"Robin's Reward, a sweet romance with great
characters, is as refreshing as a walk among flowers."
-Author Rebecca H. Jamison, Sense & Sensibility: A
Latter-Day Tale.
The Book
Bonita Creek’s librarian Robin Bennett is
heartbroken after being abandoned by her husband, Thomas. The mysterious and
handsome Jeff Clarke arrives unexpectedly and touches Robin’s life with his wit
and warmth. Then, without warning, Jeff’s harsh words and abrasive actions
scare her off, and Robin’s hope of finding true love withers again.
Just when it seems Robin and Jeff might have a
future, Susan Stinson, whose cruel taunting has plagued Robin since they met as
young teens, decides Jeff should be hers, not Robin’s. Susan’s anger and
jealousy escalate dangerously. Her vindictiveness threatens the foundation of
Jeff and Robin’s young relationship.
Robin’s journey through the peaks and valleys of
her life meanders along the twists and turns of new challenges. Is a
relationship which began with both parties harboring secrets destined to
survive? Can they move past their troubles and the obstacles in their path to
find love and happiness together? When their pasts rear their ugly heads, Jeff
and Robin must use their faith to remain strong and true. But will it be enough
for them to embrace a life of love, trials, and blessings . . . together?
Genre: Christian Fiction
Published: April 28, 2015
Book Giveaway
June is giving away two signed copies of Robin's Reward on her website. (United
States residents only. No purchase necessary.) The Rafflecopter contest will
end on May 31st, and June would like to invite readers to enter for
a chance to win one of these paperbacks.
Q&A with June McCrary Jacobs
What is your favorite scene in 'Robin's
Reward'?
June: I don't want to give away too much, but
my favorite scene takes place in the Dahlia Garden at the Mendocino Coast
Botanical Gardens. If I share dialogue with you here I'll spoil the surprise,
but it's my favorite scene because of the location and because of what
transpires between Robin and Jeff. It's a life-changing scene for both of them.
Which writers have or do inspire you?
June: I've been a voracious reader since I was very
young, and I feel I've been inspired by many writers of fiction and
non-fiction. When I was a child I was inspired by Dr. Seuss, Laura Ingalls
Wilder, and Marguerite Henry. As a teen I enjoyed Margaret Mitchell, Agatha
Christie, and Dana Ross. As an adult I enjoy Beverly Lewis, Shelley Shepard
Gray, Debbie Macomber, Sue Grafton, Lisa Scottline, Jillian Hart, Amy Tan, and
the many sewing, quilting, and crafting designers who are publishing fantastic
books involving those techniques! I also find inspiration in cookbooks, bakebooks,
and gardening books.
What is your favorite non-writing pastime?
June: Besides reading—which wins hands down—I enjoy
many forms of needle work. I enjoy sewing and designing sewing projects. I like
quilting, hand-embroidery, and craft projects. I find these creative pursuits
to be relaxing and peaceful. Readers may visit
my website (http://www.junemccraryjacobs.com/portfolio-of-designs/)
to view more of my original sewing projects. Readers can also download some
free sewing projects for their personal use on my website.
Favorite place?
June: The real Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens in
Fort Bragg, California. There are many beautiful types of gardens represented
here along with a trail out to the ocean. The views of the Pacific Ocean are
breath-taking. My favorite hideaway within the main garden is the Dahlia
Garden. I don't know how to describe the beauty of this scene except to say I've never
seen anything like it in my life!
Do you read much? If
so, who are your favorite authors?
June: I read as much fiction and non-fiction as I can
possibly squeeze into a day. I don't watch much television, so evenings are
spent reading or listening to baseball on the radio. I have many favorite
authors in many different genres. I read a lot of Amish fiction these days
because I like the Amish community's value on handmade textiles, furniture, and
toys and their faith-based families and humble way of life. Favorite authors in
this genre are Beverly Lewis, Wanda Brunstetter, Shelley Shepard Gray, Jennifer
Beckstram, Vanetta Chapman, Rosalind Lauer, Tricia Goyer, and Charlotte
Hubbard.
I
enjoy historical fiction written by Tracie Peterson, Kim Vogel Sawyer, Sandra
Dallas, and Colleen Coble. I like contemporary fiction written by Debbie
Macomber, Lucy Kevin, RaeAnne Thayne, Earlene Fowler, Sue Grafton, Nevada Barr,
Lisa Scottline, and Adriana Trigiani.
