The hubs and I left Seattle Friday morning, picked up his last check from the office, and then took off down I-90 toward North Dakota. For me it would be a week-long vacation filled with homework from my Christian Writer’s Guild Fiction That Sells course. For both of us, it would mean looking for a house to equal our new home. Unfortunately, our choices are limited, even more so by the quality (or lack thereof) to the homes we view. After three days of looking, we have only two homes to seriously consider, and one of those would put a huge burden on our finances. Well, more of a burden than what M would care for.

But we have hope, as does our realtor (she is a peach!) that something soon will present itself. Our hope is that we can put an offer on a house before I leave on my solo drive back to Washington State Saturday morning.

It will be a long drive.

Lord willing, the house will close some time in May and I will be able to get us packed up and moved into our home in June. I am not looking forward to the solo packing, since M will be remaining behind in North Dakota, but maybe I can find someone to hire to help me pack?

Anyway, there’s the update. The Lord has us in his hands, the first part of my homework for this week is almost done, and we are zeroing in on our soon-to-be-home.

April has been a chaotic bit of a month. Between the release of my romance novella, My Fair Princess, on the 13th, my husband being offered a job in North Dakota the same day, and me doing my best to persuade my company to keep me on via remote as we plan to move, it sounds as if there should be nothing but chaos. But there has been a peace and certainty through it all helping me stay strong against the panic.

Thanks to a Bible app on my phone, I have begun reading my Bible daily rather than “when I remember.” I have enrolled in a writing course through the Christian Writers Guild and have high hopes that it will help me break some bad writing habits. I have been more active in marketing and socializing, even pushing through those moments when I want to unplug and separate myself from everyone and everything. There has been joy surrounding every aspect of my life, and not just in the re-discovered wonder of plotting out stories for my waiting characters.

It is like God has offered me a different perspective, a… fuller view of life’s adventure and what it could mean to not only my own character but those around me. I see and respond to those people that have been brought into my circle of influence, and I try and be the best example I can be, understanding now the limited length of time in each situation.

Yes, the “limbo” is a challenge, but the Lord, in His wisdom, guided me through it a few times before, teaching me and showing me how to weather this storm with grace and strength. Encouraging me through words spoken by my husband commenting on how proud he is of my reaction to this tough time. There is joy in those words because I know my strength blesses my husband.

Now there is eagerness to peer ahead, to face these challenges I have willingly set. If all goes well, we will close on a house in Beulah or Hazen some time before July, I complete my writing course on time in August, and my next romance novel will release that same month.

16 O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy name, it is from Your hand, and all is Yours. 17 Since I know, O my God, that You try the heart and delight in uprightness, I, in the integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things; so now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here, make their offerings willingly to You. 18 O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, our fathers, preserve this forever in the [a]intentions of the heart of Your people, and direct their heart to You; (1 Chronicles 29:16-18; NASB)

What joys have you discovered this month?

Buy MY FAIR PRINCESS from Smashwords, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble and receive free gifts from the author and other generous supporters!

STEP 1: Go to the launch page for the links to buy your copy of MY FAIR PRINCESS between Friday, April 13th, and Friday, April 20th.

STEP 2: Return to the Launch Page [http://www.nonaking.com/my-fair-princess-launch/] and enter your 1) Name, 2) Email, 3) and your choice of free gifts from the list into the email form. Don’t forget your order number!

STEP 3: After submission, you will receive an email from me with a link to your choice of FREE GIFTS!

About the Book:

Nia Alaera is the only daughter of the Alaerian King Thaedis. As such, she stands as heir to the throne. To benefit the realm she is betrothed to the mayor of a neighboring district, sight unseen.

After all her childhood fantasies the betrothal is a bitter pill to swallow, but her dedication to her people and her family offers her silent courage… until the day she meets her mysterious husband-to-be.

With his unruly shock of auburn curls and eager smile, Shamus O’Neill reminds her more of a boy than a mayor. And those rich emerald eyes cause a flutter different than she has ever experienced before. Will her role be forever his fair princess?

Or will her heart finally burn with the passion she has longed for?

Excerpt:

“I’m afraid if you don’t accept you are liable to miss another opportunity.” Nia’s gaze dropped to her depleted stash of plums. “I have made a glutton of myself.”

“I didn’t notice, princess.” Keep soft talking her like that and she’ll guess your big secret, Sammy. Would that be bad? He was afraid to think about the answer.

“Shamus, do stop calling me ‘princess’. You’re my husband. You shouldn’t address me by my title.”

“Sorry.” The scold felt like a bucket of ice water in the face.

To his surprise and pleasure, she clasped his hand. “It will take time, and I will be more patient.”

Sammy boy, you better confess. He cleared his throat. “Nia, I… uh….”

“Why, heavens, what’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing. I just… I like calling you… that.” What am I, twelve?

Nia blinked up at him, those honey lips slightly parted. “But why?”

“I just do.” Would it be bad to up and kiss her when she looked up at him like that?

“Oh.” Nia lowered her focus to her stash of plums, releasing his breath from where it caught in his chest. “Now I feel ridiculous for making a fuss.”

Hundreds of words crashed in his brain, but he couldn’t grab a complete sentence that would wipe the troubled darkness from her features. “I shouldn’t have said anything,” was all he could come up with.

“Of course you should! Friends talk to each other about things of this sort.” She gave his hand a gentle pressure. “No secrets between us Shamus, please? A relationship is based on trust, and if I felt you could not confide in me….”

