Kellyn Roth's Blog: Kellyn Roth, Author, page 7

Hey folks!

As you know, Like a Ship on the Sea is coming to theaters a book seller near you in a little over a month, and I want to make sure that YOU have an opportunity to … help me. I’m becoming my dad, who always says things like, “Would you like an opportunity to wash the car?” No, Father. No, I would not like that “opportunity.”

So let’s … let’s talk about your opportunities.

Join the Reviewers

If you would like to review Like a Ship on the Sea, you can do so! By filling out the form below!

Now, this does come with a caveat. Information on the novel and content warnings are in the form, but I did want to note that this is a more mature novel, along the lines of A Prayer Unanswered or After Our Castle (but a little lighter). I‘d recommend 16+ for some of the themes. Of course, everything is written from a Christian perspective.

If you still are interested, go ahead and view the form!

CLICK THE FORM

Or paste this link in your browser: https://forms.gle/P3FbbEojqPrxjzwW7

Join the Launch Team

This is the form for anyone who wants to do anything to celebrate Like a Ship on the Sea for the next six months! There is both an option to join the blog/media tour AND an option to just share at different times.

CLICK THE FORM

Or paste this link in your browser: https://forms.gle/wGmE2moTvaeotNMS9

TTFN!

~Kell~

P.S.

Are you joining up?

If it’s because of the sexual content (discussions, not scenes of any type!) that you’re not joining, no worries. I get it. The book features stuff I wasn’t comfortable with for years, but now things are a little different in terms of how I view that kind of content (namely, vague discussions about sexual topics with no details, no specifics, et cetera).

However, I still have a strong no-smut, no-porn policy. This is another controversial thing, apparently, but I believe all of the above are sins. This comes from someone with a past of sexual sin, so I’m quite serious about it. I believe that smut and porn are equally damaging to relationships and the self, destroying both in a unique way.

But … conversations about sex? Well, I’ll get a post up about that some time or other, but I basically don’t believe the fact that sex exists should be shied away from in adult fiction. See my post here for more info on that. (We probably agree more than you think. I take a very strong stance on honoring God and personal convictions no matter what.)

Are you interested in getting to know me & my books better?

I want to invite you to my super secret club. I mean, it’s not really a secret, because I’m telling you about it now, but here goes.

Join Mrs. Roth’s Society Column, my street team! We’d love to have you along for the ride!

HEY FOLKS! Kellyn here, and I’m SO READY for the launch of Wild Blue Wonder Press‘s first-ever anthology, a collection of eight novellas hand-selected to share some amazing Christian themes, both explicit and more subtle, with you. These stories are clean (at worst, PG for thematic elements like a Jane Austen adaptation, but you can see my full content review here), sweet, and full of themes to glorify God and hopefully bless you, our reader.

This is the project I’ve been dreaming about doing for YEARS, so getting to do it now, and with such a lovely collection of authors, is such an incredible blessing.

What types of stories are in this collection? Well, you can read the descriptions below, but here’s the short version:

Springtime in Surrey, the first collection releasing with Wild Blue Wonder Press, is a Christian anthology featuring eight lovely stories. With a mix of historical and contemporary, romance and women’s fiction, a dash of mystery here and there, real-life themes presented in a loving way, and a vintage feel, this story is sure to charm lovers of Christian women’s fiction.

Now to introduce the blog tour and all the other amazing events happening this week! (STICK AROUND THE GIVEAWAY! You won’t want to miss out on it!)

The genre is …

Christian Women’s Fiction, both Historical and Contemporary

It’s launching …

Tuesday, July 25th, 2023 (TOMORROW!)

ABOUT THE COLLECTION

This collection of novellas, set in County Surrey, England, features both historical and contemporary stories by new and old authors!

Springtime in Surrey contains the follow eight novellas:

Jesus, I Am Resting by Faith Blum
Elinor Chapman, an orphaned laundry woman, must fight to survive after WWI breaks out. She prays her beau doesn’t die on a foreign battlefield like her father did 14 years ago. She is forced to take on nursing, but her passion for helping other orphans distracts her from this job, leaving her little time for rest. Will she run herself into the ground … or will she learn to rest in Jesus?

The Cottage on the Hill by Andrea Renee Cox
During every teatime at her cottage hideaway, Moira struggles to discover hope amongst her lost ballerina dreams. Unsettled by elusive goals of his own, sheep farmer Adrian observes his uncle’s neighbor crying into her tea and wonders why… and what he can do to cheer her up. While facing their regrets, can Moira and Adrian trust that God has a good plan despite crushed dreams and far-off hopes?

If I Knew You Were Coming by Bailey Gaines
With her husband off to war and two evacuee children staying in her home, Joan feels duty-bound to contribute to the war effort via her participation in the Women’s Land Army. She is thrilled to learn that her husband has leave. But when the London Blitz ruins her plans to see him, Joan must decide what is most important in her life: her contribution to the war effort or her calling as a mother?

Her Heart’s Home by Grace A. Johnson
Forced from her childhood home after her father was killed in action, Meredith Tate is forced to seek employment at the Deepdene Hotel until she discovers the next step. Which most certainly does not include the brooding Captain Trevor Seaton, a guest who always manages to catch her at her worst. Despite his gentle magnetism, Meredith is determined not to fall for a military man—but God may have other plans.

The Tussie-Mussie by Katja H. Labonté
Caitrìona is determined to rescue her family from poverty by making a brilliant match. She is on the verge of success when her brother is arrested for a sensational crime. Banished to the country, she meets Ewart, a fearful recluse with a younger sister in need of aid. Ewart and Caitrìona grow together through shared goals—but as mysteries are uncovered and characters tested, what truth will be revealed?

The Odd Duck Society by Rachel Leitch
Jessamy Aubertine is too much for her university classmates, too little for her overstressed mum, and nothing in between. Then a mysterious letter signed by Jane Austen brings her back to her family’s fading tea shop and a pair of unlikely comrades. Will they find the letter writer—and perhaps discover themselves along the way? Or will their friendship fade with The Muses?

Fear Not Tomorrows by Erika Mathews
Hardworking Margaret Enfield is thrilled with her engagement to her lifelong best friend Lester. When his brother’s sudden illness forces Lester’s prolonged and indefinite absence, every tomorrow feels bleak to Margaret as lonely drudgery overtakes the once-rosy springtime. As she throws herself into her tasks, can she learn to trust her tomorrows with Jesus—one day at a time?

Courage to Stay by Kellyn Roth
Rosalind finds herself engaged to Matthias after her former fiancé, his brother, perishes in battle. Determined to forge a connection, she embarks on a risky mission. When Matthias retreats into his own turmoil on a hunting trip, Rosalind disguises herself as a man and follows him to the forest, vowing to fight for their love. Will Matthias summon the courage to stay, or will his fractured mind drive them apart forever?

Where to Find It
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5QG75DK
Website: https://wildbluewonderpress.com/springtime-in-surrey/

Add it to your TBR stack on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/157492074-springtime-in-surrey
Or on Bookbub:
https://www.bookbub.com/books/springtime-in-surrey-a-wild-blue-wonder-press-anthology-by-kellyn-roth-and-rachel-leitch

What about this giveaway, though?!

The authors of Springtime in Surrey are hosting a huge giveaway with not one but two winners—a US winner and an international winner—over the course of the blog tour!

From July 25th to July 31st, follow the tour, commenting on posts, and subscribe to the authors’ newsletters and blogs! The winners will be announced on August 1st and contacted by email! 

US Prizes

A print copy of Springtime in Surrey, two bookmarks and a quote sticker, a spring-themed mug, a bookish ornament, a spring-themed candle, an inspirational journal, and tea.

International Prizes

An ebook copy of Springtime in Surrey, two bookmarks and a quote sticker, a gift card, an ebook of choice by Erika Mathews, an ebook from the winner’s Amazon wishlist, an exclusive epilogue of The Tussie-Mussie, and a phone wallpaper.

Rules

Entrants must be 18+ or have parental permission to enter. Two winners—one US and one international—will be randomly selected at the end of the giveaway and contacted by email. The winners must be comfortable sharing their shipping addresses. Any and all information provided through the giveaway will be used only for the purposes stated.

ENTER BELOW:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/1956f7e911/?

Feel free to check out Wild Blue Wonder Press on Instagram and Facebook, participate in the social media bookish challenge, or browse the other posts on the blog tour using our …

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, July 24th

Kickoff Post at Lilacs & Reveries

Interview with Katja H. Labonté at Sheep Among Wolves

Interview with Faith Blum at Library Lady’s Kid Lit

Launch Announcement at Writing to Inspire

Interview with Rachel Leitch at Words & Wildflowers

Three-Novella Review at Miraculous Homeschool

Tuesday, July 25th (LAUNCH DAY)

Collection Spotlight at Of Blades and Thorns

Collection Spotlight & Single-Novella Review at Review from the Stacks

Collection Review at Emily Yager

Collection Review at The Book Dragon’s Alcove

Collection Review at Story of a Christian Girl

Wednesday, July 26th

Two-Novella Review at H.S. Kylian

Collection Review at Abbigail B.

“Tips from Editing 7 Novellas in a Month,” a Guest Post by Kellyn at Joyfully Natasha

Collection Review at Imperial Scribis

Thursday, July 27th

“Why We Wrote Stories Set in Surrey,” a Guest Post from Kellyn at A Handful of Quietness

Collection Review at Library Lady’s Kid Lit

Collection Spotlight at Kelsey’s Notebook

Single-Novella Review at Vanessa Hall

Interview with Andrea Renee Cox at Story of a Christian Girl

Friday, July 28th

Two-Novella Review at Read Review Rejoice

Collection Spotlight at Writing to Inspire

Collection Review at Graceful Reflections

“Why I Love Writing Women’s Fiction,” a Guest Post from Kellyn at Abbigail B.

Saturday, July 29th

Collection Review at Saraina Whitney

Collection Review & Collection Spotlight at Little Blossoms for Jesus

“Children’s Books I Drew Inspiration From,” a Guest Post from Kellyn at Library Lady’s Kid Lit

Wrapup Post at Lilacs & Reveries

Other Things to Check Out

The Springtime in Surrey Scavenger Hunt

The Blog Swap, hosted by Andrea

The Bookish Tag, hosted by Katja

The “Which Character Are You” Quiz, created by Rachel

Events on the Wild Blue Wonder Press Instagram, hosted (mostly) by Kellyn

An Event on Kellyn’s Twitter Account

About the Authors

Faith Blum is a wife, mom, author, and entrepreneur. She’s published over 30 books, most of them in the Christian Historical Fiction genre. She loves stories because they can teach history, but in a fun way. It is also her way to have a creative outlet while taking care of a household and toddler.

She’s been a proud small town resident her whole life and wouldn’t have it any other way. She lives in Central Wisconsin with her husband, son, and cat, Smokey. She’s blessed to write as a part time career. You can find her books on books on most eBook retailers.

When not writing, you can find her cooking from scratch, reading, figuring out social media content, or spending time with her family. She also loves playing piano for church and being part of the Author Conservatory.

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Faith-Blum/e/B00GSPBHW6
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/faith-blum
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7361997.Faith_Blum
Instagram: http://instagram.com/faithblumauthor
Website: http://faithblum.com 

Born and raised in north Texas, Andrea Renee Cox is a born-again child of God who enjoys writing stories that inspire, copyediting fiction manuscripts, tutoring middle school students, and going on road trips with her family. Whether she’s working on historical or contemporary, women’s fiction or romance, she uses her skills in research and writing techniques—as well as a large dose of prayer and guidance from God—at every turn in the journey to produce the best story of her ability every single time. Her books may be found on her website, and readers are welcome to follow her blog for the latest updates in her journey. 

Website: https://andreareneecox.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/andreacox
Twitter: https://twitter.com/screenwriter87
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/andreareneecoxauthor/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/andreareneecox
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/andrea-renee-cox

Bailey Gaines is a Georgia girl who loves history. Through her writing, she hopes to show how God works in all periods of history, bringing healing and helping people know they have value because of their identity as a human created in God’s image. Her stories range from King Richard the Lionheart’s England to 1930s Appalachia to 18th century England to 19th century America.

Bailey is a student of the Author Conservatory, and has a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. When she’s not writing, she’s helping homeschoolers with their writing or working at an escape room. Her hobbies include playing the piano, sewing, and exploring the world of vintage fashion.

