Deborah Raney – författare

A year’s worth of novellas from twelve inspirational romance authors. Happily ever after guaranteed.

What will happen when novelist Madeleine Houser’s “pen pal” friendship with a lonely widower takes an unexpected turn?

Who can work in a house that''s overrun by contractors and carpenters? Not Madeleine Houser, a successful novelist who gladly accepts the help of her octogenarian friend, Ginny, to arrange for a temporary office in the charming bed and breakfast owned by Ginny''s friend, Arthur. Maddie’s never met the innkeeper—but a friendship grows between them as Maddie and Arthur leave messages for each other each day. To Maddie’s alternate delight and chagrin, she seems to be falling for the inn’s owner—a man who''s likely many years her senior—and who she’s never even met.

Arthur Tyler is a college professor who lost his young wife to cancer. Together they ran the bed and breakfast where Art lives, but without his wife, the house is missing warmth and cheer. He jumps at the chance to have author Madeleine Houser use the space that was once filled with guests. He, too, begins to enjoy the daily exchanges with Maddie, but a series of misunderstandings lead him to believe she’s far from being a prospective date—even if he were ready to date again, which he’s not.

When Maddie and Art finally meet and discover one another’s identity, sparks fly. Even so, they each have obstacles to overcome in order for this winter romance to blossom.

“Having been the mother of the bride twice and the mother of the groom once, it’s fun planning a virtual wedding. Then again, writing A November Bride made me responsible for every aspect of the wedding, including making sure the couple made it all the way to the ‘I do’s!’” —Beth K. Vogt, author of A November Bride

Cozy up by the fireplace for three heartwarming stories of love and weddings in the wintertime.

The honor of your presence is requested at three winter weddings . . .

A December Bride by Denise Hunter

When Layla O''Reilly and Seth Murphy make their engagement public, she knows it''s only to convince a major client that she''s high-society enough to work for his agency. Seth has secretly loved Layla for years, but she’s never given him the time of day. For Layla, this engagement of convenience is the chance to save her career. And for Seth, it''s the chance to finally win her heart.

A January Bride by Deborah Raney

Novelist Madeleine Houser arranges a temporary office in a local bed and breakfast to escape the distracting renovations on her own house. Although she''s never laid eyes on the inn''s owner, an unlikely friendship blossoms between them as they leave daily notes for each other, and before long, Maddie finds herself falling for her mysterious host—a man likely many years her senior—and a man she''s never even met.

A February Bride by Betsy St. Amant

History repeats itself when Allie Andrews escapes the church on her wedding day—wearing the same wedding dress passed down for generations of women in her family, all women with histories of failed marriages. Allie loves Marcus but fears she''s destined to repeat her family''s mistakes. When thrown unexpectedly together for a wedding months later, Allie and Marcus discover their own story might be far from over.

Happily ever after begins today. The honor of your presence is requested at a year of weddings . . .

A January Bride

Madeleine Houser’s pen-pal friendship with a lonely widower has taken an unexpected turn.

A February Bride

Allie left the love of her life at the altar—to save him from her family curse.

A March Bride

Susanna found her prince, and happily ever after is just around the corner. But first, they must pass one final test.

An April Bride

Weeks away from the wedding, Stella and Marshall must choose between faith in their past love or a very different future than either imagined.

A May Bride

Ellie has prepared for her wedding all her life . . . but she''s forgotten the most important part.

A June Bride

The reality show ended with an engagement, so why doesn’t this feel like the fairy tale Wynne thought it would be?

A July Bride

In a moment of total panic, Brendan left Alyssa at the altar. What will it take for him to win her back?

An August Bride

As far as Kelsey Wilcox is concerned, her last cowboy was the last cowboy.

A September Bride

Annie is ready to call this new town home, but one handsome policeman is ready to stand in her way . . . even if it means walking her down the aisle.

An October Bride

What if the only way to make your father’s last wish come true . . . was to marry the man of your dreams?

A November Bride

Can a decades-long friendship marred by romantic missteps ever lead to happily ever after for Sadie and Erik?

A December Bride

What started as a whim turned into an accidental—and very public—engagement in Chapel Springs this holiday season.

In the sleepy small town of Mapleview, Michigan, Christmas is always something special. In this charming collection of romance novellas, join three generations of Mapleview residents longing for love--and finding it--on the most wonderful night of the year.

