This Promised Land
Bestselling, Christy Hall of Fame, and Carol Award 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. Her critically acclaimed novels include A Hundred Crickets Singing, Night Bird Calling, The Medallion (winner of the 2020 Christy Award), Until We Find Home, Secrets She Kept (winner of the 2016 Christy, Carol and INSPY Awards), Saving Amelie (winner of the 2015 INSPY Award), Band of Sisters, Promise Me This (listed by Library Journal as one of the best books of 2012), I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires (listed by Library Journal as one of the best books of 2008 and winner of the 2008 Christy and American Christian Fiction Writers Award) and William Henry is a Fine Name (winner of the 2007 Christy Award).
FF: What inspired this story?
My brother loaned me his copy of Timothy Keller’s book, The Prodigal God. Reading it may have been the first time I recognized myself in the role of the wayward and desperate prodigal son, as well as the older, jealous, judgmental, and unforgiving son from Jesus’ parable in Luke 15. Keller’s book woke in me the realization that we all hold traits of both brothers, and a desire to remain neither.
The setting for my story was inspired by Milltown Creek Tree Farms, a local family-owned Christmas tree farm set amid the beautiful rolling hills of Virginia near me. We cut and buy our annual Christmas tree from this farm—a trek over hills we always look forward to.
Other aspects of the story were inspired by my love of family, children, and gardening.
FF: What messages or themes do you focus on in this book?
I focus on family and the realization that our families may include more than those we know best or have known longest. Sometimes, family becomes those who need us most. Forgiveness, self-sacrifice, humility, generosity, love, compassion, hospitality, and faith are all important themes in the story.
FF: How does faith play a role in this story?
Ultimately each character needs to surrender their heart and preconceived, self-focused goals to the Lord for the greater good of the family. In doing so, they find that surrender and compassion bring greater joy and peace—far more than they could have found by following their own predetermined path.
FF: What do you hope that readers learn from This Promised Land?
I hope readers take the heart of Jesus’ parables in Luke 15 with them. In truth we are all lost sheep in need of being rescued; we are lost coins in need of being found; we are all prodigals who’ve gone our own way, who desperately need to return to our Father; and we are all easily offended, judgmental children in need of welcoming our brothers and sisters and joining the feast and celebration our Father has prepared. I pray we each run to Him, celebrate with Him, and welcome one another Home.
FF: What did you hope to communicate about the story of the prodigal son through this story?
I hope to communicate that we are all prodigals, that we’ve all gone our own rebellious way and stand in need of returning to our Father who loves us and longs to welcome us home. I want to communicate how easy it is to be self-centered and judgmental of others; how that not only excludes others but excludes us from the joy of the welcome and family God intends for us. I hope especially to communicate that when we surrender our rebellious roles, we are free to emulate the Running Father—eager to welcome others into the Family of God. The father in the parable offers a loving welcome to his family and friends, generous, joyful hospitality, and celebration, even before either son fully realizes their need. We can do the same.
FF: What do you find to be the most challenging part of the writing process? What advice would you offer young writers?
I find writing the first draft of a story to be the most challenging part of the writing process—unless I’m able to keep my head in the story by writing and moving forward day after day. If any amount of time lapses between writing sessions, I find it hard to keep details in mind, to regain momentum and plow forward. My advice to writers: Determine the purpose of your story. Make certain it’s something you truly believe in. Desire, even commitment to writing is not enough. Passion is required to fuel a story.
FF: If you’re not sure of your book’s purpose or even your purpose for writing, analyze your God-given gifts and the history of your life. What have you been uniquely created and prepared to write? What makes you “pound the table and weep”?
Read widely—classics and notable books, especially in the genre you wish to write. Those books have stood the test of time for good reason.
FF: Which books and authors have shaped you most as a writer?
Classics I read early in my teens and as a young adult have most shaped me as a writer—Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott; Christy, by Catherine Marshall; In His Steps, by Charles Sheldon; Anne of Green Gables and everything written by Lucy Maud Montgomery; A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens; The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain; Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The Holy Bible has been my foundation, my touchstone and plumb line.
FF: Do you have any other writing projects planned?
Yes, I’m working now on a project dear to my heart and crucial to the heart of my family. It involves a life-and-death race against time for the discovery and purification of insulin. The story is set in NYC amid the last days of The Great War, the Spanish Flu, the turbulent rise of Prohibition and those determined to subvert it, the smuggling of Egyptian antiquities, and one of the most celebrated archeological discoveries of the twentieth century. I hope you’ll like it.
This Promised Land
Cathy Gohlke
Tyndale Fiction
Genres: Historical, Southern Fiction
Release Date: April 8, 2025
ISBN-10: 1496486951
ISBN-13: 978-1496486950
Book Summary:
When she ran away as a young war bride, she was cut off from her family forever…or so she believed. Decades later, maybe the only way to move on is to go home.
Ginny Pickering Boyden can’t wait for her last day of work, when she’ll be free to pursue a lifelong ambition through a master gardener apprenticeship. But an unexpected letter brings shocking news: Ginny has inherited her family’s Christmas tree farm, a dream she’d long ago given up.
Facing a past laced with memories and lies she’s tried hard to bury, a furious nephew who thought the land would be his, and a failing farm with a mountain of debt, Ginny returns to New Scrivelsby, Virginia, determined to sell. But when her younger nephew, a Vietnam vet, appears with demons of his own and three young children in tow, Ginny isn’t sure what to do. Too much of their story reminds Ginny of her own. She has little hope, however, that three generations of warring Pickerings can set aside their differences to restore all that’s broken, both on the land and in their hearts.
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