by Crystal Caudill | May 31, 2024 | Book Reviews, Reading Challenge
It’s another month our challenge: Unlocking Ecclesiastes 3. I’m so excited to join you again this year with guest reviews from our reading challenge participants. If you want to submit a review for upcoming months, feel free to email me using my contact form. If you are looking for reading suggestions, I’ve cultivated a page just for that. (Note that it is still being updated throughout the year, so feel free to message me with suggestions.) I recommend you also checking Inspirational Historical Fiction Index or the Facebook Group Avid Readers of Christian Fiction or my Facebook group Crystal Caudill’s Reading Friends. I’ll also include a short list at the bottom of this post.
Don’t forget to comment at the bottom of the post for your chance to win a book off my prize shelf. *The list of prizes available from my prize shelf can be found here.*
Unlocking the Past: Ecclesiastes 3
Just as Ecclesiastes has two opposites in each verse, most months will leave you with two options to choose from.
“For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.”
May Verse: A time to cry and a time to laugh.
Challenge Theme: A RomCom or a book that makes you cry
June Verse: A time to grieve and a time to dance.
Challenge Theme: A book with a funeral or with a character who is a dancer.
Loyally Luke
by Pepper Basham
Review by: Crystal Caudill
Hallmarky RomCom’s are not usually my thing, but this rough year has brought me to read a slew of them just because of how light and funny they can be. This one, though, took the cake. I got a kick of how pointedly this book played off of and lovingly made fun of the Hallmark movies. From the “Hallmark chime” that showed up at particular points in the story, the blatant pointing out and playing with famous Hallmark tropes, and Luke groaning over how his life had become a Hallmark movie, I couldn’t stop laughing (and cringing in a good way). What I loved most about this book, however, was how the characters dealt with life and each other in a realistic and soft way. Luke may have been a little too perfect, but what good Hallmark guy isn’t? LOL I loved Ellie’s arc and how Luke perfectly complimented her and helped her grow into the person she needed to be despite her past. So yeah, I’d recommend it. 🙂 Especially if you are a fan of the Hallmark channel, or even if you are more like me and roll your eyes at the Hallmark channel.
Genre: RomCom
Plot Overview:
Sometimes love means embracing the good, the bad . . . and even the impossible.
Dear Reader,
My name is Luke Edgewood, and there are few things in life that I require. Mainly black coffee. And flannel. And lots of solitude. And my dogs, Chewy and Indie. What I don’t need is romance, so I have no plans to change my thirty-year-old bachelor status anytime soon.
But my youngest sister thinks that by accepting a short-term construction job in the small European country of Skymar, I’m going to follow along in her footsteps and discover my own romantic adventure. Nope. Bah humbug. The End. This time, her rom-com-movie senses are totally wrong.
Or maybe not. Because I’ve met a Grace Kelly look-alike who is annoying . . . until she isn’t. But she is impossible. As in, nothing can happen between us because she is a literal princess. Even though that’s easy to forget when we’re working together to restore a castle-like orphanage in a secluded mountain town and “forced proximity” includes a small closet, a secret one-hundred-year-old journal, and the tactile memory of an off-limits royal in my arms.
Basically, the whole situation has turned into an ooey gooey magical snow globe of romantic tropes complete with cute kids and an actual ball. Now, even my sentences are starting to sound like mush. Ugh. Send high levels of testosterone my way—I’m going to need it.
Loyally,
Luke
Purchase Links:
Amazon | Baker Bookhouse | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook.com
Giveaway
For your chance to win a print copy, comment with what book YOU read for this month. Use the Rafflecopter below for extra entries and to mark that you left a comment. Entries end on the 7th of each month at midnight EST, and the winner will be drawn sometime that week and notified by email. The winner will be announced on the Rafflecopter widget.
