New Release: BECK'S PEACE, a Christian Romance Book

Happy Book Birthday to Beck's Peace,

the second book in the Harmon Heritage series, 

where three siblings struggle to find healing and peace after their father's tragic death. 

Purchase Link ~ Available now
with Pelican Book Group

Burn survivor Savvy McCord doesn't blame her best friend for running away. She can't even look at her scars without wincing. When Beck's disappearing act spans years, she relinquishes dreams of love and marriage. Unable to face Savvy's expectations of happily-ever-after, Beck Harmon deserts her, far away from the rumors that he's just like his father. When the wanderer returns, dreams of forever blossom in Savvy's heart, but she worries he'll leave again. Can Beck convince Savvy that her true beauty comes from her inner strength and faith? Will his idea to help burn victims regain their self-confidence restore Savvy's trust in him? Will love be what the wanderer needs to find peace for his hurting soul?

Harmon Heritage, available with Pelican Book Group

Rori's Healing ~ available now

Beck's Peace ~ available now

Burk's Surrender ~ Coming September 18, 2015

Enjoy Christian books? Come by and meet Savvy McCord, heroine of BECK'S PEACE

Tell us your name and a little bit about yourself.

Hi! I’m Savvy McCord. My day job, if you could call it that, is firefighting, and I teach second graders at my church.

Tell us about where you live and why you choose to live there.

I live in the country just outside Harrison, North Carolina. Rori Harmon is my closest neighbor and my best friend since elementary school. I hung out at her house more than I lived in mine. My parents, well, we didn’t have the best relationship. Not since my sister died.

I almost moved away after Beck left, but I just knew that eventually, he would come back.

What is a quirk of your personality that most people wouldn’t know?

Most of the time, I wear pants and long sleeves to cover the scars on my arms and legs from the same gas explosion that killed my sister. Prevents the gawkers and rude questions. Mostly.

What obstacles did you have to overcome to reach your happily-ever-after?

You mean besides Beck actually coming home, right? LOL. Well, Beck surprised me by showing up at Rori’s wedding, and my date, Corbin, the local vet, wasn’t exactly thrilled. Corbin knew it was over then. But the biggest issue? Whether Beck was back home for good or just stopping through.

Tell us about your knight in shining armor. What makes him special?

When we were kids, he was always trying to make me feel better about my home life. He was always finding ways to make me laugh when I was down. But now? Can you believe I stumbled upon him at the hospital? I’d stopped by to visit Maria, a teenager we pulled out of a house fire. He was amazing. Kind and gentle, and trying to make her feel better about her scars. Did you know he was the one who brainstormed “Savvy Scars,” a support group for teen burn survivors? As if that weren’t enough, he fixed my house after a storm rolled through while I was working, surprised me with a picnic dinner at the fire station, and gifted me with Purrtygirl, a homeless kitten. And did I mention the man can kiss? Oy!

But none of that compares with his newfound faith and how he’s always whispering that I’m beautiful...

The first time you saw him, what did you think? Did you like him immediately, or did he have to grow on you?

Haha. That’s kind of a trick question. We grew up together, so a little of both, I guess. It just took him a few years and much life experience to get to the same point. But, that’s OK because now he’s home to stay.

 Coming JULY 24-Preorder here

Burn survivor Savvy McCord doesn't blame her best friend for running away. She can't even look at her scars without wincing. When Beck's disappearing act spans years, she relinquishes dreams of love and marriage. 

Unable to face Savvy's expectations of happily-ever-after, Beck Harmon deserts her, far away from the rumors that he's just like his father. When the wanderer returns, dreams of forever blossom in Savvy's heart, but she worries he'll leave again. 

Can Beck convince Savvy that her true beauty comes from her inner strength and faith? Will his idea to help burn victims regain their self-confidence restore Savvy's trust in him? Will love be what the wanderer needs to find peace for his hurting soul?

Crazy about Writing: Interview with Graham Decker #RorisHealing

“Graham Decker. Great to finally meet you.” I try hard not to blink at the strong odor, a mixture of cleanser, steel and rubber, as we shake hands, his grip firm and confident.

The man lapped a track at almost two hundred miles per hour. His grip should be firm, and with the number of wins and top five finishes he’d accumulated, he’d earned the right to be confident.

“Come in. Please.” With his trademark smile, Graham gestures for me to enter his office and sit. “Is this your first time visiting Graham Decker Racing?”

“Yes. What gave it away?”

He chuckles, the sound genuine and down-to-earth, as he settles way back in a leather chair. “Might’ve been the wrinkled nose. If you’d like, my assistant can give you a tour after we’re done.”

“That’d be great. So tell me a little about yourself, Graham. Besides the fact that you’re a highly competitive racecar driver. Everybody knows that.” I push the record button on my phone and set it on the desk.

