A Farm Fresh Romance

Perhaps most people don't think of farms when they consider the word "fresh." For those of us who love country living, though, the aroma of 15 piggies in their enclosure is more to be desired than the odor of vehicle exhaust pipes from packed city streets.


But what has that to do with romance?

I've met an urbanite or two with star-studded visions of rural life. They focus on the quietness—which can be hard to find when raucous birds are nesting in the eaves or the calves bawl, having been separated from their mamas, or when the rooster decides it's daytime at four in the morning.

They focus on milk warm from the cow, eggs warm from the chickens, and strawberries warm from the vine. They don't see the long, sweaty, backbreaking hours of haying and repairing fences and weeding gardens.

And yet, romance.

I know we are on the farm, my husband and I, because we can't imagine life elsewhere. We live in tune with nature's rhythms: day and night, sun and rain, planting and harvest.

A new farming rhythm has been discovered as some urbanites begin to crave the simplicity of farm life in their reading material. The Atlantic proclaims Chick Lit is Dead, Long Live Farm Lit, and voila, a new genre is born.

Interestingly enough, just a few days after that fascinating article released in May, I signed a contract for 3 novels in a Farm Fresh Romance series. Talks had been in the works prior to the article, of course, so the timing is merely a coincidence. And yet is anything a coincidence in the life of a believer?

I think not.

I think God has been preparing me for this day for several years, since he began to put these stories into my imagination. Yes, the first 2 books are written, which is a good thing, as the first one, Raspberries and Vinegar: A Farm Fresh Romance , releases August 1, 2013, from Choose NOW Publishing.


Would you enjoy Farm Fresh Romance? My series follows the adventures, romantic and otherwise, of three college graduates who move onto a reclaimed farm. They plan to take the rural area by storm with their sustainable lifestyle and focus on local foods.

Josephine Shaw: complex, yet singleminded. A tiny woman with big ideas and, some would say, a mouth to match. But what does she really know about sustainable living as it relates to the real world? After all, she and her two friends are new to farming.

Zachary Nemesek is back only until his dad recovers enough to work his own land again. When Zach discovers three helpless females have taken up residence at the old farm next door, he expects trouble. But a mouse invasion proves Jo has everything under control. Is there anything she can't handle? And surely there's something sweet beneath all that vinegar.

I'm so excited to share this book—and the entire series!—with you. Many parts of all three tales were born from my experiences and those of my friends and family members. We live the farm life every day, whether it's a day for digging manure into a garden bed or a day for sipping Raspberry Vinegar in the hammock.

This is my life, and I'm delighted to invite you in.

Valerie Comer's life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local food movement as well as their church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily ever afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters. Visit her website and blog to glimpse inside her world.