Beach Dreams
(Available July 2008)

~ ~ ~

By the time I finished Too Good to Be True, I had developed a strong fondness for Jeremy and a sense of intrigue about Tiffany. I didn't want to leave them hanging, "unfinished" in the fictional world. I was pleased to discover many readers felt the same way. So I began a novel about them, set in Northern Virginia, as were The Guy I'm Not Dating and Too Good to Be True. Shortly thereafter, Harvest House asked me to set the novel in San Diego, so they could release it as the third book in the San-Diego-based Beach House series. The change in setting put an entirely new twist on Jeremy and Tiffany's story, and I'm thrilled with the results! I hope readers will be, too.

Tiffany LeBoeuf seriously needs to get away. She has just lost her mother to cancer, and she returns home to find herself fired for devoting the past three months to her mother's care. Grieving and stressed, Tiffany seeks rest for her body and soul at a cozy beach house in San Diego.

A scheduling mix-up causes a double booking, and Tiffany ends up sharing the house with a woman named Eve. When Eve's boyfriend, Jeremy Beckett, arrives to surprise Eve, he surprises Tiffany as well. Jeremy and Tiffany share a brief history, and it's not a pretty one. They also share a mutual attraction, and it's not a comfortable one.

Jeremy settles in at the beach house next door, intent on making his love life right. What happens after that surprises them all.

Order this book at Amazon.com

Too Good to Be True
(Now Available)

~ ~ ~

I actually got the idea for Ren's story before writing Kara's. I wanted Ren to be funny but somewhat vulnerable emotionally. I knew her story would have much to do with our timing versus God's. I had specific romantic encounters in mind for her and Tru. The more serious facets of the story—surviving divorce, infertility, trying to adopt, and honoring one's humorously manipulative parents—just started floating around in my head while I folded laundry, applied my makeup, drove to the grocery store. As often happens, the random ideas settled into place once I sat down at the computer and got to work. That "settling" is one of God's many blessings during the writing process—great fun!

Your classic romantic heroine swoons after meeting Prince Charming in, say, an enchanted forest. But Rennie Young would never have met the gallant Truman Sayers if she hadn't fainted immediately beforehand—in the boys' sportswear department of her local Wal-Mart.

Ren, a 20-something elementary schoolteacher, has reluctantly accepted that her husband—who divorced her over a year ago—is not coming back. Tru Sayers, a handsome young labor-and-delivery nurse, seems like a gift from God. Ren's friends and Tru's siblings are supportive and excited about the match. But there are . . . complications.

Ren's control-freak mother is desperate to match her daughter up with "more suitable" men. Tru's mother wants Tru to remain a bachelor—and at her beck and call—forever. Is it possible to honor your parents while on the verge of killing them?

Despite conflicts, embarrassments, and a pity binge or two, Ren learns how to lean on the Lord and His loving will for her. Just when Ren thinks her happiness is slipping away, God shows her that no miracle is too good to be true.

Order this book at Amazon.com

Purchase this at Signed by the Author

The Guy I'm Not Dating
( Now Available )

Second place
2007 RWA/FHL
Inspirational Readers' Choice Awards

~ ~ ~

I got the idea for Kara's story while attending a women's Bible conference with my daughter. She introduced me to a young woman who had been living with her boyfriend until he found the Lord and felt convicted to end their relationship. In time, the Lord won her heart as well. The two of them became friends for quite a long time before they decided to begin a pure "courtship," with marriage a strong possibility for their future. I was so impressed by the way they turned their relationship around. Eventually the Lord put the story of Kara and Gabe on my heart. I liked the potential for conflict, humor, and romance in their less-than-orthodox modern love story.

Kara Richardson has finally suffered one breakup too many. She's decided to go the no-dating route to romance, although she's not quite sure how that works.

She couldn't have picked a worse time to meet Gabe Paolino. Gorgeous men hardly faze Kara. A personal trainer, she works with hunks every day. But Gabe, the handsome young deli owner in town, proves way too available and way too challenging for Kara's vow of friendship. How will she adhere to her new lifestyle without scaring Gabe away?

Enter matchmaking friends, a strange elderly aunt, three demanding teens, and one hard-to-take vixen with eyes for Gabe. Add an overcrowded road trip and plenty of God's blessings, and Kara may discover that the guy she's not dating is the best boyfriend she's ever had.

Order this book at Amazon.com

Purchase this at Signed by the Author