Meet author Abbey Downey

Abbey Downey started writing inspirational romance stories during naptime when her kids were babies and found she couldn’t stop. A life-long Midwestern girl, Abbey lives in central Indiana with her husband, two kids, and one rather enthusiastic beagle. She loves watching her kids play sports and fixing up a 1900 farmhouse with her husband. Connect with Abbey at abbeydowney.com.

Tell us about your newest book.

An Unexpected Catch is set in 1907 and tells the story of Bea Curran, a female umpire in the semi-professional Chicago City Baseball League, and Emmett Worland, a pitcher who is hiding a potentially career-ending secret. Neither one is looking for love but when they begin working together to help the college women’s baseball team Bea coaches, they unexpectedly fall for each other.

What inspired you to write this book?

The whole Adventurous Hearts series was inspired by real women who were involved in the early days of sports and exploration. In almost every instance, women started joining in right alongside men, but as soon as the governing bodies realized it, females were barred from participating for decades. While I heavily fictionalize the stories for my books, I wanted to shed some light on those pioneering women. An Unexpected Catch is based on Amanda Clement, who is said to be the first female who was paid to umpire in baseball. She was also a widely accomplished athlete and spent a big part of her life training other women to teach physical education, the precursor of our gym teachers.

What genre do you focus on?

My books are historical, while my short stories are mixed between historical and contemporary. But no matter the time period, there’s always romance. I’ve loved love stories since I was very young, and I can’t imagine writing without a romantic element. I usually include overt Christian elements in my books because one of my goals for my writing is that it will encourage fellow Christians in their faith. It’s also very important to me that there are high-quality, interesting books out there for readers who want a love story without the level of explicit content that’s trending right now. For several reasons, I won’t read spicy books, and I want to help provide alternatives for other readers like me.

Why do you write?

I write largely to encourage other believers in their faith through fictional stories. When I was an advanced young reader, Christian fiction as we know it was only beginning to grow as a genre. I could read those early Christian romance novels at that age because they were guaranteed not to have anything inappropriate in them. I loved experiencing new times and places while growing in my understanding of my faith. I hope to provide readers with a similar experience!

Who is your main character, and how did you choose that name?

Bea’s first name is one that I used for a side character in a book I wrote that will probably never be published. But it inspired my Adventurous Hearts series, and I used several characters from it in the series, including Bea. Her last name is special to me because it’s the last name of some extended family from my dad’s side and I have a passion for family history.

What’s one thing your readers should know about you?

Something readers might like to know, if they haven’t already picked up on it, is that I started out writing under a pen name and had two books published with Love Inspired Historical using that name (Mollie Campbell). I HATED doing in-person events and interviews using a name that wasn’t mine, though. I just never knew how to introduce myself without going into the whole story. So when I switched publishers, I also changed to using my real name. Yes, no matter how much it might sound like I jumped on the Downton Abbey train, this is my real married name.

How have you changed or grown as a writer?

It’s an ongoing process, but my perspective on writing has changed over time from seeing publication as the goal to seeing each book I get to release as a step in the journey. I’ve experienced a decent amount of two steps forward, one step back in my writing career, even after my first book came out. Writers, being published doesn’t mean you’ve arrived! Keep learning and growing and be willing to adjust your career path expectations (because we all have to at some point).

What is your favorite pastime?

My family moved to three acres in the country a few years ago so we spend a lot of time taking care of our previously neglected property. Working together to improve our home is one of my favorite things. I also love working on embroidery and cross stitch in the evenings. And reading, of course!

Do you have other books? We’d love to know.

Be sure to check out the first book in this series, An Uncertain Road. It’s about a female racecar driver and the reluctant, grumpy mechanic who ends up riding along with her on a ten-day endurance race in 1905. The series is only loosely connected by theme so the books can be read in any order.

I also wrote two books for Love Inspired Historical under a pen name several years ago. You can find Taking on Twins and Orphan Train Sweetheart by Mollie Campbell in ebook on Amazon and Harlequin.com.

What are you working on now?

I have just finished book 3 in the Adventurous Hearts series, which will be released in July 2025. It’s set in 1910 and follows a woman who started her own version of the Explorer’s Club and is embarking on her first international expedition—while falling in love with her best friend in the process. I’m still tossing around ideas for what comes after that, but readers can be sure it will include romance, faith, and lots of interesting history!

Website: www.abbeydowney.com

Link to book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1963212096

Social media links:

https://www.facebook.com/AbbeyDowneyAuthor

https://www.instagram.com/abbeydowney/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/45241091.Abbey_Downey