*Open to all residents of the contiguous USA, legally able to enter, and an e-book format or Amazon Gift Card will be awarded to those outside that range who are legally able to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Recommendations for June:
- A Midnight Dance by Joanna Politano
- Hidden Current by Sharon Hinck
- The Dancing Realms trilogy by Sharon Hinck
- Until the Leaves Fall in Paris by Sarah Sundin
- The Italian Ballerina by Kristy Cambron
What did you read for the challenge? What were your thoughts on it? Would you recommend it?
by Crystal Caudill | May 21, 2024 | Author Interviews
I have had the blessing of knowing Grace Hitchcock almost from the very beginning of my writing journey. I have loved her stories, from her novella collections to her American Heiress and Aprons and Veils series, and now I’m in LOVE with her new Regency series, Best Laid Plans. To Catch a Coronet, book one in the series, is available wherever books are sold beginning TODAY. How incredibly exciting, and now I get to introduce you to the author herself.
Oh, and before the introductions, I wanted to let you know that Grace has graciously offered 2 autographed paperbacks of The Finding of Miss Fairfield. You can enter the giveaway for those at the bottom of this post.
Now let me introduce you to this wonderful author and friend.
Grace Hitchcock is the award-winning author of multiple historical novels and novellas, including the American Royalty, True Colors, and Aprons & Veils series. She holds a Master’s in Creative Writing and a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in History. Grace lives on the Northshore of New Orleans, with her husband, Dakota, sons, and daughter in a cottage that is always filled with the sounds of sweet little footsteps running at full speed. When not writing, or chasing babies, she’s baking something delightful and can usually be found with a book clutched in her fist.
You can connect with her through: Website (Download a free novella while there) | Amazon | BookBub | GoodReads | Instagram | Facebook
Now for the fun stuff! I have to admit I am partial to my Fast Five. 🙂 So settle in as I hit Grace with rapid-fire.
CC: Pineapple pizza or candy corn?
GH: Candy corn, 1000%
CC: Test the waters or dive in the deep end?
GH: Test for sure. You never know what is in the water (pool or rivers) in South Louisiana!
CC: Guacamole or salsa?
GH: Guacamole!
CC: Silly hats or silly socks?
GH: Silly socks. I love collecting bookish socks!
CC: Passwords or secret handshakes?
GH: Secret handshakes.
Yeah, I wouldn’t dive into Louisana waters either. LOL I’m no alligator wrestler. However, I’m not going to let you test the waters now. Let’s dive right in.
What book has most impacted you?
GH: I feel like every season, there is a novel that touches me. The one that stuck the longest has to be Tracie Peterson’s Westward Chronicles (a Harvey Girl series). They are moving, unique tales that inspired me to write my own Harvey Girls stories! I re-read them every few years.
CC: How fun to have them inspire your own series. I am totally with you on each season having its one novel that touches me.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
GH: When I turned twelve, I began to read pretty exclusively Christian Historical Fiction and read pretty much every book our local library had to offer! I loved the romantic element that long gowns, courting, and etiquette lent stories. When I encountered stories that ended with the heroine marrying the wrong guy (in my opinion haha), I would re-write the endings in my head and eventually, decided to try my hand at writing a novel and I was hooked by the genre!
CC: I love it! If you can’t find what you want, write it!
What is your writing Kryptonite?
GH: Exclamation points!!!! Apparently, I’m a very excited writer in the first draft. Every time I finish writing the first draft, I text my mom and have her guess how many I used in a 330 page novel. She is generous and usually guesses lower than the count on the last book I wrote . . . but the count is always high no matter how mindful I think I am being while writing. I usually have about 200+ exclamation points for the 330 pages. I weed them down to 40 at most!
CC: Ha! Ha! I can totally see that fitting your personality. Now I will look at every story and wonder which ones were exclamation points before you changed them.
Speaking of stories, let’s talk about your debut Regency novel, To Catch a Coronet.
Sometimes the only way to outsmart a scandal is to find a crown big enough to silence it…
Muriel Beau, country baker turned heiress, can’t stop instigating outrage. She discards two arranged engagements, then further antagonizes Kent society by publicly proposing to a baron at a ball. His rejection leaves her with no choice but to flee to the city and to secure a coronet so splendid that her peers will forget her debacles. The glitter of the London courts convinces Muriel that it’s possible to find the future she dreams of, until she finds herself entangled in yet another escapade–one that may cost her more than her crumbling reputation.
