What do you do when the people who were supposed to show you God were the ones who hurt you most? That’s the question that beats at the heart of Heather Tekavec’s debut historical fiction novel, Good Road to Follow, and that hearbeat is the reason readers will undoubtedly find themselves lingering long after the last page.

Set in the unsettled landscape of post-Civil War America, Heather’s book follows Abigail, a sharp-tongued, fiercely independent young woman who hits the road as a hobo after escaping an abusive household. Traveling alongside an unlikely companion named Billy — a man with a crutch, a missing memory, and a quietly searching soul — Abigail is on a mission to find her father. But the journey God has in mind for her is something far less tidy, and far more transformative, than she bargained for.

Heather writes with remarkable emotional honesty. Abigail doesn’t just doubt God; she’s furious at Him. Heather never rushes her past that fury into a tidy resolution. You’ll feel Abigail’s struggle all the way to your bones. It’s the kind of storytelling that feels less like a sermon and more like a conversation with someone who has sat in the same darkness and dared to keep asking questions anyway.

Recently, Heather chatted about the creative choices behind this beautifully layered novel — from the secret language of hobo symbols to the weight of a girl carrying two names, and what it really means to let God finish the painting. Whether you love historical-set stories or this one is newly on your radar, we think this conversation will make you love Abigail’s and Billy’s journey.

PBG: Abigail is introduced as a girl thrust into an unfamiliar and dangerous world after the presumed loss of her father, and yet, from the very first pages, she radiates a fierce self-sufficiency. How did you go about crafting that delicate balance between her vulnerability and her stubbornness, and was there a particular moment in the writing where her voice surprised you and took on a life of its own?

HT: My characters always surprise me! In fact, it’s hard to even answer that question because Abigail took on her own personality right from the first conversation in her mother’s kitchen. But I did play a small role! I knew it was necessary for Abigail to be stubborn, but without the vulnerability, the story couldn’t have worked; I wouldn’t have cared enough about her to see her to the end … not sure if Billy would have either! The scene where she runs away from Mrs. Smith is my favorite coming together of her stubbornness and vulnerability.

PBG: The hobo lifestyle and its secret symbol language markings is such a vivid and historically specific detail in the story. What drew you to that subculture as part of the backdrop for Abigail and Billy’s journey, and how much research went into bringing that world to life?

HT: Those markings were actually the catalyst for this story. I stumbled across an article about them in my search for something else and was fascinated, as I am with most languages, and knew there had to be a story in it. I did a fair bit of research and even contacted a woman who considers herself a modern-day hobo to ask some questions. She couldn’t give me much history on how or when the language started, but she told me a little about the history of hobos and inspired me to keep going in my research. Every chapter title in the book is named for one of the markings, and I was really happy with how they seemed to work out.

PBG: Abigail carries a small book of Emily Brontë’s poetry, and she reads aloud a poem about Hope as a “timid friend” who “turned her face away.” That’s a strikingly resonant image for where Abigail finds herself spiritually at the start of the story. Did you choose that poem intentionally as a mirror for her inner life, and what role did you want literature to play alongside faith in her journey?

HT: My only real goal, initially, was to find something a little sad. I had chosen to include a book of poetry in her bag to give Abigail a little more depth, and I went immediately to Emily Brontë because she would have been current in that time and someone that Abigail would have read. (This is one of the ways in which Abigail surprised me, because Emily Brontë would not have been who I would have read.) This poem seemed perfect for a girl hanging onto shreds of hope despite hope’s elusiveness.

PBG: Billy is a fascinating character to introduce alongside a faith-skeptic like Abigail. He’s an injured amnesiac who’s searching for something he can’t fully name, and yet he carries a quiet steadiness. How did you develop his character and decide to put all those pieces together?

HT: I knew that to get Abby where I wanted her, she was going to need someone that wouldn’t push God on her … and yet God had to be a part of the journey at the same time. That’s where the amnesia came in; he couldn’t be much of a threat if he didn’t really know God himself. I wanted him to be uncertain enough in his own faith not to press her, but confident enough to know he needed to keep looking. The injury was a secondary thought, meant only to increase the challenges of their journey, but as I plotted and wrote, it became a very integral part of the story and, in the end, the catalyst for finding his memory. But because I was initially more focused on the amnesia, I sometimes forgot he was injured and had to go back and rewrite scenes where I had made him fully able-bodied. As to his personality, he just became the person I needed him to be as I wrote! One thing I was very intentional about from the start was making sure that he came across “safe” so Abigail wouldn’t be afraid to travel with him. That’s why I had him reject her initially and only agree to travel with her once they had established a sibling-like relationship.

PBG: One of the most uncomfortable and honest tensions in the early story is the contrast between Uncle Samuel’s public image as a godly, well-loved preacher and the private reality Abigail experienced under his roof. Writing a villain who weaponizes religious authority is often difficult. How did you approach portraying that hypocrisy without making it feel like a broad indictment of faith itself?

