Shelby County romance author Johnnie Alexander has a second novel, “Where She Belongs,” that will be available in a digital edition on Dec. 29 and in print versions in early 2016.
It is the first of her Misty Willow series and features Shelby Kincaid, who is leaving painful memories behind from her family’s city life. Her plan is to buy her grandfather’s rural home, where she can raise her children in the comfort and peace she remembers. She finds the house forsaken and broken, but she is determined to restore and revive it.
The property was most recently owned by the Sullivan family, and her business exchange with them may expose a painful family history. AJ Sullivan found it easy to let go of the house, but he can’t seems to get Shelby out of his mind.
The press release notes, “This story not only is nostalgic but also reminds readers that some parts of the past should be held tight and others should be set free. It reminds us that God’s plan will always triumph over the frivolous battles of man.”
Featuring contemporary characters who are rooted in a Midwestern community, the series covers issues that are important but not life threatening. The author said the stories have an intimacy that contrasts with her first novel’s scope and its larger-than-life World War II setting.
Both Shelby and AJ will appear in the next two books in the series.
Although these two main characters have a strong Christian faith, that doesn’t mean they have all the answers, Alexander said in her second book’s press packet. “I think readers who share their faith will relate to their spiritual journeys. But their story is also about two people who have been scarred by the past. Despite their attraction to each other, they aren’t sure an abiding love is in their future.”
Alexander quotes Psalm 31:8, which says that God has “set my feet in a spacious place.” She adds, “Shelby has held onto these words since she was a teen, but she’s still seeking her spacious place. Perhaps this is the God-sized hole that Saint Augustine talked about — the place where we’re most within God’s will.”
She also noted the tight relationship between history and romance, often so closely intertwined that she’s not sure they can be separated.
“Shelby and AJ are in the situations they’re in because of events that took place before they were born,” Alexander said. “Their values are rooted int he influences of those closest to them, and their heartaches are a result of long-ago decisions. I’m intrigued by how we’re both blessed and burdened by our family legacies.”
“Where She Belongs,” follows her first published novel, “Where Treasure Hides,” which won the American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis Contest for Historical Fiction in 2011 and was published by Tyndale House Publishers in 2013.
This latest novel is currently available for pre-order. BarnesandNoble.com reports it will be available on these dates: digital format for the Nook, Dec. 29; paperback, Jan. 5, 2016; and hardcover, Feb. 28, 2016. Amazon.com reports it will be available in Kindle format on Dec. 29 and in paperback on Jan. 5, 2016.
About the author
Her other upcoming books include these contemporary romances to be published by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group: “Into a Spacious Place” (January 2016); “Love’s Deeper Season” (September 2016); and “Before September Comes” (May 2017).
Alexander is an award-winning author whose honors include My Book Therapy Frasier Bronze Medalist (contemporary romance, 2012); winner, ACFW Genesis in Historical Fiction (Where Treasure Hides, 2011); Best Novel, Florida Christian Writers Conference (When Sparrow Falls, 2010); and Writer of the Year and Best Novel, Florida Christian Writers Conference (Twirl, 2009). She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Kindred Heart Writers, and Imagine That! Writers.
A graduate of Rollins College in Orlando, Fla., with a master’s degree in liberal studies, shs is also an accomplished essayist and poet whose work has appeared in the Guideposts anthology “A Cup of Christmas Cheer.” In addition to writing, she enjoys reading, spending time with her grandchildren and taking road trips. She also treasures family memories, classic movies, stacks of books, her herd of alpacas and her dogs, Rugby and Skye. She lives in a rural area between Eads, Arlington, and Oakland.
For more information, visit her website at johnnie-alexander.com or her Facebook page at facebook.com/JohnnieAlexanderDonley. Follow her on Twitter as @johnnie_alexndr.
