Guest Post: ALWAYS AND ONLY by Carol James

My guest today is Carol James. She was raised as an Air Force brat, the longest she ever lived in one place was a year and a half. Maybe that’s why when she and her husband bought their first home forty-three years ago, they stayed.

 

Wife, mother, grandmother, and dog-mama to Zoe, Carol loves writing stories of redemptive romance. When asked the difference between redemptive romance and standard romance, she replied, “A standard romance has two main characters––a hero and a heroine. A redemptive romance adds a third. God.”

 

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Follow Zoe and her friends on Facebook or Instagram at: 3DogsandtheirAuthors 

 

Carol's latest release is ALWAYS AND ONLY.  In this book, Caleb Daniels returns home to Texas after his wife has an affair and asks him for a divorce. When he temporarily goes to work for an ex-fraternity brother, he’s assigned to share an office with Aurora Prentiss. There’s only one problem: Rory and Caleb were high school sweethearts, but to please her father, Rory ended her relationship with Caleb soon after graduation.

Aurora Prentiss never stopped loving Caleb, but has always felt a filial respect to her father that makes her bend to his will. When Caleb returns, Rory thinks this may be her chance to make things right with him. The only problem? She's engaged to a man chosen by her father.

Will Caleb be able to forgive the woman who broke his heart years ago? And if he does, will Rory be willing to risk her relationship with her father, cancel the wedding to the fiancé she doesn't love, and finally make a life with the only man she’s always loved?

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EXCERPT: 

Aurora Prentiss stared at the image on her laptop’s screen. Only one word came to mind. Ugly. No…two words. Unbelievably ugly. Her stomach churned. Never in a million years would she have chosen this design. The gold, silver, and pearl embossed lilies, hearts, and doves made the invitation look like something better suited to a funeral or a Las Vegas wedding rather than one at First Redeemer Presbyterian in Dallas. 

 

She leaned her head in her hands and closed her eyes. Burton was right. Letting his mom choose their wedding invitation was a small concession, if it made her happy. Plus, after the ceremony was over, who would remember a piece of paper they’d received weeks earlier? Aurora could live with this…as long as his parents didn’t frame one and expect she and Burton to hang it in their new house. It was so ugly. 

 

The alarm on her phone sounded. Time to gather her stuff and head to work.

***

Caleb Daniels didn’t even open the menu. He hadn’t had Tex-Mex in over a year, and he knew exactly what he wanted. Cheese and onion enchiladas…topped with tons of chili. None of that red sauce stuff.

 

He turned as the bell above the restaurant door sounded. Jason waved. When he reached the table, Caleb stood and pulled his friend into a hug.

 

Jason grinned. “Great to see you, man. Almost didn’t recognize you with the beard. Plus you’re skinny. Been on a diet?”

 

“Yeah. The missionary diet.” They slid into the booth. “But I’m getting ready to change that.” He raised his hand and motioned to the server.

 

They ordered, and then Jason leaned back in his chair. “Glad you called me. I can always find room for a fraternity brother. Especially one who’s a hard worker, and who just happens to have an MBA. We’ll take you on as contract labor until you figure out if this is going to be a good fit. I’d love for it to be permanent, though, to have you hop on the bus.”

 

“Thanks. I owe you one.” Caleb dunked a tortilla chip into the salsa and shoved it in his mouth. He’d missed this.

 

“Nobody’s keeping score. Besides…you’re the only reason I passed that final in Econ. Staying up all night helping me cram.”

 

            ***

Stuffed with enchiladas, Caleb’s stomach approached the bursting stage. But the Tex-Mex was worth the pain. He followed Jason down the hall toward the last office on the right. 

            

Jason stopped and leaned toward him. “So…you’ll be sharing an office with Rory. Her strength lies in carrying out—meticulously, I might add—any ideas given to her. If you provide her with the germ of a thought, she’ll race ahead and take the gold.”

            

The two stepped through the door. A huge flower arrangement provided the backdrop as a beautiful brunette stood and smiled. 

            

“Cale, this is Rory Prentiss. And Rory this is—”

            

Caleb’s gaze locked onto the chocolate eyes of his office mate. His heart plummeted. “Been a long time, Aurora.”

