MEANT FOR HER - Joy Avery Melville - One Free Ebook

BIO: Joy Avery Melville’s heart’s desire is to be the author God has called her to be by sharing Him with readers in such a way they long to have a deeply committed personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord. Fully intending to write Historical Romance—had in fact—she didn’t want to deviate from that. God had different plans for that ‘call’ He’d made on her life back in 1967. A mere eighth grader at the time, she had no clue about the topics she’d be drawn to write about.

Surrendering to the genre God placed on her heart has given Joy new insight into the hearts and lives of those who too often hurt in silence. The settings of Joy’s books are near where she lives in Schoolcraft, Michigan, with her husband of nearly 46 years and their one-year-old Yorkie pup, Is-A-Bella Bindi, (Is-a-beautiful little girl) who thinks she’s a much larger breed with tomboy tendencies.

Welcome, Joy. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

The majority of my characters are made up from my imagination, but the Spiritual portions come from my heart as do the views on marriage.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

That’s hard to say, since I’m a woman of an advanced age and pretty much know better than to do something I might pay for medically. I did take off in our van in May of 2015 to stay for 9 days with a writer, whom I’d only met online and had talked to for about one month before she’d invited me to go stay a couple weeks with them. I had no idea what I’d be facing when I got to their house, It was a 16 hour drive. It turned out to be FUN, INTERESTING, DIFFERENT, and, yes, QUIRKY, and boy, was it ever HOT there.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

My first inkling was in the last marking period of 8^th grade. My parents had moved us to a small village in Michigan, and my poor English teacher had no idea what to do with me for a final exam. She finally asked me to write a short story and hand it in within the week. I had never written a story of any kind. I went home, wrote a 20 page story on both sides of notebook paper (40 page short story) and handed it in the next day. After she’d graded it over the weekend, she asked me to see her after school that Monday afternoon. She told me, I had the gift of story telling on paper, and she advised me to take every conceivable writing class offered from my Freshman year through college. The following Sunday we had a visiting missionary at church, and his words were, “If God has given you a specific gift. Use it to His honor and glory, as He leads you.” I pretty much took that as affirmation of what my teacher had said the Monday before. I allowed a LOT of life to happen between 8^th grade and this story, but I wrote several stories in the meantime.

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

I love to read. One of my fave genres is Historical Romance. I also read Romance, Amish, Women’s Fiction, and Romantic Suspense. I read non-fiction by Charles Swindoll and David Jeremiah.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?

PRAYER – LOTS and LOTS OF PRAYER! I do take my Yorkie, Bella for walks, do a lot of stretching as per doctors’ orders, and I READ LOTS before I go to bed at night.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

Most of my character’s names are chosen by how they fit the personality of the individual character. I double check the meanings of names, to be sure it’s not going to be counter the characters’ temperaments. I try to be careful not to have too many characters with the same first letter in their names, but just could not hold back naming my brother and sister in the story with ‘C’ names.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

The accomplishment I’m most proud of is having been married to the same man for 46 years this next month. We are very different personalities with very different likes and dislikes, but God has kept us in love for going on five decades. We met in the first week of September and married the last day of November 1973. Both of us have been committed to making it work. I praise God for it lasting.

James and I have been married for 55 years on November 7. We got married 3 months and 3 days after meeting on a blind date. If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?
Easy answer. My Yorkie, Is-A-Bella Bindi (Is-A-Beautiful Little girl) she is so, so lovable and so, so entertaining. I’d like to be loved as we love her.

What is your favorite food?

Oh, my. Favorite food? That’s tough. I LOVE FOOD. Probably would say yeast breads. COMFORT FOOD for me. The stress of getting my book revisions done, the marketing plans underway… yup… comfort foods are showing.

What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

The actual writing of the book was amazing. I wrote a full length novel within a six week period, and did not get to write every single day. My biggest roadblock was trying to tighten it without losing the meat of the story. A lot of prayer went into the revisions and a whole lot of time. More than I’d anticipated, but God brought a terrific editor friend alongside and she helped me deepen, strengthen, and tighten the story to what it has become.

