When the heart longs for what it cannot have, toes aren’t safe in the ballroom.

Edith Howard has long mourned the loss of Clarence. He was more than the boy next door. He was her dearest friend until he left without word or warning. But when Clarence makes a surprise return the London season of 1763, the gentleman standing before her bears little resemblance to the boy she used to know. What happened to Clarence, and why is he back?

A chance encounter might be just the ticket Clarence needs to convince Edith he always has been and always will be hers. If only she wasn’t listening to those dangerous street preachers. Clarence doesn’t know how to save the lady he loves from believing the world will end on February 28th. Or, for that matter, show her all that’s in his heart.

What will it take for Edith to see the man Clarence is today? And dare she let him back into her life when she doesn’t know what drove him away the first time?

What is something interesting readers would enjoy learning about you?

My debut series features events in the early Methodist church, but I’m Baptist. I’ve just long been a fan of the Wesley brothers.

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

Edith is a typical lady. She sews, goes shopping, and makes calls. But the bitter winter of 1763 shakes her golden view of life. When a street preacher claims the world will end on February 28th, 1763, Edith wonders what she’s done in life worth presenting to God.

Clarence is a barrister, but the highlight of his day is in the evening when he goes to his club and buries himself in the library with a good book. Although, he always skips over the Bibles on the shelves. Why would anyone put those in there anyway? God is for church not clubs.

What was the inspiration behind your story?

George Bell, a former life-guard turned Methodist street preacher, did predicted the world would end on February 28th, 1763. It caused all sorts of problems for the early Methodist Church (and I do mean a lot!), but I found myself asking, “What if something good could come from this fiasco?” and Hearts Unknown was born.

What did you learn while writing this story?

One of my characters ends up in a tree, and I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal. I could ‘imagine’ what that would be like, right? Well, my dad cuts down trees for a living. So, I thought I’d run it by him. Turns out I was all kinds of wrong!

Apparently, every type of tree is a different climbing experience, so we researched to find a type of tree my dad has climbed that could have possibly been planted behind a London terrace house in the early 1700s. Sounds complicated, but I got to do it over the phone with my dad (he lives in America and I’m in Australia). It was really special for me and a lot of fun.

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

Whether God comes today, tomorrow, or in another thousand years He will find us faithful.

Inspirational historical romance author Dienece Darling was born in American but calls Australia home these days. Her stories find love and faith in history. Her first name is a variant spelling of Denise.