After years of serving as a privateer under an assumed name, Captain Erik Draycott, heir to Draycott Castle and soon to assume his uncle’s title of Earl, returns to his London home to find it in disrepair thanks to his longtime nemesis. A staunch bachelor intent on returning to his ship, the captain is shocked when his mentor encourages him to take a wife. But while his alleged pauper status causes the potential London brides to turn their noses up at him, the ladies of Kent have no such qualms and are eager to fill his coffers with their fathers’ wealth.
Caught in a whirlwind of high society and high seas, Muriel and Erik navigate a risky undertaking that threatens their futures and creating stakes that soar above the masts of Erik’s ship. Will Muriel’s bold charm and Erik’s daring bravery be enough to outsmart the scandal and secure a future as glittering as the crown Muriel seeks?
Purchase your copy at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Autographed Copy
CC: What about this story drew you to it? Does this story have any special meaning to you?
GH: I first had this idea when I was watching a Hallmark about a girl who proposes to a guy and it goes totally wrong. And the “what if” train of thought led to Muriel, a baker turned heiress during Regency England. The baking element is pretty special to me. After a devastating miscarriage, I needed a distraction, so I decided to bake my way through a Christmas baking magazine. I had my family mark which recipes they wanted to try, and I just baked and baked for two months. It was great therapy as God healed our hearts and I knew that my character, Muriel the baker, would use baking as her therapy too.
CC: So many hugs, my friend. Baking truly is one of the best therapies in the world. . . even if it isn’t great for a waistline.
What was some of your favorite research you discovered while preparing for this story?
GH: Oooh this was a goldmine to research! I bought so many great resources that Erica Vetsch so kindly recommended. My favorite discovery while researching was Vauxhall Gardens, a pleasure gardens in London that I had no idea existed. I, of course, had to add it to the book, To Catch a Coronet! And I have pics on my pinterest page if you want to see the gardens for yourself: https://www.pinterest.com/grace_hitchcock/to-catch-a-coronet-by-grace-hitchcock/.
CC: Erica is the best for sharing what she knows. And I loved getting to visit Vauxhall Gardens in your story.
What do you hope readers will take away from your story?
GH: I want them leaving feeling like they have met new friends that they want to visit again, had an adventure, visited castles, laughed until they were breathless, and looking forward to the next story!
CC: I can confirm that you achieved that! I loved To Catch a Coronet and even was ready to read it again only a couple months later! Now it’s time to wrap up our interview with a fun question.
You are in the back of a police car on your way to jail. What did you do? and is anyone with you?
GH: I was found after hours inside the Biltmore because I accidentally got lost in time and thought, exploring the titles in the library. My husband would be with me because he is all for a great adventure!
CC: That library is amazing, and how awesome that your husband would join you!
Readers, I hope you’ll check out To Catch a Coronet and then leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, and/or BookBub. You wouldn’t believe how important that is to an author.
Giveaway Info
Grace Hitchcock is graciously providing two U.S. residents, 18 years and older, with a signed copy of To Catch a Coronet. Use the Rafflecopter below to enter. Entries open until 11:59 p.m. EST on May 28.
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Reader, have you read Regency stories before? Which ones are your favorite?
by Crystal Caudill | May 7, 2024 | Uncategorized
I’m not sure I’ve ever been more excited to introduce an author to you. Angela Carlisle is one of the Mayhemmers, a core group of friends who have been walking this writing journey together for several years now. You’ve already met Liz Bradford, or at least one of her characters. But today it is Angela’s turn to claim the spotlight. TODAY is her debut release of Secondary Target, a romantic suspense published by Bethany House. I’ve had the blessing of seeing this story “grow up” since its infancy. It’s truly one you don’t want to miss. Before I dive in, let me give you a proper introduction to my friend and fellow Mayhemmer. Oh, and she’s generously providing a giveaway, so be sure to go to the bottom to enter.
