| How much should a wronged husband forgive? Aubrey Beaumont has spent the last fifteen years in search of his runaway, drug-addicted wife. Now a respected Silver Spring pastor and chaplain, ready to give up and move on, his life takes unexpected turns when she suddenly contacts him. Terminally ill and having found faith, she begs Aubrey’s forgiveness. How can he overlook her past prostitution and liaison with one of Washington’s most vicious drug lords? Grateful for a chance at reconciliation, Joanna Beaumont prays that her seemingly wasted life might serve some purpose in her final days. Perhaps her testimony against her former lover’s cartel will bring her the peace she craves. Joanna and Aubrey’s paths will crisscross the Capital District’s underworld where they discover how God weaves threads of failure into tapestries of hope. |  |
Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Release date: 2018
Release date: 2018
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Interview with Linda
#1. What was the inspiration for this book?
Before I started writing professionally, I worked in the human services field: family services, adult protective services, child protective services, medical services, senior services, and nursing home social services, as well as hospital social services and as an in-school case manager. All these roles gave me many insights into the spiral of addiction and the profound impact addiction has on those who love the victim of substance abuse. Those who don’t understand are quick to judge and slow to develop compassion … much like my character Gregg Fischer, who hated drug addicts because of his personal loss. I wanted to write a book to show addicts are as much in need of love as anyone and how true love can only be extended through the power of the Holy Spirit. I hoped to show how God’s healing power transcends our failures.
Before I started writing professionally, I worked in the human services field: family services, adult protective services, child protective services, medical services, senior services, and nursing home social services, as well as hospital social services and as an in-school case manager. All these roles gave me many insights into the spiral of addiction and the profound impact addiction has on those who love the victim of substance abuse. Those who don’t understand are quick to judge and slow to develop compassion … much like my character Gregg Fischer, who hated drug addicts because of his personal loss. I wanted to write a book to show addicts are as much in need of love as anyone and how true love can only be extended through the power of the Holy Spirit. I hoped to show how God’s healing power transcends our failures.
 | #2. Do you have favorite character(s) in this book? I am hard pressed to pick a favorite out of my main characters in Hosea’s Heart. I see myself in all of them, even the male characters. But perhaps, my favorite is a secondary character, Percy Logan. I love his spunk. Even though he is in the early stages of dementia, he turns his life over to God. His end is better than his beginning. He struggles to make up for the lost years with his estranged daughter. Sometimes the aged babe in Christ can demonstrate more spiritual wisdom than the one |
who has walked with the Lord his whole life. Perhaps the most difficult character for me to write in Hosea’s Heart, was Joanna. As a social worker, I understood the personal struggles of the addicted soul. I wanted to show the tragedy of Joanna’s circumstances and her fear she’d come to the Lord too late to find a purpose for her life. I wept for her as she pleads with God to let the little time she has left on earth to have meaning.
#3. Tell us a little about yourself, your family, friends.
I think as you get older, there is a process called life review. We examine the whole of our lives and try to make sense of all our experiences, it’s successes and disappointments. In youth, we give little thought to how the complexities of our lives create a web God can use in our later years. I am a product of emotional abuse and divorce. God did give me three wonderful children. I remarried and have been with this wonderful man for forty-three years. As mentioned previously, much of my work experience has been in human services, though I
I think as you get older, there is a process called life review. We examine the whole of our lives and try to make sense of all our experiences, it’s successes and disappointments. In youth, we give little thought to how the complexities of our lives create a web God can use in our later years. I am a product of emotional abuse and divorce. God did give me three wonderful children. I remarried and have been with this wonderful man for forty-three years. As mentioned previously, much of my work experience has been in human services, though I
| trained as a high school English teacher. I am a cancer survivor, and do encourage women to get their mammograms on a regular basis. My twenties, especially as a single parent, proved to be a time of great struggle. Yet, God sustained me, though admittedly, I was not always faithful to him. I questioned every tenet I’d been taught growing up in a fundamentalist church. God saved me from long-term consequences of my bad choices during those years. Today, through God’s pruning and patience, I’m enjoying the retirement life, though again not without |  |
its challenges. I am the mother of three and grandmother of nine, all of whom bring me special blessings. When able, the hubs and I enjoy playing golf, going to museums, and walking. I watch a lot of television, justifying the time spent as “studying the elements of story.” We’ve been fairly isolated during this pandemic, but we do enjoy our online friendships. Though we lived most of our married life in the tundra of Northern New York, we spent six years post-retirement in Florida, opting to move to Hagerstown, MD to be nearer our children and grandchildren. We actually enjoy having four seasons again without the frigid temperatures. We are active in our local church, mostly in short-term ministry projects and in support capacities.