And
then we have my affection for sewing, quilting, crafting, and cooking books! I
pick up just about any needle art, craft, and cooking technique book I can find
at the library. I love, love, love seeing what other designers are creating.
June: Thank you for inviting me to share with your
readers on Books & Benches, MK. I appreciate your hospitality, and I'll
look forward to hearing from some of your readers on my website or other social
media platforms. Continued best wishes to you on your own writing career.
Enjoy an Excerpt from Robin's Reward
I’m as hot and sticky as the
center of a freshly-roasted campfire marshmallow, Miss Praise.” Perspiration
trickled past Robin’s sunburned neck, under her
collar, and down her back. Her blouse was plastered to her skin.
“I’m not feeling very feminine
or lady-like in this condition, if you
catch my drift. This brings
us to my next question. What was I thinking starting
up with this garden renovation project on the hottest March
afternoon ever recorded in Bonita Creek? Am I nuts? Wait—don’t
answer that.”
Some sympathy from
Miss Praise, like purring or even winding herself around Robin’s legs,
would’ve been comforting. Instead,
the elderly tabby was dozing comfortably in her cozy quilt- lined basket
on the shaded porch. Robin was drained from tangling with her vintage hydrangea bush for
the past four hours.
She’d read gardening
was great exercise, but it gave Robin’s thoughts too many chances to wander.
She dreaded those dark, dreary spaces in her
mind permanently occupied by unhappy memories
and heart-wrenching regrets.
Since she wasn’t accomplishing much anyway, she released
her shovel to take a
break with a refreshing glass or
two of her favorite iced tea. She
straightened up and stretched
her
aching arms over her head.
“I’m parched,
how about you? Want
something cold to drink?” She spoke in the
direction of the faded gray cat. Apparently, Miss Praise
had heard enough of Robin’s whining.
The cat yawned, stretched, flicked her tail, and hopped
daintily out of her basket. She lumbered down the brick path to seek
refuge in the peaceful back garden.
Naturally, Robin hadn’t expected Miss Praise to respond, but talking to the
cat helped her feel
connected to her Grandma Estelle. The older woman had
passed on a few years ago and
Robin still ached for her grandmother’s presence.
She kneaded her fatigued lower back with her knuckles and
sighed deeply.
As she untied the ribbon of her
straw hat and shook out her damp
curly hair, Robin sensed
someone’s gaze. A prickly
feeling caused her
to rotate her body where she came face-to-face with an
unfamiliar—but attractive—man. A hint
of amusement
lit up his clean-shaven face as he stood
on the walkway in front
of her garden gate. When the stranger
chuckled, Robin’s damp cheeks
flamed scarlet. She wondered how long he’d been standing there
listening to her grunt and groan and, well, whine.
Since he
couldn’t possibly have
seen Miss Praise, he probably assumed
Robin had been talking
to herself. Swell. Just another
example of the truckload of awkward moments in life when Robin wished
she could vanish on demand. Speaking through clenched teeth, she attempted to use humor to cover up her self-consciousness.
“Instead of breaking your neck staring at me, how about
making yourself useful by helping
me dig up this stubborn hydrangea?”
Her embarrassment grew when the
stranger’s sole response was a
chorus of boisterous laughter. Lord,
please get me out of here—now! Robin’s humiliation took over
her common sense, and
her sole goal was to flee. Grabbing her garden hat,
she slammed it onto the gate post as
she wrenched off her
work gloves and
tossed them on the ground
near her birdbath. The
sound of the man’s hearty laughter echoing in
her ears brought her lifelong dislike
of being the object of
teasing and taunting racing
to the surface.
Like most school
children, she’d suffered through her
share of teasing and even
some bullying. Truth be told, she was still occasionally bullied by a former classmate, Susan Stinson, almost ten years
after they’d graduated. Robin had expected—and hoped—in her
current stage of life,
halfway between twenty-five and
thirty, she would’ve
overcome this affliction. The scorching feeling in her cheeks
told her otherwise. I so
do not want to deal with this guy.
Attempting to give
the illusion of self-confidence, Robin lengthened
her spine and held her
chin high as she stalked toward her cottage.
In the safety of her cottage’s interior she’d find the
solace and peace she was seeking. Far
too often in the past she’d allowed
her pride and confidence
to be battered by a male.
