REVEALING THE TRUTH - Lorri Dudley - One Free Book

Welcome back, Lorri. Why did you become an author? I’ve always loved stories and creative writing. When my children were young, I entertained myself while pushing them on the swings by coming up with various plot lines. I’d jot the scene ideas down in a notebook, and once my boys were no longer of an age when they were a constant danger to themselves, I sat down at my computer and started writing. It’s probably for the best that I didn’t entirely understand how hard the industry is to break into. Once I’d finished typing one book, I figured I’d made it this far. I should keep going because the author bug had bitten me. So I wrote two more books before heading to my first writing conference, which only strengthened my resolve. By then, writing had become such a joy and a creative outlet for me that I would have kept writing, whether published or not.

If you weren’t an author, what would be your dream job? If I didn’t have to live in a city, I would have enjoyed being either a set designer or a museum curator. I love creating or restoring things and was the type of kid who’d stare with wide-eyed excitement after opening a fresh Crayola crayon box, sitting down with a pen and blank spiral notebook, or picking up a hammer and nails. I can only imagine God’s excitement when He created the heavens and the earth.  

If you could have lived at another time in history, what would it be and why? I would love to go back to Regency England, where my books take place, to see the interactions of the le bon ton or Beau Monde. I love the chivalry of the Regency Era, where honor and reputation were worth dueling over, and the romantic aspect of couples engaging in courtship at balls and country dances. Knowing myself, though, it would have to be toward the end of the era after indoor plumbing was invented. I’d struggle to become accustomed to using a chamber pot.  

What place in the United States have you not visited that you would like to? I’d love to see Alaska. Granted, I’m a warm-weather type of girl, but everyone I know who’s been to Alaska raves about the beauty of the glaciers and nature.

How about a foreign country you hope to visit? Ever since a Dutch publisher picked up my first series, I’ve wanted to travel to the Netherlands. My artistic side would love to visit the Van Gogh Museum, paint the windmills of Kinder Dijk or the tulip gardens of Keukenhof, or smell the lavender in the salt marshes of Texel Island. I’d love to cross the wooden bridges of Giethoorn or ice skate on its frozen canals in winter. So fun and inspiring!

What lesson has the Lord taught you recently? Letting go and trusting God is not only a theme that runs in Revealing the Truth but is also an area where God has been building me. There’s nothing like teaching two teenagers how to drive a car and get their license to actively apply trusting God with your heart (in my case, plural for the two boys.) This phase of my life has required a lot of praying, letting go, and letting God. I used to read these precious boys bedtime stories and rock to sleep, and now I have to let them out of the nest to fly on their own, which was harder than I anticipated. My oldest just graduated from high school and is off to college in the fall, so God continues to work on me.

Tell us about the featured book. The seeds of Revealing the Truth were first planted when I was in the seventh grade. I used to carry an idea notebook and jot down scenes whenever inspired. My mother found my old notebook a few years ago and mailed it to me. In it were faded pencil scrawls about a girl escaping into the cold night and collapsing. She’s taken in by kind passersby who nurse her back to health, only to be surprised when their handsome young son climbs in through her bedroom window and so enters Stephen into Katherine’s life. Here’s the back cover blurb:

When Katherine Jenkins is rescued from the side of the road, half-frozen and left for dead, her only option is to stay silent about her identity or risk being shipped back to her ruthless guardian, who will kill to get his hands on her inheritance and the famous Jenkins Lipizzaner horses. But even under the pretense of amnesia, she cannot shake the memory of her sister and Katherine’s need to reach her before their guardian, or his marauding bandits, finish her off. Will she be safe in the earl’s manor, or will the assailant climbing through her window be the death of her?

British spy, Stephen Hartington’s assignment to uncover an underground horse-thieving ring brings him home to his family’s manor, and the last thing he expected was to be struck with a candlestick upon climbing through the guest chamber window. The manor’s feisty and intriguing new house guest throws Stephen’s best-laid plans into turmoil and raises questions about the timing of her appearance, the convenience of her memory loss, and her impeccable riding skills. Could he be housing the horse thief he’d been ordered to capture—or worse, falling in love with her?

Please give us the first page of the book.

Katherine Ainsley Jenkins, the Countess of Dysart, inched along the edge of the stall past her favorite mare, who nudged her newly born colt to a stand.

The head groom lifted his cap and wiped his forehead. “’Twas was a long night, but mama and baby are doin’ fine.” He plopped his hat back on his head and dipped the corner. “Much obliged for your aid, Lady Dysart.”

Katherine mustered a weak smile and tightened the sash of her dressing robe. Distressed naying from her mare had roused her in the night, and the responsibilities of Steepleton Manor demanded she look into the disturbance. The delivery of the baby foal had been long and labored, and Katherine’s presence had been needed to calm the wearied mother.

Hay clung to Katherine’s hem as she stepped out of the stall, and she must smell like the stable, but she’d done it. Steepleton Manor welcomed its first new addition to their pedigree family since her parents’ passing. “Please let this be the beginning of Steepleton’s revival,” she whispered to the sunlight streaming in through the loft window. How many hours had she spent pouring over horse breeding books trying to keep her papa’s legacy of the famous Jenkins Lipizzaner horses going?

The hard slap of footfalls running outside the stable broke through the fog of her brain. Denton, the butler, skidded past the open stable doors into view. His highly polished shoes slid on the loose gravel, and he flailed his arms before coming to a halt. The whoosh of air swirled the sweet scent of hay under her nose. He righted himself with haste and tugged at the bottom of his jacket, dislodging any wrinkles.

Several of her father’s Lipizzaner horses leaned their necks out of the stall openings to see who approached.

It was uncharacteristic of her dignified butler to hurry. Her stomach twisted. The only other time she’d witnessed Denton this flustered had been the day he sought her out with the news of the deadly carriage accident that killed her parents. Please let Claire be safe. She placed a hand on a nearby post for her knees threatened to crumple. The second worst day after burying her parents had been packing Claire off to finishing school. As much as Katherine desired to hold her sister and continue to mourn their parents together, Claire deserved a chance to marry and lead a normal socialite’s life.

“Mr. Bainbridge has arrived early, my lady.” Denton stood at attention. The only sign of his recent sprint to the barn was his chest’s quick rise and fall.

Her grip on the post tightened, and although she wanted to lean against it with relief, there was too much to do. “Already? His letter stated he’d arrive at week’s end.” Her mind whirled in a thousand directions. Why had he come? What could he possibly want after shirking his guardianship duties for three years? One question screamed louder than the rest. Would he still act as crazed as he had after Madeline’s funeral?

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Lorridudley.com  BookBub  Goodreads  Amazon  Wildheartbooks.org

Thank you, Lorri, for sharing Revealing the Truth with my blog readers. I love reading your books.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=revealing+the+truth+lorri+dudley&i=stripbooks&crid=3U7O6BTLT1KVG&sprefix=Revealing+the+Truth+%2Cstripbooks%2C84&ref=nb_sb_ss_fb_1_20

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