#4. What one piece of advice would you like to give readers?
Coming to the Lord near the end of her terminal illness, Joanna felt her life had been wasted, that her addiction had robbed her of leaving a lasting legacy. She never lived to know her true legacy. Her struggles were the catalyst that prompted Aubrey to start a mission to impact hundreds. Eventually, Joanna surrendered her doubts and chose to believe God would somehow bring about some good from all she endured.
Where we see weakness and defeat, God sees strength and possibilities.
Romans 8:28 reminds us how God can take our worst past to make our best future once we have surrendered our messes to him:
Coming to the Lord near the end of her terminal illness, Joanna felt her life had been wasted, that her addiction had robbed her of leaving a lasting legacy. She never lived to know her true legacy. Her struggles were the catalyst that prompted Aubrey to start a mission to impact hundreds. Eventually, Joanna surrendered her doubts and chose to believe God would somehow bring about some good from all she endured.
Where we see weakness and defeat, God sees strength and possibilities.
Romans 8:28 reminds us how God can take our worst past to make our best future once we have surrendered our messes to him:
#5. Share with us a thought, Bible verse, whatever is on your mind/heart.
My favorite Bible verse is John 10:10.
#5. Share with us a thought, Bible verse, whatever is on your mind/heart.
My favorite Bible verse is John 10:10.
For many years, I only wanted to quote the second half of this verse. Then I realized, Satan is the thief. He wants to sabotage God’s good work in us with his many arrows of lies, to make us feel discouraged and doubtful in times of trouble. But God’s intent for us is to enjoy his many blessings, abundantly so. When trouble comes, we have a choice. We can let Satan bog us down with anger, resentment, or bitterness. Or we can trust the God who wants to provide a blessing even in this circumstance.
More from Linda
Folks ask me why I kept searching for Joanna.
I don’t really see myself as a martyr, self-sacrificing, or even like the prophet Hosea as some have compared me to.
Perhaps I searched so long because Joanna was the only woman I ever truly loved. We met at the Top Notch Lounge when I had stopped in to buy a getaway package for my parents’ twenty-fifth anniversary.
I turned to my friend, Gregg, a private detective, and said, “See that girl over there? I’m going to marry her.
Gregg shook his head “You’re crazy. That broad is nothing but trouble.”
“And you know this, how?”
“Instinct, buddy.”
I left Gregg standing at the reservation desk and walked confidently toward a future that I could only guess. She smiled at me as I approached her table and glanced at her beverage. “Cinnamon tea?” I asked.
I sniffed the scent. Then, it was like an aphrodisiac. Now the aroma makes me nauseous. If I had known then what I know now? Moot question because life rarely offers a mulligan.
Gregg gave me a sign that he’d wait for me at the restaurant.
I sat down next to her. “Aubrey Beaumont.”
“Joanna Curtis.”
We talked, though not about anything of importance. I knew no more about her after an hour than her name and that she’d been deserted by her boyfriend. Yet, I knew I loved her.
“Have you had dinner yet?”
“No. Actually, I haven’t eaten all day. I should keep up my strength. I’m eating for two.”
I suppose most men would be scared away at that point. But something tugged at me. I sensed she didn’t need me—but I needed her, as intoxicating as any drug.
“Why not join me and my friend at the restaurant downstairs.”
Despite Gregg’s loud protests, Joanna and I married two days later. I adopted her unborn daughter, though not of my flesh, a child of my heart. I didn’t know about Joanna’s addiction until the first time she left us. Though she had been to rehab numerous times, she relapsed again and again. The last time she left, I held her note in my hand, my heart sliced by the knowledge she’d not be back.
The intelligent thing would be to let her disappear … what she wanted. I always led with my heart, not common sense. Perhaps why God called me into the ministry after Joanna’s first relapse.
My fruitless search took me into the Capital District where I pastored a church in Silver Spring. Hope waned … and I even thought I might find love again with a woman named Cynthia. Until Joanna found me and called me to her side.