Website: https://baileygaines.com/
Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cf13616f41ce/fountain-pen-letters
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baileygainesauthor/

Grace A. Johnson is a Christian fiction authoress, book reviewer, and avid reader. She lives in beautiful (but humid) South Georgia, surrounded by farmland and forestry, with her parents and six younger siblings. She has indie-published the first three novels in a Christian historical romance series, the Daughters of the Seven Seas, and a smattering of short stories and novellas, as well as a devotional. She’s also a marketer and editor who loves helping young authors through her editing business S&J Editors and her small publishing company Sky’s the Limit Press. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook @graceajohnsonauthor or blogging on her website at www.graceajohnson.com. Join her for a virtual cup of tea and a free preview of her debut novel when you sign up for her e-newsletter!

Website: www.graceajohnson.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/graceajohnsonauthor
Newsletter: www.graceajohnson.com/newsletter
Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/graceajohnsonauthor
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/19003396.Grace_A_Johnson
BookBub: www.bookbub.com/profile/grace-a-johnson
Facebook: www.facebook.com/graceajohnsonauthor
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/graceajohnsonauthor 

Katja H. Labonté is a Christian, an extreme bibliophile who devours over 365 books in a year, and an exuberant writer with a talent for starting short stories that explode into book series. She is a bilingual French-Canadian and has about a dozen topics she’s excessively passionate about (hint: that’s why she writes). Katja writes both contemporary and historical fiction, as well as non-magical historical and contemporary kingdom fiction, and covers themes of worth, love, peace, and Christian growth. She spends her days enjoying little things, growing in faith, learning life, and loving people. You can follow her life journey, find free books, browse her services, and more on her website and blog.

Website/Blog: littleblossomsforjesus.wordpress.com
Bookstagram: instagram.com/oldfashionedbooklove
Goodreads: goodreads.com/oldfashionedbooklove
Tumblr: https://tumblr.com/blog/oldfashionedbooklove
Pinterest: pinterest.ca/oldfashionedbooklove
Amazon: http://amzn.to/3WE7D15
Newsletter: https://sendfox.com/katjahlabonte
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/katja-h-labonte

Rachel Leitch discovered the book of writing when she was seven. She’s been turning pages ever since! She lives her own adventure in northern Indiana, with her parents, three sisters, two brothers, and a dog who thinks he’s the hero of her story. She writes young adult historical fiction with a dash of adventure or a spark of magic. When she’s not hidden away writing, she’s trying to fit all her reads on her shelf in a somewhat organized manner, obsessing over character arcs, drinking chai, daydreaming at the piano, or teaching students to be just as bookish as she is. In all her adventures, she learns how to shine brighter for the Father of Lights. For more bookish ramblings (and a free digital short story involving a magical violin) follow her adventure journal at https://racheljleitch.com/!

Website: https://www.racheljleitch.com/
Newsletter: https://www.racheljleitch.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/racheljleitchauthor
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Rachel-Leitch/author/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/37037221.Rachel_Leitch
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/rachel-leitch 

Erika Mathews is an author and editor who writes family-friendly Christian living books, both fiction and non-fiction, that demonstrate the power of God through ordinary people, transforming daily life into His resting life. Her works include Truth from Taerna, a kingdom adventure fiction series with deep spiritual themes, Resting Life, a Christian living nonfiction book about finding rest in Jesus in modern life, and a variety of historical fiction and poetry.
Erika lives in the farm country of Minnesota with her husband and children. She’s a homeschool graduate with a Bachelor’s in Communications, a Master’s in Biblical Ministries, and a passion for sharing Jesus Christ and His truth. When she’s not working with books, she enjoys reading, outdoor activities, piano and violin, organizing, and using the Oxford comma.

Website: https://restinglife.com
Newsletter: https://restinglife.com/signup
Facebook: https://facebook.com/erikamathewsauthor
Instagram: https://instagram.com/erikamathewsauthor
Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/erikamathews
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/erikamathews
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/erikamathewsauthor

Kellyn Roth is a historical romance & women’s fiction author who writes about the empty places where hope has the most room to grow. Her novels include the inspirational Victorian family saga, The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy, and the Kees & Colliers series, which follows a broken family in the tumultuous years of the first half of the 20th century.

Kellyn is a student of the Author Conservatory and a writing coach. When not building her author career or her indie-author-helping business, Wild Blue Wonder Press, she is likely getting lost somewhere in the Pacific Northwest with her friends, watching period dramas and facetious comedies, or spending time with her husband.

Website: https://kellynrothauthor.com/
Newsletter: https://kellynrothauthor.com/newsletter/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/kellynrothauthor/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/kellynrothauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kellyntheauthor/
Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/kellynroth
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/kellynrothauthor

TTFN!

~Kell~

P.S.

Well … are you going to read the collection? Do any of the novellas sound good? (Which one sounds BEST?)

Are you interested in getting to know me & my books better?

I want to invite you to my super secret club. I mean, it’s not really a secret, because I’m telling you about it now, but here goes.

Join Mrs. Roth’s Society Column, my street team! We’d love to have you along for the ride!

Hey folks! Today I’m sharing a blog post from Erika Mathews, one of the authors from Wild Blue Wonder Press’s first ever anthology, Springtime in Surrey. This is a fun one as it takes on the actual title of this blog, the one that my mom and I came up with in September of 2015.

But … as if that wasn’t enough, Erika absolutely thrilled me by being so kind about this blog and the posts on it that I was like, “I don’t know if I can publish this! It’s too nice!” But false humility, a sort of disguised pride, is never something we should allow to triumph, so I shall publish her words in full and resist the temptation to annotate with silly comments.

If you don’t remember, Springtime in Surrey is launching on July 25th and is available for preorder now! Don’t miss out on our launch events (including giveaways!) next week … so show back up here then to celebrate with us!

Hello, friends! I’m Erika Mathews, wife, mama, author, and editor, and I want to extend a special thanks to Kellyn for hosting me here at Lilacs & Reveries.

I’ve followed this blog for more years than I can count, and I’m honored to know that for once I’m writing a blog post in a place where I know it’s safe to rant, rave, be blunt, be honest, be witty, be controversial, and be profoundly truthful all at once, for Kellyn somehow does all those things so well. At this stage of life, I read almost no blogs, but Kellyn’s is one where I still read every single post. Sometimes I’ve wondered why I still do, but the truth is that she’s so compelling and yet so on the mark with truth and logic and wit that I couldn’t stop reading even if I wanted to. Which I don’t. But I digress, as I believe I’m allowed to do in this space as much as I wish.

I’ve been privileged to work with Kellyn at different times over the years, most recently on our Springtime in Surrey collection. And I must add that I love her blog title Lilacs & Reveries, as I particularly adore both lilacs and reveries. In fact, I’d like to address the subject of reveries head-on today. (We’ll see if we sneak any lilacs in or not.)

What are Reveries?

Merriam-Webster defines reverie as “the condition of being lost in thought.” If you google the term, you’ll come up with this definition: “a state of being pleasantly lost in one’s thoughts, a daydream.”

So, right off the bat, we’re talking about what goes on in our minds. It’s about our thoughts—what we’re thinking about—but more than that, there’s something about “being lost.” I find that phrasing interesting. We all know what being “lost in thought” signifies, but the fact that we’ve chosen the term lost in that phrase intrigues me. More on that later.

Okay, But Why Does It Even Matter?

At this point, you might say, “All this is well and good, and I like a nice reverie as well as the next person, but why are we talking about this? Why devote an entire post to the subject of reveries? Why does it matter?”

I’d like to assert up front that this entire concept is one of the most important and foundational concepts of the Christian life.

Why?

Because what we think about is who we become.

 

We Become What We Think About

Think about it. Take any of your actions or responses. Anything you’ve done. Why did you do it? Answers may vary, of course, but keep on asking why until you get down to the root. At the most basic level, you did it because you thought about it first. We don’t really do anything without having some level of conscious thought about it beforehand. (Obviously, we might act without consciously thinking sometimes. But the reason even behind that is that we have a belief/heart-thought about it deep inside, even if we’ve never consciously acknowledged it.) Therefore, we can see that what we think about it who we become.

But let’s move on. Even deeper than that, what are your thoughts? What are you thinking about right now? And (get ready for it) where does your mind go when it has nowhere in particular to go? What are the reveries of your free time?

Because that shows what is in your heart. That shows what you treasure. It both shows who you are as a person, and it determines who you become as a person.

Here Come the Lilacs …

To demonstrate this, let’s use an example. I’ll pick lilacs, just because I’m determined to get them into this post somewhere. Hypothetically, let’s say I not only love lilacs, I really love lilacs. I’m rather obsessed with them. I know every kind of lilac ever grown. I study their colors. I’ve memorized their petal shape. I’ve sniffed hundreds of flowers and could pick out their scent in a greenhouse the size of Connecticut. I could find a lilac leaf blindfolded. I know their best climate, I know how fast they multiply and the best ways to transplant them. I spend my time growing them, cutting them, and arranging them in gorgeous bouquets.

not lilacs but I included this because it’s pretty ~K

In short, lilacs are my life. They’re where my mind goes when I have a free moment. They’re what I treasure. That both shows who I am (a lilac-maniac) and determines who I become (someone who will one day know even more about lilacs and be the world’s top lilac expert).

Now this thankfully fictitious example may border on the ridiculous, but it’s a picture of how we live our life. It might not be lilacs, but it could be a job. A hobby. A person. A relationship. A particular book or movie. A fandom. A friend group. A goal or ambition. Or it could be all of the above.

When your reveries are of this world, your life will also be of this world.

Our Command from Our King

That’s why God commands us to “Set your minds on things above, not on things on the earth, for you are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:2-3).

What’s more, He tells us:

“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree, planted by the rivers of waters, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” (Psalm 1).

And again:

“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mightiest observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then shalt thou make thy way prosperous, and then shalt thou have good success.” (Joshua 1:8)

And, in case we need another witness:

“O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day!” (Psalm 119:108)

If you’re still not convinced, every single one of the rest of the 150 verses of Psalm 119 stand to shout the same truth.

Basically, if you can find another time other than day or night, you are Biblically allowed to think about whatever you want. But apart from that, our meditations (thoughts, ponderings, reveries) are supposed to be on His Word.

Why? Because His Word is the light to our path. It’s His voice talking with us. It’s Him talking to us. It’s how we learn to know and recognize His voice in all of life, and it’s how we know who He is and cultivate a relationship with Him.

Reveries: The Life-Blood of Relationship

Think about an engaged couple. All they think about—and all they want to think about—is each other. Their fiancé is constantly on their mind. They’ll talk about them to anyone who will listen. Everything is centered around the other person.

That’s a relationship—and that’s only a small picture of the relationship that God desires to have with us right now. No wonder Jesus said, “If you love me, keep [guard, watch over, treasure, value, meditate on] my commandments.” Love naturally leads to our mind being consumed by the one we love.

We are always meditating on something. Your mind is always active. The world will feed you a constant diet of trifles—things that don’t truly matter. And even if you shut out the noise of the world, your own self will feed your mind a steady supply of stuff. Renewing our minds and placing them on His word is a constant battle. But that effort of purposefully denying ourselves and setting our minds on Him is the process and journey of walking with Him—walking by His Spirit and abiding in Him. That’s what the abundant life of a believer is.

What does this mean in daily life? For one, it’s choosing to involve Him in our lives. Me, I always seem to have a running commentary on life in my mind. I think thoughts all the time without stopping. Abiding in Christ means directing my thoughts towards Him. Maybe I still have many of the same thoughts, but I direct them at Him—like a prayer or a conversation in head with Him—instead of just thinking them by myself. What’s more, when we memorize a Scripture verse and recall it to mind throughout the day (set alarms or reminders on your phone!), it creates the habit of turning our thoughts to His Word more and more regularly.

The Most Pleasant Way to Be Lost

Back to the definition of reveries. One could effectively argue that there is no pleasanter line of thought than the thoughts of God Himself. By meditating upon His Word day and night, we are thinking God’s thoughts. (“We have the mind of Christ,” Scripture says.) What’s more, we know that “In His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand there are pleasures forevermore,” (Psalm 16:11). This is something He’s designed for us to experience right here and right now—today!

And what about being “lost” in thought?

There are two sides to this question. One is that we can become so wrapped up in our thoughts that we are “lost” to real life and/or who we truly are. If our thoughts are our own or the world’s, we lose the awareness of the reality of God’s kingdom and who we truly are in Christ.

