Small town nostalgia is a big thing in Christian romance.
Maybe they think they’re safer, wherever everyone goes to church on Sundays and
the sheriff doesn’t need to carry a gun (Andy Taylor). Or maybe we like the
sense of community—a place where everyone knows your name (and all your
business).
All in all, I prefer cities. . . But I have lived in small
towns and enjoyed some more than others.
I have just pulled together three of my books with a small
town romance theme.
In Plainsong, the
heroine is more like me. She resists life in a small town—which is unfortunate,
because she has fallen in love with the most romantic many on earth, Joe
Knight. Who dislikes the city as much as she likes small towns. It’s a
contemporary story.
In Hidden Dreams, Mary
Ann Lamont has no idea what small towns are like. She’s a Flapper from New York. But when she’s
on the run from the run from the mob, she runs into a truck on the way to Maple
Notch. Hidden Dreams is the fourth of
my Maple Notch books, set against bootlegging, flappers, and the 1927 flood in
Vermont.
After the stock market crash in 1929, a penniless flapper
seeks out farm life. You can’t go hungry on a farm! She heads west on an orphan
train: To Riches Again.
All three women grew to love life in their small towns.
Answer the question below to be entered to win A Small Town Kind of Love ebook giveaway
Question: Do you prefer life in small towns or cities? Why?
Twitter: @darlenefranklin
Plainsong starts
in the big city of Denver
“Do you want to know the way to heaven?” A young man dressed in a
suit coat and tie, unexpected on the hot July night, asked people as they
surged past him to Coors Field for a night of Colorado Rockies baseball. Before
walking on, Joe Knight glanced at the tract with a bright red cross on it.
“You’re not
interested in heaven then?” The man’s voice trailed after him.
Joe stopped to
explain that he already knew the way to heaven and to wish the evangelist
Godspeed, but the man had already turned his attention elsewhere. Joe shook his
head as he watched the man approach an attractive young woman. She flicked
sweeping blond hair over her shoulder as she accepted the tract and stopped for
a minute to talk. Joe took in her long, shapely legs and well-tailored slacks.
Coins jangled nearby,
and one of the street bums who cluttered every corner stopped Joe. His sign
read homeless vet. please help.
How much money had he stashed away during the course of the day? Joe had heard
news reports about the scams some of the street people pulled. The woman he had
seen before approached, dug in her purse, and tossed in a handful of change.
Joe hesitated then
followed her. “Ma’am, I wouldn’t do that again if I were you.”
She turned deep green
eyes in his direction. “Excuse me?”
For a moment he
forgot what he was saying, and then he found his voice. “That man. He’ll
probably just use the money for alcohol or drugs.”
“Or maybe he’ll buy a
meal. He could use one. There’s no reason people should go hungry in a rich
country like America.” Her eyes clouded.
