THE STORIES BEHIND THE BOOKS
FAITH, HOPE and CHARITY ~~ Awe-Struck Publishing
I couldn't let the characters in Solemn Vows go. Kirsten needed her own story and nothing would do but for her to have a preacher hero. The only trouble was preachers didn't sell in New York. I shelved the idea until I found electronic publishing. Now I can write the stories of my heart with the strictures of the marketing gurus.
Faith, Hope and Charity is my first stab at an Inspirational romance. This book was written in fits and starts over way too long a period of time. I started it in January 2000 and finished it February 2004. In between I chaired a conference that became a full-time job and went through several major crises in my life, among them the loss of both my parents, two surgeries and having my son gone to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The book did not end up being the story I started. I think it's better for the evolution brought on by my own faith journey.
BEAR HUGS ~~ Awe-Struck Publishing
Bear Hugs demanded to be written. The story exploded in my head and wouldn't stop bugging me until I wrote it down. One day I was talking to my best friend on the phone. She told me about a non-fiction book she'd just read, Letters to Jenny by Piers Anthony. I told her I could write a romance around the idea of someone famous doing something special to bring a child out of a coma. The next day the story came knocking and wouldn't let me concentrate on the book I was trying to read.
The side light to the tale of Bear Hugs creation is another quirk of fate. I was asked to present the Friend of E-Publishing Award at the 2003 EPIC conference. The friend EPIC honored that night was Piers Anthony. I had always wanted to tell him his wonderful book inspired mine. It was a dream come true.
SOLEMN VOWS ~~ Awe-Struck Publishing
The idea for Solemn Vows came completely out of the blue one day while ironing. What if someone inherited children? What would happen to the existing relationships? I knew I had to make it difficult for the couple to separate or I wouldn't have a story. So, the hero and heroine became a married couple. That still wasn't enough conflict to sustain a plot. She had to not want children and the reason couldn't be simply that she didn't like kids. She had to have a good rationale. The hero had to have an equally good motive why he must keep them.
I like to feature Omaha, the city next door to the suburb where I live, in my stories. Among the institutions for which our city is famous is Boys Town (now Girls and Boys Town). At the time I was plotting the book, the home was in the news because of a remark by Newt Gingrich. The media was having a field day. I wanted to tell of the good work the home has done. Again, drawing on my own experience, I also wanted give a glimpse of the life of a Reserve family.
The cover on Solemn Vows features hands. The models were my son and daughter-in-law. We had to wait until he returned from service in Operation Iraqi Freedom to take the picture.
The characters turned out to be ones I couldn't say let go. They reappear in the book I completed in February 2004.
WHERE THE HEART LEADS ~~ Awe-Struck Publishing
Where the Heart Leads is the first book I wrote. I'm very proud of this book.. It's the book on which I learned how to write. I knew nothing about writing when I started it. With the help of my mentor, Diane Wicker Davis, and Romance Writers of America conferences I was able to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. Not many authors have their first book published. It took years and years to create a salable manuscript.
The story stems from our family experience at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. My husband served 30 years in the Army Reserve, four years of which were on active duty. He was one of the four reservists selected to attend the full CGSC course in the school year of 1976-1977. I loved that year and I adore Fort Leavenworth with its charm and rich history.
In the story I interwove a contemporary romance with tales of the past by making the heroine the curator of the Post Museum. Another goal of the story was to help readers understand what life is like for military families. Military life isn't easy. Most civilians have no idea what hardships the families endure in order to serve the nation, even in peacetime.
HEART BROKEN, HEART WHOLE ~~ Awe-Struck Publishing
Heart Broken, Heart Whole is the second book I wrote, although it was the first published. The story idea came from my experience sitting with two separate families while their infant daughters underwent open heart surgery. Watching the emotion-both ups and downs-of the families in the waiting room was eye opening. I was allowed to go into the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and encouraged to talk to and touch the sickest of the two girls. That was unexpected. My assumption had been only family members would be allowed in PICU. Seeing all the IV lines and monitors on that tiny body was unsettling.
The whole experience stuck with me. I couldn't forget it and came to the conclusion that I must write a story in which a child needed open heart surgery.
It took a long time and a ton of research on various heart defects to decide to write about tetralogy of Fallot. I'm not a medical professional, which made this book more difficult to write. I researched with a medical textbook in one hand and a medical dictionary in the other. Fortunately I had the help of professionals to walk me through the details. Heart Broken, Heart Whole has been read by several medical people. They said I'd done a good job with that aspect.
Of course, since I wrote it, the story is a romance, one I hope is satisfying to romance fans.
FREEDOM ISN'T FREE ~~ Uncial Press
Freedom Isn’t Free is the most personal story I’ve written to date. I was an airline stewardess in 1967-68. I met my husband, a soldier, on a flight. I am the oldest of eight siblings. I have had acromegaly. The setting is in towns I’ve called home. But that’s where the similarities end. Freedom Isn’t Free is not autobiographical.
I grew up in the shadow of the nation’s capital, in Falls Church, Virginia. Most of my neighbors were in the military. Both my parents were veterans. My husband served in Vietnam and my son in Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom. I now live in a military community. The theme of freedom came naturally to me. I understand the price we, as a nation, as families, and as individuals pay for the freedoms we enjoy.
Sightseeing in Washington was a favorite past time, something I wanted to share with my readers. Watching the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns is always special. My grandfather was in charge of the burial detail for the first unknown. The porch of the Custis-Lee Mansion is my favorite spot on earth. The view of the Nation’s Capital is breathtaking.
I included acromegaly in the story because it is a rare hormone disorder unknown to most people. I promised the nurse in ICU after my surgery that I would put it in a book one day.
I hope you’ll enjoy the story.