On the other side of the coin, when we set our mind upon Jesus Christ and His Word, we become “lost” in His thoughts. We are lost to our old nature and lost to the world and the enemy—but we are found in Him, in the kingdom of God that He designed us for!

This is what Paul was talking about in Philippians 3:

“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him…” (Philippians 3:8-10)

Now that is a reverie worth having!

And the beauty of this is that it is intensely practical to daily life. Christ lives in me, and therefore as I set my thoughts on Him, I see everything through His eyes. He speaks to me through and about all life’s circumstances. He gives me wisdom for daily decisions.

It’s the life Jesus Himself lived when He walked on earth—a life completely at one with His Father. It’s the life He came to earth that we might live—right here, right now.

And it’s the life and the reveries I pray are yours—today, tomorrow, and through eternity.

Christ my life! and naught beside. His love enwraps me round.

I am His! As I abide, all fullness can be found.

Lost in Him! No joy compares. His love, an endless bliss.

He is mine! My life He bears. What restful peace like this!

Wholly lost! Forever lost! In Him I am sufficed!

Christ my life! I count the cost: For me, to live is Christ!

 

Erika Mathews writes Christian living books, both fiction and non-fiction, that demonstrate the power of God in the life of a believer, transforming daily life into His resting life. Her kingdom adventure novel series Truth from Taerna features spiritually challenging and refreshing adventure and unique Christian twists on cliched plots.

Outside of writing, she spends time with her husband Josh, mothers her little ones, reads, edits, enjoys the great Minnesota outdoors, plays piano and violin, makes heroic ventures into minimalism, clean eating, and gardening, and uses the Oxford comma.

You can find Erika’s books on Amazon or connect with her at restinglife.com.

TTFN!

~Kell~

p.s.

Don’t forget to preorder Springtime in Surrey now!

Are you interested in getting to know me & my books better?

I want to invite you to my super secret club. I mean, it’s not really a secret, because I’m telling you about it now, but here goes.

Join Mrs. Roth’s Society Column, my street team! We’d love to have you along for the ride!

Hey folks! Today I’m sharing a blog post from Katja H. Labonté, one of the authors from Wild Blue Wonder Press’s first ever anthology, Springtime in Surrey.

If you don’t remember, Springtime in Surrey is launching on July 25th and is available for preorder now!

Want to find out how her novella in the collection, The Tussie-Mussie, came to be? Check out the post below!

(Also, don’t forget to preorder Springtime in Surrey!)

I don’t know about you, but I always enjoy hearing where books and stories came from. What inspired them in the beginning? What things came together to create different parts of it? What pushed the book in a new direction? Today I shall endeavour to answer these questions for you, and the book I will discuss is my novella in the Springtime in Surrey anthology, The Tussie-Mussie.

Years ago, as a child, I read Robyn Johnson’s The Enchanted Dolls’ House Wedding and discovered floriography and tussie-mussies. The ideas of a language of flowers, and little bouquets that said things through the specific flowers used to create them, was fascinating me. A story plot came to mind: a shy young lady and some wonderful young gentleman who are in love, but their romance is forbidden by some dour old relative, and so they communicate through the language of tussie-mussies. The idea was laid aside, but it recurred every so often, because it was just so tantalizing! I was certain, however, that I didn’t have the skills to write it … nor the inclination to research it.

Finally, in February 2022, I was tagged in the Single Line Story Challenge, where you write 5 single line stories from various different genres.

One of the genres I picked was historical, and as I racked my brains for a one-line story, my old idea came to mind. Why not give my beloved story plot a tiny bit of writing?

And so the first cornerstone of The Tussie-Mussie was written. Reproduced below, spelling as originally penned:

She was much affected by the thoughtfulness with which he had selected the flowers in the tussy-mussy.

According to my blog post, “STOPPING HERE IS SO HARD Y’ALL I ALREADY HAVE A SECOND AND A THIRD LINE AND A WHOLE STORY IN FACT.”

When Grace A. Johnson demanded begged for said story, I promised it would come soon. However, I never actually made the time to write it, and so in the end I forgot those delightful second and third lines and the whole story, in fact.

In March, I was tagged two more times for the same challenge and chose to do it again—twice. And wanting to try some new genres, I tried my hand at romance and wrote a follow-up line to the tussie-mussie line of the month before:

The message hidden among the dainty blossoms brought a blush to her cheek and a flutter of joy to her heart.

And once again I promised the story was coming soon. I even tried to make a cover which I knew was very bad but still kinda loved anyways. Then I lost interest in the story, or rather I didn’t feel inclined to tackle the amount of work it required, so I shelved it for a while.

Fast forward to Autumn 2022. I discovered the Writers’ Vision Monthly Contest, which ran from September to December. The story prompts were the following:

I decided to write a story based on all four prompts (yay for let’s-make-challenges-as-hard-on-me-as-we-can) and looked about for a plot. I don’t remember how exactly the idea occurred to me, but finally it entered my head to marry these prompts and their plot lines to my tussie-mussie story!

It was either now or some time earlier that it also occurred to me to add a couple other of my one-line stories to the tussie-mussie plot. One of the genres I’d picked was mystery:

“You are quite right, Miss Arnold; if it was, as you and your brother can affirm, in his pocket, there is no conceivable way it could have travelled to Devon and appeared in the late Mr. Jamieson’s bag; therefore, the obvious conclusion is that you and your brother were misled by a similar watch, deliberately planted, and the question then remains, by whom and why?”

(I know, that one was a stretch.)

The second one-line story was under the “drama” genre:

Miss Katherine Roylett had only been the toast of the season for a scant three weeks before the scandal broke out.

And hey presto, I had a story to write.

In the end, I never wrote my story for the Writers’ Vision contest. I either ran out of time or realized my story was way too complicated for 2,000 words.

Either way, the story was still shelved when Wild Blue Wonder Press announced its anthology Springtime in Surrey. As soon as I heard about that, I knew I really, really wanted to be a part of it—and my tussie-mussie story would fit in perfectly!

So I wrote up a blurb and pitched the story idea …

At this point I had somewhat of a plot, a mood board, and a theme. My story was accepted in February 2022, and it was time to start writing!

When it comes to the actual writing period, I was heavily inspired by the Sherlock Holmes canon by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle … and by the fan fiction created by me and my friend Bethany C. Willcox. Little of this shows in the novella itself, but here’s all the extra info.

Back when Bethany wrote her short story Everything, she and I created this fan fiction of Sherlock, where we created a young man named Vincent Woodthorn as Sherlock’s successor. The idea was that Sherlock trained him in all his ways in the last years of his career, and then when he retired Vincent Woodthorn took over as the new Sherlock, aided by his sisters, Helene and Cathryn, and also works with Sherlock’s famous antagonist-friend Lestrade, the Scotland Yard inspector. When it came time to write The Tussie-Mussie, I wanted to write Sherlock fiction so badly I asked Bethany if I could borrow her characters for my own story. She graciously said yes!

If you’re a Sherlock fan, you’ll also notice other cameos from the actual Sherlock canon itself. Because I’ve dreamed of writing Sherlock fan fiction for years, and now here I am!

The moral of this story? It’s okay to shelve story ideas. It’s good to realize you can’t write one yet or do justice to it. It’s fine if things take a long time to develop. You have time. Let things sit, mature, and marinate; and let the story come together naturally. Trust the process.

[image error]Katja H. Labonté is a Christian, an extreme bibliophile who devours over 365 books in a year, and an exuberant writer with a talent for starting short stories that explode into book series. She is a bilingual French-Canadian and has about a dozen topics she’s excessively passionate about (hint: that’s why she writes). Katja writes both contemporary and historical fiction, as well as non-magical historical and contemporary kingdom fiction, and covers themes of worth, love, peace, and Christian growth. She spends her days enjoying little things, growing in faith, learning life, and loving people. You can follow her life journey, find free books, browse her services, and more on her website and blog.

TTFN!

~Kell~

p.s.

Are you as excited as I am to see this story published? It’s such a sweet one that I so enjoyed editing.

Don’t forget to preorder Springtime in Surrey now!

Are you interested in getting to know me & my books better?

I want to invite you to my super secret club. I mean, it’s not really a secret, because I’m telling you about it now, but here goes.

Join Mrs. Roth’s Society Column, my street team! We’d love to have you along for the ride!

Today I’m sharing a guest post by Rachel Leitch which talks about female empowerment and the way those stories are just … well, they’re not working. (At some point I should probably share my thoughts on this, but I’ve never really gotten around to it. Much like many other things. Meh. ‘Tis a chore for another day.)

For now, enjoy this post by Rachel Leitch!

(Also, don’t forget to preorder Springtime in Surrey!)

Why Are Today’s Female Empowerment Stories Failing?

I’m Rachel Leitch, and I’m so honored to chat with you on Kellyn’s blog! I’m the author of The Odd Duck Society in Springtime in Surrey. One of the things I love most about The Odd Duck Society and the anthology as a whole was the ability we had to explore female characters in a unique and diverse way. 

Female empowerment stories are very close to my heart. If you search “female empowerment” on Goodreads, it pulls up 1,616 results. If we have 1,616 books on just one search, shouldn’t today’s women feel empowered?

Yet we don’t. In 2020, the Pew Research Center reported 46% (nearly half) of Americans did not believe feminism was empowering. 

It’s not just “out there,” either. A Barna Group study in 2012 found that 31% of women say they are resigned to low expectations at church. “Roughly one out of every eight women feel under-appreciated by their church (13%) and one out of nine believe they are taken for granted (11%). Although these represent small percentages, given that about 70 million Americans qualify as churched adult women, this amounts to millions of women in the U.S. today who feel discouraged by their experiences in churches.”

How can a woman feel less than empowered in a group of people who hold the truth about her value? How can she still feel that way with over 1,616 books saying otherwise?

Because our female empowerment stories aren’t working. 

The 2019 film Captain Marvel, for instance, was marketed as a female empowerment film and was listed as one of the most anticipated movies of the year. However, I came out of it rolling my eyes and searching for something else to watch. 

It wasn’t just me. Rotten Tomatoes, a popular film reviewing website, places Captain Marvel at 79% by their critics and 45% by audience polls (although audiences can be fickle).  

Despite the abundance of “empowering” stories, women are no more empowered than before, and, in some cases, are actually less empowered. Despite the common belief, this deficit isn’t because of a lack of empowering stories.

It’s because we no longer know what empowerment means.

Why is female empowerment important? 

Per Merriam-Webster, empowerment is “the power, right, or authority to do something.” To empower is “to promote the self-actualization or influence of.”

The purpose of female empowerment stories is to help women realize their full potential and influence, and to remove whatever mental or physical restraints hold them back from it.

We have a personal relationship with the God Who planted that potential and power deep in the heart of every woman. “He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but no one can discover the work God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 CSB) We have committed to writing stories that reflect our Creator’s image, stories that are infused with truth and beauty.

Yet millions of women have resigned themselves to low expectations and being taken for granted.

Our 1,616 empowerment stories aren’t doing what they’re meant to do. Why are today’s female empowerment stories failing? Is there any way to bring them back?

Today’s female empowerment stories present a false enemy.

To return to my Captain Marvel example, Carol Danvers is frequently talked up as a “rogue soldier.” She follows her heart and that’s supposed to be a wonderful thing. 

But we have absolutely no idea who or what she’s fighting against.

Is she fighting her superior? Her corrupt home planet’s system? Her own emotions? The male SHIELD agent trying to help her?

We don’t know. And Carol fights all of those things throughout the movie, forcing them all to submit and become lapdogs to her confused grand plan. 

By the end of the film, we still have no idea who the real enemy was.

And since stories are meant to depict truth, we have no idea who the real enemy is in our own lives. 

Men? Government? Emotions? Or maybe there’s no enemy and we’re all just fighting. Who knows? 

You can’t fight a battle if you don’t know who you’re fighting. As a result, many good men and women are becoming victims of a war they never needed to fight.

If you don’t know who you’re fighting, you will ultimately lose.

Since a woman’s potential and influence is given by God, the enemy of empowerment is Satan. Satan is a master of throwing false enemies in the way so we will shift our focus just long enough for him to perform his sleight of hand. If he keeps us fighting the wrong enemy, he knows he can ultimately manipulate us into destroying each other. 

