Author Cathy Gohlke does not hesitate delving into rough territory through her novels, going where angels fear to tread. With masterful storytelling, she champions the oppressed and victims of abuse. This includes those found in Christian circles—abuse that nobody likes to acknowledge or talk about. I mean the corruption that occurs under the auspices of church leadership or in so-called Christian homes.
In her book Night Bird Calling, Cathy shows the dangers and horrific outcomes of three kinds of abuse, all under the guise of Christianity: domestic abuse, religious abuse, and racism in America during the pre-World War II era, in southern Appalachia and elsewhere.
If you like beautifully written stories that don’t shy away from tough issues, then read on.
Cathy has won numerous awards:
- William Henry is a Fine Name — 2007 Christy Award
- I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires — 2009 Christy Award & Carol Award
- Saving Amelie — 2015 INSPY Award
- Secrets She Kept — 2016 Christy Award, INSPY Award, & Carol Award
- The Medallion — 2020 Christy Award
Blurb
When Lilliana Swope’s beloved mother dies, Lilliana gathers her last ounce of courage and flees her abusive husband for the home of her only living relative in the foothills of No Creek, North Carolina. Though Hyacinth Belvidere hasn’t seen Lilliana since she was five, she offers her cherished great-niece a safe harbor. Their joyful reunion inspires plans to revive Aunt Hyacinth’s estate and open a public library where everyone is welcome, no matter the color of their skin.
Slowly Lilliana finds revival and friendship in No Creek—with precocious eleven-year-old Celia Percy, with kindhearted Reverend Jesse Willard, and with Ruby Lynne Wishon, a young woman whose secrets could destroy both them and the town. When the plans for the library also incite the wrath of the Klan, the dangers of Lilliana’s past and present threaten to topple her before she’s learned to stand.
With war brewing for the nation and for her newfound community, Lilliana must overcome a hard truth voiced by her young friend Celia: Wishing comes easy. Change don’t.
My thoughts
In the early 1940s, as war progresses in Europe, Lilliana Grace needs to get away from a horribly abusive situation at home in Philadelphia. She’s not safe with either her father or her despicable husband—both narcissists with evil plans for her. Since they are well-respected in their church and community, Lillianna has nobody to turn to in Philadelphia. She must leave, and time is of the essence. She arrives in No Creek, North Carolina to find sanctuary with her great-aunt, Hyacinth Belvidere. This is a place she hasn’t visited since age five.
Though worried her husband might track her down, she finds home and community in No Creek. With her great-aunt’s encouragement, Lillianna musters the courage to embrace life here. She still lives with scars and wounds, but doesn’t hibernate. In fact, she is inspired to turn Hyacinth’s home, known as Garden’s Gate, into a library for all people, no matter their status or color.
Thus begins her plunge into the fires of yet another kind of abuse: racism, culminating in the Ku Klux Klan’s involvement.
Three points of view relay this story: Lilliana, plucky eleven-year-old Celia Percy, and Reverend Jesse Willard of Shady Grove Baptist Church. Celia’s impact throughout the story is just as great as the adults’ impact. Young Celia is precocious and grandiose, with spunk that can elicit trouble, yet espousing bravery and cunning as required.
Also in the character line-up are Gladys, Ida Mae, Ruby Lynne, and Granny Chree. Gladys is Hyacinth’s cook and mama to Celia. She’s Southern in every way, very protective of her children while her husband’s in jail. The storekeeper, Ida Mae, is gossipy and judgmental. Granny Chree is an herbalist and midwife. Ruby Lynne helps at the library and tutors. There are others who cause plenty of trouble. And Lillianna’s husband could show up at any moment . . .
Various themes are explored, including the distortion of God through the failures of earthly fathers. Despite violence and heavy issues, nothing is overly graphic.
The dark side of Appalachian culture—racism, poverty, moonshine, and addiction—is prevalent, but darkness doesn’t get the last word. Hope prevails through beautiful prose and a raw, riveting story which includes periodic quotations of Oswald Chambers.
Questions about Night Bird Calling
What was your inspiration for writing Night Bird Calling? What’s your personal connection to the setting or situation?
Cathy: Years ago, I wrote a number of short stories based on some quirky characters in a fictional North Carolina foothills town called No Creek. I loved those characters, but to create a novel I needed an outside character who could see both strengths and foibles in my town folk and still care about them, still want to become part of their community, and who could tie their stories together.
For many years I’ve also wrestled with the idea of writing about the racial divide and abuse I saw growing up during years of the civil rights movement in the South, as well as domestic abuse and church oppression, things I experienced in my youth and young womanhood. Night Bird Calling is the marriage of all those experiences and stories.
