Lori DeJong (pronounced deeYUNG) is a contemporary Christian romance author who enjoys penning stories full of grace and the redemptive power of God’s love that inspire others to hope regardless of circumstance, find joy in the moment, and grow in their faith.
Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Lori arrived in Texas in 2005 and dug those roots right in. She currently resides in beautiful Georgetown, north of Austin, with her husband of three decades. Other than their two fur-babies, their nest is empty, as their daughter settled in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, where she is thriving in her faith and career.
Lori loves to write about love and romance and all that fun stuff, with a firm foundation of faith. Clean but sassy, sparkly, and even goose-bumpy romance, with God in the middle and characters seeking and learning and changing, couldn’t be more heartwarming or spine-tingly.
Lori’s debut novel, Love’s True Calling, Book One of her True Calling Series, is the 2022 winner of the ACFW Genesis Award, a double finalist in the 2024 Selah Awards, and was released in June 2023. Love’s True Home is Book Two in the series and releases June 25, 2024, and Love’s True Measure will release in June 2025. Lori's Christmas novella, Jingle Bell Matchmakers, releases as part of the A Match Made at Christmas novella collection in October 2024.
Visit Lori Dejong online
Love’s True Home
Allyson Kincaid needs roots. Born and raised on the foreign mission field, all she wants is home and hearth on American soil. Finally past the break-up with the man she’d thought was the love of her life, she’s ready to put herself back out there. Too bad the first guy who’s made her pulse skip in nearly two years dreams of a life spent in foreign missions. She’s already lost so much to the mission field, and, although she supports him in his calling, knows his choice means she’ll be laying even more broken dreams, and a newly shattered heart, at the feet of Jesus. When Zane Carpenter relocates to Arlington, Texas, his seventh move in thirteen years, his only thought is to meet his obligation with Becker Ministries in a few months then take a foreign mission assignment, his dream for the past several years. But working so closely with Ally in student ministry has him feeling things he’s never experienced. He’s ready for a future with her, until he accepts an opportunity to work on foreign soil and Ally stays behind. He knows God put him at the mission for a reason, although his heart still longs for the girl back home.
- ISBN: B0D3B971KX
- Publisher: Scrivenings Press
Interview with Lori DeJong 2
Lori DeJong is an award-winning Contemporary Romance author who loves to write about deep and pertinent issues while also infusing her stories with lighthearted humor.
“I wouldn’t call it romantic comedy by any means,” she clarified, “but I hope my books offer readers a satisfying journey as they travel through the story with characters who are flawed, seeking, vulnerable, but who also find joy and peace, and maybe a chuckle, along the way.”
From Teenage Dreamer to Award-Winning Author
“I think I’ve had an inner writer begging to come out since I was a teenager,” Lori said when describing how her writing journey started.
That inner writer was first given the opportunity to emerge in 1998. However, DeJong describes those early years as a vacuum.
“I had no writing group, no idea of what craft meant, how to get published, etc. And those first manuscripts are truly awful. Like, nails-on-a-chalkboard awful.”
In 2002, Lori joined a national organization with a local chapter.
“I finally realized the writing life is not for the faint of heart. That there’s truly a learning curve (that I’m not sure ever stops) and a lot of ups and downs along the journey. Yet I loved everything about it and worked hard at learning the craft with an eye for being published someday.”
DeJong’s first manuscripts were secular.
“But there were certain things I wouldn’t let my characters do, and I found myself inserting a bit of faith into the work where I could.”
When she finally decided to go all in with Christian romantic fiction, her well overflowed with story ideas, characters, and so on.
“I believe sincerely that God has called me to write faith-based fiction.”
In 2009, the DeJong family went through a time of financial upheaval. Lori couldn’t remain in her writing groups and ended up taking a ten year break from all her writing endeavors. But late in 2019, God enabled her to return to her long-time dream.
“I mentioned to a writer friend of mine from church that I used to write and would love to get back to it. She invited me to her local ACFW chapter, I jumped back into it, and found my passion and joy for the craft again.”
