About the Book

Book: Love’s True Home

Author: Lori DeJong

Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

Release date: June 25, 2024

She craves roots. He seeks adventure. Will finding one mean leaving the other behind?

Allyson Kincaid needs roots. After being born and raised on the foreign mission field, all she wants is home and hearth on American soil. Finally past the break-up with the man she’d thought was the love of her life, she’s ready to put herself back out there. Too bad the first guy who’s made her pulse skip in nearly two years dreams of a life spent in foreign missions. She respects and supports his calling but knows it’s not one she shares.

When self-described vagabond Zane Carpenter relocates to Arlington, Texas, his only thought is to meet his obligation with Becker Ministries then move on to a foreign mission assignment, his dream and goal for the past several years. But working so closely with Ally in student ministry has his heart feeling things he’s never experienced. He’s ready for a future with her, until she makes it clear she doesn’t share his calling to the mission field.

A trip to her father’s Guatemalan mission changes everything when one stays and one leaves. Can she make a place on foreign soil, or will he find a home in Texas he didn’t even know he was looking for?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Lori DeJong is a contemporary Christian romance author who enjoys penning stories full of grace and the redemptive power of God’s love that inspire others to hope regardless of circumstance, find joy in the moment, and grow in their faith. She resides in Georgetown, Texas, with her husband and two fur-babies and is the mother of one grown daughter. Lori’s debut novel, “Love’s True Calling”, is the 2022 winner of the ACFW Genesis Award for Romance, a double finalist in the 2024 Selah Awards, and was released in June 2023. “Love’s True Home” is the second book in the True Calling Series and releases on June 25, 2024.

More from Lori

Do you ever wish you had a second chance to make a first impression? I know I have.

And I can’t help but think that Allyson Kincaid, the female protagonist in my upcoming novel, Love’s True Home, would desire the same thing. Her first appearance in Love’s True Calling, Book One of the True Calling Series released last year, may not have painted her in the best light. But who could blame her for acting from a broken heart, trying to win back the man she thought was the love of her life? I knew from the moment she stepped off the page in chapter thirty-one she needed her own story. Her own true love. Her own path to finding her true calling. And I hope readers will give her that second chance to win their hearts.

As I set out to get to know her better, I found she had a lot to tell me. Much of her history was spent growing up on foreign mission fields across Central America, leaving her feeling rootless and without a place to call home. Until she came to Arlington ten years ago and found exactly what her heart longed for. Now her dream is to settle right there in Arlington, get a house someday—and a dog, of course—and grow her roots in rich, Texas soil.

Over a brainstorming session with a close writer friend, I mapped out an entire story concept for Ally, with a handsome missionary love interest. Then Zane Carpenter popped up in the last few chapters of Love’s True Calling and I knew he was the guy for Ally. Out with the old story and in with the new.

Getting to know Zane was a kick, even if he has enough of his own heartbreak in his history. His sense of humor, extrovert adventurer personality, and deep love for the Lord had me hooked from the beginning. Except for the myriad friends he’s made in the half-dozen places he’s lived over the past thirteen years, Zane’s alone in the world. And until meeting Ally, he was okay with that. Traveling here and there for new opportunities, new adventures, meeting new people. With a foreign mission assignment being his ultimate dream.

But what happens when the girl who’s been-there-done-that as a missionary kid and has no intention of leaving Texas meets a guy who sweeps her off her feet, only to find out his goal is to work in foreign missions?

Come along for the ride as Zane and Ally discover more about themselves, each other, the Lord they both wholeheartedly long to serve …

And the true meaning of home.

Interview with Lori

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I’m not exactly sure, but I know as far back as high school, I was interested in writing. But I had a teacher who greatly discouraged me in my writing, and I didn’t pursue it for a couple of decades after that. But I must have always had it at the back of my mind, because a few years ago I was going through a bunch of old day timers and I found a list of goals I had written in my late twenties that listed under Long-term Goals “to be a published author”. And I wasn’t even writing in my twenties! I didn’t start writing in earnest until 2002 when I was almost forty. So I guess there’s been a writer inside me for a long time itching to get out.

What is your real-life work schedule like when writing?

This is a work in progress. I just retired from the day job to become a full-time writer, so I’m still working on what my daily and/or weekly schedule will look like. I know I want writing time every day, no question. But I also want to be sure I’m carving out time for the business side, the social media side, and for continuing education. I don’t think we ever “arrive” as writers. There’s always something to learn, and the business is constantly evolving.

When did you write your first book, and how old were you?

Above, I indicated I didn’t start writing “in earnest” until 2002. But in 1998, I decided I could write one of those shorter category romances and of course they’d want to publish it. So I sat down and wrote a story that to this day I love with all my heart. But it was seriously one of the worst things I’ve ever read in my life. At least now that I know a little bit more about what it takes to write a novel. I was 35 at the time and wrote probably twelve or thirteen really stinky manuscripts. I didn’t know there were writers’ groups and such until the early 2000’s, after I had my daughter and became a stay-at-home mom. I got involved in a national writers’ group that had a local chapter where I lived, and I fell in love with the craft of writing. Those early novels will remain in my heart, but they will never see the light of day.

Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

They can visit my website at loridejongwrites.com and sign up for my monthly newsletter. I don’t send a lengthy one, just usually a quick share about something going on in my life or something I’ve learned, sometimes a book recommendation, and always a giveaway. They can also look me up on Instagram (loridejongwrites), Facebook (Lori DeJong Author page), Amazon, Goodreads, and BookBub.

Any current or upcoming projects you’d like to tell us about?

Love’s True Home, Book Two of the True Calling Series, releases on June 25. And I’m super excited about a Christmas novella I have coming out in October of this year as part of the “A Match Made at Christmas” collection from my publisher, Scrivenings Press, with three other SP authors whom I love. I’d never written a novella before and had so much fun telling Cody and Aubrey’s second-chance romance story in Jingle Bell Matchmakers. Then in June 2025, Love’s True Measure, the third and final book in the True Calling Series, will release, which is Shannon and Hunter’s story. I’m only a few chapters into it right now, but I’m happy with how it’s unfolding so far.

Blog Stops

Texas Book-aholic, July 10

Locks, Hooks and Books, July 11

lakesidelivingsite, July 12

Back Porch Reads, July 13 (Author Interview)

Devoted To Hope, July 13

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 14

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, July 15 (Author Interview)

Holly’s Book Corner, July 16

Simple Harvest Reads, July 17 (Author Interview)

For the Love of Literature, July 18 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, July 18

Cover Lover Book Review, July 19

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, July 20

Tell Tale Book Reviews, July 21 (Author Interview)

Pause for Tales, July 22

Stories By Gina, July 23 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Lori is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2ca40/love-s-true-home-celebration-tour-giveaway