Why did you choose the time period to be on the brink of World War II? Did you consider other time periods first?
Cathy: I see a number of correlations between the years leading up to WWII and our present day. Economic fears, joblessness, uncertainty about where our world is headed, questions about our responsibility and ability to help those who’ve been abused or are in need, and our serious racial divide are all issues people grappled with in 1941 just as we do today.
Sometimes it’s easier to view our complex difficulties and find creative solutions by viewing them through the lens of a historic time frame rather than the busyness and political divides of modern day. Historical fiction provides that little bit of distance to enhance our objectivity.
How did you develop your heroine Lilliana Swope and ten-year-old Celia Percy? Why did you decide to have a child’s point of view along with the others? What would Lilliana and Celia have to say about you?
I identify closely with both Lilliana and Celia, for different reasons and drew from my own life to develop their characters. It was important for me to tell the story from the viewpoint of different ages, to reveal how those characters viewed traumatic situations, and what they considered their personal responsibility toward others.
Like Lilliana, I ran away from an abusive marriage and oppressive church as a young woman. It took many years to work through the issues surrounding that and to find healing, to believe that God could really love me. Helping others in need (by opening the lending library and offering literacy help to the community, opening her home to the Percys, and doing what she could to rescue Ruby, a girl with similar problems to her own) was important on the path to Lilliana’s healing. Reaching out to help others in need has been a help to me, too.
Like Celia, I was the creative child with big ideas, a strong sense of social justice, and a determination to speak out against injustice no matter the consequences. I was the child that my mother didn’t know what to do with.
I think Lilliana and Celia would appreciate that I understand them and that I know their intentions are good and their hearts are generous, even if they don’t always make the wisest decisions.
Do your characters hijack the story or do you have full rein? Which characters would you be least and most likely to get along with?
Sometimes my characters hijack my stories. I never have full rein—and that’s the joy in watching them develop and grow. I love when they sprout wings and surprise me. I’d get along fine with all the characters you mentioned. The ones in the story that I’d have serious issues with are Lilliana’s husband, Gerald, her father, Ida May, and Ruby Lynne’s father and uncle.
In your “Note to the Reader” at the book’s end, you call attention to abuse of all kinds—physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual—especially in churches and marriages, even Christian ones. In Night Bird Calling, Lilliana endured much domestic abuse before she escapes from her husband. What led you to “champion the battle against oppression” (according to your website) in your fiction?
I grew up mostly in the South during years of the civil rights movement where I witnessed segregation, desegregation, racial oppression and abuse but also heroic stands against injustice and some hard-won changes. I learned that attitudes do not change just because laws change. Transformation of the heart is also needed. That is as true today as it was then.
As a young woman I ran away from an abusive marriage and an oppressive church. My journey toward emotional and spiritual healing took many years. I want women in similar situations to know that they are not alone, that God loves them so very dearly and that the condemnations of their oppressors do not come from Him.
I wrote Night Bird Calling not only for victims of abuse, but in the hope that readers might gain insight, sympathy and perhaps have empathy for those who’ve been abused or pushed down, that they might better understand and see creative ways they can help, ways they can be a voice for the voiceless or those needing someone to walk alongside them.
Each of my books in some way battles oppression. I believe we’re all created for a purpose and that our life experiences—the good and the bad—help develop our characters and guide our gifts to fulfill that purpose. Recognizing and battling oppression is what my life has taught me. Writing has been the gift to share that.
Some Christian publishers don’t care for novels that reflect the church poorly. So there’s a risk in having so-called Christian characters live hypocritical lives even while active in church rule. What kind of response do you get from readers for delving into these difficult places of abuse and oppression?
I wondered about that very thing as I wrote, but the result is that I’ve received an overwhelmingly earnest and positive response to this story and the issues it raises.
So many women have suffered church abuse at the hands of church leaders and domestic violence at the hands of husbands or fathers who claim to be Christian. They’ve felt unique, alone, afraid, condemned by their abusers and sometimes by church leaders and feared they were abandoned by God. Most fear no one would believe them if they reported their abuser, inside the church or outside the church.
Women have longed for someone to speak out, to name their pain, and to ask if God really loves and cares for them. The answer is a resounding YES, God loves and cares for them and He never condones abuse.
I’ve received more emails and messages in appreciation for this novel than any I’ve penned. I think that for some readers it’s been the opening of a window on a long-kept secret for which they’ve felt great pain and shame. The pain is certainly theirs, but the shame does not belong to them.
