I can’t believe I wrote a romance novel.
Yet here I am, about to launch After All the Lost Years on October 27 on Amazon.
I used to pass a Harlequin rack in a bookstore with literary disdain. If I ever did peek at one, I would cringe at the sappy writing. If I saw a collection of them in someone’s spare room, I would think, ‘Addiction!’
So why is my latest novel a romance? It started with learning that most Christian novels are romances. I wondered, “What’s going on here?” I read a sampling and was, for the most part, disappointed.
But isn’t it idolatry to make a person your life’s focus instead of God? Everything I’ve observed and experienced has taught me that human relationships are far healthier and happier when each person is making God a priority. To make a loved one the most important thing in life is to place a weight on that relationship that’s too heavy for it to bear. Something’s going to break.
So I decided to write a love story about two people who had already been burned by life and already had reasons to be gun-shy of romance, and show how God helped them to a new start, to a real love that could withstand real life.
The female protagonist, Lauren Burnett, thinks she has life figured out until her mother’s death, her brother’s move, and a tree through the roof leave her lonely, burned-out, and questioning her choices. A seasoned school counselor who’s always been busy, caring, and responsible, she’s daunted to find herself alone and grieving in a neglected old house. Lauren’s also surprised by how drawn she is to the contractor she hires. Why now, after being complacently single for years?
Jay Richardson is getting his life back together after three years of recovering from alcohol addiction. He’s kept his focus on God, his grown and teenage kids, and his construction business – until he meets Lauren. Is she an attractive distraction, or could this be something different?
Both are drawn to the goodness and beauty they see in one another; both are terrified of more loss – not to mention the risk of relapse, the troubled daughter, and the unstable ex-wife with the scary jealous husband…
While the book tackles tough issues like addiction codependency and mental illness, it’s also warm-hearted and humorous, highlighting God’s healing power and the strength of Christian community. Like two of my previous books, it’s set in the universe of Pleasant Hill, a diverse Cincinnati neighborhood.
After All the Lost Years will launch on Amazon October 27, 2026.
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