Echoes of Mercy: A Novel - Softcover

Vogel Sawyer, Kim

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0307731278 ISBN 13: 9780307731272

Publisher: WaterBrook, 2014

Synopsis

Sometimes a secret must be kept for the truth to be revealed.
 
When a suspicious accident occurs at the famous Dinsmore Chocolate Factory in Sinclair, Kansas, Caroline Lang goes undercover as a factory worker to investigate the circumstances surrounding the event and how the factory treats its youngest employees—the child workers. Caroline’s fervent faith, her difficult childhood, and compassionate heart drove her to her job as an investigator for the Labor Commission and she is compelled to see children freed from such heavy adult responsibilities, to allow them to pursue an education.   
 
Oliver Dinsmore, heir to the Dinsmore candy dynasty, has his own investigation to conduct. Posing as a common worker known as “Ollie Moore,” he aims to find out all he can about the family business before he takes over for his father. Caroline and Oliver become fast friends, but tension mounts when the two find themselves at odds about the roles of child workers. Hiding their identities becomes even more difficult when fate brings them together over three children in desperate need. When all is revealed, will the truth destroy the love starting to grow between them?

About this title

Review

Q&A with Kim Vogel Sawyer

Q. How did you choose a chocolate factory as your location for Echoes of Mercy? (Maybe every woman’s dream location?)

A. My love for chocolate is certainly not a secret! In a way, this location chose me. A man shared vintage photos and the history of Hutchinson, Kansas, at our church on a Sunday evening. A picture of a three-story brick building that had once housed a chocolate factory appeared on the screen, and he told us about an unsolved mystery concerning the death of the factory’s foreman. The man was found on a Monday morning in the bottom of the elevator shaft, his neck broken. No one knew why he’d been in the factory on a Sunday, and it was never determined whether he fell to his death or was pushed into the shaft. The image, along with the snippet of history, wiggled its way to the center of my imagination and...voila...the idea for Echoes of Mercy was born.

Q. Your location in the book is Sinclair, Kansas. What led you to choose Sinclair? Is the setting based on a historical site in the area? Do cities in Kansas ever contact you and ask if you’ll choose their area for your next book?

A. Sinclair is fictional, but set near real-life Wichita, Kansas. I do occasionally hear from someone who suggests a location for its history, but if I build my own town, I can put the things in it that suit my story. So although real-life cities might be background locations, I prefer the main setting to be fictional. Creative liberties, and all that...

Q. What inspired you to choose underage factory workers and child labor laws as your topic?

A. When I taught fifth-grade history, the kids were always intrigued by the subject of child-labor. When you’re writing about a factory between the late 1800s and early1900s, children would be a part of the labor force, so it was historically correct to include the thread. People took fierce stands on both sides of the issue, so using the child-labor platform gave me a plausible reason for someone to want Harmon Bratcher’s crusade ended.

Q. Does your work with Hope Chest International School and Orphanage influence your storylines?

A. Interestingly enough, many of my stories include orphans looking for a place to belong. I have a soft spot for children who are growing up without the love and nurturing of a mom and dad. Although I hadn’t consciously connected my support of Hope Chest and the inclusion of orphans in my story, perhaps there is a subconscious link between the two.

Q. What do you think readers will appreciate the most about Echoes of Mercy’s main character Caroline?

A. I don’t know about readers, but I can say I appreciated her conscience and her sense of responsibility. She has a task to complete, and she wants to perform it well to honor her mentor. Sometimes performing her job means misleading people about her real purpose, and these untruths pierce her conscience. I admired her desire to do right. About Oliver? Oliver, having been raised in wealth and luxury, could easily have been selfish and uncaring, but he isn’t. Instead of looking at the factory workers and seeing only what he can gain from them, he wants to reward them for their service. So often he was clueless as to what to do, but his heart was always in the right place. I really liked that about him.

Q. Since both your main characters are living incognito, was it difficult to integrate genuine faith characteristics into their characters? Any challenges?

A. I found it very challenging to balance Caroline’s desire to live her faith honestly while also hiding her reason for being in the factory. How do you walk openly while hiding in shadows? Caroline battled these incongruities, and I as the writer, I also struggled with balancing her faith with the necessities of her job.

Q. What are you hoping readers will take away from Echoes of Mercy?

A. Honestly, my prayer is that the story will open readers’ eyes to the truth that God is not a wasteful God. He can take anything in our lives, no matter how painful or ugly or dark, and let it be used for our good and His glory when we release it to Him. Nothing in our lives is irredeemable when given over to the Master’s hands.

Q. You’ve mentioned in your bio that you like to play quirky characters in your local community theater productions. Who is the quirkiest character you played?

A. Hm, I think this is a toss-up between Mrs. Dubose, the morphine-addicted elderly neighbor in To Kill A Mockingbird and Clairee in Steel Magnolias. Part of the fun of these roles was emulating someone many years older than my true age (I was in my 30s when I played Mrs. Dubose, who was supposedly in her 80s!), and part was assuming a persona so very different than the real Kim. Theater definitely helps with writing! Exploring the psyche of another person and trying to feel and behave the way that character would helps in developing real emotion and actions in my story characters. Also, it seems in each of my books a quirky secondary character enters the story. It’s never planned—they just step onto the stage and I let them do their thing. They always add humor and often a dose of common sense to the storylines.

About the Author

Kim Vogel Sawyer is a best-selling author highly acclaimed for her gentle stories of hope. More than one million copies of her books are currently in print and have garnered awards including the ACFW Carol Award, the Inspirational Readers Choice Award, and the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence. Kim lives in central Kansas, where she and her retired military husband, Don, run a bed-and-breakfast inn with the help of their four feline companions.

Edition details

• Publisher: WaterBrook
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0307731278
• ISBN 13: 9780307731272
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 352