What unusual thing did you do or discover while researching for this story?
Much of my prior WWII writing has focused on foreign shores, but for this story I enjoyed researching the American homefront before and during WWII through books, internet research, archival film footage on the Great Depression, Jim Crow laws and their results, the history of lynching and the KKK, racism and the great migration, the work of Eleanor Roosevelt as well as histories of Wilkes and Surry Counties in NC, and the Appalachian home moonshining industry and its culture. I read about and visited lifesaving stations on the Outer Banks.
Legal sources were interviewed for information re. trusts, wills, and divorce proceedings in 1941. Newspaper archives for Wilkes County, NC were helpful. I interviewed some wonderful older people who had lived there during those years and pulled some real-life stories from them, my family and my own life, then enjoyed a trip to the North Carolina foothills and mountains, soaking up its music and a visit to the church and cemetery where some of my ancestors were buried.
For the Oswald and Biddy Chambers threads I found wonderful information in the biography, Mrs. Oswald Chambers, by Michelle Ule, and in Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God, by David McCasland, as well as pertinent passages in My Utmost for His Highest.
I was surprised to learn how close to civilian life the military in North Carolina practiced war games as they trained recruits. I can only imagine it was startling and perhaps frightening to those able to observe.
Questions about writing
What books have been most influential for you as an author?
Reading the Bible daily has been Number 1. In His Steps, by Charles Sheldon set my life and writing in motion. As for books or media on the craft of writing I’ve especially appreciated The Hero’s Two Journeys by Michael Hague; The Moral Premise, by Stanley D. Williams, Ph.D.; A Split in Time—How to Write Dual Timeline, Split Time, and Time-Split Fiction, by Melanie Dobson and Morgan Tarpley Smith; Plot and Structure, by James Scott Bell.
Where do your story ideas usually originate from—character, plot, setting, theme, or a combination? Share examples of how one of your stories grew from an initial idea.
Stories usually come from a need the Lord presses on my heart—some current event that grieves my heart that I know grieves the heart of God. That grief usually includes battling against some form of oppression. I then look for a time in history that reflects the same issue.
That’s never difficult to find as history repeats itself with astonishing regularity. As I research the time period characters emerge and the plot develops. Sometimes characters emerge first—before research. I would say that my books are more character driven than plot driven, but most of all they are purpose driven.
Share a little about your novel writing process, and the length of time it takes to complete a book.
Once I’ve understood the need or purpose for a book and identified the time period and setting, I do a lot of praying and begin research. Sometimes research includes travel and/or taking a particular course, either in person or online. It always includes lots of reading, personal interviews when possible, and immersing myself in the time period.
I write a synopsis and a few chapters to work my way into a story. Sometimes I outline the book in more detail, depending on the story and what I think I’ll need to keep me on track.
Once I begin writing in earnest, I make notes of further research needs and incorporate that. The length of time it takes me to write is different for every book, but from concept to finish it usually takes me somewhere between a year to 15 months. Seven months was my shortest time to write a book. Given family life, I’ve not been able to repeat that.
Please share something about a current project or the direction you want to go as an author.
I’m excited about this year’s release, Ladies of the Lake. It’s quite a different story from any I’ve written, and I hope readers will enjoy it. It’s given me an opportunity to celebrate and explore the wonderful friendships and sisterhood among women as well as some fascinating episodes in Canadian history.
I’ve just started writing a new book themed by the parables in Luke 15. This, too, is something new for me, so I’m looking forward to exploring those themes through fiction.
You published your first novel at age fifty. Had you tried to write and publish a novel earlier? Or was this purposely a new direction you decided to take?
William Henry is a Fine Name was my first novel. I signed that contract on my fiftieth birthday though I’d worked on that novel for a number of years off and on. It was purposely a new direction. I’d written short stories, poetry, plays, essays, news and features for local newspapers, and had small pieces published in two books before that.
Do you have any advice for aspiring novelists?
Read, read, read. Write, write, write. Read the best books and the kinds of books you want to write. Enjoy praise from kindhearted loved ones but learn from valuable critique. Take time to study the craft and strengthen language and grammar skills. Gain experience through practice.
As you consider what to write (what genre or direction) ask what the Lord has placed in your hands. In what ways are you gifted? What are your opportunities now and what has your life experience taught you?
Consider all these things to see if there is a thread that has been built into your life indicating a direction for your writing. Remember that writing requires daily self-discipline but that while writing is important it is not the be all and end all of life. Live each day generously and deliberately as salt and light in this world and write purposefully. We walk this earth for such a short time—make each day and everything you write count.
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Back to Laura . . . On a similar note . . .
