The Man Who Inspires My Love Stories

Hi Friends and Family,

I hope you’re enjoying the start to the cozy season! I love the fall—all the soft sweaters, delicious soups, sweet treats, and cooling weather.

This season also signals a time to rest and relax with loved ones, and for me, it couldn’t be more true. A week ago, my husband underwent a craniotomy and rest and relaxation are what he needs to recover. Of course, we have kiddo sports and school in full swing, but I’m so incredibly thankful for the extra time with my husband and our little family of four.

When I started writing this blog, I thought about what would interest you about me, my writing journey, as well as my upcoming love story, Where the Stars Burn, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about the man who made me believe in love and inspired my love stories—my husband, Charles. He is the love of my life, my safe haven, and the best dad to our kids.

Who made you believe in love? ❤️

People often ask me if the male leads/love interests in my romance novels are inspired by men I’ve met before. The answer: yes and no. Every character is a unique work of fiction, but I also draw from people I know, have met, or that inspire me. However, there is a piece of my husband in every male lead I write. You may wonder, why? 

Because Charles made me believe in love.

Before Charles and I met, I’d been a writer for years, penning tales about fairies as a little girl and then later as a teen, a story about a young girl meeting a boy at a lake. At twenty-three, I finished the first draft of my very first novel about a wedding waitress who falls in love when she returns home to help her family’s struggling wedding business. But guess what? It wasn’t right. It was missing something. 

It was missing deep, incredible love. 

At twenty-three, I hadn’t yet fallen in love yet. I wanted to. Believe me. I was and am a romantic at heart, having been raised in an old Victorian house that my mom turned into the setting for a successful wedding business. I loved watching the magic unfold every weekend, witnessing each happily ever after. And, I loved love stories. In addition to witnessing couples saying I do, I also was a lover of romance books and 90s romcoms. I wanted to fall in love. It just hadn’t happened yet. Of course I’d had a few relationships, but I’d never experienced that deep all-consuming love that all the greats have written about.

But once we met, I knew Charles was different. There was something special about him—he was kind, gentle, funny, and of course, handsome with sexy tattoos, but he looked at me in a way that no one else had—he truly saw me for me. He accepted me for who I was and didn’t expect me to be someone else. We fell in love, and I knew he’d be the love of my life. 

What’s more, I began writing love stories I’d always dreamed of writing because I’d found Charles—and we’d found each other.

What I didn’t know: an accident nine years into our marriage (five years ago) would change everything and nearly tear us and our small family of four apart. Still, we found our way back to one another through faith, love, and devotion. But rather than continuing to improve like we were told, Charles became worse with symptoms drastically altering just a few, short months ago, leading us to make an urgent decision: brain surgery.

Last week, I drove Charles to the hospital in preparation for a craniotomy. We prayed, asking God for guidance for months, interviewed various neurosurgeons, and were finally ready. Although we talked, joked, and prayed before surgery in the small waiting room, when it was time to let the nurses wheel Charles into surgery, I hesitated. This was my love. I kissed him again and again, and again, then wrapped my arms around him, pressing my face into the crook of his neck and my cheek against the soft cotton of his blue-and-white speckled hospital gown. I held onto him—and onto our love—then whispered, “I’ll see you after surgery. I love you so much.”

Do you remember the book, Dear John by Nicholas Sparks (it was also adapted into a movie later)? The characters never said goodbye once John went off to war. They said, “I’ll see you soon, then.” I loved the positivity and sweetness of that line. After I said those words, I visualized him coming back to me and left the rest in God’s hands.

Nine hours later, I stood beside the nurses, neurologist, and neurosurgeon as they performed neurological checks. He’d awoken slowly from anesthesia, but he couldn’t open his eyes and mumbled words that were barely audible. Slowly, he wiggled his fingers. I cried. Then, he mumbled his name. By the grace of God, he passed the basic neurological checks. 

But I desperately wanted to speak to him. I asked the doctors if I could ask him a question. One of the risks of Charles’ particular surgery was memory loss. I even teased him before the surgery, saying “don’t wake up thinking I’m ten years younger!” He laughed and said, “Come on. I’ll be fine.” But even with my faithful heart, I still worried. 

When I asked Charles if he knew who I was, even though he couldn’t open his eyes, he responded with a few muffled sounds that sounded similar to my name. That was the best sound I’d ever heard, in addition to our children’s names, which followed. 

Charles has four to six weeks or possibly more for recovery, even though we don’t know what full recovery means. What I do know is that our love will endure.

He’s the reason I believe in love. And he’s the reason I’m able to pen love stories—real love stories. Yes, I have a book coming out in less than a month, but none of this would’ve been possible without him. He is so incredibly supportive of me as I write into the night or early in the morning and even watches travel vlogs and research videos with me. What’s more, he tells his friends and co—workers that his wife is a romance author with pride. He also continuously tells me and shows me that he loves me. He makes my heart soar, and I am so grateful for him. 

He is my safe haven, my hearts home, and my soulmate.

Thank you for allowing me to share a little bit about my husband with you.

Until next time, I send you love.

xo