About the book: 

Paint the Desert, Book 2 in my Golden State Trilogy~

When violence visits an ordinary college campus one day in San Rafael, California, it threatens to tear apart a community, and a family, in its aftermath.

Newlyweds Jon and Meg Paulson are honeymooning in Hawaii when they receive the news that her son Richard was seriously injured in a seemingly random school shooting. When they return home, they find him in a deep coma, with the doctors uncertain if he will recover. Meg struggles to find answers, and to understand why God allowed this to happen.

With the investigation into the shooter’s motives ongoing, Meg seeks support from a local grief group, where she finds that helping another grief-stricken mother helps speed her own journey from despair to hope. But her distress is creating strain in her brand-new marriage. She also finds herself at odds with her daughter when Linzee’s gun-control activism pits her against her own mother.

Meanwhile, Linzee fears that the new man in her life will find out the one thing from her past she never wants him to know. Can she give her fear over to God and open her heart to love?

 

About the author: 

Since I was a small child, I’ve loved stories, both reading and writing them. One of my earliest stories got high accolades from my third grade teacher. It was about a little Manx kitten whose mother rejected her because she didn’t have a tail. Until an older, wiser cat helped the mother understand the importance of accepting her children the way God made them.

 

I’ve always believed stories that entertain and inspire are a great way to teach Scriptural truths. The characters in my stories come up against situations that aren’t always pretty, just like real life. But God can take the messiest of stories and turn it into a happy ending. My “specialty” is Hot Topic Fiction, which tackles some of the controversial current events that real people in the real world face with ever-increasing frequency. Issues without pat or easy answers.

 

Over the years, I cranked out many a story, started and stopped several more. The most memorable one I started as a teenager, and I’ve promised myself and my sons I’m going to finish it someday. I called it “Mitch and the Martians.” A group of Martian buddies visit Earth, just happen to land on the State Capitol building in Salem, Oregon (my home at the time), saw the gold-plated statue of a pioneer on the dome, and assumed all Earthlings looked like that. So they turned themselves into gold men and walked the streets of Salem. Strange adventures ensue!

I put writing on the back burner once I began raising my sons as a single mom. That was the hardest job I’ve ever done, but eventually I felt a nudge from the Lord to encourage other women who are facing the same struggles I did. My blog section called “Crumpets and Tea” is targeted especially for single mothers, and includes personal anecdotes and what I learned from them, as well as Bible verses and how the Lord used them to encourage me during my darkest days.

 

Then five years ago, I began writing the first novel I’d ever finished, and now have four self-published Kindle books on Amazon. I’m currently working on Book 3 in my Seattle Trilogy, Emerald Secrets.

 

I’m excited that the Lord reawakened my passion for writing, and am looking forward to seeing what He does through me!

 

Where to find the book: Amazon