Faith in Fiction by Carolyn Miller

Back in 2010 I was blessed with the opportunity to travel with my husband from our small town in New South Wales, Australia to North America. After landing in Boston, we drove up the east coast to Prince Edward Island (this redhead’s answered prayer, not my husband’s!) then across to Quebec City, Montreal and beautiful Muskoka, two hours north of Toronto, before finally landing in Chicago.

As pastors of a small church, to have this opportunity seemed like an impossible dream come true, a real answer to prayer. And indeed, it was some much needed respite, as the next two years in particular proved to be super trying, as burnout took its toll on our family and ministry and led to some hard, hard years.

But it’s funny how God can use things for our benefit. Even seemingly random things can be shaped and repurposed for His sake. Now, looking back, I can see that what I thought was just a simple trip has now been used in other ways, not least of which in my writing.

I had only started writing earlier in 2010, when I was intrigued by an Aussie female athlete holding hands with an American guy as they entered the closing ceremony of the Vancouver Winter Olympics. I wondered what had brought them together, and despite my best efforts couldn’t find out, so I wrote ‘their’ story, which became Love on Ice (which has just released in time for this year’s Winter Olympics!).

This first book propelled my love of writing, something which proved a blessed escape in the months following, as I tried to negotiate life without ministry, a broken husband, financial pressure, and the chaos of life with four young children. For me, writing became a place where I worked out some of my own struggles with faith, with relationships, with life. As I wrestled so did my characters, through hardship, tears and heartbreak to finding hope and restoration. And as I slowly healed, so I also improved in the craft of writing, which eventually led to some contest awards, and ultimately an agent and a contract with a U.S. publisher.

Would I have discovered a passion for putting words on paper if it wasn’t for this time? Maybe. Maybe not. Would I have been forced to go deeper in my faith if it wasn’t for this time of hardship? Quite possibly I would’ve had opportunity to learn another way. But because this did happen, and we clung to God in the midst of challenges on all fronts, I believe God was able to redeem our trials and use them for His purposes.

This month sees the release of Checked Impressions, my third book in the Original Six contemporary romance series, based on the cities of the original National Hockey League teams. My husband had visited four of these cities on that trip all those years ago (Boston, Montreal, Toronto, and Chicago), and I was able to incorporate a number of places we’d visited into each of these stories, such as the amazing Art Institute of Chicago which features in Checked impressions. (I’ve also included pictures and more on my website here). In another moment of God provision I learned about an online Bible study for NHL players, which helped ground this series further – it’s fiction, but it could be real!

None of us know what’s ahead of us, but we can know that whatever we face, God is with us, using our challenges and experiences for His purposes, and to ultimately work things out for our good. I’ve seen this firsthand, and want my books to encourage believers and non-Christians alike to know that God loves us, and He is faithful, and we can trust Him through everything.

My hero and heroine in Checked Impressions see this. Here’s a bit about the story:

Sparks fly when a hometown hockey hero meets a classy art-loving museum guide hiding a secret…
Jai Mullins is used to being the fastest man on ice. Trouble is, his ability to find a genuine woman is tracking at glacial melt levels. He’s trusting God she’s out there, but he’s wary of getting trapped by a superfan, when all he wants is someone with whom he can be real.
Allie Davis has two great loves: impressionist art and hockey. More specifically, a certain hockey player. But between her shyness and her family, she’s convinced she’ll never meet him, let alone connect with him in a non-embarrassing way.
Until she does. And they connect. And romance sparks.
But she is hiding a big secret, and he’s about to find that first impressions sometimes need a reality check. Will they learn to trust and find a way forward, or will half-truths lead to further hurt on opposite sides of the country and lonely lives?
This Windy City romance has plenty of heart, humor, and swoon-worthy kisses in the third book of the Original Six, a sweet, slightly sporty Christian contemporary romance series.

Buy your copy here.

Carolyn Miller lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children. Together with her husband she has pastored a church for ten years, and worked as a public high school English teacher.

A longtime lover of romance, especially that of Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer and LM Montgomery, Carolyn loves drawing readers into fictional worlds that show the truth of God’s grace in our lives. Her contemporary romance series includes the Original Six hockey romance series, and the Independence Islands series, and her historical series include the Regency Brides and Regency Wallflowers series.

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