Tell us about the featured book.

The easiest way to do that is to share the Back Cover Blurb, but I do want to share that this book came about after I’d heard a very moving TV news report one evening while doing dishes. I did NOT set out to write Meant for Her without a lot of wrestling with God. By the way, I do NOT recommend that. He ALWAYS wins. My dream was to write Historical Romance and I had written that, but no one wanted to publish it. After I surrendered my will to His, the story flowed, and He’s given me more to this series as well as other series, I’m working on. He did allow me a strong thread of Romance with a sigh-worthy ending, and according to my first two Advanced Reader reviews thus far, the ending is just that.

BCB –

Had it all truly been ~ MEANT FOR HER?

Kidnapped, raped, brutally beaten, and left for dead, Candi Reynolds becomes a prisoner of fear. Faced also with the impact of the unexpected break-up with her fiancé, and an unwanted pregnancy resulting from the attacks, she believes God has forsaken her. Choosing to move back to the Michigan horse farm, owned by her older brother, Dr. Cam Reynolds, Candi essentially goes into seclusion.

Dr. Patrick (Mack) MacKevon, long-time friend of Cam’s, watches from the sidelines at the farm, w here his horses are stabled, while Candi struggles to regain a sense of normalcy. His own big-brother tendencies develop into a much deeper emotion over the months he prays for her.

Is it possible for Candi to put all of the pain and trauma behind her and renew her former relationship with the Lord? Will she allow her heart to open enough to discover authentic love, while making decisions of victory on her personal journey to joy?

Please give us the first page of the book.

Friday ~ November 15, 2013 ~ Vicksburg, Michigan

Stinging and prickling throughout her body, accompanied by a beep…beep… beep and muffled voices from a distance, invaded Candi’s senses. Convulsive shivers swept her extremities.

    

She attempted to open her eyes. Too much effort. Where were those voices? They’d been different. Maybe she’d become delusional from prolonged pain.

    

Wait. Hands and ankles free. On a real bed and covered with something heavy. No gag. Mouth dry… as dust. Throat scratchy. Odors different…Clean. Fresh. Antiseptic? No stale smoke. No musty or moldy smells.

   

Candi relaxed when fear met seeming safety and comfort. The shaking eased as she drifted on the edge of sleep.

“Good evening, Pastor Sam, Jaime. You’re the ones who found our Jane Doe?”

    

A man’s words penetrated Candi’s haze. They weren’t harsh or demanding. Friendly, yet authoritative.

“Yes. Jaime did.” Another man’s voice, softer than the first.

    

“She wasn’t awake, Dr. Crandall, and she was icy.”

    

“It’s a good thing you found her when you did, young lady. Pastor, you know anything about her?”

    

“No, and as swollen and bloody as her face was, I couldn’t be sure if I’d ever seen her before. I’d taken Jaime hunting, hoping to get a deer today, and she went off the trail, following some fresh tracks in the snow. Within minutes, she was screaming she’d found a woman. Imagine my shock when I saw how right she was.”

Wow, powerful. How can readers find you on the Internet?

Email:     joyjournaling@gmail.com
Twitter:   https://twitter.com/Journeystojoy 
 Website https://www.joyaverymelville.com

Blog:      https://www.journeystojoy.net

Facebook Author Page: http://facebook.com/jamauthor

Facebook Personal Page http://facebook.com/joy.averymelville

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Joy-Avery-Melville/e/B07Y9BQLHX?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1570578449&sr=8-1

I love to hear from readers.
Reviews by Advanced Readers are posted on Goodreads.

Thank you, Joy, for allowing me to promote the release of your debut novel. I am eager to read this story, and I know my blog readers will be, too.

Readers, the book is up for preorder on Amazon.

Meant For Her (Intended For Her Book 1)

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