This week, I’m pleased to welcome Regina Rudd Merrick to The Story behind the Story. Before we hear about her Carolina series and what inspired it, let’s find out a little more about Carolina Grace.
She knows about God’s grace for her life, but pushes it away. He hasn’t experienced it, but finds grace in a way he never expected.
First-year Special Education teacher Charly Livingston demonstrates God’s love on the outside, but is resentful that God allowed back-to-back tragedies to happen to her family.
Rance Beaumont is a top-notch medical intern. He’s on his way to the top, and when he meets Charly, he knows things can only get better. When he discovers family secrets and a dying father he never knew, his easy life seems to disintegrate.
Even in the idyllic ocean breezes and South Carolina sunshine, contentment can quickly turn to bitterness and confusion except for God’s amazing grace.
Regina, what inspired you to write this series?
Pawley’s Island, South Carolina
The first time my family visited the Pawley’s Island area of South Carolina, I was excited, but our main purpose was a family vacation in honor of our parents’ fortieth wedding anniversary! I love the beach no matter where I go, but I had no great expectations that this would be a significant beach in my life.
How wrong could I be? When we got there and got unloaded, we sat on the deck of our vacation rental house. Even two rows off the beach, you could hear the pounding surf and feel the ocean breeze.
I was home. Well, home-away-from-home.
It was during that trip that I realized how much it means to me to see the ocean. To see the vastness that is one of God’s most majestic creations. To feel the wind coming off the sea. To watch a storm come in from miles out, pour rain on us, and then blow away to reveal more sunshine.
It was years before I had a dream that led to writing my first book, Carolina Dream. When I knew I had to write the story, I knew where I wanted to place it – in South Carolina. Another trip down a few years later cemented it in my mind. I was able to put the places and atmosphere in the correct context.
I was also more enamored of the place than ever I was before. In the back of my mind, I still get that niggling urge to look on Zillow for beach houses – maybe one that looks like Sarah’s or Jared’s in Carolina Dream. I imagine what it would be like to live in a Revolutionary War-era home that brings shabby-chic to life, like Tom’s, in Carolina Mercy. Sometimes I even wonder what it would be like to be Charly, Tom’s sister, growing up in that old house and striking out on her own in Carolina Grace.
Where would YOU write about, if you were to write about your “dream place?”
Regina Rudd Merrick began reading romance and thinking of book ideas as early as her teenage years when she attempted a happily-ever-after sequel to “Gone With the Wind.” That love of fiction parlayed into a career as a librarian, and finally to writing full-time. She began attending local writing workshops and continued to hone her craft by writing several short and novel-length fan-fiction pieces published online, where she met other authors with a similar love for story, a Christian worldview, and happily-ever-after. Married for 30+ years and active in their church in Marion, KY, Regina and her husband have two grown daughters who share her love of music, writing, and the arts. She is the author of three books: Carolina Dream (Apr. 2017), Carolina Mercy (July 2018), and Carolina Grace (February 2019) in the Southern Breeze Series.
Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Regina-R-Merrick-512257938964888/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
Twitter: https://twitter.com/trmerrick64
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reginamerrick/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/rmerrick/
Website: https://www.reginaruddmerrick.com
Publisher Website: https://mantlerockpublishing.com/
Sales Links: My author page – https://www.amazon.com/Regina-Rudd-Merrick/e/B072JMWPWD/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1544132482&sr=8-1
Regina is giving away an ebook copy of Carolina Grace. To enter, just follow the instructions below.
Thanks for joining us, Regina!
I love the beach too! I have never heard of Pawley’s Island in South Carolina. It sounds WONDERFUL! My husband and I have always dreamed of going to Hawaii, so that would be my dream place I would write about.
I have the other books in Regina Merrick’s Carolina series, and I am really looking forward to reading Carolina Grace! Thank you so much for a chance to win an ebook copy of this book!!!
Thanks for being one of my readers! I love SC – for some reason the air just feels softer there! Have a great day!
Hi , your book sounds like a very good page turner, I love the cover! My favorite place would be a cabin in the forest, I love cabins in forests. I will be adding this book to my TBR list for it sounds like a book I would love to read. God Bless you.
Hi Alicia! I love cabins and forests, too! Last summer I wrote quite a bit in the north woods of Minnesota! Yes, I wrote a book set at the beach, wearing a sweatshirt in July! Lol!
I don’t travel to exotic places, just to visit my 92-year-old mom in Arkansas so I am looking forward to retiring and returning to my home state and finding a quiet street with a house that has a beautiful area to sit and relax at the end of the day. Thanks for sharing new authors to get acquainted with!