When I spoke to Lori DeJong last year, her True Calling series captured my interest right away. I mean, it isn't often you read stories where people truly have to choose what the Lord wants or what they want even if it seems as though choosing God is deciding against self. But Lori is BACK and she has another story--this time of two people in love with polar opposite paths. Listen in to see how that goes!

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One of my favorite aspects of Love's True Calling was the center where students could gather in a safe place. Well, that's back in this book but with new characters to focus on. EEEP!

Learn how Lori wrote this series, when we might see the next, and more!

If you want to listen to Lori's first interview where we chatted about Love's True Calling, you can find that HERE.

Love's True Home by Lori DeJong

Allyson Kincaid needs roots. Born and raised on the foreign mission field, all she wants is home and hearth on American soil. Finally past the break-up with the man she’d thought was the love of her life, she’s ready to put herself back out there. Too bad the first guy who’s made her pulse skip in nearly two years dreams of a life spent in foreign missions. She’s been there, done that, and, although she supports him in his calling, knows his choice means she’ll be laying even more broken dreams, and a newly shattered heart, at the feet of Jesus.

When Zane Carpenter relocates to Arlington, Texas, his seventh move in thirteen years, his only thought is to meet his obligation with Becker Ministries in a few months, then take a foreign mission assignment, his dream for the past several years. But working so closely with Ally in student ministry has him feeling things he’s never experienced. He’s ready for a future with her, until he accepts an opportunity to work on foreign soil and Ally stays behind. He knows God put him there for a reason, although his heart still longs for the girl back home.

You can learn more about Lori (and join her newsletter!) on her WEBSITE.

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Have you ever noticed that some authors do this annoying thing where they take what you thought was your favorite book and then tell you about another book coming and boom! You're all out of sorts because that one's totally going to be a favorite? Well, now you know how I feel about Between the Sound and Sea. Listen in to see what book is the current fave and what probably will be.

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Oh, boy! I don't think I've ever met anyone who didn't love a good lighthouse story, and notes from a log book tucked into the stone walls of a lighthouse? Sign me up, please!

Amanda shares her stories of going to the Outer Banks and chatting with a man who runs an antique store out of his house. I've GOT to see that place!

Don't miss out on the GoodReads giveaway going on through August... something.

Between the Sound and Sea by Amanda Cox

Every family has its secrets. Josephina Harris wouldn't mind if her family still had a few of their own after a lawsuit tarnishes their name. When an opportunity opens to become a temporary keeper of a decommissioned lighthouse on a North Carolina island, she jumps at the chance to escape her small town to oversee its restoration.

As the work begins, "Joey" discovers strange notes tucked deep in the crevices of the old stone walls--pages torn from a lighthouse keeper's log signed by someone named Mae who recounts harrowing rescues at sea. Fascinated by a woman lighthouse keeper, Joey digs into the past only to discover there's never been a record of a lighthouse keeper by that name.

When things start to go amiss on the island, locals are convinced that it is the ghost of the lighthouse keeper and his daughter who were lost at sea during World War II. As Joey sifts through decades of rumors and legends and puts together the pieces of the past, what emerges is a love story--one that's not over yet.

Multiple Christy Award winner Amanda Cox is your guide upon the raging seas of young love, heartbreaking loss, and learning to risk it all for a chance at happiness in this timeless novel.

Get Between the Sound and Sea for 40% off with free shipping from Bakerbookhouse.com through August 5, 2024

Learn more about Amanda Cox on her WEBSITE. Follow her on BookBub and GoodReads.

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The Cape Cod Creamery series has been one of my favorites by Suzanne Woods Fisher, and can I just say I was disappointed when I realized I hadn't ordered Love on a Whim before chatting with Suzanne. Listen in to see what's in this book!

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Oh, and can I just say that I was 100% wrong? Yeppers. 100%. Bakerbookhouse.com says I absolutely did order it. Finally found it. Guess where? Yeah! It was with the other two (already devoured) books. I put the thing away. Who does that?

But seriously, I knew I'd love this book before I read the synopsis, but that synopsis grabbed me in a stranglehold and wouldn't let go. Come on! A woman gets married "on a whim" to a guy she just met and then runs away? To Cape Cod?

Sign me up and take my money, please!

Love on a Whim by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Brynn Haywood's impulsive marriage to a man she'd known less than 24 hours leaves her with deep regret. She flees to Cape Cod, finding refuge with her loyal friend, Dawn Dixon. As Brynn grapples with her emotions, Dawn acts swiftly, eager to help secure a lawyer for her through her mother Marnie's good friend, Lincoln Hayes. However, Lincoln's preoccupation with his daughter's lavish wedding brings unexpected challenges.

