Happy June, readers! I hope you are all having a good start to summer! Or winter for my southern hemisphere readers 🙂 Here in Missouri, my family is finishing out the last few days of school and preparing for summer retreats, vacations, and lots of good craziness with everyone being home again.

What’s in this Edition:

WIP Updates – More details on my Work in Progress

New Audiobooks – Stars in the Storm and Coming Up Next

New Photo Community – My photos on Unsplash.com

Releasing in June – Other authors’ new releases I’m most excited about

WIP Updates

This month, I finished the main bulk of research for my next novel and am now diving into drafting. I would much rather edit than write, so please pray for me as I slog through the first draft. Here are a few more details of what I can share so far about the story:

• Set in the 1910s, specifically 1913
• Set in a fictional town, but one you may be familiar with. If you’ve read For a Noble Purpose, this book is set in the same town of Hawthorn Ridge, Missouri with a new cast of characters.
• Much of the book takes place in Hawthorn Asylum. While originally founded by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, the institution is now overseen by a superintendent and a board of directors. The sisters continue to serve the patients as nurses and spiritual advisors.
• Avila Kohlfeld and Matthias Ward are the Female MC and Male MC respectively. Avila’s father leads the asylum as Superintendent and Matthias works in the asylum’s morgue.
• The villain is…wait, I’m not going to tell you that.
• Unlike Larksong Legacy, this novel doesn’t contain a speculative/ light fantasy element; however, it does include a touch of the religious supernatural. It is inspired by the near-death experiences of St. Christina the Astonishing and St. Teresa of Avila among others.
• Bonus – There’s a cameo appearance from one of the characters who appears in Over the Atlantic and War Across Waters. Send me your best guess!

New Audiobooks!

Good news, everyone! Stars in the Storm, the final book in the Larksong Legacy series is now available in audiobook, which means you can now listen to the entire series start to finish. More good news, I’ve signed a contract with my narrator, Tawnya Rollingson, to begin production of the War Across Waters duology in August with release scheduled for early 2026.

Check out the trailer below for Stars in the Storm. I love the music Tawnya chose and the rolling background waves.

Ready to listen? You can find links to purchase all four books on Tawnya’s website as well as a select number of free promo codes.

Get your Larksong Legacy audiobooks.

New Photo Community

As a cover designer, I love that there are sites where I can source free photos for my clients – and do so legally. (Note: You should never save a photo from a random web search and use it on a book cover. That’s illegal and in bad taste. Always check the licensing agreement and copyright rules before using a photo, even on Canva.)

Unsplash.com is my absolute favorite of these free photo sites. Unsplash provides a place for photographers to gain visibility of their work, get hired for future work, and has a huge database of excellent photography for anyone else to choose from. Meaning I can keep my cover design fees at a manageable cost for the average indie author. The one exception to this is photos of people for commercial projects. These must always be purchased to ensure that each model has given consent related to use of his or her image. (Another note: If you purchase a stock photo, especially for a book cover, I highly recommend buying the Expanded License. It is more expensive, but will cover all your legal bases.)

Between cover designs, newsletters, and marketing projects, I’ve sourced countless photos from Unsplash, and it only seemed right to give back to others. Therefore, you can now find many of my own photos on my Unsplash profile. These are all completely free for use, although a note of credit in your project(s) is greatly appreciated. My thanks in advance!

Visit My Unsplash Page

Releasing in June

Need another read? Here are the new releases I’m excited about:

1. Perpetual Rainbows by Jessika Caruso – A young woman must navigate disease, death, first love, and friendship as she decides how much she is willing to risk for the Continental cause.
2. A Name to Remember by Hannah Hood Lucero – YA romantic military suspense about a gold star daughter and the misunderstood bad boy in town. He’s hiding from the disgrace of his name. She’s running from the legacy of hers.
3. Secrets of the Revolution by Megan Soja – A young woman will do whatever it takes to preserve her family’s legacy, including joining a dangerous ring of patriot spies…and falling for a revolutionary printer with a brave heart.
4. A Class Liberated by Susie Murphy – The seventh book in the Irish historical romance fiction series, A Matter of Class. Please note that this series has more mature content than most of the books I recommend, but is extremely well-written.
5. Awakened by Roseanna M. White – In a world on the brink of war between the mer and the land-dwellers, friendship, faith, and love demand the ultimate sacrifice as both kingdoms seek to unlock the prophesied magic waiting to spring the magic of wind and sky.

Want to know what I’m currently reading? Follow me on GoodReads.

Did you know reviews help both readers and authors? Even one sentence is enough, and every word greatly appreciated. Consider leaving a rating on Amazon, Goodreads, BookBub, and/or your favorite retailer!

Until next month, happy reading!

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

Kelsey

Purchase signed copies of my books: kelseygietl.com

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COPYRIGHT © KELSEY GIETL 2025

Happy May, readers! I’m really excited to finally share what I’ve been up to the last few months so let’s dive right in.

What’s in this Edition:

Investigating the Insane – My Visit to the Historic St. Louis Asylum

Releasing in May– Other authors’ new releases I’m most excited about

Investigating the Insane

You may have guessed from my research books that my next book will take place primarily in an asylum. Specifically, it will be based in the fictional town of Hawthorn Ridge, Missouri, where my book For a Noble Purpose also begins (otherwise, the two books are not connected). While the asylum itself is fictional, I’m taking inspiration from the several Missouri institutions that were open at the time.

