Guest Author Day: Romance Rewind with Kelli A. Wilkins

 

Romance Rewind: For Love’s Sake (An Epic Historical/Fantasy Romance)

By Kelli A. Wilkins

www.KelliWilkins.com

Hi everyone,

My romance novel, For Love’s Sake, uses the subtitle “An Epic Historical/Fantasy Romantic Adventure”—that says quite a lot, but that’s the best way to describe it. Why?

Because For Love’s Sake is divided into three parts: The Castle, The Ship, and The Palace. Each part is devoted to a specific section of the longer, overall story, and they’re almost novellas unto themselves. But what readers don’t know is… this wasn’t how the book started out.

I originally outlined the story as a trilogy. (Yup, this one book would have been three.) In my outline, each part would have been its own self-contained book with a beginning, a middle, an end, and a central story arc. (Like my “Royal Desires” trilogy of books.)

Looking back on my original idea, I only have one question: What was I thinking??? First, nobody would want to read all that. Second, I didn’t want to write, edit, revise, and proofread all that. Writing one novel is hard enough; why triple my workload?

I’m glad to say common sense kicked in, and my writer’s intuition of what works and what doesn’t work, prevailed.

The book is 86,000 words, which is plenty. I wanted to fully develop each part, but without adding unnecessary scenes or too many details. For example, in part two, I could have described every rope, set of rigging, and mast on the ship for readers as Dray learns about them. But I didn’t want to go overboard. (Ha-ha.) Readers get the feel of being on the ship without seeing the day-to-day events that don’t impact the plot. The writer’s credo is “write tight.” Even in novels.

Some readers have asked me: If this is a romance, where are all the hot and heavy love scenes? Well… as I was editing/revising, I deleted several scenes that, although they were very nice, they didn’t move the story along or add character development. When I came to some of the explicit love scenes between Kevan and Dray, I cut them or had the characters recall the highlights in spicy flashbacks.

But For Love’s Sake is more than a romance, it’s also an adventure. The characters experience lots of action outside of the bedroom: escaping a dungeon, fighting pirates, being lost at sea, getting kidnapped… And there’s plenty of emotional drama for everyone. The book is filled with lies, deception, sadness, secrets, jealousy, revenge, regret, and love in all its forms.

The secondary characters, Mikhael and Derick, play an important role in part three. Mikhael (Kevan’s brother), is married to Derick, and together, they set events in motion that bring the story to its conclusion.

I love Mikhael and Derick, and for a while I considered giving them their own book. I even wrote their entire backstory—their first meet, Derick’s disastrous lunch with Mikhael’s father (the king), how Derick became a Lord, and what happened when Mikhael and Derick moved into the manor house—but I never intend to publish it.

Why? Because it’s not a book in the traditional sense that it’s a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. There’s no plot. It’s merely a series of vignettes about their lives. But because I love them so much, I included Mikhael and Derick’s first meet as a bonus read in the book. That story also explains the origins of the Freedom.

In the book, Mikhael is sassy, self-assured, and bold… but he didn’t start out this way. As readers will see from the bonus read, he was originally very confused and troubled. He’s come a long way (thanks to Derick) in the course of a few years. And because I love Mikhael so much, I gave him a fun bit of dialog: “Stand and deliver. Your money or your life.” (With credit to Adam Ant!) I’ve always wanted to use that phrase in a story, and it fit Mikhael’s personality (and the scene) perfectly.

For Love’s Sake has plenty of action, drama, suspense, humor, love, and emotional growth to earn epic novel status. It was a lot of fun to write, and it’s one of my favorite romances. It’s also my last romance. (Yup, you read that right.)

I enjoy creating characters and settings and inventing troubles for my heroes and heroines to get into (and out of), and I love all my books. But when it comes to romances… I think I’m done.

