Walking my dog through my Nashville, Tennessee, neighborhood was a daily occurrence. On this particular day, a fictional story began forming as I traveled the familiar turf. Even the name of the main character jumped to mind: Layton Brooks. As more and more of the story unfolded, I could only assume I should begin typing.
Several themes figured prominently in the plot: marriages in trouble, physical illnesses, grief and loss. I also wanted to emphasize the positive role older adults can play in the lives of their grown children, grandchildren, and church family. An African proverb goes, When the elderly die, a library dies with them. You’ll find endearing grandparents in these novels.
As the characters from A Beam of Hope entangled themselves in my heart, I knew I wanted to continue their stories. Yet I felt led to mesh their growing pains with that of a completely different family, also living in Nashville. Walking my dog, the main character of Book 2 was born: Parker Sloan Hamilton. His story, A Stash of Faith, unites the Brooks/Hamilton families. Book 3, A Glimpse of Mercy, features the fourth generation, the Hamilton children. Book 4, A Gift of Joy, follows the children into adulthood. Read first chapters of each under the tab, “Excerpts.”
These books were ten years in the making and started as novellas. My desire to “finish their stories” into book-length novels grew out of Covid isolation. Now my husband says the characters have become such a part of us that we invite them to family reunions. And, yes, I have to share any profits fifty-fifty with my dog.
Let Layton tell you the connecting thread between the four volumes. Read the tab, “Introduction to Book 1.”
