It was a leap of faith for Grace Fontaine to bid farewell to her beloved fiance, Jess Travis, and send him on a four-month stint on the transatlantic luxury liner The Lone Star. But the trip from Boston to London and back again would increase his salary fivefold and would bring the couple that much closer to realizing their dream of marrying and starting a family. When Grace learns that the ship was captured by pirates, her hope deflatesAnd#8212;and it eviscerates entirely when the pirate ship is apprehended, with no survivors reported. Two years later, Grace receives word from a doctor in Paris, Tennessee, that her wealthy great-aunt, Iris Brockwell, is on her deathbed and requires round-the-clock care. Grace volunteers, figuring there is nothing left for her in Boston. It isn't long after her arrival in Paris that she meets a charming, driven lawyer named Conrad Hall, who wastes no time sweeping her off her feet and soon proposes marriage. Given his promises to love, protect, and care for her and her great-aunt, how can Grace refuse?Weeks before the wedding, an unexpected guest shows up and threatens to throw a wrench in the plans. Will Grace go through with her marriage to Conrad? Or will an unforeseen turn of events change her mind?
Born and raised in west Michigan, Sharlene attended Spring Arbor University. Upon graduating with an education degree in 1971, she taught second grade for two years, then accepted an invitation to travel internationally for a year with a singing ensemble. In 1975, she married her childhood sweetheart. Together they raised two lovely, wonderful daughters, both of whom are now happily married and enjoying their own families. Retired in 2003 after thirty-one years of teaching, "Shar" loves to read, sing, travel, and spend time with her family-her grandchildren, in particular!Shar launched her writing career in 2006 with the contemporary romance Through Every Storm, a Whitaker House release that was named a finalist for Book of the Year by the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). Following that was her acclaimed Little Hickman Creek series, consisting of Loving Liza Jane (Road to Romance Reviewer's Choice Award); Sarah, My Beloved (third place, Inspirational Readers' Choice Award 2008); and Courting Emma (third place, Inspirational Reader's Choice Award 2009). Shar's next series, the popular Daughters of Jacob Kane, comprises Hannah Grace (second place, Inspirational Reader's Choice Award 2010), Maggie Rose, and Abbie Ann (third place, Inspirational Reader's Choice Award 2011). Sofia's Secret concludes her latest series, River of Hope, which also comprises Livvie's Song and Ellie's Haven.Shar has done numerous countrywide book signings, television and radio appearances, and interviews. She loves to speak for women's organizations, libraries, church groups, women's retreats, and banquets. She is involved in Apples of Gold, a mentoring program for young wives and mothers, and is active in her church, as well as two weekly Bible studies. She and her husband, Cecil, live in Spring Lake, Michigan, with their beautiful white collie, Peyton.