Over the last twenty-five years I’ve been writing romances faithfully, and had romances lined up in my head and/or outlined on paper just waiting to be written—but For Love’s Sake (my 24^th romance) was the last one in line. I’ll still write, but I’ll be focusing on horror/mystery/suspense short fiction.

For now, I’ll leave you with an epic tale of two people who risked everything… For Love’s Sake. Here’s the summary and links:

For Love’s Sake

An Epic Historical/Fantasy Romantic Adventure

She left everything behind to be with him.
He risked losing everything to stay with her.
They were willing to sacrifice everything… for love’s sake

Through a case of mistaken identity, Prince Kevan of Alborg narrowly avoids an assassination attempt and wakes to find himself trapped in mad King Torok’s rat-infested dungeon. Just when he is about to give up hope, he is rescued by an unlikely ally—Torok’s daughter, Princess Adrianna.

Adrianna is desperate to flee her father’s kingdom and agrees to help the handsome stranger escape, but only if he takes her with him when he leaves. Although Kevan knows bringing Adrianna home will not sit well with his father and lead to other complications, he agrees.

They make their way to a waiting ship captained by Kevan’s brother, Mikhael, and set sail for Alborg. Along the way they are lost at sea during a ferocious storm, battle a murderous mercenary sent by Adrianna’s father, and try to deny their intense romantic feelings for each other.

When they arrive in Alborg, Kevan’s father, King Lenard, disapproves of Adrianna and drops the bombshell that Kevan is already engaged to be married. While Kevan tries to get out of the arranged marriage, Mikhael introduces Adrianna to members of the nobility in an effort to win over the king.

At his engagement ball, Kevan is forced to choose between his duty to his father and his loyalty to Adrianna. Soon after, Adrianna is kidnapped and Kevan and Mikhael band together to hunt down her abductors and rescue her before it’s too late.

Order your copy here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DS2H1YMD

Other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/4jvDXj

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I welcome comments and questions from readers. Be sure to follow my blog for the latest updates and visit my site for a full title list and links to my social media.

Until next time,

Kelli A. Wilkins

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 24 romance novels, and 9 mystery/thriller/horror ebooks. Her romances span many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror, mystery, and thriller fiction.

Her latest book, The Route 9 Stalker, was published in January 2026. This mystery/thriller is set in Central NJ and follows Detective Jim Rourke on a disturbing new case. Meet him for the first time in The Route 9 Killer.

Kelli's 24th romance, For Love’s Sake, an epic historical/fantasy romantic adventure, was published in January 2025.

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In 2024, she released Surreal Escapes, a collection of 7 speculative/spooky stories. Anything can—and does—happen in this anthology.

Follow Kelli on her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and visit her website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list, social media link

Book Spotlight & Giveaway: Versions of Nirvana by H.C. Turk

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. H.C. Turk will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops at the tour.

In order to save her family, an 18th-century witch entertains suicide, thereby entering a coma-like trance that lasts 300 years. In this magical state, she reaches into the future to guide other people who long for redemption.

England, 1710. Young Alba knows she is a witch, but the term means nothing until her mother is executed for witchcraft. Then Alba enters a trance that causes everyone around her debilitating emotions, just like Alba’s. The trance, which is Alba’s magic, does not appear again until years later when her mentor is arrested and sentenced to death. Panicked, Alba stabs herself in the heart. Instead of dying, she enters a “false sleep” (coma), a state of spiritual consciousness. Hoping to find peace for others, she seeks similar souls in the future.

Germany, 1942: An American soldier is mortally wounded. In his final moment, he experiences the glory of a beautiful life, if only in his dreams. He enters a spiritual realm filled with warm family adventures, metaphysical escapades that are alternately hilarious and horrific, yet always lead away from anguish. Directed by Alba’s unseen influence, Andrew fights for solace, and wins.

Indonesia, 2003: A young American woman on a Western Pacific island must relive an ancient, tortuous journey through a primitive environment in order to redeem the foreigners in the country. Influenced by a power she can only sense in her heart (Alba), Connie seeks a solution of acceptance instead of rejection.

