Hi! I’m delighted to be a guest on Romancing the
Genres! Thank you, Judith, Christy and Sarah, for inviting me!
I’d like to introduce you to my most recent
offering, a holiday novella called Christmas Hope, where appearances
deceive and hope leads to love.
Here’s the back cover copy:
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Sam
Bledsoe prefers his reclusive existence. A one-man landscape business keeps a
roof over his head and food on the table—and keeps his badly scarred face away
from curious eyes. But when a woman faints on her way from neighbor Maggie
Ross’s house, he doesn’t hesitate. He rushes to help while grappling with
memories of the incident that burned him so badly.
The
father of her unborn baby showed his true colors when he showed her the door.
The apartment she has lined up isn’t available until the first of the year, and
with Christmas and a storm on the way, living in her car is no longer an
option. Becca appeals to her no-nonsense sister for help, but Maggie, unaware
of Becca’s pregnancy, chooses that moment to dish out some tough love.
When Sam comes to Becca’s rescue, their
battered hearts collide. In a moment of holiday magic, they discover that
Christmas hope applies to all, even to them. And will hope lead to love, the
most precious Christmas gift of all?
The inspiration for this story came from a couple of
different places. I swim, and one day I noticed one of the lifeguards at my
pool has a prosthetic leg for an above-the-knee amputation. He got my
imagination going, and initially, Sam, in Christmas
Hope, was going to be an amputee. Then I saw an article about the WoundedWarrior Project* that focused on burns—and in my imagination, Sam’s injuries
morphed, leaving him with a bum knee and a mangled face. He now had a different
set of problems to overcome.
Part of the inspiration for Becca came from a niece
whose tattoos tell much about her, if one is willing to listen—or can create a
barrier of preconceived notions, much like Sam’s facial scarring. The other
part of Becca’s inspiration came from a widely circulated story from China
about forced abortions. While it wasn’t an element that I spent much time on in
the story (it is a Christmas story, after all), I wanted to include that as
part of my attention to women’s issues in my writing. Becca also had to face
the challenges of single motherhood so (unfortunately) common to many.
Besides the themes of finding hope and family in
unexpected places, the necessity of looking beyond outward appearances shows up
in both Becca and Sam. It is a rare person who is able to quickly look past differences to find common ground.
May we all
develop that ability.
Most of all, during this holiday season, may we
nurture and repair our relationships. May each of us find peace amid the hopes
of Christmas!
*A portion of the proceeds from Christmas Hope will be donated to Wounded Warrior Project.
Leslie lives near Louisville, Kentucky, with her husband and
her adult children’s cats. While not engaged in wrestling the beautiful and prolific greenery of their yard into submission, she flies as a volunteer for the Civil Air Patrol, loves the exuberant creativity and color of quilting and pottery…and, of course, writes.
You can find her at:
Website: www.leslielynch.com
Facebook: Leslie Lynch Writes
Twitter: @Leslie_Lynch_
Christmas Hope is available through the following vendors:
Check out the rest of Leslie’s Appalachian
Foothills series:
Hijacked – Secrets, suspense, and
healing.
Unholy Bonds – When justice serves
but fails to heal.
Opal’s Jubilee – Where truth is as
elusive as mountain mists.