But the business had changed significantly since she’d been away. Writers needed a platform and a social media presence.
“I didn’t even know what ‘platform’ was,” Lori confessed. “I was completely overwhelmed.”
Most Significant Part of Publication Journey: In some ways, getting back into writing in the middle of Covid lockdowns was challenging. However, one benefit that came out of it was more numerous virtual events. DeJong made use of the time and opportunities to reeducate herself. In fact, she credits one of those classes as being the most significant part of her publication journey.
“I took a course where we had to plot an entire novel based on our characters’ motivations. We had to make up two completely new characters for that assignment and that’s how Love’s True Calling was born, which then went on to win the 2022 Genesis Award for Romance. If not for that class, I don’t think it would even exist, much less the two follow-up books in the series. I can see how God led me through that journey to where I am right now just by taking a class on plotting. Life-changing.”
Entering the ACFW Genesis Awards: In 2021, Lori decided to enter Love’s True Calling in the Genesis Awards. She was drawn to the integrity of the contest and hoped to receive some great feedback. Although her book didn’t make it past the first round, she used the feedback, and her excellent critique partners, to polish it up.
In 2022, she again submitted her book to the contest. This time, she received a much different result.
“When I got the call about being a semi-finalist, then a finalist, I was stunned. But I was excited that my entry would then be seen by published authors, then agents and editors, so I could get some additional feedback. Seriously, the best decision ever because of the stellar advice I received.”
Winning the Genesis Award greatly impacted Lori and affirmed her in the path she’d chosen to take.
“The affirmation that maybe, just maybe, I could write a good novel was huge to me. I trusted that God had called me to writing, but that doesn’t mean He had called me to being published. There’s a difference. I have learned so much about Him and faith and peace and joy and forgiveness and a host of other things just through writing. And even as unpublished writers, many people see our work—critique partners, beta readers, contest judges. You never know who will read something you felt led to put on paper that could change or even save a life. Being published was an extra blessing.”
Finding her Publisher: In 2020, before she submitted her book to the Genesis Awards for the first time, Lori entered it in the Scrivenings Press NovelStarts contest.
“It only required the submission of the first five pages of your work in progress. Love’s True Calling wasn’t anywhere near complete at that time but, again, I entered to get feedback on whether my first five pages were compelling. So, I polished them up, sent them in, and won the contest. One of the prizes was that when the novel was ready to be sent in, it would move to the front of the slush pile for a quick review.”
But Lori didn’t send the publisher her manuscript right away. Instead, she waited and worked on fine tuning it for two more years.
“I finally felt it was ready enough to be sent in a few weeks after it won the Genesis, and Linda Fulkerson at Scrivenings Press offered me a contract about two weeks later. Working with her and the editors at SP has been a joy.”
Book 2: Love’s True Home
Lori DeJong’s second book, Love’s True Home, will be released on June 25, 2024.
In this book, “Ally longs to establish home and hearth in Texas after having spent the first eighteen years of her life moving from mission to mission in Central America. When she meets and feels an instant connection with Zane, her hopes for a future with him skyrocket. Until he takes a position on the mission field, and suddenly, she’s faced with defining what ‘home’ truly means.”
Inspiration for Love’s True Home: Lori was inspired to write her second book due to some characters and events that happened in her first one.
“Ally showed up in Love’s True Calling, Book 1 of the series, as the former girlfriend of my male protagonist. When she tried to win him back, I don’t think she made a great first impression on readers, although she’s as sweet as anything. I so wanted her to have her own happily-ever-after, so I wrote an entire story concept for her. Then Zane popped up near the end of that book (I’m a discovery writer, so I didn’t really expect him to take on a life of his own), and I knew he was the guy for Ally. Or so I hoped, even though it was clear their goals were not in sync. Zane had grown up in the same house in the same town until he left at eighteen, but Ally had moved around to several different foreign missions in Central America during that same time. She wants to dig her roots in deep in Texas, but Zane wants to see the world as a foreign missionary. Yet their connection is almost instantaneous, and at the most unlikely of places.”
