February 01st, 2023

​WIP Moment for EXILED HEARTS, Book 7: Peaceful Pilgrims Series
Contemporary Christian Romance
by Karen Wiesner


Peaceful Pilgrims Series is set in Karen Wiesner's fictional town of Peaceful, Wisconsin. Peaceful is a modern day small community with old-fashioned values and friendly people you'll want to get to know and visit often. Both the Family and Friendship Heirlooms series' are also set in Peaceful.

As I said in my post about HEARTS ABLAZE, Book 6: Peaceful Pilgrims Series, I realized when I decided to make the Peaceful Pilgrim a series instead of a bunch of single title novels that were interconnected mainly by the fiction town of Peaceful, Wisconsin that I've followed my muse in which books in this series I feel have enough material to write and feel inspired to work on, but unfortunately I did it out of order. The corrected order has now been finalized as:

HOME, Book 1 (Della Flynn and Cade Somers) *currently available*

DESTINY, Book 2 (Elizabeth Horace and Chris Riley) *currently available*

ONCE UPON A CLICHÉ, Book 3 (Brayla Sullivan and Shaun Levi) *currently available*

HEARTS ABLAZE, Book 4 (Riley Levi {Shaun's sister} and Liam "Blaze" Blazel {Shaun's deputy}) *finished and awaiting edits-hopefully a late 2023 release date*

A PERFECT MATCH, Book 5 (Lena Young and Dante Robinson) *currently available*

REKINDLED, Book 6 (Nickira Cassidy and Landon Robinson {Dante's parents}) *finished and awaiting edits--hopefully an early to mid-2023 release date*

EXILED HEARTS, Book 7 (Avery Worchester {Dante's best friend} and Jayne Eyre) *projected 2024 release date*
 
Here's the very long back cover blurb for the book that I'll be using to create the outline of the story, but I do expect I'll be revising it a lot or a little, sooner or later, in the process, since I usually do that:
 
Avery Worchester is 40 and well-aware he's screwed up his life badly. He has three angry ex-wives, three kids of varying ages that he's only just started to get to know after years of allowing questionable monetary compensation and babysitters take the place of actual parenting on his behalf. But, less than a year ago, his best friend made him realize if he didn't start making drastic changes to the disturbing pattern of his life, he would lose everything that mattered to him sooner or later. He started his transformation by breaking up with the woman he'd been dating for no better reason than good sex. Twenty-two-year-old Stella hated his kids, and the feeling was mutual. Little did he realize she was pregnant when he unceremoniously dumped her. For selfish reasons of her own--not limited to being unsure who the father actually was--she didn't bother to inform him.
              
Barely two weeks after the baby was born, she shows up at his modest apartment and unceremoniously dumps his newborn daughter on him, saying she's realized she's not cut out to be a mother and not to call her. Ever. Avery's life is turned upside-down in no time. He's never cared for an infant before. Asking his ex-wives for help isn't an option. With nowhere left to turn, he responds to an ad for a nanny who's living in his building.
 
Twenty-seven year old Jayne Eyre is working toward a Child Therapy Masters' degree and she barely paid her first months' rent in a building that seems downright swanky for someone of her extremely limited means. The only child of an exile from a country where Christianity is illegal, Jayne was raised the opposite of everything her father had known growing up in such a rigid, dangerous country. Like her fictional counterpart, Jayne is fiery, independent, much preferring to be happy than dignified. She refuses to believe her life or choices have any boundaries at all.
              
Avery needs her help badly, and she finds herself drawn into his world so her existence is soon wrapped up in him and the precious little girl along with those of his other, older, justifiably wary children. But Avery has been anything but a reliable, devoted lover to the women in his life, if his past is any indication. When a sensitive, passionate angel ventures into the miry wilds of love, what can her heart expect to meet beyond certain exile?
 
February 1, 2023 WIP MOMENT:
 
This is what I expect will be the final book in the series. The connection to the previous books in the series is that the hero in EXILED HEARTS, Avery Worchester, was Dante Robinson's estranged best friend in A PERFECT MATCH, Book 5. I had originally thought to write Dante's sister Gemma's own story, and the heroine in EXILED HEARTS, Jayne Eyre, was a friend of hers she met at the university when she and her husband moved back to Peaceful and Gemma (who's closing in on empty-nesting) decided to go back to college. I'm not sure if I'll continue with that angle in the outline for EXILED HEARTS. That part is still up in the air. EXILED HEARTS will take place probably a good year after Dante and Lena's wedding (which was prominently featured in REKINDLED)…which was where readers saw Avery and his ex-lover Stella close to breaking up.

I plan to start outlining EXILED HEARTS on February 6, 2023. I expect I’ll spend 2-3 weeks working on it, and it'll probably be about 75- to 90,000 words long when finished.
 
I had brand new covers designed for Books 1-6 in this series late last year in preparation for making this a series instead of single titles (they're posted on my website and Facebook Author page, so you can see how beautiful they are and can visualize what the final cover for EXILED HEARTS will look like). After I finish the outline for EXILED HEARTS (hopefully I can finish it), I'll be certain I can write the book and will commission the final cover for EXILED HEARTS, which will utilize the same graphics that are on the temp cover, but in the new design.
 
Find out more about this book and series here:
https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/peaceful-pilgrims-series.html

and

http://www.writers-exchange.com/a-peaceful-pilgrim-novel-series/
 
On my Facebook author page http://www.facebook.com/KarenWiesnerAuthor, I'll be documenting each day what I accomplish on this project throughout the stages of outlining, writing, revising, incorporating critiques and polish, and doing a final read-through before I submit the book for editing and publication. Stay tuned!

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