Kelly chats with Kristen Hogrefe Parnell about her powerful Christian romantic suspense novel Watch Your Back, a story filled with grit, emotional depth, and redemptive hope. In this episode, Kristen shares her author journey—from self-publishing to traditional publishing—and how motherhood, faith, and perseverance shaped the writing of this deeply personal story.
They dive into Avery, a fiercely independent private investigator hardened by abandonment, and Ethan, a Coast Guard veteran wrestling with PTSD and survivor’s guilt. Together, Kelly and Kristen explore themes of fear of failure, self-reliance, foster care trauma, and what it truly means to surrender to Christ in the midst of brokenness.
This episode is an honest and hope-filled conversation about sanctification, spiritual growth, and how Jesus meets us in the dark places—not necessarily to erase the struggle, but to walk with us through it.
If you love layered characters, opposites-attract tension, and faith-filled romantic suspense, this one is for you.
Kristen Hogrefe Parnell writes suspenseful fiction from a faith perspective for women and young adults. A former English teacher, she now designs curriculum for a Christian academy and spends most of her time at her favorite assignment to date: being a mom to her toddler. Her books have won the Selah Award and the Grace Award, among others. She lives in the Tampa, Florida area with her husband and son. Visit Kristen at KristenHogrefeParnell.com.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Kristen Hogrefe Parnell New Book: Watch Your Back
You can’t watch your own back.
Private Investigator Avery Reynolds leads the charge to expose Tampa’s supposedly “extinct” mob. The crime boss responsible for her foster brother’s death is within her grasp—until she hits a wall in the form of Ethan Bridger, a Coast Guard veteran who unknowingly derails her sting operation. When the elusive “Big Eddie” comes out of hiding, he targets their mutual friends about to tie the knot.
Avery sets aside her angst toward Ethan to focus on ending the crime boss’s reign of terror. But working together exposes her trust issues and his PTSD stemming from a comrade’s tragedy. When Avery goes solo into a prisoner exchange operation, she discovers her vulnerability too late—and must lean on Ethan and the God she thought had abandoned her. But will that help reach her in time?
Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me during the Kickstarter! I’m so grateful for you!
Finding Forevermore is available today!
Her family secrets. His guilt. One road trip that changes everything.
Raven Cunningham has built a quiet life between the shelves of a small-town bookshop, ghostwriting stories for others while hiding her own. She’s long believed her father abandoned her, until a letter from her late grandmother reveals a shocking truth.
Convinced the reclusive author J.C. Nevermore is her father, Raven sets out to uncover the real story. When her childhood friend Cole Walker, a former Army medic wrestling with his own scars, offers to help, she’s not sure if she can trust him . . . or herself.
As they chase clues and revisit old memories, what begins as a search for answers becomes a journey toward something deeper.
Finding Forevermore is a heartfelt story about faith, family, and the kind of love that’s anchored in God’s unfailing grace.
In this episode, Kelly chats with award-winning Christian historical romance author Sarah Sundin about her newest World War II novel, Mists Over the Channel Islands. Set on the British Channel Island of Jersey during German occupation, this deeply emotional story weaves together courage, forbidden love, and sacrificial faith.
Listeners will fall in love with Ivy, a young female physician risking everything to help escaped forced laborers, and Garrett, a Dutch resistance fighter in disguise as a German engineer. Kelly and Sarah dive deep into the emotional tension of falling for someone in the enemy’s uniform, the historical realities of island occupation, and the incredible strength it takes to obey God even when the risks are high.
Don’t miss this heartfelt conversation about standing firm in faith when God’s goodness isn’t visible, loving sacrificially, and the power of unseen courage during history’s darkest days.
Sarah Sundin is the bestselling author of Midnight on the Scottish Shore, Embers in the London Sky, The Sound of Light, and Until Leaves Fall in Paris, as well as the popular WWII series Sunrise at Normandy, among others. She is a Christy Award winner and a Carol Award winner, and her novels have received starred reviews from Booklist, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. Sarah lives in Southern California. Visit SarahSundin.com
Bible Verse for Encouragement
Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Sarah Sundin’s New Book: Mists Over the Channel Islands
Behind enemy lines, adversary and ally become impossible to distinguish.
