Shannon here: Lori DeJong shares how her life influenced her fiction, or vice versa, plus a romantic excerpt, & chance to win her latest Romantic Suspense, Mistletoe and Malice. Comment or answer the question in any post dated Oct 21st – Nov 1st to enter the drawing plus 3 other titles in my Oct Book Bundle #2 Giveaway. Deadline: Nov 8th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Lori:
Heeding the Call:
My husband and I are currently studying Experiencing God in our couples’ life group from church. I’ve been so inspired and challenged by the concept of seeking where God is working and joining Him there. To go where He’s calling me to go and do what He’s calling me to do.
When I wrote Mistletoe and Malice, I had no idea at that time that Riley Hudson, my female protagonist, was doing exactly that with her life. Her commitment to her faith led her to her chosen vocation, not to mention the several charities she helms. A woman of great means, she doesn’t hesitate to use her wealth and influence to make the world a better place.
After her good friend meets a violent end, she’s left heartbroken. But when the man convicted of the crime reaches out to her for help, she has to decide whether this is another call from God or walk away.
In the epilogue, bodyguard Colton Blankenship meets her at one of the worst moments of her life, never expecting their paths will cross yet again.
Excerpt from Mistletoe and Malice by Lori DeJong:
With his 9 mm Glock resting in its shoulder holster under his suit coat, Colton watched the post-funeral guests milling quietly around the opulent living room of The Honorable Josiah Mulaney and his wife, Priscilla.
Their younger daughter had been lowered into the ground that afternoon, under a late April sun. He hadn’t known the young woman buried today, but his heart still sat heavy in his chest as he’d watched the guests partaking of post-funeral hors d’oeuvres. He felt like an interloper. A voyeur watching grief penetrate this place like a fog. Dense and dark and without remedy. This fog would never go away.
The job usually kept his mind and body busy, which he preferred to days like today, when he had too much time on his hands to think. To feel. More than he’d wanted to over the past year, seven months, and four days.
At the graveside, he’d been on alert, watching for anybody who might be a threat to the senator after a high-profile vote last month had garnered more hate mail than normal. Here at the estate, though, there was nothing for his protection detail to do but cool their heels.
He let himself out a back door, into the waning sunlit afternoon. Dusk would settle in soon, and darkness after that. As it did every day. Day in. Day out. Repeat.
Life went on. Never waiting for grief to loosen its insidious grip.
His focus landed on a woman seated on a stone bench, head bowed and arms crossed over her stomach.
The door shut with a soft click behind him, and her head snapped around.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“No, it’s okay.” She stood and smoothed her dress over narrow hips. “Just having a little talk with God.”
Praying. She’d been praying. Something he hadn’t done in … well, one year, seven months, and four days.
As she moved closer, his brain took the usual notes. Shoulder-length dark hair worn straight and pulled behind her ears. Bangs that brushed her eyebrows. Petite and slender. No doubt another society princess, if the obviously expensive black dress she wore was any clue. Not to mention the ridiculously high-heeled, red-soled shoes, designer sunglasses, the diamond pendant around her neck, matching earrings, and tennis bracelet on her delicate wrist. No wedding ring, but an emerald surrounded by diamonds sparkled from her right hand.
She halted a few feet away and crossed her arms over her middle. “Are you a friend of the Mulaneys?”
“No, ma’am. Petersen Security. Personal protection detail.”
One eyebrow hitched, and she pushed her sunglasses up onto her head, revealing eyes that competed with the emerald ring for most intense color. “And who are you protecting? Personally? From out here?”
He held back a chuckle. This one had spunk. “Senator Congdon. But I’m not needed until we leave the premises.”
When he said nothing further, she offered her hand. “Riley Hudson.”
Of course. Daughter of Andrew Hudson, one of the Houston moguls sitting with the grieving judge and the senator inside. A billionaire financier and another of Petersen Security International’s high-profile clients.
He gave her hand a quick squeeze and let go. “Ms. Hudson.”
She turned her eyes to the horizon, with the sun settling into its journey to the other side of the globe. Eyes shimmering with the fallout of grief, yet she held a measure of quiet strength about her. Not like she would fall apart any second. Fortunate, because comforting a distraught woman was not among his specific skill set.
