5 - 9 November
is introducing
(Ark house March 2008)
by Mary Hawkins
About the Author:
Mary Hawkins is a best-selling inspirational romance author with other 825,000 romance books in print. During the first few years of being published she also had five medical romance novels released by Harlequin Mills & Boon before concentrating on inspirationals for Barbour Publishing (Ohio). Return to Baragula is her first single title and the first released by an Australia publisher.
Mary was a Queensland farmer's daughter, became a registered nurse and has a graduate diploma from a Sydney Bible College where she met her husband. Ray is a retired minister who is also a published author. They enjoyed ministries in Australia, three short term mission trips to Africa and two years at a church in England before settling in beautiful Tasmania. They have three adult children and are now proud grandparents. Mary is a member of several writing organisations including American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of Australia, Romance Writers America, their Faith Hope Love chapter and Australian Omega Writers. She enjoys speaking appointments and writing workshops where she can share the journey she has been walking for many years with her Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
www.mary-hawkins.com
Mary was a Queensland farmer's daughter, became a registered nurse and has a graduate diploma from a Sydney Bible College where she met her husband. Ray is a retired minister who is also a published author. They enjoyed ministries in Australia, three short term mission trips to Africa and two years at a church in England before settling in beautiful Tasmania. They have three adult children and are now proud grandparents. Mary is a member of several writing organisations including American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of Australia, Romance Writers America, their Faith Hope Love chapter and Australian Omega Writers. She enjoys speaking appointments and writing workshops where she can share the journey she has been walking for many years with her Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
www.mary-hawkins.com
Book Description:
Return To Baragula
Over the years Emily Parker's actions as a teenager have impacted not only her own life, but the lives of many different people. Now, six years later, she returns reluctantly to her home town of Baragula only to discover the man at the heart of those actions, Matthew Davidson, is the community's respected doctor. While Emily's faith is now severely weakened by all that has happened, Matthew's life has completely turned around since he committed his life to Christ. His personal relationship with God is tested when he discovers how his behaviour when a non-believer hurt so many, especially Emily, and feels responsible for her hardness of heart towards the Lord. Disease attacks the community while danger from another source threatens Emily and her family. Through it all, will Matthew and Emily's faith be strong enough to forgive each other and put the past behind them?
Ray's Rights
Having lived through the drama of Mary's writing I want to add my bit. She has overcome many obstacles on the way to becoming a best selling author. Self doubts about ability, raising children, supporting me in my ministry (self-supporting church planting for over ten years) selling World books and then Home Nursing plus helping establish CWCI in Gladstone Qld, and of course 4 moves from one ministry to another. She began writing in long hand. Then we bought a typewriten and then she worked as a nurse for 5 years to help purchase a house and buy a computer.
I read 'Return to Baragula' out of duty. I found to my amazement it was not only well written, as I knew it would be, but that it was a good story for blokes. Since then it's been my privilege to read and enjoy the follow on stories.
Ray (proud of my wife) Hawkins.
I wonder how many husbands read romance novels written by their author spouses out of duty and then discover they actually like them, lol. Thanks for sharing Mary's writing journey from your perspective. She is very blessed to have a supportive husband :)
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, Narelle. I am very, very blessed!I have to add the the "overcoming many obstacles" has only been possible because of the wonderful man God has given me to journey with.
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