“Let’s see. I just got married.” Graham’s face lights up and he leans forward abruptly. As if he couldn’t wait to ditch me and head home.

I couldn’t blame the guy. I’d seen pictures of his wife. “Rori, right?”

He nods.

“Wasn’t her father the—”

“Yes.” The warm welcome slips away. His jaw snaps closed tight as a jail cell.

Hmm. Interesting, but I better switch tracks. “So do you still live in Charlotte?”

“No. In Harrison at the Forever Family Animal Sanctuary. Rori’s like a llama whisperer. She works wonders with the animals that come to live with us.” Pride laces his tone. “Actually, that’s how we met.”

“Through your non-profit?”

“Yes. My sister does a fabulous job running the Foundation, but she was on bed rest because of complications with her pregnancy. She asked me to make a site visit since Rori had applied for a time-sensitive grant.”

“Not the typical way to pick up a woman.”

He smiles, wistful like, as if he remembers something special. “Rori’s anything but typical. And so was our meeting.”

“Care to elaborate?”

His mouth stretches to a grin. “Nah. She values her privacy and might not appreciate me sharing all the details. Let’s just say it involved mistaken identity and a llama delivery and leave it at that.”

He was going to leave me hanging with that juicy tidbit? I make a mental note to redirect later. “Ohhhkay. So how did you know Rori was the one? After all, you’ve been married before, right?”

“Yeah. That didn’t turn out so well, but it was my fault. God wasn’t at the center of that relationship. Unlike with Rori.” He scrubs a hand across his whiskered jaws, his expression lightening as if the sun just came out. “And Rori didn’t recognize me.”

Really? How was that possible? I have no words.

He steals a glance at the clock and drums a pencil against the desk.

I’m losing him. “So was it love at first sight?”

“Definitely on my part, but not so much hers. We had some issues to work through before she’d commit.”

“Like what?”

“For starters, I had to prove that I wasn’t going anywhere. That I could be there for her—” His cell phone buzzes, and he checks the number. “Excuse me.”

I can’t help but eavesdrop. I lean forward slightly, refusing to miss any opportunity for a scoop. Besides, I’m sitting close enough that I can almost hear her voice. At the very least, my recorder might be picking up their conversation.

“Jumbo did what?” He launches from the chair, banging my phone off the desk.

So much for that. I bend over, retrieve the recorder, and hit the off button. It didn’t take a doctorate degree to know that this interview was over.

“No problem, sweetheart. I’m just finishing up here. Be there soon. Love you.” He disconnects, mashes a cap on his head. “It’s been a pleasure, but—”

“I understand.” I do. Really. The guy’s practically still on his honeymoon. No wonder that fat grin is plastered across his face. Jealousy sprouts and curls up my spine like a weed. “Hey, does Rori have any unattached sisters?”

On his way to the exit, Graham angles over a shoulder. “Sorry. Just twin brothers, Beck and Burk.”

He dives into a sports car and cranks the engine, those high-performance tires squealing out of the parking lot. Nope. He doesn’t look the slightest bit sorry to be going home.

Rori's Healing

Coming June 5 with Pelican Book Group

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Available on JUNE 5
with Pelican Book Group

Still stinging from the publicity surrounding her father's death, social phobic Rori Harmon prefers the solitude of her animal sanctuary, accepting that marriage isn’t in her future. Racecar Driver Graham Decker refuses to be wrangled into a relationship by another money-hungry female. On a philanthropy mission, he arrives just in time to assist Rori with a llama birthing, but his appearance thrusts her into the media spotlight again. Has Graham found a woman who doesn't care how deep his wallet extends? Has Rori finally met a man who will stick around when times get tough? Is healing for a hurting heart finally within Rori's reach?

Crazy about Writing: What Inspired the Harmon Heritage series?

It was our granddaughter’s fifth grade graduation. Award recipients pranced across the stage to thunderous applause and hundreds of camera clicks. One particular girl accepted her award and then skipped down the steps, racing through the center aisle all the way to the back to hug her mama. When she finally rejoined her class, sniffles could be heard across the crowded auditorium.

Yeah, I was digging in my purse for a tissue. But my writer’s mind was already at work. Where was her daddy? Why wasn’t he there? How could he miss such a momentous event in his daughter’s life? Was it because of divorce? Could he not get off work? Perhaps he was in the military and currently deployed. The possibilities, the what if’s, continued rolling through my head long after the program was over.

Just a handful of days before this ceremony, we received shocking news that our son’s childhood friend committed suicide. Terribly upsetting because as a twenty something he was just beginning his journey, but also because our lives had been so entwined with his family’s for many of their elementary school years. This, just after learning that a neighbor of ten years committed suicide. An international athlete, a mighty giant devoted to his two kids, and newly divorced.