Angela Carlisle is a writer and editor by day and prefers to spend her free time reading, baking, and drinking ridiculous quantities of properly steeped hot tea. Whether reading or writing, she loves stories with heart-pounding suspense, permeated with the hope found in Christ. She resides in the hills of northern Kentucky with her family and preschool-age sourdough starter. Learn more at AngelaCarlisle.com.
You can connect with her through: Website | Facebook | Instagram | BookBub | GoodReads
Now for the fun stuff! I have to admit I am partial to my Fast Five. 🙂 So settle in as I hit Angela with rapid-fire.
CC: Pineapple pizza or candy corn?
AC: Pineapple pizza, lol
CC: Test the waters or dive in the deep end?
AC: Test the waters
CC: Guacamole or salsa?
AC: Guac all the way!
CC: Silly hats or silly socks?
AC: Yes. Find, if I have to pick one, we’ll go with silly hats.
CC: Passwords or secret handshakes?
AC: Passwords. I’m much more coordinated in my brain than my hands. lol
Says the woman who can knit a pair of fingerless gloves without looking . . . LOL
What does your writing process look like?
AC: First thing that comes to mind is a hot mess. I am so much a seat-of-the-pants writer that I literally cannot plot, so while I might know the ending and bits and pieces of my story, I find out how to get there as I go and do much of my research as I go. I also don’t always write in order. If I can “see” a scene, I often go ahead and write it, even if it’s the climax and I only have the first chapter written already! I will say though, that I like to get to know my characters beforehand, and that helps with figuring out the story because then they can help drive my story by reacting to things naturally.
CC: One must never fight the characters, or they will completely derail the writer. LOL I still can’t wrap my head around writing out of order, but you do it so well!
What has been the biggest challenge for you on your writing journey?
AC: Honestly, it’s been my health. I deal with chronic illness and work full-time in addition to my writing, so having the energy and brain power to put out words is often difficult. But I love story, and I serve a God who is strong even when I’m weak.
CC: Amen. And we’ll all be praying for improved health and more brain space. (Right readers?)
How have you seen God work through your writing journey?
AC: Do we have time for that answer? Lol. I could cite so many instances of closed doors, open doors, decisions made that weren’t entirely logical (so I can’t take credit for them) but ended up being the best thing I could have done, providential delays, etc.
God has also grown me personally and brought so many wonderful people into my life through the writing world that I may never have met otherwise. For example, several years ago, I prayed for a group of close female friends, and he supplied that through my writing group, the Masters of Mayhem (of which Crystal is a member). I absolutely love writing and doing life with these three amazing ladies.
CC: So similar for me. You know how I prayed for 15 years for God to provide me a close Christian friend. He provided several through the writing journey, but you were the first, and what a blessing that has been. God has been so good to bring us together.
Do you have any advice for those who want to write their own stories?
AC: Be patient. Be teachable. Be determined.
Writing (especially if you’re writing for publication) is a long road. No matter how good a writer you are at the beginning of your journey, you have a lot to learn. And that’s okay—learning is good for us. But even once you have a great, super-polished story (or two or three), it’s probably still going to take a long time to get published, and then there will be many more edits! That’s just part of the game. But the rewards for sticking it out and refusing to give up are so worth it.
CC: So true and encouraging to hear.
Now I’m excited to talk about your debut release, Secondary Target.
A ruthless murderer. A deadly secret. An unbreakable love.
After the brutal murder of her mother and brother twelve years ago, Corina Roberts built a new life in Kentucky. But then strange things begin to happen, and she is thrust into a perilous game of life and death. With nowhere else to turn, her best hope of survival depends on her ex, army veteran Bryce Jessup.
Recently returned from service, Bryce has every intention of staying away from Corina, but when threats close in around her, he isn’t willing to leave her safety to chance. As their search for answers uncovers lethal secrets her detective father kept hidden, Bryce and Corina must untangle the mystery of the merciless killer intent on terrorizing and eliminating Corina’s family before it’s too late.
Purchase your copy at Amazon | Baker Book House | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook
CC: Where did you get the idea for Secondary Target?