The arrival of Lincoln's estranged son, Bear Hayes, stirs the waters further. Alarmed by his father's extravagant generosity toward the Dixon family, Bear ignites friction between Marnie and Lincoln. As the wedding day arrives, Lincoln vanishes--and an unwelcome guest makes a surprise appearance.

Psst... you can still get the book for 30% off with free shipping from BakerBookHouse.com (sorry... website is under maintenance as I type this, so I can't grab you a link).

You can learn more about Suzanne from her WEBSITE. Also, follow her on BookBub and GoodReads.

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The Secrets of Sweetwater Crossing comes to a close with Amanda Cabot's upcoming release of Into the Starlight. Listen in to learn more about the series and about the mystery that has kept us all curious as we read through this series!

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This whole series has fascinated me since the first time Amanda and I chatted about it. I was certain that book two, After the Shadows would be my favorite, but... I don't know. Now that I hear more from Amanda about this book, I'm not so sure.

Add to that learning that there will be a Christmas novella available for preorder soon (don't forget to sign up for her newsletter so you can find out when it goes live!), and well... come on! EEEP!

Into the Starlight by Amanda Cabot

After more than a year in Europe, Joanna Vaughn returns to Sweetwater Crossing, her dreams of becoming a concert pianist shattered. As if that weren't enough, her husband, whom she married after a whirlwind courtship, has died. The only thing sustaining her on the journey back to Texas was the thought of her childhood home. But to Joanna's dismay, she's changed so much that the place she once loved no longer feels like home.

After his fiancée married his partner and both blamed him for a patient's death, Dr. Burke Finley believes it's time for a change. A quick trip with his almost-aunt Della Samuels to Sweetwater Crossing turns into an extended stay to discover what happened to his uncle and her would-be husband. But the beautiful and musical Joanna makes it more than bearable.

As the two join forces to help Della, there is no denying the attraction felt on both sides. But ghosts from the past are coming to call--and threatening to destroy any chance at happily-ever-after.

Get swept away by this emotional tale of family, friendship, and the kind of love that overcomes every obstacle.

Into the Starlight is 40% off with FREE US shipping from BakerBookHouse.com through July 15th!

Learn more about Amanda on her WEBSITE and follow her on GoodReads and BookBub.

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Everyone knows I LOVE a good play on words, and when I listened to the audio sample of The Gardins of Edin, I was so excited that it really was a perfect one. But that's nothing to the story that unfolds in this book. Listen in to discover why Rosey Lee wrote this book.

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What could be cooler than four women of the Bible inspiring characters in a contemporary novel--four women who weren't ALL contemporaries of each other! You have Ruth and Naomi "types" and... Mary and Martha "types. Whoa.

A huge, multi-million-dollar business and a matriarch and a family who doesn't accept a daughter-in-law. Wow. It sounds amazing, and I can't wait to read it. My copy is here (Thank you, Rosey Lee!) and my audiobook is on my phone.

The Gardins of Edin by Rosey Lee

When the bonds in their family begin to fray, four Black women fight to preserve their legacy, heal their wounds, and move forward together in this heartwarming contemporary debut novel with loose parallels to beloved women from the Bible.

The four women of the Gardin family live side-by-side in Edin, Georgia, but residing in tight proximity doesn’t mean everything is picture-perfect. Ruth runs the family’s multimillion-dollar peanut business, a legacy of the Gardins’ formerly enslaved ancestors. But tensions have intensified since the death of her husband, Beau, and she feels like an outsider in the very place she wishes to belong.

Sisters Mary and Martha fuel the family tension. Martha’s unfounded mistrust of Ruth causes her to constantly seek ways to undermine Ruth’s decisions with the business, while Mary, trying to focus on her new restaurant that serves healthy comfort food, is dragged into the family fray by Martha.

For years, Naomi, the matriarch who raised the sisters after their parents’ death and supported Ruth in her grief, has played peacemaker. But as she decides to take a step back, hidden truths, life-and-death circumstances, and escalating clashes finally force the Gardin women to grapple with what it means to be a family.

A heartwarming Southern story of family and all its many complexities, The Gardins of Edin delivers a thoughtful portrayal of four women trying to hold on to their secrets. Women who just might—if they can only let go—find the peace they seek by holding on to one another.

Learn more about Rosey on her WEBSITE and follow her on GoodReads and BookBub.

Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:

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