About the Book

Book:  Yours, Mine, & Forever

Author: Joanne Markey

Genre:  Contemporary Romance

Release Date: September 7, 2019

Whoever said the course of true love never runs smooth knew their business.

Especially motherly love.

Still, with adoption success just waiting for ink and paper to appear, Norah can focus on more exciting things, like Christmas, and figuring out how this marriage thing is going to work out! However, never underestimate the craftiness of an antagonist old woman determined to get her own way—or rather, stop Norah from getting hers. If it means resorting to underhanded means to ensure she comes out on top, then so be it. All it takes is a word in the right ear, a nudge here, a wink there, and the natural course of gossip and slander will do the rest.

When the dust clears, Norah’s heart is in tatters and her fledgling relationship is in ruins… Or is it? Will her hero’s patience wear thin, and is Norah’s faith strong enough to see her through whatever comes her way?

Click here for your copy.

MY REVIEW

I really enjoyed reading this story that had such a wonderful message of trusting God. Norah has such a big heart and wanting to adopt these special children  she has fallen in love with makes me want to cry. Being in the system must be so hard for children who want to have a family of their own. Someone doesn’t want her to adopt and will try everything they can to make sure she doesn’t get them. Norah has found out that she has to be married to get approved and that does present a problem. 

Stepping up to complicate Norah’s situation are two men both wanting to be part of Norah’s life. I could just imagine what she was thinking as Thad and Clay both want to marry her. I couldn’t decide who I liked more so I was interested to see where the author would take the story. The author does a great job of having scriptures in the story that enhance the characters faith. I really did like Norah’s brother who was very protective of her. She has so many people wanting her to fulfill her dream of adopting the children that  it made me anxious to see what the outcome would be. 

The story reminds me of a Hallmark movie that is filled with romance and misunderstandings while hoping for  everything to turn out good. Will Norah see her dream of adopting come true? Who will she decide to be with? All these questions will be answered as you read this sweet and clean story. 

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own copy. 

About the Author

Originally from Australia, Joanne now lives in Ohio with her husband and seven children where she spends her days writing, wrangling children, and trying to determine which phrases originated in which country because she uses them all interchangeably, thereby continually confusing herself as much as those around her.

More from Joanne

When people find out I’m an Aussie living in the US and that I’ve written books, they immediately assume my books are set in Australia. I’m sorry to disappoint anyone, but, no, they’re not. You see, after almost 19 years of living in the US I’ve lost touch with the culture I was raised in. Things are done differently here than they are over there, and I’ve gotten used to this life.

When I moved halfway around the world, iPads, smart phones, and the like weren’t even a thing. The internet over there (in the places I lived) was something you knew about, but not everyone was online. My family didn’t even own a computer. When you went to town you lost cell phone coverage about 20 kms out. We lived in the bush, which technically falls between the coast and the outback. Not far enough from the coast to be “outback”, but far enough there wasn’t a town worth mentioning in any direction for a good two hour drive (roughly 170km, if memory serves me correct). So yeah, we lived out bush and while it’s hard to imagine a world without the electronics we depend on so much today, the Australia I know, the life I remember, had none of them. And I’m pretty sure things have changed since then!

That’s one major issue standing between me and writing books set in Australia. Another is the language. Half the time I find it almost impossible to remember where a phrase originated. I’m not talking about the “fair dinkums” or the “g’days”, they’re easy to identify. Its the little phrases, the ones that are so ingrained in my thinking I can’t identify their origin. At least, not until every person in the room looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. I figure it out pretty quickly after that and usually have to scramble to translate to something they understand. Agreeing with someone by uttering a simple “yes” is a wee bit more effective here than the “too right!” I might use with my family.

Try adding in the whole dropping the R thing Aussies have a habit of doing, and then the clear pronunciation of the R which is pretty common among the people I know here…and yeah, it can get confusing. “Far” is a bad one. Simple word. I never stop to think about how I’m saying it, so part of the time I’ll drop the R without realizing I’ve done so. Then I’ll hear myself say “fah”, so I’ll quickly tack on the R… and it can become an issue.

Some expats might not have an issue with speech, this is just one problem I run into quite often so I ran with it in my book. Anyone who’s read the book will know who I’m talking about. Multiple languages, speech confusion especially when emotional. It’s a thing. Not everyone deals with it, but me… yeah. Sigh.

But that doesn’t mean I’ve turned my back on everything I once knew. My husband and our kids love a good damper, Aussie meat pies, and Vegemite. They turn their noses up at pavlova (where, oh, where did I go wrong?!), but little did I know when we bought some of my favorite Aussie music that it would become their favorite too. I love where I live now, but I also have a great fondness for the country I left behind, and my family too, of course. They all live over there. And this story… it originated in Australia.

I was looking for a something to write for NaNo in 2018 and my Mum had a dream to share, so she gave me the idea and I ran with it. I changed bits here and there—the setting, most of the story actually!—and finished it up mid-December of 2018. I sat on it for about six months, finally got around to sending it to an editor. And then two weeks before I hit publish, a friend heard how long it was and asked if I’d ever thought about splitting the story in two.

No, I hadn’t, but after hashing it out with my editor, we decided it was a good idea. Dreaming of More became the first half, and Yours, Mine, & Forever was born.

However, giving Dreaming an end meant I’d sort of wrapped up the main storyline I’d used in the entire 135,000 word manuscript. I needed something else because I hadn’t added the bow to the top of the package and without that, Dreaming kind of fell flat. It needed another book… So back to the editor I went and at 2am one morning we started brainstorming. Before I knew what was happening I was in the middle of rewriting the entire book. I didn’t need to follow the same storyline and because the slate had been cleared, I could add in whatever I wanted. So I did.

My friend apologized—she hadn’t meant for me to rewrite the entire book—but no apology was necessary. I loved being able to change things. New characters made it more fun and, as my youngest son would say, I got to add “all the stuffs”. The only thing I refused to change was the ending. I had to keep that because it was the one thing my Mum remembered the best from her dream. For her sake, I kept it. If you want to know what that ending is… it comes after all the other pages in the book. But if you skip over them, you’ll miss all the stuffs and they’re what make the ending worthwhile.

Blog Stops

Batya’s Bits, February 29

deb’s Book Review, February 29

Texas Book-aholic, March 1

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 1

Genesis 5020, March 2

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, March 2

Among the Reads, March 3

Through the Fire Blogs, March 3

She Lives To Read, March 4

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, March 5

The Meanderings of a Bookworm, March 5

Quiet Quilter, March 6

For Him and My Family, March 7

Stories By Gina, March 7

Inklings and notions, March 8

Adventures of a Travelers Wife, March 9

Blogging With Carol, March 9

Moments, March 10

My Devotional Thoughts, March 10

Locks, Hooks and Books, March 11

janicesbookreviews, March 11

Pause for Tales, March 12

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, March 12

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 13

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Joanne is giving away the grand prize package of signed copies of Dreaming of More, Yours, Mine, & Forever, and Christmas Rose!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/f623/yours-mine