Secret Places Revealed
by Paulette Harper
A broken man, a woman on the run, a love that won’t be denied.
Single—and very content—real estate developer Aaron Blackman is determined not to become involved in another relationship. He’s experienced enough drama to last a lifetime. The only thing garnering his attention now is his growing business. And he plans to keep it that way. Then Simone Herron waltzes into his life, beautiful and confident. Fighting to keep his promise to himself—to remain single—he soon discovers that when it comes to love, some promises must be broken.
After losing her fiancé in an untimely death, Simone Herron relocates. She desperately needs to put the past behind her and start a new chapter in her life. While love is the farthest thing from her mind, she experiences an attraction to the handsome Aaron Blackman that frightens her. She's built a wall around her heart, but can she find the strength and courage she needs to welcome love again? To do so, she must conquer her fears and allow God to put all of her broken pieces back together.
Reviews for Secret Places Revealed by Paulette Harper
“The characters of Aaron and Simone are both visions of beauty—internally and externally.”
—D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Reviews
“I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down. It was full of love and reminded us that no matter what has happened in the past we must allow our heart to stay open. Another thing I liked about Author Paulette used a continued reference to God and back up her thought by sharing scripture from the Bible. —Author LaToya Murchison, 5 star review
“I am in LOVE with Simone and Aaron and felt myself rooting for them with every turn of the pages. I was pulled into their stories from page one and almost hated coming to the end. Such a beautiful love story and the perfect book to add to your holiday reading list.” —Author Cassiette Jefferson, 5 star review
Excerpt: Secret Places Revealed by Paulette Harper
Simone Herron wanted to escape from the pain, and from life. At this time of the year, she always felt utterly lonely. It was like being in the middle of the ocean surrounded by only the waves. This was year number two without Joshua. Simone had family and friends, but it wasn’t the same.
As if she weren’t already miserable, the holiday season had arrived, with all of its cheery fanfare. She wished she could skip over November and December and head straight into January.
Pensive, Simone stared out her Fifth Avenue office window in the center of Manhattan, New York—the city that never slept. She could imagine that below her hordes of people bustled to and fro, arms laden with shopping bags, and tourists gawked at the beautiful and spectacular views from The Empire State Building to Times Square. Who wouldn’t love it? But her heart was no longer enraptured by its beauty; the Big Apple wasn’t the same anymore.
Simone turned away from the window. Even the busyness of the city and all it had to offer could no longer mask her restlessness. Something was missing. Could a move be the answer? A new locale would distract her and keep her mind off her personal life.
Sitting in the leather chair at her desk, she mindlessly shuffled the papers. When had her life fallen into this monotonous rut? For the past couple of years, she’d spent her Thanksgivings serving dinner at Shepherd’s Gate, a women’s shelter. Christmas was spent singing carols with her church at Faith Bible Center. She enjoyed those things, but she wanted more.
Maybe her boredom stemmed from the fact she’d buried her fiancé a few months before their marriage. But that was two years ago. She should have been enjoying life, but Joshua was gone and she was alive and still trying to remember how to put one foot in front of the other.
People told her time would heal her wounds and it would get easier day by day. And they were right—some days. People also told her never to question God, but those who knew her were aware that that was like asking an artist not to paint. There were days on which she felt she’d moved on, but others when the feelings in her heart and her dreams of him were as real as the love they’d once shared.
She couldn’t understand why God had taken the only man she’d ever truly loved. Joshua had been her soulmate, her friend, the love of her life, her future children’s father. The more she got to know him, the more she realized that meeting him had been something divine. He’d felt the same way.
There was an undeniable connection between them the first time their eyes met on their college campus in Manhattan. She wondered what their children might have looked like. Would they have had his dark eyes and curly black hair, or maybe brown eyes like hers?
The idea of not having a family hurt her to the core. Her parents were married for decades before her father suddenly died from a heart attack. They cherished one another and that’s what she wanted for herself. For now, her dream of falling in love and having a family was tucked away somewhere in the back of her mind, preserved in the faint hope of a second chance.
Simone wasn’t sure she believed there was such a thing as getting back to a normal life. She accepted what life had dealt her and was allowing her circumstances to bring her to a place of surrender. She learned to accept that when life brought pain, God would give her the strength to go through it.
Simone became teary-eyed as questions swirled around in her head. Why, with all of her great accomplishments—she was a paralegal for a prestigious law firm, Armstrong and Armstrong and worked with some of the most gifted and intelligent lawyers in the city—did she still feel like there was a void in her life? She needed a change. A fresh, new beginning. A move would make her feel differently and do her wonders.
She scanned her office. Her eyes drew to the plaques on the wall, awards she had received from her boss. Then she focused on the plaque on her desk, a gift from her pastor. Her favorite scripture was engraved in it, and the office light gleamed on the words. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.—Romans 8:28, KJV.”
She knew God was in control, but sometimes, it was more difficult to accept when His plan superseded her own. She’d heard all the sermons. She was in all the prayer lines. She’d had plenty of oil poured on her head. But the pain remained unbearable. She was resilient, but felt weak, as though she hadn’t slept in months. Externally, Simone had it all together, yet she felt detached. She was a fighter at the end of her fight.