Foreign Mission Connection: Although DeJong doesn’t have personal experience living and working in a foreign mission, she and her husband support several domestic and foreign missionaries. A missionary she met at a writing conference also played a huge role in developing this part of the storyline.
“I often wondered about the children growing up on a foreign mission and in a different culture than their parents had. They’re Americans, yet many of them are more saturated in the culture where their family serves. Ally’s parents moved from mission to mission setting up medical clinics, so she was never in one place for more than a couple of years or so. Something traumatic happened at one of those missions, giving life to her almost obsessive desire to settle in the States, where she came for college and stayed to start her career. I met a Guatemalan missionary at the 2022 ACFW Conference by what I believe to be divine design, and she had a huge impact on the mission aspect of this novel. Natalie was invaluable to setting those scenes, and I know God brought us together at the perfect time so I could flesh out this story in more vibrant Guatemalan color.”
Key Themes: Two of the main themes in this book are forgiveness and trusting God with your hopes and dreams.
“Adventurous and oft-moving Zane starts wondering what it might be like to have a place to call home. He also grapples with forgiving someone who left a gaping wound in his psyche that he’d buried so deep, it surprises him when it raises its ugly head, despite his desire to walk faithfully with God. How he deals with that hurt and anger is a soul-bearing journey for him. For Ally, it’s learning to trust God with her hopes and dreams; to know that He can do immeasurably more than she could ever imagine if she’s willing to surrender.”
Impact on Author: As she wrote this story, Lori was greatly impacted by Ally’s journey of faith.
“The most personal thing for me was Ally working so hard to please the Lord that she almost missed what He truly wanted her to do. I don’t want to spoil anything, but her faith journey really resonated with me. Learning to trust God is a huge thing. And I know from time to time, I forget that He’s truly all in with my life. That He cares about me, that He loves me so much that He wants me to think bigger than my finite brain could imagine. To trust Him with the things that are important or really BIG to me. The things we most want to hold on to because we can’t bear to think we might need to surrender them. That’s my biggest take-away from this book, learning that God is bigger than anything I could possibly think of.”
Desired Take-Away: DeJong hopes that when people read this book, they’ll be inspired to “let go of that one thing you most want but haven’t received yet and see if God brings it to you bigger than you imagined, or if He has something even better in mind.”
“Zane’s journey is also one I hope resonates with people; that even as we walk with the Lord, we can still hold on to hurt and bitterness and not actually feel it in our day to day until something triggers it. And suddenly we’re faced with forgiveness and what does that look like in our own spiritual journey. Unforgiveness is like wearing shackles we can’t see. To forgive is truly freeing. Doesn’t mean the memory isn’t there, the hurt isn’t there. It’s the letting go and moving on from the anger and bitterness that holds us back from what God truly wants to bring us.”
Author Life
Life Beyond Writing: Although Lori acknowledged she’s rarely not writing or doing something related to writing, she also loves to read, spend time with her husband and daughter, and do jigsaw puzzles on her computer so there are never missing pieces.
“Reading is a nice break from my own material, and I also learn so much from other writers in my genre. My daughter lives up in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, about three hours from us, so I love to spend time with her whenever I can. My husband and I also enjoy watching the UT Longhorn volleyball games when they’re in season. And I’ll confess to a guilty pleasure. I’ve discovered the heavy rescue towing shows set in Canada on The Weather Channel. Seriously, they’re addictive.”
