Celebrating a New Book Series Featuring Francine Beaton

 

Today I'll be introducing you to an author from a wonderful book series called Our House on Jakaranda Laan. All the stories In this series, take place In the fictitious town of Cedarfontein, South Africa on Jacaranda Lane. Read on to learn about one author and her story.

First off, tell my readers the genre for your book and its time frame.
The Survivor’s Journey is contemporary Christian romance with strong grief-and-healing themes, set in present-day South Africa. The story takes place in the fictional Garden Route town of Cedarfontein, tucked inland from the N2 against the Outeniqua foothills. The story unfolds over a few months, from the end of a rugby season into spring, when the jacarandas come out.

Give us a short book blurb about your story and characters.
Ethan Langford has spent his life on a rugby field. When the worst happens there, in front of a full stadium and a live television audience, he stops being able to face anything at all — including his wife.

Annika has gone home to Cedarfontein, to her parents’ old parsonage on Kerkstraat and a donkey named Ezra who won’t eat when she’s away. When Ethan is sent home too, they end up living a garden gate apart: the same gate her father and his grandfather built when Ethan and her brother Francois were five years old and inseparable.

His grandfather’s rugby club is falling apart. A bossy border collie refuses to let him lie down. And the woman he married is close enough to see over the wall — if he can find a way to stop grieving alone. It's a story about the difference between surviving and choosing to live.

What inspired you to write this story?
I don’t know. That very first scene came to me and I wrote it down — six years ago. I never knew what to do with it, because it didn’t fall within my normal contemporary and sports romances. So when I was asked to write a story for this series, this was the one that came to me.

I had ideas, but it also had to be factual. I brainstormed a lot about why certain things could happen, or whether they could happen at all. Then I got the answer from an unexpected source, and it hit harder because it was closer to home. There were also quite a few things I could draw on from experiences that had happened to me, or to friends and family. Endocarditis is one of them.

What’s the best encouragement you’ve had in your writing?
Two of my beta readers had each lost a child. Handing them this manuscript was the hardest thing I’ve done as a writer, because I was asking them to walk back into the worst thing that ever happened to them for my sake. They did it anyway — and they told me I’d handled it gently.

I don’t think there’s a review or an award that could mean more than that. They know who they are.

What is the best writing advice you’ve received or could give?
Do the research properly, and then go one step further and find someone who actually does the job. I had a cardiologist go through this manuscript for me. He caught things no amount of internet reading would have given me — timings, what a doctor would and wouldn’t say, what the paperwork looks like afterwards. Readers can feel the difference between a writer who looked something up and a writer who asked.

Are there any other points about writing you would like to add?
I believe writing comes from the heart. From your gut. That first scene of mine sat in a drawer for six years because it didn’t fit anywhere, and if I’d only written what fit, this book wouldn’t exist. Trust the story that keeps coming back to you. Write it, even when you don’t yet know what it’s for.

What other books do you have in the works?
The Survivor’s Journey is my only book in this series, but it isn’t my first shared-world story — I also wrote The Widow’s Choice for the previous series, Our House on Heather Wynd.

Beyond that, I’m a bilingual writer, which makes this question complicated to answer. I have two English manuscripts waiting in the wings. One of them ties in with The Survivor’s Journey, though it may end up appearing only in Afrikaans as part of a saga — please don’t ask me yet, I genuinely don’t know. The other is the first book in a trilogy set in Scotland. And I have two Afrikaans books that should be finished in 2026.

To be honest, though? I’m not a disciplined author. Or rather — I am. My characters aren’t. I wake up in the morning and the characters in Book A are talking loudly, so I let them. After lunch it’s Book B’s turn. I never really know what’s happening until it happens.

That's all for today's interview. I love Francine's last comment about book characters and how they call out to the writer to come back and work on me. I'm currently having a tug of war for my attention between two books -- one sweet romance and the other a picture book. 

