Today's the day!
“What day?” you may ask.
I will tell you.
It is the day that I get to show you the face of my newest book! So without further ado . . .
What if you’ve messed up your life so royally that you’re nobody’s ideal girl?
Rachel King might as well be a princess. Gorgeous and talented, with a grandfather who owns a luxurious seafood restaurant on the Washington coast, the world should be at her feet. But, due to the 2008 recession, her grandfather’s restaurant is foundering and his plans to save it involve creating a match between his granddaughter and one of four young men connected with the fishing industry. Furious, Chel develops a plan to drive her suitors away, but everything changes when she discovers that she is pregnant. Determined to escape both her grandfather’s suggestion of abortion and the baby’s father, she runs away and meets a young street musician named Clancy who offers her a new home as his wife. Desperate and unhappy, Chel agrees. But can Clancy protect her from her baby’s father? And will she ever be able to forget Barton Drossel, the man she has always loved?
If that sounds like your cup of tea, click the button to get your copy on April 21st!
Savior
I was reading in John 7 a few days ago. It’s a passage that I have read frequently since I love the book of John and have read it many times. But - as so often happens with Scripture - a verse jumped out at me in a new way.
“If anyone’s will is to do God’s will he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.”
What stood out to me was Jesus’s emphasis on our heart posture. When our will, our deepest desire, says, “I want to do God’s will”, we receive knowledge and clarity from God.
Often in my own life, I know that my desire is to do Laura’s will. But I haven’t often thought about the fact that this sinful attitude inhibits my ability to hear from God and receive His knowledge.
May my will become ever more aligned with His.
Creation
To be honest, the last few months have been a bit of a blur of chaos. As luck would have it, I ended up having a baby due, a manuscript due, and a book release all in an eight week timespan :)
Thankfully, the baby is now here, and the manuscript that is due at the end of this month is now at 45k words.
Still feeling the stress, but by the end of April everything will be done. And I plan to take a European holiday to celebrate :)
Odds and Ends
Recipe recommendation - Easy Mediterranean Roasted Vegetables
I’ve been working on doing more meal prep at the beginning of the week, and these roasted vegetables were a lovely addition to my lunches. They taste delicious cold with a bit of parmesan on top.
Bibliophile
We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter (ebook)
This was my pick for our book club and was a reread for me, but it was just as good the second time around. It is labeled as historical fiction, but it is based on the real life stories of the author’s grandfather and his siblings. The stories are crazy enough to be fiction, but the fact that they are true makes the book even better.
All I Want for Christmas is the Girl Who Can’t Love by Chelsea Bobulski (ebook)
I’m enjoying this book so far. There is a little bit of language, but I love the gritty, non-cheesy contemporary vibes and Jordan is a sweetheart.
Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin (audiobook)
I very much enjoyed this book. Rubin’s lighthearted mix of research and stories makes it an easy read, and her exploration of what makes habit-formation easy/hard for different types of people was fascinating.
Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes (audiobook)
The nutrition major in me has always loved books about diet. This one is quite good and backed by very compelling research. The only bummer is that all the research cited is very down on carbohydrates of all kinds, and I happen to quite enjoy carbohydrates :(
Yearbook
She’s here! And she came so fast that we got an accidental homebirth, and her father caught her.
It’s been a bit of a wild ride adjusting to life with our darling fourth child, but also very sweet in many ways. Kyle - for the first time - got paid paternity leave, and it was wonderful to have him around for the first few weeks after Katalina’s birth. We were absolutely surrounded and showered with love, help, meals, and childcare - such a beautiful gift from God’s community in our lives. The big three all love the baby and are adjusting wonderfully to having her around.
Writing madly and snuggling the new one while sleep-deprived has been most of life in the past month, but I’ve also gotten to hang out with plenty of people, go to a bridal shower for my sister-in-law, watch an amazing Irish dance performance based on Mary Poppins with Juliet, and host book group with German-themed food.
February Question
What flavoring do you think goes best in snow ice cream?
As always, please reply to this email! Let me know how writing is going, what you think of home births, good books you’ve read recently, what God is teaching you, or anything else that comes to mind :)
Grace and peace,
