Every Hidden Thing by Valerie Massey Goree

Reading for pleasure came late into my young life. It wasn’t until my teens that I discovered the joy of reading. Nancy Drew books hooked me first, and later, I read numerous Regency Romances. The heroines were always petite and blonde, and the heroes – usually much older – were tall, dark, and handsome. Blonde heroines suited me fine at the time because I was born with white-blonde hair which didn’t darken until my early 20s.

Many years later when I began writing fiction, I based my characters’ outside appearances on people I associated with, lived beside, worked with. Some of my heroines are blonde and some of my heroes are tall, dark, and handsome. But I’ve made a conscious effort to create characters who don’t follow the Regency Romance criteria and who might live in the area where the story is located.

During the planning stages of writing Every Hidden Thing, I knew I wanted Jo, my heroine, to be different. Not just to create a character who didn’t fit the model, but because her outward appearance affected her personality, and thus created friction between her and her mother. This angst forms a major plot thread.

Jo is nearly six feet tall, redheaded, freckled, and not movie-star beautiful. For the most part, she has come to terms with her outward appearance, but she has to tolerate her mother’s constant criticism and comparison to her older, “perfect” sister. Jo makes a comment that “she was a child of God, unique in many ways,” and decides not to change to appease her mother.

Being a unique child of God is one of the takeaways in the story.

Few of us female readers are petite blondes, or fall in love with a tall, dark, handsome guy, but whatever our physically appearances, we are children of God, cherished by the Father who made us. Wouldn’t the world be a boring place if we all looked alike?

I was still writing this novel when I moved to a new apartment. My neighbor is interested in my day-to-day life working on my next book and she’s curious about my characters. As I state in the Dear Reader letter at the back of the book, my neighbor, now in her eighties, silver-haired, and stooped, was a redhead most of her life and close to six feet tall. When I described my heroine to her, she was tickled that someone actual wrote about a woman who resembled her.

Author Dorothy Parker added her own spin to a popular idiom. “Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone.” How true. We can spend thousands of dollars trying to change our outward characteristics, but if our thoughts and actions are “ugly”, we’ve wasted our time. Jo reaches this same conclusion—we might not be in control of what we look like on the outside, but we can definitely change our inner attributes.

In conjunction with accepting herself, Jo has to learn how to forgive her mother. Flynn, my not-so-tall or dark hero, has his own issues to overcome, but he helps Jo in her quest. Forgiveness might be one of the hardest acts we have to accomplish in the real life Christian walk.

Back Cover Blurb:

While documenting needed repairs on a mansion, Jo makes a discovery that endangers her life. To complicate her plight, she uncovers a secret that could rip her family apart. Flynn, a co-worker, strives to keep her safe, however, a relationship from his past comes crashing back into his life and interferes in his efforts.

Jo and Flynn are both scarred—one emotionally, one physically. As they work together and learn to trust each other, they find their perilous circumstances are intertwined, and culminate when a young man’s life is threatened.

Will they unravel the strands of intrigue in time to rescue the victim? Can they overcome their fear of commitment and foster their growing attraction for each other?

Bio:

American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis Award winner Valerie Massey Goree resides in the beautiful Texas Hill Country northwest of San Antonio.

After serving as missionaries in her home country of Zimbabwe and raising two children, Valerie and her husband, Glenn, a native Texan, moved to Texas. She worked in the public school system for many years, focusing on students with special needs. Now retired, Valerie spends her time writing, traveling, spoiling her grandchildren, and learning to live as a widow.

Valerie loves to hear from her readers.

Check Valerie’s website to learn more about her romantic suspense novels and Glenn’s non-fiction books: www.valeriegoreeauthor.com

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