by Patricia Bradley
Did you know some people have a hard time accepting help? Often first-borns, they are usually capable and independent as all get out and often believe they’re rarely wrong. In fact, most will proudly tell you the one time they were wrong, they were actually right after all. This type of personality can be good—people who are wired this way get things done and they don’t lack confidence in their abilities. On the other hand, that quality sometimes makes it hard for them to let go and let God have His way.
I couldn’t help smiling as I reread the above paragraph, realizing I’d just described myself. As an independent woman who has had to pick herself up by her bootstraps more than once, I do have a hard time not getting in God’s way. So of course that’s the heroine I create for my romantic suspense books. After all, they say to write what you know.
My latest heroine, Jenna Hart in Deadly Revenge, is such a woman. Jenna, like me, has yet to learn to never say never. Early on, she declares she will never date another police officer. (Snort.)
So who does she fall in love with? Max Anderson, a Tennessee Bureau of Investigations Agent, proving that there’s a reason the never-say-never saying is still around since it was first penned by Charles Dickens.
While Jenna isn’t a wimp, certain situations in her life have made her less confident in her abilities. Things like getting shot, and having PTSD, and discovering her fiancée is a dirty cop—make that ex-fiancée. He broke up with her while she was recovering from the gunshot wound.
All Jenna wants to do is go home, lick her wounds, and start over. Problem is, she wants to do it her way, not God’s. Sound familiar? I’m afraid that once again I’ve written from experience. That adage about a writer never wasting anything is true.
Did I mention she questions her faith? After everything that has happened to her, it’s no wonder she asks, “Where are you, God?” But He hasn’t moved. He has never left her, and it takes Max, the cop she vowed to never date, to remind her that God is with her and has been all along. Bit by bit, Jenna realizes what Max says is true. When she faces her greatest test, armed with spiritual truth and her fighting spirit, she’s able to fight back with God and Max by her side.
One reason I write inspirational suspense is to offer hope to a desperate world and to show that Christians have fears and problems, too. What makes my characters different is the way they solve their problems. They trust in Someone else for strength, the Someone who gives them peace when everything around them falls apart.
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author Patricia Bradley’s fifteen inspirational romantic suspense books are set in the South where she and her two rescue kitties make their home. When she's not writing, she likes to throw mud on a wheel to see what comes out. You can learn more about her and her work at ptbradley.com.
About the Book
When Agent Maxwell Anderson and Deputy Jenna Hart team up to track down the killer before a big political rally, the sparks of romance reignite and the threads of the investigation get tangled. Jenna and Max will have to draw on all of their skills to stay alive and prevent the wave of disaster poised to hit the community of Pearl Springs.
Did You Know?
A study of 40,000 people by the Center of Bible Engagement showed that when people engage with the Bible at least four times a week, dramatic life changes are found, including these results: feeling lonely drops 30 percent, anger issues drop 32 percent, bitterness in relationships drops 40 percent, and alcoholism drops 57 percent. A daily infusion of the truth of God’s Word makes us stronger.
Mentally: Reading the Bible can stimulate our brain’s neural pathways, so that we have sharper cognitive thinking and stronger decision-making abilities. As a former educator, I noticed that an extraordinary number of valedictorians from our high school were Christian young people. From a young age, they had been challenged by biblical concepts.
Emotionally: A Baylor University study of inmate groups showed that Bible reading reduced feelings of depression, anxiety, and anger, as well as grief associated with former trauma. Bible reading also increased forgiveness, compassion, and a sense of purpose.
Spiritually: A Fuller Seminary spiritual formation course teaches that the information that we allow to filter into our lives is one of the ways we are formed spiritually. Reading the Bible daily shows us God’s character, helps us fight temptations, guides us to see life from God’s perspective instead of just following along with cultural influences, and brings about personal peace and confidence.
Following a reading plan provides a structure to grow in our faith. I started reading through the Bible yearly about twenty years ago, and it has changed my life.
-Janet Holm McHenry, Looking Up!