News & Blog

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11, KJV).

Can you believe it’s December? I don’t know about you, but I heard that some early birds have already put up all their Christmas decorations and then some, turning their homes into winter wonderlands. Mine looks like Charlie Brown’s Christmas at this time since everyone is still too busy to do much Christmas decorating. Yet.

What are your favorite Christmas decorations or ornaments?

The other day I was on Pinterest, looking at ways to display Christmas villages. I was amazed at the lengths some people go to construct display structures for their Christmas villages. Before we had a cat, I usually put a sheet of fake snow on an empty coffee table, and voila! The outdoor setting was ready to go for my Christmas village. Now that we have a curious cat, we have to be extra careful what he drags off the table and hauls to his water bowl.

What about nativities? Do you display them every year? Where?

I’ve seen nativities being displayed under a Christmas tree, on the mantel, and just about anywhere. Ours are usually on the mantel, where the crèche is more visible to all.

My most precious Christmas item is not a decoration at all. It’s a crown of thorns I bought at a Christian bookstore many years ago. When we first had it, we displayed it around Easter time to remind us of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross as the complete payment for our sins. We displayed it at Christmas time to remind us of why the Lord had to come to earth, born of a virgin, the perfect, sinless sacrifice for us. Eventually, we left the crown of thorns on the mantel year round because every day is a day of thankfulness for what Jesus has done for us.

Do you have a crown of thorns in your house? I think the Christian bookstores sometimes sell dried thorns made in Israel. This picture here is not what I have (mine is less spiky). But John 3:16 is why we display a crown of thorns at Christmas.

Do you like to read Christmas romances? I do. They’re fun and interesting. I know that a number of InspyRomance authors have published Christmas books, and you might have read them all. I have only written one Christmas novella, WISH YOU JOY (Savannah Sweethearts Book 9). It’s the story of the two new owners of Christmastown USA and the tug-of-war they’re in all year round just to get through Christmas.

Anyway, I wish you and your family a very merry Christmas. Are you traveling to see your family? I will be in town this year. Last year, my son and I visited my widowed mother overseas. Since my husband had to work, he stayed behind and spent time with his own widowed mother. This year, our family is back together again. I look forward to a simple Christmas, and prayerfully one that is sickness-free. How about you?

Thank you so much for reading my blog post. May the Lord bless you with amazing memories this Christmas! Stay warm!

In Christ,
Jan

Where are your favorite fall (autumn) vacation spots? What do you usually do when you’re on vacation this time of the year? Do you like to go to the beach or up to the mountains?

If you like going to the mountains in the fall, what do you usually do there? Do you spend time walking in the woods under a canopy of lovely fall foliage?

One of my favorite mountains to visit is the Great Smoky Mountains. The mountain ranges are both in Tennessee and North Carolina, and you can see quite a long way off. God made those mountains so colorful that on some days you could see multiple layers and hues of blue and purple.

Some years ago, my family and I hiked up Mount LeConte. No big deal to scale more than 6,500 feet into the sky, isn’t it? We thought so. By the time we arrived at the start of the hiking trail, having driven all the way from Georgia, we had just enough time to get to the top of the mountain before the sun set. So off we went.

As a former Girl Scout troop (company) leader of some repute in my small high school, I can tell you that it was one of the hardest vertical hikes of my life. Going up the mountain, I kept wanting to go back down to the car and drive home. It was exhausting, and we were passed numerous times by retirees and elderly joggers (with their exceptionally fit running dogs).

At one point, I was literally clinging to the side of the mountain wall, holding on to dear life while my then young son said, “If Mom fell into the valley there, we may not be able to go get her.” Or something life-changing to that effect.

I kept climbing.

Somewhere up the mountain, my husband (bless his heart!) ended up carrying his backpack, my backpack, and our son’s backpack.

Then we stopped in the middle of the misty mountains, and read the Bible. It was glorious. I don’t recall what passage we read because I was profusely thankful to be alive and that was all. But we read the Bible and we prayed.

I do remember seeing some odd-looking red squirrels before we continued our hike up, and that took my mind off the idea that I could fall to my death any time I slip to the side (because I was wobbly and all).

Finally, by the mercy and grace of God, we reached the very top of the mountain.

In my mind, I was thinking “hotel” but when the check-in person handed us a rusty bucket so we could go get water from a pump in the middle of nowhere, I knew it was trouble for this city girl.

I grew up on a tropical resort island, in a bustling city with hundreds of years of beautiful brick buildings, paved roads, and all the luxuries of modern living. You know, like running water coming out of faucets.

