1. How did you come up with the idea for Undaunted Hope?
For this third book
in my Michigan lighthouse series, I wanted to pick a location that was different
than the other books. The first two books, Love
Unexpected
and Hearts
Made Whole, are
set in the "Mitten" of Michigan. So to add variety to the series,
I decided to place Undaunted
Hope
in the Upper Peninsula on Lake Superior.
In doing my
research of Michigan lighthouses, I learned that there are lighthouses dotted
all over the coast of Lake Superior since it was such a treacherous lake to
traverse and an important place for steamers due to the rich natural resources
that were available. As I studied the various lighthouses, I finally landed
upon Eagle Harbor Lighthouse in the Keweenau Peninsula because not only was the
area rich in resources, but it was rich in history and the makings of a really
great story!
2. Each of your lighthouse books is
set at a real lighthouse that once existed in Michigan or still does exist.
Tell us a little about the lighthouse in this third book.
Yes, my first
lighthouse book (Love
Unexpected)
is set at Presque Isle which is on Lake Huron on the north eastern side of the
state. The second book (Hearts
Made Whole)
is set at Windmill Point Lighthouse that once existed on Lake St. Clair near
Detroit.
Undaunted
Hope
is set at Eagle Harbor Lighthouse which is in the far north of Michigan's Upper
Peninsula. In fact, it's about as far north as you can go in Michigan. During
the mining boom in the Upper Peninsula, Eagle Harbor saw a rapid increase in
the commerce in the area with ships arriving to supply miners as well as load
up the valuable copper that was being mined. Due to the dangers of a rocky
ledge in the harbor, the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse was established in 1851 to
guide ships safely to and from the docks in the harbor.
3.
What special research did you do in writing Undaunted
Hope?
As I wrote this
third book in the Beacon's of Hope Lighthouse Series, I had the wonderful
privilege of visiting Eagle Harbor and the lighthouse that serves as the
setting for this book. In fact, I was able to stay for a whole week in the
assistant keeper's cottage that now sits next to the lighthouse.
The large covered
front porch of the assistant keeper's house overlooked Eagle Harbor and Lake
Superior, so it was a gorgeous view! Every morning I woke up to the sound of
the crashing waves and every evening I watched the sunset. It was one of the
most beautiful, peaceful places I've ever stayed.
Not only did I get
to do in-depth research on the lighthouse (and walk around inside it as many
times as I wanted!), but I also was able to research the entire area taking
lots of pictures of the lake, flowers, wildlife, and the numerous waterfalls
throughout the peninsula. It's a remote wilderness area of Michigan, sparsely
populated, and cold! I visited at the end of June and brought short sleeve
shirts. I had to wear sweatshirts almost every day instead.
4.
The heroines in the first two books actually live in lighthouses. In Undaunted Hope, the heroine is a school
teacher. Why did you decide for her to be a school teacher instead of a light
keeper?
As I researched the
area and the Keweenau Peninsula, I came across the diary of a real school
teacher, Henry Hobart, who lived and taught in Clifton which was just a few
miles down the road from Eagle Harbor. He wrote a detailed account of his life
as a school teacher to the mining children.
I loved reading his
diary and learning about all he experienced, especially those unique things
that came with being in such a remote area of Michigan and living among the
mining community.
I used many of Hobart's
experiences in Undaunted
Hope.
For example, he boarded with a Cornish family, the Rawlings, and Mr. Rawlings
was a prominent mine engineer and mechanic. So I had Tessa board with this particular
family. Hobart faced many hardships like bedbugs, lice, scarlet fever, the
harsh winter, and much more. So again, I had Tessa experience many of those
same things.
Eagle Harbor itself
has an old one-room school house now known as the Rathbone School House. While
it's no longer in use and serves as a museum, during my research trip I was
able to visit it. I used it as the inspiration for the school house in this
book.
5.
The location of Undaunted Hope is in the Keweenaw Peninsula of upper Michigan.
Tell us a little bit about what makes this setting unique.
The Keweenaw
Peninsula is known as "Copper County" because it has a rich vein of
copper running down the center of the peninsula. In the 1800's early explorers
to the region discovered the copper. And by the mid 1800's miners and their
families were flocking to the numerous towns that formed around the mines.
Due to the decline
of the copper mining industry in England at approximately the same time as the
mining boom in Michigan's UP, many Cornish immigrants came to the Keweenau
Peninsula to continue mining. To this day, the Cornish have left a heritage in
the area including homemade famous "Pasties" that can be found at
most local restaurants. These were the hot meat pies that miners would carry in
their pockets down into the mines to eat for their midday meals.
The bustling copper
mining community was a rough and wild area that resembled the Old West. If the
danger from the mines wasn't enough, the residents also faced incredibly harsh
winters where they were cut off from supplies from the lower part of Michigan.