Okay, one male in particular.
She vowed to handle her reaction in the current situation differently.
She was determined to spare herself one more millisecond of humiliation. Today
I’m going to stand up to my tormentors. All right, so maybe this
stranger isn’t exactly tormenting me. Still, everyone knows
laughing at a lady isn’t polite.
Robin
wasn’t going to stand there and
let some stranger, however handsome
he might
be—
and this guy
was definitely above-average in the looks department—laugh at her in her own garden.
Hot, briny tears stung her eyes.
Time seemed to slow down, and she
couldn’t make it to the front door fast enough. Embarrassing incidents from her not so distant past charged to the forefront of her mind as she made her
way up the front porch steps.
~*~
At the front gate, Jeff froze. He’d offended
her. His body felt as if he’d just finished running
five miles at a training pace, as
it had been since he’d first happened upon the woman. His
heart thundered in his ears when he’d
first seen her, his vision honed
in on a lovely brunette. She was hard
at work
in her garden on such an oppressive afternoon.
He’d never seen anyone so
focused on one task. She appeared to be in a frenzy,
trying to free the roots of
a bush from the
sun-dried, hardened soil.
He had to admit, she looked as
if she were accustomed to hard work. Strong,
fit arms and legs
peeked out from her short-sleeved blouse and khaki
shorts. She sported a
wide-brimmed hat and appeared
unafraid of hard work if the sweaty
sheen covering her neck and face were any kind
of evidence. Smudges of dirt adorned
her
elbows, knees, and—he couldn’t help but notice—shapely calves.
He’d been
walking through the streets
surrounding his rental home. Historical
architecture was one of his hobbies, and he was checking out the
architectural styles located on the streets
in this older section of Bonita Creek,
California. He’d already identified Craftsman, Victorian, Italianate, Tudor, cottage, ranch,
and bungalow style homes. His mind,
locked on his thoughts,
was jarred when he heard a
frustrated voice asking why she
was trying to renovate her garden
on this hot afternoon. The voice held
such conviction he stopped to see if the speaker was seeking
his personal opinion. When he
realized the sun-kissed gardener was
alone in the garden, he became enthralled by her movements
and the timbre of her voice.
Unsure of how
long he’d been staring, Jeff was jerked out of his trance when the woman turned around and challenged
him to come into the garden to help her dig up the bush.
Embarrassed he’d been
caught staring, his natural reaction
was to laugh. Now the woman rushed away from him toward the door of the cottage
dominating the center of
the property.
This scenario was not unfolding as
he
wanted. He blamed his complete lack of understanding of women and
their mysterious ways for this latest
gaffe. Now you’ve
done it. You are
clueless, Clarke. He needed
to come up with something witty and
wise to redeem himself.
Otherwise, he’d lose a chance to meet this fascinating gardener who
had his curiosity.
~*~
End of Excerpt
________________________________________________________
The Author
Award-winning author, June McCrary
Jacobs, was the winner of Cedar Fort Publishing’s 2013 Holiday Tale Contest for
her debut novella, ‘A Holiday Miracle in
Apple Blossom’. ‘Robin’s Reward’ is her first full-length novel, and is set
in her favorite location in California—the Mendocino coastal region. This book
is the first installment of the ‘Bonita
Creek Trilogy’.
June’s original sewing, quilting, and
stitchery designs have been published in over one hundred books, magazines, and
blogs in the past few years. When she’s not writing, reading, or sewing, June
enjoys cooking, walking, and visiting art and history museums. She also enjoys
touring historic homes and gardens and strolling around the many historic Gold
Rush towns in the Sierra Nevada foothills. In the summertime you can find June
at a variety of county fairs and the California State Fair admiring the sewing
projects, quilts, and handiwork other inspired seamstresses, quilters,
craftspeople, and artists have created.
June enjoys connecting with readers,
authors, aspiring writers, bloggers, designers, sewers, quilters, and crafters.
Please connect with June at the following platforms:
Email: junemccraryjacobs@gmail.com
Website & Blog: http://www.junemccraryjacobs.com
Website & Blog: http://www.junemccraryjacobs.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/June-McCrary-Jacobs/153549754836128
Amazon.com Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/june-mccrary-jacobs
Amazon.com Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/june-mccrary-jacobs
Goodreads
Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/June-McCrary-Jacobs
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