I didn’t know what to do with the rusty bucket and how I was going to brush my teeth with one hand. There was no sink.

Please don’t remind me that I said I was a former Girl Scout troop leader of some repute.

And then they told us, “By the way, watch out for rats. They sometimes get into the cabins.”

Say what?

I thought my hike that day had ended, but no. There was another quarter mile to go to the cliffs of the mountain, to the edge of the world, where a whole bunch of people gathered to watch the mountain sunset over the clouds.

I wondered then how many of those hikers were Christians, who believed that God created all that and more? That God created us, and knows our thoughts intimately? Who understands our hopes, dreams, desires, ideals? Who knows our weaknesses, pains, sufferings?

“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

At the end of the day, only God matters. No matter where we are in life or environment, God is still sovereign. God is still God.

Several years later, when I wrote Reach for Me (Vacation Sweethearts Book 2), I recalled my own mountaintop experience and how God delivered me through my mountain challenges. Of course, writing fiction is not like real life, and might be more intense. In the novel, two people from two different continents, each with difficulties in their own lives, found themselves in the same mountaintop resort where God has put them to find Him and to work through their problems.

If you’d like to read more about the book, feel free to check out the longer description at your favorite retailers. You can find the retailer links for Reach for Me at JanThompson.com/reach.

Well, have you had a difficult journey up a mountain in your life? Whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually, how did God deliver you from it or through it? How did the challenge change your life or your perspective of who God is?

Thank you for reading my blog post today.

I pray that you and your family have had or will have a wonderful Thanksgiving season.

In Christ,
Jan Thompson

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14, KJV).

Christians, do you know what your calling in life is? Are you in the middle of experiencing your calling? Or are you still waiting for God to show your His purpose and plan for your life?

Is anything stopping you from succeeding in the upward call of Christ for your life? If that’s the case, what are you going to do about it?

In Book 4 of my Savannah Sweethearts series, Dante Dupree is going through the motions of life, pushing forward as the young leader of his family business. He was born into this environment, and he has been chosen from among his generation to carry the company into the next decades.

He’s all set then, right?

Yeah, except for one thing. While he has adjusted well to his life as a paraplegic, he still cannot help but think about what life might be if he could walk.

If he could only walk.

With Nadine.

At first they are just friends, but as they spend more time together, he wants to walk with her.

Only her.

However…

What if God does not allow him to walk again? What if God calls him to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair?

Can Dante still fulfill the calling God has for him? Does Dante know that to be true in his heart?

(At this point, I have to stop myself from giving you any spoiler for this book. I guess you’ll have to read it to find out!)

In Cherish You So, we go with Dante on his journey to overcome his physical disability. Nadine also has her own issues to deal with, carrying the weight of work and her family on her shoulders.

Dante’s Dream…

Dante Dupree has arrived. Living with paraplegia, he now has a state-of-the-art wheelchair to handle his disability, and a private jet to take him across the world to buy up smaller companies for the Hot Dupree global hot sauce empire. And the best news yet for his career: He has been handpicked to be the next CEO of Hot Dupree, Inc., and he’s going to inherit a fifth of the multi-billion-dollar family fortune. He has it all.

At the end of an international business trip, Dante stops in Savannah for merger talks and to visit his pregnant sister. Exuberant and on top of his game, single and free, the center of attention among ladies, and recently voted one of the top ten most eligible young billionaires in the world, self-confident Dante suddenly finds himself in a predicament he cannot solve: he’s in love.

But he can’t get her attention. She is not impressed at all with his accolades.

Nadine’s Norms…

Nadine Saylor is busy, busy, busy. Her job as a virtual assistant to clients traveling through six or seven time zones keeps her on her toes around the clock. The last thing she needs right now is Dante Dupree flinging signals and invitations at her, even though he did look handsome in his Lagerfeld tuxedo at his sister’s wedding eleven months ago.

Nadine keeps telling herself that her calendar is full. There’s no room for romance. Dante can go find someone else to be his Flavor of the Month.

When one of Dante’s professional problems intersects with Nadine’s personal predicament, they find themselves thrown together to sort out these chapters of their lives. Has God put them together in this place for such a time as this?

A story about living and loving with disability, coupled with racial diversity in Christian communities, Cherish You So is a clean and wholesome multiethnic contemporary Christian romance celebrating faith, hope, and love in Jesus Christ.

