Something Special for Valantine's Day!

Valentine's Day is coming up, and for those of us who have someone special in our life it's the perfect time to show our love with a little gift or card. In light of that, I wanted to put The Choices We Made On sale! I also had a special mug crafted with the coat of arms from the book and a quote! (The perfect thing for a hot cup of coffee or some tea) Don't miss out on these two offers! Sales will only last until Valentine's Day!

But for all of you readers, I wanted to share a few special things about this particular book.

The Idea

Well, first of all, The Choices We Made was never a book I planned on writing. I enjoy bullet journaling, and one of the pages in my journal is dedicated to all my random story ideas. (with color coded metallic pens because why not, 😄) But this story never made it into that journal! In fact... if I remember right, I had planned to start writing something else altogether.

Flipping through my scrapbook of published novels, I was able to find a few early conception ideas scribbled on scrap paper, (likely when I was supposed to be doing something else– possibly sleeping) One of them says something about a Prince and Princess and an arranged marriage. The other merely states: "Fireproof with Princess Bride humor thrown in. Maybe some cross over from Pride and Prejudice?"

So as you can see, just about zero plot. Now, I'm not a huge out-liner, but there are certain things I will have written down before I ever begin a story. Key plot points and heavily graphed characters are the two main things I always want on hand.

This time. I had none of it. All I knew was that I had caught a glimpse of the shadow of something that might be a super cheesy story... or perhaps, just a little bit more.

And there's another thing....

Romance?!

I was not a romance writer. I wasn't even a romance reader. (this was mainly to do with how hard it is to find not only clean romance, but good, healthy, God-honoring romance stories. Which btw..... those aren't often found in the romance section because there tends to be more going on in the story than emotional drama..... more on that another time)

Anyways. I didn't really read romance. Now don't get me wrong, I adored a good, wholesome, Godly love story, and I loved to watch them played out in my friends lives or read about them in biographies... I didn't find much of them in fiction though. I also didn't really read all the "girl" books. It took me a long time to get through Anne of Green Gables because it was just so slow and felt almost empty to me. I had a special place for Little Women in my heart, but I had grown up listening to the audio drama that Focus on the Family does. I have a feeling that I did finish Rebeca of Sunnybrook farm, but I couldn't really tell you what it was about. I never could get myself to sit down with an Elsie Dinsmore book, despite the fact that all the other girls I knew loved them. It was a long, long time before I read Pride and Prejudice, and I didn't come to love it until it suddenly clicked that it wasn't a romance novel after all! It was even deeper. Far deeper. Then I really did enjoy it.

It wasn't until much later that I found a love for the classics, but growing up and through most of my teenage years, I wanted adventure. I read Boy Scout stories, soldier's biographies, war stories, Ranger books, Narnia, Lord of the Rings, stories or Scottish Highlanders, of the Covenanter wars, American Revolution, British sailing stories, etc. etc. There were often people who got married in those books, and I liked it when they did, but that was never what the story revolved around. Because really, a good story can't revolve around a romance. Not the way the world sees a romance. When the biggest most important thing is the couple and their relationship, the story is empty and almost meaningless. Even in real life.

Especially in real life.

And that's because there needs to be something bigger and more important than the characters. There has to be something outside of them. When they are completely focused inward, their whole world shrinks. When they are focused outward, together, then the world is wide and wonderful, and they will have a purpose, a mission, a calling from their King. A task that they must complete together with His help.

So, anyways, back to my original train of thought. When I first started writing, I decided that I would NEVER, EVER, EVER write a Romance novel.

One of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite movies says this: "If you want to make God laugh; tell Him your plans."

Obviously that "never-ever" was short lived. Because here I was, sitting at my desk, with a romance?! novel idea! And I didn't even have a plot! Something crazy was going on, and I had no idea what was about to happen.

The Crazy Writing Process

"This is crazy."

I'm not sure how many times I thought that, because, (typical me) I didn't stop to think very long. The more I considered the idea, the more I felt like God was telling me to write this book. But a romance? What would the plot even be? What was the point? What message was a trying to give?

Apparently I wasn't supposed to think of a message or point. God already had one in mind, and all He was asking was for me to write the story that He gave to me.

I always pray before I start a book, and this time all I could say was, "If You want this written, You're gonna have to tell me what to do, because I've got no clue where this is going."

So, one morning I flipped open the laptop, pulled up a blank document, and typed "chapter 1" I loved the name Friedrich and I had recently seen a painting of a couple standing together in some medieval-like world. He was tall, blond, blue-eyed, but there was a sort of sober... almost... well I couldn't quite place it. But there was a look on his face. When I saw the picture I thought, "his name is Friedrich." I don't know why, but he was just a Friedrich. Well, he came to mind so I decided that he was my male MC. I knew I wanted a dual POV so that you could get both sides of the story, I knew that the two were from opposing kingdoms– but unlike Romeo and Juliet, they had never met and were not in love. I had read about peace treaties often being formed when the heirs of the two kingdoms were married, and I had wondered what that would be like, marrying the enemy prince (or princess).

Well, I started writing, and chapter 1 came along in record time. It was as if the story was telling itself to me as I wrote and I was just trying to get all the words down as they came. Then I got to chapter 2 and reached my first road-block.

I didn't have a name for my Princess.

I NEVER start books without naming my characters.

Until now. I looked through all my notebooks and name collections, I searched names online... nothing. Then I had a really random idea. One of my brothers is really good at coming up with random things off the bat. What harm would it do? I called him.

"Hey, give me a name for my newest book's princess."

"Christine," he replied without hesitation.

"Christine? Christine...." I drew the name out slowly, testing it. "Friedrich and Christine... woah! Wow, okay, that's it!"

So Christine was named and I set to work on her chapter.

I wrote that book so fast, no writer's blocks, no hesitations, no research breaks. It was scary fast! The first draft was done in four days! Chapters were named and quotes to head them were found and put in place on the next day. I read through it on the fifth. I designed the cover the day after.

It was ready for an editor by the end of the week.

In the few drafts that came after that (there were only about 3) the only thing I changed was spelling, grammar, and a few structure things. The story remained untouched. I had only a vague idea of a climactic type scene in my head at the time I wrote it, no ending, no middle, no beginning... yet the book came together in one of the most shocking ways.

By the end, I clearly saw the message. It was summed up perfectly by one of my characters when she said: "You cannot warp what God has created and expect it to be as flawless as the original."

Without God, no marriage can stand the fires of time and the trials of this world. Marriage is one of the most beautiful pictures of Christ and the church, and without living in that knowledge, marriage will never reach it's fullness. This was a story of tears, blood, pain, grief, failure and faults. But it was also a story of redemption, of forgiveness, of truth and beauty and sacrifice.

A story of love.

Even now I hardly understand how this story came into existence. Well, actually, I do. It was through God. When I flip through this book and glance over the scenes, I am still shocked at the depth within. I never could have written something like this. Not on my own, certainly. This story was given to me by God. It is a mere reflection of an even greater story, just as marriage itself is a reflection of His love for us.

A Special Treat!

Well, now after hearing the story of how this book was written, I thought y'all would like to meet the characters themselves! So, here's a little glimpse at the two MCs and the ally! Enjoy!

I'm excited to hear your thoughts, so please take a second to comment below!

Don't forget to check out the Valentine's offers before it's too late! God bless and have a wonderful day.