Summer Love: Jennifer's story about love's healing power

Welcome Jennifer Slattery to the blog! She's written a new book called Healing Love. It is for the women’s fiction book market and it has a strong romantic thread. This book takes place in two very different locales: Southern California and El Salvador.

Read my interview with Jennifer and find out why this story is close to her heart.

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Interview with Jennifer Slattery, author of Healing Love:

Alexis: “Healing Love” is an interesting title for a book. How did you create it?

Jennifer: The title arose in part from the theme of the book, which is that God’s love, which is often shown through others, brings deep healing. It also stemmed from my core conviction and experience that God is a God of love and healing, a healing that is facilitated as we grow closer to Him and get to know Him more. 

Alexis: Brooke Endress, the heroine of your story, is a news anchor intern who has her eyes on the prize (a career as a broadcast journalist). What can you tell us about Brooke? Describe her personality, dreams and goals.

Jennifer: Brooke is a planner who is incredibly uncomfortable with unknowns and uncertainty. As a planner, she believes her life will go a certain way, and she’s determined to make that happen. She wants to sign on with one of the bigger stations but struggles with “camera fright” that results in frequent blunders she fears will hinder her career.

She also has a deep and protective love for her sister. Though they both live with her aunt and uncle and have since the death of her parents, Brooke has assumed care of her sister and, due to the pain she experienced when her parents died, holds onto her very tightly. A little too tightly. 

Alexis: Why is Brooke so passionate about Journalism? What made it her lifelong dream?

Jennifer: When she was young, she and her dad often played “anchoring.” She’d get all glamoured up in her mom’s dresses and heels (which were adorably too big on her), and she’d read stories or perform while her father recorded her. He began each recording with great fanfare. Those mock recordings are special memories for her, and now that her dad is gone, she is, in many ways, trying to relive them through her career. 

Alexis: How does Brooke’s drive to succeed in that competitive career field affect her dating/love life?

Jennifer: When she begins to fall in love with Ubaldo, she feels confused and uncertain. She wants to surrender to God fully and trust Him with her future, but she harbors distrust having lost her parents. She feels if God didn’t protect her parents then there’s no guarantee as far as she’s concerned. 

Alexis: How does Brooke’s younger sister convince her to chaperone a mission trip to El Salvador? In what ways does this trip affect the heroine’s journey?

Jennifer: She basically begs, though it’s Brooke’s guilt that wins out. Her aunt and uncle make it clear—if Brooke doesn’t go as a supervising adult, her sister can’t go either. Her sister, frustrated and angry, says that if her dad were alive, she’d be able to go. This statement causes Brooke to process all the losses her sister has experienced and will experience because her parents aren’t alive, and she determines to do whatever necessary to ensure the mission trip opportunity isn’t one of them.

This trip is hard for Brooke on numerous levels. First, she must take two weeks off work when, it appears, she’s just beginning to gain traction in her career. Second, she’s a bit of a germaphobe, and she’s worried about her and her sister getting sick. She’s also incredibly frightened of flying and fears the plane might crash. Then there’s her need for control and her stranglehold on her safety net.

And yet, it is only when she’s thrust into this place of uncertainty that she begins to see the root cause of her fear and heal from it. 

Alexis: What is it about the orphan children in El Salvador that tugs at Brooke’s heart? Describe the thoughts that go through her head as she spends time with the kids.

Jennifer: Having lost both her parents and feeling like an orphan herself, she relates to them on a deep level. And yet, when her world fell apart, she had her aunt and uncle to lean on, whereas these orphan children appear to have no one. This realization helps her to embrace her aunt and uncle’s love on a level she hadn’t been able to before and deepens her empathy for the orphan girls. 

Alexis: Ubaldo Chavez, the hero of this story, works as a teacher and translator in El Salvador. Why did he choose a career in helping people? Describe his background, looks, personality and life goals.

Jennifer: First, he’s incredibly handsome. I had to state that right up front. His skin is the color of a Scooters latté (says the writer with the severe coffee addiction), he’s tall, muscular, has dark hair and eyebrows, and piercing eyes the color of dark chocolate.

