I’m so excited about my new Love Inspired book that comes out in July. The book is called Her Guardian. It’s about a young woman, Julia Randel, who was kidnapped at age 13 by a cult leader and held captive until she escaped at 20. Now she is ready to testify in a trial against the cult leader Elijah True. Her father hires a bodyguard named Gavin Shane to protect her when the threats from loyal cult members start.

Part of the inspiration from this book came from watching the news. I was facinated by the Elizabeth Smart and Jaycee Dugard cases as well as a case in Europe in which a woman was held captive in a house by her father and the neighbors never knew. I didn’t want to deal with some of the darker elements of those stories like the rape and having children by your abductor. What I wanted to explore with this book is how a women finds hope and rebuilds her life after an important part of her life has been stolen from her. Because she was taken when she thirteen my character Julia missed out normal things that happen during those years like learning to drive, first dates and first kisses, prom, graduation, going to college.

The book has a lot of action in it and of course romance. I can’t wait for it to hit the bookshelves.