Guest Post: Debra E. Marvin

Debra E. Marvin

I’m so pleased to visit Delia’s blog. Goodness! What a great blog name! When she and I chirped and chattered last month, I was actively promoting my novella, WHY NOT, part of the Valentine Matchmaker Collection from Forget Me Not Romances. I say ‘was’ because I’m now in the Land of Impending Deadline and working on two upcoming stories that (ahem) may or may not be late.

Confused? So am I. Some days I type in the wrong character name. 

But WHY NOT (purchase link) is available now, (Ebook), and I’m giving away the nine-novella collection. Let me know in the comments, if you’re interested.

While the action culminates at a Valentine’s Party held at the Grand Canyon’s El

Tovar Hotel, 1914, the theme resonates year round—control. 

Do I jest? Because if you still think you have control over things, you must be young or…slow to catch on.

Desiring control of our lives is part of the process of maturing and, dare I say, escaping from the whims of our all-too-flawed parents and teachers. Being in control lets us finally make our own incredibly insightful decisions.

In WHY NOT, we meet Amber Wynott, a confident, intelligent young woman eager to prove that she has more to offer the world than settling for the role of society wife and mother.  Amber’s station in life has provided a safe base for her dreams. And perhaps that’s half the problem. If she had no choice but to work—taking in laundry, for example—in order for her family to eat, she wouldn’t have time to pooh-pooh her limited options. Don’t worry. Amber is not as snooty as she sounds. She’s also a champion of the working class… and much more unsure of herself than she wants you to think.  But, bless her heart, she has something to prove.

Next along is Stone Morrison, a master stone mason, and he just happens to have even more to prove than Amber. He’s just not so obvious about it.

Amber and Stone are both desperate to control their futures, rather than fall into the old, un-escapable family expectations, and gave me a lot to work with! I hope you are tempted to find out how incredibly suited they are to one another.

Because I can’t quite control what you do, can I? No more than I controlled my children, my pets, or my undying love for baked goods. Wishing we had control over things isn’t a bad thing; we’d protect our loved ones, and help those in need. What about self-control? For me, I can manage to stay away from sugar, or avoid buying another book, or yard of fabric, but, boy, the big things like doubt, worry, depression? No. That’s when we learn that giving it up, turning it over by faith to our God is the better choice. He can guide us, but he won’t control us.

“Jesus, Take the Wheel”, right?

Unfortunately, right down the road, we grab that wheel right back when things get bumpy.

I suggest you give yourself a little break. We can start over every day, multiple times a day, if needed.  God wants obedience—not because He abhors free will (He gave it), but because He knows the plans He has for you. Just like parents would love to control their children if it meant keeping them safe from harm and pain.

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About WHY NOT?

Love Puts These Two On the Edge!

Grand Canyon, 1914

Society girl Amber Wynott’s wintry escape to the Grand Canyon provides a chance to pursue her dream and prove she has what it takes to be a successful architect. It doesn’t take long to realize the incredible scenery can’t hide the simmering anger between ‘railroad money’ and the struggling locals.

Which side is master builder Stone Morrison on?

Amber has met her match in the handsome, hard-headed man. He’s been directed to keep an eye on her, but when iron meets iron—oh the sparks! As their unlikely old matchmaker tells them, pride goes before a fall, and this is a bad place to fall. Will danger finally knock some sense into the pair?

You can find me in too many places. Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, Pinterest, and my website, DebraEMarvin, where I’m currently offering a 1-in-50 chance for a $25.00 Amazon Gift Card for new subscribers to my newsletter.

About the Author

Debra E. Marvin tries not to run too far from real life but the imagination born out of being an only child has a powerful draw. Besides, the voices in her head tend to agree with all the sensible things she says. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Sisters in Crime, and serves on the board of Bridges Ministry in Seneca Falls, NY. She is published with WhiteFire Publishing, Forget Me Not Romances, and contracted with Journey Fiction. Debra works as a program assistant at Cornell University, and enjoys her family and grandchildren, obsessively buying fabric, watching British programming and traveling with her childhood friends.