He grew up in a small El Salvador village with no electricity or running water and where his family had to fight daily for survival. Though his family is better off than many forced to work in plantations or making bricks, they still struggled and were at the mercy of their circumstances. His father owns a small plot of land, which he farms, and the expectation was that Ubaldo would remain to help. He chose to go to school and pursue a career in education instead.

Having risen above the poverty he grew up in, where he and his siblings were chronically ill from drinking dirty stream water, and having seen first hand the dehumanizing cycle of generational poverty, he’s determined to help his students acquire a better life. If he could just keep them in school and out of the plantations. 

As far as his personality goes, he tends to be a black and white thinker, and he’s very driven in his mission. This can lead to some false perceptions and misunderstandings, and it causes a big wedge between him and his father.

Alexis: What is it about Ubaldo that draws Brooke in and makes him hard to forget?

Jennifer: First, he’s incredibly handsome, and he’s got a strong, protective side she finds attractive. He’s also tender, compassionate, and shows his love for Jesus in his love for orphans and the impoverished. She sees Christ in him, and she finds that irresistible. He’s also got a great deal of wisdom and insight, and as they get to know one another better, she realizes he understands her deeply. 

Alexis: What is it about Brooke that Ubaldo cannot get off his mind? 

Jennifer: At first, he doesn’t like her much. He assumes she’s materialistic and has come to his country to stroke her ego and gain publicity. But then he begins to see deep compassion in her, and that steals his heart, first in how she treats a poor man selling iguanas on the side of the road and then how she loves on the orphans. As he watches her with them, with the others, and with her sister, he begins to see her differently and comes to understand her on a deeper level. 

Alexis: When Brooke falls in love with Ubaldo, how does it affect her career goals?

Jennifer: She’s torn and confused. She carries in her Bible Ephesians 2:10, which tells her she’s God’s masterpiece and that He has a plan for her. Based on this and things her father used to repeat to her and her sister when he was alive, she believes God brought her to El Salvador for a reason. But she also believes she’s meant to be a news anchor. She feels torn and begins to question her original dreams and God’s direction for her. Can she reconcile the two or will she have to give up one for the other?

Alexis: Why does Ubaldo believe that education is key to rise above poverty?

Jennifer: First, this is how he rose above it, but second, in El Salvador, this is reality. So many parents work in the coffee or sugar plantations, where they’re paid maybe a dollar a day. This isn’t enough to live on, so they’re forced to have their children as young as seven and eight work long hours in the fields with them. (And children don’t make as much.) This causes the children to miss large chunks of school or drop out completely.

However, if a child graduates, their outlook is exponentially better. More so if they learn English (which is taught in El Salvador schools). Both of these things enable them to get clerical jobs and thus allow them to break out of the otherwise near-unbreakable cycle of poverty.

Alexis: What were the challenges and joys of writing this book?

Jennifer: This was one of the most painful books I’ve written. It began when our family took a mission trip to El Salvador and we fell in love with the orphans we met. There was one in particular that tugged on my heart. Her name was Jenifer, spelled with one n, and whenever I’d see her, she’d smile and say, “Dos Jennifers!” It was the only time I’d see her smile.

She cried the day we left.

We returned to the states convinced God was calling us to move to El Salvador so that we could love on the orphans and help teach them English and skills that would help them survive once they aged out of the orphanage. But then I got really sick, and we realized God had different plans.

As I was writing, processing my own experiences, talking with our translator (from our trip), and reading articles and reports on the conditions for so many El Salvador children, my heart broke. I couldn’t get these precious little ones out of my mind.

One afternoon, I went for a long walk where I was crying and asking God why He was allowing me to learn all of these things. And a thought, clear and strong, came, as if in answer—He’d allowed me to see but a part of what He witnesses every day as those poor children, His children, endure the unspeakable and cry out to Him for help.

I realized God broke my heart so that I could reveal theirs and His for them so that each of us could prayerfully find a way to be part of life change.

Alexis: What do you want readers to treasure about Healing Love?

Jennifer: God’s deep, unyielding never-failing love and the fact that He can use our deepest hurts, when surrendered to Him, to bring healing to others.

Thanks for the interview, Jen! God bless you.

