Dear Reader,

I hope you enjoyed Josie and Michael's story as much as I enjoyed writing it. This will always be a very special book for me as I wrote it during my mother's fight against cancer. I named Josie after my mother because I owe my writing career to her. From the time I learned to read until I was old enough to drive, Mom and I made bimonthly visits to the Tompkins County Library, which was a half hour from our home in upstate New York. Though we'd always shared a passion for books, it wasn't until years later when I'd started writing that Mom told me being a writer had always been her secret dream. Though she didn't live long enough to see her dream fulfilled, she was able to help me celebrate the sale of With All Josie's Heart to Steeple Hill/Love Inspired.

Thanks again for letting me share my story with you. If you'd like to write me, you can reach me at 5147 South Harvard, PMB 119, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 74135.

All my best,

Dear Reader,

I hope you loved Matt and Amy's story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Though I've never lived in Lexington, I passed through Kentucky nearly every summer of my childhood with my parents as we drove from our upstate New York home to visit my grandparents in Arkansas. Even then, Lexington fascinated me with its rich history, lush bluegrass pastures, and beautiful horse farms.

Most recently, I spent a week in Lexington with my mother-in-law, Florene Stovall, where we visited many of the same places Amy, Matt, and Lila do in A GROOM WORTH WAITING FOR. We started our trip with a driving tour which included many horse farms, historic churches and cemeteries, and ended in the downtown area where we visited homes built in the early 1800s, including the girlhood home of Mary Todd Lincoln. We ended our trip with a ride up the Kentucky River on the Dixie Belle and a leisurely stroll through the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill. And, of course, we enjoyed the local cuisine--hot brown sandwiches, beaten biscuits, and my favorite--chocolate pecan pie.

Thanks for joining Amy, Matt, and me on this trip to Lexington! If you'd like to write me, you can reach me at 5147 South Harvard, PMB 119, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 74135.

All my best,