In all the hub-bub, I neglected to announce this fantastic news in my blog space! Good grief! 😁

“A Kiss in the Rain” is now available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. And, I said “First Novel,” which is true. However, this is its third time in publication. Twice it has been with small publishers, and I value those experiences. When the second one closed its doors, I found myself having to start from square one with an original manuscript. What an experience for me! A little over a year passed while I edited and added, edited and removed. The story is not changed, but many scenes are altered. In the years since I initially wrote “A Kiss in the Rain” much has happened in my own life that now shapes and colors my writing from new perspectives. So, for those who have read it before, you will find the story refreshed and, hopefully, more mature.

Friendship is the building block of this story which follows two women who meet in a grocery store line. Each woman is confronted with ‘life’ in its ugly and joyful forms, and it is their friendship which sees them through. For me, it was a digging into the possibility of a friendship with a checker I knew in St. Louis named Joan – every time I went, I chose her line no matter how long it was, just so I could talk to her. That, combined with a photo I found on the internet of this old lady sitting in a windowsill; she was dressed in brilliant, obnoxious colors, and a giant cigar hung from her mouth. Instantly, I knew I wanted to be her when I grew up. Minus the cigar. So, my mind wandered and combined these two women. Joan and the old woman with the cigar. She became Adeline. And I, in some ways, was/am Danielle.

In some sense, this is a romance novel, but it is more an inspirational fiction story. These two women struggle, laugh, dance, and cry through the events that unfold, one holding firm to faith, and the other learning to lean on faith as her roller coaster journey sweeps her along. Both women experience romance and lack of romance in relationship. For instance, Danielle’s love is lost to her at a young age, and she endeavors to create a life for herself without him; she discovers that God has other things in store. Adeline’s story is much more colorful, attributed to the fact that she is much older, and she has lived an incredibly full life, though keeping herself from happiness because of what she perceives as unworthiness.

Readers have expressed to me that they want stories now about the lives of more of the characters from this novel. I’m toying with that idea, though for me, the central characters are Adeline and Danielle. Writers will understand this. Readers too. These women are my friends, and I know them. The other characters are not engrained in my heart in the same way as these women are. I’m not saying I’ll not consider the possibilities of stories evolving from Victoria Clark or George or Lynne Gunnison, but I will wait for them to tell me their full stories over a tall glass of Diet Soda, since I don’t drink coffee. Insert a smirk here.

All of this to say – if you are an empathetic person, grab some Kleenex. Even I, the author, cried when I read this story back through. Several times. No, truthfully, it was multiple times that tears flowed down my cheeks as I edited and rewrote and flushed out scenes through the nearly 300 page novel. The overarching idea that friendship can come to us in many forms touched me deeply, and even I, as I made my way through the manuscript, was reminded to embrace friendship and care for it, to let people love me and enrich my life. I am grateful for “A Kiss in the Rain,” and it is my hope that it can be a blessing to you.

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