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Author Bio: 

Author, speaker, and ministry leader Jennifer Slattery writes for Crosswalk.com and is the managing and acquiring editor for Guiding Light Women’s Fiction, an imprint with Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. She believes fiction has the power to transform lives and change the culture. Healing Love is her sixth novel, and it was birthed during a trip she and her family took to El Salvador that opened her eyes to the reality of generational poverty and sparked a love for orphans and all who’ve experienced loss. 

Her deepest passion is to help women experience God’s love and discover, embrace, and live out who they are in Christ. As the founder of Wholly Loved Ministries, she travels with her team to various churches to speak to women and help them experience the love and freedom only Christ can offer. When not writing, editing, or speaking, you’ll likely find her chatting with her friends or husband in a quiet, cozy coffeehouse. Visit her online at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com and connect with her and her Wholly Loved team at http://www.whollyloved.com/.

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Blurb for Healing Love: A news anchor intern has it all planned out, and love isn't on the agenda. 

Brooke Endress is on the cusp of her lifelong dream when her younger sister persuades her to chaperone a mission trip to El Salvador. Packing enough hand sanitizer and bug spray to single-handedly wipe out malaria, she embarks on what she hopes will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

But Brooke is blindsided by the desperation for hope and love she sees in the orphans’ eyes. And no less by the connection she feels with her handsome translator. As newfound passion blooms, Brooke wrestles with its implications for her career dreams.

Ubaldo Chavez, teacher and translator, knows the struggle that comes with generational poverty. But he found the way out – education – and is determined to help his students rise above.

When he agrees to translate for a mission team from the United States he expects to encounter a bunch of "missional tourists" full of empty promises. Yet an American news anchor defies his expectations, and he finds himself falling in love. But what does he have to offer someone with everything?

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Connect with Jennifer:

Website – www.JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/JenSlatte
Twitter - https://twitter.com/jenslattery/
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/jenslatte/

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Enter this book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of this book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below:

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Movie Night Essentials with PureFlix

My Mom and I have a Saturday night tradition. We gather together in the family room, settle into our own cozy couch, grab essentials (like bottled water along with a light snack), and watch a movie on The Hallmark Channel!

It's a tradition that I will always treasure because there's nothing like watching a good movie with loved ones like family members! But Saturday nights are not the only time that I set aside some time to watch a movie.

Whenever I have free time during the week, I like to spend an hour or two watching a movie on PureFlix. The best way to describe PureFlix is that they are the Christian version of Netflix! The content is wonderful, very inspirational and encouraging for your heart.

Today, I'd like to share my "Movie Night Essentials" with you! A PureFlix representative reached out to me a few weeks ago and invited me to take part in this "Movie Night Essentials" promotional endeavor. It's an honor to participate in this promotion and I hope that you will enjoy what I have to share.

First, here's my Movie Night Essentials checklist:

Second, here's the scoop on each of my favorite PureFlix movies:

This is a hilarious comedy about the reason why we need to love each other like Jesus Christ loves us, even if we look different.

This is an amazing story about a teacher who takes a stand for Jesus Christ in a public school and then is put on trial for expressing her faith in God.

This movie is based on a true story about a teenage girl who passionately pursued others to reach them with the good news of Jesus Christ.

This movie is the classic case of "What if" scenarios. I think that most of us have at least once in our lifetime, wondered "What if..." for any given situation. This movie explores that concept and it's beautiful!

Now for my edible essentials:

Popcorn is the standard must-have snack when watching a movie in America.

If you eat buttered and salted popcorn, you're going to want fresh, purified water!

Whenever you have treats, you want something sweet. JoAnn's Fudge makes some of my personal favorite sweet treats!

Sometimes, you may crave ice cream while watching a movie. I love a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream with a few fresh blueberries on top!

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And there you have it! My Movie Night Essentials! :)

I hope that you enjoyed this blog post and movie night recommendations.

But don't take my word for it, sign-up for a free trial of PureFlix and experience the joys of movie night for yourself! :)

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Summer Love: Lena's story about marriage and trusting in God

Interview questions for Lena Nelson Dooley, author of A Heart’s Gift: 

Alexis: What was the inspiration behind your book, A Heart’s Gift?

Lena: I love marriage-of-convenience novels. The idea for the book percolated in my head for several years. I’m a seat-of-the-pants writer, and I pray a lot while I’m writing the book. God planted ideas for things I’d never thought about, and at two-thirds of the way or so through the book, He turned it into a suspense novel.

