I’m a Regency fanatic. I fell in love with the time period when I read my first one at age 15. As the years went by, however, the stories became more and more predictable (given the fact that the Regency period only encompasses about 15 years in England’s history, it did limit the story lines). But 15 years ago I came up with my own idea for a story, different than I’d ever read, and I wrote it. Basically, I wrote it for me. I was experiencing medical problems and it took doctors two years to diagnose me with Lupus. In my story, the heroine faces struggles in her life due to a physical problem, and I could incorporate real feelings and real frustration dealing with the medical profession.
In 2004, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
At the end of that two-year ordeal, I pulled that story out and revised it to reflect more of the personal experiences I faced. I incorporated, most importantly, that the hero and heroine would begin their story as friends. My husband and I started as friends and when we married, we had more than a husband and wife relationship, we had a “stand by you” kind of friendship on top of our “for better or worse” vows. My husband was there for me every step of the way and I wanted the hero to be there through the heroine’s struggles so their bond would be stronger because of it.
The story also reveals the heroine’s search for God’s plan in her life as she faces the trial on a daily basis. She claims Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope” and she believes her disability only allows her to be useful in one way. But when the hero comes along, her belief wars with what could be, until the hero makes her understand that the Lord’s plan changes with the trials and experiences we struggle through because it prepares us for His next purpose for our lives. And they both discover that the plan God has for them includes each other!
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