Told with humor and compassion, the heart of the book is the longing to find peace despite haunting failure, and finding joy in helping others achieve the same.

Read an Excerpt

When I was alive, I could not tell you what a train is, or would be. Now, I cannot tell you how I feel about transportation of this nature, a line of connected metal carriages driven by mechanisms like clockwork from beyond; and is that not the source of the future? When I was alive, I could not tell you what a train is, or would be. Now, I cannot tell you how I feel about transportation of this nature, a line of connected metal carriages driven by mechanisms like clockwork from beyond; and is that not the source of the future?

Neither can I tell you the nature of my testimony, though I praise the Deity that I can wield my influence into the lives of other people who deserve liberation. Unlike salvation, which comes from God, redemption comes from the heart.

“Liberation” is a goal of the associated horror ensconcing this era: “warfare,” the particular involved here not local, but global, the second of its kind, though not the last.

1945. How bigoted would I be to say that no witch is good at numbers? Germany. Once I was accused of being of that nationality, and now I virtually live there, with my virtual life.

In the distance, snowy, irregular mountain tops, not the Cambrian Mountains, but the Alps. Some brief words can be so fine.

An American draftee rides in a German Diesel locomotive with other stragglers. (Time is coming for me to absorb the meaning of these new terms and the ideas they represent without delineating their specifics: a nation that did not exist when I was alive, the massive machines, the murderous weapons. Beyond that, how close must one be to a person and their living in order to become a participant, not merely an observer?)

Neither can I tell you the nature of my testimony, though I praise the Deity that I can wield my influence into the lives of other people who deserve liberation. Unlike salvation, which comes from God, redemption comes from the heart.

“Liberation” is a goal of the associated horror ensconcing this era: “warfare,” the particular involved here not local, but global, the second of its kind, though not the last.

1945. How bigoted would I be to say that no witch is good at numbers? Germany. Once I was accused of being of that nationality, and now I virtually live there, with my virtual life.

In the distance, snowy, irregular mountain tops, not the Cambrian Mountains, but the Alps. Some brief words can be so fine.

An American draftee rides in a German Diesel locomotive with other stragglers. (Time is coming for me to absorb the meaning of these new terms and the ideas they represent without delineating their specifics: a nation that did not exist when I was alive, the massive machines, the murderous weapons. Beyond that, how close must one be to a person and their living in order to become a participant, not merely an observer?)

About the Author

H. C. Turk is a writer, sound artist, and visual artist. His novels have been published by Villard and Tor. His short fiction, sound pieces, movies, and visual art have appeared in numerous magazines, websites, podcasts, and film festivals. He used to paint houses (not as an art form.)

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FVWKKVS9/
Books2Read: https://books2read.com/u/4DGy2P
Video Trailer: https://youtu.be/UHr5XHs5kdk?si=nScbZiKK2FjqC_zA
Website: https://hcturk.com
Bandcamp: http://hcturk.bandcamp.com/
Newsletter: https://hcturk.substack.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehcturk/

Tour Stop & Giveaway: Andrew Grey's To Serve

Title: To Protect

Series: Carlisle K-9 Book 2

Author: Andrew Grey

Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance/Military

Release Date: May 5, 2026

Edition/Formats Available In: eBook & Print

Blurb/Synopsis:

Marty Waters is a computer support specialist and history buff whose main hobby is working at the local historical society. When a boy goes missing, Marty offers his tech skills to aid the police in finding him.

 

Enter Officer Hottie and his K-9 partner, Dexter. Grant Webster works as a K-9 officer with the Carlisle PD, and he's been assigned to the recent kidnapping case. He could do without the assistance of the computer geek who insists on helping, though, no matter how cute he is.