AC: It sounds cliché, but the idea for Secondary Target initially came from a dream sparked by a conversation with my brother. The final story is much different than what I first envisioned, but some of the key pieces remain.
CC: Good ol’ dream sparks. 🙂
Who do you think will most love this book?
AC: Readers who enjoy Lynette Eason, Lynn H. Blackburn, and Jessica Patch are probably right in that sweet spot. Secondary Target is heavy on the suspense and lighter on romance (but the romance is most definitely there!) and features a cold case, small-town setting, and reunion romance.
CC: So many fun elements. I highly recommend it to any suspense reader, though. 😉
Which character was the most fun to create?
AC: Probably Allye. She’s the “little” sister and best friend to the book’s main characters, and she’s just a tad bit feisty. She’s a bit of a mother hen and the type to take care of you whether you like it or not, but she’s not afraid to engage in some good-natured teasing too. Readers can expect more of her in book two.
CC: Allye is a hoot. I do so love her quirkiness . . . and her pieces of you in her.
How did this story affect you as you wrote it? Did God teach you anything through the writing?
AC: In a way, I think it was more a processing of a time he had already brought me through—a time of learning to trust him even when I couldn’t feel him. To cling to the promises of Scripture that he is always faithful and doesn’t just leave his children to walk through their trials alone.
CC: Amen. Sometimes, the processing of it is just as important as the initial learning of it. Okay, one last fun question.
You are in the back of a police car on your way to jail. What did you do? And is anyone with you?
AC: I was probably testing something for a story, and someone called the police thinking I was really tossing a body in the trunk or some such nonsense. Crystal is most definitely in that back seat with me . . . if she managed to get out of the trunk, that is.
CC: LOL, that is way too close to the truth. Should you be sharing our secrets with them? LOL
Readers, I hope you’ll check out Secondary Target and then leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, and/or BookBub. You wouldn’t believe how important that is to an author.
Giveaway
Angela is graciously providing a signed print copy of her debut novel to one U.S. Resident over the age of 18. This giveaway will run until 11:59 p.m. on May 14.
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Reader, what are your favorite elements of a suspense story?
by Crystal Caudill | Apr 30, 2024 | Book Reviews, Reading Challenge
It’s another month our challenge: Unlocking Ecclesiastes 3. I’m so excited to join you again this year with guest reviews from our reading challenge participants. If you want to submit a review for upcoming months, feel free to email me using my contact form. If you are looking for reading suggestions, I’ve cultivated a page just for that. (Note that it is still being updated throughout the year, so feel free to message me with suggestions.) I recommend you also checking Inspirational Historical Fiction Index or the Facebook Group Avid Readers of Christian Fiction or my Facebook group Crystal Caudill’s Reading Friends. I’ll also include a short list at the bottom of this post.
Don’t forget to comment at the bottom of the post for your chance to win a book off my prize shelf. *The list of prizes available from my prize shelf can be found here.*
Unlocking the Past: Ecclesiastes 3
Just as Ecclesiastes has two opposites in each verse, most months will leave you with two options to choose from.
“For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.”
April Verse: A time to tear down and a time to build up.
Challenge Theme: A book with characters or plots related to construction, remodeling, demolition, or architecture.
May Verse: A time to cry and a time to laugh.
Challenge Theme: A RomCom or a book that makes you cry
Engaging Deception
by Regina Jennings
Review by: Crystal Caudill
My MIL and I listened to this delightful tale while driving down to and back from watching the total eclipse. This book has long been on my TBR pile–the whole series really–and it was a joy to finally dive in. Olive was a wonderful character who, while reserved, was also interesting, had a wild/stubborn/brave streak, and was incredibly intelligent. The hero, Maxfield, was a loving dad running from his grief. The way both of these characters came together through architecture–at first as secret rivals–was a journey that was enjoyable, poignant, and had a depth I wasn’t expecting. The story was very well done, and I’m looking forward to reading Regina Jennings other books. I can’t remember if I’ve read her before, but this certainly won’t be my last.
Genre: Historical Romance, late 1890s to early 1900s, American
Plot Overview:
A lively competition draws her into her rival’s blueprints–and maybe even his heart.
