Linda Hoover – Real Life Romance – Part 1 of 1

Shannon here: Linda Hoover shares how her dad met her step-mom. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter the drawing for an ebook copy of Linda’s Historical Romance, Heart’s Journey. Deadline: June 8th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Linda:

Second Chance at Romance

Shannon, thank you for having me on your blog. I love romantic stories, so I’m happy to tell you and your readers how two special people I know met and fell in love.

Roy and Helen were married forty-five wonderful years before she was taken to heaven. Roy was lonely, but busy with work and church commitments. Friends of his, who ran a tour bus business, asked him about going on a trip to Mt. Rushmore. A group of people from our church and another in town would be going. It would be a nice way to get to know other people. Roy had a feeling what they really meant was, maybe meet a single woman. He told them he wasn’t interested in the trip and when he got home, he threw the brochure they’d given him in the waste basket.

Roy didn’t realize God had a different plan, a plan that would bring him a new life partner, so when he felt a nudge to get the brochure back out of the waste basket, he assumed it was his idea. He liked to travel and had never been to Mt. Rushmore, so decided to go. As they traveled part of the experience was to trade seats so you could get to know the other travelers. One time Roy sat next to an attractive woman named Phyllis, who was from the other church group. They seemed to hit it off, and her pastor, who was a matchmaker got busy.

Every morning when they met for breakfast, her pastor had two seats saved. One for Phyllis and one for Roy. Somehow, they were repeatedly thrown together. Before the trip was over, Roy decided he wanted to stay in contact with Phyllis, so he asked for her phone number. At first, she said no, because she wasn’t on the trip to find a man, but later in the day she gave it to him. They continued to see each other and by the next summer, they got married.

Roy is my father and Phyllis is my sweet amazing step-mother. They made each other happy for almost twenty-five years. Dad was ninety-three when he passed away after living a rich full life. No one can tell me it wasn’t God’s plan for Dad to go on that trip. He had already arranged a meeting with Phyllis. God has a plan for each of us. What a wonder to know how much he loves us.    

I asked Phyllis for a digital picture from their early years. She said, “I don’t know what you mean.” I told her one that would be saved on her phone. They got married in 1995. She said, “We didn’t have phones then.” That was a ”duh” moment. The picture I included is five or six years ago.

Question for Readers: Have you been to Mount Rushmore? If yes, what did you like best about it? If no, would you like to go? Why or why not?

About Linda: Linda lives in west central Ohio with her husband and grandson. She earned a degree in psychology from Anderson University where she learned the voices in her head were actually characters from stories waiting to be told.

Linda has been writing since childhood, but her publishing career started with writing columns and a middle-grade serial for the South Charleston Spectator. A retired librarian, she now enjoys being a full-time author in her home office.

You are invited to visit her website, Linda Hoover Books, to learn more about her and her books. You can stay in touch when you subscribe to her newsletter, and as a thank you, you’ll receive a novella.

Linda’s Website                Find Linda on the Web

About the book – Heart’s Journey: