My book, Ask Me Again, has a new cover!
Roseanna White Designs did a marvelous job of capturing the setting (Denver), the time (fall), and the love story. I couldn’t be more pleased.
What drew me to Roseanna were her beautiful covers for Out of the Ashes by Sandi Rog, and A Fair to Remember by Suzie Johnson. You can see these and other covers on Roseanna’s website by clicking here.
I’m so happy that such a talented designer agreed to work with me. Thanks, Roseanna, for making my book beautiful!
One of my favorite pastimes is browsing through second-hand stores, antique shops and library outlets for interesting old books. About 8 years ago I found a book called A String of Pearls. It was published in 1856 and it’s pretty battered, as you can see from the cover. Inside are 365 scripture verses and thoughts for every day of the year. The title page displays a verse from Proverbs:
Bind them continually on your heart; Tie them around your neck.
I immediately had a visual image of God’s commandments and teachings as pearls strung together so we can wear them wherever we go throughout our day.
Here’s the page with today’s verse and reflection:
I thought this book was so charming, I used it as inspiration for a fictional book in my novel Ask Me Again. The heroine, Minda McAllister, has a book called Mrs. Plowright’s 1908 Guide for the Genteel Lady Gardener, which Minda describes as “a peculiar mixture of gardening tips, etiquette lessons and Christian affirmations”—much like String of Pearls.
Many of the scenes I described in Ask Me Again are based on my own experiences. I’ve ridden Denver’s light rail commuter trains when they were so crowded, I could hardly move.
That experience inspired the scene where Mark and Minda ride a crowded commuter bus on Denver’s 16th Street Mall and Minda finds herself in Mark’s arms.
Like Minda, the woman in the green top isn’t in the right place to reach the grab-bars. Maybe there’s a handsome hero nearby to wrap his arms around her so she doesn’t lose her balance, just as Mark did for Minda.
You can read the first two chapters of Ask Me Again by visiting my website. You can also learn more about the Orphan Trains, listen to the hymn Mark’s watch plays, and read excerpts from Minda’s gardening book. Just click on the banner to get started:
“Sometimes God’s greatest punishment comes when He answers our prayers.” That’s a comment by Addy Whimple, a character in my book, Ask Me Again. In her ninety-plus years of life, Addy has seen joy and heartache, but no matter what trials she endures, she never loses her faith in God. That quality endears her to the book’s hero, Mark Cartier. Typically focused on making money and acquiring expensive possessions, Mark finds himself on an uncharacteristic mission to bring some joy back to Addy’s life. Can you related to Addy’s words? Has God ever answered your prayers in a way you didn’t expect?
My favorite person in the whole world, The UPS Guy, just delivered copies of my new Christian romance book, Ask Me Again.
I’ll send some copies out tomorrow, along with thanks, to family and friends who supported and encouraged me over the past year while this book came together. Thank you to everyone for believing in my dream as much as I do!
Writer Jenny Berlin 