Olive Kentworth has spent her life hiding her interest in architecture, even though she pores over architectural books and sketches buildings. When she accepts a job on a home expansion, it’s only because her cousin Amos agrees to pose as the builder. To further hide her involvement, Olive takes a position as a nanny–not knowing that she’ll be working for her idol, Joplin’s leading architect, widower Maxfield Scott.
Maxfield is intrigued by his new nanny–she makes his home and his life bearable again. His work, on the other hand, is a disaster. An untrained builder is remodeling a completed project of his. What’s worse, Maxfield’s current client wants changes to his plans because of that builder’s work.
As the architectural one-upmanship heats up, Olive’s involvement becomes harder to hide. Will the relationship between her and Maxfield survive, or will they both miss out on building something for their future?
Purchase Links:
Amazon | Baker Bookhouse | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook.com
Giveaway
For your chance to win a print copy, comment with what book YOU read for this month. Use the Rafflecopter below for extra entries and to mark that you left a comment. Entries end on the 7th of each month at midnight EST, and the winner will be drawn sometime that week and notified by email. The winner will be announced on the Rafflecopter widget.
*Open to all residents of the contiguous USA, legally able to enter, and an e-book format or Amazon Gift Card will be awarded to those outside that range who are legally able to enter.
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Recommendations for May:
- The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley by Courtney Walsh
- The Swindler’s Daughter by Stephania McGee
- Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish by Bethany Turner
- The Hart of Christmas by Latisha Sexton
- Playing the Part, Jen Turano
- Worthy Pursuit, Karen Witemeyer
- Husband Auditions or Hero Debut by Angela Ruth Strong
- Loyally, Luke by Pepper Basham
What did you read for the challenge? What were your thoughts on it? Would you recommend it?
by Crystal Caudill | Apr 23, 2024 | Author Interviews
I had the blessing of Janyre Tromp being my editor for my Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age series. Through that partnership, she became a dear friend. Her debut novel Shadows in the Mind’s Eye blew me away and I am chomping at the bit to read this newest release, Darkness Calls the Tiger, when it releases in just a few short weeks. If you preorder her book from the Faith and Life Bookstore, you’ll receive 25% off, as well as bookmarks and bookplates. If you preorder from Baker Book House, you will receive 20% off, as well as bookmarks and bookplates.
Janyre is also graciously giving away one signed print copy of her new release to one U.S. resident. You can enter by visiting the Rafflecopter at the end of this post.
Now let me introduce you to this stunning author, amazing editor, and wonderful friend.
Janyre Tromp is an award-winning and best-selling writer and editor with a deep love for history. If she isn’t editing or reading, most of the time you’ll find her writing mid-twentieth century historical novels with a healthy dose of deliciously creepy suspense. But she’s also a mom, wife, award-winning editor, and wrangler of all things, who hunts for beauty even when it isn’t pretty. Her books include Darkness Calls the Tiger, Shadows in the Mind’s Eye, O Little Town, and Lovely Life.
You can connect with her through: Website (Download a free novella while there) | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter/X | BookBub | GoodReads
Now for the fun stuff! I have to admit I am partial to my Fast Five. 🙂 So settle in as I hit Janyre with rapid-fire.
CC: Pineapple pizza or candy corn?
JT: Candy corn. There is no reason to put fruit on a pizza
CC: Test the waters or dive in the deep end?
JT: Dive in. I can swim like a fish 🙂
CC: Guacamole or salsa?
JT: Guacamole all the way. On chips, on rice, on chicken.
CC: Silly hats or silly socks?
JT: Bring on ALL the silly in all the places. I’m currently wearing an Edgar Allen Poe pop art T-shirt.
CC: Passwords or secret handshakes?
JT: Since I write suspense, let’s go complicated with password coded in a secret handshake. We’ll use Morse code tapped on the hand. And a random note, one of the missionary families I studied for Darkness Calls the Tiger is related to the guy who invented Morse code.
