Welcome Debut Author Jessica Nelson!

Today we welcome Jessica Nelson to the Inkwell! Her debut novel, Love on the Range, is available now from Love Inspired Historicals.

Deserving the F-Word; It Just Can’t Be Done

 

Forgiveness….it’s a big thing. Easy to say, hard to do. Maybe we think we’ve forgiven someone and then ugly feelings rise when we least expect it and we’re back at square one, asking God to help us again.

Sometimes I think it’s easier though to forgive someone than to feel forgiven. To forgive someone is an act of will. We’re doing something. But when we feel guilty, how do we get someone else to forgive us? And what if they can’t? What if they’re in a different country or we don’t know where they live—or maybe they’re dead?

The hero in Love On The Range, Trevor Cruz, carries a bunch of guilt. He has a job that emotionally took more from him than he expected and while doing that job, an accident happened. Something he can never, ever undo. So he is burdened, his heart heavy beneath the weight of his guilt.

As I wrote a scene near the end of the book, a realization poured through me and I put the words right into my heroine’s mouth. She and Trevor are discussing a villain and the topic of forgiveness comes up. He wants to kill the villain, believing the action to be just and what he deserves. But Gracie (the heroine) stops him, telling him that even killers need forgiveness. At which point Trevor asks bluntly if she thinks a killer deserves forgiveness.

When I was writing this, it was like a light bulb popped on in my head. Or maybe it just grew brighter, since I’ve all ready known this, but forgiveness, by definition, is undeserved. Pardon is neither earned nor merited.
 

That was a sweet moment for me and for my rugged yet tender-hearted hero. He needed to know that even though there was nothing he could do to change the past, absolution could still be his. He couldn’t pay for it, work for it or earn it, but he could still have it, and the peace that comes with it.

And that to me is the beauty of Forgiveness.

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Have you ever extended forgiveness (for a debt, a wrong, etc) knowing the other person could never repay or fix what they’d done? How do you handle being on the receiving end of unforgiveness? Have you ever felt that something you’ve done is too horrible for even God to forgive?


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Want a peek at Love on the Range?

 Any other socialite would view being packed off to a remote Oregon ranch as a punishment. But Gracelyn Riley knows that this is her opportunity to become a real reporter. If she can make her name through an interview with the elusive hero known as Striker, then she'll never have to depend on anyone ever again.

Rancher Trevor Cruz can't believe his secret identity is being endangered by an overly chatty city girl. But if there's one thing he knows, it's that Gracie's pretty little snooping nose is bound to get her in trouble. So he'll use her determination to find "Striker" to keep an eye on her…and stick close by her side.

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Jessica Nelson, in keeping with her romantic inclinations, married two days after she graduated high school. She believes romance happens every day, and thinks the greatest, most intense romance comes from a God who woos people to himself with passionate tenderness. When Jessica is not chasing her three beautiful, wild little boys around the living room, she can be found staring into space as she plots her next story. Or she might be daydreaming about a raspberry mocha from Starbucks. Or thinking about what kind of chocolate she should have for dinner that night. She could be thinking of any number of things, really. One thing is for certain, she is blessed with a wonderful family and a lovely life.
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Jessica has gracious offered a copy of Love on the Range to one lucky commenter today. If you'd like to be entered into the drawing, please leave a comment with your name and email addy (safely, to avoid spammers.)

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Visit Jessica!

 

Website: http://www.jessicanelson.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJessicaNelson