I’M RUNNING A GIVEAWAY OF NAOMI’S BOOKS. SEE BELOW . . .

Comment below for a chance to win an ebook or paperback of your choice.

I’m so grateful to my endorsers and their kind words about The Broken Weathervane (September 2, 2025). In thanks, I will be featuring each of them and their books on the blog over the few months.

Today I have the honor of spotlighting historical fiction author Naomi Musch.

Naomi’s complete endorsement:

“Laura DeNooyer winds a unique and mesmerizing strand of story DNA, as she entwines captivating characters, complex plot, and compelling literary beauty in The Broken Weathervane. While she tackles issues of mental illness trauma in a true way that displays both our innate human frailty and beautiful fullness, DeNooyer writes with grace and depth. Most importantly, the story doesn’t fail to culminate in hope and compassion. With her signature style, complicated relationships are explored and the past is unraveled, and DeNooyer drops mentions of other literary works like sweet lemon drops to savor along the way. Readers will relish this enthralling story.”

~ Naomi Musch, Historical fiction author and award finalist for Season of My Enemy, The Angel and the Sky Pilot (Courting the Country Preacher), and Mist O’er the Voyageur

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Back to Naomi . . . 

Wisconsin author Naomi Musch has been a guest on my blog twice when we discussed her books Polly (June 2024) and The Deepest Sigh (August 2024). Polly, a vintage romance, is part of the Apron Strings series about a family cookbook passed down through the decades. Such a fun premise! The series begins in 1918 with Polly, right after the Great War.

The Deepest Sigh, set during the Great War, is the first of Naomi’s Echoes of the Heart series, followed by The Softest Breath and The Brightest Hope, both set in the 1920s.

These books have a northern Wisconsin small town or rural setting. If you love history and romance, then Naomi’s books are for you. If you enjoy a Wisconsin or Midwest setting, that’s another bonus.

Check out the rest of Naomi’s many novels on her website. 

Naomi’s Book Awards:

• Silver Selah Award for The Angel and the Sky Pilot (Courting the Country Preacher collection, 2024)
• Faith, Hope, & Love Christian Writers Reader’s Choice Award Finalist for Season of my Enemy (2023)
• Selah Awards Finalist for Mist O’er the Voyageur (2019) 
• Selah Awards Finalist for Song for the Hunter (sequel, 2022)
• Carol Award Finalist for Lumberjacks & Ladies (2022)

Courting the Country Preacher contains four stories of Faith, Hope, and Falling in Love, by Naomi and three other authors. Lumberjacks & Ladies is also a collection with four authors. Season of My Enemy is part of the Heroines of World War II series.

Naomi has been busy! She’ll be releasing several books over the next fourteen months, including The Girl from Tomorrow’s Town in Barbour’s Enduring Hope series.

Here’s the blurb for The Girl from Tomorrow’s Town:

A young seamstress fleeing a life of servitude in 1918 Wyoming finds an unexpected safe haven—and a chance at love—within the dazzling world of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. Taken under the wing of a kind-hearted roustabout with a debilitating secret, she begins to stitch together a new life. But her search for the family she lost and his fears for the future are thrown into chaos by a historical train disaster that threatens to tear them apart forever, forcing them to discover if their love is strong enough to survive the flames.

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Never having read fiction with a circus setting, this story intrigues me! Unfortunately, there’s no book cover to share yet, but sign up for Naomi’s newsletter (North Woods Faith & Fiction) on her website to stay updated and get the first glimpse of the cover when it’s ready.

After signing up, you can download her free story, “A Haven for Love.” This is a novella duology—two distinct novellas that share a common plot or characters. They are both tales about second chances. The first novella is a re-release of “Heart Not Taken.” The other is a brand new one, “A Chosen Pursuit”, about listening for God’s voice when seeking one’s calling.

Also, keep an eye on Naomi’s YouTube channel. Her new videos—“Let’s Visit”—feature talks about books, writing, and home life complete with readings, book favorites, demonstrations, and occasional surprises. 

You can catch a flavor of “Let’s Visit” here, from September 23, 2025. Naomi is making applesauce—such an autumn-ish thing to do—and chatting as if you’re sitting right there with her. Learn more about her current research in Mineral Point, Wisconsin and her 1930s retelling of a particular fairy tale . . . This series of fairy tale retellings by several authors is also connected to the cookbook series. Check it out here to get the details!

Please comment below to be entered in the giveaway for a free book of your choice!

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Back to Laura . . . On a similar note . . . 

If you like dual timeline fiction about family dynamics in a small town Midwest (Wisconsin) setting, try The Broken Weathervane (launched September 2). Two co-workers seek the same information. One wants to publish it; the other has good reasons to keep it hidden. The timeline alternates between 2015 and the 1950s. Check out the reviews and book trailer here.

If you like historical fiction, you might enjoy A Hundred Magical Reasons  (launched January 2025). This story spotlights L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, his friendship with a young girl, and his impact through the decades. Set in Holland, Michigan, this dual timeline novel alternates between 1980 and the early 1900s. Read more and watch the book trailer here. 

If you like Southern fiction and small town/rural stories about family dynamics and secrets, you might enjoy my 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 is now an audiobook! 

I invite you to join my monthly newsletter for writing updates, freebies, and giveaways. Sign up and I’ll send you 7 Oz-inspired recipes: A-Taste-Of-Oz-Cookbook-Sampler.com

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Naomi Musch Bio

Naomi Muschwrites to bring hope that will change the story—maybe even her own. Her historical novels have been award finalists in the Carol Awards; the Faith, Hope, and Love Readers’ Choice Awards; the Selah Awards; and twice for Book of the Year. She has won multiple short story awards. Naomi is at home in the Wisconsin Northwoods, where her perfect day is spent writing, roaming her family’s farm, snacking from the garden, or kayaking a nearby lake, relaxing in her vintage camper, and most especially, loving on her passel of grandchildren. Learn more on her website. 

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Join me next time for a visit with author Liz Tolsma.

Meanwhile, have you read any books by Naomi Musch or novels set in Wisconsin? Any favorites?

Please comment below to be entered in the giveaway for a free book of your choice!

Ever reading,

Laura

Sign up for my monthly newsletter and receive the 7 free Oz-inspired recipes: A-Taste-Of-Oz-Cookbook-Sampler.com