 

It turns out, Marty's historical knowledge and research skills are more useful than Grant expected, and together they're able to recognize the kidnapper's pattern, but the long hours bring an intense attraction neither of them has ever experienced. Is the interest real or just a reaction to the excitement and danger? As more children are taken, they will have to set aside their attraction and rely on each other, and Dexter, to find the kids in time.

Tour Stop: Precog's Perception by Emily Carrington

Title: Precog's Perception

Author: Emily Carrington

Publisher: Changeling Press

Cover Art: Angela Knight

Genres: Action Adventure, Dark Fantasy, New Releases, Paranormal, Romance

Themes: LGBTQ+ Bisexual /Nonbinary /Transgender, Medical Romance, Shapeshifters, Wolf Shifters & Werewolves

Series: Psychic Soulmates (#1)

Multiverse: SearchLight Academy (#14)

Book Length: Novella

Page Count: 94

Synopsis

When the world doesn’t catch fire, Amaruq doubts his precognition. Can Nootaikok’s love heal him?

A stillborn pup, precognition unfulfilled, and raging guilt plague a trans werewolf. Amaruq’s suspicion that there’s something wrong with him, and that the death of his and Nootaikok’s child is his fault, colors all that he does. Traumatized, he denies himself pleasure.

Nootaikok will have none of that. He takes Amaruq on a “working vacation” back to the scene of Nootaikok’s greatest mistake. As both of them struggle with feelings of inadequacy and undeservingness, their bodies and souls still demand release.

Will their fears pull them apart or can passion lead back to love and forgiveness?

Excerpt

Precog's Perception (Psychic Soulmates 1)
Emily Carrington
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2026 Emily Carrington

They’d started their mentor/mentee relationship with letters. Amaruq didn’t know about Jeremy, but for him, the fear of being found out in this digital age inspired him to write physical correspondence. Amaruq had a feeling he should be sharing these concerns with his mate, but he couldn’t bear for Nootaikok to know how guilty he felt. So, he wrote to the Night Wanderer who had become his friend.

Dear Jeremy,

I hate what I have become. I’m a sneak who doesn’t know how to apologize to my lover for losing our child. I get it that a stillbirth isn’t exactly my fault. I did nothing to make it happen. The issue is that I don’t want to try again. Try for another baby. It wasn’t just losing our child, our pup, but the dysmorphia I endured being pregnant when I’ve worked so hard to be my authentic male werewolf self. I do not, no matter what, regret that Nootaikok and I were trying for a baby. I don’t. I just don’t want to try again. In spite of my precognitive vision. That future glimpse guarantees I’ll be pregnant again at some point, as I saw Nootaikok and I surrounded by werewolf pups of many ages. I just don’t want to be.

I also dread Nootaikok finding out.

Speaking of dread, I can easily believe Nootaikok is angry with me for making him leave his position in DC. I’m afraid of the argument we’ll eventually have. I just wanted to be near you, where I’ve always felt safe. That’s the wrong kind of emotion to have for someone who isn’t my mate. Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not sexually attracted to you in any way. It’s just that you rescued me from the hell of living under my parents’ roof and inspired me to become part of the Miscellaneous Magical Creatures Department. It’s just that, now that you’ve moved to DC, I want to return. I know Nootaikok wouldn’t get his job back, though, and I don’t want him to be humiliated by having to walk those same halls every day as just a tracker and not the head of the whole world’s Tracker Central.

He stopped his pen before he could disclose more about his fears. Surely this letter, which was basically a rambling jumble of all his terror, wouldn’t help anything.

He shredded the page and tossed it in the garbage can in the den. There would be no leaving it around for someone else to discover.

Today, Friday, was his last day of parental leave. On Monday, he’d be expected to resume his work at the MMCD. He needed to pull himself together.

With that in mind, Amaruq looked around the den and then down at himself. He still looked slightly pregnant. He’d been slowly exercising away the pounds he’d gained as he tried to make a hospitable home for their pup to grow. Since he was a werewolf, he wouldn’t look ready to deliver much longer. Maybe six weeks total, which would mean another week or two.