Alexis: Why did you write this book?

Lena: After all that time in my head and heart, I had to write it.

Alexis: What do you hope your readers will take away from this book?

Lena: A new understanding of just what a marriage-of-convenience is, according to scripture. And the understanding that God sometimes provides His supernatural answers to your problems.

Alexis: The hero of your story is Franklin and he’s very guarded. Why? Give us insight into his character, hopes, personality, and flaws.

Lena: If I tell you the reason, it will give away some of the vital information of the story. I can tell you that Franklin has a hard time trusting anyone, even God. He doesn’t want to open his heart, but he does want an heir to leave his ranch to.

Alexis: The heroine of your story is Lorinda and she is a liberated woman who vows to never let a man control her again. Why does she have this firm resolve? Share her backstory and describe her goal/motivation/conflict.

Lena: Lorinda had a hard time after her mother died when she was very young. Her father and uncle were alcoholics and mistreated her. Her first husband rescued her from them, and he was good to her in many ways, but he also thought that women didn’t have any say in the decision making.

Alexis: Why does Franklin want to protect Lorinda? What is about her that draws him in?

Lena: From the first moment he saw her, he was drawn to her. She’s beautiful and has a lot of gumption.

Alexis: What does Lorinda think of Franklin? Is her first impression of him her lasting impression? Explain.

Lena: The first time she meets him, he’s just the rancher who lives in the valley below. I can’t explain anymore without revealing too much of the story.

Alexis: What is the moral of this story?

Lena: God is always on your side. You can trust Him with everything.

Alexis: Who are your favorite authors? Name two then tell us which one of their books you cannot live without.

Lena: Francine Rivers (author) – Redeeming Love (book)

Because I read voraciously, it would be hard for me to choose just one more.

Alexis: What do you do when you’re not writing?

Lena: Both of my daughters and their husbands, children, and grandchildren live close by. We get together a lot. I volunteer at church, where we’re very active. I teach writing workshops. And I read a lot.

Alexis: If you were not an author, what would you like to be?

Lena: At my age, I’ve done most of the other jobs I’ve wanted to have—drama director, actress, radio voice-overs, live theater scriptwriter, screenwriter.

Alexis: Thanks for the interview, Lena! Do you have any final comments?

Lena: Thank you for hosting me here. I love to connect with other readers. If a book club chooses one of my books to read, I’ll gladly Skype with them when they meet.

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Author Bio:

Multi-published author Lena Nelson Dooley has had more than 875,000 copies of her books sold. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and the local chapter, ACFW - DFW. She’s a member of Christian Authors’ Network and Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas.

She has been on the ECPA and CBA Bestseller lists, Publisher’s Weekly bestseller list, and several Amazon Bestseller lists as well as a reviewers’ Top Ten Books of 2011. Her awards include: Will Rogers Medallion Awards, the Selah Award, Reader’s Choice book award, a Reader’s Choice blog award. She has finaled in the Can Golden Scroll Award, and finaled three times in for the Carol Award. A Heart’s Gift is currently a finalist in the Faith, Hope, and Love Chapter of RWA’s Readers’ Choice Award for long historical. Lena has also been featured in several magazines, including Charisma and Christian Retailing. She’s been on one magazine cover.

In addition to her writing, Lena is a frequent speaker at women’s groups, writers groups, and at both regional and national conferences. She has spoken in six states and internationally. She hosts “The Lena Nelson Dooley Show” on the "Along Came a Writer" blog radio network.

Lena has an active web presence on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, LinkedIn and with her internationally connected blog where she interviews other authors and promotes their books.

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Book blurb: Because of an earlier betrayal, Franklin vows never to open his heart to another woman. But he desires an heir. 

When Lorinda is finally out from under the control of men who made all the decisions in her life, she promises herself she will never allow a man to control her again. But how can she provide for her infant son? 

Marriage seems like the perfect arrangement until two people from Franklin's past endanger Lorinda. How can he save her? And how will this affect the way they feel about each other?

