Today I welcome author Lori DeJong as she shares about her latest release.

Guest blog for Donna Schlachter / Live By the Word

About Love's True Home:

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 already lost so much to the mission field, 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 at the mission for a reason, although his heart still longs for the girl back home.

Getting to Know Lori:

Lori DeJong is a contemporary Christian romance author who enjoys penning stories full of grace and the redemptive power of God’s love that inspire others to hope regardless of circumstance, find joy in the moment, and grow in their faith. She resides in Georgetown, Texas, with her husband and two fur-babies and is the mother of one grown daughter. Lori's debut novel, "Love's True Calling", was the 2022 winner of the ACFW Genesis Award for Romance and was released in June 2023. "Love’s True Home" is Book Two in the series and releases June 25, 2024, and "Love’s True Measure" will release in June 2025. Lori's Christmas novella, "Jingle Bell Matchmakers", releases as part of "A Match Made at Christmas" novella collection in October 2024.

When you read a book you particularly like (or maybe that you don’t), do you ever think, “I wonder how this book got born?” Haha! Okay, that’s horrible grammar for a writer, but bear with me. Whenever I pick up a novel that I end up loving, I’m so curious as to how the author came up with such a great plot, or their wonderful characters, or simply the story concept. Did they see or read something that gave them the start of a new idea? Did they have some personal experience that they used to make the story so real?

Well, if you read my newest release, Love’s True Home, Book Two in my True Calling Series, (and I hope you do!), here’s a little bit about how that story came to be.

When Allyson Kincaid, my female protagonist, first showed up in Love’s True Calling, she was hoping to win back her first love, which just happened to be Wyatt, the main male character in that book. Not a great impression on readers, as you can expect, since they were all pulling for Wyatt and Harper.

Yet I had a fondness for Ally, and I really wanted her to have her own happily-ever-after. So I came up with a whole concept for her story based on her time on the mission field and was just waiting to finish the first book before I could start on hers.

Then Zane showed up at the end of Love’s True Calling and I was smitten. I knew he had to be the guy for Ally. His extrovert to her introvert. His charisma to her self-control. His inability to settle in one place to her desire to plant roots. Yep! They were perfect for each other!

So, I threw out that first concept and started all over. And I had such fun writing their story. Watching Ally learn to open up, and Zane start to wonder what it might be like to land and stay in one place. Then to throw all of that into the wind when they’re faced with a decision that could part them forever. Was she wrong to put so much of herself, and her heart, into imagining a future with Zane? When he’s offered his dream job, is it too much to ask of her to come along when he knows how much she longs to stay?

My hope for this book would be that the reader would come away with the assurance of knowing God has a plan for them, and that His plan is so much more than they could ever imagine. “Commit to the Lord whatever you, and He will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3.

Connecting Online:

My website: https://loridejongwrites.com/

Join My Community:  https://bit.ly/LoriDeJongCommunity

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/loridejongwrites/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/loridejongwrites

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/loridejongwrites

GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/38460845.Lori_DeJong

Bookbub:  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/lori-dejong

To purchase Love’s True Home: https://scrivenings.link/lovestruehome