Shannon here: Ginger Solomon shares her inspiration for her latest Christmas novella, On Angels’ Wings, which is included in The Heart of Christmas boxed set. Comment or answer the question at the bottom of this post to enter the drawing for an e-copy of On Angels’ Wings. Deadline: Dec 1st, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Ginger:
Before I begin telling you the story behind MY story, I need to start at the brainstorming session for the boxed set, The Heart of Christmas.
Our local writers’ group meets every month to share writing tips and each other’s company. One week earlier this year, I brought up the idea of doing a boxed set with just our group. Several of our members were otherwise occupied (deadlines and family obligations), but six of us were gung-ho to do so. Then we had to decide on a theme. Somehow, we decided to base our stories off the Nativity. Each story takes a participant or location and redefines it in modern terms.
I chose angels, and thus, On Angels’ Wings was born.
At some point, I saw a picture on Facebook or Pinterest of a drawing of white angel wings on a black wall. I liked the picture. My son is a decent artist on his tablet, so I asked him to duplicate the picture for me (his wings are behind my characters on the cover). Then I had to decide how I would incorporate those wings into my story.
Sadly, that meant killing a few characters—my heroine’s twin sister and parents—before my readers ever got to meet them. From their deaths, Jenna, my heroine, received enough money to start her own business, Angels’ Wings Bakery. But it also meant moving away from her childhood home.
Fast forward to her first Thanksgiving without her family. Her former neighbor sends her adult son to invite Jenna to dinner, but he forgot. On Thanksgiving Day, he shows up unannounced and refuses to take no for an answer.
And that’s where Jenna is reunited with Thomas. Sparks ignite within her when he’s anywhere close. They had since she was a teen and had a huge crush on him. A crush that rushed back the moment he walked in her bakery.
They struggle, as most couples do, trying to figure out how to navigate differing schedules, personalities, and likes and dislikes.
One line from the story spoke to me (because you know God teaches me a lot as I write my stories). Let me set the stage.
Jenna and Thomas have had a fight. A major disagreement. While she’s forgiven him, she is hesitant to step back into a relationship. She’s scared to love him, scared that he’ll die or leave her like her sister and parents. His mother comes and has a talk with her. Here’s part of the conversation:
“He hurt me.”
“Yes, he did. And he’ll do it again. But guess what? This hurt him too. Why do you think Titus showed up here? It wasn’t because everything went on as normal at my house. Do you want to know what else? You’ll hurt him too. Probably many times. It’s part of loving someone. We all have selfish tendencies, and they come out more often than we’d like. But the hurts can’t compare to the joy of truly loving someone.”
The joys of truly loving someone outweighs the normal hurts we inflict on each other.
I realize normal is a relative word, but I feel like I need to clarify. I’m not talking about abusive relationships. I’m referring to regular, healthy relationships.
Jenna listened to Thomas’s mother. She prayed. And her conversation with God sent conviction through MY soul. But you’ll have to check out the book to find out what her talk with God involved. LOL
About Ginger: Ginger Solomon is a Christian, a wife, a mother to seven, and a writer—in that order (mostly). She writes or reads inspirational romance of any genre, and if she’s busy homeschooling, doing laundry, or fixing dinner, books are on her mind. She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, president of her local writing group, and blogs regularly for Inspy Romance and on her personal blog. Learn more and connect:
Ginger’s Website Inspy Romance Blog Ginger’s Facebook Author Page
Ginger’s Twitter Ginger’s Pinterest Ginger’s Amazon Author Page
About the novella collection – The Heart of Christmas:
Announcing five new stories filled with faith, hope, forgiveness, and of course happily-ever-afters. Each story focuses on an element of the Nativity, from the angels to the wise men. Be swept up in the love of the season and the promise of forever that the Christ child, the true Heart of Christmas, brings.
About Ginger’s novella – On Angels’ Wings:
Bakery owner, Jenna Wing prepares to spend Thanksgiving alone—her first without her family. When her former neighbor, Thomas Hayes, invites her to dinner, she finds that she can’t say no. Their previous friendship turns to something more, but Thomas’s family issues threatens their new-found relationship.
Can’t wait for the drawing? Want the whole collection? Get your copy now! Amazon – The Heart of Christmas
Question for Readers: Have you had a moment, a conversation, either with another person or with God that opened your eyes to something you’d been blind to previously? I’d love to hear about it (generally speaking, no need to be too specific if you don’t want to).
Happy Thanksgiving!
Come back November 23rd for Anne Greene!
Thanks for having me, Shannon.
This book was a great read. All of the books in this set are amazing. Grab the set and enjoy.
Thanks, Teresa.
New author for me. Exciting.
Hi, Kim. Happy to “meet” you.
sounds like a interesting book!
I once was having a hard time with forgiveness. A friend told me it was only hurting me and I realized that God was also telling me to forgive.
Yes. My daughter approached me about something that I was blind to and since then, the Lord has been working in my heart and change is coming about.
On Angels’ Wings sounds like a story I would enjoy.
I have a winner! Kim Hansen won the drawing. I appreciate Ginger for being my guest and everyone else for stopping by.