EVERY HIDDEN THING

EVERY HIDDEN THING
Friday, October 13, 2023 by Valerie Massey Goree

Categories: Friday's Fiction / GUEST AUTHORS

PLEASE WELCOME

VALERIE MASSEY GOREE

FICTION FRIDAY

VALERIE’S STORY BEHIND THE STORY

Do All Heroines Have to be Blonde?

Way back when I first started reading romantic suspense novels, the heroines were usually blonde, blue-eyed, petite, and gorgeous, and the heroes were tall, dark, and handsome. And wealthy. A recipe for heart-pounding romance, no doubt.

Years later, I had a memorable conversation with a Hispanic friend in a local Christian bookstore in San Antonio. I’d found the novel I wanted, but she kept searching. She’d pick up a book, examine the cover then place it back on the shelf without even reading the back cover blurb.

“Can’t you find one you’d like?” I asked.

“No. I read a lot, but just once I’d like the heroine to look like me.”

I began my writing journey in my 40s, rather late in life; but my friend’s comment remained etched in my mind. When I created my characters, I wanted my H & H to be more realistic, to include the different ethnicities or cultures of the region where the story was set. True, some characters are beautiful or have rugged good looks, but many are non-stereotypical.

In keeping with my desire to reflect the locale,

several of my main characters are people of color.

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 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, and handsome guy; but whatever our physical 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 actually wrote about a woman who resembled her younger self.

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 and money. 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.

MORE ABOUT EVERY HIDDEN THING

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 with 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?

BUY LINK

ABOUT VALERIE MASSEY GOREE

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

Social Media Links:

www.facebook.com/ValerieMasseyGoree

https://author.amazon.com/profile

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/valerie-massey-goree

www.goodreads.com/search?

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