Writing Routine: “Chocolate is always a must-have, but that sounds pretty cliché’, I know. During the week, my writing is relegated to the evening, and since I’m a night-owl, I’m up until midnight or 1am. On Saturdays, I usually leave the house to go park myself at a little café here in Georgetown and write or do writing-related things until they close at 9pm. Then, because I’m brain-fried by then, I come home and veg in front of heavy rescue towing shows while doing a jigsaw puzzle on my laptop. But I’m working on a weekly schedule for after I’m no longer at the day job so that I know what time I need to focus on social media, what time is set aside for continuing education, critique-partner time (because I have the BEST CPs and love reading their work), and, of course, writing time. I’m really looking forward to having day-time hours to focus on my writing.”
How Faith Impacts Her Storytelling: “It’s all about faith. One hundred percent. As I’m writing, I’m taking my characters on a spiritual journey of growth and discovery. Learning to trust, to forgive, to live in faith, not fear. I rely a lot on scripture as I write, even if I’m not quoting it all the way through the book. My hope is that readers will ‘see’ the Word in how the characters are navigating through the story. Who they are at the beginning is not who they are at the end, even if they’re followers of Christ the entire time. Just as is true with me. I’m not who I was twenty years ago, although I had a strong faith then as I do now. We all grow and change as the Lord leads us through this life.”
Most Enjoyable Part of Writing: “Getting to use my imagination and seeing stories and characters in my head come to life on the page. In our real lives, we can’t see ahead to know how something we’re walking through will work out. But I can see it in the lives and hearts of my characters as I write their stories. It’s a lot of fun to give really deserving ‘folks’ their happily ever after, even if it differs from what they originally thought they wanted.”
Most Challenging Aspect of Writing: “Time. I’ve had a full-time day job, so time management has been an ongoing trial for me. Finding time to write, market, keep up with my newsletter and social media. But I’ve put in notice at work that my last day will be June 28, and after that, I will be a full-time writer. I don’t believe all my time management issues will instantly resolve, but I’m already putting plans in place for how to treat my writing like my business and not like my hobby. Now that I’m contracted, I have deadlines I have to meet, whether I feel like writing or not. So that’s my biggest challenge – time.”
Most Endearing Author Moment: “My dad was so proud I’d accomplished my dream of being a published author after having talked about it forever that he would tell everybody he saw, even store clerks or baristas at Starbucks, that his daughter wrote a book and they should check it out. When he was in the hospital last November before he passed away, he had my book with him, even though he’d already read it. I sat with him there pretty much every day and when someone new would come into the room, he’d say, ‘Hey, this is my daughter, the author.’ It always made me blush, but now it makes me smile (and tear up a little) to remember that.”
Moving Forward
What’s Next: “I’m so blessed to be able to continue as a full-time writer starting in July 2024. Right now, I’m writing Love’s True Measure, the final installment of the True Calling Series that releases in June 2025. And in October 2024, I have a novella titled Jingle Bell Matchmakers coming out as part of the A Match Made at Christmas novella collection from Scrivenings Press. It’s my first ever novella, but I had such fun writing Cody and Aubrey’s second-chance romance story.”
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Jenny Fulton is a wife, mother, author, blogger, and freelance writer. An enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, she grew up hearing stories from my dad about the supernatural workings on the Navajo Reservation. As a child, she collected angels and loved anything related to fairy tales. Her days are now mostly spent raising my three young daughters and writing as much as time and opportunity allows. Follow her at her blog, Heart Soul Mind.
“I wouldn’t call it romantic comedy by any means,” she clarified, “but I hope my books offer readers a satisfying journey as they travel through the story with characters who are flawed, seeking, vulnerable, but who also find joy and peace, and maybe a chuckle, along the way.”
From Teenage Dreamer to Award-Winning Author
“I think I’ve had an inner writer begging to come out since I was a teenager,” Lori said when describing how her writing journey started.
That inner writer was first given the opportunity to emerge in 1998. However, DeJong describes those early years as a vacuum.
“I had no writing group, no idea of what craft meant, how to get published, etc. And those first manuscripts are truly awful. Like, nails-on-a-chalkboard awful.”
In 2002, Lori joined a national organization with a local chapter.