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Buy Lena’s book on Amazon via Kindle or paperback

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Connect with Lena:
Website ~ Blog ~ Pinterest ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Official Fan Page ~ Goodreads ~

Blogtalk Radio, The Lena Nelson Dooley Show ~ Instagram ~ Amazon Author Page

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Enter this book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of this book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below: 

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A Guest Post by Christina Lorenzen about Rapunzel and a Lighthouse

Sweet Memories Create a New Twist on Something Old
A guest post by Christina Lorenzen

The sweetest memories I have are the times my grandmother would sit at the foot of my bed and tell me my favorite bedtime story, Rapunzel. My grandmother lived with us for as long as I can remember until she passed away when I was in my early twenties. As a child, my parents would go out for an evening. I would wait for bedtime when my grandmother would ask me what bedtime story I wanted to hear. And each time I would ask to hear Rapunzel. Just as I never tired of hearing her tell it and my grandmother never tired of telling me that fairy tale.

All these years later, when my publisher, Forget Me Not Romances, announced they were putting out a novella collection of fairy tales with a modern spin, I had the pleasure of writing my own version of Rapunzel. The classic tower became a defunct, dilapidated lighthouse and my heroine, Georgie Daniels, is a self-imprisoned longhaired damsel in distress. Raised by her father after her mother dies when she’s barely two years old, Georgie’s father passed away two years ago. Add to that the heartache of her fiancé abandoning her and she has shut out the world, finding security within the walls of the lighthouse cottage.

Writing this novella was such an enjoyable endeavor. I have wanted to write a story with a lighthouse setting for several years. Being able to combine that magical setting with my favorite fairy tale was more play than work. I researched lighthouses and learned quite a bit about them. My heroine Georgie is based on a friend from long ago. The hero, Colby Ford, was a combination of several ‘hero’ type men in my life. I’m proud to say that I have both an Air Force uncle and Navy uncle in my family.

After writing Rapunzel’s Lighthouse, my interest in putting a modern spin on another fairy tale has been sparked. There just might be another military hero in there too. That’s the wonderful thing about storytelling – there are no limits to the possibilities of ideas. Who would have thought that almost fifty years after first hearing my grandmother tell the tale, I would write my very own Rapunzel story? I think she would be pleased.

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Author Bio: 

Christina started writing as a young teen, jotting stories in wire ring composition notebooks. Her first typewriter made it faster to get all those stories out of her head and down on paper. Her love of writing has sustained her through a myriad of jobs that included hairdresser, legal secretary, waitress and door-­to-door saleswoman.

Luckily for her, writing proved to be successful and a lot less walking than going door to door. Snow Globe Reunion, a Christian Christmas romance, is Christina’s third book. She is also the author of A Husband for Danna and its sequel, A Wife for Humphrey.

Christina is a member of Romance Writers of America and American Christian Fiction Writers. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found walking her dog, talking to her herd of cats and spending time with her family.

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Book blurb for Rapunzel's Lighthouse: Georgie Daniels rarely leaves the cottage attached to the Salt Cliffs lighthouse, except when necessary for a trip into town for food. For the last two years, since the lighthouse was declared a historic landmark, she’s lived in the cottage out of sight and, she hopes, out of the minds of the town. With the defunct lighthouse in arrears and in disrepair, she knows it’s only a matter of time before the lighthouse will be on the auction block of the town hall’s steps. With long hair that no one has seen before, except in the fabled fairy tale Rapunzel, things were going well until new neighbor Colby Ford shows up on her doorstep.

Colby Ford didn’t intend to retire from the Navy, at least not right now. When he finds himself with an injury that pushes him into an early retirement, the possibility of opening a sailing school in the coastal town of Salt Cliffs is his only hope. Renting the Moore cottage, he needs to find the right location for his school and a place to store the boats. 

While in town, a conversation with a storekeeper makes his curiosity about the lighthouse burn even stronger – what kind of woman lives alone in a defunct lighthouse? 

In need of paint for the cottage porch, he pays Georgie a visit. Feeling like he’s seen her before, that’s when it hits him – Georgie Daniels is a real life Rapunzel. And this Rapunzel wants nothing to do with being neighborly. Until she’s forced to save him during a storm.

Georgie and Colby have both had their share of disappointments and heartache. Just as Georgie is beginning to open up to him, a letter she finds threatens to shut her down again. Can their shared desperate need for a home bring them together?

