Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt Stop #23

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 55 Comments

Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! If you’ve just discovered the hunt, be sure to start at Stop #1, and collect the clues through all 27 stops, in order, so you can enter to win one of our top 5 grand prizes!

  • The hunt BEGINS on 3/14 at noon MST (3 p.m. EST) with Lisa Bergren’s Stop #1.
  • Hunt through our loop using Chrome or Firefox as your browser (not Explorer).
  • There is NO RUSH to complete the hunt–you have all weekend (until Sunday, 3/17 at midnight MST)! So take your time, reading the unique posts along the way; our hope is that you discover new authors/new books and learn new things about them.
  • Submit your entry for the grand prizes by collecting the CLUE on each author’s scavenger hunt post and submitting your answer in the Rafflecopter form at Stop #27. Many authors are offering additional prizes along the way!

Meet Kimberley Woodhouse

One of the great things about being part of these fun Scavenger Hunts is meeting so many great authors. While I haven’t met Kimberley face to face, with the magic of the internet, we can be author friends. Kimberley is an amazing writer with many great books to her credit including her new release, The Golden Bride: When Olivia Brighton ends up in crime-riddled San Francisco, will she unite with Joseph Sawyer to find the mastermind behind an awful slave ring before it’s too late? Is there hope for San Francisco? Or will it burn like Sodom and Gomorrah? 

What’s Underneath San Francisco’s Streets? by Kimberley Woodhouse


The things I learn as I’m researching to write always blow my mind. Every book I write, there’s at least one fascinating fact that makes me even more curious to dig around further. In the case of The Golden Bride, I was neck deep into researching San Francisco and the gold rush of 1849 when I discovered just how much the city expanded its borders beyond the original peninsula. In the back of my mind, I knew that I had heard or learned somewhere that the great Golden Gate city had built some of its streets on “landfill” but that was the extent of my knowledge.

Then to discover that this land growth all started because of the 1849 Gold Rush when hundreds upon hundreds of ships came into the harbor. Day in and day out, ships were stacked into the small bay and cove. Hordes of men were aboard all seeking their fortune, and then many of those ship were abandoned. Many might even be too tame a word. 😊

Some of those ships were torn apart to build makeshift buildings, while others were used to basically “fill in” the bays with whatever else they could find, and the peninsula’s shoreline began to grow. To this day, there are quite a few ships underneath the streets of San Francisco. (Here’s a fascinating map from National Geographic.)

Never would I have guessed last time I was in San Francisco that I was walking above ships from 1849. Talk about fascinating history! But it just goes to prove that I always have more to learn.

If you’re fascinated by the notion of a city being built on landfill – check out this cool map from the Smithsonian where you can see the original shorelines compared to today.

Thanks for joining us! Happy reading and hunting!

Do you like knowing about the research that makes historical novels come to life?

Kimberley Woodhouse is the best-selling author of more than twenty books. An avid lover of history, she often gets sucked into the past and her husband has to lure her out with chocolate. She lives and writes in Montana. Find out more at her website or join her on Facebook.

 

Here’s the Stop #23 Skinny: 
You can order Kimberley’s book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, or at your local bookstore!
Clue to Write Down: many
Link to Stop #24, the Next Stop on the Loop: Kimberley Woodhouse’s own site!

But wait! Before you go, I’m offering a special prize here on my site. I’m offering four book prizes to four entrants. You can win one of my previous Shaker books pictured here along with a couple of my favorite Blue Monday candy bars made right here in Kentucky. The books are written right here in Kentucky too. 🙂 All you have to do is sign up to get my e-newsletter (sign-up form in the blue-green box at the top right of this page) or just note that you’re already a subscriber. (USA only for print books and the candy bars. International readers can win an e-book.)

Sign up for the prizes on Rafflecopter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Comments 55

  1. Very Interesting to read the research facts. Love doing the Scavenger hunt and learning do much about authors and new books.

    1. Post
      Author

      Thanks, Mary for subscribing. I hope you’ll enjoy my newsletter when it lands in your inbox. I should be sending one out in a few weeks to celebrate the release of The Refuge. I’ll be giving away something fun.

  2. Hearing about the research that authors do really fascinates me. Ships under the streets? Now that’s fascinating!

    1. Post
      Author

      That was very interesting, Deanne. When you start looking back into the history of our country or other places too, you find many surprising things. It’s great how Kimberley used that surprising information to make her story more exciting and help us learn a little history we might not have ever come across until we read her book, The Golden Bride.

    1. Post
      Author

      I found the articles fascinating on the Scavenger Hunt, especially the ones about the historical research. I’m always ready to learn some new things, Sue, and sounds as though you are too.

    1. Post
      Author

      Kimberley did reveal some fascinating history, didn’t she, Gretchen? Especially for a geography teacher. Now you have a story to tell your students that may make them sit up and listen.

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