When Love Inspires: Brandy's story

When Love Inspires: Brandy's story

Back in Colorado, during my book launch party for The Last Summer, one of the ladies there said to me something to the effect of "You must have such a romantic life to write romance!"

I choked back a laugh, cleared my throat, and set the record straight. Maybe it’s a misconception that romance writers are living lives of roses and passionate getaways and love notes left for you on your pillow. I’ve been married for nearly 16 years—and while there are those things I just mentioned at times (well, maybe love texts and emojis rather than notes!)—my days are probably similar to everyone else’s in my stage of life.

My “book boyfriend” is always going to be Outlander’s Jamie Fraser. My husband Jeff likes to remind me that Jamie’s a fictional character, created by a woman, and that’s why women love him. Because he’s all the things women want. (I have rebuttal arguments but we won’t go into that!) I think we see a lot of this in romance, right? Billionaire boyfriends falling in love with the housekeeper (or the nanny! Always the nanny for some reason!). Extraordinary athletes coming home and falling in love with the girl next door. Princes falling for commoners. I read these stories too! Happily Ever After comes and you sigh with happiness, because you just know that the couple will always be crazy about each other, never have financial squabbles, and never go through anything that might take them to marriage counseling.

Then there’s real life.

I love Valentine’s Day, but not because of expensive dinners or outrageous flower arrangements. Because romance is in the little things. And love extends to family and friends, not just couples. I write romance because there’s something real and special about finding your person, even if he’s not a Scottish highlander who’s perfect (cough!). And that’s for everyone, whether they’ve found that person yet or not. 

In my new book After the Rain, the main character is a girl going through depression. The truth is that a relationship doesn’t solve that. Many of us have been there. I’ve been there. In the right relationship, your partner comes alongside you in the dark times, and you go on the journey together. And finding that person is, to me, worth writing about!

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Author Bio: 

Brandy Bruce is a mom, a wife, a book editor, an author, and someone who really loves dessert. 

She’s the author of the award-winning novel The Last Summer, Looks Like Love, and The Romano Family Collection. 

Brandy, her husband, and their children make their home in Virginia.

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Blurb for Brandy's book: 

After the Rain is a picture of what it looks like to desperately need change, to want to rediscover yourself, and to feel so stuck that maybe you can’t move with help. 

Debra Hart is moving on. Maybe. Hopefully. One day.

As a radio show host, Debra spends her mornings as Miss Lonely Heart on air, empathizing with all the broken hearts in the Denver metro area. She spends her evenings watching old musicals and trying not to think about the guy who broke up with her and subsequently fell in love with one of her best friends. Alone in a new city, Debra questions where she belongs and who she is now.

When she stumbles into the indie music scene, Debra meets singer Ben Price. Rock star appeal, with a day job as a worship pastor, Ben is everything Debra wants to avoid. But he’s determined to be her friend, and it so happens she could really use one. Because try as she might, nothing seems to erase the anger and betrayal she feels.

It’s time for a new dream. But how does she start over when she doesn’t even know what she wants anymore?

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Connect with Brandy:
Amazon Author Page - https://amzn.to/2Mk5K5r
Blog - https://brandybruce.blogspot.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/BrandyBruce
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/alittlebitofbrandy/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/authorBrandyBruce/
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/brandybruce/

Website - https://www.authorbrandybruce.com

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Spring into Love: Jenna Victoria's devotional about her book

At the Crossroads
A devotional written by Jenna Victoria, author of Love Among the Lilacs

In my latest release, Love Among the Lilacs, several characters encounter challenges that put them at a crossroads. Do they turn left, towards anger, resentment, and defeat? Do they turn right, towards hope, strength, and resilience–embracing the difficulties of life?

It says in Joshua 1:9, “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”

My heroine, Mollie Wright, needs to choose whether or not to forgive her stepbrother Bryce and mother Lucille for deep emotional wounds. Will she remain hopeful when circumstances point her towards being homeless again?