"Hopes and Fears" by Amanda Wen

Emma Trowbridge is determined to give her students the Christmas pageant of a lifetime. The last person she expected, or wanted, to encounter in her two-room classroom is her childhood rival, Frederick Oberstein. He would rather be far away himself. He wants no part of cheer, Christmas or otherwise. Can they learn to see each other in a new light--and embrace a new season of hope and faith together?

"While Mortals Sleep" by Janyre Tromp

While World War II rages overseas, news reporter Eleanor Sweers returns home to Mapleview to face the repercussions of the death of her sister and her nightmare of Christmases past. But the homefront isn''t as far from the war as she thought: a bomb has landed in the middle of the U.S. Now Eleanor and family friend Gideon Braum may have to choose between the scoop of a lifetime and the love of a lifetime.

"The Wondrous Gift" by Deborah Raney

High school football coach Caleb Janssen and music teacher Rachel Hamblin bond when they both lose their jobs at a Christian school. But when they discover their plans for the future are mutually exclusive, the fallout threatens to tear them apart.

As she waited in the darkness of the auditorium to watch their youngest son take his diploma in hand, Ellen Brighton had taken her husband’s hand and squeezed it. She realized again how right she had been to marry the man seated beside her. She could think of no one she would rather be marooned on a desert island with than this man who was her husband, her friend, her lover. Suddenly, the empty nest before her had felt wonderfully full. But that bright anticipation of the future is cut short when Ellen’s health begins to fail. A devastating medical diagnosis is followed by a heart-rending search to understand why God would allow this to happen to them. Yet Jake’s love remains strong, even when he is overwhelmed by the changes and adjustments he must endure. Then, quite innocently, Jake meets Julia Sinclair, a young widow who understands his struggle as no else can. And as their friendship grows, Jake finds himself faced with the most difficult decision he can ever make regarding his love Ellen.

“Dr. Botox” to the bored rich women of Chicago, plastic surgeon Max Jordan is shocked by his son Joshua’s decision to focus his medical degree and talent on Haitian orphans. Embittered by Joshua’s sudden death, Max searches for resolution in the place his son called home—an orphanage outside of Port au Prince.

The selflessness of Joshua’s coworkers stuns Max. He is particularly taken with American volunteer Valerie Austin, whose dream of a tropical honeymoon has been crushed, replaced by a stint working in the impoverished orphanage. But Valerie’s view of Joshua’s sacrifice—and her own—challenges everything Max knows. Have the doors to his gilded cage finally opened to a freedom he’s never known?

More Children’s Sermons to Go: 52 Take-Home Lessons About God offers a year’s worth of children’s sermons that feature small, inexpensive gifts or trinkets that help children better understand and remember the lesson of the sermon.Each of the sermon lessons in More Children’s Sermons to Go includes a Materials section, a selected Scripture text, and a take-home memento of the sermon lesson. These mementos are quick, inexpensive ideas that require 30 minutes or less of preparation time.

Bree Cordel Whitman is a Whitman by marriage, but sometimes she forgets she wasn’t born into Grant and Audrey’s family. Her late husband, Timothy Whitman, gave his life for his country on a windblown hill in Afghanistan. Bree has let the love of Tim’s family keep her ties to him strong—in the same way she keeps Tim’s memory alive for them. But it’s been almost five years, and she can’t hang onto the past forever.Fighting the guilt she feels for wanting to love again, she can’t help her dreams about a tall, dark, and handsome man—a man who is not her Tim. How can she accept the flirtations from Drew Brooks without throwing the Whitman family back into grieving? And how can Drew compete with the ghost of a hero and the hero’s very alive family who seem to hold some spell over the woman who shares their name . . . a woman he might just love?