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Buy Christina's book on Amazon

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Connect with Christina:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/chrisfoxlorenz/
Facebook Author page - https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaLorenzenAuthor/
Website - http://christinalorenzen.com
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/christina_lorenzen/

Devotional by Laura Thomas: How to Cure Your Identity Crisis

Identity Crisis
A devotional written by Laura Thomas

Have you ever had an identity crisis? That moment when you wonder who you are, for real? You feel like an imposter mom or a pretend student, a faux salesperson or a wannabe writer. You look at your family and friends who have it all together, and you begin to second guess your place in life. Where do you fit? Where do you belong? Who actually loves you?

Friend, stop for a second and consider this— you are a child of God. No matter how old you are, where you live, what you do, what you’ve done… as a believer, you are part of God’s family. His beloved child. Kid of the King. Daughter of the Masterful Creator. Doesn’t it leave you feeling just a little awestruck?

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” ~John 1:12 (NIV)

Through Christ, we become part of God’s family. If we can dig into this truth, we can accept and rest in our identity with confidence and joy. Because let’s be real here, this is AMAZING!

To those of us who are parents, one of the many beautiful things about having a child is that we get a micro-peek at how God sees us. My three kids are all grown (my baby graduates high school tomorrow—be still my beating heart!), but that doesn’t mean they don’t need me anymore or that I love them any less. Likewise, we will always need our Heavenly Father, even when we think we have everything figured out, and He will indeed love us for all eternity.

As a mom, when my heart is filled to overflowing with delight, pride, and gratitude over my child’s accomplishments, God knows how that feels. When I quietly observe my child, trying not to interfere, and allow him to make mistakes in order to grow and learn—God knows how that feels. When I’m heartbroken over my child’s pain and cry over his sorrow—God knows how that feels.

The love we have for our own children is fierce, unconditional, protective, and true. It began the moment we discovered their tiny heartbeats and will continue until we take our very last breath. But that is NOTHING compared to the love God has for His children! For my own children. For your children. For you and I.

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” ~1 John 3:1a (NIV)

God calls us “joint heirs” with His Son. We are joint heirs with Jesus Christ…let that sink in for a minute. Our inheritance is more than our feeble, finite minds can comprehend, yet we can rest in the fact that the Creator of the Universe has the very best future planned for us as His children, for all eternity.

“God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance!” ~Romans 8:16-17 (The Message)

Have you ever had an identity crisis? Know that as God’s child, we find our identity in Christ. In His work on the cross, giving us access to the Father. We can be confident, assured, and certain that we are part of His family, sealed for eternity—and that nothing and no one can ever take that away.

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Author Bio: 

Laura is a published Christian author with a heart for inspiring and encouraging readers of all ages. 

She is truly multi-genre—with a published Christian teen fiction trilogy, marriage book, children’s stories, devotionals for Union Gospel Press, musings on her blog, and she now has a literary agent representing her Christian romantic suspense novel.

Laura is English and Canadian, married to her high school sweetheart, mom of three, passionate about faith and family…and chocolate!

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Connect with Laura:
Website - www.laurathomasauthor.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Laura-Thomas-183771121724664/?ref=hl
Twitter - https://twitter.com/laura_thomas_
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lauracthomas/
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/lauracthomas/

Summer Love: Kristen's story about an island, illness and therapy

Interview questions for Kristen Terrette, author of Time and Tide:

Alexis: Time and Tide is book number two in this series about Moanna Island. What is your story about? Is it a real island or purely make-believe? 

Kristen: Time and Tide is about a man named Chad who is going through a major recovery. After almost killing himself and someone else in a car accident, Chad is dealing with legal problems, addiction recovery therapy, and physical therapy if he ever wants to walk normally again. They have become a part of his everyday life. He moves to Moanna Island, near Savannah, GA, to begin working for his family’s company after having to put it off for two years during his rehabilitation. He meets Ryan. A free-spirited, local girl, who opens his eyes to love, something he’s never had, and Jesus, who he’s never known.

Moanna Island is a make-believe island, but I pull from my childhood memories of vacationing on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina to develop the island’s look, layout, and character. It’s a low country island, meaning it has lots of greenery, trees, marshland, and extreme low and high tides.