( Continued... )
© 2016 All rights reserved. Book excerpt reprinted by permission of the author, Paulette Harper. Do not reproduce, copy or use without the author's written permission. This excerpt is used for promotional purposes only.
Purchase Secret Places Revealed by Paulette Harper
Genre: Inspirational Romance. Clean Fiction.
Amazon link: https://amzn.com/0989969150
About the Author
In addition to being an award winning author of Completely Whole, Paulette is an inspirational speaker, as well as a writing workshop instructor. She has a passion to coach aspiring authors and speaks into the lives of women from every walk of life. Her literary works have been spotlighted in a growing number of publications, including CBN, Real Life Real Faith Magazine, and Black Pearls Magazine. She has also appeared on numerous local and online radio shows. Paulette resides in Northern California.
Intimate Conversation with Paulette Harper
In addition to being an award winning author of Completely Whole, Paulette is an inspirational speaker, as well as a writing workshop instructor. She has a passion to coach aspiring authors and speaks into the lives of women from every walk of life. Her literary works have been spotlighted in a growing number of publications, including CBN, Real Life Real Faith Magazine, and Black Pearls Magazine. She has also appeared on numerous local and online radio shows. Paulette resides in Northern California.
BPM: Could you tell us something about your most recent work?
Secret Places Revealed is an inspirational romance story. Both characters have experience pain from past relationships that makes it difficult to get past and embrace the possibility that love is possible the second time around.
BPM: Is Secret Places Revealed available on Nook and Kindle?
Yes. Secret Places Revealed is available on Nook, Kindle and Paperback.
BPM: Give us some insight into your main characters or speakers.
The hero, Aaron Blackman has been hurt from a previous relationship and now he has vowed not to be in another one. While the heroine, Simone is slowly recovering from a traumatic loss that has left her still bruised and unwilling to move past the pain to discover a second chance at love.
Aaron Blackman is not looking for love, in fact the only thing he has on his agenda is adding to his real estate development portfolio, while Simone Herron has her own internal battles with trust and abandonment. One decision on her part leads her to meet the eligible bachelor who is smitten by her, but has made a vow to himself not to get involved.
BPM: What makes each one so special?
I believe what makes Aaron special is the fact that he knows his weaknesses and he is willing to own up to them to make the changes he needs in his life. What makes Simone special is her ability to face her challenges and accept that it’s okay to move forward and experience love again.
BPM: What inspired you to sit down and actually start writing this book?
The inspiration behind SPR comes from a desire to write a fiction book. This is my first novel and it has been such a learning process. Crossing over to another genre has been rewarding, challenging and it has stretched me beyond my own imagination. But I have loved every moment.
BPM: What did you enjoy most about writing Secret Places Revealed?
What I enjoyed most about writing Secret Places Revealed was I finally understood what other writers meant when they said “Those characters in my head keep talking.” These characters had a mind and will of their own and they pretty much give the direction of the story.
BPM: Where do your book ideas come from?
Being that I am a romantic at heart, reading romance stories comes easy for me. I wanted to write something that I could identify with and share with readers who also love reading inspirational romance stories.
Most of my books are inspirational non-fiction but I wanted to write a fiction love story for quite some time. It was just a matter of how was I going to put two people together, cause friction in their relationship and cause them to be reconciled again.
BPM: Are your books plot-driven or character-driven?
Secret Places Revealed is my first novel and it is character driven. Although these are fictional characters, their personal struggles are real. Aaron and Simone are two individuals whose hearts have been shattered and their experiences in life have left them broken. Not broken beyond repair, but broken enough that it will take an intervention to bring them together.
BPM: How does your book relate to your present situation or journey?
Personally my book relates to me. I’ve taken these characters and tried my best to develop them in ways that readers can find themselves identifying with. Although these are fictional characters what they experience in life is real. I believe it’s these kind of stories that will build my reader base, speak to readers and cause readers to keep coming back.
BPM: Did you learn anything personal from writing your book?
Yes. I did. Personally, I found that I do have the ability to write a fiction story that readers can fall in love with. Sometimes life and people can discourage you from going after your own dreams. I’m very thankful to God for the ability to pen and write stories for both nonfiction and fiction readers.
BPM: What were your goals and intentions in writing this book and how well do you feel you achieved them?
I love to mix real life stories into my fiction. Although each story is unique, we experience some of the same feelings, situations and challenges in life in which the reader can identity. With the ability to craft fiction books, it gives me the opportunity to live through each character. I believe I have achieved my goals with SPR.
BPM: What projects are you working on at the present?
Currently, I’m working on a Christmas romance novella. It’s in its early stages with the development of the characters and story line.
Website: http://www.pauletteharper.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pauletteharper
Amazon author page: http://amzn.com/e/B004FEJKCQ
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorpauletteharper
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pauletteharper1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5824102.Paulette_Harper
Purchase Secret Places Revealed by Paulette Harper
Genre: Inspirational Romance. Clean Fiction.
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0989969150
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