Today I thought I would share a little background on my second novel in the Love, Hope, and Faith Series, Camp Hope: Journey to Hope, set to release July 24, 2018.

Amy Dawson directs a summer camp for foster children near Briceville, Tennessee. A foster mom for the first time, her responsibilities as mother to a traumatized child bring a whole new set of challenges and joys.

But when Amy’s four-year-old foster daughter is dragged into the mountains of Royal Blue by a former employee, parenting challenges are overshadowed by a new nightmare. The Sheriff’s department fails to procure viable leads, and Amy can’t sit idle. Her childhood friend and first love, Jack Evans, returns to lend his skills as tracker. Problem is, he also stirs up romantic memories Amy would rather leave buried.

Jack struggles to let go of his past failures and prove his reliability by bringing Mattie home, but fears when he left camp nineteen years ago and failed to keep a promise to Amy he permanently lost her confidence.

As Amy plunges into the wilderness on horseback to search for Mattie, she must decide who she trusts, let go of her childhood traumas, and learn to rely on hope in God. Facing dehydration, starvation, and a convoluted kidnapper, will she succeed in recovering her precious foster daughter or get lost in the vast wilderness forever?

The idea for Camp Hope, strangely enough (or maybe not so strange for us suspense authors), came from a nightmare I had. We were foster parents for a few years and after our first placement came I had a dream one night that someone came and kidnapped her. Of course, this is one of every parent’s worst fears, but when I woke I wondered what complications would be added if that child were a foster placement. And that train of thought sparked into, “Hmmm, that would be a great book!”

I tucked the nugget away and focused on finishing book number one, Callum’s Compass, knowing I would revisit and develop the idea into my next novel. As I learn more about the process of writing and the type of author I am, I find I am able to write novels more efficiently. It’s hard to believe I only began writing Camp Hope last spring and already it is being published. I’m, once again, thankful to the team at Mantle Rock Publishing for helping my dream become reality.

Camp Hope is available now for preorder on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. There will be some fun announcements over the next few weeks, including a Facebook party with huge giveaways, and more behind the scenes information, so keep your eyes peeled! Oh, and if you haven’t checked out book number one, Callum’s Compass: Journey to Love, it’s free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers and also available as paperback and ebook on Amazon. Check it out here.