Until this morning, I hadn’t written a single word of fiction all week. Then last night happened. We were driving home from our daughter’s house in Kansas and stopped in Joplin for dinner. While traveling down Rangeline Road, I spotted a restaurant with a very familiar name: Taste of Italy. I kn

It is the house where Jedidiah Matthews survived his worst memories. In When Wounds Heal, tearing into its interior becomes part of his healing. By When Love Overcomes, the work has moved beyond demolition, and the house is slowly being rebuilt into something new. Jedidiah is trying to do the same

Creekside Park is one of those fictional locations that became more important each time my characters returned to it. The nearly 400-acre park sits across from the house that eventually becomes Maggie and Jedidiah’s home. Sycamore Creek runs through it, and this entrance includes grassy areas, flo

Ephesians 6:17 tells us to take the helmet of salvation. Salvation is at the very heart of the gospel, and Acts 2 gives us one of Scripture’s clearest pictures of people realizing their need for it. When they asked what they should do, Peter answered in Acts 2:38: repent and be baptized. The wor

He survived seventeen years of abuse. Freedom was only the beginning. Jedidiah has spent his entire childhood learning not to trust, not to depend on anyone, and certainly not to believe in a God who allowed him to suffer. When his parents die, the people around him offer him care, a home, and a

Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness 💚 Some of the most meaningful acts of kindness don’t look very impressive from the outside. It might be taking time to listen, offering encouragement, showing patience when someone is struggling, or helping with something that seems insignificant. We rarely know eve

This week I finally sent The Bouquet and The Garter to my editor. Monday was my deadline, and I expected to spend a little time on one last read-through before sending it on its way. Instead, I spent virtually the entire day finding little things I couldn’t believe I had missed and fixing every o

If you love stories where family connections stretch across generations, faith is tested, wounds take time to heal, and a small town becomes part of the story, the complete When God series may be for you. When It Began takes readers back to the early 1980s, where two brothers, two young women, and

Sneak Peek: The Bouquet and The Garter 💐 At Jedidiah and Maggie’s wedding, Scarlett Radford catches the bouquet. Adam Holder catches the garter. A little later, Adam notices the blonde holding Maggie’s bouquet across the room. His gaze lifted. Across the room, a young woman stood with Maggie’s

Donato’s has been part of Hillsburo Square for years, serving wood-fired pizza alongside freshly baked Italian bread, made-to-order salads, and traditional pasta dishes. Readers will first encounter it in The Bouquet and The Garter when Adam brings pizza to Scarlett for dinner. Later, Donato’s bec

Paul compares faith to a shield. A shield didn’t stop a battle from happening. It protected the soldier while he stood in the middle of it. Faith can work that way in our lives too. Having faith doesn’t mean we never feel afraid, discouraged, disappointed, or uncertain. It doesn’t mean every que

Longsuffering isn’t a word we use often today, but its meaning is something most of us understand. It is patience that endures. It’s choosing grace when someone tests ours. It’s continuing to love through difficult circumstances. It’s refusing to let frustration, resentment, or anger decide how w

That’s something my youngest daughter has asked many times. And if you’ve been following my social media lately, you may already know the answer: apparently, almost. 🎶 I’ve loved music for as long as I can remember, and it has naturally become part of my writing life. Most mornings, I sit down at

There are really two good answers. If you want to start with the full history of the family and the dream that shapes everything that comes later, begin with When It Began, Book 1. Set in the early 1980s, it follows Robert and Solomon Jackson as Robert pursues a dream of helping Hillsburo by rest

Are you a coffee lover? There’s something especially cozy about settling in with a good book and having your favorite drink nearby. Maybe it’s a strong cup of coffee first thing in the morning, something sweet and flavored in the afternoon, or an iced coffee no matter what the weather is doing.

One of my favorite things about creating Hillsburo is giving ordinary places and traditions a history. Darren’s Monster Burger has one. On an extremely cold January night, Daniel and Jordan discover Jedidiah living alone in his parents’ abandoned house. There is no electricity or heat. He has bee