“I finally realized the writing life is not for the faint of heart. That there’s truly a learning curve (that I’m not sure ever stops) and a lot of ups and downs along the journey. Yet I loved everything about it and worked hard at learning the craft with an eye for being published someday.”
DeJong’s first manuscripts were secular.
“But there were certain things I wouldn’t let my characters do, and I found myself inserting a bit of faith into the work where I could.”
When she finally decided to go all in with Christian romantic fiction, her well overflowed with story ideas, characters, and so on.
“I believe sincerely that God has called me to write faith-based fiction.”
In 2009, the DeJong family went through a time of financial upheaval. Lori couldn’t remain in her writing groups and ended up taking a ten year break from all her writing endeavors. But late in 2019, God enabled her to return to her long-time dream.
“I mentioned to a writer friend of mine from church that I used to write and would love to get back to it. She invited me to her local ACFW chapter, I jumped back into it, and found my passion and joy for the craft again.”
But the business had changed significantly since she’d been away. Writers needed a platform and a social media presence.
“I didn’t even know what ‘platform’ was,” Lori confessed. “I was completely overwhelmed.”
Most Significant Part of Publication Journey: In some ways, getting back into writing in the middle of Covid lockdowns was challenging. However, one benefit that came out of it was more numerous virtual events. DeJong made use of the time and opportunities to reeducate herself. In fact, she credits one of those classes as being the most significant part of her publication journey.
“I took a course where we had to plot an entire novel based on our characters’ motivations. We had to make up two completely new characters for that assignment and that’s how Love’s True Calling was born, which then went on to win the 2022 Genesis Award for Romance. If not for that class, I don’t think it would even exist, much less the two follow-up books in the series. I can see how God led me through that journey to where I am right now just by taking a class on plotting. Life-changing.”
Entering the ACFW Genesis Awards: In 2021, Lori decided to enter Love’s True Calling in the Genesis Awards. She was drawn to the integrity of the contest and hoped to receive some great feedback. Although her book didn’t make it past the first round, she used the feedback, and her excellent critique partners, to polish it up.
In 2022, she again submitted her book to the contest. This time, she received a much different result.
“When I got the call about being a semi-finalist, then a finalist, I was stunned. But I was excited that my entry would then be seen by published authors, then agents and editors, so I could get some additional feedback. Seriously, the best decision ever because of the stellar advice I received.”
Winning the Genesis Award greatly impacted Lori and affirmed her in the path she’d chosen to take.
“The affirmation that maybe, just maybe, I could write a good novel was huge to me. I trusted that God had called me to writing, but that doesn’t mean He had called me to being published. There’s a difference. I have learned so much about Him and faith and peace and joy and forgiveness and a host of other things just through writing. And even as unpublished writers, many people see our work—critique partners, beta readers, contest judges. You never know who will read something you felt led to put on paper that could change or even save a life. Being published was an extra blessing.”
Finding her Publisher: In 2020, before she submitted her book to the Genesis Awards for the first time, Lori entered it in the Scrivenings Press NovelStarts contest.
“It only required the submission of the first five pages of your work in progress. Love’s True Calling wasn’t anywhere near complete at that time but, again, I entered to get feedback on whether my first five pages were compelling. So, I polished them up, sent them in, and won the contest. One of the prizes was that when the novel was ready to be sent in, it would move to the front of the slush pile for a quick review.”
But Lori didn’t send the publisher her manuscript right away. Instead, she waited and worked on fine tuning it for two more years.
“I finally felt it was ready enough to be sent in a few weeks after it won the Genesis, and Linda Fulkerson at Scrivenings Press offered me a contract about two weeks later. Working with her and the editors at SP has been a joy.”
Book 2: Love’s True Home
Lori DeJong’s second book, Love’s True Home, will be released on June 25, 2024.
In this book, “Ally longs to establish home and hearth in Texas after having spent the first eighteen years of her life moving from mission to mission in Central America. When she meets and feels an instant connection with Zane, her hopes for a future with him skyrocket. Until he takes a position on the mission field, and suddenly, she’s faced with defining what ‘home’ truly means.”
