About the Book

Book: The Girl from Tomorrow’s Town (Enduring Hope Book 5)

Author: Naomi Musch

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

Release Date: June, 2026

Past and Present Collide on the Railway

When life seems weighed down by challenges, there are always pillars of enduring hope and love to be discovered.

Lily Mae Dodge flees Wyoming by night to find her mother, who sent her west on an orphan train ten years ago. After she’s arrested in Chicago, help comes from a man with a rare vision impairment whom she only just met on a train. Francis Basnett is a roustabout for the famous Hagenbeck-Wallace circus, where he helps Lily gain employment. Their friendship grows into more, and it seems Lily is closer than ever to finding her mother. . .until the night a rogue troop train slams into the stalled circus train, killing dozens and splintering hope.

 

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About the Author

Naomi Musch is an award-winning author who writes from a deer farm in the pristine north woods of Wisconsin, where she and husband Jeff live as epically as God allows near the families of their five adult children. When not in the physical act of writing or spending time loving on her passel of grandchildren, she can be found plotting stories as she roams around the farm, snacks out of the garden, and relaxes in her vintage camper. Naomi is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, the Wisconsin Writers’ Association, and the Lake Superior Writers. She loves engaging with others and can be found all around social media or at her site.

More from Naomi

Did you ever dream of running away with the circus? I must admit, it was never something I imagined doing, but like most kids of my generation, my wonderment did soar the first time I stepped foot beneath a “big top”. Some of those sensory memories stayed with me through the decades since, and of course, made their way into my novel. Nowadays, the trains or wagons no longer roll into town. There are very few circuses still around.

I grew up in the region not far from Barnum and Bailey’s Circus World in Wisconsin, but when traveling circuses were at their peak (much earlier than my day, I will add), there were nearly 100 of them traversing the country, nearly a third of them by rail. One of the largest was the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus based in southern Indiana. (Originally northern Indiana, but they transitioned to a warmer location where they wintered their animals.) They traveled in two trains—one that hauled the animals, laborers, and roustabouts, and the other that hauled the performers with their families and other work staff.

The circus was a city within itself, and more importantly, it became like family to most of the performers. Into this world is where my cast of characters gathers in The Girl from Tomorrow’s Town. Lily Mae Dodge is in search of just such a place to call home and people she can think of as family while she searches for her mother, lost to her when she was sent west on an orphan train as a child.

I never imagined myself writing a circus story, but when I learned about the real-life history of the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus, and tragically, the terrible circus train crash that stands as the most devastating in history, I needed to get to know some of the performers and people who worked there. I also wanted to add my own characters in a way that would bring this historic circus family to life. To tell the story of the crash, it was important to me that I do it in a way that would honor the lives and memories of those who were involved.

“Tomorrow’s Town” is a circus phrase referring to the place of the next show. The traveling circus season was a busy one, and sometimes performers who were already looking ahead to the next show simply referred to the next location as “tomorrow’s town.” While The Girl from Tomorrow’s Town is set in 1918 during WWI when the tragedy took place, it is primarily a story of hope, dreams, love, healing, and found family.

I hope you enjoy Lily and Francis’s story, and that you’ll settle into dazzling discovery with the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus!

Interview with the Author

• What is your favorite genre of books? Why?

I love historical fiction (including historical romance). Growing up, I didn’t think I enjoyed history because I couldn’t see it in context of everyday living. Then I discovered historical fiction, where I could learn about historical events as they affected individual lives, and I found out I LOVE history.

• Are you a one project at a time author or do you have multiple projects going at once?

I have too many projects going on this year—haha! I usually have one project that I’m actively writing and another that I’m spooling and plotting. This year I’ll have three book releases. Oof! They’re all in different stages—with The Girl from Tomorrow’s Town just released, Sibella’s Stand (Revolutionary War) coming in August for the Sesquicentennial, and Cinder Smudged (non-magical retelling of Cinderella during the Great Depression) coming in November.

• How has your life experience helped in your writing journey?

In every way. God lets nothing go to waste. Every joy and heartache bring something to the table of life experiences, and often they enable me to empathize with the feelings of my characters. Many nuances of those experiences, whether large or small, make their way into stories. Whether its experience gardening, cooking over a fire, hiking a forest trail, raising kids, expanding our family or losing a loved one—it all reaches into my writing—or my writing reaches into those experiences.

• How do you relax after a long day of writing?

I often clean something or cook a meal. Real relaxing, huh? My brain is mush by then, but I have to expend some physical energy after all that brain exertion, and keep up with housework besides. Sometimes I head outdoors for some strolling around the farm or yard & garden work. After a little of that, I crash back in a chair and relax the old-fashioned way. Usually with a book, my journal, or retro television.

• Where do you find your greatest inspiration?

My family and our adventures inspire me. They are great encouragers. Most of my plotting ideas, however, come from nuggets of history that I turn up. Most often, it will something I only know an inkling about, but as I begin to uncover the nugget and learn more, I get fired up to write about it. In The Girl from Tomorrow’s Town, learning about the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus train crash, and adding to that the fact that it happened concurrently with both WWI and orphan train history—and then learning about the rare eye condition my hero has, that was so mystifying back in 1918—all of those things put together really got me inspired to write Lily and Francis’s story.

• Do you have extensive outlines when writing or do you write a book as you go?

Yes, I outline as extensively as possible, even though that outline will change a dozen ways before I finish the first draft of the book. I love having a goal and something to aim for, even if it gives me a twist or a turn that I don’t see coming at first. That’s what makes writing fun! Writers are really readers—only they’re reading the book in their head first.

Blog Stops

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, July 1

Simple Harvest Reads, July 2 (Author Interview)

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, July 3

Artistic Nobody, July 4 (Author Interview)

Life on Chickadee Lane, July 5

Connie’s history classroom, July 5

Guild Master, July 6 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 7

Fiction Book Lover, July 8 (Author Interview)

Pause for Tales, July 9

The Bookish Ledger, July 10 (Author Interview)

Cover Lover Book Review, July 11

Holly’s Book Corner, July 11

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, July 12 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, July 13

Books, Books, & More Books, July 14 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Naomi is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon e-Gift card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/M32Wq/the-girl-from-tomorrows-town-celebration-tour-giveaway