Meet author Cathy Gohlke
Bestselling Christy Hall of Fame, Carol and INSPY Award-winning author Cathy Gohlke writes novels steeped with inspirational lessons from history. Her stories reveal how people break the chains that bind them, triumphing over adversity through faith. Cathy, her husband and their dog, Maggie, divide their time between the Jersey Shore and northern Virginia, where they enjoy spending time with their grown children and grandchildren, and where she loves to garden. Cathy delights to meet virtually with book clubs and reading groups. If you’ve read any of her books and would like to meet virtually contact her at https://authorcathygohlke.com/contact/
Tell us about your newest book.
New York City, 1918. When schoolteacher Gwendolyn Armstrong learns of her sister’s worsening illness, she travels to Marion’s stately home to tutor her young niece and nephew, kept from school by the Spanish flu outbreak. Though the family lives in luxury, Gwen is wary of Marion’s sophisticated often-absent husband, Russell, who once cast Gwen aside for her sister, leaving wounds that never fully healed.
As Marion’s health declines, a sense of foreboding settles over the family. Gwen observes strangers coming and going from Russell’s study at all hours, and her lingering distrust turns to suspicion that he is hiding something that could threaten the family’s safety and security. But when the deadly flu claims victims among the family and mansion staff, Gwen and her nephew, Alistair are forced to accept terrible losses followed by—soon after—his own fatal diagnosis of juvenile diabetes.
When a compassionate doctor becomes both an advocate and friend, chasing down every promising development in the race for a cure for diabetes Gwen clings to each shred of hope. But as Russell’s clandestine dealings erupt into a shattering revelation, she must summon every ounce of courage she possesses. With Alistair’s life hanging in the balance, Gwen pleads for a faith she doesn’t yet possess, realizing she must surrender him to God and the possibility of a miracle that could save him and reshape her future in ways she never imagined.
What inspired you to write your story?
After a bout with COVID and a viral infection, my eight-year-old granddaughter developed symptoms we couldn’t explain: sudden weight loss despite an enormous appetite, insatiable thirst, frequent urination, dry skin with bleeding knuckles, and finally less emotional control. We thought her recent illness, a huge growth spurt, and winter’s dry weather were the culprits, but blood and urine tests revealed off the chart glucose levels and ketones. With only a day of grace remaining, she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and given lifesaving insulin through an IV drip. The months that followed changed everything for her and for her parents. My granddaughter’s heroic journey through diabetes along with that of her parents and the miraculous, lifesaving discovery of insulin just over one hundred years ago inspired Every Given Day.
What genre do you focus on.
Historical fiction. I love researching and sharing current concerns in the light of history. Because history so often repeats itself it’s never difficult to find a time or event from the past that reflects what we’re experiencing today. I believe it’s often easier to see solutions to current problems when we have the advantage of the time and distance history provides.
Why do you write?
I write because I must. Writing helps me make sense of the world and the many voices in my head. When I write I feel God’s pleasure, as if we’re co-creating, as if He reveals His heart to me and I, as a scribe, record my sense of His love for us through story.
What is your work schedule like when you’re writing a book?
Once upon a time, I wrote with a definite work schedule—certain hours of the day, certain days of the week. Now that I’m a grandmother frequently involved in the lives of my grandchildren and my daughter who homeschools them, I write whenever I can. I’m freshest and most creative in the early morning and when I can hole up in my office for long blocks of time, keeping my head in the story. It’s a tricky balance, but I love the life I’ve been given.
What is the hardest part of being an author?
The hardest part of being an author for me is balancing writing with real life. Characters and plots become so real to me that I feel I’m living in two worlds—story world and real world. To write I need to keep my head consistently in the story. Needs of family and daily life break that concentration, which I find disorienting. On the other hand, I love my family and my life, and I find it difficult and sometimes sad to pull away from them to step into story world.
What’s the best part of your author’s life?
I love the thrill of discovering the issue or concern that the Lord presses on my heart, then researching the background/setting/time period that relates. I love discovering the story that springs from that research. I love the joy of getting to know and understand new characters and the surprises they bring to the page—twists and turns to the plot that I never imagined when I first contemplated the story.
How have you changed or grown as a writer?
When I began writing my first novel, I intended to write for young adults with the hope that my book would be used in schools and libraries. I did not intend to write Christian fiction. But as I wrote that first chapter in William Henry is a Fine Name (Underground Railroad story) my main character wondered about things like the color of his soul, and if that differed from the color of his Black best friend’s soul. He wondered about Jesus going in search of a lone, lost lamb and other things. I was in a writing group at the time and participants urged me to get rid of those things, telling me the book would never sell. I tried rewriting that chapter five times, but each time the character turned the story back to God. I realized then that was where I was gifted and should head in my writing—Godward—and I’ve never looked back. I’m thankful to say my book has been and continues to be used in schools and libraries. God knew best.
What is your favorite pastime?
Besides writing I love spending time with my grandchildren—no matter what we’re doing—and gardening. Time spent with either is beautiful and creative.
Do you have other books? We’d love to know.
I do. Every Given Day is my thirteenth novel. My first two books were YA, stories concerning the Underground Railroad (William Henry is a Fine Name) and Civil War (I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires), both Christy Award Winners. After those I wrote historical fiction for older teens and adults—stories placed in time in the Edwardian Age, Titanic Era, WWI, 1920s, WWII and 1940s, 1992, and with settings in a number of places—England, France, Germany, Poland, Nova Scotia, North Carolian Appalachia, Connecticut, Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains, Chicago and New York City. You can find a full listing of my books on my website at https://authorcathygohlke.com/christian-fiction-cathy-gohlke-books/
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a book that early focuses on the infamous Black Sox Scandal—the throwing of the 1919 World Series by some White Sox players—the baseball series that inspired W. P. Kinsella’s book, Shoeless Joe, and later the movie, “Field of Dreams.” My story is told from the viewpoint of a girl and her dad, one in desperate search of love and a hero and the other knowing just how vulnerable heroes can be. Ultimately there is only One we can fully trust, One who will never let us down, One who will never leave or forsake us. It is the journey to that realization amid danger, intrigue, and a bit of romance that Annie must make.
Website: https://authorcathygohlke.com
Link to book: https://authorcathygohlke.com/books/every-given-day/
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