Janet W. Ferguson – Story Behind the Story – Part 1 of 1

Shannon here: Janet W. Ferguson shares the inspiration behind her latest Contemporary Romance, Holding on to Hope. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter the drawing for an e-book copy. Deadline: Sept 30th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Janet:

What Would Be Your Dream Wedding?

Weddings take all shapes and forms these days, especially since 2020 messed up a lot them. I hear about couples who elope and then have the “wedding” a year later. Some marry on an exotic vacation and have a reception back home. Destination weddings have been around for a while but seem especially popular these days.

In 2021, my family traveled to Wyoming to see the Grand Tetons. We were immediately in awe of the landscape. I knew right away I wanted to write a novel set there. I had the perfect couple: Caleb and Hope from my last novel Healing Skye! 

It would be fun to have Hope to plan a destination wedding, since she was already into wedding planning. Caleb comes out to help.

Here is Hope’s first impression of the area:

No wonder Caroline wanted to return to this place. Hope took in the majesty outside the car’s windows. The white-streaked jagged mountains appeared to have erupted from the flat fields blanketed with yellow wildflowers and sage. The view of the peaks against the endless blue sky took her breath away.

But even in this beautiful setting, things might go wrong along the way. I gave the couple quite a bit to deal with.

This novel has more of a rom-com feel than some of my novels.

Then the joke was on me. Because while I was researching weddings and writing this story, my daughter ended up getting engaged! Weddings are very special times, but they are also hard work 😊

My daughter decided to marry privately on a beach in North Carolina, then a week later have a nice reception back in the Atlanta area where she lives. She planned and worked very hard to set up things just the way she wanted. It all looked beautiful to us, but she said many things didn’t actually go like she planned. Isn’t that life though? Yet, God is good!

I’m like my daughter, I think. If I could go back in time, marrying privately on the beach sounds great, and then having a celebration later.

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!

Question for Readers: If you aren’t married, what would be your dream wedding? If you are married, if you could have done things differently (imagine unlimited dollars), what would have been your dream wedding?

About Janet: Janet W. Ferguson is a Christy Award finalist, Maggie Award Winner, and the FHL Readers Choice Award winning author of realistic inspirational fiction. An avid reader, she loved books so much she found a job as a librarian so she could be around them all day. Then she turned that love of story into writing faith-filled novels with characters who feel like best friends. You’ll laugh and cry as the quirky heroes and heroines chase their happily ever after.

​ Janet and her husband live in Mississippi where they say y’all a lot, and she forces him to visit the beach as often as possible. They have two grown children, one really smart dog, and a cat that allows them to share the space. Learn more & connect:

Janet’s Website – Use the contact page, subscribe to my newsletter for exclusive book news and giveaways, or stop by my blog, Under the Southern Sun.

Janet’s Facebook         Janet’s GoodReads         Janet’s Bookbub

I love to hear from readers!

About the book – Holding On to Hope:

A fun road trip romance to the Grand Tetons!

Always the wedding planner, never the bride. Hope Rodriguez loves planning weddings. There’s nothing more special than helping a bride become a princess for a day, but she’s not sure that’s her calling in life anymore.

If only she had her own special someone. Her only current prospect leaves her with more questions than answers about where she falls in his list of priorities.

Yet, when a lifelong friend asks her to plan a destination wedding across the country in only two weeks, she’ll have to figure out how to pull off the impossible…alone.

After being burned as a child and deserted by his family, Caleb Donnelly has an intimate relationship with pain. Despite all he’s endured, one ache refuses to leave him—the throbbing in his heart where Hope is concerned.

So when Hope needs help with their friend’s wedding, he can’t stop himself from volunteering to travel two thousand miles to Jackson, Wyoming.

As long as he keeps his feelings in check, he might not ruin their friendship. Because a beautiful woman like Hope could never love a scarred man like him. There’s no way their longtime friendship could ever become more.

When Hope and Caleb’s plans go up in flames, it’s their hearts that might never recover.

Can’t wait for the drawing? Worried you won’t win? Interested in Janet’s other titles?

Get your copy/copies now!

Holding On To Hope       Healing Skye        Janet’s Books

Come back Sept 26th for Jenny Carlisle!