 

 

Purchase Links:

 

Amazon: Always&Only

 

Google Books: Always&OnlyGoogle

 

Barnes & Noble: Always&Only   

 

Pelican Book Group

 

Website: https://www.carol-james.com

 

Book Video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ofo79e9Vcs

 

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My Review of ALWAYS AND ONLY:

Aurora Prentiss is having pre-wedding jitters. She will soon be married to Burton, a man her father hand-picked for her. However, her future mother-in-law is choosing the wedding invitations, the flowers, and even the furnishing for her house. Burton is a wealthy businessman and Aurora loves him but when her former high school sweetheart turns up working at her office, newly divorced, Aurora begins to seriously question everyone else’s plans for her life. She knows that once she’s married, her father will be happy and her fiancé and his family will be happy. But what about her?

Her long ago love, Caleb, is a perfect gentleman even when they must travel out of town together to a sales conference. Aurora broke his heart in high school, and now his wife has betrayed him, though he admits some of the problems with his wife were his fault. Then Aurora’s father offers him a job, which involves going to another country.

There’s so much going on in this story! I couldn’t stop turning the pages to see what would happen next. Faith and trust in God are woven in gently as Aurora and Caleb question God’s will. I loved this story.

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An Excerpt from LOVE'S GIFT

 Love's Gift is now available with Kindle Unlimited! Go to Amazon and read the reviews. Then enjoy this excerpt. 

    

    As they wandered along the path through the garden, they came upon a bench beneath an arbor.
Pink roses climbed up the wooden framework, forming a shady haven from the hot sun overhead.
    "If you don’t mind, I would like to sit for a while," William said.

    "The sun is quite intense today.‛ Amaranth sat on the opposite site of the bench.
    "Why didn’t you like the escargot at lunch?" William asked. "It is a delicacy and quite delicious."
    "It was like eating rubber." Amaranth admitted. "The garlic butter sauce was very tasty, but it would be
nicer served on noodles."
    "Noodles are ordinary."
    Amaranth thought she heard a touch of arrogance in his tone. "I like them very much."
    You seemed to like the pudding more than anything." William noted.

    "I adore pudding." Amaranth clasped her hands together and drew in a great breath. "I helped Mrs.

Devine make pudding many times, and I never let the pudding burn on the bottom of the pot."
    "A very specific talent, I’m sure."
    Amaranth frowned. Was he being sarcastic? But due to the tilt of his chin and his exasperated sigh, he
was undoubtedly bored. "Have you ever cooked anything?"
    He turned his head and frowned at her. "My grandfather and I pan fried the fish we caught."
    She nodded. "I am glad to know you haven’t always been waited on."
    He gave her a fierce glare.
    "Frying fish is different from making pudding." She explained. "It takes a great deal of care to be sure
the pudding doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pot. Patience is needed for you must stir the pudding as it
thickens."
    "And you have that kind of patience." He lifted one eyebrow in speculation.
    "For pudding, yes." Amaranth’s stomach remained quite full after that meal. Perhaps she overindulged. She put a hand on her stomach. Maybe she would not need to eat for several days.
     "You do seem to possess in infinite amount of persistence in typing my mother’s endless letters." He
crossed his arms and leaned back as a cooling breeze rustled the leaves surrounding them in the arbor.
    "Typing is not difficult for me." She remained proficient in avoiding errors, an important distinction
when it came to skill. However, in life, when she let her emotions and dreams get in the way, she made
mistakes. Like picking the hydrangea and longing to put her feet into the ocean. Regrets assailed her. She
hated making mistakes.
    "Is there anything you find challenging?" he asked.
    Amaranth’s pulse sped up. Had he read her mind? She couldn’t tell him about her emotions and foolish
ideas. She swallowed hard. 

