About the Book

Book: Shaded Goodness

Author: Kathleen J. Robison

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Release Date: June 10, 2025

Jacquie Dupre has worked tirelessly to give her daughter, Destiny, a future free from the mistakes of her past. But when Mickey, her ex-husband returns to Bay Town, her carefully built world begins to crumble. He claims he’s changed. He’s conquered his addiction that destroyed too many lives, but can Jacquie believe him? As old wounds resurface and a dangerous figure from their past threatens their fragile peace, Jacquie must confront her deepest fears—about Mickey, about love, and about God. Can faith truly heal, can goodness prevail, or will their future be forever shaded by their past?

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About the Author

Kathleen J. Robison weaves tales that inspire a walk of faith and a reliance on God’s guidance through life’s trials. With endearing characters, her stories are a testament to the resilience of broken lives, revived through hope and renewed through God’s grace. Kathleen and her husband call Southern California home residing near the beach and find their most joy in the company of their nineteen and counting grandchildren.

More from Kathleen

Have you ever heard of a Shoofly? The word conjures up an annoying, buzzing insect, but a Shoofly is a magnificent white, wooden, raised gazebo-like structure built around giant oaks and sycamore trees. Back in the 1800s, in the south, they elegantly dotted the coastline of Mississippi. Almost every vacation boarding house boasted one. A relaxing venue for people to gather while avoiding the large horse flies that tended to hover closer to the ground, pestering guests and residents. The raised platform also allowed guests to enjoy the ocean breezes on sweltering hot summer days. Sounds romantic, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, due to storms, hurricanes, and erosion, Shooflys all but disappeared in the 1900s. Yet in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, the setting of my Bay Town Books, you can visit a Shoofly today in the local park downtown. In 1989, a group of town women decided to resurrect the nostalgic structure and had one built. It was completed nearly one hundred years after the near extinction of most of the iconic Shooflys along the Gulf Coast. It’s a key setting in my book, Shaded Goodness.

Recently, my childhood friend returned to visit Bay St. Louis. I asked him to take a picture of the Shoofly, and his wife took the shot above of him waving from the deck. He remembers visiting my family in Bay St. Louis sixty years ago, and he said it still has the charm and hasn’t changed or grown much. Except that it’s now an artisan’s dream! Can you imagine? I can. It’s why I set my romantic suspense series in the fictional setting of Bay Town, inspired by Bay St. Louis. Shaded Goodness is the last in the book series.

“You got to forgive him, Jacquie. And no, I haven’t seen him. But I have been talking to Pastor Roland, and it’s a dark spot, one of many in my soul.”

“Dark spots? Is that what you call ’em?” Jacquie threw up her hands. “I can’t even go there. That man killed –”

Themes of forgiveness, second chances, and redemption are woven throughout Shaded Goodness. It was a joy to write because the male protagonist in this book was inspired by the character of my deceased ex-brother-in-law. Shaded Goodness is entirely fictional, but I loved using Mickey’s good traits to craft his character. He was a truly good soul who sadly made poor choices throughout his life. I like to think that if he had lived long enough, his life might have turned out like Mickey’s in this book, happily ever after. That’s why I enjoyed writing this story, as it allowed me to give Mickey a life of redemption here on earth, and I’m grateful that he’s living it in eternity. His love for the Lord in his last years proved contagious, just like his Christ-indwelling goodness. All glory to the Lord.

I pray for my readers that, as in all my books, you will be encouraged in your faith. That’s why I like writing about second chances and reconciliation. Because God is all about that, isn’t he? The Bay Town Series is a collection of stand-alone books. Still, the returning characters, after facing their own troubles and tragedies, help their neighbors as they face similar trials. 2 Corinthians 1:4-5 instructs us to do just that. Some characters choose the right path, and some don’t, just like in real life. But God’s promised hope is extended to all.

