The Inspiration Behind The Underground Railroad Brides Collection
The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses used by southern black slaves in the 1800s to escape north where slavery was illegal. Abolitionists, those who opposed slavery, were those who helped them along their way to freedom, often by placing their own lives in danger. It is against this historical backdrop that 9 inspiring stories of faith, hope, and love come together to create The Underground Railroad Brides Collection by Barbour Publishing.
The best part of writing a novella for The Underground Railroad Brides Collection was being part of a team with a fantastic group of other authors. Each of our 9 stories are stand-alone, (they do not connect), and we each picked a different year and location for our settings. But we could share research materials, ask questions, collaborate promotion, and encourage each other along the way.
Below, I asked each author in the collection to share in 1 or 2 lines:
What inspired you to write your particular story?
Lynn Coleman: While researching my husband's genealogy I came across a report given by one of his ancestors to officials in Boston regarding sailing some slaves to freedom. I used this individual as a base for my hero in the story. Not only had he smuggled slaves to freedom on a vessel he was the captain of, but he also reported to the businessmen of the north about the conditions the slaves were facing in the south.
Ramona Cecil: In Follow the Christmas Star, my heroine, Edith was a minor character in Sweet Forever, one of my earlier historical romance novels. Both stories are set in and near Madison, Indiana, a town along the Ohio River and a major stop on the Underground Railroad. I enjoyed revisiting some of my characters from Sweet Forever as I fashioned Edith’s story.
Terri J. Haynes: My inspiration for this story came two sources. The first was the location. I am originally from Baltimore, Maryland and the novella is set in a town called East Towson. It was a little north of Baltimore and eventually becameTowson, Maryland. East Towson was a free, all-black community. They had their own land, church, and schools, all before the Civil War. Maryland was a nuanced state as far as slavery was concerned. My second inspiration was the idea of being free. Both characters were pursuing freedom in very different ways, which gave a fuller picture of slave life in Maryland during that time.
Cecelia Dowdy: I’ve always been fascinated with baking. I thought it'd be cool to set my story in a bakery run by two abolitionists.
Debby Lee: I originally pitched this book to Barbour as a 4-in-1 anthology in 2013, about a house on the Underground Railroad that went from construction phase to a contemporary Underground Railroad museum. Shortly after my agent sent it in, Barbour quit doing the 4-in-1 collections, but this topic was/is near and dear to my heart. So I reworked the proposal and resubmitted it. Now, years later, amidst all the racial tensions in the country, I'm holding this special book in my hands. God is good, and faithful, in His time.
Barbara Tifft Blakey: Honestly, the inspiration to write the story came from the opportunity to be part of the collection, but for the particular story-line, I guess I was inspired by the idea of how secrets impact relationships.
Darlene Panzera: I was fascinated by the songs the slaves sang that contained hidden code to signal danger or direct them toward the path to freedom, and decided to include this in my story, The Song of Hearts Set Free. I also really liked the idea of having a family become a “station” on the Underground Railroad for the very first time where they must learn what to do and who to trust. Since I love candle lanterns, I wanted to also include the fact lanterns were also used by abolitionists to signal messages to those they helped escape.
Penny A Zeller: I’ve always been fascinated by the Underground Railroad. The dangers, the struggles, the bravery of those committed to assisting slaves find their way to freedom enthralled me. I wanted to write a book with romance (of course!) but also with suspense and a real-life look into what it took for ordinary people (in my story’s case, a reverend and a Southern belle) to rescue those trapped in the clutches of slavery.
Patty Smith Hall: Few people know this, but I started writing A Place of Refuge while I was in the hospital recovering from my third back surgery. I had just finished reading the diary of a freed house slave who had a lifelong friendship with her mistress and it was in those passages that Jorgine's story came together.
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I enjoyed reading the inspiration for each of the stories. For some reason I thought the brides were hidden in the underground railroad, although I know what it was. Glad to have my confusion straightened out! Hope it’s a success!