Cherish You So are available at these retailers:

• AMAZON: JanThompson.com/cherish-amazon
• GOOGLE PLAY: JanThompson.com/cherish-googleplay
• iBOOKS: JanThompson.com/cherish-ibooks
• KOBO: JanThompson.com/cherish-kobo
• B&N: JanThompson.com/cherish-nook
• Paperback: JanThompson.com/cherish-paperback

What about you? Is there anything that is stopping you from succeeding in the upward call of Christ for your life?

It may not be a physical disability like Dante has, but do you have any emotional or spiritual disability that prevents you from keeping up with God?

If not, praise the Lord that He has guided you and led you thus far. To God be the glory!

If there is a form of disability that prevents you from going forward, I pray that God will be your strength and peace.

“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise” (Hebrews 10:35-16, KJV).

To God be the glory!

In Christ,
Jan Thompson

P.S. If you have just read my blog post for the first time on InspyRomance.com, here are the other blog posts up until now that reference the books in my Savannah Sweethearts series:

• Book 1: An Interview with Heidi Wei-Flores
• Book 2: Scars & Circumstances
• Book 3: Layers of Paint

Do you like art? What types of art do you like? Do you prefer modern art or classical paintings? Watercolor, acrylic, pencil, or another medium? How about oil pastels?

Have you ever walked through an art gallery and tried to interpret the paintings there? Some years ago, I went to a local art gallery here to view a touring exhibition from the Louvre. Walking around, taking in the scenery, I was struck by the Rembrandt and Raphael paintings, among others.

How does one attempt to read through the layers of a masterpiece by Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino? Even his simplified mononymous name of Raphael held no clue regarding the intensity of his artistic mind.

How does one dissect the paintings and colors of Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn’s artwork? God had given him artistic talents unparalleled even to this day.

I remember staring at their paintings, reading the accompanying descriptions, listening to the audio guides, trying to catch glimpses of the artists behind the paintings and sketches.

I didn’t go very far. I barely scratched the surface of the layers of paint and secrets lost to time. In the end, I simply enjoyed the paintings, thanking God for the gift of art.

Sometimes paintings may or may not have hidden meanings. Well, tell that to Lars Cargill, an Englishman who visits Savannah one fine summer, buys a painting, and hangs it in his home. He is convinced that there is a real woman behind the painting.

Or is there?

When Lars returns to Savannah, Draw You Near begins. This is Book 3 in my Savannah Sweethearts series of sweet, clean, wholesome, and inspirational multiethnic contemporary Christian romances celebrating faith, hope, and love in Jesus Christ.

Here is a short description of the book:

Lars’s Labor…

While on vacation in Savannah last year, Lars Cargill bought a small watercolor painting for his estate in England. The more he stared at the artwork, the more he wanted to meet the woman in the painting. This summer, Lars returns to Savannah to find the elusive real-life Lady and the Sea.

Problem is, the artist says she doesn’t exist. Of course, he doesn’t believe her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be showing up in her art classes and following her around. He doubts she has the heart to turn him away, not when he shows her that he has artistic potential.

Abilene’s Art…

Abilene Dupree is busy trying to make a living as an artist and art teacher in Savannah. She sells commercial art, not personal stories. Although much of her heart goes into her paintings, she doesn’t reveal her soul, not even to the clean-cut guy with cute dimples who is searching for the woman in her Lady and the Sea painting.

She keeps telling Lars that the illusive woman in the painting doesn’t exist. Well, the more she tells him that, the more she begins to believe her own words. Before she could give him the real answers he seeks, Lars’s own past shows up and he has to leave Savannah.

What do you think Lars should do? Should he give up his quest? Should Abilene help him at all?

To read what happens to them or to preview the first chapters, check out the links below. Happy reading!

Draw You Near is available on these websites:

• AMAZON: JanThompson.com/draw-amazon
• GOOGLE PLAY: JanThompson.com/draw-googleplay
• iBOOKS: JanThompson.com/draw-ibooks
• KOBO: JanThompson.com/draw-kobo
• B&N: JanThompson.com/draw-nook
• Paperback: JanThompson.com/draw-paperback

In all my Savannah Sweetheart stories, my two main characters are Christians who want to do the right thing. This time, Lars and Abilene come from two different continents. Will their hearts meet on the Atlantic shoreline? Or will they go their separate ways like an unfinished painting?

If you’re new to my Savannah Sweethearts series, it begins with Know You More, the story of Pastor Diego Flores and historian Heidi Wei. You can find this Book 1 at these retailers:

• AMAZON: JanThompson.com/know-amazon
• GOOGLE PLAY: JanThompson.com/know-googleplay
• iBOOKS: JanThompson.com/know-ibooks
• KOBO: JanThompson.com/know-kobo
• B&N: JanThompson.com/know-nook
• Paperback: JanThompson.com/know-paperback

What about you? Do you read a lot into a painting or an artwork? Are you more like Lars, who tries to find the deeper meanings beneath the layers of paint? Or are you more like Abilene, who doesn’t overanalyze herself or her artwork once she has completed the painting? Or are you a bit of both?

