About the Book

Book: Ransomed Peace

Author: Kathleen J. Robison

Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

Release date: June 11, 2024

When romance fails the romance writer…

After being terrorized in an abusive relationship, Roxanne Cook finally feels like she’s starting to heal. Even though her mother is ill, her return to Bay Town and the arrest of her ex-boyfriend has allowed anxieties to slip away and has renewed her faith in God. Even her faith in romance seems to be restored as she develops a school-girl crush on a certain Max Tippet.

Everything comes crashing down, however, when Roxanne finds out her ex-boyfriend is released from jail. As her new-found peace unravels, Roxanne realizes that shedding her fears isn’t the same as facing them.

How will she trust in God to provide her the courage to escape the cycle that almost killed her?

 

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About the Author

Kathleen is an Okinawan-American. Born in Okinawa, raised in California, Florida, Mississippi, and Singapore. Her travels lend themselves to the settings in her books, and her large family provides fun fodder for her characters. She and her Pastor husband have eight adult children. Seven are married, blessing them with sixteen grandchildren, and more on the way! Her ethnically diverse family of 33 plus personalities presents many opportunities to write about God’s amazing love amid trials, tragedies, and blessings. He is the one true inspiration and hope for us all.

More from Kathleen

For some, Ransomed Peace may be a hard story to read. It was a hard story to write. But rest assured, it’s a romance, and I guarantee a happily ever after! One of my favorite passages in the bible teaches that beauty from ashes lends hope that rises from hardships. Ransomed Peace begins with domestic violence. By God’s grace, I’ve never been a victim of it, but someone very close to me was. It was long ago, and unfortunately, at the time, I had no idea how to help her other than to aid in her rescue and give her refuge from the situation. But even then, that wasn’t the solution. Fortunately, today, many programs, housing, and counseling are available for those who suffer this horrible crime, but it continues and can happen to anyone. I encourage victims to seek professional help. It is as close as the internet or your local church body. Here’s the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 800-799-7233.

In Ransomed Peace, the main character, Roxanne, is a victim. As in all my books, God is the ultimate answer to any problem. But just as Roxanne was urged to seek help, I urge all victims to take action. Especially preventative action. Drawing and staying close to the Lord through His Word, prayer, and relationship with other God-fearing believers will aid in avoiding toxic people. Together, we can learn to follow and obey God’s guidance, allowing us to make the right choices in relationships. Sometimes, such as in the case of children, a choice is not possible, but God’s help always is. As we step in and walk alongside victims, we have the opportunity to help them to seek Jesus. His solution is eternal.

In my Romantic Suspense books, I choose to write about difficult real-life situations because, as a Pastor’s wife, I’ve prayed and walked with many women. Nobody’s life is perfect or ideal, and everyone suffers something. A reader wrote to me once, sharing how my book had encouraged her to walk with the Lord in areas of her life she hadn’t thought about before. She was secure in her salvation, yet she said it wasn’t until she read one of my books that she realized that living a life of purpose in all areas was possible. And it is! That’s the non-fiction part of my books. Whether our difficulties are past or present, we always need to be pointed to God’s Word in everything, not just for bliss on earth, which is never going to happen, but for the hope of our future with Him in heaven one day.

Sometimes, we are victims of circumstance and are blindsided by a force we can’t seem to contend with. Sometimes, we suffer the consequences of violence because of a bad decision we’ve made, yet it is still unjustly deserved. Whatever the cause, God loves us, and Jesus knows and feels our plight. He lived it, and there is a way out. God’s plan is for us to live for His glory.

I pray my books will inspire all to seek Him and follow Him in every phase of life. “To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;” Isaiah 61:3. Giving Him the ashes from our tragedies so He can restore joy for His praise is to live with joy over the blessings, and to find joy in Him through our sufferings.

The Lord uses people to help us live a life worthy of Him, in good times and bad. But we can’t do it alone. That’s why I created Bay Town. A community that represents real life in some way. As you read the Bay Town Series, I hope you’ll be inspired and encouraged by the characters that help one another. Trustworthy authority figures like Chief Bert and Pastor Desmond and good role models like Melanie Thompson Brooks and Max Tippet. And you’ll love the little comic relief provided through Tina, Lyla, and Bethie Cook. At some point, you’ll meet the same people in each book and hopefully come to love them as I have. Each story is unique, and each stands alone, championing themes of hope! As you read the series, you’ll become a part of Bay Town. A community that lives to watch out for one another and purposes to love and serve God.

Interview with the Author

1. What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?

Lately, none that had to do with my book Ransomed Peace! Although, ever since Book One, Shattered Guilt released, I’ve wanted to visit Bay St. Louis, the inspiration for the quaint little Bay Town in my series. Sadly, I haven’t made it back there since I was a young girl, but those memories inspired the series. Consequently, I was quite excited when an old friend from childhood texted and said he was on a road trip and was going through Bay St. Louis! He asked what he could look up for me. I gave him a list. My heart lifted when he sent pictures of my childhood house on the edge of the woods, that looked just the same as it did almost sixty years ago! Also, I I asked him to look for the famous Shoo Fly surrounding one of the largest Live Oaks downtown. I now have my own photograph of the iconic structure. In Book Five, Shaded Goodness my entire climatic shoot-out takes place around the Shoo Fly! But you’ll have to wait until June of 2025 to read that one.

