About the Book

Book: Rose’s Redemption

Author: Donna L. H. Smith

Genre: Christian Western

Release Date: November, 2018

A Former Dance Hall Girl. A Handsome Young Doctor. Can Rose overcome her past? That’s Rose’s Redemption

Rose Rhodes changed not only her name after the tornado; she changed her outward appearance. No more was she Rosalie O’Roarke, former dance hall girl. She loves her new work as a nurse-in-training to handsome Doctor Scott Allison. As Scott and Rose’s relationship begins to change from professional to personal, they must deal with figures from Rose’s past who make life anything but easy. Rose is concerned that the town will discover her dance hall girl past, especially when Jake Thomas, the man who viciously beat her, asks all over town where Rosalie O’Roarke went. But both Rose and Scott are in for surprise encounters with Christ that will change their lives forever and help them see His plan for them. In fact, they will see God at work all over New Boston.

Rose’s Redemption won second place in the 2017 Golden Leaf Award at the Advance Novelist Retreat and was a finalist in the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Phoenix Rattler Contest.

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1. Do you set a plot or prefer going wherever an idea takes you?

I’m more of a “pantser,” yet I have to know what story I’m telling. My first writing teacher was a “plotter,” or “outliner.” She had this huge cork board on her wall. Before she even wrote her first sentence, she plotted out the whole story on 3 x 5 cards. She could change them around, but that’s too much trouble, if you ask me.

I have 3 – 4 major plot points of where the story is going. But how it gets there is so much fun! Because characters and actions/responses can surprise me. And usually, those surprises make the story so much better.

2. What would you say is the easiest aspect of writing?

The easiest part of writing is just letting the story flow out. The creativity sets my brain afire and it’s so much fun. That’s when the pantser takes over and you never know what will be typed next!

3. Do you need to be in a specific place or room to write, or you can just sit in the middle of a café full of people and write?

My preference is my personal home office, where it’s quiet. Once, I wrote during a time when I wasn’t in session, at a conference in the room where appointments were taking place. Not dead quiet, but not loud either. I wouldn’t do my best work in a café full of people. Some writers I know go to a café at a time when there aren’t a lot of people around—so they can concentrate better.

4. Where do you get your ideas for your books?

For my first book, I asked God for a “novel” idea. And a phrase came to mind that I needed to research more about. It became the climax of the first book. People liked Rosie from the first book, and her story begged to be written.

The idea of Rose’s Redemption is to show there is more to change than just your outward appearance. An internal change of heart is also needed. That’s why the whole series is called Known by Heart. It comes from an old song by Nancy Honeytree by the same name.

5. Do bits of yourself/friends show up in your characters?

Oh yes. A little bit of my story is in Rose’s Redemption. Only she handled the news a lot than I did. Of course, I was in my sixties when I discovered that fact, she’s around 20. I don’t know how I would have reacted if I’d learned what she learned at that age.

The character of Jackson is based on a real ex-slave named Jackson.

The two women who have the flu in this book mirrored my two flu bouts of 2017.

About the Author

Donna L.H. Smith is a Kansas prairie girl transplanted to Lancaster County, PA. She is a graduate of Christian Writer’s Guild Craftsman program and holds two college degrees, both B.S. and M.A. in Mass Communication. She’s been married to a wonderful man named Kirby for thirty years. Her debut novel, Meghan’s Choice, made the finals of both the Selah and Will Rogers Medallion Awards. Rose’s Redemption, the sequel, also made the Selah Award finals in 2019. She blogs, speaks at workshops and holds inner healing retreats. Although she is at an age where many begin slowing down, she wouldn’t think of it. She served as Managing Editor of www.almostanauthor.com, an award-winning website for writers. She continues to serve as ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) Mid-Atlantic Zone Director. She is also a member of AWSA’s Protégé program (Advanced Writers & Speaker’s Association).

More from Donna

Rose’s Redemption is the second book in the Known by Heart series. There were interesting challenges to this book.

First, how to change a rascal of an antagonist from Meghan’s Choice, to the romantic hero of Rose’s Redemption.

Second, I serve a supernatural God, so I wanted to include a little something different. It’s not spec-fic, but I hope people will enjoy Rafe. Answer the question for yourself whether or not he is an angel.

Third, I included in Rose’s history a bombshell from her mother. That was personal to me, only I didn’t discover it until two years ago.

The point of Rose’s Redemption is that our faith or our change cannot just be external, as Rose tried to do by changing her name, her appearance, and her profession—but an internal change of heart, too.

God is in the business of change