A true female empowerment story unmasks the true enemy. It recognizes that beneath any physical or emotional enemy lies a sin nature capitalized upon by Satan. It becomes more about fighting sin and our own darkness than about destroying cardboard cutouts. 

The film Black Panther does this very well by placing Nakia, Shuri, and Okoye alongside other men, other women, and even people they thought were their enemies. They’re not fighting the usurper intent on stealing the throne so much as their own selfishness and fear that led them to this point. It peels back the layers, discarding false cardboard enemies and gets to the sin nature behind it all, whether or not it intended to.

Today’s female empowerment stories disregard femininity and diversity.

“I can do anything a boy can do. And I can do it better.” 

It might be true. But when today’s stories send a girl in to do a boy’s job, they do two things. 

First, it implies that a girl has to act masculine—be a man—to be valuable. It walks us around in a great big circle. In trying to prove that a woman is valuable, we prove the very opposite—that femininity is a weakness, and if you want to have any value, you have to be as masculine as you can. 

That’s not to say that a woman can’t fight. That’s not to say she can’t defy expectations and social norms, and in a number of situations, she absolutely should. But she shouldn’t have to sacrifice the things that make her a woman to do so. 

Secondly, it sets up a one-size-fits-all tough girl. It ignores all the nuances and differences that make a woman beautiful—whether that be in appearance, ability, passion, or personality. A woman shouldn’t have to sacrifice the things that make her unique to be valuable. 

A true female empowerment story values a woman just because she’s herself, not because she can kick and punch and claw her way out of a situation. A woman is valuable because she is hand-crafted by God. Maybe she’s been hand-crafted to fight really well, maybe not. It doesn’t affect her value. 

A true female empowerment story recognizes that there are different types of women and different ways to fight and it celebrates them all. 

Today’s female empowerment stories try too hard, yet fail to tell good stories.

How can it be a problem to try too hard?

Once again, we turn to Captain Marvel. From the first teaser trailer onwards, start to finish, the movie was hyped up as a female empowerment story. It built high expectations and then failed to deliver. 

It simply was not a well-told story. It took many convenient shortcuts, tacking on a new superpower whenever Carol needed out of a situation. It gave the characters no development or emotion, and it gave the audiences no reason to care. 

Which begs the question—why did they have to tell the audience it was a female empowerment story? If female empowerment was truly so central to the story, wouldn’t it have told itself?

If I draw a dog, and have to explain to everyone else around me that it’s a dog, I probably didn’t draw a very good dog. In the same way, if I write a story, and have to explain to everyone else around me that it’s a female empowerment story, I probably haven’t written the best story I can.

If I can’t put in the time and effort to tell a good story, it won’t matter how empowering my story is. A second-rate story will produce second-rate results. 

If I celebrate women with a second-rate story, then women are led to believe they are worthy of the second-rate, nothing more. In a roundabout way, that leads them to believe that they themselves are second-rate. 

A true female empowerment story tells a good story first. The author puts time and energy and thought and effort into all the aspects of the story. Which naturally includes female representation as well. 

Conclusion

Throughout this entire discussion, I’ve failed to present my best example—a woman far stronger than any warrior in a movie could be. 

I never had to be told that my mother is a strong woman. I saw it on my own. She is the definition of empowerment. She recognizes her full potential and influence and Who it comes from, and she values that very deeply. She stays focused on the real battle at hand. She is fierce and strong, and she never relents in the face of things no woman should ever have to deal with.

She’s not the only one. Every day—in my church, in my workplace, in my family and friends—I watch women fight hard and defy the low expectations placed on us.

No book or movie has ever given me the sense of empowerment that I receive from watching them battle. 

That’s why I want to write female empowering stories.

Because these women deserve to be honored. More than that, they deserve the very best. So does the One Who created them and enables them to be the warriors they are every single day. 

And that is why we do it. That’s why we’re reading this article, why we even care if those 1,616 stories are working or not. Because we want to honor the stories being told and to empower the next generation of stories.

Perhaps we will make the 1,617th female empowerment story do just that. 

I look forward to sharing The Odd Duck Society with you and I hope that you find it empowering. I’m so excited to come alongside other authors who have a heart for empowering every woman. 

About the Writer of this Blog Post

Rachel Leitch lives her own adventure in northern Indiana, with her parents, three sisters, two brothers, and a dog who thinks he’s the hero of her story. She writes young adult historicals with a dash of adventure or a spark of magic. When she’s not hidden away writing, she’s trying to fit all her reads on her shelf in a somewhat organized manner, obsessing over character arcs, drinking chai, daydreaming at the piano, or teaching students to be just as bookish as she is. In all her adventures, she learns how to shine brighter for the Father of Lights.

 

 

TTFN!

~Kell~

P.S.

Well, what do you think? This is obviously a topic rife with varying interpretation and discussion points! I think you could approach it from a million different angles, so I’m curious as to what you thoughts will be. As mentioned, Springtime in Surrey will be releasing soon! Can’t wait to share these eight women’s fiction stories with you that do serve to show Godly women interacting in varying situations!

Don’t forget to preorder Springtime in Surrey now!

Are you interested in getting to know me & my books better?

I want to invite you to my super secret club. I mean, it’s not really a secret, because I’m telling you about it now, but here goes.

Join Mrs. Roth’s Society Column, my street team! We’d love to have you along for the ride!

Hey folks!

This will be a short & sweet blog post …

Will you join the blog tour AND/OR the launch team for Springtime in Surrey? You can click those links there, or you can read the descriptions below and decide what you want to join!

Join the Blog Tour

If you haven’t participated in a blog tour, it is essentially an online event hosted through blogs that often includes a giveaway and posts about the book on various subjects.

In this case, during the set dates, you can share a review of the collection or of just one book in the collection (they’re all novellas, so they’re short!), you can interview an author, you can just “spotlight” the book with some basic information, you can have me write a guest post for your blog …

Find out more about it in the form:

Join Now!

Join the Launch Team

There are a lot of options for supporting us in tasks not related to a specific timeline (in general). These involve all sorts of things, from simply praying for us to reviewing the collection or an individual novella on your own timeline to sharing about the collection wherever or whenever you want.

Let’s do it:

Join Now!

Why You Should Join

Remember, by joining either of these teams, you’re supporting Wild Blue Wonder Press, a new small indie business that focuses on helping indie authors achieve their goals.

As you may know if you’ve been around the author community for any amount of time, we rely on launch teams, blog tours, and other similar promotion events to survive. For writers of Christian fiction, a struggling genre, it is even more vital.

A personal plea: I have staked a lot on Wild Blue Wonder Press and Springtime in Surrey. So if you can help in any way, I deeply appreciate it.

TTFN!

~Kell~

P.S.

Well … gonna join?

Are you interested in getting to know me & my books better?

I want to invite you to my super secret club. I mean, it’s not really a secret, because I’m telling you about it now, but here goes.

Join Mrs. Roth’s Society Column, my street team! We’d love to have you along for the ride!

Hey folks! Today I’m sharing a blog post from Grace A. Johnson, one of the authors from Wild Blue Wonder Press’s first ever anthology, Springtime in Surrey.

If you don’t remember, Springtime in Surrey is launching on July 25th and is available for preorder now!

Read this post if you have thoughts about writing romance from a Christian perspective … I love this post!

Christian romance is obsessed with bad boys—but at what point does the obsession become unhealthy?

You might not realize it, but it’s a very important question. Kellyn recently touched upon it in her Instagram stories, and her thoughts ignited my passion for this topic, which I first addressed in this book review on my blog.

From rough-and-tumble cowboys who fancy one of the girls down at the saloon to roguish pirates who’ve pilfered their share of ladies’ hearts to leather-clad bikers with mysterious pasts, romance—even Christian romance—is chock-full of bad boys. And lemme tell y’all, there’s something about those charming, sexy (Kell’s words, not mine) rakes and bad boys who know just what to say to make the heroine swoon and just how to kiss to make the scene explode with fireworks.

And watching that wanderin’ man give up his old life to commit to one girl, well, it makes even us readers feel mighty special. After all, who doesn’t want to know that they’re worth giving up every other person to be with?

But (there’s always a but in ranting articles), far too many books glamorize the life of an experienced man. Striking a balance between sexy and realistic often proves difficult, which raises the question…how bad are bad boys, really?

MOTIVES MATTER

I love how Kell put it—experience = sex appeal. Why settle for a forty-year-old virgin when you could have a young, roaming, virile man who knows what he’s about? Men just seem sexier (at least fictional ones) when their hands don’t fumble and they don’t stumble over their words, am I right? (Make sure to read the rest of the post to find out why that is NOT right!)

When you give your hero a past full of womanizing for the sole purpose of making them seem sexy, BOY have you missed the mark. Not only is that shallow and unfair to your poor characters, it’s unrealistic and it actually sexualizes your characters and promotes sexual immorality. Your hero (or heroine) is NOT an object of lust for your readers (that’s when romance becomes porn, peeps) and your story should not exist to stir up sexual desires. 100%, your heroine should be attracted to the hero—but when you’re focused more on how the reader perceives the male love interest rather than how the heroine does, you’ve got the wrong motives.

And when you use sexual immorality like a trump card to up your game, you’re communicating to your readers that maybe it’s not so bad to date/marry a “wild man.” Maybe sleeping around is kinda hot. Maybe it’s more masculine to be with every woman that comes around.

That, my friends, is an ideal that’s been promoted by that secular world for y e a r s. And it would always result in damaged relationships, a warped worldview, and toxic masculinity. I hate to use that term, but it’s true. Masculinity, virility, and sex appeal is NOT determined by the number of women a man has bedded, kisses he’s stolen, or charming one-liners he has.

Just the opposite—but I’ll get to that later.

IT’S STILL A SIN

We live in a culture—even within the church—where sexual immorality is no longer viewed as a sin. I live in a small, conservative town in the Deep South…and it’s your most devout Baptists and Methodists and Pentecostals who let sexual immorality slide. Living with someone you’re not married to, sleeping around with every romantic partner, getting serious at a young age—no one bats an eye at it anymore. In some cases, it’s encouraged.

Unfortunately, Christian fiction sometimes falls into this same trap of ignoring the true nature of premarital/extramarital sex.

No matter how “sexy” it may seem…it’s still a sin.

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God.”

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 ESV

“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”

Hebrews 13:4 ESV

So should you avoid it entirely? Never read or write about bad boys again? Have every character be as pure as the newly fallen snow?

Heck no! That’s insanely unrealistic and ain’t gonna help readers grapple with the tough aspects of our crazy society. But if you’re a Christian author, whether you write Christian fiction or not, you should promote a biblical worldview. And whether you read Christian fiction or secular fiction, you should be mindful of what you read and seek out books that don’t discourage your convictions and beliefs but build them up.

So what does that look like?

1) Recognizing it’s a harmful sin.

Womanizing results in fragile trust, broken relationships, and sexual trauma. Imagine discovering your husband had slept with another woman (or several) before you. How would you feel? You’d constantly be watching to see if his eye wanders, wondering if you measure up to the many women before, feeling like another conquest. Or imagine if you were the one with “experience.” You’d feel unworthy, dirty, or like you’re doing your spouse an injustice.

So make these truths clear in your story.

2) Repentant characters.

A confident man can be appealing, but when that confidence becomes arrogance and prevents him from seeing the sin in his life, it’s toxic. He’ll continue in the same old unhealthy patterns if he doesn’t repent. He can vow to never leave the heroine and to love only her for the rest of his life…but without Christ and genuine repentance, those words are empty.

Instead of writing a hyper-confident, proud, selfish man, remember that your rake has to go on a journey of repentance and redemption to result in a lasting romance. Have him recognize the error of his ways, feel guilt and conviction, and turn away from his sin and to Christ.

3) Reaping consequences.

Sometimes, we think happily ever after means no grief, no heartache, no consequences. We want to brush things under the rug or sugarcoat them to satisfy readers…but readers won’t be truly satisfied if you don’t accept reality: that there’s consequences for sin. No, not every consequence is big and dramatic and changes the whole course of your life (or in this case, your story) … but maybe there will be a fight. A sleepless night. An uneasy feeling. After living in such a dangerous way, your hero won’t be the same. He won’t be able to get away scot-free, without trauma or consequences. He can absolutely receive grace and mercy, but not without discipline and correction—and the plain and simple cause-and-effect of sinful behavior.

