Today, I’m featuring the two main characters in Ripples Along the Shore, the third and last novella in The Quilted Heart.
If you enjoy Caroline and Garrett in The Quilted Heart, you can spend more time with them in Prairie Song.
MEET Garrett Cowlishaw
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Garrett Cowlishaw is the a friend of Rutherford Wainwright and is in St. Charles to recruit a band of people to travel west to the frontier.
MONA: How would you describe yourself?
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GARRETT: As a disappointment. At least I was to my father, my brother, and Corliss Huffington back in Virginia.
MONA: What is your profession (career, job)? Describe a little about what you do.
GARRETT: Been a hired hand on two excursions west. Then served as a Confederate soldier in the War Between the States, although that assumption has been debated. Now I’m in St. Charles, Missouri, to serve as Captain to The Boone’s Lick Wagon Train Company.
MONA: What is the most interesting thing about you?
GARRETT: I limp. I suppose the reason why might be the thing most folks find interesting (or at least confusing).
MONA: What do you put off because you dread doing it or don’t want to do it?
GARRETT: Telling the truth about my past.
MONA: What is your most important goal in life or what do you hope to accomplish?
GARRETT: Enjoy a fresh start. Is that even possible?
MONA: What causes you the most fear?
GARRETT: My feelings for Caroline Milburn, or should I say Mrs. Phillip Milburn. Unless she’s widowed. Still, my jumbled feelings for the perplexing woman will do neither of us any good.
MONA: What thing(s) are most important to you?
GARRETT: The truth. Loyalty. Discovery.
MONA: What do you want others to see in you?
GARRETT: A man of solid character–a man worth trusting . . . worth loving.
MONA: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
GARRETT: I’m not good at finding or appropriating spare time. I suppose a woman’s company might help me resolve that.
MONA: What gives you the most pleasure in life?
GARRETT: Seeing Caroline Milburn smile, a rarity in my company.
MEET Caroline Milburn
New to Saint Charles, Caroline is the sister of Jewell Rafferty, a faithful member of Elsa Brantenberg’s quilting circle.
MONA: Caroline, tell me the most interesting thing about you.
CAROLINE: Sigh. I’m in limbo. Some folks might find that of interest.
MONA: What do you do for fun?
CAROLINE: Sit on the front porch and sip tea with my sister, Jewell. By that time of day, we seem to be more in need of rest than of fun.
MONA: What do you put off doing because you dread it?
CAROLINE: Writing to the Department of War again for news. I want to know, but there’s now finality in limbo.
MONA: What are you afraid of most in life?
CAROLINE: That my beloved Phillip will never return from the war.
MONA: If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?
CAROLINE: I would most certainly choose to return to 1860; Philadelphia. The time and place where I last knew my Phillip was alive and well.
MONA: What do you want out of life?
CAROLINE: Peace. I long to find contentment…whatever my lot.
MONA: What is the most important thing to you?
CAROLINE: Love: To love and be loved. I am loved by my friends in the Saint Charles Quilting Circle and I’ve grown to love them as well, but . . . . Well, is it too much to want the love of a man too?
MONA: Do you read? If so, what is your favorite type of book to read?
CAROLINE: I used to. Not so much lately living in my sister’s home with her family. But when I do pick up a book (other than my Bible), it will be Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Elsa Brantenberg has a copy on a shelf in her farmhouse.
MONA: Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?
CAROLINE: Grin. My two nieces and my nephew are like pets to me. All three of them are a welcome distraction and bring me such joy.
MONA: If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
CAROLINE: I think I’d try to settle the spirit of adventure in me so I could remain with my sister and her children. Shouldn’t being of help and a comfort to them be enough for me?
Do you have a favorite Real Life St. Charles character you'd like to see fictionalized for a novel or novella?
Saint Charles Author Events
May 14-18, 2014, I'm returning to St. Charles, Missouri, for the Lewis and Clark Heritage Days and five days of book launch events for The Quilted Heart and Prairie Song. Click here for a listing, or go to www.MonaHodgson.com/Events for additional information.