Amy R. Anguish: Writing Home
Writing home: By Amy R Anguish
Contemporary Christian Romance
About the Book
Christiana Jones dreamed her whole life of living in Huntsville, Alabama, so she can’t figure out why it doesn’t feel like home. Her relationships—on social media and in real life—seem shallow and empty. When she unearths a stack of her grandparents’ letters, it spurs an idea. Could she find something deeper with a penpal?
Jordan White is taken aback when his cousin Tina suggests he become penpals with her childhood best friend. What could a Louisiana boy have in common with a girl two states away? After all, he’s happily settled on his family’s property and working the job he always wanted. But every letter they exchange has him wishing for more.
As they grow closer through their written words, the miles between them seem to grow wider. Can love cross the distance and bring them home?
What is the inspiration behind your story?
After my grandfather passed away in 2013, my grandmother who had been married to him for 66 years read his old letters every night. He’d been in the Korean war and written to her then and on several other occasions. She continued to treasure those letters (who none of us were allowed to see) until she passed away in 2018. And it got me thinking about how amazing their relationship was. And what would it be like if you had to have a relationship through letters only?
About the author
Amy R. Anguish grew up a preacher’s kid, and in spite of having lived in seven different states that are all south of the Mason Dixon line, she is not a football fan. Currently, she resides in Tennessee with her husband, daughter, and son, and usually a bossy cat or two. Amy has an English degree from Freed-Hardeman University that she intends to use to glorify God, and she wants her stories to show that while Christians face real struggles, it can still work out for good.
Follow her at http://abitofanguish.weebly.com or http://www.facebook.com/amyanguishauthor
Or https://twitter.com/amy_r_anguish
Learn more about her books at https://www.pinterest.com/msguish/my-books/
And check out the YouTube channel she does with two other authors, Once Upon a Page (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEiu-jq-KE-VMIjbtmGLbJA)
Excerpt from Chapter 1
“UGH. WHY DO I EVEN BOTHER?” And yet Christiana Jones continued scrolling down her social media feed too fast to see much. What was the point of looking? No one posted anything of importance. Nothing personal.
A recipe for coconut pecan pie. A meme asking if it was Friday yet, the poor cat in the picture looking half drowned. A political rant speculating about what the government was going to do to make people’s lives more miserable. Four new selfies from her coworker.
A childhood snapshot her best friend had dug up of Tina and cousin “Boomer”—adorable, but did he appreciate such an old photo being shared with hundreds of friends? A few pictures of former classmates’ cute kids. Okay. Those last few were personal. But the rest?
She closed the app and tossed her phone across the bed where she leaned against the headboard, too exhausted to even finish changing out of her scrub pants. The farthest she’d made it was removing her sneakers. She’d only picked up her phone to clear messages before getting sucked in. But what a waste of time.
Vanity, vanity, all is vanity. King Solomon definitely had it right. That and, There is nothing new under the sun.
She released a sigh and glanced through the window. A beautiful Friday evening in early October with nothing to do. No date. No plans. No energy. No motivation after her busy week. The cold and flu season was in full swing, and the pediatrician’s office where she worked had been swamped.
More than just the social media malarkey that had her down. Her whole life seemed humdrum. Her closest friend was three hours away. She’d lived in this Huntsville apartment, in her supposed dream town, for over two years now, and it still didn’t feel like home. The congregation where she worshipped was nice enough, but she hadn’t formed any connections. The girls she worked with were okay but didn’t hold enough in common with her for her to want to hang out with them outside of the office. And her neighbors . . . well, she evidently wasn’t very neighborly because she couldn’t remember meeting any of them.
