Dear Readers, thank you for reading the blog each week! I'm so excited to share with you a new-to-me author, Regina Rudd Merrick...
Hi! I’m Regina Rudd Merrick and I hail from the western part of Kentucky! People always think Western Kentucky University (Bowling Green, KY) is in Western KY, but where I live? Where I live—near the Jackson Purchase Region—Murray State University and Paducah, KY are Western KY!
I would hope that when people meet me, the first thing they would notice is my smile, but I think now, since I turn sixty in about two weeks, the first thing they notice is the gray hair shining through! I decided I kinda like the highlights, and these kind of highlights don’t cost an arm and a leg! J
My newest release, a republication of a previously self-published 2019 novel, is Rebuilding Joy, RenoVations Inc., Book 3. I was blessed to republish it with Scrivenings Press LLC when I talked to my publisher about adding three more books to the series! So far, I have six stories outlined, and this is only number three!
Rebuilding Joy takes place in my area of Kentucky, in a fictional community that was based on a true story in the history of Crittenden County.
Here’s a little about it:
A waitress, a contractor, and an FBI agent walk into a café …
Single mom Darcy Emerson Sloan has enough to do raising twins and running a restaurant. She’s doing fine on her own and doesn’t need the complications of a man in her life. But when her café turns into a crime scene, putting her and her children in danger, she begins to take interest in the handsome young FBI agent that comes on the scene.
Contractor Del Reno is as even-keeled as they come, but even he has his limits. And Darcy Sloan has pushed him too far. Every time he tries to help, it backfires. But now that Darcy and her kids are in trouble, he has no choice but to come to her aid and to protect her. She’s just going to have to deal with it. Secret tunnels, organized crime, adorable children, and a wedding.
Just another day in Clementville.
When I started the RenoVations Inc. series, my inspiration was a brother-sister design/build team on HGTV.
In book one, Heart Restoration, Lisa Reno was the star, and looked nothing like her real-life counterpart, but Del Reno, in looks and mannerisms, at least, could be copied and pasted from the screen of my television. Tall, lanky, a little goofy, and always seeming to need a haircut.
One of the difficulties I had in writing this story was the aspect of single parenthood and grieving the loss of a spouse. I’ve never experienced either, but for some reason, Darcy Emerson Sloan has become one of my favorite characters I’ve ever written. A single mom of 2 preschoolers, she lost her dad at age 12, and then her husband in Afghanistan. I tried to put myself in the place of someone who, in her early twenties, falls head over heels in love with a soldier, gets married, finds herself pregnant with twins just weeks before he’s killed, and the aftermath of her faith journey after that.
I chose the following scripture as the inspiration for this story:
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.James 1: 2-4 (ESV)
I might be older and wiser, but Darcy’s faith journey I could understand. When I originally wrote this story, I’d had some hiccups in my life, but now, a few years later, there have been many more. The declining health and loss of my parents, predominantly.
It’s easy to say, “God doesn’t care about me,” but strength comes from trusting God even when you’re disappointed. When you’re hurting. When you doubt. Sometimes you don’t want to be “steadfast” or “perfect and complete,” you just want to go straight to “lacking in nothing.”
There are several things in Rebuilding Joy that open Darcy’s eyes to how much God loves her, but it isn’t easy for her. In the proofing phase of this edition, I was struck all over again how difficult it is to face those various trials, even when you’re older, have seen more of life, and know God is in control—when you know that His testing produces steadfastness, of which He is the ultimate example.
For some reason, God’s unfailing and unfathomable love is always a beautiful surprise.
Question: These verses in James have stuck in my head since I was fourteen years old, and consistently bears fruit. What about you? What is something that you’ve heard that comes back to you from time to time—just when you need it?
Purchase Link: https://scriveningspress.com/book/rebuilding-joy/#
Short Bio
Regina Rudd Merrick is a multi-published author, church musician, wife, mother, former librarian, lover of all things fun, beachy, and chocolate, and grateful follower of Jesus Christ. Married to her husband of 40 years, she is the mother of two grown daughters and lives in the small town of Marion, KY. Connect with Regina on Facebook, Instagram, or her website at https://www.reginaruddmerrick.com .
Long Bio
Regina Rudd Merrick started her journey as a life-long lover of reading in first grade, and eventually parlayed that love of literature into a degree in library science, with stints as both elementary and middle school librarians, and later as a public library director.
After finding the enjoyable world of reading and writing "fan-fiction"--original stories based on characters from familiar stories, television shows, and movies--she realized that for some reason God had given her the ability to weave a story, whether it be in this online community or with her own original characters. Her first novel, Carolina Dream, book one of the Southern Breeze Series, was the winner of a publishing contest with Mantle Rock Publishing, LLC (now Scrivenings Press), and her writing career was born.
Now the author of seven novels and a contributor to four novella collections, Regina writes about people like all of us who sometimes struggle with their faith and trusting God. Her latest novella contribution is included in the collection, Love in Any Season, and her latest novels are Window of Peace, book 2 of a multi-author series entitled Stained Glass Legacy, releasing in April 2023, and Twelve Days of Mandy Reno, a short Christmas novel and book two of the RenoVations, Inc. series. In addition to writing, Regina has recently added the title of “editor” to her resume.
In 2024, she’ll have three offerings: Carolina Connections (January 2024), Rebuilding Joy (February 2024), and Christmas, ReWired (November 2024)
Regina loves chocolate, the beach, playing keyboard and vocals in her church's praise band, historical homes, watching other people renovate on HGTV, and Hallmark movies. She and her husband of forty years are empty nesters in rural western Kentucky and are the proud parents of two grown-up daughters and a son-in-law, along with the family's sixteen-year-old Schauzer-mix, Cedric.
Social Media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reginamerrick/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/rmerrick/
Website: https://www.reginaruddmerrick.com
Scrivenings Press, LLC Author Page: https://scriveningspress.com/regina-rudd-merrick/
Readers, please comment below for your chance to win one of three e-books: Window of Peace, Love in Any Season (novella collection), or Candy Cane Wishes and Saltwater Dreams (also a novella collection). How exciting!!