Regardless of what your perspectives are, have a wonderful day in the Lord!

In Christ,
Jan Thompson

Do you have a scar that you consider unsightly, something you would hide from the world? A physical scar, perhaps? An emotional scar? Both?

In one of my Savannah Sweethearts books, Sabine Hu has both physical and emotional scars. Three years ago, she was in a car wreck that killed another passenger, crushed her legs, and destroyed her modeling career. After many surgeries and recoveries from those operations, Sabine has finally gotten back parts of her functional life. She has come to the point of no longer needing a cane to walk.

Is she bitter? After all, Sabine was only one of the passengers in the vehicle, with her private investigator sister at the wheel. Sabine was not at fault. But she bore the most pain for it, while her sister walked away unscathed.

Nonetheless, for three years, Sabine hasn’t worn shorts or knee-length skirts in public. She had almost always worn long pants or ankle-length skirts, all in her attempts to hide the scars up and down her once-gorgeous legs. She expects to hide her legs for the rest of her life.

Sabine’s assumption is that she has adjusted to her situation in life. Little does she know that her heart needs a bit more healing. In this case, it’s not a matter of whether she wears modest clothes to hide her disfigured legs, but a matter of her own acceptance of what God has allowed in her life, and to be bravely unashamed of her scars.

Sometimes God uses circumstances to deliver us and take us to the next step in life.

That is one of the undercurrents of Savannah Sweethearts Book 2. While the storyline itself is not about Sabine’s scars per se, it is through her daily job as a real estate agent and her new encounters with her sister’s business associate, Aidan Ming Wei, that God works in Sabine’s heart to empower her to overcome her emotional shame.

Do you let God deliver you from your scars?

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11).

She wants to fix up his beach house and move on.
He wants to fix up her heart and move in.

A Christian beach romance with suspense, TELL YOU SOON is book 2 in my Savannah Sweethearts series of sweet, clean, and wholesome multiethnic contemporary Christian romances celebrating faith, hope, and love in Jesus Christ.

Sabine’s Scars…

Sabine Hu’s legs were crushed in an auto accident three years ago, ending her modeling career. Today she walks without a cane, is back in heels, and has found a new job as a real estate agent selling houses in Savannah and on Tybee Island. She keeps to herself and stays in the background, unlike her high-profile sister, Helen, whose fame as a private investigator is constantly in the news.

Ming’s Mayhem…

Private Investigator Aidan Ming Wei works with Sabine’s sister, but he’s interested in getting to know Sabine better. He thinks he can draw her out of her shell. Since he has hired Sabine to sell his house by the Atlantic Ocean, he has all sorts of excuses to spend time with her. She seems to be at ease around him, and they get along well. However, spending time with her is exactly what would put her life in danger, and Ming risks losing Sabine forever…

TELL YOU SOON (Savannah Sweethearts Book 2) is available at these online retailers:

• AMAZON: JanThompson.com/tell-amazon
• GOOGLE PLAY: JanThompson.com/tell-googleplay
• iBOOKS: JanThompson.com/tell-ibooks
• KOBO: JanThompson.com/tell-kobo
• B&N: JanThompson.com/tell-nook
• Paperback: JanThompson.com/tell-paperback

Happy reading!

In Christ,
Jan Thompson

Ah, summer! School is out, and sunshine is in! I’m a happy camper when the sun is up there in the sky! Vitamin D, perfect reading light, bright days of summer… What more could I ask for?

Speaking of summer, what are your most memorable summer vacations?

Growing up on a tropical resort island, I always find beach towns to be some of the most relaxing places in the world. This was why I chose to set my entire series of Savannah Sweethearts in Savannah, Georgia, that southern coastal town by the Savannah River, and on Tybee Island, that sunny beach town hugging the Atlantic Ocean.

Savannah Sweethearts is bookended by a prequel, Ask You Later, where we get a glimpse of the background of my story world, but the series actually begins with Book 1, Know You More. The heart of Know You More is the first couple of Riverside Chapel: Pastor Diego Flores and Heidi Wei-Flores. Know You More chronicles their love story set against the early days of Riverside Chapel, a small church looking for a permanent home along the banks of the Savannah River.

