Bonus: Bleeding Kansas, Underground Railroad & Historical Fiction: Sandra Lou Taylor on the Hadley Hope Series

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Bleeding Kansas, Underground Railroad & Faith: Sandra Lou Taylor Returns to LiteraryScape

Sandra Lou Taylor is back on the LiteraryScape Podcast — and she brought history with her.

Host Melissa LaShure welcomes her critique partner and historical fiction author Sandra Lou Taylor for a second visit to the show. This time, they dive deep into Book 3 of the Hadley Hope series: More Than a Little Turmoil.

The book is available now on Amazon. It officially launches on April 4th.

What Is the Hadley Hope Series? A Guide for New Readers

Sandra Lou Taylor designed every book in the Hadley Hope series as a standalone read. You do not have to start at Book 1 to enjoy the story.

Here is a quick overview of the series so far:

• Book 1 — More Than an Attractive Face: Elizabeth meets and marries Daniel. She refuses to be just a pretty face and finds her backbone on the frontier.
• Novella — Set between Books 1 and 2. Covers the romance of Margaret and Melvin. Adds important context for Book 2.
• Book 2 — More Than a Small Challenge: Explores why a family would leave a comfortable Indiana life for a tent city in Kansas.
• Book 3 — More Than a Little Turmoil: The Hadley family arrives in Lawrence, Kansas Territory during the most violent years of the Bleeding Kansas era.
• Book 4 — More Than a Civil War: Coming soon. Already two-thirds written. Set during the Civil War in Eastern Kansas.

What Is the Bleeding Kansas Era? The History Behind the Story

The Bleeding Kansas era refers to the violent years between 1854 and 1857 in Kansas Territory.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 gave Kansas the choice to enter the Union as a slave state or a free state. That decision sparked a wave of violence.

Pro-slavery settlers from Missouri crossed the border to drive out free-state settlers. The Boston Immigrant Aid Society sent abolitionists to populate Kansas for the free-state cause. Houses were burned. People were beaten and killed.

Kansas had to write four different constitutions before voters and Congress could agree. Kansas finally became a free state on January 29, 1861, when President Buchanan signed it into law.

The timing mattered enormously. If Kansas had entered as a slave state, the balance of power in Congress would have shifted in favor of slavery — potentially changing the entire course of American history.

The Underground Railroad in Kansas: What Sandra Lou Taylor Discovered

Sandra Lou Taylor originally set out to research the Underground Railroad in Kansas. What she found surprised her.

The Underground Railroad was far more active in Kansas than most people realize — even people who grew up there and took Kansas history classes.

Her research revealed a complex social reality. Many white Kansans who opposed slavery were still separatists. They did not want enslaved people in their communities. Yet some individuals crossed that barrier entirely. They welcomed freedom seekers as full human beings — not just as a cause.

Taylor found that gap both disturbing and inspiring. She used it to shape how her characters grow throughout the series.

Meet Elizabeth Hadley: A Reluctant Pioneer with Quiet Strength

Elizabeth Hadley is the heart of the series. She did not choose frontier life easily. She wanted to go home.

But Elizabeth has a deep sense of right and wrong. She believes in hard work, family, and faith. As challenges pile up around her, she rises to meet them.

In More Than a Little Turmoil, Elizabeth and her family encounter Solomon — a runaway slave who has nearly starved to death. He steals food from their wagon one night as they travel through Missouri.

The Hadleys had already helped a fugitive slave family back in Indiana. They know the risks. Still, they offer to help Solomon.

They agree that Solomon will pose as their enslaved person in front of strangers. In private, they treat him with full dignity and respect. The arrangement is dangerous from every direction. They do not know Solomon. He does not know them. They risk arrest, fines, and worse.

The deeper they get into Missouri, the more they sense someone is watching.

An Unexpected Adoption: Lois and Fred Join the Hadley Family

One of the most moving storylines in More Than a Little Turmoil involves two young children — Lois and Fred.

When the rest of the Hadley family arrives in Lawrence, they spot a lone wagon sitting on a hill with a horse that has stopped. They go to investigate.

What they find is heartbreaking. A family was fleeing a prairie fire. One child fell out of the wagon. When the parents stopped to help, the horses spooked and ran off — with the children still inside. The parents died in the fire.

The Hadleys bring Lois and Fred home and raise them as their own.

Sandra Lou Taylor shares in the episode that this incident was based on real events reported in period newspapers. She found it during her research and worked it into the story.

Writing Moral Complexity: How Sandra Humanizes Both Sides Without Excusing Evil

One of the most impressive things about the Hadley Hope series is how Taylor handles the moral weight of slavery and racism without making it simple.

She does not excuse the institution of slavery. But she also does not flatten the characters who existed within it.

Her approach is to put her characters in proximity to people different from themselves. The Hadley family begins the series with almost no real exposure to slavery. Meeting real people — Solomon, the Davis family — changes them. They see talent, faith, and humanity up close.

Taylor traces that transformation with care. It does not happen overnight. It happens through relationship.

Why Bleeding Kansas Feels Relevant Today

In the episode, Melissa asks Taylor one of her own book club discussion questions: How does the Bleeding Kansas era feel relevant today?

Taylor’s answer is direct. The polarization between political sides was just as vicious then as it is now. The refusal to communicate or negotiate was just as fierce.

Her takeaway: study history. The patterns repeat. And if you do not know your history, you will not recognize what is happening around you.

What Sandra Lou Taylor Hopes Readers Take Away

Taylor shared what she most wants readers to carry with them after finishing More Than a Little Turmoil:

• A deeper appreciation for family and the value of close relationships
• More compassion for the people around them who are struggling
• A habit of turning to God — not just in routine moments, but in genuine crisis
• A sense of pride in the bravery and resilience of their ancestors
• Curiosity about their own history

What Is Coming Next for Sandra Lou Taylor

Sandra Lou Taylor has several projects in progress:

• More Than a Civil War (Book 4) — Already two-thirds written. Set during the Civil War in Eastern Kansas. Taylor admits she had to stop writing it for a while because it was emotionally overwhelming.
• A companion novella to More Than a Little Turmoil — Focuses on the romance between Margaret and Melvin. Expected late summer.
• A possible second companion novella to More Than a Little Turmoil
• Finding Joy in the Songs — A Christian journal currently with beta readers
• A future series set closer to home in Butler County, Kansas, exploring the oil boom, cattle trade, and Flint Hills

Where to Find Sandra Lou Taylor’s Books and Newsletter

All books in the Hadley Hope series are available on Amazon.

More Than an Attractive Face and More Than a Small Challenge are already on Audible. More Than a Little Turmoil will be on Audible in mid-April.

Sandra Lou Taylor’s newsletter goes out twice a month. It includes humor, historical research, writing updates, and details on upcoming appearances.

To subscribe, visit her website:

sandraloutaylor.com