I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
Joslyn, my heroine, was from a poor background, so she was working at an electronics store in Los Angeles and putting herself through school in computer programming.
When she got involved with her ex-boyfriend, who murdered her father, she ran away to Oregon. She lost her baby and the woman she was working for helped her through that ordeal. The woman also talked a lot about Christ to her, and so Joslyn has been seeking Christ more and more.
She’s lost a lot and has gone through a grieving process after her father was murdered and she miscarried her baby. She had to leave school and her job to run away from her ex, so she has to start the school year all over again. At least she’s able to work for Liam and Elisabeth in Sonoma, California, at their new skip-tracing agency rather than trying to find a new job.
She’s grateful to Liam and Elisabeth for saving her and for bringing her into their “family” in Sonoma after the loss of her father. She is a good team player and only wants their business to succeed. Her job for them teaches her the skills she needs to try to find her friend, Fiona, in Gone Missing.
Throughout the story, Joslyn learns that she’s not alone, no matter what she’s done, no matter what has happened to her. God loves her deeply, because she’s “worth more than gold.”
When I was writing the book, that was my prayer for each person who would read it. I pray that when you read the book, you’ll also truly feel God’s love for you and how he values you as something infinitely precious to Him.
Did you read the book? Could you relate to Joslyn? Let me know! I’d love to feature your comments in my newsletter and on my social media!
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