Being the youngest of six children, and my dad being the second youngest of thirteen siblings, time kept us apart. Factor in that my dad hovered around the age of fifty at my birth. 

So, though my grandparents lived to be in their 90’s I missed getting to know them. 

All I have of them amounts to a few stories my dad told me and two photographs. One of them with a car they purchased in the 1930’s and one of them at my mom and dad’s wedding in the 1950’s.

Even my siblings don’t know that much about them. They were young when our grandparents passed. My brothers helped me fill in a few gaps of missing information, but when we pooled together all we knew, a lot of gaps and questions remained. And when you are young you don’t think about asking your parents about the details of their parents’ lives. I wish I’d asked more questions and listened better. 

I recall my dad telling me how grandma sold eggs to the store and saved her money to purchase special things for himself and his siblings. Out of the few times I saw my father cry, most of those were when he spoke of his mother. He had loved her greatly, and that told me all I needed to know about the kind of person she had been. 
I knew that she stayed home and tended the farm and children in the early years of marriage, so Grandpa could go be a teamster at a logging camp up north in Wisconsin. 

Dad never talked much about his father, but I gathered from what he did tell me that Grandpa had been a hard-working man but prone to temper, once in a while. I like to think that he and Grandma had forged a good life together through the years, despite the challenges.

Armed with a handful of historical facts, I began to wonder and ask myself questions about what the lives of my grandparents may have been like as a newly married couple, buying a farm in Wisconsin, their roots being from Quebec. What could have been their story began to formulate in my mind. Characters took shape and spoke, showing me a story of trials, tested love, heartache, and tragedy with an underlying current that in spite of or perhaps even because of the unforeseen events of life, dreams can come true. I hope readers find that true as they read In a Grove of Maples.

Jenny lives in Wisconsin with her husband, Ken, and their pet Yorkie, Ruby. She is also a mom and loves being a grandma. She enjoys many creative pursuits but finds writing the most fulfilling.

Spending many years as a librarian in a local public library, Jenny recently switched to using her skills as a floral designer in a retail flower shop. She is now retired from work due to disability. Her education background stems from psychology, music, and cultural missions.

She holds membership in the: Midwest Independent Booksellers Association, Wisconsin Writers Association, Christian Indie Publishing Association, and Independent Book Publishers Association.

Jenny’s favorite place to relax is by the western shore of Lake Superior, where her novel series, By The Light of the Moon, is set. A new historical fiction, four-part series entitled, Sheltering Trees, will be released in 2021 and 2022. Jenny is currently writing a novella series entitled, Botanical Seasons. 

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