Do you know anybody who is a victim of domestic abuse? According to Psychology Today, domestic violence occurs when a person consistently aims to control their partner through physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. The United States Department of Justice defines domestic violence as “a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain control over another intimate partner.”
NOTE: Not all abuse is physical or sexual. Emotional abuse, through blaming and manipulating, is prevalent as well, even among Christians and church-goers.
Author Karolyn Dekker writes about women and their abusive spouses for Focus Ministries and the women’s magazine Just Between Us. Pass this along to someone who needs the support to end abuse.
- Behind Closed Doors
- Don’t Hold Out for a Disney Ending
- Abuse . . . On the Mission Field?
- Helping Those Trapped in Abuse
If you like Southern Appalachian fiction or stories about family secrets, you might enjoy my re-launched novel All That Is Hidden. Set near North Carolina’s Smoky Mountains in 1968, the story spotlights the bond of family and the connections of a tight-knit community. Northern exploitation threatens as a father’s hidden past catches up to him and tests family ties. Learn more and watch the trailer here.
All That Is Hidden awards:
- Winner of the Artisan Book Reviews Book Excellence Award
- Semifinalist in Serious Writer’s Book of the Decade contest
I invite you to join my monthly newsletter for writing updates, freebies, and giveaways. Sign up and I’ll send you a free gift: www.StandoutStoriesNewsletter.com
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Cathy Gohlke Bio:
Bestselling, Christy Hall of Fame, and Carol and INSPY Award-winning author, Cathy Gohlke writes novels steeped with inspirational lessons, speaking of world and life events through the lens of history. She champions the battle against oppression, celebrating the freedom found only in Christ. When not traveling to historic sites for research, she and her husband of 40 years, Dan, divide their time between Northern Virginia and the Jersey Shore, enjoying time with their grown children and grandchildren. Visit her website at www.cathygohlke.com, and find her on Facebook at CathyGohlkeBooks; on Bookbub (@ CathyGohlke); and on YouTube, where you can subscribe to Book Gems with Cathy Gohlke for short videos of book recommendations.
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Join me next time for a visit with author Erin Bartels.
Meanwhile, have you read Night Bird Calling or any others by Cathy Gohlke? What stories have you read about domestic abuse or the KKK? Answer in the comments below.
Ever reading,
Laura
Sign up for my monthly newsletter to receive tips, recipes, freebies, giveaways, and the prequel for All That Is Hidden: www.StandoutStoriesNewsletter.com
Thank you, Laura, so very much for this in depth interview, and especially for calling attention to additional resources that aid anyone seeking information about recognizing and/or finding freedom from abuse. That information is desperately needed.
I’m honored to host you today, Cathy. Thank you for joining me! I’m grateful for the stories you tell.
Sounds like a great story with a powerful message. I think Cathy’s belief that “Sometimes it’s easier to view our complex difficulties and find creative solutions by viewing them through the lens of a historic time frame rather than the busyness and political divides of modern day.” is very true and a good reason to write it as historical fiction. It takes much courage to write about abuse, especially Church and family abuse. I hope this book is read and appreciated by many readers.
Yes, I agree. Reading about abuse in a historical setting is probably more palatable, but doesn’t preclude the need for writing about it in contemporary settings as well.
Thank you, Ruth, for your kind words. I, too, hope many read this book and that those who’ve walked similar paths are blessed and encouraged by it.
I love that this story comes from different POVs, including a child’s, showing how sin (and the pain it causes) can affect everyone around it. As a teacher, I often hear the lie that “kids are resilient.” But in reality, they often just develop coping skills–often unhealthy and ungodly ones–to continue on. We all need changed hearts. Sounds like this book gets to that issue.
Thanks for making that distinction between resiliency in the form of coping skills vs. a changed heart. You’re absolutely right.
Elizabeth, I cringe when I hear adults brush off trauma, especially in the home, saying that the kids will be okay–they’re resilient. I know from my own childhood experiences and from those I’ve seen played out in the lives of children that trauma is real and must be dealt with and its effects worked through in order for there to be healing. Changed hearts acknowledge wrong and work to help youngsters heal. We all need those changed hearts.
Amen! Another sad—and untrue—blowoff—“This is just about us adults. It has nothing to do with you.” No, the kids didn’t cause it, but they sure are affected. So it definitely has something to do with them. We as a culture need to stop separating consequences from choices. Thanks for taking up the topic.
These can be such painful books to read, but I would much rather learn from a novel than see it in real life! My next door neighbor in NC suffered through a lot of domestic abuse, and it is so hard to know how to help. It is painful to watch! I’m grateful for writers who are willing to take on these difficult topics.