    "I am tempted to eat all of Mrs. Herpin’s cookies." That was true enough.
    William let out a hearty laugh. "What? And not slip a few to Tulip?"
    Amaranth’s heart lifted hearing the joy in his voice. "I most certainly would share some with Tulip.
After all, our friendship is based on Mrs. Herpin’s cookies."
    "What is our friendship based on?" he asked.
    Amaranth froze for several seconds before she stuttered. "Y-You’re the son of my employer."
    "That sounds rather dull." He twisted up one side of his mouth.
    "It…it is true though." Momentary panic washed through her, and she twisted her hands. All the sweet
residue of pudding in her mouth turned sour. "We can’t be friends after all."
    "Yes, best to keep things cut and dry." He stood. "We should be getting back soon." He went off in
search of his mother.
    Amaranth stayed in the arbor. A cold chill gripped her when William walked away, and it wasn’t due to
the shady interior. She didn’t want to make William mad, but he acted as if he were. She didn’t think he
liked her much at all. Sometimes, he seemed kind and concerned, but often his moods were mercurial. Also, it bothered her that he wouldn’t forgive his father as he should.
    Sister Felicia would have been very upset with his attitude on that score.

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How Did I Become a Writer?

 When I tell people my father was a journalist, they automatically assume that's why I'm a writer. That is most likely half the truth. Dad wrote articles for the Jersey Journal for forty years. He was very much concerned about libel and slander. Current events were part of every dinner table discussion when I was growing up. Dad loved to talk politics. 

However, my mother was more of a storyteller than Dad. In fact, everyone in her family could spin ordinary events into something far more interesting with outrageous embellishments. Their delivery had me hanging on every word.

The photo above shows my maternal grandparents and their bridal party. My grandparents are in the center of this photo. I am not sure about the other people in the picture. I assume most of them are my grandmother's siblings but I can't pick out who is who. Though I'm guessing that's Aunt Honey on the right. 

Grandma was the oldest child in her family and had many younger siblings. Grandma came to this country at the age of three, in 1903, with her parents. 

My grandparents had seven children of their own, two daughters and five brothers. My mom was the second oldest--and had an anecdote for everything. My grandma could spin a fine yarn, too. In fact, ALL of grandma's seven children had a knack for making any incident seem like a grand adventure.

I spent a lot of time listening to all of them--and enjoying their tales. So, when it comes to influence in wrting, I give them quite a bit of credit. 

Last week, my oldest daughter sent an article to me about children’s imaginary friends. She thought I still had imaginary friends. The truth is that I don’t have imaginary friends. I have a lifetime of stories handed to me by all my entertaining relatives. I’m just writing them down with several embellishments to make them more fascinating, of course.

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Dirt Is Fun

This photo was taken in 1956, my mother made a note of that on the back of the photo. Our family had not been living in Cliffwood Beach for long at that point. The house still had simple plywood siding. That's me on the left, my brother, my sister, and my mother whose hair is still red. 😊 Treasure Lake is below us and beyond the lake is Raritan Bay. On a clean day, it was easy to see NYC directly across the bay. Growing up in Cliffwood Beach was delightful. 

I am poking in the dirt in the photograph. Dirt is great for kids. We played in the dirt all the time. We made houses in the dirt with sticks. We made our own little towns in the dirt. We dug in the dirt and made holes to play golf. We didn't have golf clubs, we just pushed the ball with a stick and made our own game. 

Imagination is a wonderful thing. Toys are not a necessary item for children. Dirt and sticks work, too. 

When I was teaching, I was surprised to find that some parents didn't want their children to play in the sandbox. As a result, at the age of four, some children in my class were afraid to get their fingers dirty, which I thought was very sad. Those children already lost a part of the key to their own ingenuity. 

Dirt is a good thing. You can grow things in it You can find worms in it and worms are nice creatures who help us. I used to give a lesson on worms in the classroom. Some of the parents were horrified so I stopped.😟

My sister in the photograph went to Cook College and got a Masters in Horticulture. I think she was inspired by the dirt in our yard. We had a lovely childhood. 

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Another New Graphic for LOVE'S GIFT!

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Stunning Book Video for LOVE'S GIFT!

A book trailer for Love's Gift. Available today! Get it for $3 at the publisher's website: https://pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=68_38_54_57&products_id=1678

LOVE'S GIFT Available On March 8th!

 LOVE'S GIFT will be available at all major ebook distributors on March 8th. The reviews are coming in and they are great! You can read them at Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/213577166-love-s-gift

This is an inspirational historical romance set in 1903. Here are some of the places you can find it:

Amazon
Barnes&Noble
Kobo
Apple

Don't miss out on this one. 

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