Delilah is the fourth in Fay Lamb’s series The Ties That Bind. I’ve followed these memorable characters every step of the way and am excited to share an article in which Delilah tells us about herself and why she’s different from the heroines in the rest of the series.
Delilah, the fourth book in Fay Lamb’s The Ties that Bind Series releases this month. Fay describes the book as the one that wasn’t meant to be, but she’s very glad that Delilah was able to tell her story because as Fay says, “She surprised me with where she came from, and I’m sure that all my readers who wanted Dee’s story to be told will be pleasantly surprised to learn that Judge Delilah James is not all that they thought she was. She’s much more.”
Delilah brings this delightful series about four women and the four men who definitely did not see them coming to a fun, yet tear-filled close as readers will discover just how tightly the ties are that bind the characters together.
In an exclusive interview with Fay, who has been on this writing journey with me, she explained why Delilah is so special to her, and she shares it here with us today:
When Delilah came on the scene as the ruthless antagonist for Charisse in the first book of the series, a reader wrote to me before finishing the story and said, “I hope Delilah gets hers.” I replied that she definitely did, but it would not be in the way that she thought.” Since the release of Charisse, I heard from many readers who fell in love with Delilah, this delightfully fiendish character who changed in some ways from story to story but never truly lost her brash personality that made her who she is.
I never meant to give Dee her own story, but like many of the characters I write, I find that those that I consider truly secondary are the ones that seem to capture the imagination of the readers. I have a character in a little-known book that I wrote in 1999 that my readers still ask me about today, and characters in a writing tutorial that I used as examples have an adoring audience. The same was true of Delilah. When I sent the synopses in for Charisse, Libby, and Hope, the stories which at that time, encompassed the series, the publisher indicated I could have the contract on one condition: if Delilah got a story of her own. Who was I to argue?
As I completed the other two novels in the series and five other novels in different series for the same publisher, I worked on Delilah in my mind. She wouldn’t let me alone, and she never ceased to amaze me with her story. When she told me her background, I laughed aloud. When she learned her connection to one of the other gals in the series, I cried and I rejoiced with her. Delilah truly had me on a roller coaster ride of emotions, and I couldn’t wait to sit down and tell her unique tale set against the backdrop of Central Florida’s homelessness and our wonderful natural resources. It is truly my hope that you’ll come along for the ride.
Fay Lamb is the only daughter of a rebel genius father and a hard-working, tow-the-line mom. She is not only a fifth-generation Floridian, she has lived her life in Titusville, where her grandmother was born in 1899.
Since an early age, storytelling has been Fay’s greatest desire. She seeks to create memorable characters that touch her readers’ hearts. She says of her writing, “If I can’t laugh or cry at the words written on the pages of my manuscript, the story is not ready for the reader.” Fay writes in various genres, including romance, romantic suspense, and contemporary fiction.
Calling a truce with the man you love? What’s the fun in that?
Newly elected judge, John M. Turner, tries his best to call an end to his war with former Circuit Judge Delilah James, the woman he bested in the election by only a narrow margin. Delilah refuses to accept his flag of surrender. Worse yet, a vengeful assistant state attorney, the other candidate whose entry in the race actually handed the win to John, is seeking to have them both removed from the Florida Bar, and the game Delilah has forced upon him has given their enemy ammunition for his disbarment.
Delilah likes the give and take she shares with John. What fun is there in surrender? She is trying to make amends, though, but she makes a mess of every attempt. Added to her foibles, life has become complicated: John’s teenager sister hates her, Libby Carter, has been arrested for battery on a police officer and has embroiled Delilah in the plight of the homeless. Her past has returned to haunt her, and if that’s not enough, she’s deep into the one experience in life she never thought would happen to her. She’s fallen deeply in love.