Fifteen years have passed since she left me the last time. Now, here I stand … face-to-face with reality. Cancer will take Joanna away forever. What does God require of me now? I can forgive her addiction. But sometimes a wife’s betrayal goes beyond the forgivable –her liaison with Joey Juarez, the worst drug czar in the Washington, D.C. area.
I have every right, scripturally and logically, to divorce her and move on. Yet, that same voice that called me to her so many years ago calls to me now. “Till death part us.”
I don’t really see myself as a martyr, self-sacrificing, or even like the prophet Hosea as some have compared me to.
Perhaps I searched so long because Joanna was the only woman I ever truly loved. We met at the Top Notch Lounge when I had stopped in to buy a getaway package for my parents’ twenty-fifth anniversary.
I turned to my friend, Gregg, a private detective, and said, “See that girl over there? I’m going to marry her.
Gregg shook his head “You’re crazy. That broad is nothing but trouble.”
“And you know this, how?”
“Instinct, buddy.”
I left Gregg standing at the reservation desk and walked confidently toward a future that I could only guess. She smiled at me as I approached her table and glanced at her beverage. “Cinnamon tea?” I asked.
I sniffed the scent. Then, it was like an aphrodisiac. Now the aroma makes me nauseous. If I had known then what I know now? Moot question because life rarely offers a mulligan.
Gregg gave me a sign that he’d wait for me at the restaurant.
I sat down next to her. “Aubrey Beaumont.”
“Joanna Curtis.”
We talked, though not about anything of importance. I knew no more about her after an hour than her name and that she’d been deserted by her boyfriend. Yet, I knew I loved her.
“Have you had dinner yet?”
“No. Actually, I haven’t eaten all day. I should keep up my strength. I’m eating for two.”
I suppose most men would be scared away at that point. But something tugged at me. I sensed she didn’t need me—but I needed her, as intoxicating as any drug.
“Why not join me and my friend at the restaurant downstairs.”
Despite Gregg’s loud protests, Joanna and I married two days later. I adopted her unborn daughter, though not of my flesh, a child of my heart. I didn’t know about Joanna’s addiction until the first time she left us. Though she had been to rehab numerous times, she relapsed again and again. The last time she left, I held her note in my hand, my heart sliced by the knowledge she’d not be back.
The intelligent thing would be to let her disappear … what she wanted. I always led with my heart, not common sense. Perhaps why God called me into the ministry after Joanna’s first relapse.
My fruitless search took me into the Capital District where I pastored a church in Silver Spring. Hope waned … and I even thought I might find love again with a woman named Cynthia. Until Joanna found me and called me to her side.
Fifteen years have passed since she left me the last time. Now, here I stand … face-to-face with reality. Cancer will take Joanna away forever. What does God require of me now? I can forgive her addiction. But sometimes a wife’s betrayal goes beyond the forgivable –her liaison with Joey Juarez, the worst drug czar in the Washington, D.C. area.
I have every right, scripturally and logically, to divorce her and move on. Yet, that same voice that called me to her so many years ago calls to me now. “Till death part us.”
READER:
What would you do if you were Aubrey? How would you advise him?
 Linda Wood Rondeau | A veteran social worker, Linda Wood Rondeau has earned critical acclaim for her heart-warming stories of deliverance and forgiveness. The author now resides in Hagerstown, MD with her husband of forty years. Active in her local church, she enjoys playing the occasional round of golf, a common feature in many of her books. Readers may contact the author through Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Instagram or visit her website: www.lindarondeau.com. |
It's Time For A Giveaway!
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of a book from her Amazon Author page!
of a book from her Amazon Author page!
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Blog Stops
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, March 17
Susan K. Beatty, Author, March 18 (Author Interview)
A Modern Day Fairy Tale, March 18
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, March 19
Texas Book-aholic, March 20
Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, March 21
Locks, Hooks and Books, March 22
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 23
Tell Tale Book Reviews, March 24 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 25
For Him and My Family, March 26
Inklings and notions, March 27
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, March 28
deb’s Book Review, March 29
By The Book, March 30 (Author Interview)
Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, March 30
Susan K. Beatty, Author, March 18 (Author Interview)
A Modern Day Fairy Tale, March 18
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, March 19
Texas Book-aholic, March 20
Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, March 21
Locks, Hooks and Books, March 22
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 23
Tell Tale Book Reviews, March 24 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 25
For Him and My Family, March 26
Inklings and notions, March 27
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, March 28
deb’s Book Review, March 29
By The Book, March 30 (Author Interview)
Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, March 30
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