I’ve never been a single mother. I’ve never gone through divorce, and I’ve certainly never been betrayed by my husband. So why in the world would a woman who’s been married for twenty years write about two divorced characters, one of whom had been betrayed, in the worst possible way, by her spouse?

I’m not sure, except maybe God nudged me. And maybe because I saw a need. Serving in various churches, I’ve encountered numerous women who’ve said they don’t quite fit in, and, in many instances, that they feel judged. The working moms say they feel judged by those who stay home, and those who stay home say they feel as if they’re viewed as “less-than” by those who work.

And then there’s the single moms, many of whom are lonely, overworked, and overtired.

Placed in a body of believers, smack-dab in a church family, surrounded by their support system… except that support system might not have been mobilized yet.

The need for deep and authentic community was one issue I wanted to reveal and address in Intertwined. Deep community doesn’t happen naturally and requires reaching out, taking risks, and, most importantly, being honest about our needs. It requires looking for and assuming the best in others and seeing things through their perspective, not just our own.

Because everyone’s hurting. Everyone needs something, as Tammy finds out. The very woman she believes is judging her, the very woman Tammy spends a great deal of time trying to avoid, needs Tammy more than she could possibly imagine. Unfortunately, it takes a while for Tammy to realize this. It takes Tammy looking past the surface and catching a glimpse of this other woman’s heart.

But isn’t that how it is for all of us? In our daily communications and interactions, there’s so much miscommunication between the lines, miscommunication, false assumptions, and emotional baggage that drives a wedge between God’s children. Between us and those God has placed before us. It takes a great deal of grace and perseverance to knock those wedges down.

In Intertwined, this is something Tammy must learn, and the results, in my opinion, are beautiful. But this is also something I must learn, and maybe that’s why God had me write about this theme, so He could teach me through my characters.

God has a funny way of doing that, doesn’t He?

What about you? Has God ever used a book or character to teach you something? What was that? Share your examples with us in the comments below, because we can all learn from one another.

Intertwined

Abandoned by her husband for another woman, Tammy Kuhn, an organ procurement coordinator, often finds herself in tense and bitter moments. After an altercation with a doctor, she is fighting to keep her job and her sanity when one late night she encounters her old flame Nick. She walks right into his moment of facing an unthinkable tragedy. Because they both have learned to find eternal purposes in every event and encounter, it doesn’t take long to discover that their lives are intertwined but the ICU is no place for romance….or is it? Could this be where life begins again?

Intertwined, part of New Hope Publisher’s contemporary fiction line, is a great reminder of how God can turn our greatest tragedies and failures into beautiful acts of love and grace. Readers will fall in love with the realistic characters and enjoy the combination of depth, heart-felt emotion and humor that makes Jennifer’s novels so appealing. Readers will be inspired to find God in every moment and encounter in their own lives!

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Meet Jennifer

Jennifer Slattery writes soul-stirring fiction for New Hope Publishers, a publishing house passionate about bringing God’s healing grace and truth to the hopeless. She also writes for Crosswalk.com, Internet Café Devotions, and the group blog, Faith-filled Friends. When not writing, Jennifer loves going on mall dates with her adult daughter and coffee dates with her hilariously fun husband.

Visit with Jennifer online at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com and connect with her on Facebook.