Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt Stop #23

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 55 Comments

Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! If you’ve just discovered the hunt, be sure to start at Stop #1, and collect the clues through all 27 stops, in order, so you can enter to win one of our top 5 grand prizes!

  • The hunt BEGINS on 3/14 at noon MST (3 p.m. EST) with Lisa Bergren’s Stop #1.
  • Hunt through our loop using Chrome or Firefox as your browser (not Explorer).
  • There is NO RUSH to complete the hunt–you have all weekend (until Sunday, 3/17 at midnight MST)! So take your time, reading the unique posts along the way; our hope is that you discover new authors/new books and learn new things about them.
  • Submit your entry for the grand prizes by collecting the CLUE on each author’s scavenger hunt post and submitting your answer in the Rafflecopter form at Stop #27. Many authors are offering additional prizes along the way!

Meet Kimberley Woodhouse

One of the great things about being part of these fun Scavenger Hunts is meeting so many great authors. While I haven’t met Kimberley face to face, with the magic of the internet, we can be author friends. Kimberley is an amazing writer with many great books to her credit including her new release, The Golden Bride: When Olivia Brighton ends up in crime-riddled San Francisco, will she unite with Joseph Sawyer to find the mastermind behind an awful slave ring before it’s too late? Is there hope for San Francisco? Or will it burn like Sodom and Gomorrah? 

What’s Underneath San Francisco’s Streets? by Kimberley Woodhouse


The things I learn as I’m researching to write always blow my mind. Every book I write, there’s at least one fascinating fact that makes me even more curious to dig around further. In the case of The Golden Bride, I was neck deep into researching San Francisco and the gold rush of 1849 when I discovered just how much the city expanded its borders beyond the original peninsula. In the back of my mind, I knew that I had heard or learned somewhere that the great Golden Gate city had built some of its streets on “landfill” but that was the extent of my knowledge.

Then to discover that this land growth all started because of the 1849 Gold Rush when hundreds upon hundreds of ships came into the harbor. Day in and day out, ships were stacked into the small bay and cove. Hordes of men were aboard all seeking their fortune, and then many of those ship were abandoned. Many might even be too tame a word. 😊

Some of those ships were torn apart to build makeshift buildings, while others were used to basically “fill in” the bays with whatever else they could find, and the peninsula’s shoreline began to grow. To this day, there are quite a few ships underneath the streets of San Francisco. (Here’s a fascinating map from National Geographic.)

Never would I have guessed last time I was in San Francisco that I was walking above ships from 1849. Talk about fascinating history! But it just goes to prove that I always have more to learn.

If you’re fascinated by the notion of a city being built on landfill – check out this cool map from the Smithsonian where you can see the original shorelines compared to today.

Thanks for joining us! Happy reading and hunting!

Do you like knowing about the research that makes historical novels come to life?

Kimberley Woodhouse is the best-selling author of more than twenty books. An avid lover of history, she often gets sucked into the past and her husband has to lure her out with chocolate. She lives and writes in Montana. Find out more at her website or join her on Facebook.

 

Here’s the Stop #23 Skinny: 
You can order Kimberley’s book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, or at your local bookstore!
Clue to Write Down: many
Link to Stop #24, the Next Stop on the Loop: Kimberley Woodhouse’s own site!

But wait! Before you go, I’m offering a special prize here on my site. I’m offering four book prizes to four entrants. You can win one of my previous Shaker books pictured here along with a couple of my favorite Blue Monday candy bars made right here in Kentucky. The books are written right here in Kentucky too. 🙂 All you have to do is sign up to get my e-newsletter (sign-up form in the blue-green box at the top right of this page) or just note that you’re already a subscriber. (USA only for print books and the candy bars. International readers can win an e-book.)

Sign up for the prizes on Rafflecopter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Comments 55

  1. I’ve enjoyed going through all the scavenger hunt stops….lots of new books added to my wish list.
    (Can’t wait to read The Refuge)

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      Author

      Glad you enjoyed the Scavenger Hunt, Marji, and of course, I’m hoping you will enjoy my new Shaker book in a few weeks.

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      Author

      My books are not Amish fiction, but about the Shakers who were very work oriented but quite a bit different from the Amish in many ways. Even so, I hope you’ll give one of my books a try, Patricia. Thanks for stopping by here on the Scavenger Hunt.

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  3. Wow, I never realized you had a new book coming out soon, until today! Congratulations! I would so love to read, review and influence for you Ann!
    It has been some time since I have…
    The Refuge sounds like such a great story!

