Ruth Wilson, Summerton native and author of Our Dark Places, recently released a new book, Where Thou Lodgest.
Where Thou Lodgest is the first installment of a series that Wilson has written about the protagonist of the first novel, Deborah Wayfaring. Deborah is “a woman of faith who is always sensing and feeling something different for her future than what is seemingly her destiny,” according to the back cover.
When asked what inspired her to author the book and her plans for the series, Wilson said, “This is the first one in this series, Where Thou Lodgest, but I recently had one, Our Dark Places, and it was really a nonfiction. This is a fiction and is based on some real life events, but I had to make it a storytelling book. Therefore, I added some things to fill out the pages.”
In her own words, Wilson said the book is based on a story about a powerful young lady, but in the beginning she did not know her name or where her name originated. The young lady worried about that for years until finally one day she asked someone what her name meant. Well, that person did not give her the answer that she wanted to hear, so she goes out on this journey searching for an answer to the questions: ‘Why is my name so important?;’ ‘Why is it always popping up?;’ ‘Why am I always thinking about it and that it may mean something?; and ‘Should I aspire to be something great in life?’ All of her siblings, they’re doing quite well, and it seemed like she felt at a standpoint in her life. While on this journey of discovering what her name truly means, the young lady meets some people along the way and decides that it is time for her to seek out love as well. This is where she gets into this triangle between a person that she really did love but didn’t show her any affection, and a person she met on her journey, who showed her so much affection. She decides she wants to do move in that direction (of the man who showed her affection) to see where it will lead, but her heart is filled with this other man. The story ends where the man she met on her journey returns to town and wants to be with her. The young lady agrees since her initial love interest never expresses his affection; she decides to give this love a chance. That’s where it ends because the next part in the series will be what happens after she decides to go on a date with this new love interest.
When asked what new readers should expect upon opening the book for the first time, Wilson said “It’s a romance but it’s a fiction as well, some events as far as the beginning, such as this is not the real person’s name, she did go to college and that college name is not the real college either, and the town where she grew up is Summerton. She did have 17 siblings in her life, and her mother has Alzheimer’s and her father has passed away. Those are some of the true events in the book. Throughout the book, you will come across some things that you won’t know whether they’re true or false, but there are some true facts in the book as well.”
“This book, Where Thou Lodges, I wanted to write something that was a little bit more positive because Our Dark Places was about overcoming, and I wanted to get out of that mode and get into something more positive.”
Ruth Wilson always wanted to write. Certain events that happened to her personally inspired her to become an author. She always considered herself good in school. Traveling and living in Indianapolis for over 40 years, being in convincing settings, and being married are also huge inspirations, according to Wilson. As she gained more free time over the years, she wanted to “freestyle” and allow it to evolve into something. That is how she finally started writing books.
One thing that Wilson thought readers should know is that “if they read all the way through the book and don’t stop at some of the chapters that are not as interesting to them and keep reading, I believe they will find something. Even though, as a Christian, I’m writing this book, but we as Christians have feelings too. We’re human, and I said something in the book: ‘that you don’t make love listening to a gospel record, but you will put on a love song to romance yourself.’ I want them to know that I’m a Christian, but yet I’m human.”
If you are interested in reading Ruth Wilson’s newest book, Where Thou Lodgest, you can purchase it on her website at ruthwilson2023.com. It is also available at barnesandnoble.com, amazon.com, balboapress.com, and at select Walmart stores.