As their “biographer,” I tried to include as many details as possible in Know You More so that my readers can see where Diego and Heidi were coming from and where they were going. They were super busy people, as you can imagine, but somehow I managed to get myself invited for a late morning chat with Heidi at her beach home on Tybee Island. I might have promised to help walk her sister-in-law’s golden retriever that Heidi was dog-sitting. Hehe.

I arrived midmorning at the pastor’s beach house — how that came about can be found in Tell You Soon (Savannah Sweethearts Book 2) — to find that Heidi had already walked the dog, thus saving me from having to do it at all. Our interview began on the boardwalk and ended in the sunroom.

Me: Heidi, it has been several years now since you’ve moved back to Savannah. What made you decide to return here?

Heidi: My brother Ming and I grew up by the Atlantic. We’ve been to Savannah frequently and know the area, so that’s one reason. Both of us were single at that time, and we both took the opportunities God provided for us. Ming opened his private investigation firm in town, and I went to graduate school. Riverside Chapel was in transition and we felt called to stay and help the church grow. It was a win-win for us.

Me: Some of the readers of this interview might want to know how you met your husband.

Heidi: If they read Know You More, they’ll find out that Diego and I have known each other since our college days. We kept in touch after he went to seminary and I went to graduate school. But we came back together in Savannah, and to this day, we haven’t left the city.

Me: And you went to graduate school for years.

Heidi: Yes, years and years. But you already knew that. (Laugh.) In fact, that was an issue between my brother and me for a while until I finally graduated with my second PhD.

Me: Tell me what drew you to Pastor Flores in the first place.

His heart for God and his heart for people. Diego is all about that and more.

Me: You didn’t hesitate to answer that question.

Heidi: I think Diego’s parents have taught all their children very well, and that heritage of desiring God’s will for his life is something I admire. I seek God’s will every day as I minister to the women at church.

Me: There are many women at Riverside Chapel, for sure. I could go on writing Savannah Sweethearts endlessly.

Heidi: Maybe you should. Eleven books only chronicle the lives of eleven couples at Riverside. I’m still waiting for Martin’s story to be told. And then there’s Officer Garcia, very single, though she’s happily unmarried at this time.

Me: What are the challenges you have in your women’s ministry at Riverside Chapel?

Heidi: As you know, God created every person with unique personalities, and with different skills and abilities. Since we’re a small church, it seems that we all know one another. When you’re friends with everyone, it’s both easy and hard to minister to them.

Easy because I know my friends quite well. For example, I know what irritate my sisters in Christ or what would make them happy, since we hang out a lot together. Abilene, Tamsyn, Sophie are all my dinner buddies. We usually meet at Piper’s Place for dinner once a week or whenever we can. We also do women’s Bible studies together.

However, it’s also hard because I can’t always be objective when I feel their pain and see their suffering moments, especially if they mirror mine. For example, ministering to Tina about her family caused me to remember my own grief of losing my parents.

Me: Well, it’s almost lunch time. Thank you for taking your time out to talk to me. Since I didn’t get to walk the dog this morning, how about if I take you to lunch? Piper’s Place, of course.

Heidi: That sounds wonderful. Piper will be glad to see us. She knows everyone at Riverside because we almost always adjourn there every Sunday for lunch after church. I can’t wait to read her story. She’ll be in a book, won’t she?

Me: Yes, of course! Piper will be in Call You Home (Savannah Sweethearts Book 10). Please wait for it. Thank you for your time, Heidi!

Heidi: You’re most welcome. May God bless you and your readers!

Well, there you have it, dear readers. A little interview with Heidi, the first lady of Riverside Chapel.

I hope you will check out my Savannah Sweethearts series and the two spinoff collections: Vacation Sweethearts and Protector Sweethearts.

At least for this summer, Know You More (Savannah Sweethearts Book 1) is free on all ebook retailers. How about grabbing a free copy to take to your next beach vacation? Have some sun and surf, and put a smile on your face, knowing that it is well with your soul in Christ. You can find Know You More on these retailers:

AMAZON: JanThompson.com/know-amazon
GOOGLE PLAY: JanThompson.com/know-googleplay
iBOOKS: JanThompson.com/know-ibooks
KOBO: JanThompson.com/know-kobo
B&N: JanThompson.com/know-nook

Since Heidi mentioned her brother Ming, you can find his story in Tell You Soon:

AMAZON: JanThompson.com/tell-amazon
GOOGLE PLAY: JanThompson.com/tell-googleplay
iBOOKS: JanThompson.com/tell-ibooks
KOBO: JanThompson.com/tell-kobo
B&N: JanThompson.com/tell-nook

Happy reading!

In Christ,
Jan Thompson