Link Whitman has settled into the role of bachelor without everintending to. Now he’s stuck in a dead-end job and, as the next Whitmanwedding fast approaches, he is the last one standing. The pressure fromhis sisters’ efforts to play matchmaker is getting hard to bear as Linkpulls extra shifts at work, and helps his parents at the Chicory Inn.All her life, Shayla Michaels has felt as if she straddled two worlds.Her mother''s white family labeled her African American father with namesShayla didn''t repeat in polite––well, in any company. Her father’sfamily disapproved as well, though they eventually embraced Shayla astheir own. After the death of her mother, and her brother Jerry’sincarceration, life has left Shayla''s father bitter, her niece, Portia,an orphan, and Shayla responsible for them all. She knows God loves themall, but why couldn''t people accept each other for what was on theinside? For their hearts?Everything changes one icy morning when a child runs into the street andLink nearly hits her with his pickup. Soon he is falling in love withthe little girl’s aunt, Shayla, the beautiful woman who runs Coffee’sOn, the bakery in Langhorne. Can Shayla and Link overcome society’s viewof their differences and find true love? Is there hope of changing thesometimes-ugly world around them into something better for them all?

His fiancée was the one woman he’d loved.

Her children are all he has left.

Reserved contractor Wade Sullivan never expected to fall in love with Starr Parnell or to love her three small kids as if they were his own. But that’s exactly what happened. As their wedding draws near, however, tragedy strikes—and Wade must put aside his own grief in order to help Starr’s children cope.

As Wade focuses his efforts on caring for the children, he discovers that their tender, young lives give tremendous meaning to his own broken one. Then Starr’s abusive ex-husband shows up to claim the offspring who barely remember him—and Wade prepares for the fight of his life.

Will anyone believe his claim to love the children more than their father loves them?

A powerful novel of loss and discovery, courage, and grace, A Nest of Sparrows masterfully illustrates one man’s struggle to know when to fight, when to let go, and when to simply wait.

Anna’s life changes forever on one horrific night when she is assaulted and left for dead.

Anna Marquette has everything to live for. Her daughters are in college and, with the support of Paul, her loving husband, she is pursuing her dream of a career in counseling. Then one night, while on a trip to Orlando, the unimaginable happens. She takes a shortcut to an evening out with Paul and is brutally assaulted.

When Anna suspects the attack has left her pregnant, her faith is put to the test. As Anna and her family confront the heart-wrenching decisions that lie ahead, Anna gradually comes to realize that God has a plan for her and that she must trust Him. But will her family accept the choice she makes? Will her husband’s love for her prevail? And will her marriage survive this ultimate test?

This novel was originally titled In the Still of Night. It has been expanded and updated from the original edition.

A shocking revelation could tear them apart … or open their eyes to a whole new world.

Olivia Cline has followed her husband to a new town, hoping for a fresh start after Derek’s affair with a coworker. But even before they move into their new home, tragedy strikes, and Derek is gone. With no job and precious little money, how will she cope? Going back to Chicago isn’t an option. Especially not after Olivia’s shocking discovery only weeks after Derek’s death. Her answer comes in a job posting—and the handsome, brooding artist who posted it.

Acclaimed artist Reed Vincent has recently regained his eyesight, thanks to a corneal transplant. But to help him through the transition, he needs an assistant in his studio. Olivia, an aspiring artist herself, is just what Reed was looking for. And easy on the eyes, too. Through Reed’s eyes, Olivia begins to see the possibilities before her. Before them. Until, in a flash of insight, she knows why his signature is so hauntingly familiar … The revelation could tear the couple apart … or open their eyes to a new journey from sorrow to joy.

This novel was originally published in 2009 under the same title. It has been updated from the original and includes an all-new epilogue!

In the four years since her husband’s death, Melanie LaSalle’s life has been consumed with managing the family design firm and caring for her five-year-old daughter, Jerica. The possibility of a new relationship is the last thing on her mind. But when Melanie meets Joel Ellington, a new staff member at her church, she is instantly attracted to his warm spirit.

As their friendship deepens, however, Melanie is troubled by something she can’t quite understand or explain. Joel’s past seems to be off-limits, even to Melanie. Because of her growing feelings for him, Melanie pushes her doubts away. But when Joel disappears, along with the contents of a church bank account, she can no longer ignore her suspicions.

Now, torn between her feelings for Joel and the evidence mounting against him, Melanie faces a heart-wrenching decision: to forget the man who gave her reason to love again or to trust Joel enough to give him her heart.

Exploring themes of the importance of truth, loyalty, and trust, A Scarlet Cord illustrates that who we truly are depends little on outward appearances and solely on our relationship with God and on the fact that through faith in Him, we can find places of comfort, healing, and selfless love.