Alexis: What characters from book number one, Safe Harbor, have roles in this new novel? Briefly note who they are and describe the significance of their role.

Kristen: The main characters, Eva and Thad from the first book, as well as Eva’s daughter, Willow, make appearances in Time and Time. It’s a small island, so it would be hard not to run into people. This is especially true since Time and Tide’s heroine works at the South Bay General Store which is the local go-to for just about everything since a “chain” grocery store is pretty far away. However, the biggest link between the characters is that Ryan attends Thad and Eva’s church and has joined a church small group held at their house. Eva and Ryan are roughly the same age and have become great friends. Ryan leans on Eva for advice.

Alexis: Chad Cusher is your story’s hero. Tell us about him. Describe his looks, personality, and struggles. What is his most prominent flaw and his saving grace (if any)? 

Kristen: Chad considers himself a loner and attributes this to being an only-child and hiding himself away to conceal his addiction. But he’s finding he’s less of one as he gets further away from his addiction and closer to a relationship with God.

His most prominent flaw is, by far, his leg which was injured in his car accident. The muscle on it is horribly mis-shapened, and he has a nasty scar the size of his hand there. It’s also very painful which causes him to have a limp and attend physical therapy. Lucky for him, he resembles the actor Ryan Phillipe. He has short hair, but it’s a little longer on top and almost curly. He has pretty, green eyes and a great smile. He’s a former athlete and still works out, so, other than his leg, he’s in good shape.

Alexis: What is Chad addicted to and why?

Kristen: Chad is a recovering cocaine addict. Why? He says his years in therapy have helped him see that he never learned how to deal with his father’s death and the broken relationship they had. He has been clean for a few years when we meet him, but his past brings daily struggles his way. 

I know it is a harsh set of circumstances, but as an author, I don’t want to shy away from addiction, and God’s saving power from it.

Alexis: What role does faith in God play in your character’s lives? 

Kristen: God is another main character in my stories! Ryan is a believer, and God uses her as His instrument to open Chad’s eyes to Him. Chad has never attended church or been around someone who is as vocal about Jesus as Ryan is. He knows very little about Him and His salvation. So, while Ryan’s faith shows us obedience and being steadfast, Chad comes to faith in the story. We get a chance to see him become a child of God.

Alexis: It sounds like Chad is very troubled and therefore jaded. He doesn’t believe in the pursuit of happiness, including finding a woman to love. What is it about free-spirited Ryan Mason that makes his heart long for these things?

Kristen: Chad hasn’t been in love before, so he’s unaccustomed to any emotional ties and longings. In the past, he’d only ever loved drugs, and the way they helped him turn off his emotions, make him numb. So, meeting Ryan awakens something inside of him he’s never felt. He’s drawn to her and how she always seems joyful, even when the circumstances around her are anything but. He realizes later one reason he’s drawn to her is because she has Jesus. He’s drawn to the Light in her that brings her joy.

Alexis: Ryan is your story’s heroine. What she’s like? Describe her looks, personality, and heart.

Kristen: Ryan is beautiful without effort. She has wild, wavy, long blonde locks, making her look like she’s always just come off the beach. She wouldn’t be caught dead in heels. It’s just not her style. She’s a flip-flops and frayed jeans kind-of girl. She’s not into material things and fits the stereotype of an island local, maybe a secret Jimmy Buffet follower. She’s smart, but hasn’t been able to finish college because she’s moved home to help her dad with her sick brother. She loves Jesus and has strong moral boundaries. She’s loyal and, therefore, a great friend.

Alexis: Describe Chad and Ryan’s meet-cute on Moanna Island. Why was it special? 

Kristen: Well, Chad actually sees Ryan for the first time at his rehab center. He’s there for therapy appointments and doesn’t know it at the time, but Ryan is there to see her sick brother. He’s taken back by how beautiful she is with her loin’s mane of hair blowing in the wind as she enters the center. She doesn’t see him then, and he assumes he’ll never see her again. A few days later, once he’s on Moanna, he walks into the General Store, and she’s the one who greets him. He makes an epic fail of a first impression but is determined to hit the “do-over” button and make up for it. Of course, he does. 

Alexis: What would you say is Ryan’s deepest fear and happiest moment in this story? Explain.

