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.

ATKINS DIET - Romance and Love of God

Keen Writers

Romance author, Narelle Atkins, recently
shared her writing journey at the Australian Christian
Writers Fellowship seminar in Sydney.

As an attendee, I was glad to finally meet Narelle face to face.
We had a lot to chew over and not enough time to do it. Questions flew thick and fast as she began covering the seminar topics.

*Traditional Publishing vs Self Publishing.
*Catching an editor's attention with your Proposal.
*Writing an effective blog to promote your work.

Then we were all put to work!

An exercise in writing blog posts

I was personally blessed as I rarely get together   with like-minded folk in the writing field. And it's always amazing when someone throws a question you hadn't thought to ask and it happens to be information  you really need. This is especially relevant in the technical side of presenting your work in the best light possible, whether it be to agents, editors, or readers of your blogs.        

Lunch was served after all this brainstorming

Narelle fielded all of the questions thrown her way. She's been at this "game" for quite some time. We appreciated her sharing the way she patiently laid foundations for her writing career, in her willingness to wait on God's timing, not hers.


There was applause when she told us about her first writing contract with Heartsong Presents. This was not one book but a series. Now we just need to wait until her first books arrive here in Australia.

As members of this International Christian Fiction Writers blog, we appreciate Narelle's efforts in keeping this blog running smoothly. She personally guided me in setting up my very first blog here.

Check my blog to read her own romance story, plus a lovely wedding picture of her wedding day.
http://inspirationalromance.blogspot.com

Australian Historical Romance author, Rita Stella Galieh, has had two books published, Fire in the Rock,
Book I of  The Watermark Women series, Signed Sealed Delivered,
Book II, The Tie That Binds is with the publisher waiting for a contract soon to be followed by book III, A Parcel of Promises.

She is also a scriptwriter and co-presenter on a five-minute Christian radio program, VANTAGE POINT. She and her evangelist husband have travelled to Thailand every year for the past eighteen years in a month long ministry to schools, prisons, hospitals, orphanages, shopping malls, and churches.