#TuesdayTreasure: Guest Post by Judith Miller

Good Morning!

I just realized this is the last Tuesday Treasure of Jan 2015...Wow! I pray your new year has started out with an abundance of blessings. Today I'm pleased to bring you another guest post from one of LitFuse Publicity authors, Ms. Judith Miller.

Judith Miller is an award-winning author whose avid research and love for history are reflected in her bestselling novels. When time permits, Judy enjoys traveling, visiting historical settings, and scrapbooking the photographs from her travel expeditions. She makes her home in Topeka, Kansas

Something I deeply treasure is connecting with family members, so I was thrilled that I would be researching the Refined by Love series in West Virginia. During my summer visits to conduct research, I was able to spend a great deal of time with my sister who lives there. Since all of the stories are set in West Virginia and my sister is a teacher who is free to travel during the summer, we were able to visit potteries, brickyards, a tile factory, and the brick mansion known as Adaland. I used Adaland as a prototype for Woodfield Mansion in The Brickmaker’s Bride. 

I’ve included a picture of Adaland that shows the docent, my sister, and my daughter standing on the front porch. On that particular trip, my daughter was working in Baltimore and drove to West Virginia to join us for the tour. In addition to finding Adaland a perfect setting for Woodfield Manor, I also learned that my niece’s great grandparents were the first couple to be married at Adaland. Her great-grandfather was the overseer at Adaland, and that’s a picture of them that I took while we were on our tour of Adaland. It hangs on the wall in the dining room. We also had the opportunity to have dinner at a restaurant that has a view of the Tygart River Valley which is the setting featured in The Brickmaker’s Bride.

During our travels to Ohio to conduct research in a pottery museum, we were able to connect with my cousin and his wife who accompanied us on one of the factory tours, and then joined us for a leisurely lunch. That time with them was also precious to me, an added blessing I treasure as a benefit of my writing ministry. 

I find it amazing how authors come up with their settings and this one sounds fabulous!

Well friends, hope you enjoyed this week's Tuesday Treasure and hope to see you later for Thursday Thoughts, Saturday Spotlight!

Until later...take care & God Bless!

PamT