love’s pure gold: book 1
truitt’s truth
I use Pinterest to pin faces close to what I visualize for all my characters. Truitt, our hero, is based on Ben Napier. Ben and Erin Napier host a favorite HGTV show I’m obsessed with called Hometown. Ben, just like my Truitt, is a big man with a big heart. My hero can chop a cord of wood with broken fingers and, in the next scene, back away from a little girl reaching for the last biscuit. Truitt is robust, honest, reliable, and conflicted.
Cassidy is our river dancing heroine. The violin on the cover is an antique from my family. I doubt it’s over a hundred years old, but it had been passed down generation to generation until it sat neglected in my mom’s shed. The case and lining were disintegrating, but it looked like a project, and she gladly gave it over to me. Amazingly, the violin was repairable, and I decided to take a few lessons at the music store where I had it fixed. My fiddle teacher was an older gentleman who had spent most of his career playing with Merle Haggard. Once I got past the 4th - grade fiddle lessons, I asked him if he could teach Amazing Grace. Interestingly after leading a “western band” guy lifestyle, this old hymn and other favorites would pour from his fiddle. Many times I just sat for my 30-minute lesson and let him play with tears in his eyes. He knew I worked at a church and would ask me questions about God. (those tough- how could God be real questions.) I find (like others) he didn’t want Biblical proof, so I would share what the relationship with my savior and friend Jesus was like for me. As my creative romance writing began flourishing, the violin now sits quietly in my room in its new case. When I feel like a Saul who has a troubled soul- I will pull it out and play those old hymns he taught me an escape into worship.
The lovely Macy Miller and I were setting our poses. I loved this other photo. There are always too many gorgeous ones to choose from. But the one with the violin won out. Funny, I know—all the titles of this series have the hero's names. But the romance Heather Armstrong captures, I find translates with the ladies. And Ben Napier likely wasn't available. Ha!
“Did you catch my blooper?” - Meant to say 1849!!!