I don’t know if this classifies as a pilgrimage, but whenever I’m in Washington, I must visit Birch Bay. The picturesque view sparks romantic notions that run wild in this writer’s heart. It helps that I walk the rocky shore with my husband, and quite often in silence. With birds squawking overhead and the water lapping over pebbles interspersed between clam shells and crab exoskeletons, all sorts of ideas flood my brain. Although it had nothing to do with me writing Ransomed Peace. Still, I’m able to carry the godly inspiration that Birch Bay stirs in me to most things I write.

2. How do you select the names of your characters?

An interesting question because of my quirk! Often times I have a real person in mind that has the traits I emulate in a character, so I use their names in the first draft to stay true to the personality. I just have to remember to change the names in draft two, so no one recognizes them! Unfortunately, I forgot to do that in Book One of my Bay Town Series, and a minor character, Mrs. Crowley, my true-life friend, has made a comeback in each subsequent book. Ransomed Peace included. Fortunately, she’s a loveable character!

In Ransomed Peace, the main characters are Roxanne and Dwayne. Because my book is Southern Romantic Suspense, I thought those names worked well. However, it wasn’t my usual approach to selecting names, but for this book it worked. Because I have a bohemian streak, I enjoy employing unusual monikers so sometimes I throw out popular names and go with what I like.

Normally, I check my chart of Character Names in My Books.  I found I gravitated to the same names whenever beginning a new book, so I constructed the chart and list every character alphabetically with a reference to which book they’re in. I’ll look for names that begin with the letter least used, then the search begins. I research popular names during the time period and geographic location. Once I find those, I tend to go by what sounds good. My critique group commented that they loved the lyrical sound of names that connected my characters. In my other Bay Town Books, I have Melanie and Desmond, Lacey and Wade, and Carol and John. In Ransomed Peace Roxanne is linked with Max later on. It’s a fun process. Ultimately, the sound of the name rolling off my tongue has to be just right.

3. What was your hardest scene to write?

In Ransomed Peace it was the ending. I can’t say too much, but I agonized over the climax and denouement. I couldn’t make the bad guy too sympathetic, but he had to be real! I can’t even count the number of rewrites, but I think I got it right. At least according to early reviews. Praise the Lord.

But definitely the faith scenes or man in the mirror scenes take a lot of work. I don’t want to come across too dramatic or too preachy. Because the Lord permeates my heart, mind and soul, it’s hard not to put God in every thought my protagonist has. Everyday, I’m overcome with gratefulness and awe that He saved me, and I did nothing to deserve it! For me it’s so real, but I’m older and it’s taken me a long time to enjoy this place in my faith journey, and I still have a long way to go. But I have to remind myself that everyone is not in the same place. Circumstances, environment and age has a lot to do with it. It helps when I can recall times when the Lord seemed so far away. Or times of trials when I struggled not to judge or criticize others which sabotages my actions as a believer.

4. What comes first, the plot or characters?

Most of the time, the characters. I’m people driven and fascinated by what makes a person tick. They may not have a spectacular life, but their mesmerizing persona makes me what to build a character. Oftentimes it’s a person of faith with flaws that inspire me. It provides plenty of opportunity to show the Lord’s redemptive plan for all of us.

That wasn’t the case in Ransomed Peace! I have no idea how I came up with Roxanne, and she went through many changes. My Alpha Reader didn’t like her much. Too whiny, she said. I agreed, so I transformed her victimization into a woman of strength through the help of friends and family who pointed her to Jesus. Only the Lord can ultimately give us the strength to overcome challenges and make it last, so a restoring faith is the key element and it can oftentimes seem extremely elusive, as was the case in Roxanne’s journey.

5. Who is the author you most admire in your genre?

That’s a hard question for me. I often struggle with my genre. I write Romantic Suspense, but it’s not like Susan May Warren or Colleen Coble who balance both subjects well. I feel my books focus a bit more on the romance while keeping the suspense. Chautona Havig intereviewed me and said my books were much like Women’s fiction, but not because of the high tension. I asked an editor that just finished Book Five, Shaded Goodness what she thought. She said she’d classify my books as Inspirational Romantic Suspense.

Lately, I ‘ve discovered Shelley Shephard Gray. She’s a bestselling author who writes a variety of genre’s, but primarily Amish Romantic Suspense. I don’t tend to read Amish fiction, but I admire her voice, and she tends to focus quite a bit on the romance while keeping the tension as well. So currently, she’s the author I admire most in my genre.

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, July 8

Artistic Nobody, July 9 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, July 10

Stories By Gina, July 11 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, July 12

For the Love of Literature, July 13 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 13

lakesidelivingsite, July 14

Tell Tale Book Reviews, July 15 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, July 16

Beauty in the Binding, July 17 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, July 18

Guild Master, July 19 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, July 19

An Author’s Take, July 20

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, July 21 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Kathleen is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card and copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2cd01/ransomed-peace-celebration-tour-giveaway