Last month, I was able to go on a tour of the original St. Louis City Insane Asylum (later, known as the City Sanitarium, St. Louis State Hospital, and the St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center), and now serving patients in a different building as the St. Louis Forensic Treatment Center. Their archivist, Andrea, provided interesting insights into the workings of the asylum throughout its history and how it works today.

A Brief History

Similar to other Missouri asylums in the mid-1800s, the belief at the St. Louis Insane Asylum was that if you took people out into the middle of nowhere, the fresh air and slower lifestyle would improve their mental state and help them get well. (Really, not a bad idea even today.) Therefore, even though the asylum is now situated in the middle of a bustling city, in 1869, it was far outside it. The original building, which I toured, is the only surviving building from what would become a small city of operations that included a functioning coal plant to produce electricity, fields to grow food for the patients and workers, a hospital, a poorhouse, a facility specific to women, another specific to children, and much more. For all intents and purposes, at the beginning, their plan worked. Many people did get better or at least had improved quality of life during their stay. However, there were many afflictions that had no cure or good treatments at the time. Even with the best of intentions, many patients never left the asylum.

Below you can see the main building from 1870 the year after opening, then 1890, 1905, and 120 years later in 2025. Note the power plant in the second photo and how the columns on the front entry changed size over time.

In the late 1800s, after Nellie Bly and many other journalists ran exposes on the atrocious conditions in asylums, society became concerned about all asylums and rightly so. An undercover expose was completed at the St. Louis Insane Asylum and thankfully, received a mostly positive review. While the journalist mentioned extreme overcrowding and terrible food, they also noted that the patients were well cared for and that the staff seemed to treat them with kindness.

A building originally intended for 200+ patients now housed over 1,000. More room was needed, so in 1911, a construction plan began. By 1918, the building had grown to what you see below. Hawthorn Asylum’s size will be somewhere in between.

Unfortunately, with more patients being regularly admitted than there was space, and many never leaving, this plan only went so far. At several points throughout its history, the tiny room below housed as many as three people, and unlike a college dorm room, there was no option to bunk the beds.

So, why were patients admitted? Honestly, for just about anything. There were real diagnoses such as we would think of today: depression (melancholia), bipolar (mania), alcohol and drug dependency, schizophrenia, and epilepsy, but also things like imbecility and hysteria which could cover a vast range of real and embellished disorders, especially those that went against social norms. Unruly wives, anyone who was too “spiritual,” and those with what we would consider developmental or learning disorders (for example autism, down syndrome, or dyslexia) could be candidates for admission. The table below outlines the reasons for admission in 1908. Note that 460 people were admitted that year alone, including 19 readmissions.

Even with the overcrowding, the asylum staff worked to make life pleasant for their patients. They hosted many events including picnics on the front lawn and dances in the fifth floor ballroom. Unfortunately, the ballroom is all but lost to time, so I was unable to get photographs there, but off the ballroom was a spiral staircase leading to the central dome which had some great views of the surrounding area. Back in the day, this would have been a popular tourist destination as well, with visitors (and staff) literally leaving their mark on the walls.

Below are a few more photos of the original architecture. Check out how tall the original doors were and how they framed them down over time. Also, the art deco lighting fixtures and 1930s stamped ceilings were so cool.

Finally, because everyone expects there to be creepy photos when you visit an asylum, here are a few from the basement, which really wasn’t all that creepy. The photo on the left led from the dentist office to other medical offices and the kitchens. The one on the right shows the arched supports that hold up the building. This area would have looked a lot nicer when the building was still in use by patients, with some parts having had a wood planked floor and ceiling. Now, the upper floors hold administrative offices, archives, and storage.

It’s been so interesting to dive into the history behind this asylum for my next novel, and I’m looking forward to merging many of the things I’ve learned with what my characters experience. If you’re ever in St. Louis, I highly recommend scheduling a tour. For more information, visit: https://dmh.mo.gov/ftc/history.

Releasing in May

Need another read? Here are the new releases I’m excited about:

1. The Fire of Your Love by Erin Lewis – Having gone from criminal to Catholic convert, a young seminarian must determine if he can overcome his past in order to give God his future. This is book 3 in the series; I highly recommend reading them in order.
2. Secret Dwellings by Angela Salvaggio – Amidst intrigue, escapades, romance, danger, and blackmail during the Protestant Reformation, a young woman is asked to lay down her life for another in a most unusual way.
3. Gather Together by Allison Ramirez – The second book in her devotional series focusing on the luminous mysteries of the Rosary as invitations to intimacy
4. Forest of Truth by Megan Lynn Rose – The exciting conclusion to her Broken Kingdom romantasy series
5. The Bootlegger’s Betrayal by Tanya E. Williams – In the 1960’s, a journalist comes to report on the Bootlegging Queen’s Prohibition arrest, but there may be far more to the story than she ever imagined.

Want to know what I’m currently reading? Follow me on GoodReads.

Did you know reviews help both readers and authors? Even one sentence is enough, and every word greatly appreciated. Consider leaving a rating on Amazon, Goodreads, BookBub, and/or your favorite retailer!

Until next month, happy reading!

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

Kelsey

Purchase signed copies of my books: kelseygietl.com

Follow me on:

COPYRIGHT © KELSEY GIETL 2025