Inspiration for Love’s True Home: Lori was inspired to write her second book due to some characters and events that happened in her first one.
“Ally showed up in Love’s True Calling, Book 1 of the series, as the former girlfriend of my male protagonist. When she tried to win him back, I don’t think she made a great first impression on readers, although she’s as sweet as anything. I so wanted her to have her own happily-ever-after, so I wrote an entire story concept for her. Then Zane popped up near the end of that book (I’m a discovery writer, so I didn’t really expect him to take on a life of his own), and I knew he was the guy for Ally. Or so I hoped, even though it was clear their goals were not in sync. Zane had grown up in the same house in the same town until he left at eighteen, but Ally had moved around to several different foreign missions in Central America during that same time. She wants to dig her roots in deep in Texas, but Zane wants to see the world as a foreign missionary. Yet their connection is almost instantaneous, and at the most unlikely of places.”
Foreign Mission Connection: Although DeJong doesn’t have personal experience living and working in a foreign mission, she and her husband support several domestic and foreign missionaries. A missionary she met at a writing conference also played a huge role in developing this part of the storyline.
“I often wondered about the children growing up on a foreign mission and in a different culture than their parents had. They’re Americans, yet many of them are more saturated in the culture where their family serves. Ally’s parents moved from mission to mission setting up medical clinics, so she was never in one place for more than a couple of years or so. Something traumatic happened at one of those missions, giving life to her almost obsessive desire to settle in the States, where she came for college and stayed to start her career. I met a Guatemalan missionary at the 2022 ACFW Conference by what I believe to be divine design, and she had a huge impact on the mission aspect of this novel. Natalie was invaluable to setting those scenes, and I know God brought us together at the perfect time so I could flesh out this story in more vibrant Guatemalan color.”
Key Themes: Two of the main themes in this book are forgiveness and trusting God with your hopes and dreams.
“Adventurous and oft-moving Zane starts wondering what it might be like to have a place to call home. He also grapples with forgiving someone who left a gaping wound in his psyche that he’d buried so deep, it surprises him when it raises its ugly head, despite his desire to walk faithfully with God. How he deals with that hurt and anger is a soul-bearing journey for him. For Ally, it’s learning to trust God with her hopes and dreams; to know that He can do immeasurably more than she could ever imagine if she’s willing to surrender.”
Impact on Author: As she wrote this story, Lori was greatly impacted by Ally’s journey of faith.
“The most personal thing for me was Ally working so hard to please the Lord that she almost missed what He truly wanted her to do. I don’t want to spoil anything, but her faith journey really resonated with me. Learning to trust God is a huge thing. And I know from time to time, I forget that He’s truly all in with my life. That He cares about me, that He loves me so much that He wants me to think bigger than my finite brain could imagine. To trust Him with the things that are important or really BIG to me. The things we most want to hold on to because we can’t bear to think we might need to surrender them. That’s my biggest take-away from this book, learning that God is bigger than anything I could possibly think of.”
Desired Take-Away: DeJong hopes that when people read this book, they’ll be inspired to “let go of that one thing you most want but haven’t received yet and see if God brings it to you bigger than you imagined, or if He has something even better in mind.”
“Zane’s journey is also one I hope resonates with people; that even as we walk with the Lord, we can still hold on to hurt and bitterness and not actually feel it in our day to day until something triggers it. And suddenly we’re faced with forgiveness and what does that look like in our own spiritual journey. Unforgiveness is like wearing shackles we can’t see. To forgive is truly freeing. Doesn’t mean the memory isn’t there, the hurt isn’t there. It’s the letting go and moving on from the anger and bitterness that holds us back from what God truly wants to bring us.”
Author Life
Life Beyond Writing: Although Lori acknowledged she’s rarely not writing or doing something related to writing, she also loves to read, spend time with her husband and daughter, and do jigsaw puzzles on her computer so there are never missing pieces.