When you take the time to emphasize the destructiveness of sexual immorality and its status as a sin, your hero’s redemption story will be a thousand times more meaningful. His love story with the heroine will be a thousand times more beautiful and true. Sugarcoating only leaves your story feeling shallow and bitter rather than full and sweet.

GIVE THEM BAD BOYS GOOD QUALITIES

When I first started writing my cutthroat pirate heroine, I was so concerned that she would be too violent and cruel to be the object of a loving relationship—so I knew I had to give her redeeming qualities. Her arrogance and physical capabilities weren’t going to get her far when it came to selflessly devoting her life to another.

The same goes for bad boys. We see experience and charm and sex appeal as the hero’s #1 strength and best quality. We’ll go on and on about his good looks and sweet words and swoon-worthy kisses, as if that’s all that matters.

There’s absolutely worth in words of affirmation and well-formed features (whether we’re talking facial features or abs)…but those aren’t redeeming qualities. Being a bad boy simply isn’t good.

So don’t emphasize that as the main reason why your hero is the hero or why the heroine falls for him. I mentioned earlier that experience doesn’t equal masculinity.

Goodness of heart does.

A truly masculine man will protect women, not harm them. He’ll lead them into safety and peace, not astray. He’ll give of himself over and over for those in need, without getting anything in return. He’ll take charge in times of peril. He’ll care for children and the elderly. He’ll show respect and chivalry, even to those who probably don’t deserve it.

So even if your hero had a rough past with a boatload of mistakes or he’s beginning his journey to redemption, his #1 character trait doesn’t have to be his sin. In fact, it’s not. We as people shouldn’t be defined by our sin—not when we’re saved. Instead of being a liar or a cheater, we’re beloved by God and free. Instead of your hero being a lover boy, he can be intelligent, compassionate, generous, self-sacrificing, or humble. Give him some good qualities, and praise those over his destructive lifestyle.

BE TACTFUL

*author insert*

I’ve gotta shout out to my lovely host, Kell. Her hero Jordy (gosh, I hope this isn’t spoilers) has a past of sexual immorality. It would be sooo easy for him to show up in the story sweet-talking our heroine, making eyes at her, giving her those warm fuzzies. He could’ve been the charming kind of guy that opened innocent little Ivy to new experiences and challenged the way she saw the world. Kell could have gone on and on about how suave he was or how sexy because of his past.

But she didn’t.

She treated his sin like sin, she emphasized his good qualities over his experience, and she was tactful about it.

How many times do we treat sex like a joke? Like something to laugh or be graphic about? Even as Christians, we make crude comments or take sex lightly—and that comes through in fiction. There’s often no tact or filter, no grace in how topics like this are dealt with. Even in sweet or saintly romance (see this post for reference), writers will infer sexual pasts, but only in the vaguest terms possible—and even this isn’t quite tasteful.

We need to be open and honest in a way that convictions but doesn’t confuse. Provokes serious thought rather than jokes. And I say this as someone who’s more likely to joke to herself than actually consider things with the weight they deserve.

Don’t let that bleed into what you write or read. Bad boys aren’t a laughing matter, but they should be portrayed truthfully, prayerfully, and gracefully. Your motives shouldn’t be to give your hero sex appeal, but to powerfully impact your reader with the truth—about God’s redeeming love, the damage sin causes, and the beauty of sex within a loving marriage.

Taking bad boys lightly cheapens sex, not only for your story when your hero and heroine are married, but for your readers too. Sex has a unique and amazing purpose that nothing else on this earth does, so don’t distort your readers’ view of it by misrepresenting it in your stories.

And if you as a reader are consuming media that doesn’t treat sex with grace and honesty, read the Word instead. See what God has to say about what people ignore, joke about, or flaunt.

THERE WE HAVE IT, FOLKS

I think I’m done ranting now. The summary for you skimmers (don’t worry, it takes one to know one): bad boys can easily be, well, bad…but there’s a way to write them right. There’s a way to view them as an author and reader (or viewer or listener) that promotes healthy relationships, a biblical understanding of sex, and a holy way of life.

We shouldn’t swear off sinful characters, just like we can’t swear off sinful people in real life…but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take the time to portray sin biblically. Even those “sexy” bad boys.

So…what do you think? Do you have a heart for bad boys and redemption arcs, or do you prefer good guys who give prime examples of godly men? Who are some of your favorite bad boy characters in fiction, and why? How did those authors portray their character? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments!

And thank you so much to Kell for having me on! It’s always a pleasure to rant on her blog!

Grace A. Johnson is a Christian fiction authoress, book reviewer, and avid reader. She lives in beautiful (but humid) South Georgia, surrounded by farmland and forestry, with her parents and six younger siblings. She has indie-published the first three novels in a Christian historical romance series, the Daughters of the Seven Seas, and a smattering of short stories and novellas, as well as a devotional. She’s also a marketer and editor who loves helping young authors through her editing business S&J Editors and her small publishing company Sky’s the Limit Press. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook @graceajohnsonauthor or blogging on her website at www.graceajohnson.com. Join her for a virtual cup of tea and a free preview of her debut novel when you sign up for her e-newsletter!

TTFN!

~Kell~

p.s.

Do you agree or disagree? (Myself? Yeah, I agree.)

Don’t forget to preorder Springtime in Surrey now!

Are you interested in getting to know me & my books better?

I want to invite you to my super secret club. I mean, it’s not really a secret, because I’m telling you about it now, but here goes.

Join Mrs. Roth’s Society Column, my street team! We’d love to have you along for the ride!

Hey everyone! Why shouldn’t we have a cover reveal!?!? The truth is … WE SHOULD. So let’s.

And I do not know what to say about that other than the fact that I’m going to be writing my five-star reviews for each novella in this collection below the blurbs, so be sure to scroll down for that.

But you know, before we get to that, let’s show off the cover for Springtime in Surrey, the first-ever Wild Blue Wonder Press anthology!

Springtime in Surrey

Springtime in Surrey, the first collection releasing with Wild Blue Wonder Press, is a Christian anthology featuring eight lovely stories. With a mix of historical and contemporary, romance and women’s fiction, a dash of mystery here and there, real-life themes presented in a loving way, and a vintage feel, this story is sure to charm lovers of Christian women’s fiction.

Amazon Preorder Link: 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5QG75DK

Goodreads Link:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/157492074-springtime-in-surrey

Website Link:

https://wildbluewonderpress.com/springtime-in-surrey/

Courage to Stay by Kellyn Roth

Rosalind finds herself married to Matthias Emmet after her intended groom, his older brother, tragically perishes in battle. Despite her childhood infatuation with Matthias, they are now near-strangers. Determined to forge a connection, Rosalind sets out to bridge the gap.

Haunted by nightmares of his brother’s death, Matthias distances himself from his new bride to protect her from his inner turmoil. Seizing an opportunity for solitude, he embarks on a spontaneous hunting trip with his old friends.

Unwilling to let Matthias slip away, Rosalind disguises herself in men’s attire and tracks him to the forest. Although Matthias recognizes her, she refuses to retreat, vowing to fight for their marriage. However, Matthias fears the consequences of letting Rosalind into his heart and mind. Can he summon the courage to stay, or will his fractured mind drive him far away from the woman he loves?

My Five-Star Review

This is my novella, so obviously I’m totally unbiased. (Not that I’m unbiased about any of these, tbh.) That said, I admit I had so much fun with the dynamics between Rosalind and Matthias. It took me a while to get both of them. Rosalind is spunky and stubborn; Matthias is a cinnamon roll who just doesn’t want her to get hurt (and maybe has forgotten, just a little, that she is one tough cookie!) Plus, it was just fun for me to write an arranged marriage romance, given that I’m currently in the outline stages of a much longer arranged marriage romance novel. Also, I had fun with Matthias’s friends and with Matthias’s friend’s wife and little boy because why shouldn’t I put a baby in just for fun? Anywho, I’ll stop here, but basically, I’m so excited to share this with you!

Fear Not Tomorrows by Erika Mathews

Hardworking Margaret Enfield is finally beginning to see her dreams come true with an engagement to her lifelong best friend, Lester. But when his twin brother falls ill, Lester must travel across England to care for Sidney’s business and his young daughter Emily.

Left behind in Surrey, Margaret tends her own ailing mother and seven younger siblings. When business complications prove serious and the same sickness ravages both Lester and Emily, every tomorrow feels bleak as lonely drudgery overtakes the once-rosy springtime. If Lester does return to her, will he ever recover enough to live their dreams?

When faced with unknowns too big for them to handle, how can Margaret and Lester place their uncertain tomorrows into the hands of Jesus without reservation?

Erika Mathews’s Bio & Links:

Erika Mathews is an author and editor who writes family-friendly Christian living books, both fiction and non-fiction, that demonstrate the power of God through ordinary people, transforming daily life into His resting life. Her works include Truth from Taerna, a kingdom adventure fiction series with deep spiritual themes, Resting Life, a Christian living nonfiction book about finding rest in Jesus in modern life, and a variety of historical fiction and poetry.
Erika lives in the farm country of Minnesota with her husband and children. She’s a homeschool graduate with a Bachelor’s in Communications, a Master’s in Biblical Ministries, and a passion for sharing Jesus Christ and His truth. When she’s not working with books, she enjoys reading, outdoor activities, piano and violin, organizing, and using the Oxford comma.

Website: https://restinglife.com

Newsletter: https://restinglife.com/signup

Facebook: https://facebook.com/erikamathewsauthor

Instagram: https://instagram.com/erikamathewsauthor

Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/erikamathews

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/erikamathews

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/erikamathewsauthor

My Five-Star Review

There’s something so peaceful about Margaret’s story. It totally gives you that vintage, soft charm while also giving you the emotions of … well, my favorite kind of book. A thought-heavy women’s fiction story! I also loved seeing little glimpses of Margaret’s big family, and her romance with Lester was super sweet. I mean, can you get more precious? Though not usually my type of story in every way, they totally won me over. Also, the messages Margaret learned … gah, I totally relate, in my own small way. *shudders at the tomorrows* I’m looking forward to my reread when I can just savor the message!

Her Heart’s Home by Grace A. Johnson

Three years after her father died in the Great War, Meredith Tate has been forced from her home. With nary a friend in the world, she swallows her pride and takes a position at Deepdene House, a mansion turned hotel, as she seeks the Lord on what to do next.

What she doesn’t expect is to meet Captain Trevor Seaton, a quiet military man who manages to catch her at her worst moments.

Since the war, Trevor has drifted throughout southern England, until he’s drawn to Deepdene House. There, he encounters a woman with the hands of a servant, the bearing of a lady, and a heart of gold. Miss Tate ignites within him a yearning to settle down with a family, but convincing her to court him proves a struggle.

Will Trevor’s determined wooing and God’s gentle persuasion win Meredith over? Or will she forever be searching for a new home?

Grace A. Johnson’s Bio & Links:

Grace A. Johnson is a Christian fiction authoress, book reviewer, and avid reader. She lives in beautiful (but humid) South Georgia, surrounded by farmland and forestry, with her parents and six younger siblings. She has indie-published the first three novels in a Christian historical romance series, the Daughters of the Seven Seas, and a smattering of short stories and novellas, as well as a devotional. She’s also a marketer and editor who loves helping young authors through her editing business S&J Editors and her small publishing company Sky’s the Limit Press. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook @graceajohnsonauthor or blogging on her website at www.graceajohnson.com. Join her for a virtual cup of tea and a free preview of her debut novel when you sign up for her e-newsletter!

Website: www.graceajohnson.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/graceajohnsonauthor

Newsletter: www.graceajohnson.com/newsletter

Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/graceajohnsonauthor

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/19003396.Grace_A_Johnson

BookBub: www.bookbub.com/profile/grace-a-johnson

Facebook: www.facebook.com/graceajohnsonauthor

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/graceajohnsonauthor

My Five-Star Review

Remind me to actually pick up the rest of Grace’s indie published series, because this was so good! We all know I’m a fan of Grace’s THOUGHTS on romance … so it makes sense that I’d also be a fan of, you know, the romances she writes. Margaret is a super vivid character (I mean, “vivid” is not the word you’d use to describe her personality, but you can vividly pick up on her kind of frumpy, “has sort of given up but needs to NOT” vibe), and Trevor was such a good take on that curmudgeonly sea captain in that he totally won me over into “ooh, yes, you should be a romance hero” lane because … nope. Not a curmudgeon. At all. The ending should’ve been obvious but somehow it took me by surprise (my brain is awful), and I was so delighted! What a perfect conclusion! Also, Grace did a great job with the details about the hotel, the descriptions, and the prose!

