Today we welcome author:
Kristen Ethridge
One commenter will win a copy of
Kristen's August release:
Kristen's August release:
The Doctor's Unexpected Family
God's Imprint
I’m so glad to be here with Mary and all her friends today! Mary asked me to talk about how God has led me on my
writing journey, and I think the current series I’m writing definitely has God’s
imprint all over it.
I’ve taken my fictional town of Port Provident, Texas on a
journey I know very well—that of a hurricane. In September 2008, I was living
and working in Galveston, Texas when Hurricane Ike came through. The
experiences I had of going through Ike and the recovery that followed have
built the backbone of this whole Port Provident: Hurricane Hope series.
The first book, my July release from Love Inspired, Second Chance Sweethearts, takes readers through the hurricane itself and the immediate aftermath. While I had actually evacuated Galveston about 24 hours before the hurricane, I had many friends who rode out the storm on the island, and I know first-hand about those first hours and days trying to figure out what you’re going to do next.
Rigo and Gloria, the main characters in Second Chance Sweethearts have to do the same—but
layered on top of that, they also have the additional challenge of not just
rebuilding their home and their island, but their relationship that was
destroyed years ago due to bad decisions.
The journey through the recovery process is multi-faceted,
and I really wanted to take readers through that full road, so I have a series
of three more books planned. The next installment, The Doctor’s Unexpected Family, will release
on August 1 and is already available for preorder—so you won’t have to wait
long to see what happens next to the citizens of Port Provident.
And then in September, I’m especially excited about
releasing my first non-fiction book, Storm Surge. Storm Surge is a collection of life lessons that I learned
going through Hurricane Ike and parallel Biblical stories and ideas I leaned on
to walk through those dark days. I know not everyone will actually go through a
hurricane, but we all go through storms in our lives and how we learn and grow
helps us surge upward to the next phase in our lives.
I wanted to write this whole series of hurricane-themed books
as a testament to how God never left my side during a very scary and uncertain
time in my life. But I especially wanted to bring this non-fiction book to
readers as a way to show the real-life story behind the fiction stories.
Because even in the wind, the waves, and the pages that have eventually come
out of the experiences—God is always there.
.
 |
When we tore out the drywall in
our house after Hurricane Ike,
we found a little blast from the
past–this 1982 Pepsi can that had
been bricked inside of our fireplace!
|
She writes contemporary inspirational romance for Harlequin's Love Inspired line, as well as sweet contemporary romance. Her favorite stories are filled with love, laughter, and happily ever after--and her favorite happily ever after is the story of God's love. Although she has fun creating characters, Kristen's favorite people are her family. She lives in Texas with her husband, children and a self-important poodle.
Visit Kristen online at www.kristenethridge.com.
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Nurse-midwife Gloria Rodriguez prides herself on her independence—but right now she needs help. There's a hurricane approaching and she has one very pregnant patient on her hands. With so many people already evacuated, the only one Gloria can turn to is Rigo Vasquez, chief of the beach patrol in Port Provident. The man she holds responsible for the death of her husband. Rigo needs to make amends for his past mistakes, and Gloria's desperate phone call opens the door to make things right with his first love. Rigo is honor-bound to keep her and her patient safe, but once the storm passes, will Gloria still need him?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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| CLICK HERE to buy or see Second Chance Sweethearts |
Nurse-midwife Gloria Rodriguez prides herself on her independence—but right now she needs help. There's a hurricane approaching and she has one very pregnant patient on her hands. With so many people already evacuated, the only one Gloria can turn to is Rigo Vasquez, chief of the beach patrol in Port Provident. The man she holds responsible for the death of her husband. Rigo needs to make amends for his past mistakes, and Gloria's desperate phone call opens the door to make things right with his first love. Rigo is honor-bound to keep her and her patient safe, but once the storm passes, will Gloria still need him?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 |
| CLICK HERE to buy or see The Doctor's Unexpected Family |
GRACE FINDS YOU IN THE MOST
UNEXPECTED PLACES
Dr. Pete Shipley has always longed for the adventure of serving in an international medical mission, and after the clinic he runs is destroyed by Hurricane Hope, he believes he’ll finally have the chance to get out into the world and use his skills as a doctor to make a difference.
Port Provident City Councilwoman Angela Ruiz takes her responsibility to her constituents seriously, but red tape is keeping her from reaching out and solving the immediate needs for the residents of her district after Hurricane Hope’s destruction.
As donations roll into the island, Pete is inspired to create The Grace Space, a community gathering spot in the heart of Angela’s district. Angela teams up with him and uses her position in city government to secure housing. Not immune to the effects of the disaster, Angela’s own home was destroyed, which leads to her renting a small apartment from Pete.
But when Pete’s appointment to an international medical mission comes, will the doctor leave Port Provident, The Grace Space, Angela and her daughter—or will he stay with the family he didn’t expect to love and realize he can change the world without leaving home?
Hurricane Hope: One storm changes Port Provident forever...and for good.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dr. Pete Shipley has always longed for the adventure of serving in an international medical mission, and after the clinic he runs is destroyed by Hurricane Hope, he believes he’ll finally have the chance to get out into the world and use his skills as a doctor to make a difference.
Port Provident City Councilwoman Angela Ruiz takes her responsibility to her constituents seriously, but red tape is keeping her from reaching out and solving the immediate needs for the residents of her district after Hurricane Hope’s destruction.
As donations roll into the island, Pete is inspired to create The Grace Space, a community gathering spot in the heart of Angela’s district. Angela teams up with him and uses her position in city government to secure housing. Not immune to the effects of the disaster, Angela’s own home was destroyed, which leads to her renting a small apartment from Pete.
But when Pete’s appointment to an international medical mission comes, will the doctor leave Port Provident, The Grace Space, Angela and her daughter—or will he stay with the family he didn’t expect to love and realize he can change the world without leaving home?
Hurricane Hope: One storm changes Port Provident forever...and for good.
Enter the contest to win a Kindle Copy of
Kristen's August release:
The Doctor's Unexpected Family:
leave a comment (and email address)
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The winner will be announced on my Facebook page
In the meantime, check out Kristen's brand new July release: Second Chance Sweethearts
In the meantime, check out Kristen's brand new July release: Second Chance Sweethearts
Thank you, Kristen, for joining us this weekend!
We love chatting with you and are looking forward to reading your comments and questions. Or at least your hi, hello, or hey.
Thanks for stopping by!
Don't forget to comment!
Comments
Hope both of you have a great weekend.
Blessings,
Connie
cps1950 (at)gmail (dot)com
I am already an email subscriber to this site! :)
Thanks for chatting with Kristen and me. :)
Mdp94 (at) bellsouth (dot) net