“Reading is a nice break from my own material, and I also learn so much from other writers in my genre. My daughter lives up in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, about three hours from us, so I love to spend time with her whenever I can. My husband and I also enjoy watching the UT Longhorn volleyball games when they’re in season. And I’ll confess to a guilty pleasure. I’ve discovered the heavy rescue towing shows set in Canada on The Weather Channel. Seriously, they’re addictive.”
Writing Routine: “Chocolate is always a must-have, but that sounds pretty cliché’, I know. During the week, my writing is relegated to the evening, and since I’m a night-owl, I’m up until midnight or 1am. On Saturdays, I usually leave the house to go park myself at a little café here in Georgetown and write or do writing-related things until they close at 9pm. Then, because I’m brain-fried by then, I come home and veg in front of heavy rescue towing shows while doing a jigsaw puzzle on my laptop. But I’m working on a weekly schedule for after I’m no longer at the day job so that I know what time I need to focus on social media, what time is set aside for continuing education, critique-partner time (because I have the BEST CPs and love reading their work), and, of course, writing time. I’m really looking forward to having day-time hours to focus on my writing.”
How Faith Impacts Her Storytelling: “It’s all about faith. One hundred percent. As I’m writing, I’m taking my characters on a spiritual journey of growth and discovery. Learning to trust, to forgive, to live in faith, not fear. I rely a lot on scripture as I write, even if I’m not quoting it all the way through the book. My hope is that readers will ‘see’ the Word in how the characters are navigating through the story. Who they are at the beginning is not who they are at the end, even if they’re followers of Christ the entire time. Just as is true with me. I’m not who I was twenty years ago, although I had a strong faith then as I do now. We all grow and change as the Lord leads us through this life.”
Most Enjoyable Part of Writing: “Getting to use my imagination and seeing stories and characters in my head come to life on the page. In our real lives, we can’t see ahead to know how something we’re walking through will work out. But I can see it in the lives and hearts of my characters as I write their stories. It’s a lot of fun to give really deserving ‘folks’ their happily ever after, even if it differs from what they originally thought they wanted.”
Most Challenging Aspect of Writing: “Time. I’ve had a full-time day job, so time management has been an ongoing trial for me. Finding time to write, market, keep up with my newsletter and social media. But I’ve put in notice at work that my last day will be June 28, and after that, I will be a full-time writer. I don’t believe all my time management issues will instantly resolve, but I’m already putting plans in place for how to treat my writing like my business and not like my hobby. Now that I’m contracted, I have deadlines I have to meet, whether I feel like writing or not. So that’s my biggest challenge – time.”
Most Endearing Author Moment: “My dad was so proud I’d accomplished my dream of being a published author after having talked about it forever that he would tell everybody he saw, even store clerks or baristas at Starbucks, that his daughter wrote a book and they should check it out. When he was in the hospital last November before he passed away, he had my book with him, even though he’d already read it. I sat with him there pretty much every day and when someone new would come into the room, he’d say, ‘Hey, this is my daughter, the author.’ It always made me blush, but now it makes me smile (and tear up a little) to remember that.”
Moving Forward
What’s Next: “I’m so blessed to be able to continue as a full-time writer starting in July 2024. Right now, I’m writing Love’s True Measure, the final installment of the True Calling Series that releases in June 2025. And in October 2024, I have a novella titled Jingle Bell Matchmakers coming out as part of the A Match Made at Christmas novella collection from Scrivenings Press. It’s my first ever novella, but I had such fun writing Cody and Aubrey’s second-chance romance story.”
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Jenny Fulton is a wife, mother, author, blogger, and freelance writer. An enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, she grew up hearing stories from my dad about the supernatural workings on the Navajo Reservation. As a child, she collected angels and loved anything related to fairy tales. Her days are now mostly spent raising my three young daughters and writing as much as time and opportunity allows. Follow her at her blog, Heart Soul Mind.
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