The Odd Duck Society by Rachel Leitch

Jessamy Aubertine is too much for her university classmates, too little for her overstressed mum, and nothing in between. In an attempt to make herself useful, she takes on a spring holiday at her childhood home in Box Hill to sell her family’s fading tea shop and somehow work out how to tell her mum she’s switching study plans.

When letters from famous authors turn up, can Jessamy and a pair of unlikely comrades find the writer behind them—and perhaps discover themselves as well? Or will their friendship fade with The Muses at the end of spring holiday?

Rachel Leitch’s Bio and Links:

Rachel Leitch discovered the book of writing when she was seven. She’s been turning pages ever since! She lives her own adventure in northern Indiana, with her parents, three sisters, two brothers, and a dog who thinks he’s the hero of her story. She writes young adult historical fiction with a dash of adventure or a spark of magic. When she’s not hidden away writing, she’s trying to fit all her reads on her shelf in a somewhat organized manner, obsessing over character arcs, drinking chai, daydreaming at the piano, or teaching students to be just as bookish as she is. In all her adventures, she learns how to shine brighter for the Father of Lights. For more bookish ramblings (and a free digital short story involving a magical violin) follow her adventure journal at https://racheljleitch.com/!

Website: https://www.racheljleitch.com/

Newsletter: https://www.racheljleitch.com/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/racheljleitchauthor

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Rachel-Leitch/author/B0C69WXJQV?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/37037221.Rachel_Leitch

My Five-Star Review

Ah, the story that totally won us over just from the pitch! Yeah, if you know anything about this concept (see above!), it is so fun that Faith and I were instantly like, “We want this novella.” And it did not disappoint! It was such a fun mix of references to awesome classic novels, unique/quirky characters, and some fantastic themes. It was really easy to emphasize with Jessamy’s struggles with people-pleasing, and I loved the way everything worked out. Plus, am I the only one who is super excited about healthy friendships with women in Christian novels? Yeah. That was an exciting one for me. 

If I Knew You Were Coming by Bailey Gaines

Joan Masterson feels like she can never contribute enough to the war effort. Even though she is part of the Women’s Land Army and has taken in two evacuee children from London, it never seems like enough. Her exhaustion turns to excitement when her soldier husband Leo phones her to say he’s coming home. Joan knows Leo’s leave will probably be short, so she makes plans to travel by train to meet him so they can spend time together.

But when the effects of the London Blitz hit close to home and ruin her plans, Joan realizes that motherly love transcends blood and that her calling as a mother is the most important thing in her life. But is it important enough to pass up the chance to meet Leo?

Bailey Gaines’s Bio & Links:

Bailey Gaines is a Georgia girl who loves history. Through her writing, she hopes to show how God works in all periods of history, bringing healing and helping people know they have value because of their identity as a human created in God’s image. Her stories range from King Richard the Lionheart’s England to 1930s Appalachia to 18th century England to 19th century America.

Bailey is a student of the Author Conservatory, and has a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. When she’s not writing, she’s helping homeschoolers with their writing or working at an escape room. Her hobbies include playing the piano, sewing, and exploring the world of vintage fashion.

Website: https://baileygaines.com/

Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cf13616f41ce/fountain-pen-letters

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baileygainesauthor/

My Five-Star Review

WWII fiction is totally my thing, and WWII fiction that includes small children? Yeah. I was there for this! Also, Joan was really such a great character. She was so determined to do what was right, even when it was a real struggle to make the right choice. I love her dedication to mothering the children in her care, even the ones that aren’t technically “hers.” There were some really sweet, awesome moments in this story that I loved reading during my edit pass.

Jesus, I Am Resting by Faith Blum

Elinor Chapman lost her mother on the day she earned enough to pay for a doctor. Now, alone at seventeen, she takes over her mother’s laundry business to survive. Her only consolation is the son of one of her clients has taken an interest in her, and she has begun to return his feelings.

When the archduke of Austria is assassinated and war is declared, her beau enlists, triggering traumatic memories. As many of her clients ship overseas, Elinor is forced to take on nursing to survive, but her passion for helping other orphans distracts her from this job, leaving her little time for rest. Exhausted, Elinor pushes herself harder and harder to catch up.

Will she run herself into the ground … or will she learn to rest in Jesus?

Faith Blum’s Bio & Links:

Faith Blum is a wife, mom, author, and entrepreneur. She’s published over 30 books, most of them in the Christian Historical Fiction genre. She loves stories because they can teach history, but in a fun way. It is also her way to have a creative outlet while taking care of a household and toddler.

She’s been a proud small town resident her whole life and wouldn’t have it any other way. She lives in Central Wisconsin with her husband, son, and cat, Smokey. She’s blessed to write as a part time career. You can find her books on books on most eBook retailers.

When not writing, you can find her cooking from scratch, reading, figuring out social media content, or spending time with her family. She also loves playing piano for church and being part of the Author Conservatory.

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Faith-Blum/e/B00GSPBHW6

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/faith-blum

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7361997.Faith_Blum

Instagram: http://instagram.com/faithblumauthor

Website: http://faithblum.com

My Five-Star Review

Elinor is one of those characters who has an issue that, you know, I have. She struggles with resting, and I definitely struggle with resting. Now, do I think I would’ve picked up on my desperate need for rest sooner than Elinor? Of course I do! But obviously, that’s not true, given how continually burnt out I am. I also loved seeing a WWI novel because honestly, we do not have enough WWI novels. Further, I loved the little community Elinor established … and all her hard work over the years really made me treasure the ending!

The Tussie-Mussie by Katja H. Labonté

Miss Caitrìona Roylett is determined to rescue her family from poverty by making a brilliant match. She is on the verge of success when her brother is arrested for a sensational crime. Despised and shunned, Caitrìona is forced to return home to the country, helpless to save her loved ones.

Mr. Ewart Alinac has spent twenty years as a recluse. With his confidence stolen by his parents’ cruelty, he raises his younger sister away from the rush of society. When a letter from his estranged mother forces him towards a path he despises, Ewart struggles with crippling fears as he attempts to protect his sister.

After a chance meeting, Ewart and Caitrìona find aid in each other. Soon they spend their days side by side, working for their respective families. But as mysteries are uncovered and characters tested, what truth will be revealed? Can wounds be healed and true love bloom during springtime in Surrey?

Katja H. Labonté’s Bio & Links:

Katja H. Labonté is a Christian, an extreme bibliophile who devours over 365 books in a year, and an exuberant writer with a talent for starting short stories that explode into book series. She is a bilingual French-Canadian and has about a dozen topics she’s excessively passionate about (hint: that’s why she writes). Katja writes both contemporary and historical fiction, as well as non-magical historical and contemporary kingdom fiction, and covers themes of worth, love, peace, and Christian growth. She spends her days enjoying little things, growing in faith, learning life, and loving people. You can follow her life journey, find free books, browse her services, and more on her website and blog.

Website/Blog: littleblossomsforjesus.wordpress.com

Bookstagram: instagram.com/oldfashionedbooklove

Goodreads: goodreads.com/oldfashionedbooklove

Podcast: https://www.gibsongirlreview.com/

Tumblr: https://tumblr.com/blog/oldfashionedbooklove

Pinterest: pinterest.ca/oldfashionedbooklove

Amazon Author account: http://amzn.to/3WE7D15

Newsletter: https://sendfox.com/katjahlabonte

My Five-Star Review

Written in an adorable vintage style that’s reminiscent of so many Turn-of-the-Century novels like it, this is a story that can’t fail to charm you with its prose alone! That said, I did love getting to know Cat and Ewart over the course of the story. Cat was a sweet soul who, despite her imperfections, truly did wish the best for her family and eventually for Ewart and her sister, and Ewart’s bookishness and his devotion to his sister were both super adorable. Plus there was a little bit of a mystery that kept some suspense in the story!

The Cottage on the Hill by Andrea Renee Cox

Moira Wood lost her ballerina dreams when she suffered an unfortunate accident. During every teatime at her cottage hideaway, it hits her afresh what she won’t again be able to obtain.

Helping out on his uncle’s farm, Adrian Davis worries he’ll never earn a place of his own. While sent on a bevy of errands, he observes a woman crying into her tea and wonders why … and what he could do to cheer her up.

When forced to confront their own regrets, will Moira and Adrian trust that God has a good plan even through crushed dreams and far-off hopes?

Andrea Renee Cox’s Bio & Links:

Born and raised in north Texas, Andrea Renee Cox is a born-again child of God who enjoys writing stories that inspire, copyediting fiction manuscripts, tutoring middle school students, and going on road trips with her family. Whether she’s working on historical or contemporary, women’s fiction or romance, she uses her skills in research and writing techniques—as well as a large dose of prayer and guidance from God—at every turn in the journey to produce the best story of her ability every single time. Her books may be found on her website, and readers are welcome to follow her blog for the latest updates in her journey.

Website: https://andreareneecox.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/andreacox
Twitter: https://twitter.com/screenwriter87
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/andreareneecoxauthor/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/andreareneecox
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/andrea-renee-cox

My Five-Star Review

This was another soft, sweet story that was entirely delightful. Moira and Adrian were both really vivid characters with deep emotional lives that I loved diving into, and there were so many fun moments as their characters grew and changed and got to know each other! The descriptions of Moira’s cottage and the surrounding countryside were super springy, which was epic. I especially loved Adrian, who was such a bright, cheerful, pleasant, masculine man.

Thank you to everyone for your help with the cover reveal!

TTFN!

~Kell~

Are you interested in getting to know me & my books better?

I want to invite you to my super secret club. I mean, it’s not really a secret, because I’m telling you about it now, but here goes.

Join Mrs. Roth’s Society Column, my street team! We’d love to have you along for the ride!

Lately, y’all have been acting … well, exactly the same as you always have acted about physical attraction in Christian romance. Yet as an adult, with adult thoughts (okay, childish thoughts, but at least I AM an adult, technically), I feel a need to sit down and write another post about it.

I’m sure you’ve seen posts about this circling around, both from the POV that Christian romance should NOT include physical attraction of any type and from the perspective that it’s a travesty that anyone would suggest that such a pure romance is a possibility.

I, as always, see both sides. I lean more toward one than the other (see the title), and I am going to say some things that are pretty aggressively … well, on my side of the issue, as per always.

That said, if you like my rants, you’re in for a treat, because in my own way, I am going to RANT. Because for heaven’s sake, let them STARE LONGINGLY AT EACH OTHER!!!

My premise is simple: we Christians give physical attraction in Christian romances a hard time for virtually no reason … and though it’s okay to not write it, and not enjoy reading it (and therefore, yes, your reviews should reflect your lack of enjoyment – never say I am encouraging dishonest reviewing!), it’s not okay to diss it in moralistic terms.

And maybe it’s worth rethinking if your convictions are founded in true godliness … or if you’re just uncomfortable with sexuality because, you know, you were raised a Christian and saying the word “sex” is worse than most other sins.

More on that later.

Let’s start with the Bible’s view on romance.

Breaking Down “Song of Solomon” in Romance Terms

Let us refer to a lovely book in the Bible called “Song of Solomon.” Though not a book containing explicit descriptions of sexual acts, it does contain explicit descriptions of physical ATTRACTION.

And the thing is, if it is CELEBRATED in the Bible, it can sure as heck be portrayed in a Christian novel while honoring God.

Behold, you are fair, my love!
Behold, you are fair!
You have dove’s eyes.

Behold, you are handsome, my beloved!
Yes, pleasant!

Song of Solomon 1:15-16 NKJV

These are pretty general, and I think 90% of Christian authors agree that general statements like this are appropriate, but due to the nature of this type of poetry, there are some … moderately explicit lines? Though you could argue that they’re not explicit depending on your interpretation.

That said, if you have even the littlest bit of a dirty mind … yeah, reread Song of Solomon as an adult.

However, for non-explicit but certainly specific lines, you need look no further than the surface level.

All From Various Points of Song of Solomon, NKJV

“O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret places of the cliff,
Let me see your face,
Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your face is lovely.”

Your lips are like a strand of scarlet,
And your mouth is lovely.
Your temples behind your veil
Are like a piece of pomegranate.
Your neck is like the tower of David,
Built for an armory,
On which hang a thousand bucklers,
All shields of mighty men.
 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle,
Which feed among the lilies.

