Interview with the Author
Naomi Musch
The day is finally here! It’s exciting for me to announce that Polly, Book One of the Apron Strings Series, has been officially released and is available for purchase in digital and paperback formats. I was so happy to get a copy to hold in my hands after nearly two years of preparing for this day. It’s the start of a special collection of books that will be complete and on my shelves by the end of the year. I have had the fun privilege of teaming up with ten other authors for this project. The Apron Strings Series is a string of heartfelt inspirational stories featuring a single cookbook that changes hands to different women from decade to decade, from 1920 (Polly) to 2020. A new title will released by a different author each month of this year.
My own book, Kristen, is book nine (2000) and will be released in September ‘24. I’m looking forward to telling you more as we get closer, but now is the time to introduce you to Polly and author Naomi Musch. It’s a great pleasure to do so, as she is a wonderful lady worth getting to know, and her books are ones I highly recommend.
First, here’s the back cover copy to tell you what Polly is all about:
The Great War has ended, but Polly Holloway’s heart is shattered when her fiancé finally returns home—with a French war bride. Now her future feels desolate, until she fastens onto the idea of using her skills and a special cookbook to turn her grandfather’s Victorian house into a fashionable ladies’ tea room. Yet, how will she endure the patronage of the woman who stole her sweetheart? Moreover, the suave tavern owner down the block is interfering in her business, personal and otherwise. Heaven only knows what goes on behind his doors.
Ross Dalton can no longer sell liquor in his establishment. With prohibition in force, it’s a mixed blessing. Ross met God on the battlefield, and he wants to start fresh, but he must earn a living. Converting his bar into a coffee house offers a partial solution. Still, bootleggers are pressing him to pedal their moonshine, and the girl up the street is convinced his place is a front for a speakeasy. She’s awfully cute when she turns up her pert little nose at his friendly overtures. How can he convince her he isn’t going to tarnish the neighborhood or ruin her business? And will she believe he’s a changed man when the bootleggers double down?
Here’s my review:
Polly is a wonderful step back in time to a small town in the 1920s with romance and delightful descriptions of what goes into the running of a tearoom. I loved the characters and thought it was well-researched. This was a fun read that I didn’t want to end. Five stars.
Get to know the author, Naomi Musch:
Tell us what you enjoy most about writing historical romantic fiction.
Back in the day, when I was a kid growing up, history made no sense to me. It was just a pile of time where things happened without association. I didn’t understand the order of history or civilizations, and I didn’t at all like memorizing dates or names that meant nothing to me.
Enter historical fiction. It wasn’t until I graduated high school, when I started reading historical fiction, particularly the brand-new world of Christian historical fiction, that I realized I loved history. I merely needed context. I could understand everything from the life of King David to the World Wars when it was viewed through eyes of people experiencing it—even if those people were fictional. Of course, a good romance never hurts, and it helps us care about those characters’ contexts even more.
When it came time to write my own stories, I delved into research in order to uncover enthralling incidents in history that I wanted to expose through the lives of my own characters. For instance, in Polly, I wanted to write about the growing popularity, in the early part of the 20th century, of ladies’ Tea Houses or Tea Rooms. I combined that discovery with a lot of small-town, post Great-War history, such as men trying to get back to work during prohibition.
In most of my writing, my favorite part is combining little-known or seldom-written-about factoids with characters whose lives are at a crux. That process usually uncovers deep themes. Grasped together, I love growing those details into full-fledged stories.
What are some books or authors that you would recommend to our readers?
Authors I recommend who have previously or are currently influencing my writing, mostly because of the depth of realism they strive for combined with the way they make me care about their characters—all while crafting stories with beautiful prose—are some who are well known: Angela Hunt, Bodie Thoene, Joanne Bischof, Lori Benton, Laura Frantz; and some who are lesser known but no less impactful: Pegg Thomas, Denise Weimer, Lynn Dean to name just a few.
Is there anything you would like people to take away from your book?
I hope that through my novel Polly or any of my books, readers will not only take away a deep sigh of contentment for having found a story that keeps them turning pages and satisfies them with a perfect ending, but that they’ll grasp nuggets of truth and beauty. They’ll have learned something of history without it slapping them in the face, and they’ll have felt a touch of God’s Grace through the lives of the characters.
Do you have any odd (writing) habits?
Haha! I’m not sure. I write spastically. I write with a lot of background sound, be it some old TV show playing, music, or the voices of grandkids coming and going. There are a ton of interruptions. I don’t lock myself in a room. I start my morning with at least two cups of coffee, and then I peruse the funny pages (social media) and then, if my wits feel duly gathered together, I write.
What is your favorite line from your book?
Golly, that’s a hard one, but I do love this little bit where the hero has revealed his heart, yet Polly feels as though her future with him sits upon a precipice:
He loved her! Yet, though she believed it, her joy felt fragile. He loved her, but that kiss had been like a stamp that said, I’m sending this now. You’ll have to wait a spell for another, like a letter from war. Like farewell, or at least, until we meet again.
Thank you for inviting me to talk about writing and to introduce a little piece of Polly to your readers!
Polly, Apron Strings Book One Order link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CK5G8J12/
My website and newsletter sign-up:
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Thank you, Naomi! It was a pleasure to chat!
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May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you; may he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm; may he bring you home rejoicing: at the wonders he has shown you: may he bring you home rejoicing: once again into our doors.