Book recommendation - Love and a Little White Lie

 Tammy Gray is well known for her contemporary romances that include real, raw emotions, difficult topics, and realistic relatable characters. Her latest book, which starts her new State of Grace series, is no different. Love and a Little White Lie has those trademark elements of Ms. Gray's, but also includes a bit of humor and of the books of hers I've read, a more solid faith thread. This author generally writes conversion stories and this one is no different, but in this story, Jan is surrounded by Christians throughout the story and that makes the difference in the faith element.

Here's a little blurb about the book:

THERE'S A LOT OF IRONY IN HITTING ROCK BOTTOM

After a heartbreak leaves her reeling, January Sanders is open to anything--including moving into a cabin on her aunt's wedding-venue property and accepting a temporary position at her aunt's church despite being a lifelong skeptic of faith. Choosing to keep her doubts to herself, she's determined to give her all to supporting Grace Community's overworked staff while helping herself move on.

What she doesn't count on is meeting the church's handsome and charming guitarist. It's a match set for disaster, and yet January has no ability to stay away, even if it means pretending to have faith in a God she doesn't believe in.

Only this time, keeping her secret isn't as easy as she thought it would be. Especially when she's constantly running into her aunt's landscape architect, who seems to know everything about her past-and-present sins and makes no apologies about pushing her to deal with feelings she'd rather keep buried.

Torn between two worlds that can't coexist, can January find the healing that's eluded her, or will her resistance to the truth ruin any chance of happiness?

As part of her launch team, I was able to do some Q&A with the author. Here's how that went:

1. Which character most resonates with you and why?

Definitely January. I struggle a lot with trusting people and being vulnerable. Even now after 21 years as a Christian, prayer feels hard to do because it is so intimate. I just love how God pursues her and how people around her show the love of Christ. It was the same for me.

2. You mentioned in your author note (and facebook group) that you'd basically quit writing a couple of years ago and then God gave you this story. Can you tell us a little bit about that time period in between?

It all happened around the same time -- the quitting and the writing. I told my readers I was taking a year off to see what I needed to do and began praying. Pieces of this story would come, and I would write, but I never had a plan to publish it. I was writing for me again. And then suddenly, I was writing for Him, and I knew I had to get these words out to the world.

3. What do you hope readers will glean from this story?

There are so many lessons to take. Each character is struggling in their faith. For me, it was learning to let go of control, and to let God's plan reign. For others, they may feel stagnant in their faith like Cameron or questioning it all together, like Dillon. My hope is that everyone feels inspired by the story in some way.

4. Did anything in this story surprise you as you were writing?

Honestly, the biggest surprise was how much I enjoyed writing humor. Drama has always been my thing, but this time, it was fun to combine both, release the tension, and poke a little fun at some the "churchy" things we all do.

5. What was your inspiration for writing this novel?

I have spent most of my author life writing about shame, addiction and pain prior to belief. This time, I wanted to show a little of what it looked like to be a Christian on the long journey. To show what abundant life looks like. That was my inspiration. The Christian journey.

6. Any fun bits of trivia about this novel or the writing of it that you'd like to share?

I guess some fun trivia would be that the tree I reference in the story is real as is the wedding venue, although it has a different name and resides in Dripping Springs, TX. But I had friends get married under an amazing oak tree, and it was one of the most beautiful ceremonies I've witnessed. I knew immediately it would be in a story one day.

7. What do you have coming next?

Book 2 in the State of Grace series is next! Aug 2021. I've turned it into my editor and I'm so very excited about this story. Just a little hint... you will see some characters from book 1. 🙂

I'm very much looking forward to book 2! Love and a Little White Lie releases August 4, 2020. I strongly recommend checking it out! 

For more information, please check out the following links:

Tammy Gray's website:http://www.tammylgray.com/
Tammy Gray's facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/tlgraybooks/
Tammy Grays reader room on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3068117613234632
My full 5-star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3130890408?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1