What is something interesting readers would enjoy learning about you?

My “little bit of trivia” is that I have been struck (through a phone line) by lightning. (Yeah, it was shocking . . .)

What does a day in the life of your characters look like?

For Miss Beth, a typical day is running her kindergarten from 9 a.m. to noon. Then she helps her mother or their housekeeper, Molly, around the house. Until this stranger named Marty comes into her life, she keeps to herself mostly. There are the occasional social obligations, but otherwise . . . But Marty changes everything.

What was your favorite scene to write in this story? And why?

Gracious. There were a few. One of my favorites was near the beginning when Beth wakes up and hears snoring coming from the guest bedroom from down the hall. This starts the whole rollercoaster of events. Another favorite scene was when she and Marty were cleaning her kindergarten to get it ready for the next week. And, finally, the grocery store parking lot scene. ?

What unique research was required to write this story?

I completely immersed myself in the early 1960s. The music. The fashion. The way people talked or behaved around each other. I remember it well; a different era. We were on the brink of all that changing, but we didn’t know it. Because I lived through the entirety of the 1960s, I had to remember that the chaos had yet to begin . . . 

What was the inspiration behind your story?

I read a Dear Abby letter/column about 40 years ago with a premise that stuck with me. A single woman wakes up in the middle of the night to the sound of a man snoring in her house . . . I added to that my passion for helping others find the areas of unforgiveness in their lives (which can separate us from God) with a document I found in my father’s USAF paperwork from 1949. 

What encouragement do you hope readers will take away from your story?

We all have hurts. We all have wounds. We all have people in our lives who should only love us but who hurt us with their words or their deeds. Sometimes, we brush those things away and other times we let the seed of bitterness take root. Either way, these are the places of unforgiveness that must be dealt with. We are to forgive others as God forgives us. That’s easy to say, but not always easy to do. “Miss Beth” has lived in a state of unforgiveness for so long, she is no longer aware as to how it is affecting her. Until . . . she wakes one night to hear a man snoring in a guestroom of her home . . . 

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Until next time, may your reading bring both light and encouragement.

Happy reading!
~ Danielle.