It is hard to know how to help, but there are resources out there to let people know about. I agree–I’d rather read about abuse in fiction than in non-fiction. Another benefit is that a novelist can bring these things to light without a breach of privacy. Writing a similar story as non-fiction or a memoir involves real people–the innocent and the not-so-innocent with a multitude of repercussions. (Even with changed names.)
Brooke, it is truly painful to watch and it is difficult to know what to do. When my children were small we lived in a duplex, an apartment beneath another. The couple upstairs fought constantly. I finally called the police to intervene. I was truly afraid the man might kill his wife. After the police came I worried that the man might retaliate, but that did not happen. I think the fact that the incident went on record helped deter him. The loud arguments did not completely stop but the crashing of furniture above us stopped. A few months after that they moved. Years later I met the woman again and they were still together as a couple. I’ve prayed for them often through the years.
I’m as intrigued by the author as I am by her book. “I was the child that my mother didn’t know what to do with.” All my dear friends have feist, pushing back against what needs pushing . Because they couldn’t overlook what needed to be pushed against, though, they nearly all also have had great heartache. I’m so sorry for the pain and trauma Cathy has had to live through, but I’m so grateful she’s using her writing gift to use that pain journey to affirm and help—and to challenge—others!
Absolutely! Pushing back brings more hardship and pain in the short term, but contributes to freedom and healing in the long term. I have a friend who lived with abuse, finally escaped it, and now brings her experience to a support group to encourage women in similar situations. Meanwhile, many people aren’t even aware this stuff happens. Fiction is a great way to enlighten them.
Rita and Laura, you both bring up such good points. Those of us who won’t/cannot stand by and see injustice perpetrated do open ourselves to repercussions and/or at least criticism or misunderstanding from others. At the farther end of life it seems a small price to pay but in the thick it looms large, especially when our stand against injustice might affect those we love. I do believe we’re comforted by God as we lean into Him and that we are then able to offer others the comfort wherewith we’ve been comforted. That is my view of the ministry of writing about hard things–those I’ve experienced and those I’ve witnessed. Executing such a project is hard, but there is great peace in doing what we can with what we’ve been given.
What an impressive amount of research! And the level of vulnerability to write about horror experienced firsthand. Not to mention courage.
Everything about this book and this author is worthy of admiration.
Wouldn’t it be lovely if we could say that abuse by “Christian” husbands and church leaders is a thing of the past?
Wouldn’t it be a brighter world if racism had been eradicated once for all times?
Lord willing, books like “Night Bird Calling” will open eyes and hearts, and as believers we can battle evils that are in such direct violation
of God’s will.
On a lighter note: No Creek is such a great name!
Sad to say, these cycles of abuse just keep cycling. So much of it is “under cover.” In Christian circles, sometimes Scripture is misinterpreted as meaning a spouse should put up with abuse or possibly derail it by becoming a “better,” more submissive wife.
Anita and Laura, yes, I hope that Night Bird Calling gives voice to readers who feel voiceless and that it opens the eyes of all to be on the lookout for those who might need help. The insistence by abusers to keep silent, especially when ordered by someone in a position of church authority, can feel so confusing and condemning to the abused.
Yes, and amen to the desire that abuse of all kinds and racism in every guise be declared a thing of the past! Sadly, there is still much work to do. Awareness and realizing we’re all able to walk with open eyes and take a stand against violations to human life and dignity is at least a beginning.
Anita, it is my hope that books like Night Bird Calling raise awareness of abuse in its many forms–domestic, church, racial–and that it helps readers who might feel voiceless to realize that they are not alone. I hope it encourages all readers to be on the lookout for those who need help and to step into the gap for them in any way they can. Yes, and amen to the desire that abuse by husband and church leaders become a thing of the past and that racism in its many forms be eradicated forever!
I, too, love the name of No Creek! That was modeled after a real church name and its street name. It was a Baptist church in NC settled where there was no creek–a strange thing because Baptist churches were traditionally built beside creeks or lakes for the purpose of full immersion baptism before churches built indoor baptismal pools.
It’s good to review a book like this on your blog because shining a light on a dark place is important. The abuses handled in this novel definitely do continue and looking at them through a fictional, historical lens can help readers see these things better from a different perspective.
I would like to read this book to discover how the characters coped with and overcame their hardships.
Reading about abuse in fiction is less “threatening” in a way, and therefore has the potential to open the reader’s eyes to problems they might not want to read about otherwise. Hopefully, just reading about it, though, isn’t the ending point.