BLOGWORDS – Thursday 7 August 2025 – CHAT THURSDAY

BLOGWORDS – Thursday 7 August 2025 – CHAT THURSDAY – KATHLEEN DENLY

CHAT THURSDAY – KATHLEEN DENLY

Please give a warm feathered welcome to author and friend, Kathleen Denly.

rem: Hullo Kathleen, and welcome. Tell us three random things about yourself.

KATHLEEN: I have taken a 24 hour train ride through China. I spent my 15^th birthday on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. I have been stung by a jellyfish.

rem: Love, love, and OUCH! What is your favorite quotation and why?

KATHLEEN: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 Because it reminds me that I am not alone and that God has my life in His loving hands.

rem: What a saving grace, to know we are not alone, even in our darkest moments. When reading, what makes or breaks a story for you? Your fiction pet peeve?

KATHLEEN: Character development. It doesn’t matter how compelling the plot is, if the character is too perfect to be real, too stupid to live, or behaves in ways that can only be explained by “it was in the script,” I will usually quit reading. Don’t misunderstand me. I don’t need to like the character. In fact, some of the best books have begun with unlikable characters. But the character needs to have solid reasoning behind who they are and the story needs to show that they are learning and growing. If they are just as naïve and gullible in chapter twenty-five as they were in chapter one, I’m out.

rem: I’m absolutely character driven, whether in my writing, in reading, or (binge) watching on Netflix. What are you reading right now?

KATHLEEN: The Crier Stone by Lyndsey Lewellen, a sequel to The Chaos Grid.

rem: That sounds intriguing. Tell us a little about your writing journey.

KATHLEEN: I began writing my first novel in the spring of my freshman year in high school. When I reached college, I realized that story was rubbish and deleted all of it. (I have no regrets.) I then began what I refer to as my “practice story.” That was my first Christian historical romance and involved domestic abuse, prostitution, friendships, a cattle drive, and the classic pioneer journey from the Midwest to California. That story also grew into plans for a series. In hindsight, the story wasn’t bad, but I had a lot to learn about research and the manuscript needed massive revisions before it could ever see the light of day. By the time I finished it, industry advice was that newbie authors couldn’t sell series. So I started a new novel that I intended to sell as a stand-alone. Eventually, that story gained the title, Waltz in the Wilderness and ironically became the first in a nine-book series titled, Chaparral Hearts. (6 full-length novels, 2 novellas, and 1 companion devotional)

rem: I’ve read the first five in Chaparral Hearts. And I just ordered Book #6, Call in the Canyons.What genre(s) do you write and why?

KATHLEEN: So far, I have only published in the Christian historical romance genre, but I have plans to branch out. rem: REALLLLLYYYYY!!!! How exciting! I began with that genre because I love history and romance, but also because my favorite authors at the time were also writing in that genre.

rem: Tell us a little about your latest book? What is your current project?

KATHLEEN: My latest release is Call in the Canyons, book six in the Chaparral Hearts series. The main characters are a female rancher who (with good reason) doesn’t trust men, and a sheriff who’s afraid he’ll fail to protect those he cares about (again). They’re thrown together in pursuit of a bandit gang and together travel across most of the Anza Borrego Desert in search of not just justice, but also redemption. As with all my novels, there’s a good dose of real history woven into the fiction. This novel involves the true history behind a gang of bandits that terrorized California in the 1860s and 1870s, as well as the infamous shootout at Campo, California.

rem: I love the history in your stories. What is YOUR favorite part about the book or why do you love this book? Why should we read it?

KATHLEEN: My favorite part about this book was getting to show the healing and faith journey of the heroine. She’s arguably had the hardest life out of all my main characters, so getting to write her happy ending (with all its bumps and twists) was a fantastic way to conclude this series. Reviewers have commented that they also enjoyed this part of the story.

rem: That’s the best part of any faith story, is the healing and faith journey of its character(s). What is one take-away from your book(s) that you hope readers identify with?

KATHLEEN: Faith isn’t always a straight path to a conversion prayer. rem: No, no it’s definitely not! Sometimes it looks like small steps in the right direction, sprinkled in over a lifetime of God’s loving, persistent pursuit.

rem: One more and then we’ll close. Do you have a life Scripture?

KATHLEEN: I find that my guiding Scriptures often change depending on the stage of life I’m in and what I’m experiencing. Right now, the Scripture holding the most sway over my life is Proverbs 31: 8-9. “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

rem: Yes and amen! Anything you’d like to add?

KATHLEEN: Thank you for having me on your blog and my sincerest thanks to the readers who’ve read this far. I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know me and my stories a little better. 😊

rem: Always a pleasure, Kathleen. Thank you so much for chatting with us on my blog today!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathleen Denly writes stories to entertain, encourage, and inspire readers. Award winning author of the Chaparral Hearts series.

Kathleen lives in California with her loving husband, four children, two dogs, and ten cats. As a member of the adoption and foster community, children in need are a cause dear to her heart and she finds they make frequent appearances in her stories. When she isn’t writing, researching, or caring for children, Kathleen spends her time reading, visiting/volunteering at historical sites, hiking, and crafting.

Website: https://kathleendenly.com/

Kathleen’s Readers’ Club: http://bit.ly/KRCMemberSignUp

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/KathleenDenly

BookBub Author Profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/Kathleen-Denly

Amazon Author Page: http://amazon.com/author/kathleendenly

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/KathleenDenly/

Facebook Reader roup: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArmchairAdventureKrew/

Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/KathleenDenly.author