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It’s Here After Seven Years…

My first publisher of the Stone Creek Brides series released books one and two in 2016 and 2017, subsequently. I wrote a couple of other books in the interim, but I had some false starts with writing book three. I even considered using characters who hadn’t been introduced in the earlier books, but I didn’t have peace about that.

 Plus, there were people who had asked for Nora and James’s story. They were secondary characters in Rumors and Promises, but I had very little back story for them. One thing was obvious—Gertrude Wringer was Nora’s aunt and she had lived with her aunt and uncle for some time. How was I going to paint her life with them? Should I ignore the difficult things?

 Since Gertrude was Sophie’s antagonist in Rumors and Promises and appeared in my second novel as a bit of a thorn in the side, it was more realistic to have her make things difficult for Nora at home too. I began to explore the relationship and how Nora may have felt through all of it.

How many of us have struggled with who we are and what it means to have an identity in Christ? Or to find in our hearts, by God’s grace, to forgive someone who has hurt us deeply? I’d venture to say each one of us has at one time or another. As I worked through some difficulties in my own life, I wrote Nora’s story. It was cathartic in a way though the circumstances are different.

 I endeavored to make her situation realistic. Not easy but giving her a way to grow.

 James had even less back story to start. When I created his Aunt Phoebe, her character brought a smile to my face, and I felt she was just the touch I needed to lighten the subject matter. Next week I’ll share more about James.

Click on the book cover to purchase Scandals and Mercies

He’s a reporter determined to uncover the truth, but the secrets he finds could crush her family—and their second chance at love..

With romance, a little humor, a little mystery, and theems of forgiveness and identity in Christ, I hope you’ll enjoy the third book in the Stone Creek Brides series!