When Love Inspires: Belle's story

When Love Inspires: Belle's story

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a writer.

I was the little girl who grew up across the street from a public library and devoured books as fast as I could check them out with my library card. I still can recall that exhilarating feeling as I dove into a Nancy Drew mystery or one of my favorites, Little Women. As a teenager, I fell in love with romance novels. I think the idea of happily ever afters made me feel as if all was right in the world. As an adult, I realize that’s not always the case. We live in a world where there is pain, sickness, suffering, war, poverty and so many more issues that aren’t uplifting.

Although I write in the inspirational market, my books also qualify as sweet romances.

As a writer, I can create a sense of peace and love. 

The world that my characters inhabit is a world that I create, so I have the power to incorporate all the characteristics that are important to me.

Writing sweet romance allows me to create happy endings in a world where happiness doesn’t always triumph over the bad things. It’s really gratifying when I received correspondence from a reader who lets me know that my book helped them through a hard time or gave them a heartwarming feeling when they read my words. It lets me know that the path I’ve taken is the right one.

I also enjoy writing romances where the characters respond to each other on an emotional level rather than one of physicality. Of course attraction is important, and I make a point to portray the chemistry between the hero and the heroine. But for me, I enjoy the sweet heat level. I actually think it’s harder to write a romance where the couples aren’t intimate because the intimacy has to be portrayed through dialogue and experiences, as well as the intensity of the characters. You have to build a bridge between your characters and increase the depth of their connection.

I love the idea that a teenager (much like my teenaged self) can pick up a sweet romance and read it without being subjected to overtly sexual content or material that is way over their heads. That means the world to me. They can still get a romantic read without squirming or feeling as if they’re reading something they shouldn’t be! When you write sweet romance there’s a promise that the content will be appropriate for teenagers and above.

When I attended an event at my daughter’s school she introduced me to a new friend and unbeknownst to me, my daughter had given her a book of mine to read. It was wonderful to hear from the young lady about how she loved the book and enjoyed reading heartwarming love stories.

Writing sweet romance is perfect for me since I love creating emotional reads that leave the reader feeling as if they’ve been on an uplifting journey with the characters. I feel very fortunate each and every day to be able to send these stories out into the world.

~*~
Author Bio:

Belle Calhoune is a Publisher’s Weekly Best-selling author and a member of the RWA Honor Roll. 

She grew up in a small town in Massachusetts as one of five children. 

Although her mother was a doctor and her father a biologist, Belle never gravitated toward science. Growing up across the street from a public library was a huge influence on her life and fueled her love of romance novels. 

Belle is the author of ten Harlequin Love Inspired novels with four more contracted. She has indie-published the popular and best-selling inspirational romance series "Seven Brides, Seven Brothers." She was the first author to create a diverse Christian romance series. The Secrets of Savannah and Pelican Bay are both spin-offs of her debut series. 

Belle loves writing romance and crafting happily ever afters. When she’s not wrangling her two high maintenance dogs or spending time with her husband and two daughters, Belle enjoys travel and exploring new places. 

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Blurb for Belle's book:

Back in Love, Alaska, Joshua Ransom comes face-to-face with ex-fiancée Honor Prescott.

A single dad of an infant daughter, Joshua’s no longer the reckless cowboy who broke Honor’s heart. 

But discovering he’s selling his late grandfather’s land to developers puts them at odds. With the Diamond R’s fate unclear, so is their future. 

Will this second chance lead to Joshua being one of Love’s Alaskan Grooms?

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Connect with Belle:
Amazon Author Page, Facebook, Twitter and Website

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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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Devotional by Laura Thomas: Cliques, Real Love, and Mission Work

On the Playground

A devotional by Laura Thomas

“My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love.”
~1 John 3:18 (The Message)

Remember back in elementary school? There on the playground, a select group of cool girls huddled together with the giant skip rope and played the best games together. They giggled and admired each other’s outfits and gave snobby looks to those on the periphery; the wallflowers. It was our initiation into the world of cliques.

As adults, it’s no prettier. We have cliques galore, just in bigger playgrounds. We gather at events, we shop at the appropriate stores, we drink specific coffee, and we live in similar neighborhoods. The “wallflowers”, those who don’t quite fit in for whatever reason, are left out again. And in our maturity, instead of giving snobby looks, we pretend not to notice.

As Christians, are we any different? Do we intentionally go looking for the “outsiders” or are we content to pander to our own kind exclusively? Are we opening our arms in readiness to accept the hurting or are we burying our heads in spiritual sand? Preaching to myself right here.

Jesus made it perfectly clear that we are not to stay comfy in our Christian cliques, but to be constantly looking to share His love and the Gospel with others, with “outsiders”. After hanging out with unsavory types, Jesus was criticized for mixing with “sinners".

“Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: ‘I’m after mercy, not religion.’ I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.” ~Matthew 9:12-13 (The Message)

Pretty plain, isn’t it? Whether that means reaching out to the needy in our community or befriending the lonely mom across the street or singing in the local seniors’ home— we are called to welcome outsiders. To live with God's Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) in mind. To be looking for opportunities to tell of His love for all. To be willing to go out of our comfort zones for Jesus!

Perhaps we fear that if we open our hands to God in obedience, He might immediately send us to be a missionary in a foreign land forever… and that is glorious when it happens, but honestly—it’s pretty rare! Surely what He desires is a willing heart—to be ready to be used by Him and for His glory, whatever that may look like.

This is just a tiny (rather insignificant) example, but last week, I was pondering how I enjoy baking for people. Yes, baking. I would like to say I love to see others well nourished, but truth be told, I love to see their eyes light up and taste buds tingle with delicious treats like cookies and cupcakes and brownies. The special “in moderation” stuff, generally involving chocolate. I joke that baking is my love language. It’s probably not a joke.

And then this same week, I was asked if I would be able to bake for two separate groups of people in my community. It was as if God was giving me a wink and saying, “It’s your thing, have at it. It’s for My glory.” And the best part about it is that God can use me in this tiny, weeny way to bless others, those “outside” my usual sphere, those who need to feel loved and special. Yes, I can bake for my family and friends anytime and it’s all good, but sometimes God cracks the door just a little and offers us ways to bless others. 

We don’t have to go abroad to be a missionary.

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” ~1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)

Sometimes He merely desires us to use our gifts and talents to share His love tangibly right where we are. And sometimes He does call us to the mission field! God can be glorified in our kitchen and in remote villages. With our neighbors and in foreign countries. Either way, we have a precious gift to share and His light to shine, and only one lifetime in which to do it. Let’s practice real love and let’s welcome EVERYONE onto the playground. 

~*~
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/

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