To honor a shy fifth grade girl and two precious children, who adored their daddy and had to be reeling over his death, the inspiration for my Harmon Heritage series was born. Three siblings whose celebrity father committed suicide leaving them hurting and angry, with more questions than answers, more pain than peace. Rori’s a social phobic, hiding behind a wall of fear, preferring the solitude of animals to the whispers and pointed fingers of blame over her father’s death. Beck abandons his family and the love of his life and wanders for a decade because he fears he carries the same genes as his father. Burk, the oldest and Beck’s twin, feels like he’s the glue that holds his family together and puts his personal and professional life on hold until Rori heals and Beck finds peace for his wandering soul.

Perhaps you’re hurting, the enormous waves of pain dragging you under until you lack the strength to claw your way back to the surface. Or the chains of sorrow shackle you to this moment, blinding you to the promise of a new day, a brighter tomorrow. God, with His knows-no-bounds and nothing-holds-Him-back love, can take those dark places, those huge gaping chasms of loss, and meld them into a beautiful tapestry of healing and peace, of hope and joy.

 Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. ~Psalm 30:5 NLT

Available June 5
with Pelican Book Group

Still stinging from the publicity surrounding her father's death, social phobic Rori Harmon prefers the solitude of her animal sanctuary, accepting that marriage isn’t in her future. Racecar Driver Graham Decker refuses to be wrangled into a relationship by another money-hungry female. On a philanthropy mission, he arrives just in time to assist Rori with a llama birthing, but his appearance thrusts her into the media spotlight again. Has Graham found a woman who doesn't care how deep his wallet extends? Has Rori finally met a man who will stick around when times get tough? Is healing for a hurting heart finally within Rori's reach?

The pain, the sorrow, the ache of empty arms and shattered dreams.

Luke was twenty-two. Mark was just seventeen. Matthew was in his thirties when he strung a noose around his neck.

All suicide victims, and all men who had crossed my path. The names have been changed to protect the privacy of their families.

Matthew lived across the street from us for ten years. Newly divorced, he hung himself, leaving behind two precious children, both under the age of ten. Mark was a member of our church.

But Luke…Luke was one of my son’s childhood friends, and although they hadn't connected since middle school, he was my son's age, and finishing his senior year of college.

Close friends admitted to being shocked and insisted they hadn’t seen this coming. He’d never shown signs of depression. He was well-liked, made good grades, and his whole glorious life stretched in front of him.

As a youngster, Luke’s parents poured their lives into their boys. I know because I was with them three nights a week for football practice and Saturday games, served alongside his mom in PTAs, saw them out and about town for various school and athletic events.

The pain, the sorrow, the ache of empty arms and shattered dreams.

What would make a father string a rope around his neck and kick a chair out from under him? What would make a teenager stick a gun in his mouth and press the trigger?

After more than a half a century of living, I can vouch that time, while it may not necessarily heal, lessens the pain. As a third-degree burn survivor, yes, the searing pain eventually subsides. And, yes, those intense wounds of betrayal took years to conquer and divorce is a long, lonely road, but now I’m married to my true soulmate.

Why am I sharing this?

To whisper in your ear that …. You’re not alone. The God who created the universe loves you with a forever love, something wide and deep and transcends time and understanding. He’s placed families in your life who love you, people in your path who care about you, and they will walk this road with you. Let them in. Let them help.

Maybe you’re standing on a precipice, one foot dangling in the air, life or death just a step away…and you take that step. What if there is a flash, a single moment of clarity, where you regret your decision? Where you wish your life back?

What if you could catch glimpses of your future? Perhaps you’d see your son or daughter all grown up, holding your grandbaby in their arms? Or you’re huddling over a beautiful wife who is gazing up at you with wonder and love in her eyes as she cradles a newborn to her chest. What if you could see yourself in a new job, enjoying it so much more than the one you lost? What if you could feel the sorrow in the loved ones you’ll leave behind...their lives tattered and torn, a huge gaping hole that only you could fill. Wondering what they could have done, what they could have said, what they could have been…

The pain, the sorrow, the ache of empty arms and shattered dreams.

God has the power to weave a beautiful tapestry out of fragile strands of pain and suffering and sorrow. God can take those dark places, those huge, gaping holes and fill them with hope. He can take the pain and suffering, meld them into something beautiful called joy.

I’ll remember the cute little boy with honey colored curls. The giant of a man, strong and powerful, who adored his kids. The tall, gangly teenager, not quite boy, not quite man, surrounded by a loving family.

But the families left behind…what will they remember?

The pain, the sorrow, the ache of empty arms and shattered dreams.

I pray that these three souls finally found the precious peace they sought and for the God of all creation to wrap His arms of comfort around the loved ones they left behind.

Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. ~Psalm 30:5 NLT