Kelly chats with bestselling Christian romantic suspense authors Colleen Coble and legal thriller writer Rick Acker about their powerful collaboration on the Tupelo Grove series and the newest installment, When Justice Comes. In this heartfelt conversation, they share how a simple Pokémon Go notification sparked their co-writing partnership and how their unique blend of plotting and “plancing” brings their suspense-filled stories to life.
Kelly and her guests dive into the emotional core of the series—Hez and Savannah’s journey through grief, forgiveness, and the possibility of a second chance after unimaginable loss. With a Southern Gothic setting, decades-old secrets, and themes of justice and redemption, this story explores how faith and forgiveness can transform even the deepest wounds.
Colleen and Rick also open up about the personal experiences that shaped their writing, the power of forgiveness in broken relationships, and how God can redeem even the most painful moments in life. Readers will walk away encouraged, reminded that while life brings hardship, God’s grace can bring healing and hope.
Listen to the episode here.
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Meet Colleen Coble
Publishers Weekly and USA Today best-selling author Colleen Coble’s novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Best Books of Indiana, the ACFW Carol Award, the Romance Writers of America RITA, the Holt Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers’ Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She has over six million books in print. When she’s not writing, Colleen is playing Pokemon Go! with the family or traveling to the locales where she sets her novels. She’s a perpetual learner and a natural health nut. Colleen was the CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers for nineteen years and still serves on the Executive Board. She lives with her husband Dave in Arizona so she can spoil her small grandsons. She’s praying her granddaughter chooses Arizona for college to keep her close too.
Visit Colleen at www.ColleenCoble.com
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Meet Rick Acker
Rick writes novels during breaks from his “real job” as a Supervising Deputy Attorney General in the California Department of Justice, where he leads a team prosecuting corporate fraud lawsuits. Rick has authored or coauthored over a dozen acclaimed suspense novels.
When he’s not writing, he leads investigations and lawsuits that made headlines in and out of California. For example, he and his team won a string of record-breaking judgments and settlements against the Wall Street players who created the toxic mortgage securities that triggered the Great Recession. Before joining DOJ, Rick was a senior litigator at Bingham McCutchen, where he worked on high stakes litigation, including a fight between two owners of the San Francisco Forty-Niners and a multibillion dollar international fraud case. Rick studied at the University of Oslo and has a law degree from the University of Notre Dame, where he graduated with honors. In addition to his novels, he is a contributing author on two legal treatises published by the American Bar Association.
Rick is a transplanted Chicagoan who spent thirty-five years in the Midwest before finally trading the certainty of winter and mosquitoes for the risk of earthquakes and wildfires. He now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, Anette. They have four adult children.
Visit Rick at www.RickAcker.com
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Bible Verses for Encouragement
Romans 8:28 (NKJV)
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Colleen and Rick’s New Book: When Justice Comes (Tupelo Grove Series Book 3)
Hez and Savannah Webster have survived storms that would bury others without a love as strong as theirs–but can they withstand the final battle in the deadly Legare-Willard feud that threatens to sweep away everything they’ve fought for?
Hezekiah “Hez” Webster and his fiancée, Savannah, stand on the brink of a new life, but their dreams are haunted by specters of the past. Just as they’re getting ready to adopt her nephew, two other petitioners also file for custody–both of whom only want Simon for their own gains.
Between the financial company that Hez outmaneuvered to save the university from ruin and the bad blood from the head of the Willard family, it’s hard to say who wants them out of the way more. Hez and Savannah’s quest for justice leads them through a labyrinth of family law, where loyalties are tested and trust is a dangerous luxury when every decision could be their last.
With the clock ticking, Hez and Savannah must confront the ghosts of their past and their deepest fears to secure a future for Simon. But with every secret revealed, the stakes grow higher. Can they build the family they’ve always dreamed of, or will their enemies succeed in tearing them apart forever?
The Tupelo Grove series reaches its breathtaking conclusion as an enemy’s agenda for revenge runs darker than swamp water and justice remains as precarious as quicksand in this heart-pounding narrative that underscores the power of redemption and forgiveness.
Colleen Coble and Rick Acker’s When Justice Comes is gripping suspense with closed-door, second-chance romance.
Looking for more from these authors? Don’t miss their standalone novel I Think I Was Murdered. All their novels include discussion questions that are perfect for book clubs.
💞 Tropes in When Justice Comes
- Second Chance Romance
- Marriage in Crisis
- Redemption Arc
- Grief and Healing
- Justice vs. Vengeance
- Southern Gothic Setting
- Hidden Family Secrets
- Faith and Forgiveness
- Legal Thriller Elements
- Partners Facing the Past Together
- Slow Trust Rebuilding
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Kelly’s Personal Update
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.
For Kindle Unlimited lovers, Finding Forevermore is ready for you to check out.
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Welcome to the Christian Romance Podcast, where we go behind the books with inspiring Christian romance authors, exploring faith, love, and the journey that brings the story to life.