The hero, attorney Sean Grady, had his heart broken by his fiancé and younger brother, who left town together five years before. Professionally, he protects elderly clients from abuse and financial losses by ruthless relatives. He wears his mistrust of others like a shield. Will he forgive and forget or allow his heart to thicken into granite?

Bryce Wright is treading a dangerous path with his ‘gangsta’ friends. His latest theft pulls Mollie and Sean into a no-win situation. Will he repent and turn himself in?

We’ve all been there. Crossroads prompt us to choose the right path, or the wrong one. My own no-win situation occurred in May 2012, with a diagnosis of recurrent metastatic breast cancer. A mastectomy, radiation, lumpectomy, re-radiation and continual chemotherapy followed. I will be receiving chemo every 21 days until Jesus calls me home.

I could have chosen to blame God, to turn bitter and move away from Him. Instead, undergirded with strength from the Holy Spirit, claiming the truth in Joshua 1:9–I moved even closer to Him. At first, my confidence and faith was all “head knowledge.” I was like the father of the mute son in Mark 9:24: “And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”

Eventually, gradually, through consciously choosing that “right path” over and over - even when I didn’t feel a connection or felt my words were echoes in my empty room - my closeness with the Lord blossomed into a core heart knowledge. In time I experienced the truth and promise found in James 4:8, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” 

Today, my head and my heart are in alignment, and at perfect peace, despite my circumstances.

The most brilliant of diamonds come into being only by intense pressure and high heat. Pastor Greg Laurie is quoted as saying, “Suffering does not create character, it reveals it.” 

May your own trials and crossroads reveal a heart willing to experience whatever is in store, remaining in faith and expectation of His provision.

In Him,

Jenna Victoria

*All Scripture in this devotional is quoted from the King James Version of The Holy Bible.

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Author bio: 

Ever since her grandfather co-created Twinkies, Snowballs, and Hostess cupcakes for Intercontinental Baking Company, circa 1955, Jenna has yet to taste a cake she hasn't liked.

Jenna writes books for readers who enjoy sweet and compelling romances, and also for those who look for her “fiction that feeds your faith” titles. 

She writes happily-ever-after romance and romantic suspense stories with a Christian worldview. Her stories emulate those she enjoys reading, ones with a heroine who is in grave danger and a hero who is smart enough to get out of her way as she kicks butt and takes down names. Jenna also enjoys stories that feature satisfying fairy-tale-endings.

Jenna's clean romances won’t put you into a diabetic coma, and her faith-based romances aren’t preachy or unrealistic. It is her glad purpose to glorify God and His sacrificial love through His Son, Jesus Christ through books that illustrate hope and peace in unbearable situations. Her first triple negative breast cancer diagnosis in 2012 has led to surgeries, radiation, reoccurrences and incurable metastasis. Still, Jenna continues to praise God and trust His oversight in her life, and she continues to write more books.

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Blurb for Jenna Victoria's book: Bookkeeper Mollie Wright knows about living on the streets, and her purchase of sweet Lilac Cottage is a dream come true. She is determined to stay and fight when a legal error puts her ownership at risk. 

Attorney Sean Grady never wanted his great-aunts to sell their cottage in Westchester County, New York, so when a paperwork snafu puts the deal on hold, he moves swiftly to evict the pretty, feisty squatter. 

Mollie finds unexpected allies in Grady Cove neighbors and a member of Sean's own family but knows the clock is ticking. 

Will a theft and her past secrets force a showdown to heartache, or will Mollie and Sean discover home is truly where your heart is? 

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Buy Love Among the Lilacs on Amazon

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Connect with Jenna Victoria:
Amazon Author Page - https://www.amazon.com/author/jennavictoria/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/jennavictori
Facebook - www.facebook.com/jennavictoriaauthor/
Blog - http://bookishbydesign.com
Book Review Blog - www.jennavictoria.com/category/on-jennas-shelf-reviews/

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