HT: That’s why I brought the Smiths into the story. I was very aware that this story could do more damage than good if not handled well. I also knew that there would probably be readers that have experienced harm in the name of God. I wanted them to see that many good Christian people will stand up for right, but even more so that God can bring good out of pain. It was very important to me that Mr. Smith—a very opposite sort of preacher—be a part of Abigail’s justice in the end. Now I just pray that nobody stops the story partway through before meeting the Smiths!

PBG: The young woman that Abigail and Billy encounter early on (Lydia) could easily have been a minor passing character, and yet there’s something about the way you introduced her that hints that she matters more than we’d expect. What drew you to giving her that kind of warmth and depth, even in a brief early appearance?

HT: Lydia was never a part of my original plan. When Abigail met the saloon girls, I wanted her to see the other side of that lifestyle, which I did with the second saloon girl and their boss, but kindhearted Lydia stepped in to give them a place to stay, and I really liked her! Then when I read that Oberlin College was a pioreer in educating women, I knew she had to come back and I made that Billy’s college. At that point, I went back and added the scene where we see a subtle hint that she wasn’t really embracing the lifestyle she was living—just enough to make it more believable that she would find a way out.

PBG: Abigail is given two names in her story: Maryam, a name meaning “bitter,” that was imposed on her; and Abigail, meaning “Father’s joy,” the name her father chose. Even before readers learn the full significance of that naming, it quietly frames everything about her. At what point in the writing did you realize that this name tension would carry so much thematic weight, or was it planned from the very beginning?

HT: It was planned from the beginning, which made the first scene tricky. Her mother would have been calling her the name that isn’t revealed until the end, so I had to work around that and hope that readers didn’t notice the main character didn’t have a name in that first scene. The Bible puts so much weight on names, it seemed like a good way to show the relationship with her father and, at the same time, really show the depth of her mother’s issues.

PBG: The “masterpiece and splotches” metaphor—the idea that God is working something beautiful from what looks like a ruined canvas—is introduced through a sermon Billy hears and begins to turn over in his mind. It’s an amazingly accessible and visual way to convey Providence. Where did that image come from, and was it coincidence or by your own design that it became such a recurring thread in the story’s spiritual conversation?

HT: That part was very intentional. I knew I wanted to convey the clear message that we can’t always see what God’s doing until he’s finished “the project.” I’ve done a lot of painting over the years and have had to learn to keep going even when I don’t like how it’s looking because sometimes it’s not until the final strokes that it really pulls together. So that paintin analogy came quickly to mind. However, I didn’t know how I was going to get into the story—with an artist friend or something she saw hanging in the church … in the end, the sermon worked best and also started another conversation between them about church. Confession: whenever I read the scene where Abigail finally gets the masterpiece analogy, my eyes tear up just a little! I pray at least a few readers finally get it the same with Abby does.

PBG: At its heart, Good Road to Follow is a story about a young person who has been deeply wounded by people who claimed to represent God; and yet the story doesn’t flinch from exploring faith. How did you navigate writing Abigail’s raw, unapologetic anger at God in a way that you hoped would feel honest rather than off-putting to readers who share the Christian faith?

HT: I sincerely hope it comes across well. I am one of those readers that would have flinched at any attack on my faith, so I’m very sensitive to that. One thing you might notice is that Abigail never denies that God exists. She believes in him from the start; she just doesn’t like him. I think that’s a much more powerful emotional stance and possibly harder to break through. Billy had a big job with her! I also think that it was a fair position considering her circumstances, and one that too many people can relate to, so it needed to be faced. But I was careful not to let her stay there, unchallenged for too long. My hope was that the constant tug-of-war between her resistance to and Billy’s confidence in God keeps readers hoping and cheering her on to the truth. And, if that’s not enough, I expect that the reputation of Pelican Books will assure readers that this is going to end well—for both Abigail and God!

Good Road to Follow

Abigail's uncle is a preacher. He's also the reason she has scars she never shows anyone. When Abigail finally runs, she has nothing. No money. No plan. No one. Just a fierce certainty that she belongs to nobody but herself. Then she meets Billy, a one-legged Civil War veteran who can't remember his own name, and the two become unlikely traveling companions— hopping freight trains, following hobo markings scratched into wood and stone, and searching for what they've each lost. He's looking for his memory. She's looking for her father, a Union soldier the family declared dead years ago. Neither of them is looking for God. But in a small town with a kind preacher's wife who keeps her promises, a church that isn't like her uncle's, and a mystery that stretches all the way to Oberlin College, Abigail begins to wonder if the random, painful splotches of her life might be turning into something she can't yet see. Something that looks, against all odds, like a masterpiece. For anyone who's wrestled with faith after being wounded by the church, A Good Road to Follow is a story that doesn't rush the healing and doesn't pretend the scars aren't real.

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