Cathy’s passion for people and the journeys that shape their lives make her a natural storyteller.
“I remember a mild spring morning in 1961. My younger brother, Danny, and I sat on the living room sofa, our grandmother sandwiched between. Our imaginations climbed the twisted trails forged by Lewis Carroll as Grandma read aloud, Through the Looking Glass. That book was magic to me and I believed those black block letters that enabled Grandma to tell the story again and again had appeared by the same method.”
Cathy with her Grandmother, Olive Lounsbury, and younger brother, Danny – 1961.
That day, her grandmother revealed a secret, a profound truth that forever changed Cathy’s life: “Books are not made by magic. Real people write books.”
Skeptical that such a thing could be achieved by mere mortals, five-year-old Cathy tested the waters, “Well, then, can I write books?”
Her grandmother didn’t see why not. “First, you have to learn to read and write.”
Although she dreamed of becoming a teacher, an actress, a detective, a spy, a disc jockey, the next Annie Sullivan, an archeologist, the ice cream truck driver—and many other things—Cathy knew from that moment in childhood that she would also one day write books.
Born on a farm in the North Carolina Piedmont, Cathy was third in a family of four children. Their 200-year-old farmhouse was believed, by Cathy’s grandaunt, to have been a hiding place—a safe house—for enslaved people running north before the Civil War.
Left: The Lounsbury Family -1959 -David Jr., Bernice holding Danny, Cathy, David Sr., Gloria. Right: The Lounsbury Family – 2007 -Front Row: Dan, Bernice, David Jr. and Back Row: Cathy, Gloria.
True or not, that story marked the beginning of Cathy’s lifelong fascination with the Underground Railroad and courageous people in every generation “who help others gain freedom from oppression and cords that bind—those placed upon us by others and those we forge ourselves.”
If you ask Cathy where she found her passion she’ll tell you, “In Christ. He has changed my life. Learning to live with the freedom and grace that Christ offers is learning to breathe and walk in joy—the greatest adventure this life offers—the adventure I want to share.”
Like the stories of Lewis Carroll, Cathy’s life has forged winding roads. From that unique journey, her family, the people she’s known and the places she’s lived and visited across the world she writes inspirational stories steeped in history. Her novels reveal how people break the chains that bind them and triumph over adversity through faith.
Cathy is the bestselling, Christy Hall of Fame, and Carol and INSPY Award-winning author of twelve novels that have been translated into several languages and enjoyed by readers around the globe. She and her husband of 42 years, Dan, divide their time between Northern Virginia and the Jersey Shore, where they share time with their grown children, Daniel, Elisabeth and Tim Gardiner, and three precious grandchildren.
Left to Right: Dan and Cathy, Daniel & friends check their orchard plantings in Togo, Tim and Elisabeth’s wedding day, Cathy and Dan’s grandchildren.
Cathy has worked as a school librarian, a drama director for adults and young people, and as a director of children’s and education ministries. Her dreams of detective work, spying, and archeological digs are now accomplished through writing research. She speaks and offers in-person and virtual book club visits, but has yet to drive an ice cream truck.
You can learn more about Cathy in Frequently Asked Questions. Check BONUS FEATURES for Interviews, Videos, Events, and more. Follow Cathy on Bookbub, Goodreads, Facebook at CathyGohlkeBooks, Twitter, and Instagram. CONTACT her for virtual book club visits.