    I will admit that I can really get into a mystery myself… blame that on Katy Lee!!!
    Grave Danger changed how I looked at mystery and suspense.

    I tend to always go back to your plain shaker books, just a first love for me as those are the first and only shaker books I know of.

    Linda Marie

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      So fun that you are excited about my new Shaker book, Linda. I sent you an e-mail message, so check your in box. No mystery in the Shaker book this time, but glad you think it sounds like one you might like.

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  5. Good morning, Ann! I’ve been so busy this week, I feared not being able to even start the scavenger hunt, much less finish it. But after running out of a needed supply of trim while working on an order of Barbie wardrobes last night, I settled down to read all the posts. What fun it was! I’ve added a lot of books to my TBR list and I’m following new authors on goodreads. I enjoyed learning about all the historical fiction books in particular. Summer reading is going to be great!
    Have a blessed Sunday. 🙂

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  6. Would love to enter your contest, and read your books, but cannot find the areas to sign up for your newsletter.

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      Author

      HI, Mavelyn. The place to sign up at the to of the blue green block in the right margin of this page. But if you have trouble again, tell me and I’ll add your name and you can go ahead and enter the contest. Sorry you had trouble.

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      Wonderful, Deborah. I’ve found many great looking reads when I’ve checked out the posts too. There are historicals, suspense novels, even a into the future book. Something for everybody. Thanks for going on the Hunt.

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      Author

      Thanks, Sharma. Always good to have you drop by and I hope you enjoyed the Scavenger Hunt. If you haven’t made it through all the posts yet, you still have time. All day today and tomorrow (Sunday) too.

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      Author

      Hi, Pam. I enjoy learning history in the books I read too, and these posts on the Hunt have been great to reveal some of that historical research. Kimberley shared some great history with us here. Thanks for stopping by.

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      Author

      Good luck in the drawing here, Sarah, and in the grand prize drawing too if you gathered all the clues and entered on the last stop. Thanks for making my blog one of your stops.

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      Author

      It is such fun to win books, Desiree. That’s a great way to give some new stories a try. Many opportunities to win on the Hunt this year. I hope you come out on the top in some of the drawings. Glad you liked the covers.

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      Author

      Thank you so much for signing up for my newsletter, Jeannie. I hope you’ll enjoy reading it when it lands in your mailbox. I’ll be sending one out in April before The Refuge releases. Always a good time to do a giveaway in a newsletter.

      Reply

  13. How fascinating! Having lived in San Francisco for four years – I rode out the Loma Prieta Earthquake! – this is new to me. I knew there was a lot of landfill – a huge factor during the Loma Prieta quake – but I didn’t know about the ships. Good stuff 🙂

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      I really liked reading the history about San Francisco too, Sarah. I didn’t know anything about all the deserted boats, but it makes sense with all the craziness of the gold rush. Probably felt pretty scary riding out that earthquake.

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      Author

      Thanks, Suzanne. Not sure if you’re talking about my books or Kimberley’s but either way, we appreciate it. Thanks so much for stopping by on the Hunt.

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      Author

      Hi, Robin. Don’t they wrap up the books these days in the best covers? Makes them all look great to me. Hope you’ll find plenty of books to put on your reading list as you got through the hunt.

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  16. Oh my goodness. I knew that they had filled in the harbor, but I really had no idea how much! That is crazy! It reminds me of London and how there are many layers of the city on top of each other. There’s so much history buried!

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      Author

      Kimberley shared some interesting history, Karen. Things I didn’t know. I’ve been making my way through the hunt just to read the posts. I’ve found a lot of interesting history that I didn’t know. I think that’s one of the great things about historical fiction. It opens your eyes to some of the things you didn’t know about, but then you can go read more about what happened. I’ve had people say they’ve done that after reading some of my Shaker books. Even more fun, I’ve had readers tell me they stop reading and check out some Bible reference that my characters have made in my stories.

      Oh, and thanks for subscribing to the newsletter. Hope you’ll enjoy reading it when I send out a new one. That will be sometime in April.

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      Great. I think some were having problems with the end Rafflecopter, but it should be working now. Good luck on the prizes, Lela.

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      Author

      I had such fun writing those mysteries, Mark. I love reading mysteries and back when I was a kid, that was the first kind of story I tried to write. I wouldn’t mind going back to Hidden Springs for one more story. We shall see. Thank you for reading my mysteries.

      Reply

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