His stomach twisted, his mouth as dry as the dragon bones in Haazen Field. What if he confessed… that? Shamus gulped, including the words he wanted to say.

About the Author:

Nona King has been writing young adult fiction and inspirational romances since 1988. Raised on a 30-acre homestead outside Aurora, Oregon, Nona’s passion for story-telling blossomed from imaginary adventures with her siblings to feature-length plays and novels. A prolific writer and blogger, her stories focus on faith, honor, and the importance of communication in relationships.

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• When her cousin finds a corpse in the kudzu, her sister joins a cult, and a handsome new deputy shows an interest in her, Chantal must find a way to expose hidden truths, rescue her sister, and let her broken heart love again.

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• Zain. A soul manipulated to dark deeds, forever separated from the honor he one time cherished. But though evil has an uncanny instinct about weaknesses, love becomes his foundation of strength.

• The Inductive Bible Study, by Carol Peterson. FREE download.
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Shamus tucked her hand around his arm and led her to the dining hall.

“Shamus, wait.” Nia met his gaze, her blonde lashes enhancing the clarity of her eyes. Those eyes always made the breath get lost somewhere on the way to his lungs. “Can we talk first?”

“Sure. I haven’t given Rufus his morning run yet. You mind?” Nia shook her head. “I usually throw a stick and wrestle with him first thing. I slept in this morning. Just couldn’t get up.” Shamus felt his ears burn, mostly because he spent most of the morning reliving their time at his fishing hole while trying to figure out how to kiss her again. Sammy, you’re never going to ask, so you might as well stop trying.

“Neither could I. Same as yesterday.”

He ushered her past to the dog-run beyond. Rufus barked a greeting and bounded toward them, tongue lolling out of his mouth as his tail and ears wagged a furious and ecstatic welcome.

“Hey, Rufus. Did you miss me?” Shamus scrubbed behind the dog’s ears. “Good morning, big fella. Hope you don’t mind me spending so much time with princess. Been helping her get settled in.”

Rufus grumbled and groaned, not caring about anything other than the spot behind his ears. Nia giggled. “I believe as long as you keep scratching that spot, Rufus won’t care a bit.”

“Yeah, you like that dontcha. Right there.” Shamus laughed and pushed Rufus back. “Where’s your toy, Ruf? Huh? Go get your toy. Go on.”

Rufus bounded back to the border of his dog-run, sniffing out the requested item. Shamus gave a shake of his head and sat upon the grass. Nia did the same, wrapping her arms around her legs as she drew them close. He grinned at her. Sammy boy, I do believe you’ve lost your mind. He leaned back, stretching his legs out in front of him. Never before had he felt so… at ease and… content. No, not like this.

“Great morning, huh? I love it when it’s like this. Kind of chilly but still shining and pretty. Kind of makes you believe everything’s perfect in the world.”

Nia watched his expression, smiling the same as he. Though he felt certain his smile looked a lot less… refined. He just couldn’t stop, even with all the negative possibilities that tried to steal his blissful ignorance. So bring up the subject. Might as well, since you’re smiling like a loony. “So… what did you need to talk about—?”

A bark preluded a thud, Rufus sending him and the toy end over end.

Nia laughed. “Shamus! Are you all right?”

“Rufus, gosh darn it!” The great black beast licked and slobbered all over his face. “Rufus, I was trying to have a deep conversation with my wife. Get off!” Shamus tossed away the dog’s toy, Rufus giving chase with a thunder of paws.

Nia smiled down at him, his head very pleasantly positioned in her lap. Shamus grinned. “You were saying…?”

“I will need your help with a few things.” Nia brushed some curls from his forehead, sending thoughts scattering every direction.

“Sure. Like what.”

“Such as moving my things into your room.”

Shamus bolted upright. “What?”

“Be careful,” she laughed. “You’re going to give yourself a headache.”

“Nia, think about this a second—”

“I have. All night and most of this morning. I understand it is a large step, especially in trust, but I want to keep moving forward. Sharing our bedroom is the next logical one.”

Shamus gulped. “Of course I know that, and we can if you want, I just….” He just didn’t know if he trusted himself as much as she did.

“I know, and I appreciate that, but—”

Rufus interjected with a nudge and a lick, fussing and grumbling and yipping for the toy until Shamus tossed it far away. He had to force himself to shift his gaze back to Nia, afraid she would see equal parts fear and eagerness to be so intimately close to her. Sammy boy, you are in deep trouble.

“I do not wish to make things difficult for you, so I do understand if you would rather not.”

He scrubbed at the back of his neck, the pain helping keep his mind from wandering to the bedroom. “It’s not that, Nia… well, not really. I mean— Sure you can move your stuff, princess. I just….” He cleared his throat and looked away again. Yeah. How do I say that?

Nia covered his hand with hers. “I know. Truly, I do. That was the one hesitation I had all night.”

Shamus’ ears burned. “I don’t want to hurt you, or scare you, or….” or anything else a big lummox like me could do! “Nia, are you sure?”

“Shay, I know what may happen. If I did not want the sharing of an intimate moment as a future, I would not be making this suggestion. I do not dread the possibility, so neither should you.”

Shamus blinked down at her, the clunk and crash of his heart making it difficult to hear his own thoughts. Or breathe, for that matter. “I don’t. I….” He looked forward to it more than he should, in all honesty. Shamus tried not to gulp.