Kristen: Deepest fear: She’s going to hinder Chad’s journey to Jesus. Happiest moment: When Chad tells her his salvation story.

Alexis: Ryan’s brother suffers from a mental illness. What were the challenges of writing such real issue, one that people like to avoid, into your story?

Kristen: My uncle was schizophrenic. Sadly, he’s passed away, but I was able to pull from my own experiences with him growing up, as well as my mother’s stories about him before he became sick. My uncle was a wonderful man and a believer in Jesus. I think I wanted to be sure I portrayed Ryan’s brother like my uncle. He was sick, but that was only a part of him. He was also loving and kind and funny.

Alexis: Ryan’s joy draws Chad in but what makes him stay and fall in love?

Kristen: Ryan is fun and adventurous. Chad usually hides himself away and only has a few friends. Ryan is fun and extroverted, and he realizes he sees things differently when she’s around. He’s also incredibly attracted to her. They both comment on the electricity that ignites when they touch!

Alexis: What was your favorite adventure that you created for Ryan and Chad? Share details of what they experienced. 

Kristen: They go crabbing! When I was a kid, this was my most favorite thing to do on vacation. Crabs are unpredictable and smelly, but they provided me with some great opportunities for a few laughs.

Alexis: What is the Cusher Empire? Sounds fancy. How serious is it?

Kristen: Chad’s dad started a company that is now bigger than big. It’s real estate/investment/commercial development firm that spans the whole Southeast. It’s a company that builds malls, golf courses, and more. Chad’s the only son and sole heir.

Alexis: How will Chad’s “empire” inheritance affect his relationship with Ryan?

Kristen: He doesn’t think it has to at all, but she gets tripped up on it. She comes from a blue-collar family and can’t see how they’d be able to have much in common long term, can’t see how his family would be happy with her on his arm. It’s an insecurity Ryan has to deal with and try to overcome.

Alexis: What lesson do you want your readers to learn from this story?

Kristen: No one is too far from the reach of God. He can redeem and save even those who think they have no hope for redemption.

Alexis: Thanks for the interview, Kristen! Do you have any final comments?

Kristen: I would love to say thank you to my readers! You are allowing me to live my dream of telling stories! 

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Author Bio:

Kristen Terrette has been an avid reader since childhood, a self-confessed book nerd, and always had characters running through her mind- ones she made up. She went back to school years ago to obtain a Master's degree in Theological Studies because she felt God's tug towards ministry, but she didn't know then what God had in mind. 

After five years on staff at her church, she followed God's leading to a different kind of ministry- one with words, love, pain, and real-to-life characters. She now stays at home during the day while the house is quiet writing stories she hopes will bring readers to a stronger understanding of how God works and His love for sinners like us. 

She always has contemporary romance characters and plots running through her mind and considers romance her first love...but she has a few amazing literary fiction novels up her sleeve as well. Both genres fight for time occupying her mind.

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Blurb for Kristen's book: Addictions destroy lives. Chad Cusher’s own dependencies change everything he thought he knew about his future. 

After almost killing himself and someone else, Chad’s legal problems, addiction recovery therapy, and physical therapy if he ever wants to walk normally again, are a part of his everyday life. He believes there is no chance at true happiness, certainly not love, and only hopes to become a better man than he was, to find redemption somehow.

Chad moves to Moanna Island, a small island close to Savannah off the Atlantic coast, to begin a job with his family’s real estate empire, a job he was supposed to have taken years ago.

Free-spirited Ryan Mason is a Moanna local girl from a blue-collar family. She’s dropped her own dreams to help her father care for her schizophrenic brother.

Their paths first cross at a Rehabilitation Center where Chad attends therapy and Ryan’s brother lives. Chad can’t believe his luck when he finds her on Moanna Island, forty-five minutes away from the Center, only days later.

Chad is drawn to Ryan’s joy, even through the pain and grief life tries to throw her way. His lonely void begins to dissipate with every island adventure spent with her. He soon finds out what her secret is. But is it possible to start over and be restored? Even so, can Ryan except Chad’s horrible, even criminal past? Can their crazy worlds ever fit together once she finds out he is the sole heir to the Cusher Empire?

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Buy Kristen's book on Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble ~ Kobo

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Connect with Kristen:
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