He headed for the doorway to the den, determined to go for a run and maybe, by doing so, make himself feel more grounded in his body and less like a spirit drifting over the earth, unattached to anything but pain.

Purchase at Changeling Press

Meet the Author

Emily Carrington is a multipublished author of male/male and transgender women’s speculative fiction. Seeking a world made of equality, she created SearchLight to live out her dreams. But even SearchLight has its problems, and Emily is looking forward to working all of these out with a host of characters from dragons and genies to psychic vampires. And in the contemporary world she’s named “Sticks & Stones,” Emily has vowed to create small towns where prejudice is challenged by a passionate quest for equality. Find her on Facebook at Shapeshifter Central or on her website.

Website | Facebook | X | Goodreads | Shapeshifter Central

   

Release Day Book Review: Wake-Up Calls by Mariah Stewart

 

When a woman finds she is heir to an aunt she had no knowledge of and more, she finds herself on the road to discovery as she delves into her family past and in the bargain finds where she belongs.

Available at Amazon

Release Date: May 1st, 2026

My Rating for Wake-Up Calls: 5 Stars and a Recommended Read

Kit Porterfield is stunned that an aunt she never knew existed left her everything, including a family house and property that is a mystery to her. Going to Maine to settle the estate as well as figure out what drove her aunt and her mother's estrangement, Kit finds family secrets, the lovely town of Tolerance and the people there as wella s the aunt she begins to figure out fromt he town who l oved her as well as her mother's life before the estrangement. But for Kit, her personal life is in freefall and as she navigates that, she finds herself again as she uncovers the secrets her mother was determined to stay buried. 

My Review of Wake-Up Calls:

Wow is all I can say after reading Wake-Up Calls by Mariah Stewart. This is an author who knows how to tell a story with multiple layers and storylines playing out within the background. I loved Kit and her relationships with her sister, Beth and kids, Abby and Nate. She is a strong woman who forgot that strength when dealing with personal setbacks and upheaval. What stays with me after finishing this the other night was how much growth Kit experiences as she navigates family secrets and personal issues that cause her to stand tall and take life by the horns. She is a delight to read as the reader journeys alongside her as she tries to figure out why her mother lied to her and get to know the aunt she never knew, Maxine Meadows. 

The story flows smoothly with a few twists I didn't see coming, populated with rich multidimensional characters that fairly fly off the pages of the book while I was reading Wake-Up Calls. It really kept my attention and had me reaching for it again and again as I really needed to see how this story ended. The characters are set in a setting of a little Maine town that is populated with rich secondary characters that added to my enjoyment of the book. Mariah Stewart delivers another wonderful woman's fiction book to her book  list with Wake-Up Calls and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. 

If you enjoy a rich storyline with characters that speak to you as a reader with a few twists you won't see coming then I highly recommend Wake-Up Calls as your perfect beach read book. Mariah Stewart delivers another stellar story that will steal your heart and won't let go of it.

Release Blitz & Giveaway: Tell Them Goodbye by E.R. Sanchez

Tell Them Goodbye
E. R. Sanchez
(Third Death Series, #1)
Publication date: December 17th 2025
Genres: Thriller, Young Adult

16-year-old Sino and his 17-year-old cousin, Martín, run away from their family’s ranch—El Petaco—after witnessing their cousin Adal murder their cousin Javier over Adal’s marijuana business.

Not wanting to be forced into Javier’s job, Sino and Martín plan to run, knowing that Adal will come after them and anyone they tell. Although running away will leave people confused, Sino and Martín agree that leaving will protect both them and their loved ones from Adal’s wrath.

