“Rain, you have to decide what kind of person you’re going to be. I have to know.”
“What are you saying, Jimmy?” Confused I looked at him.
“I’m saying that you’re racing towards a crossroads, and I want to know what path you’re planning to take.”
“Now is not the time for this conversation, Jimmy. We’re chasing a suspect!”
“Now is exactly the time, Rain. I need to know, right now because anything you do out of anger or grief will directly affect me, too!” Jimmy said loudly.
Dread bubbled up into my chest. I tried to answer calmly but I felt control slipping. My throat ached with the words I wanted to shout at him. “Don’t make me do this, Jimmy. Not now.”
“Yes, now, Rain.”
“What do you want me to say?” I shouted. “What do you want to hear?”
“I want to hear that you won’t put your anger ahead of our future. I want to hear that you can walk away from the possibility of revenge.”
“Why…why would I do that?” I looked at Jimmy with wonder.
“Because you’ll destroy us in the process, Rain.” Jimmy reached out and caught the hem of my sweater in his fingers. He looked worried.
“Are you asking me to choose between nailing Parker and loving you?” Anger and confusion whipped through me like a cold wind.
“No. I’m asking you to choose between the hatred boiling in your veins and the grace hanging over your head.”
Raquel Byrnes lives in Southern, California with her husband of sixteen years and their six children. She considers inspirational fiction a wonderful way to minister to others. She writes romantic suspense with an edge-your-seat pace. Her first book the Shades of Hope Series, Purple Knot, released on June 3rd from White Rose Publishing. You can visit her at her website: www.raquelbyrnes.com and her writing blog,Edge of Your Seat Romance.
A Day in the Life of…Raquel Byrnes
As a homeschool mom of six, my day starts off pretty mellow. The kids wake up at their own times, eat and start on their work. It’s not until the mid-morning hour when all of them are bustling around that the fun really begins. I sit at my laptop in the classroom and try to do research for my book while simultaneously mixing icing ‘glue’ for our Great Wall of China replica made out of sugar cubes.
Once I have that going, I get the crock pot going with tonight’s meal. Usually some hearty chicken stew…it’s easy and yummy. Meanwhile the babies have started to feed the water turtle their playdoh, so I fish that out with the pen I was using to jot down some personality quirk ideas for a character in my new work in progress.
I get the babies busy on some coloring, give my high schooler a lecture on Skyping while doing math, and settle down to check my email and Twitter...for two minutes. Because my Jr. Higher needs me to help him look up the average rainfall for Papua New Guinea for his report. I print out his information, pop on over to my blog, read and answer comments, and start on a new post, but…
I answer a call from my mother who wonders why I never bring her grandkids over anymore (we were there last week) and I flip through the calendar and find a time between my critique group meeting and date night with hubby. I write myself a note on the paper with my character quirks and put it on the fridge as a reminder.
School time over, I put the babies to their nap and sit down to read the last chapter I wrote so I can get ‘in the groove’ of writing. Until my third grader reminds me that we are supposed to be planting the potato he’s been growing with toothpicks and a glass…my GOOD glass? Oh well we get it into the ground and I wash off, pop the bread in the oven and sit down to type…something. Where was I again?
Hubby comes home, dinner and homework are tackled, we put the kids down and I have some coffee on the couch with my sweetheart. He goes off to grade papers and I settle down at my laptop. Nine-thirty and ready to write. Now if I could only find my notes on character quirks…
All craziness aside, the Lord has blessed me with the passion to write inspirational romance. Purple Knot is my debut novel, and I am so thankful, Dora, for the opportunity to chat about my family and passion for writing. 
