Coffee with Lori DeJong

Good beautiful morning, readers!

It’s another beautiful Saturday morning here in Michigan, and it is sure to be a toasty day. Today, coffee seems too heavy, so I’m drinking lightly sweetened Passion Fruit Green cold brew tea.

I have Lori DeJong with me again today to discuss her newest release, Love’s True Home. If her name sounds familiar, your memory is great this morning. I had the pleasure of introducing Lori to you earlier in the year when she released Love’s True Calling.

Welcome back to the Back Porch, Lori

How about we jump right into talking about Love’s True Home? What was the initial spark or idea that inspired this book?

When Allyson showed up in Love’s True Calling and tried to win Wyatt back, my heart broke for her. I think most readers considered her more of an antagonist, although her time “on stage” was minimal. But I saw something much deeper in her. I knew I wanted her to have her own happily-ever-after, so set about writing her story. However, the concept I first came up with for her was a completely different story. But when Zane showed up at the end of Love’s True Calling, I knew he was the guy for Ally. So I threw out the original concept and started over, and things fell into place from there. They were really so much fun to write, even if I did shed a few tears during their more heart-rending moments.

I love it when a secondary character, especially a misunderstood one, gets a chance to tell their story and has a HEA.

What research did you conduct, if any, while writing this book? How did it influence the story or characters?

I usually come up with some kind of basic story “question” and go from there. Such as, what would happen between a woman who wants nothing more than to plant roots on American soil and a guy who craves adventure? Then I delve into characterization. I’m a very character-centric writer and love coming up with new characters and learning what makes them tick. They honestly do come alive for me. I always start out with names, then I research Enneagram types, birth order characteristics, and so on, to fully form their personalities, their dialogue, their strengths and flaws, and so on. In Love’s True Home, Ally had been born and raised on the foreign mission field and moved to the US for college from her father’s last, and current, post in Guatemala. I met a writer at the 2022 ACFW National Conference who was an honest-to-goodness Guatemalan missionary. She did two Zoom calls with me and let me ask a million questions, then she sent me hundreds of photos and videos of the area and her particular mission. Truly fascinating and informed my writing so much better than merely researching online would have done. She was truly a God-send and blessed me beyond measure.

It is wonderful to hear that our writing colleagues can be so helpful. I bet researching another country was fun. What message, if any, do you hope your book conveys to readers?

The one that resonated the most with me was don’t get so busy “serving” God that you miss something truly wonderful He wants to do in your life. As Christians, I believe we sometimes can get tunnel vision even while we’re working to further the reach of the gospel. We have to be willing to lay down our dreams, or what we may believe is our calling, and let Jesus take it to the next level. Or down an entirely different road. Anything placed in His hands is going to be bigger than we could ever imagine.

Hey, do you have a bird’ s-eye view of my house? We just went through something very similar. Except this wasn’t all that fun at first. But you are right; we can become so service-minded that we forget who we are serving and who we are to be serving.

Tell us a little bit about your writing process. Do you have a specific routine or ritual?

I always start with prayer. I want to make sure I’m keeping my priorities balanced as I’m writing. And I find it easier to write in other places than at home. Weird, I know, but too many distractions, mainly the television. So I go to a favorite coffee shop, park myself at a back table, and dig in. I’m more of an intuitive (seat-of-the-pants) writer than plotter, although I do plot out the five major plot points of the story, brainstorm some scenes that will move the story from one to the next, and start writing. I write a very rough first draft that nobody sees until I start the editing process. During editing, I take it sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, and work on ways to deepen the emotion, set the scene, and really ground the reader into the story. Then as I finish up chapters, they go out to my critique partners. After it’s been critiqued and I’ve finished the “final” draft, if I have time before my deadline, I’ll send it to my beta readers for their input, make any other changes based on their suggestions, and send it off to my publisher.

I love it. Prayer should always be the first step.

Can you share any details about your upcoming projects or works in progress?

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, ScriveningsPress, 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 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.

FANTASTIC! Looks like you are one busy lady. I look forward to talking to you about each story.

Thank you for joining us today, Lori. I pray this tour blesses you and places Love’s True Home in the hands that need it.

READERS! Please be sure to continue reading about Love’s True Home, Lori DeJong, and what else she has to say about the book. Oh, and don’t forget the giveaway.

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.

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 here to enter.

4 Comments

lisasvance on July 13, 2024 at 5:23 pm

Thanks for sharing the interview. It was very interesting. This sounds like a very nice book.
debbiejpruss on July 13, 2024 at 5:43 pm

Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you. Stay cool.
sidlaw0425 on July 15, 2024 at 8:56 am

Very good interview! This looks like a pleasant read. Thanks for hosting.
Roxanne C. on July 16, 2024 at 3:51 pm

Great interview, and I look forward to Ally’s romance.