The pair realize the journey ahead of them is going to be rough, so before leaving they hatch a plan that includes stealing two goats, making it to Arteaga, getting on as many buses as it takes, and paying a coyote to smuggle them across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Sino and Martín don’t know much about life in 1970s America due to their sheltered life on El Petaco, but they’ve heard of a potential better life waiting for them in America and assume it’s the only option for freedom. The harrowing path ahead of them has them constantly looking over their shoulders for Adal’s assassins, fighting off robbers who attempt to take what little possessions they have, and weaving their way through Mexico’s class prejudices, violence, and exploitation.

“Tell Them Goodbye” is an unflinching, gritty immigrant story based on true events. It’s more than just a tale about two cousins trying to get to the United States; it’s an offering to all immigrants who only make it as spirits and an offering for humanity’s unstoppable determination to risk everything to accomplish any goal or dream.

Goodreads / Amazon

Author Bio:

E. R. Sanchez is the author of Fried Potato Press’s first full-length novel, Tell Them Goodbye. He also has poems and stories published online and in print.

Goodreads / Facebook / X / Amazon

GIVEAWAY!

Tell Them Goodbye Blitz

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Book Tour Stop/Giveaway: A Proof of Love

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. A randomly drawn winner will receive a $25 Amazon/BN gift card. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Interview with Merida Johns

Do you ever wish you were someone else? Who?

I kind of like who I am . . . I've had the good fortune of having a strong and loving family, good friends, and great careers. But if hard-pressed to be someone else, that would have to be the most papered pet in the world.

What risks have you taken with your writing that have paid off?

The greatest risk was to launch a career in writing women's fiction. I have written several nonfiction books and textbooks, as well as academic and research articles. But nonfiction is a different ballgame. As a nonfiction author, I was used to telling readers the facts—in fiction, the author has to develop a story and characters and show the reader, not tell them, what's happening.

The big payoff is being able to use my creativity, curiosity, and bravery in a different, fun way while still helping people become their best selves through storytelling.

What part of the writing process do you dread?

That's a tough question. I can honestly say, there's nothing I dread about the writing process itself. Writing allows me to create something new and provides an outlet to exercise my curiosity and creativity.

However, if you're talking about the "ancillaries" around writing, like securing an agent, landing a publishing contract, and marketing, that's a different story (sorry for the pun). In my nonfiction writing, I published with traditional publishers. But when I began writing fiction, I decided to hire a publication team (editors and designers), and self-publish through my own press. I didn't want to spend my creative time pitching to agents, trying to secure publishing contracts, dealing with attorneys, and afterward waiting years for publication after a manuscript was completed. So, I guess you can say, whatever I dreaded about the "writing process," I eliminated so I could spend my time on what I love and enjoy the most—writing stories that inspire readers to reach for the stars themselves.

Do you ever suffer from writer's block? If so, what do you do about it?

My guess is that most authors suffer from writer's block. In the research community, there's a diverse discussion about what writer's block is and its causes, including affective/physiological, motivational, and cognitive components.

That's pretty heavy "stuff", so I'll stick to my definition of writer's block as experiencing "a short slowdown in creativity" from time to time."

When I need to up my creative juices, I like to play with what ifs:

·         What if a character dies?

·         What if the character goes against community norms?

·         What if the character disappears?

·         What if the character has a secret?

·         What if . . .

Other techniques I use are as simple as "changing the subject" by doing something other than writing, usually taking a walk or knitting, and being present in the moment.

Tell us about your latest release.

A Proof of Love combines fiction with a memoir overlay. In 2024, narrator Katie Blake takes readers on a journey through the summer of 2009 with her nine-year-old self, living in Woodburg, a small Midwestern town, and shares the principles and influences that came with the personalities and people she wants to immortalize in writing.

In the Prologue, Katie writes about the inciting incident prompting her to write a memoir at twenty-four years old:

Shoulders slumped, she sips lemonade turned tart. "I should have kept a diary, she says. "Not to chronicle life's ups and downs, but to share stories about those I loved the most."

She gazes at that old maple tree and makes us a promise. "One day . . . I'll write about the special people in my life so you will know them, and they will never be forgotten."