You have ravished my heart,
My sister, my spouse;
You have ravished my heart
With one look of your eyes,
With one link of your necklace.

Your lips, O my spouse,
Drip as the honeycomb;
Honey and milk are under your tongue;
And the fragrance of your garments
Is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

My beloved is white and ruddy,
Chief among ten thousand.
His head is like the finest gold;
His locks are wavy,
And black as a raven.
His eyes are like doves
By the rivers of waters,
Washed with milk,
And fitly set.
His cheeks are like a bed of spices,
Banks of scented herbs.
His lips are lilies,
Dripping liquid myrrh.

Okay, now let’s go ahead and talk about those in romance terms … and see if any of y’all have condemned lines just like this despite the fact that they’re kind of in the Bible.

“O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret places of the cliff,
Let me see your face,
Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your face is lovely.”

Based on this, I argue that it is within a Christian romance author’s ability to:

Have a couple long to see each other.Desire to just see the other person (and gaze longingly at them).Be attracted to their voice.Find their face lovely & be attracted to their face.

Simple stuff. But let’s keep going.

Your lips are like a strand of scarlet,
And your mouth is lovely.
Your temples behind your veil
Are like a piece of pomegranate.
Your neck is like the tower of David,
Built for an armory,
On which hang a thousand bucklers,
All shields of mighty men.
 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle,
Which feed among the lilies.

Based on this, I argue that it is within a Christian romance author’s ability to:

Have characters look at and notice each other’s lips.Be attracted to specific bits of them (neck, mouth, temples, breasts). It’s tasteful and poetic, but it’s there.Given that the Bible literally talks about breasts, I’m becoming a lot less judgmental of men noticing curves and women noticing muscles, too. Just sayin’.

You have ravished my heart,
My sister, my spouse;
You have ravished my heart
With one look of your eyes,
With one link of your necklace.

Based on this, I argue that it is within a Christian romance author’s ability to:

Have couples be blown away by each other and be unable to take their eyes off each other.Probably be a little awkward because of it, because goodness, having one’s eyes be ravished cannot be comfortable.

Your lips, O my spouse,
Drip as the honeycomb;
Honey and milk are under your tongue;
And the fragrance of your garments
Is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

Based on this, I argue that it is within a Christian romance author’s ability to:

Yes, we can definitely have our couples STARE AT EACH OTHER’S LIPS.And want to kiss.And noticing smells is okay, too! Though it may create unrealistic expectations because my husband only smells nice directly after he’s showered or when I haven’t seen him in at least two weeks and I’m not 100% sure those two facts are not related.

My beloved is white and ruddy,
Chief among ten thousand.
His head is like the finest gold;
His locks are wavy,
And black as a raven.
His eyes are like doves
By the rivers of waters,
Washed with milk,
And fitly set.
His cheeks are like a bed of spices,
Banks of scented herbs.
His lips are lilies,
Dripping liquid myrrh.

Based on this, I argue that it is within a Christian romance author’s ability to:

Point out that couples have a nice tan or whatever the fashion for skin tone is.Be attracted to each other’s dreamy hair and eye color and be gushy about it.I guess … be attracted to each other’s … cheeks?Again, the lip thing! Let them stare at each other’s lips!

One thing I will note: some will argue that the Song of Solomon couple is about an engaged or even married couple, and outside of those two institutions, portraying attraction is wrong.

I … disagree?

Why? Because we have to experience attraction before we are married. It is inadvisable though not impossible to marry a person you are not attracted to. And I’ll discuss the difference between attraction and lust later, but for now, there is a difference.

Another point I’d like to make is that the couple in Song of Solomon are equally attracted to each other’s characters. A big part of their married love is them celebrating how noble the other person is! So let’s never neglect that aspect in our romances, either.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way …

Let’s talk about some other elements.

How Should Physical Attraction Be Portrayed?

My biggest factor for talking about any topic is this: be honest and use realism without feeling a need to go on for years and years about something that can be discussed in a few words.

That said, every author has a different style, and honestly, what I’m seeing more often than not is that some people are rubbed wrong by certain author’s styles being a little more on the descriptive side.

I am not one of those people, but I understand it.

And honestly, I have read romances that felt like they had too much physical attraction, but it was not because of the level of description or how much the characters were actually attracted to each other … it was because that was the only aspect of their relationship.

I feel like enemies-to-lovers can be a trope that commonly suffers from this narrative. Why? Because physical attraction is a kind of shorthand.

Like the kiss can sum up the feelings of commitment a couple is experiencing, physical attraction can sum up all the other types of attraction going on between a couple. That said, in an enemies-to-lovers narrative, it is easy to miss all those other elements because the couple is actively trying to avoid falling in love with each other. (If you’d like to read more of my thoughts about enemies-to-lovers romances, you can click here.)

And guess what? Fighting physical attraction can be an easy shorthand for showing fighting all other types of attraction – spiritual, emotional, mental.

Second on that list in terms of “easy to show” is emotional attraction. All the gooey-gushy feelings. The other two types are harder to portray but definitely worth it.

All types of romances can suffer from the issue of replacing all attractions with physical attraction. The problem happens as soon as the reader begins to believe that the couple is solely physically attracted to each other. That makes it seem like physical attraction is the sole focus of the story … and in some cases, that may be true.

That said, if you are taking time to develop the spiritual, emotional, and mental sides of your characters’ chemistry toward each other, you will not suffer from this problem.

Further, using these types of “shorthands” is not always a problem. You don’t have to, but it allows you to say to the reader, “THIS IS A ROMANTIC COUPLE” even if you haven’t written chapters and chapters of slow burn first.

Also, assuming you’re not writing about blind characters, you probably shouldn’t be dating/courting someone you can’t stand to look like in the first place, so I’d say attraction of some sort is a good first step.

With all this in mind, though, I want to again say that physical attraction is easy to imply and therefore a little easy to overdo. Though not inherently “spicy,” it’s like a spice.

Don’t dump six pounds of paprika into a dish. Season it.

Which leads me, at least, to a question:

Does the fact that physical attraction is easy to imply mean we should tone it down?

Yes … and no?

Again, your characters are failing to grow a relationship because they’re just physically attracted to each other and nothing else, then removing the physical attraction won’t fix the story. Fixing the story will fix the story. Adding character development and more than that, relationship development, is a must.

However, in a well-written romance, in which every aspect of romantic love is given equal time, or as much time as befits the couple (more on that later), there are no hard limits for physical attraction.

And as I mentioned before, it can work as a shorthand for growing love in romantic stories … and that’s okay. It’s not always a synonym for laziness. It only becomes lazy when it’s the only thing and is used to imply a relationship … where none exists.

Where nothing but lust exists.

Which brings us to another question …

Is attraction always lust?

Nope. Nope, it’s not.

The dictionary definition of lust is “very strong sexual desire.” Now, that is certainly an element of attraction, but I argue that the Biblical definition of lust as characterized in many passages in the Bible is different than a simple strong sexual desire (which is something couples who are deeply and healthily in love experience).

In this context, I define physical attraction as being attracted to the way someone looks, sexual attraction as a desire to have healthy sex with someone, and lust as an overwhelming sexual desire that fails to take into account morality and godliness, your own personal health (emotionally, physically, and spiritually), and the similar needs of the other person.

So is there such a thing as lust in a marriage? Yes. There’s such a thing as lust in any relationship. There’s no “and now we’re safe!” when it comes to lust. If you only lusted after someone before marriage, that will continue after marriage.

Further, I think the Christian attitude toward sex encourages lust. That’s a bigger topic than I can discuss here, but one such example is how we talk about male sexuality. Supposedly, men always have higher sex drives, their desire to have sex is a “need,” and it’s the duty of a wife to give in to what essentially becomes pure lust – absent of love for the woman, of morality, and of self-control. Of course, women can experience lust and act upon it in a marriage (or otherwise), too.

Though elements of this are rooted in Biblical thought, they are not actually Biblical. Again, bigger topic than we have time for, but let’s move on.

But what does this mean for writing romances? Well, when you’re writing along, take some time to think about the physical attraction your characters are experiencing toward each other and how they’re acting on it.

Is it purely because it serves them? Are they just wanting to indulge a fantasy or do they genuinely care about the other person? Are they look for a trophy spouse or do they legitimately care about the person behind the pretty face and sexy body?

Lust destroys. Love builds up.

Basically, you will know them by their fruits. So take time to show those fruits between your characters!

Yet that makes me think of another element of this whole discussion that I sometimes wonder about. Clean fiction has become almost synonymous with Christian fiction for some people … and for others, it seems to have become more important to write clean fiction than to write godly fiction.

That bothers me.

And it makes me wonder …

Is there a point where not wanting attraction to be present in romance novels becomes an obsession in and of itself?

Let me break it down further.

The thing is, cleanliness is not next to godliness. That’s not in the Bible, and there’s probably a reason for it. The Bible itself is an honest book, and there are several passages (not from Song of Solomon) that mention a man or woman’s physical attraction as a matter of fact. It’s not a book that needs to take paragraphs to explain things, but it does honestly lay out a lot of topics that Christians are not comfortable discussing … and that bothers me.

Our focus seems to have shifted from writing counter-cultural stories that depict God’s love and greatness moving about in the world and amongst people to … writing things that don’t discuss any sin.

I’ve seen books reviewed negatively for MENTIONING sins (such as homosexuality, even when condemned or not directly discussed) … or even situations that hint at sin (such as having a character be illegitimate, which is not a sin on the character’s fault but rather their parents) … or having character sinned against (such as mentioning rape).

Trigger warnings and/or avoiding these subjects for children under 13 is one thing, but refusing to ever discuss real-world situations in the name of honoring God? I’ve never heard of anything less godly.

Further, though I cannot speak to every situation, in most cases, it is not healthy to continue hiding from a subject you are sensitive to all your life. I personally consider it personal growth to confront situations I find make me uncomfortable. I want to be ready and able to confront any situation God brings to me.

And how am I going to be able to do that if I insist on staying inside my comfort zone? Our goal as Christians should NOT be comfort! I think we should all (when healthy and able) pursue discomfort (as long as we’re not using it to punish ourselves like 13th century monks because that is awful) to a healthy degree.

I’ll get off my soap box about that, but again, I’ll just say that cleanliness is not next to godliness. It’s not even on the same platform as godliness. It’s way over there, far away from godliness, doing its own thing. Maybe it’s being influenced by godliness at times … but not always.

To get back on track, I want to say that … sometimes I think Christians are not “obsessed” with sex ENOUGH if they’re complaining about normal, harmless physical attraction (or “noticing”) in romance novels.

Or to put that in a clearer manner, being obsessed with something being unhealthy (yes, a lack of physical attraction in a romantic relationship is UNHEALTHY!) and nonexistent (when in reality, romantic couples are/should be attracted to each other) is also an obsession.

Essentially, I feel like sometimes y’all talk about it not existing so much that you make it weird. You’re so obsessed with building a fence around the perfectly find fences that already existed (don’t lust and don’t have sex before marriage, essentially) that you make it WEIRD.

STOP. MAKING. IT. WEIRD.

WRITE. REAL. PEOPLE.

Does this mean that I personally think it’s always weird when a romance author chooses not to include physical attraction? No, absolutely not. However, it can be, and I’ll discuss more of that in the next section!

If you want to write physical attraction free romance, how do you do it?

Carefully and intentionally and with an open mind that may someday be changed by God. *shrug*

So here’s the biggest thing you need to keep in mind: chemistry in a romance is vital. This makes writing these stories more difficult because remember: attraction is a shorthand for romantic chemistry.

If a couple is physically attracted to each other, we usually get an idea that there is some chemistry between them. However, if that is absent, the chemistry is off-balance and must be substituted with more attention paid to the emotional, spiritual, and mental side.

Also, it can be a tendency of people who remove physical attraction from a romance to up those emotions to try to fill the hole left in physical attraction’s wake. That’s why some Christian or inspirational romances can seem super cheesy (among other reasons).

Remember, if you take something out, you have to make sure you’re substituting it with something better.

So if you’re writing these types of romances, make sure their mental and spiritual chemistry is great … and show their love. Show it obviously. Of course, this should happen in every romance, but it’s always worth thinking about more.

Another pitfall of stories that are trying to write pure romance (no physical attraction, very little actual romance) is sometimes the relationship comes out of nowhere, and that is utterly jarring. I’ve read books where there was no indication that the characters were interested in a relationship … until suddenly they just were.