Website: https://www.francinebeaton.com 

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

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

Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Francine-Beaton/e/B07BJH92HR

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomfrancinebeaton

And here's a special bonus...Get a FREE eBook as part of this series. It's a cookbook that features recipes from the characters in the Our House series and introduces you to each of them and their story. https://dl.bookfunnel.com/6i3sifi9ss

And here's another bonus... Here's a link to an assortment of FREE clean, Christian fiction that includes a number of different genres. This promo ends Nov 9 so don't put it off to take a look at these books. https://books.bookfunnel.com/freereadswithelle2

Celebrating a New Book Series Featuring Lori Soard

Today I'll be introducing you to an author from a wonderful book series called Our House on Jakaranda Laan. All the stories In this series, take place In the fictitious town of Cedarfontein, South Africa on Jacaranda Lane. Read on to learn about one author and her story.

First off, tell my readers your book title, the genre for your book and the time frame it takes place? 
Thanks so much for hosting me here today. My book is called The Ranger’s Restoration. It is a Contemporary Christian Romance taking place in present day.

Give us a short book blurb about your story and characters.
Lionel Garrick lost the woman he was going to marry due to his best friend's treachery. Now he's returned to Cedarfontein, bitter and cynical, but being a ranger in the wetlands surrounding the town suits him just fine. Some wounds never heal. The woods ask nothing of him, and the inhabitants of the forest never lie.

Then Ariel Brooks arrives․ 

Lionel's childhood best friend Ariel Brooks has arrived from the United States to stay for two weeks. She doesn’t expect Lionel to have grown into a man who keeps everybody at arm's length, setting an emotional distance she can never cross. But instead of letting him disappear behind guilt and heartbreak, she nudges him back toward the community that never stopped caring about him.

As autumn settles upon Cedarfontein, old memories intermingle with new friendships, and Lionel and Ariel wonder whether the love they’d each been looking for was always there.

But before Lionel can tell Ariel that he loves her, he must first learn to deal with his past grief, and to understand that restoration isn't found by outrunning the past...it's found by trusting the One who can make all things new.

What inspired you to write this story?
God works in mysterious ways. I pray for the next story that has the message that will reach that ONE person God wants to hear it. I was listening to a Lionel Ritchie song and thinking how much God blessed him with songwriting and singing ability. I realized the name Lionel was a pretty great name. I looked up the meaning and it simply means “lion.” Then, I started to think about what makes lions unique. They are fearless, strong and family focused. 

This led me to remembering the lion in the C.S. Lewis books. I kept turning it over and over and eventually decided my character would be named Lionel. That he would be a fierce warrior for God, but that he had a few flaws to overcome first, as any good hero in a story does. 

What’s the best encouragement you’ve had in your writing?
I got a letter from a retired history professor recently about my most recent release. He told me that my perspective was one he appreciated. In particular, he was speaking of a comment I made that things have a way of working out and that God has a purpose. He said he wished he’d learned that earlier in life. It warmed my heart that in his moment of loss, struggle and uncertainty, God used my words to heal something in him and give him a fresh perspective.

What is the best writing advice you’ve received or could give?
“Get over yourself.” When I was fresh out of college, I got a job working as a stringer for my local hometown newspaper. The editor was fierce. He’d mark up my articles, tell me to cut words and he’d often say, “Cut all that fluff. Get over yourself. You’re not that great of a writer yet.”

It sounds harsh, but the skills he taught me, including how to have a tough skin when receiving feedback, have stayed with me throughout my career. He also would frequently say, “I need more Lori in this piece. How do you see the world?”

Are there any other points about writing you would like to add?
If you truly love writing, don’t let anyone or anything discourage you. I’ve often said it’s all a numbers game. Keep submitting your work, or publishing it, and just keep creating.

If you hate writing, do anything else, because it will probably pay better. LOL

What other books do you have in the works? 
My second Mildred Wiggins mystery novel releases in December and I have a book coming up in the Mountain Men 3 series. I’m also working on a children’s book with my little granddaughter, but it’s slow going because my drawing skills are not my strength.

 
That's all for today's interview. To learn more about Lori's books, click on the links below.

Website: https://lorisoard.com
Newsletter signup: https://tinyurl.com/JoinLoriSoard

And here's a special bonus...Get a FREE eBook as part of this series. It's a cookbook that features recipes of some of the characters in the Our House series and introduces you to each of them and their story. https://dl.bookfunnel.com/6i3sifi9ss