But Gram went to heaven before her one day came, and her stories, told in her own words, are lost forever.

Fifteen years later, I've learned that one day's promise is not assured. Before it's lost . . . So, I'm seizing that one day to write about the special people in my life, so you will know them, and they will never be forgotten. This is A Proof of Love.

Though Katie's grandmother is "dead and gone forever" as she opens the story, the currents of Katie's life and their effect on family and community are shaped by the values in her grandmother's sayings, which live in THE Principles List Katie creates to direct her life.

But living up to THE Principles List and relying on its precepts to control her world turns out to be a "great disappointment." Katie learns that THE List can't resolve all life's contradictions, fix every problem, or help her at each "grim crossroad," especially when it comes to Ned Boomer, Woodburg's grumpiest man, and Rose LeMay, the town's enigmatic newcomer and a secret that binds the three together.

 

A fictional story with a memoir overlay as narrator Katie Blake reflects on life in small town America and the principles, influences, and big personalities she wants you to never forget.

It’s Memorial Day weekend, 2009, and the town gossips have their shorts in a twist about a mysterious newcomer who wears tie-dye, colorful headbands, clunky necklaces, and rings on every finger.“Who installs a ceiling fan on a Victorian porch?” cries Ned Boomer, Woodburg’s grumpiest man, and the town gossips concur, “She must be a hippie, witch, or maybe worse . . . a socialist.”

Hell-bent on preventing a neighborhood blow-up, precocious, nine-year-old Katie Blake launches a covert investigation to gather the truth about the enigmatic Rose. But when she discovers a decades-old secret binding her, Rose, and bad-tempered Ned Boomer, her world takes a turn.

Penning a memoir sixteen years later, Katie is forced to reconsider whether the real proof of love was in preventing a neighborhood war or finding friendship and comfort among three unlikely grief-stricken souls who should never be forgotten.

Read an Excerpt

Gram taught me to be independent, manage my anxieties, and have confidence in myself, showing me how to use my imagination to wiggle out of a jam or face the “grim crossroads” when confused or sad.

The first time I cried and lost it over a complicated computer problem, she said, “Be inventive, Katie! What can you do to calm down and think things through?”

We put our heads together to come up with ideas. Gram said she brewed herself a cup of tea when needing a break. Mom worked on crossword puzzles. Dad played solitaire. My one decadent delight was a FatBoy ice cream, and that’s how Gram and I hatched the plan of taking two ice cream sandwiches and hiding them under the frozen vegetables to create my private emergency stash.

“Close your eyes, breathe, take a bite, and replace the leftovers. No one will suspect anything. Our little secret. . .”

About the Author:

At heart, I am a storyteller who writes women’s fiction and stories of courage and discovery, showcasing the protagonist’s journey toward a more fulfilled self.

My passion is writing women’s fiction and exploring the human experience—how ordinary people tackle challenges, endure sorrow and betrayal, wrestle with doubt, and act on their aspirations to achieve flourishing lives. My insight into the power of fiction came during a conference call in late 2017 with a group of fellow life coaches. “What would it be like to help women and men achieve a flourishing life through storytelling?” I asked them.

After that phone call, I got started answering that question. The result was my debut novel titled Blackhorse Road, a compelling story of womanhood and the power of choice, gratitude, and forgiveness, published July 21, 2020, by Coffee Cup Press, followed by Flower Girl (2022), Flawless Witness (2023), and now A Proof of Love (2026)

Before embracing writing fiction, I was the author of health informatics and leadership textbooks. Later, I put my leadership experience to use as a leadership coach, focusing on supporting others to fulfill their leadership and economic potential. My range of nonfiction is available on my Amazon Author Page.

Substack: https://meridajohns.substack.com/
Facebook: https://meridajohns.substack.com/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/MeridaJohns
Website: https://www.MeridaJohnsAuthor.com