This is not just confusing from a reader’s standpoint … it is also unrealistic. Platonic relationships and romantic relationships are inherently different. There’s a tension there, a shift in the air, and if the reader doesn’t feel it, it’s hard to believe the characters did.

One other thing I notice a lot in indie Christian romance more than anything else is a desire to overexplain the lack of physical attraction (and more than that, physical touch) between two characters. I’ve fallen into this a little with Peter and Alice, though I had a different motive for explaining their desire for “sexual purity” above all else.

Essentially, I think it’s all y’all falling back on purity culture and essentially reminding your audience, “Sexual things are wrong, though, and my characters are HOLY and DIFFERENT.” So just … don’t do that. Let your characters have boundaries without needing to constantly remind the audience they’re essentially Pick-Me-Christians. (If you didn’t get that reference, well, I … don’t intend to explain it. Some things are not for you. Like books with physical attraction in them.)

Another big thing to keep in mind … NOT ALL CHARACTERS ARE SUITED TO BE WILDLY PHYSICALLY ATTRACTED TO EACH OTHER!!! Let your characters be themselves. Some people just don’t see the world that way, and that’s okay. If you build their personalities up well, readers won’t mind even if they expect some physical attraction.

Anyways, just some random thoughts. With that in mind, let’s move forward.

Examining My Own Books for Fun

Oftentimes I feel that my posts on this subject suffer from hitting too broad an audience because what I’m saying is not incorrect – it’s simply how I interpret it that would bother people.

And I’m a contrarian who likes to bother people, so let’s give examples of how I portray physical attraction in my books and why I think it’s okay.

Because why not be defensive? I’ll never get another opportunity to do so.

Also, I just think it’d be fun!

In our first excerpt, this is the first time Jordy McAllen meets our lovely heroine, Ivy Knight, since she’s become an adult.

He is smitten.

Something was different today. Perhaps only because Jordy was a bit of a romantic, or because he was glaikit, but he loved the idea of a new beginning, a moment that changed the world. A quick glance was all that was needed to alter the course of his life.
Aye, he’d known Ivy Knight would be a beauty. He’d known, hadn’t he? But he hadn’t cared because she’d been a child, and he’d had other things on his mind, and he hadn’t known womanhood was so close. Hadn’t he seen her only five or six years ago? That wasn’t that long, and yet here Ivy was.
She was a beautiful woman, really. Dark-blonde hair that somehow managed to glint like gold, big blue eyes, an angelic face—somewhere between stunningly gorgeous and refreshingly innocent. He caught his breath and took a step back, confused. Weren’t angels supposed to keep to Heaven or at least avoid sitting in mere mortals’ parlors?

…

Yes, Ivy was certainly a great beauty. She rose and walked toward him.
“Jordy!” she said. “I can’t believe it’s you. They told you I was coming, didn’t they? You seem surprised. But … it’s a good surprise,
isn’t it?” She hesitated, standing an arm’s length away from him. “Is everything all right?”
He forced himself to pay attention to what she was saying, to put on a gentle smile. “Ivy! Is tha’ really me wee friend? I’d heard ye were comin’, aye, but I didna realize ye’d be so … so grown up.”
Ivy beamed. “Why, thank you, Jordy. I’m glad you’re glad that I came.” She paused for a moment, confusion shadowing her face. Then she brightened. “I missed you. I’ve met Violet, but not you since the last time we were both at McCale House.”
Jordy swallowed hard. Biggest mistake of his life, apparently. “Tha’s right.”
Ivy smiled charmingly. “We’ll have to catch up soon.” She turned away from him and returned to her seat, and Jordy breathed again.
He’d never have imagined that awkward little girl—too small for her age, long-legged, looking more ten than thirteen—could grow so fine. His thoughts went around and around in circles.
Then he realized he was being a complete and utter idiot and flushed. He shouldn’t think on this. Why, not only was it unprofessional, but it wasn’t right. Here he was attracted to a woman whom he had no intention of marrying

From Beyond Her Calling by Kellyn Roth

Now, part of the reason I harp on Jordy’s attraction for Ivy so much (and do further in other chapters) is because it’s a main theme of the book that Jordy is struggling to place sexual attraction toward a woman into a healthy place (which he does, with Ivy).

But it also just fits them both so well? Ivy thinks Jordy is dreamy – Jordy thinks Ivy is a literal angel – and they both want to be physically affectionate very early on. That’s how they are.

This is further reflected in After Our Castle. That said, their physical attraction to each other is more like a fun bonus to all the character development … and you know, something for Jordy to be wildly dramatic about, as if he needs another excuse.

Let’s contrast this a bit with how I portray Alice and Peter in both At Her Fingertips and A Prayer Unanswered. Throughout most books I’ve written about them, they’re both awkward about physical affection, and Alice is convinced she’s unattractive and doesn’t hyperfocus on Peter’s attractive qualities (assuming he has them) either. (I thinks she admits she likes his eyes at one point. That’s the extent of her effusiveness.)

Yet I knew that Peter would find Alice beautiful … once he fell for her. Before then, because of his nature (not because Alice was inherently unattractive – he makes about as many comments about her looks before falling for her as he does about Ivy’s), he wasn’t going to say much.

In fact, one of the biggest signs that he has fallen for her, at least in my opinion, is his increasing awkwardness, and that’s sweeter to me than a thousand “sonnets written to her eyes,” as Riley puts it (despite the fact that, indeed, the sonnets do come in time!).

Moving on to Like a Ship on the Sea and one of my favorite couples, Patrick and Cassie.

Throughout the book, Patrick is attracted to Cassie and makes a few comments about it, despite his mixed feelings about being in a relationship with her. This felt natural to me as Patrick really wants to be with Cassie (shorthand, shorthand!) and also, he’s just the kind of guy who would appreciate beauty.

Patrick ascended the stairs to the first landing, assessing the situation. The lady wore a beautiful dress, simple but elegant, white with a kind of pink-colored sash at her slim waist. She raised big blue eyes to him, rimmed with light lashes, and arched similarly light eyebrows. They’d met, briefly, at dinners the last several days—but they’d yet to have a conversation, and he hadn’t sought her out.

Somehow, he hadn’t dared to.

Yet now her full lips curved into a smile, and Patrick wished he’d spoken to her earlier. Even if the wish was an ignoble one, he couldn’t help it. Was it all right to notice that a woman was lovely, with no intention of anything but noticing? He supposed so, as long as the thought stopped there or shortly after it and was not accompanied by any desire of possession.

From Like a Ship on the Sea by Kellyn Roth

He also refers to her as a “beauty” like three times in the next several chapters. My man is smitten, even if he tries to deny it.

Meanwhile, Cassie is just not a visual person … or the type to gawk at someone’s appearance. The only thing she says about Patrick’s appearance that I remember (other than a few comments about his eyes) is:

[After a paragraph about his familial relationships.]

That was all she knew of him. Except that his smile was winning, his manner with Caleb at once relaxed and playful, and his ears stuck out too much in a way she couldn’t help but find charming.

And that makes sense for her. Though she’s moderately physically affectionate, I wouldn’t say that that’s because Patrick is attractive.

I could go on for a while longer, but given that we already have a long blog post, I think it may be time to just move on.

Conclusion

I guess the real reason I wanted to talk about this subject is because I believe physical attraction is vital in marriage, and Christian romance is all about the lead-up to a marriage.

Christian marriage is a big topic, and the reason it’s such a big topic is, unlike secular culture, we make a big deal about it AND we consider it to be the right way to go for any romantic relationship.

Whenever we say “it’s my way or else you’re sinning” on a subject, we’d better have a darn good reason. Our reason as Christians? Because in the end, a romantic relationship outside of the bounds of marriage is not good for the couple. It’s harmful; it’s perverted; it will end badly.

And we lose credibility if our version of marriage is a perverted as the secular take on marriage.

Therefore, it is vital that the thing we pervert most as Christians (sexuality) isn’t hidden under a bushel, and it starts with something as simple, innocent, and truly family-friendly as physical attraction.

Because it’s perverted when one member of the couple doesn’t enjoy sex but still forces themselves to do so because “God said so.” It’s perverted when one member of the couple forces or coerces the other one to engage in sex. And though all perversion can be healed in time, acting like it’s not a problem will not lead to a solution.

Christian couples should have the BEST sex lives, but instead, I hear more problems in Christian circles involving sexual issues than anywhere else.

Maybe instead of trying to batten down the hatches and remove information and call physical attraction wrong, we need to understand that is it only wrong in certain contexts. Between a couple, it is right. It is the beginning of a healthy sex life.

Which is the beginning of a healthy marriage. Which is the beginning of a healthy family. Which is the beginning of a healthy community.

And no, it’s not about someone being gorgeous or handsome or whatever. I’ve seen that critique, and it’s ridiculous. No, it’s about a personal attraction between a man and a woman who desire to pursue each other.

Even someone who is not attractive from a secular standpoint is going to be the most beautiful creature in the world to the person they love. I mean, half my feed is full of men and women who look like they don’t belong together announcing their engagements. Love is blind. Forget I said that, as that was kinda mean, but it’s true!

So let them think their significant other is the most gorgeous or handsome person in the world. And let that continue into marriage. And show how you can choose, day after day, to find more beauty in the person you love as you grow with them.

Because that’s reality. And folks, we cannot forsake reality as Christians. The moment we do that, we leave God behind and seek out a conservative evangelical world that is more a cult than a relationship with Christ.

Of course, as I said before, there’s no harm in not portraying every aspect of a relationship. You don’t have to, and in fact, you probably can’t.

That said, if you feel called to write physical attraction between a couple … you don’t have to feel guilty. You’re just doing your best to portray the healthy beginning of a relationship. And that’s okay.

If you’re interested in more posts about my perspective on romance, you can view some of my previous posts:

Saintly, Sweet, Sensual, & Smutty: a treatise on the four types of romance novels Villainizing Romance & Other Dumb Things Christians Do The Heart Behind Second-Chance Romance Excuse Me, You Got Some Feminism in My Regency Romance (Redux)

TTFN!

~Kell~

P.S.

What are your thoughts on physical attraction in romance novels? If you like it, what does a godly approach look like to you? If you dislike it, what’s your reasoning?

Are you interested in getting to know me & my books better?

I want to invite you to my super secret club. I mean, it’s not really a secret, because I’m telling you about it now, but here goes.

Join Mrs. Roth’s Society Column, my street team! We’d love to have you along for the ride!

I’m terribly excited to be revealing the cover and launching the preorder for the first book in The Hilton Legacy, Like a Ship on the Sea. This novel will be releasing September 5th, 2023, with Wild Blue Wonder Press. And honestly, I couldn’t be more excited!

This was a hard book to write in a lot of ways, but it’s now nearly complete, and I find myself more than thrilled to finally be sharing it with all of you.

Let’s talk about what the book is about.

About the Book

If God asks you to confront a storm, how dare you stay in the harbor?

Lady Mary Cassidy O’Connell has a dream that can be summed up in three connecting ideas: a loving husband, adorable children, and a home of her own. Her mother’s lack of care makes life difficult for Cassie, and an escape is necessary. The plan? Marry Aubrey Montgomery, the man her parents have chosen for her, and find the peace she craves.

Unfortunately, Cassie is uneasy about marrying Aubrey. Her apprehension grows as she witnesses her dearest friend’s loving marriage take place. At this wedding, she catches the eye of Patrick Hilton, son of a wealthy American. Like Cassie, he’s also set to marry a woman chosen by his parents—only, Patrick claims, he is content with this choice.

Torn between her desire for happiness and the knowledge that God is leading her in a different direction, Cassie confronts the impossible decision. Is a loveless marriage of obligation better than being alone, or will she set sail on a voyage without a safe harbor?

Like a Ship on the Sea is the first novel in The Hilton Legacy, a stand-alone trilogy featuring characters from the author’s first series, The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy.

Add on Goodreads ~ Preorder on Amazon ~ View on My Website

And now … the cover reveal itself!

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Well, what do you think? Do you like the cover?

TTFN!

~Kell~

P.S.

Wellllll … THE QUESTIONS ABOVE! What do you think??!?!!

Are you interested in getting to know me & my books better?

I want to invite you to my super secret club. I mean, it’s not really a secret, because I’m telling you about it now, but here goes.

Join Mrs. Roth’s Society Column, my street team! We’d love to have you along for the ride!