An author is often asked if she had always wanted to be a writer. No, but I’ve always been a reader. I began writing years ago with short romances, and submitted them to popular magazines. They were nothing more than rough first drafts, so awful. Somewhere deep inside I wanted to see my byline on a book cover. I went on a quest to learn all I could about writing. It was quite satisfying to have nonfiction published in academic journals and anthologies, but my deep desire was to publish a romance.Since 2005 I’ve kept a daily writing journal. Oh, how the Lord has blessed me. Often I think of “For such a time as this” from the book of Esther. No time is right unless it’s God’s time. And, I needed to be right with the Lord before He granted the desire of my heart to become published.
I’m the oldest of seven. Our lives have been affected (I’ve heard “ruined” used a time or ten) by the unsolved homicide of our father. Early on, I refused to consider myself a surviving victim. I decided I would rise above that blow as an overcomer, a word that feeds my subconscious.
My first novel (which will remain stored) resulted from a Writer’s Digest class. I submitted lessons via snail mail and waited for critique comments the same way. In that story, my heroine found her father’s killer. I finished that story and kept writing. But I didn’t forget that heroine’s objective.
I’d completed five manuscripts before I received The Call. Moselle’s Insurance had been rejected by five agents, but feedback led me to believe I was close to acceptance. I had never considered going the route of an online publisher until I personally met with an editor. She represented White Rose Publishing, affiliated with another publisher at that time. She invited me to submit.
The story was rejected twice by White Rose editors, with the invitation to resubmit. I was devastated by the second, very detailed letter of rejection. I quit writing until the end of that year. At retreat in January of 2010, writing friends encouraged me to reconsider that letter from the editor as the “Best kind of rejection.”
So I prayed, went through the editor’s comments, and took everything she’d addressed to heart. I agreed with her, revised by cutting several thousand words, and resubmitted. Moselle’s story was accepted in less than a week that April. I received the contract on my birthday.
Moselle’s Insurance was released almost six years ago. I’ve had nine more novels and novellas published with White Rose Publishing, a Pelican Book Group imprint.
#IAMBLESSED.
My journey continues as I have several projects in various stages. I hope to always keep an open mind in order to learn and grow. The greatest love story ever told is the Bible. I’ve personally struggled with many issues, and hurt while watching family members go through trials, that I want to show how God paves the way. Our destiny in Him is happily ever after, the same ending that epitomizes romance novels.
Another dream has come true. Touches of Time is hot off the press, as the saying used to go, based on my father’s murder. Here’s the blurb:
A decades-old unsolved homicide.
A grieving single mother-to-be.
A cold-case investigator.
Sarah Bishop goes through her deceased mother’s belongings and becomes immersed in the details of her grandfather’s unsolved homicide. Determined to find who was responsible, for the sake of her unborn baby, Sarah vows to seek out the answers her mother had failed to find.
Cold Case Investigator Ford Melcher is intrigued by Sarah’s dogged drive to solve the old mystery. His current case has reached a frustrating dead end, but he comes to believe it is somehow linked to Sarah’s quest. His desire to protect her from further hurt is put to the test, especially when he has secrets he’d rather not disclose.
Answers could remain elusive as to who struck Sarah’s grandfather and left him in a ditch. Will the search for those answers open doors for her to discover the life God planned? Can she accept that plan if it includes a man who wasn’t forthright with information?
LoRee Peery is an inspirational romance author who strives to remember the Lord’s redeeming grace each day when she surveys her sense of place in Him and where He has placed her. She is the author of the Frivolities Series.
LoRee can be found at:
www.loreepeery.com
https://twitter.com/LoreePeery
https://www.facebook.com/LoReePeery
ORDER TOUCHES OF TIME FROM AMAZON
