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

Celebrating a New Book Series: The Location Scout's Quest - book 9 in the "Our House" series

If you have been following my blog, you've already met a few of the authors in the series, Our House on Jakaranda Laan. Now it's time to learn about the 9th book in the series.

But first let me give you some background to the books. This is the third installment in the multi-author, multi-genre Our House book series. There have already been other two series of "Our House" books. The previous series include Our House on Sycamore Street, which takes  place at Eden Cove, an English seaside town and Our House on Heather Wynd, which is set along the shore of Loch Ness in Scotland. Some of those authors have been in each of those series and other authors have joined in to tell their stories of the characters to be found on those streets.

This newest series, Our House on Jakaranda Laan is located near the majestic Garden Route in South Africa. The fictional town of Cedarfontein has roots stretching far back in history to the late 1700s and into the present. The series includes historical as well as contemporary stories. Even though the stories are standalones written by a single author, you will find characters from other books in the series dropping in to play their part.

The Location Scout's Quest is a contemporary fiction book that tells the story of Gwen Thorton who is the location scout. For the past 10 years, she has chased Christmas magic for a living by scouting charming towns for heartwarming romance films. But now that magic feels more like monotony and an ache for something new. Then she's offered a project far outside her comfort zone: a cozy murder mystery filming in a small town in South Africa. It’s a world away from where she lives and everything familiar, but it's something she believes will revive her spirit.

Preston “Ham-the Hammer” Forsythe has forged his path with discipline, order, and a heart locked away for the sake of his career. Known for his adrenaline-fueled action hits, he’s ready for a break from the films that have boxed in his reputation as a director. This movie is his shot at a career-defining breakthrough to redefine himself as a multi-dimensional director. He refuses to let anything or anyone derail that goal.

But God has a sense of humor. When Gwen and Preston first meet as strangers on a quiet hiking trail, they share a breathtaking view, a few easy laughs, and a spark neither of them can quite shake. When they discover they’ll be working together, that spark becomes a tension neither of them expected. As production hurdles mount and the town splits over having a filming crew interrupt their quaint town, Gwen and Preston find themselves drawn together to complete the film and redirect their lives.

As the cameras roll and the lines between script and life blur, they’ll have to confront what they truly believe about love, purpose, and faith. Because sometimes the most meaningful stories aren’t the ones we plan… they’re the ones that find us, just when we need them most.

All through the story, you'll read about setting up the movie filming locations, but the only information you learn about the movie is that it's a cozy mystery and the murder scene takes place in a winery. 

To give a sense of realism to the movie production, I did a lot of research about what a scout look would look for in settings, the pictures they would take to fit the scenes in the movie, End meeting with owners of the businesses or homes where they would film a scene. I also studied the timing needed for pre and post production of the movie.

As a result of doing this research, I started creating the actual movie in my head. It's very sketchy at this point, but I think I will actually write that book. It will then be made into a movie script for the movie referred to in The Location Scout's Quest. The title of the book is tentatively called A Catered Event Murder.

The location scout's quest is available in KU eBook and paperback editions. You can find it on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Location-Scouts-Quest-Contemporary-inspirational-ebook/dp/B0H6QY399S

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 stories. Get it at: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/6i3sifi9ss