Celebrate Lit / February 11, 2025

When the Avalanche Roared

About the Book When the Avalanche Roared

Book: When the Avalanche Roared (A Day to Remember Book Five)

Author: Lauralee Bliss

Genre: Historical Christian Fiction

Release date: January, 2025

The Day Hope Seemed Swept Away

Enjoy a series of 6 exciting novels featuring historic disasters that transformed landscapes and multiple lives. Whether by nature or by man, these disasters changed history and were a day to be remembered.

Lillian Hartwick has been in the small railroad town of Wellington, Washington, caring for her cousin and assisting the postmaster when February snows bring all train traffic to a halt. Slow-witted but kind Griffin Jones, who works odd jobs for the railway while enduring taunts from other workers, has tried his best to gain Lillian’s interest, but she is engaged and waiting for her fiancé’s arrival from California.

Predawn thunderstorms on Tuesday, March 1, 1910, trigger a devasting avalanche, sweeping two trains down Stevens Pass.

Lillian and Griffin work together to help survivors, including Griffin’s tormentors. In the midst of the catastrophe their feelings for each other grow.

But is it enough when Lillian’s fiancé finally arrives in the spring, ready to claim her as his own?

Click here to get your copy!

My Thoughts on When the Avalanche Roared

When the Avalanche Roared is a fun historical fiction novel that brings you the facts of the catastrophe but with fiction to make it fun. This is part of a six-book series. The entire series focuses on natural disasters and their aftermath. They bring horrible times in history to life and let you see what people might have been doing or what it might have felt like. They bring history to life!

I’ve had the pleasure of being able to read all of the books so far. And I can say with certainty that they are amazing. The authors really pour themselves into the work. They must have spent hours on research. And then they create a story that allows them to be where the disaster happened.

Griffin is our hero.

He’s not your typical swarthy handsome and oh-so-strong hero though. He’s described as slow. Maybe even a bit dim-witted. But reliable. And faithful. And true. When push comes to shove he’s also the one who is going to do what is right no matter the cost.

Lillian is our heroine.

She’s unsure of herself. She’s not sure where she belongs. And she’s waiting for her fiance to come rescue her from this backwards town.

Griffin likes Lillian but she doesn’t even see him because she’s waiting to leave. She’s not getting involved. And she’s definitely not looking for anything good to come from her stay.

But then disaster strikes. And they are forced to work together to save people. During that time she sees Griffin for who he really is. And she gains respect for him and maybe something more.

This was a great book! I truly enjoyed reading it. It’s going on our shelf of historical fiction to pull out when we study events in history. Because I don’t believe a book has to be non-fiction to allow you to learn about history. And because it’s a great piece of history plus it’s a clean read for my older kids.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

About the Author of When the Avalanche Roared

Lauralee Bliss has always liked to dream big dreams. Part of that dream was writing, and after several years of hard work, her dream of publishing was realized in 1997 with the publication of her first romance novel, Mountaintop, through Barbour Publishing. Since then, she’s published twenty books, both historical and contemporary.

Lauralee is also an avid hiker, completing the entire length of the Appalachian Trail both north and south. Lauralee makes her home in Virginia in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains with her family.

More from Lauralee

Pure Joy

Lauralee Bliss, Author of “When the Avalanche Roared”

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds… James 1:2 NIV

How does one equate a scripture like this with the death and destruction inherent in natural disasters? It seems an oxymoron to expect joy when faced with twisted metal and broken lives, such as in the deadliest avalanche in American history depicted in When the Avalanche Roared. Even now I think of the natural disaster of the hurricane that just recently destroyed mountain communities in western North Carolina, with homes and lives swept away in an avalanche of water and mud. So it was back in March 1910 when a mile-wide bank of snow detached from Windy Top in the northern Cascades of Washington State, slamming into three parked trains near Wellington, sending cars and sleeping passengers tumbling into the ravine. Over ninety lives were lost.

This could be considered a trial of supreme magnitude.

Yet scripture commands we consider joy in the midst of it. The word joy evokes smiles and laughter, peace and satisfaction. It brings to mind Jesus resting in the boat in the midst of a raging storm, tossed about on high waves while the disciples huddle together in abject fear. After He calms the seas He asks them, “Where is your faith?” It demands that the human mind look away from apparent destruction and move to something higher. To look beyond what one sees to the unseen. To trust God even when nothing appears trustworthy.

When the Avalanche Roared delves into the flames that spark, not from smouldering locomotives in a ravine, but within a small rail town that banded together in the wee hours of a frigid morning to rescue others. The destruction is evident. But the grit and determination of those who dug out people from heavy snow solidified by rain and cared for the suffering while their town remained isolated from the world speaks of a picture far greater than the picture of destruction. So it is today with communities swallowed by mud and trees and splintered fragments of homes as reminders of a destructive hurricane. Beyond the visual are the outpouring of help and compassion and holding the hands of those weakened by disaster in gestures of hope and resolve. And in this, a new birth of joy is realized.

God created us to find joy in struggle, to develop perseverance to achieve a goal despite what is thrown our way, to realize that when we do, we truly lack nothing. And therein we find lasting peace even in the midst of catastrophe.

Strangers unite to help the hurting.

A friend flew from Florida to North Carolina and arranged with this store owner for a free truckload of water for communities devastated by the hurricane.