He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry about your friend.”
She swallowed and crossed her arms again as her gaze went back to the grounds beyond the terrace. “Only four months ago, she was practically giddy about … Shane. I can’t believe—it doesn’t make sense …” She shook her head and turned back to him. “She shouldn’t have died like this. Nobody should die like this.”
He’d been on the other side of the country when Miss Mulaney had been found dead by her boyfriend. Stabbed over twenty times in her own home.
That same boyfriend now sat in jail, Caitlyn Mulaney’s blood on his hands.
Reader Question: Have you ever found yourself pulled in a direction you felt was of divine origin? Perhaps a task you knew you couldn’t do without God’s help? Please share!
Oct Book Bundle #2
Don’t Blink by Jordyn Redwood, Romantic Suspenses, e-book copy of the complete box set
For the Love of Recipes – recipe collection from various authors including R.F. Whong. Free download when you sign up for her weekly newsletter. You may unsubscribe anytime after the download. There’s no obligation.
Mistletoe and Malice by Lori DeJong, Contemporary Romantic Suspense, print
Salvaged and Liabetes by Shanna M. Heath, Young Adult Contemporary Romance, print
A Daughter’s Choice by Kelly Irvin, Amish Romance, print
About Lori: Lori DeJong (pronounced DeeYung) is an award-winning contemporary Christian romance author who enjoys penning stories full of grace and the redemptive power of God’s love that inspire others to hope regardless of circumstance, find joy in the moment, and grow in their faith.
Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Lori arrived in Texas in 2005 and dug those roots right in. She currently resides in beautiful Georgetown, north of Austin, with her husband of thirty years. Other than their two fur-babies, their nest is empty, as their daughter and son-in-law are settled in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.
Lori loves to write about love and romance and all that fun stuff, with a firm foundation of faith. Clean but sassy, sparkly, and even goose-bumpy romance, with God in the middle and characters seeking and learning and changing, couldn’t be more heartwarming or spine-tingly.
Lori’s debut novel, Love’s True Calling, released in 2023, was the 2022 winner of the ACFW Genesis Award for Romance, a double finalist in the 2024 Selah Awards, and was named the 2023 Scrivenings Press Contemporary Book of the Year. Love’s True Home, released in June 2024, was also a Selah finalist. Love’s True Measure released in June 2025. Lori’s Christmas novella, Jingle Bell Matchmakers, a part of “A Match Made at Christmas” novella collection, released in October 2024 and was named a 2025 ACFW Carol Award finalist. Mistletoe and Malice, the first book in her new Guarded Hearts romantic suspense series, released October 21.
Can’t wait for the drawing? Worried you won’t win? Interested in Lori’s other titles?
Get your copy/copies now!
Lori’s Website Lori’s Community Lori’s Instagram
Lori’s Facebook Lori’s Goodreads Lori’s Bookbub Lori’s Pinterest
About the book – Mistletoe and Malice:
He’s sworn to protect her life … but guarding his heart may be his biggest challenge.
After barely escaping an attempted abduction, Houston attorney Riley Hudson is forced to accept her wealthy father’s demand for private security. The last thing she wants is a bodyguard—especially one as maddeningly arrogant, bossy … and handsome as Colton Blankenship. Yet as the threat against her escalates, she begins to rely not only on his skills, but his steadfast presence.
Colton isn’t thrilled about giving up his hard-earned holiday vacation to protect a spoiled heiress. But he soon learns Riley is nothing like he expected. Fierce, independent, and unwavering in her faith, she’s everything he thought he’d left behind after tragedy shattered his own beliefs. As the unknown threat circles closer, the tension between them ignites into something deeper … and far more perilous.
When a second attempt on Riley’s life nearly succeeds, Colton faces a terrifying truth. Protecting her means risking more than just his life. Haunted by a past he can’t outrun, and a faith he’s all but lost, he must decide if he can trust God again … before he loses Riley—and his heart—for good.
Mistletoe and Malice Lori’s Books
Come back Oct 25th for Shannon’s Book Bargains Roundup!
Leave a Reply