If you've been following me, you know I've been aiming to write my novella due to release next February. Well, I got it written! It definitely needs a polish, but it feels so good to have those 20k words down on "paper." Since you all helped me name my hamster in this story, I thought you might like a sneak peek at how it starts. See what you think.

Is your hometown known for anything special? Any spies?
Ever read a book set in someone else's hometown that makes you want to go visit?
Today, fellow author Ellen Withers is sharing about her hometown setting in her mystery series. And it sounds fascinating. No wonder she set her books there! See what you think.

Learning and reading about spies active during the Civil War is fascinating to me. Historians have discovered several of these spies were women. Some conducted their spying activities as a normal woman from the times, while others enlisted in military service and passed as a male soldier. In writing a book that includes the history of the Union Army’s occupation of my hometown during the War Between the States, I wanted to create a fictional spy within their midst and have an ordinary woman help gather evidence of the spy. 

Mary Pat Johns is here to chat with us today. She has a newly released romance out and I'm thrilled to be able to interview her and find out more. She's a fellow Scrivenings author and has been fun to get to know over the last few years. I think you'll enjoy getting to know her too. 

You say your first story ever started (not finished) was about sea turtles. Do you plan to ever include a sea turtle in one of your future stories?
 
Actually, in Countin’ On Jesse, the first book in my series, Brenna spies a sea turtle swimming alongside the breakwater. Jesse has convinced Brenna they need a getaway because of all that’s happening at work, but it’s not supposed to be a date because of an ironclad no-dating- between-employees rule. The sea turtle scene might be a tad autobiographical since Port Aransas is a place my husband and I go for a quick getaway. It’s not unusual to see sea turtles swimming around the jetties. Once, my husband even rescued one snared in the rocks.    
 
What draws you to write Christian romance?
 
Love stories are my favorite. Although I do read secular novels at times, I’m mainly drawn to Christian romance because of the character’s spiritual arc as well as the love story. Without the presence of the Holy Spirit breathing through the pages, the words seem empty. There’s just so much more vibrancy when Christ is an integral part of the story.