The German invasion of the British Channel Islands shatters Dr. Ivy Picot’s peaceful world, forcing her to shoulder the weight of her father’s medical practice and hold together a family unraveling under the strain of war. As conditions worsen in Jersey with the arrival of thousands of forced laborers, Ivy’s quiet allegiance to the Allies compels her to risk everything by providing medical aid to escaped workers–even as danger closes in.
Dutch engineer and resistance member Gerrit van der Zee volunteers to build fortifications for the Germans so he can secretly send maps and diagrams to the Allies. On his arrival in the Channel Islands, he crosses paths with Ivy, who shows him contempt for the uniform he wears. As tensions mount and their missions grow increasingly dangerous, Ivy and Gerrit must confront the cost of courage, the meaning of sacrifice, and whether love can survive in the shadow of war. Will their covert efforts turn the tide–or will they pay the ultimate price for defiance?
Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me during the Kickstarter! I’m so grateful for you!
Finding Forevermore is available today!
Her family secrets. His guilt. One road trip that changes everything.
Raven Cunningham has built a quiet life between the shelves of a small-town bookshop, ghostwriting stories for others while hiding her own. She’s long believed her father abandoned her, until a letter from her late grandmother reveals a shocking truth.
Convinced the reclusive author J.C. Nevermore is her father, Raven sets out to uncover the real story. When her childhood friend Cole Walker, a former Army medic wrestling with his own scars, offers to help, she’s not sure if she can trust him . . . or herself.
As they chase clues and revisit old memories, what begins as a search for answers becomes a journey toward something deeper.
Finding Forevermore is a heartfelt story about faith, family, and the kind of love that’s anchored in God’s unfailing grace.
Jennifer Willcock shares a behind the scenes look of her Christian romance book about a widow finding faith again called Hymn of Life. A pastor’s wife turned fiction author, Jennifer opens up about navigating church hurt, grief, and healing — both in her own life and in her characters’. In this inspiring episode, she shares how her love of storytelling and a burden for clean, hope-filled YA fiction led her into adult contemporary romance with a faith-driven twist. Hymn of Life isn’t just a love story — it’s a spiritual journey of redemption and second chances.
Jennifer Willcock is an award-winning writer of YA and Adult fiction. The Wolf Kingdom series is a fantasy/retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. She has also written YA contemporary romance novels including the award-winning Exit Stage Right. She is thrilled that her English degree is finally being put to good use. She lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband, two sons, and their pet rabbit, Ollie. Visit Jennifer at JenniferWillcock.com
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. — Ezekiel 36:26 (NKJV)
Jennifer Willcock’s New Book: Hymn of Life
Caught between her past life and a new beginning, Lauren must choose where her heart truly lies.
Lauren Grace is determined to find her happily ever after, but on her terms which doesn’t include a rockstar or any man for that matter.
Aaron Miles Scott’s life has stalled. He’s lost his muse, he’s hiding a secret he’d like to forget and his music career is taking a nosedive. The last thing he needs is a relationship to complicate his life.
Lauren and Aaron are brought together in a head on collision as they judge a talent competition. Aaron represents everything Lauren has sworn off—success, fame, notoriety. He definitely doesn’t fit into her new life.
Neither can deny the chemistry between them but is it enough? Will they be able to find their way past the secrets, lies, and wounds to their happily ever after?
Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me during the Kickstarter! I’m so grateful for you!
Finding Forevermore is available today!
Her family secrets. His guilt. One road trip that changes everything.
Raven Cunningham has built a quiet life between the shelves of a small-town bookshop, ghostwriting stories for others while hiding her own. She’s long believed her father abandoned her, until a letter from her late grandmother reveals a shocking truth.
Convinced the reclusive author J.C. Nevermore is her father, Raven sets out to uncover the real story. When her childhood friend Cole Walker, a former Army medic wrestling with his own scars, offers to help, she’s not sure if she can trust him . . . or herself.
As they chase clues and revisit old memories, what begins as a search for answers becomes a journey toward something deeper.
Finding Forevermore is a heartfelt story about faith, family, and the kind of love that’s anchored in God’s unfailing grace.
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