Author Spotlight and Book Reviews: Deborah Raney

Well, I've discovered a new author. Not new to most of you, by any means, but one that I've yet to have the pleasure of reading. I've read 3 books by this author in the past 2 weeks, and I have been thoroughly impressed! Deborah Raney has written about 18 books, and I've started at the beginning, reading some of the first books that she wrote.

My first experience was with Beneath a Southern Sky. Just reading the blurbs inside the front cover really encouraged me to read it. It was like nothing I have ever read! Deborah tells a story of a young couple, the Camfields, serving as missionaries in Columbia. Very quickly into the story, there is a horrible fire in a nearby village and Daria Camfield finds out that she has lost her husband forever. She returns to her hometown in Kansas, where she eagerly awaits the birth of her child, a child that her husband will never get a chance to know. A year or so goes by, and Daria gets some shocking news. Her husband, Nathan Camfield, has been found alive. What should be a joyous reunion for the two of them is going to be pure agony once Nathan learns that Daria has remarried. How will Daria be able to choose between two men that she has loved so deeply? This book is such a remarkable story about trusting in the Lord, even when everything in you wants to move in another direction.

My next experience came with the previous book's sequel, After the Rains. This story follows Daria and Nathan's daughter, Natalie. In case you haven't read the first book, I don't want to reveal too much!! :o) However, this is another heart-wrenching story. Natalie has a wonderful best friend, Sara, who is like a sister to her. One night, Natalie makes some decisions that will forever change their lives, and will leave Natalie with a load of guilt that she wonders if she will ever be free from.

Lastly, I got to read her novella, Playing by Heart. Maddie Houser is a successful novelist that has moved from the big city of New York to a small town in Kansas. Several different things bring her to Kansas, one of them being her mother who is suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. Also, she is helping her sister remodel a house. Too bad that she's got a writing deadline to meet in the midst of it all! With all of the craziness going on in Maddie's house, her neighbor, Ginny, kindly suggests a local bed and breakfast for her to go and write. The owner, Art Tyler, is a professor and won't even be at the inn while Maddie is there writing. After her first day at the inn, she leaves Art a short note of thanks and tells him that she hopes her being there is not an inconvenience. She returns the next morning to find a note that Art has left for her. Slowly over the next couple of weeks, they get to know a bit about each other through these small notes. However, neither one realizes that they've already met each other in town!

I have loved, loved, loved each one of these books, although there is a bit of partiality toward the first one. I was thankful to have the tissue handy! I am so eager to read the rest of her books. Next up in my TBR pile by her is A Vow to Cherish and A Scarlet Cord. The big decision will be which one to start first!