That is so cool! And I love the idea behind your complicated handshake password. LOL
What book has most impacted you?
JT: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by Lewis was one of the first novels I ever read on my own. I love the imagination, the layers, the themes, and I’m pretty sure there’s a lot of Lucy in me.
CC: That was actually one of my favorite books to do a unit on with my fifth graders when I was a teacher.
What is one book you think everyone should read (aside from the Bible)?
JT: The Body Keeps the Score Bessel van Der Kolk, M.D. Even if you never experienced Trauma, chances are someone close to you has. This book shows the science behind how trauma literally changes our bodies and our minds and gives us the beginning tools to reclaim our lives.
And then, if you have trauma (big T or little t), follow that up with Try Softer by Aundi Kolber, which will give you hands on tools to do something real to help yourself. My copy is dog-eared beyond recognition.
CC: I can vouch for Try Softer. That book really, truly has impacted my life in ways I cannot fully express.
When did you first realize that you wanted to be a writer?
JT: I think I’m a little unusual. I didn’t get the itch to start writing until I was in my late 20s. I was always a storyteller and I loved reading. I wrote short pieces and marketing copy and just somehow never thought I could be an author.
I worked for a publisher in the marketing department and did work here and there for the editorial department. The managing editor is the first person who told me I should try my hand at writing a whole book.
And I did. Then fell in love with it.
CC: I love how story has always been a part of your life and that the push of colleague provided us with a glimpse into your wonderful gift.
What is your writing Kryptonite?
JT: All my stories have romance elements. I, in fact, won the Carol for a romance story. But romance is so incredibly hard for me to write. I often wireframe them and save them for last so that I’m not distracted by wanting to write the intrigue or suspense.
CC: LOL. We are definitely alike on that!
How have you seen God work through your writing journey?
JT: Patience is not one of my strengths.
I tend to have very good reasons for why I want something and when I want it. But sometimes it’s good for me to wait.
I finished writing Darkness Calls the Tiger seven years ago . . . and all the agents and editors raved about how well it was written, but told me they couldn’t sell the concept of a WWII book in a country no one knew anything about.
And so I set it aside. And about a year later . . . about the time the book would have released if I’d found a publisher, my daughter ended up in the hospital fighting for her life . . . and then a few months later the CRUDE hit the world.
If I’d gotten a contract originally, the timing would have been horrific. Not only that, but because I was determined to keep moving, I kept learning and moving and watching. In that way, I released three stories in the meantime and learned techniques that made the book even better.
AND the market has changed so that there’s more interest in WWII Asian stories.
SO . . . if there’s something out there that you’re stretching for and it is just out of reach, don’t give up. Maybe pull back, but don’t be passive. Work on something else, but keep your eyes open. And know that I see you.
CC: What a powerful story in God’s providence and timing and your obedience. I cannot wait to read this story.
Now I’m excited to talk about Darkness Calls the Tiger.
“Evocative and transportive, filled with nuance and spiked with the violence of war, Darkness Calls the Tiger is a story of redemption in the midst of hopelessness.” –Tosca Lee, New York Times best-selling author
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Imperial Japan devours the southern portion of Burma, intent on taking over mainland Asia. Unaware of the coming darkness, Kailyn Moran drifts in her role as the only daughter of a widowed missionary. As whispers of war snake through the Kachin mountains, Kai’s father is convinced God will protect the mission. He entrusts the village to her and the kind yet inexperienced new missionary, Ryan McDonough, while he makes routine visits to neighboring villages.
War descends like a tempest upon the mountain peaks, and an unbreakable bond forms between Kailyn and Ryan as they unite to provide solace to both villagers and the flood of refugees. Despite their tireless efforts, a brutal enemy shatters almost everything they love, pushing Kailyn to embark on a path of unrestrained vengeance.
Afraid he’s losing the woman he loves, Ryan fights to protect Kai from the deadly consequences of her choices. But in the face of destruction, can he convince her of the power and freedom of forgiveness?
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CC: Where did you get the idea for Darkness Calls the Tiger?
