About the Book

Book: Maeve’s Pledge

Author: Linda Shenton Matchett

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: March 21, 2023

Pledges can’t be broken, can they?

Finally, out from under her father’s tyrannical thumb, Maeve Wycliffe can live life on her terms. So what if everyone sees her as a spinster to be pitied. She’ll funnel her energies into what matters most: helping the less fortunate and getting women the right to vote. When she’s forced to team up with the local newspaper editor to further the cause, will her pledge to remain single get cropped?

Widower Gus Deighton sees no reason to tempt fate that he can find happiness a second time around. Well past his prime, who would want him anyway? He’ll continue to run his newspaper and cover Philadelphia’s upcoming centennial celebration. But when the local women’s suffrage group agrees that the wealthy, attractive, and very single Maeve Wycliffe acts as their liaison, he finds it difficult to remain objective.

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Author Interview

I love welcoming new-to-me authors to the blog, and today we have such an author – Linda Shenton Matchett. Join us for a quick Q&A below!

Christy: Can you tell us a little bit about your journey to becoming an author?

Linda: I’ve been writing stories since I was in elementary school, but did not get serious about being an author until we moved from Washington, DC to New Hampshire to open a Bed & Breakfast. I started a journal when we pulled out of the driveway and continued to job things down the whole time we ran the Inn. I stumbled on some freelance magazine opportunities with travel and lifestyle magazines, but after
several years of that realized my first love was fiction. Through ACFW I met some authors who had a group blog, and was invited to join them. We decided to put out a series of books together. That was in 2016. My story was a retelling of the biblical book of Ruth set during WWII, so I already had an outline to use. I struggled a bit with plotting after that so turned to writing mysteries because following clues is a good way to keep a story going! I prefer to read romance and realized I wanted to write romance, so I took classes, read how-to books, and attended conferences. I just put my 33rd book up on pre-order.

C: What is your real-life schedule like when writing, and how does your family support you?

L: I have a full-time job in addition to being a writer, so I need to be very regimented about my
writing to get things done. I’m at my desk by 5:30 on weekdays and write for about 90 minutes. On Saturday, I can write until late morning. In the evenings, I work on blog posts, research, story outlines, and marketing. My husband is incredibly supportive of my writing and gives me all the time I need. He also designs some of my covers and helps me with technology.

C: Do you need absolute quiet to concentrate when writing or do you have a favorite playlist that
helps get the words written faster?

L: I need either absolute silence or I listen to a YouTube channel I found that is recordings of ocean waves. I tried the sound of rain, but that annoyed me!

C: I can understand why! Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they ask you about or say about your books?

L: I’m blessed to hear from my readers quite often. Many respond to my newsletters, and I regularly interact with them on my Facebook Readers’ page. I’m often asked about characters or story ideas, and readers are always quick to say how much they enjoyed a particular story or how it ministered to them. I love to hear that!

C: What book are you working on releasing or writing next?

L: I just released “Beryl’s Bounty Hunter” which is part of the Westward Home and Hearts Mail-Order Bride series. “Francine’s Foibles” is a WWII story that will be part of the Thanksgiving Books and Blessings series releasing in the Fall, and I’ve just agreed to be part of a Christmas anthology, so I’ll be writing a WWII Christmas story that should be nearly finished by the time this interview is posted.

C: All of that sounds wonderful! Thanks for joining us today, Linda!

About the Author

Linda Shenton Matchett writes about ordinary people who did extraordinary things in days gone by. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry (of Star-Spangled Banner fame) and has lived in historical places all her life. She is a volunteer docent and archivist at the Wright Museum of WWII and a former trustee for her local public library. She now lives in central New Hampshire where she explores the history of this great state and immerses herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors.

More from Linda

When asked to contribute a story to the Suffrage Spinsters series, I immediately sat down and researched the suffrage movement. I was surprised to discover that the crusade to get women the right to vote began the 1830s. Nearly twenty years later, a women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York, an event considered the actual “birthplace” of women’s suffrage.

The history of suffragism in America is fascinating because of the large percentage of women who were against getting the right to vote. As I continued to delve into the history of the movement, I unearthed many references to an incident that occurred at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton decided to write a document similar to the US “Declaration of Independence,” call it the “Declaration of the Rights of Women,” and present it at the Exposition’s July 4^th celebration.

Their request to speak was summarily dismissed, and in fact, few women were able to obtain tickets to the event.

Undeterred, Anthony came up with an alternate plan. On July 4th, in the midst of Richard Henry Lee’s speech (grandson and namesake of one of the Declaration of Independence signers), she marched down the aisle inside Independence Hall and handed a scroll tied in a festive navy-blue ribbon to the host, then turned and made her way out of the building, distributing copies to the clamoring crowd as she went. Outside, she read the document aloud as the remaining copies were distributed. Newspapers covered her presentation and printed portions of the document. Word spread, and countless newspapers outside of Philadelphia picked up the article.

I knew I had my story, and I hope in some small way Maeve’s Pledge honors those tenacious men and women who fought to gain women the right to vote.

Blessings,

Linda Shenton Matchett