Shaded Goodness comes full circle from book one. Melanie Thompson Brooks champions through tragedy in the prequel and in Shattered Guilt. Her growth enables her to serve as the guiding voice to Jacquie Dupree in Shaded Goodness. With similar backgrounds, the pain of their pasts threatens to unravel their future. You won’t need to read Shattered Guilt, Book One, to enjoy Shaded Goodness, Book Five, but I think you’ll want to go back and get to know the lovely people of Bay Town through Restored Grace (First Place in the National Excellence in Writing competition), Shadowed Doubt, and Ransomed Peace. I think you’ll find some good friends and wish they really were your neighbors.

I hope you’ll fall in love with the setting where I lived for a short time as a child. It’s why I set my books in the deep south of Mississippi. Where life was slower, and the small-town community came together for events and rallied and prayed for one another during difficulties, much like the body of Christ should. Come on down to Bay Town; it just may become home.

Interview with Kathleen

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

I wrote a short family devotional booklet about thirty years ago, but I didn’t dream of publishing it. I printed a copy and bound it for my pastor’s wife, who wanted to use my little system for her kids. Some of my kids now use it with their children!

I wrote my first novel at the age of fifty-eight.  I worked on it and wrote a second book over the next eight years. After attending a small writing retreat, by God’s grace, I was asked to submit my manuscript and, months later, offered a publishing contract for a series. Thankfully, when the publisher asked me if Shattered Guilt was part of a series, I could say yes, as I’d already written Book Two. Restored Grace went on to win First Place in the NEST awards. The Bay Town Series was born, and Shaded Goodness, Book Five was released in June.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I’m an eclectic crafter and gardener! I enjoy junk journaling and rock painting with my grandkids, as well as macramé, embroidery, crocheting, and knitting while watching TV in the evenings. I love houseplants and lovingly care for thirty of them. My outside garden gets quite neglected, but I try, and I’m waiting for my tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash to produce as I write. Oh, I also took up bird-watching! I’ve seen some colorful backyard songbirds, but the squirrels have chased them away! Thankfully, swallows, sparrows, and finches aren’t deterred by those bushy-tailed monsters. Most of all, I love walking with my husband and playing with my grands at home and at the beach. The simplest pleasure bring me the greatest joys. God is so very good.

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

I’ve written eleven books. Five are romantic suspense in the Bay Town Series plus a prequel and Bay Town Christmas book, Let Them Eat Fruitcake.  I love Christmas stories, so I also wrote two more novellas: Mistletoe Village and The Cross at Morioka Castle. I love all my books, and the characters are like my friends, so it’s challenging to pick just one. But I think my favorite is a historical romantic mystery, The Missing Songbird. It was the most challenging book I’ve ever written. I had to meet specific parameters for my publisher, so incorporating those and conducting the research was much more difficult and time-consuming than for my Bay Town Series. Still, it turned out to be my favorite, as well as my husbands and many readers. The Missing Songbird is set in Wales in 1949 and is a fairy-tell retelling loosely inspired by Hans Christian Anderson’s Thumbelina.

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

You can find all my books on Amazon, and I have two Facebook pages. I’m on Instagram, Bookbub, and I dabble on Pinterest! I have a blog on my website, and I send out a monthly newsletter via email. If you subscribe, you’ll receive encouraging words of faith, the latest updates on my book, and other relevant information as well as a monthly giveaway. Here are the links. I’d love to connect with you.

https://kathleenjrobison.com/

https://www.subscribepage.com/essentialingredients

https://www.facebook.com/kathleenjrobisonauthor/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3108667785916519

https://www.instagram.com/kathleenjrobison/

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kathleen-j-robison

https://www.pinterest.com/kathleenjrobison/

Thank you, Gina for featuring me. It’s been fun digging through my brain to answer the questions!

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, August 26

Stories By Gina, August 27 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 28

Simple Harvest Reads, August 29 (Author Interview)

Artistic Nobody, August 30 (Author Interview)

Fiction Book Lover, August 30

Guild Master, August 31 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, September 1

Tell Tale Book Reviews, September 2 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, September 3

Blossoms and Blessings, September 4 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, September 5

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, September 6 (Author Interview)

A Reader’s Brain , September 7 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, September 7

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, September 8 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Kathleen is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card and a paperback copy of the book!!

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

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54285