Check out the cover for my upcoming new adult novel Someday Soon, book #3 in the Not Yet series. 
Design by Indie Solutions by Murphy Rae.

Red,​
Happy Valentine’s Day to my favorite girl. Thank you for being the best mom to Finn and the love of my life. You work harder than anyone I know to take care of your boys. Today we spoil you, the lady who slept on a couch so her son could have a bed. Grace, you are my dream come true and I couldn’t be luckier than to share my life with you.
I love you, Red.Dean

Originally posted on True Story Book Blog.

Check out the cover for my upcoming new adult novel Until Now! Until Now is book #2 in the Not Yet series. 
Design by Mae I Design.

Short stuff,

Happy Valentine’s Day, baby. I want you to remember, always, that you made me want more. You made me better. You made me a man. You’re my one. Thank you for waiting for me, for trusting me, and for forgiving me.
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I love you,
Landon

Originally posted on True Story Book Blog.

Taren,

Fate brought us together over and over again until I realized falling for you was never a choice. It was destiny. We’re bound by a love that’s stronger than anything life can throw at us. No matter how tangled things get, no matter how twisted the future might be, you will always be my yes. You’re my high ace and I’m all in. I pledge myself to us. Always.
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Happy Valentine’s Day. I love you. I love us.
Alec
 

Originally posted on True Story Book Blog.

Dear Elizabeth,

On this Valentine’s Day, I intend to spoil you. Your dress and shoes are on the bed. Get ready and a town car will be waiting to take you downtown.
But first, read these words. Know that I think them every day, not just on special occasions.
You let me love you, Liz. You opened your heart and that’s all I will ever need. You’re everything to me. As I said to the world in our interview, it’s my privilege to love you. It always will be.

Thank you for giving me a love that is past heaven.
Reyn
 

Originally posted on True Story Book Blog.

“Taren’s hands worshipped my body. Her lips followed the path of her fingers to brand every part she touched. The heat spreading through me was a slow burn; the kind that snuck up on you. The kind where you didn’t know you were in trouble until it was too late and you were lost in a blazing inferno.”
 
We love this quote because the road to Taren and Alec’s physical relationship was a long one. Once the two finally found themselves able to be together, their chemistry was hot! 

“We’ve both made pledges that are important to us and the things we believe in, but this time, my pledge is for you.”

This quote is the essence of our book. Two very different characters pledge themselves to different worlds, but through growth, are able to realize their most important pledge is to one another.

The Shape of Us by Ian Britt: This song spoke to me strongly when I was writing Past Heaven. Liz and Reynolds had suffered and traveled a bumpy road, but they came together, finding their own “shape” and their own space in the world. By holding onto one another and letting go of their fears, they found a home with each other.

I Lived, by One Republic: I think Jack reminds us all to live our lives. Fight for a cause. Follow our dreams. Not to waste one second.

All of Me by John Legend: Liz and Reynolds gave all of themselves to the other. The good and the bad, the pain and the joy. When they were able to do that, they found the acceptance they both needed. 

Past Heaven is an endearment my husband told me when we fell in love. That we found a love that was “past heaven.”

My father helped to shut down the last state-run institution for people with disabilities in Maryland. He is my inspiration behind Jack Atwater’s character.

My brother has developmental disabilities and when he was born, doctors told my parents he should be institutionalized. They disagreed and moved across the country to find a school that would accept him. Today he is married to a woman with Down syndrome, lives in a home with his wife, and works a full time job.

Jacksonville, Maryland is the setting for the majority of Past Heaven. This is where I live and Hydes Field, Bagelemeister, and Strapasta are all places my family frequents. My kids also attend the local elementary school like Liz’s children.

My favorite restaurant is Woodberry Kitchen, where Liz and Reynolds have their celebratory dinner!

The Warren agency, written about in the book as the place where Jack worked, is modeled after the ARC Baltimore, an agency that provides services to my brother and countless other individuals with developmental disabilities.
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Cindy was my absolute favorite character to write! 

“Bitching burns more calories than CrossFit. Look it up.”

I had to start out funny. One of my favorite parts of this book is the comic relief that Cindy provides. There are many one-liners by Cindy, but this one is my favorite.
 
“Death. Betrayal. Violence. We shared these experiences, in different ways, yet still very much the same. We were more alike than not, and now I knew why. Once you’ve been crushed by the fragility of life, you learned to fight for what matters.”

This was the moment in the book where Liz realized she and Reynolds had something in common. A Hollywood super-star and a stay at home mom from the suburbs would appear to be opposites, but they shared the drive to fight for the important things in life.
 
“Liz is my best friend, and the best person I have ever met… It’s my privilege to love her.”  

This was the line in the book that made me, as the writer, fall in love with Reynolds.   He truly believes that it is a privilege to love a woman who had been damaged, came with lots of baggage, but fully completed his life.

“… as much as the pain hurts us, it’s that pain that marks us; it brands us as changed. That mark, that branding, shows we’ve grown and adapted, and God willing, we emerge stronger. I’m stronger now than I’ve ever been before.”

The concept of being marked or branded by pain, but using that mark to make yourself stronger is an important one to this book. Growth can come from pain if you allow it to.
 
“My heart saw his heart. In that split second every fear, worry, and doubt dissipated.”

What I like about this quote is that her heart saw his heart. Hearts are discussed often in the book. From being broke, shattered, or cracked, to healing, warming, filling and finally being whole. Liz lives her life with her heart exposed and vulnerable, and by opening it to Reynolds, she finds life again.