Kemma MarShall on Writing Hymns of Blue Hollow | Author Inspiration

Author Kemma MarShall shares the inspiration behind the Hymns of Blue Hollow series, a 1940s Appalachian historical romance. Discover the land, characters,

The journey of writing a novel, especially a historical romance series like Hymns of Blue Hollow, rarely begins with a lightning bolt. For me, Kemma MarShall, it started with a single, haunting image: a barefoot girl, her worn overalls loose on a too-thin frame, stepping into an unfamiliar house, the scent of biscuits baking just beyond her reach. That girl became Esther Primm, the heart of a story rooted deeply in the unforgiving yet beautiful Appalachian landscape of the 1940s.

This book, Hymns of Blue Hollow, and indeed the entire series, wasn’t born from a meticulously plotted outline, but from a profound connection to the land and the echoes of family stories. It’s a love letter to the overlooked strength of women who endure, a conversation between generations, and my attempt to capture the lyrical grit of a bygone era.

Blue Hollow Hills, the primary setting for the Hymns of Blue Hollow series, is a fictional place, yet it’s carved from the very real memories and textures of the American South. Imagine a place where spiritual refuge and forgotten battlegrounds coexist, where doors remain unlocked but secrets are guarded fiercely. This isn’t the South of grand plantations or sweeping ballgowns. Blue Hollow is about mud under fingernails, clothes worn thin, and dignity fought for in the quiet corners of life in a small town like Larkin, Tennessee, during the 1940s.

If you’ve ever known a place where whispers travel faster than the mail, where Sundays mean more than just sermons, and where survival sometimes manifests as a pie cooling on a windowsill, then you’ll find a piece of home in the Blue Hollow Hills.

Before Esther had a name, the land of Blue Hollow had a voice. This was how I knew Hymns of Blue Hollow would be a different kind of novel. The setting wasn’t mere backdrop; it demanded its place as a central character in this Appalachian historical fiction.

The trees became silent witnesses. The creek, a source of power and solace. The old white chapel, a place of reckoning. My writing style, a blend of lyrical grit and grounded emotional realism, aimed to let this 1940s historical romance setting speak as clearly as the characters. The descriptions are crafted to linger, much like memory itself—not always direct, but profoundly felt.

The choice of the 1940s for the Hymns of Blue Hollow series was deliberate. It was an era of global upheaval, certainly, but for rural communities like those near the Old Reed Estate in Larkin, it was also a time when the traditional pace of life clashed with the rapidly modernizing outside world. Time was still measured by harvests, weather, and local gossip.

While World War II casts a shadow, Hymns of Blue Hollow focuses on the home front—the quiet, often unseen battles of people grappling with poverty, their struggles intensified by the economic strains of the era. It’s a story of resilience in a world on the cusp of irrevocable change.

Once the land was fully formed in my mind, the characters began to emerge, as if rising from the very soil of Blue Hollow.

Esther Primm arrived first—half-starved, steeped in silence, yet possessing a strength she couldn’t yet recognize. She yearns for a life of her own, a path of her choosing, but the world has offered her little guidance. For Esther, wanting more feels both perilous and essential.

Then came Ian Huggler, a German-born man burdened by a quiet sorrow, yet his gentle charm and rugged strength offer a disarming contrast. His story, like Esther’s, is one of seeking solace and connection in a world that has shown them hardship.

Esther isn’t a conventional heroine who kicks down doors. She doesn’t ask for much—perhaps to be left alone, to be fed. Yet, from the moment I envisioned her at the edge of the Blue Hollow Hills, I knew she would carry an entire world on her slender shoulders. She just didn’t know it yet.

This is the heart of Hymns of Blue Hollow and the series it begins—a testament to the enduring human spirit, set against the rich tapestry of Appalachian romance books and Southern historical fiction.