Nowadays, except
for a few tourist towns, the area is a graveyard of ghost towns and abandoned
mines. During my research trip, I was able to walk deep underground in one of
those old mines and get a firsthand look at just how dark, damp, and dangerous
the mining life was.
6.
This is now the sixth book that you've written with a Michigan setting. What
draws you to write stories set in Michigan?
I've lived in
central Michigan for the past sixteen years. All but one of my five children
have been born in Michigan, and this is where I've raised my family. So
Michigan definitely has a special place in my heart.
Not only has it
been a wonderful place to raise a family, but it's also a beautiful state. Michigan is a peninsula and is bordered by 4 of the 5
Great Lakes, giving it approximately 3,200
miles of shoreline which is the most of any state except Alaska. Michigan not
only has lots of beaches and sand dunes and hiking trails and state parks, but
it also is home to the most lighthouses.
Aside from the beauty of the
state (which makes for very picturesque book settings!), Michigan has a rich
history due to the lumber and mining era that attracted many settlers to the state,
but also attracted plenty of colorful and dangerous characters as well.
All that to say, Michigan is full
of wonderful, interesting, and fascinating stories of real life people. I've
only begun to touch on some of those people, and I hope that I'll be able to
bring more of them to life in the future.
7.
In your other lighthouse books, the heroines are inspired by real women keepers.
Did you use a real light keeper as part of the inspiration for the heroine in Undaunted Hope?
Most of us gravitate
toward the stories that glamorize lighthouse life and honor the women who
served in them. That's only natural. And I hope in my other two books in this
series, I give those women the laud due to them.
However, I didn't
want to neglect the women who served in lighthouses whose experiences weren't
quite as glamorous, who served even though they disliked the duty. One woman in
particular inspired this book. Her name was Cecelia Carlson McLean who was
married to keeper Alexander McLean who served at various lighthouses around
Lake Superior. When she was interviewed later in her life, Cecelia was very
forthright in stating that she hated lighthouses, that they were lonely places,
and that she'd had to sacrifice a great deal to live in them. She claimed that
if she had to do it over, she wouldn't choose life in a lighthouse.
Of course her story
made me think about the many hardships that light keeping entailed, especially
for women–the extreme isolation, the lack of luxury, and the constant threat of
danger. So out of Cecelia's hardships, I created Tessa and tried to imagine the
underlying motivations for what might cause someone to hate lighthouses.
Although I had Tessa work through some of her fears and dislike of lighthouses,
I'm sure most women like Cecelia took their resentment of lighthouses with them
to the grave.
8. Do
you base the villain in Undaunted Hope
on a real Michigan criminal as you do in previous books? If so, who did you
pick this time?
The villain,
Percival Updegraff, is based on a real rogue from Michigan history, Albert
Molitor. Molitor lived in Rogers City and ruled as "king" over his
wilderness lumbering community. He controlled who was hired and fired. He had a
company store and held a monopoly on all food and merchandise.
He was also a
sexual predator. Since he had so much control over the people who worked for
him, if he took interest in a woman, he would walk into the woman's house and
order her into bed. If she refused or resisted, he'd fire her husband and force
the family to leave the company owned home.
He
"ruled" this way until the people in the community finally revolted.
They held secret meetings to plan to overthrow him. And while it took a couple
of attempts, they attempted to assassinate him. He was mortally wounded and
eventually died which finally freed the town of his cruelty.
9.
What have you enjoyed most in writing this lighthouse series?
Over the past
couple of years of writing this series, I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to
visit numerous lighthouses throughout the state. Not only have I attempted to
visit the lighthouses that are used as settings for the books, but I've also
been inspired to visit many others. Every time I do, I learn a little bit more
about how lighthouses were operated and have come to realize that they're all
so unique.
During the past
summer of 2015 I toured several lighthouses including: Tawas Point Lighthouse,
St. Joseph Lighthouses, and Mackinac City Lighthouse.
Each time I climb a
tower, reach the top, and gaze out at the spectacular view, I'm always amazed
by the beauty. I never tire of the experience and can completely understand the
fascination so many people have with lighthouses. I think I caught the "lighthouse
bug" and will forever be visiting them!
10.
What do you hope readers take away from Undaunted
Hope?
I pray that this
story will encourage readers with renewed hope. Just like Tessa, I hope that
readers will find the strength to face their fears. We all have things that
frighten us, and many times we find it easier to run away from those things
that scare us. Sometimes, however, God calls us to walk directly into that
thing we fear most. He wants us to know that during those times, he's there walking
right beside us and that he'll help us come out on the other side stronger as a
result.
---
Thank you, Jody! It was great to hear about lighthouses as well as more insight about your story Undaunted Hope. I'm looking forward to reading your next installment in Beacons of Hope: Forever Safe.
If you'd like to connect with Jody Hedlund, here's a few places you can connect with her:
Facebook : Author Jody Hedlund
Twitter : @JodyHedlund
Website : jodyhedlund.com
Pinterest : pinterest.com/jodyhedlund
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