Guest Post: A SECOND CHANCE FOR GRACE by Karen Malley

My guest today, KarenMalley, actually wrote her first book when she was 6. It was a 70-word story about her dog, but still, the seed was planted. When Karen is not doing science or writing (with her left hand) she can be found volunteering at church, playing board games with her husband and two sons, or taking walks around her neighborhood. Most nights find her staying up too late with a book in hand! Her latest release is Book 2 in the Pine Springs Series, A SECOND CHANCE FOR GRACE.  

Here's the blurb:

A new life coming into the world disrupts Susan's quiet life ...

Susan Montgomery is used to a quiet, peaceful life managing her apartment building, where the hardest problem is her grouchy neighbor's leaky faucet. She soon finds herself dealing with a pregnant teenage niece, a mysterious briefcase left behind by a tenant, and two very different men vying for her heart.

A near-death experience gives Mac a new outlook on life ...

Christopher "Mac" MacAllister is trying to figure out how to "do the Christian thing." As a new convert, he's drawn to Susan's love for life and for God. She's nothing like the women he used to date; but can Mac compete with the guy who's come out of nowhere and knows all the right things to say?

Now for the excerpt!

“My point is, a month ago, I wouldn’t have wanted to sit here drinking coffee with you. I mean…” Susan’s blush came on full force now. “Wait. That didn’t come out right.”
            “I get it. Why would a sophisticated church lady like you want to have coffee with a heathen construction worker like me?” Mac said.

            “No!” Susan said. “That’s not it at all. You think I’m sophisticated? Ha! I spent most days in dirty jeans with either my head under a toilet or a paintbrush in my hand.”

            Surprise crossed Mac’s face. “Tell me more.”

            “I manage an apartment building, like my dad did before me. Growing up, I followed him around, with my own little tool belt. I became the son he never had. My sister Emily is the girly one. She got out of the apartment life as soon as she could. Went off to college, got herself married to a rich guy, and lives on the fancy side of town. Me, I’m an apartment gal. I love it there. I love solving problems for people, making their apartments into a home for them.” Susan stopped, afraid she was talking too much.

            Mac grinned. “Working with your hands, doing something lasting, something you can be proud of. That’s the kind of job I do, too.”
            “What I was trying to say earlier had nothing to do with your job. It wouldn’t be smart for me to go for coffee with a guy who wasn’t a Christian I was attracted…” Susan broke off her sentence, mortified she was about to tell Mac she was attracted to him. She tried to hide behind her coffee cup.

            A grin spread across Mac’s face. Fortunately for Susan, Adam chose that moment to reappear. He took one look from Mac’s cat-who-ate-the-canary grin to the brilliant red color covering Susan’s cheeks and burst out laughing. “You too seem to be getting along OK without me.” 

            Susan glared at him. Mac scooted a chair out for Adam to sit. “Susan here was telling me she’s glad you talked some sense into my head at the accident, or else she wouldn’t be able to drink coffee with me.”

            Susan’s cheeks flamed even hotter. “That’s not exactly what I meant.”

Where to purchase:

https://www.amazon.com/Karen-Malley/e/B08HRDQ4QW/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1

Karen Malley links:

Website (with short-story blog posts)

www.KarenMalley.com

Twitter

https://twitter.com/KarenLMalley

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20700661.Karen_Malley

Facebook

Karen Malley Books | Facebook

BookBub

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/karen-malley