JT: I was looking for an unusual WWII story to tell. My mom told me that a friend of a friend’s parents were in India and did something with the Allies during WWII. I scoffed a little because I thought India was far from the fighting during WWII and then quickly realized Mom was right.
So I did what any self-respecting history nerd does—I researched. And y’all, there are SO MANY stories from the China-Burma-India theater.
But then I stumbled on the story of Father James Stuart, who literally stepped into the dirt path and convinced the Japanese soldiers to go away and not destroy a village. And then the Morse family whose young teenage sons hiked the very dangerous Himalayan mountains to save downed Allied airmen. They were all from the same basic area of Burma. That gave me the beginning part of the story.
From there I read the biography of an American soldier attached to the OSS Detachment 101 (these teams were the genesis of the US special forces tactics) and I knew I had my middle and end of the story.
CC: Seriously, the more I learn about this story, the more anxious I get to read it. I love little-known history stories. I’m not much of a WWII reader, but your stories are so unique that I can’t help but be drawn in.
What was some of your favorite research you discovered while preparing for this story?
JT: The coolest part of my research was stumbling on the main metaphor for the book. That way cool tiger on the cover? It comes from real mountain legends.
Some backstory first: The Hukwang Valley (where Darkness Calls the Tiger takes place in Northern Burma) is, in modern times, home to the largest tiger sanctuary in the world.
Because tigers are so much part of their culture, all the people groups in the area have legends about tiger-people. There’s different versions—some saying people become actual tigers and some saying people become tremendous, tiger-like warriors (kind of like berserkers).
So in the story, the traveling storyteller is a bit spiteful toward the missionaries and basically curses Kailyn Moran when she is a girl and tells this horrible tale of the world falling to pieces and Kai becoming this vengeful, angry tiger-person who burns to ash and dies alone.
It’s the perfect metaphor for a story about forgiveness, and that cover image is spot on for where Kai is in the middle of the book.
CC: That is so cool. I can imagine how riveting and hard it was to pull away from the research to actually write the story.
How did this story affect you as you wrote it? Did God teach you anything through the writing?
JT: This story is ultimately about the choice we all have when faced with hard things. We can try to take revenge or we can forgive. Despite the fact that Kailyn Moran has lived in the mountains for all twenty of her years, she’s an American and has always felt like an outsider.
Just as she’s beginning to find her way, the Japanese destroy her village and she has a choice to make. Much like we all have choices to make. When a doctor misses a diagnoses, when a coach bullies our kid, when our boss undermines us . . . we have a choice on how we react.
And it’s simple—not easy, but simple—We can trust, forgive, and find freedom, or we can burn to ash in our own quest for revenge. It’s crazy how often my characters say something that I need to hear. And let me tell you, Kailyn and Ryan preached a sermon to me through the whole book.
CC: I know you’ve walked a lot of those roads, just as I have. And man. You are right. It’s simple, but not easy. What a powerful message and reminder for us all.
What do you hope readers will take away from your story?
JT: Hope.
My books are heart-shattering books. But they are also always hope-filled.
Because I know the power of story to help us not just learn but also experience truth, I explore hard things because life is hard. BUT I also know that God is good. And if we can find our way through the darkness in the safe space of story, it makes us a map for how to find the light in real life too.
CC: I love how powerful fiction is. What a blessing and beacon of hope that God uses to reach so many who otherwise would not pick up their Bibles. It’s time to wrap up our interview with a fun question.
What animal is most like you?
JT: An otter. I’m a water rat. I LOVE being in, on, and around the water. I’m also driven to do what needs doing, but you better believe that all that work is done with a side of goof ball.
CC: Otters are so cool and fun to watch! Great choice.
Readers, I hope you’ll check out Darkness Calls the Tiger and then leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, and/or BookBub. You wouldn’t believe how important that is to an author.
Giveaway Info
Janyre is graciously providing one U.S. resident, 18 years and older, with a signed copy of Darkness Calls the Tiger. Use the Rafflecopter below to enter. Entries open until 11:59 p.m. EST on April 30.
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Reader, what do you know of the Asian front during WWII? What things interest you about this story?
