Shannon here: Lorri Dudley shares how she met her husband, along with an excerpt from her Historical Romance, Redeeming the Rake. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter the drawing for a print copy. Deadline: Sept 7th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Lorri:
If I’d met my husband in high school, we probably wouldn’t be married today. My husband and I were not high school sweethearts, although we attended the same high school. John was similar to the roguish troublemakers that make great romance novel heroes, but I wouldn’t tolerate his behavior. We’re proof God can change lives because we’ve been married for twenty-four years.
I met my husband during our college summer break. My co-worker, Josh, talked about this great guy I had to meet, and so I attended a party to be introduced. While standing in line for the bathroom, I realized John stood before me, so I tapped him on the shoulder, introduced myself, and noted we have a common friend. His response was to nod and turn back around.
Yeah, great guy. I shrugged off his dismissal and didn’t think much of him until Christmas break when I had a message waiting for me that John had called. He didn’t leave a message or a number, and I have a slight phone phobia, so when I say it’s a God thing that I looked him up and called him, it’s a true miracle. I can only reason that curiosity got the best of me.
John answered, and we struck up a good conversation. He apologized for when we first met. He’d broken
up with his ex-girlfriend that night, and she was picking a fight with anyone who spoke to him. I was still reeling from the bizarreness of the conversation when he asked me on a date. Our conversation went something like the following:
John- “Would you like to go out?”
Me- “On a date?”
John – “Unless you have feelings for Josh.”
Me- “What? No.”
John- “Great, then I’ll pick you up at eight.” Click.
I stood with the phone receiver in my hand, the disconnect tone blaring in my ear. Our relationship started shaky, but John was a gentleman during our date. Conversation flowed. We laughed and learned all we had in common. Shortly after winning me over,
Dudley Family
John and I found God. We were baptized together and have raised three boys who also know the Lord.
The protagonists of my latest release, Redeeming the Rake, loosely resemble mine and John’s relationship, with Jacob being a devil-may-care rake who is rescued by Emily, a traditional goody-two-shoes character. Emily is certain Jacob’s not the right man for her, but God has other plans.
Here’s an expert when Emily and Jacob first meet.
Excerpt from Redeeming the Rake by Lorri Dudley:
She glanced at the captive’s partially submerged body. The slow current dragged him into the water well past his waist. Soon, he’d float downstream.
He needed her.
She skidded down the embankment and leapt across a narrow section of the stream—a feat of which her brothers would be proud. When she reached his side, the man’s body hung limp. His shirt and hair undulated with flowing water.
Emily grabbed his boot to keep his body from slipping further into the running stream. With a strength she hadn’t known she possessed, she heaved him from the creek and rolled him onto his back. She yanked his gag down around his neck. His face was tinged an eerie pale blue, and the sight ripped a startled yelp from her lips. She dropped to the ground beside him and listened for any sound. Nothing. He wasn’t breathing. She pushed on his chest. His shirt clung to his broad shoulders, and the water chilled her hands. Matted dark-blond hair stuck to his forehead.
“Don’t die!” God, please don’t let him die!
She pushed again, applying more pressure. Come on. She stilled, listening for breaths. The scent of wet male invaded her senses.
Please.
Emily leaned further over him, raising her knee onto his stomach for better leverage. She jammed her hands repeatedly onto his chest, risking cracking his ribs, desperate to get the water out of his lungs.
“In Jesus’s name. You will live!”
***
Jacob jarred awake for the second time that morning. Creek water projected out of his mouth, along with what might have been a small minnow. He hacked out a cough and drew glorious air into his lungs.
He was alive, blessedly, wondrously, alive, albeit wet and chilled.
He opened his eyes, but Lord Benton wasn’t sneering at him. Instead, he peered into the angelic face of a woman. Her finely arched brows knit together as she leaned over him. The bite of the freezing water fell away as Jacob dissolved into a pair of soft amber eyes. She had finely molded cheekbones and a small chin. An unruly lock of thick mahogany hair dangled over her forehead, brushing his. Her rosy lips parted, and she panted as if she’d exerted herself overmuch.
Suddenly, his day seemed vastly improved.
Question for Readers: Does anyone else have a redeemed bad-boy marriage or romance? How did you see God move in your relationship?
About Lorri: Lorri Dudley has been a finalist in numerous writing contests and has a master’s degree in Psychology. She lives in Ashland, Massachusetts with her husband and three teenage sons, where writing romance allows her an escape from her testosterone filled household. Learn more & connect:
Lorri’s Website Lorri’s Facebook Lorri’s Bookbub Lori’s Goodreads
About the book – Redeeming the Rake:
He’s bent on destroying everything she values, stealing her heart in the process.
As a vicar’s daughter, Emily Thompson has always put her family’s reputation first, even when it meant setting aside her aspirations of joining the Royal Art Academy. But when a notorious London rake is accosted in her sleepy Costwold village and her quick thinking saves the libertine’s blackened soul, that reputation she’s so carefully guarded is left vulnerable to vicious gossip.
Agent Lord Jacob Edward Warren’s silver tongue can’t save him when he’s staring down the barrel of a vengeful husband’s gun. but an enchanting damsel’s skill with a bow and arrow offers him the hope of tomorrow. Intrigued by Miss Thompson’s quiet charm, he commissions the budding artist to paint his portrait, but his intensions change when he discovers this beguiling beauty holds not only his chance at redemption but also the intelligence he’s been assigned to gather.
The time spent in Lord Warren’s company has Emily wondering if he’s hiding more than charm and wit behind his reputation as a rake. But when she’s drawn into Jacob’s noble cause, the web of danger proves more perilous than either of them are prepared to face.
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Redeeming the Rake Lorri’s Books
Come back Aug 30th for Christina Rost!
Wonderful story! I have a redeemed bad-boy marriage (although my mother-in-law still thinks that he was an angel lol). God changed us both and still changing…daily!
Thank you, Natalya. That’s too funny about your mother-in-law. I was fortunate that my mother-in-law gave me some credit for making the change in her son, even though it was God, so she was pulling for me and our relationship. God is good and we too are still growing daily.
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My husband was a bad boy. If we were in high school together, he definitely would not have been my type. He was a partier, would be out all night, and even managed to get himself arrested for a DUI. We met the summer I graduated highschool and he was 24. I was friends with his sister. We hung out a little, but weren’t officially dating until I turned 20. When we started dating, his life started changing. We just celebrated our 29 year anniversary.
Congratulations, Heidi on your anniversary! I read a line from a fiction book (I can’t remember which one) that “Reformed Rakes make good husbands.” I can’t say the logic holds true in all cases but it sounds like it worked out well for you and me. Blessings!
No bad boy story here and I don’t know anyone. However, they make for a great read for me.
Me too, Cherie. Reformed bad boys are one of my favorite tropes to write and to read. Blessings!
I have a winner! Heidi Barstad won the drawing. I appreciate Lorri for being my guest and everyone else for stopping by.