Today we’re thrilled to welcome Mary Pat Johns to the blog! As the author of the Romance in Valiant Series and several Scrivenings Press novellas, Mary Pat’s love for both writing and God shines through every page she pens. In this post, she shares the Glitter and the Grouch book inspiration—how her unexpected “oops book baby” came to life through faith, creativity, and a Texas-sized adventure.
I did not plan to write Glitter and the Grouch. It was my “oops book baby”—the story I never saw coming but couldn’t ignore. My idea was to write a standard three-book trilogy. But once I had written Countin’ On Jesse and Lovin’ On Red, a couple of minor characters from those books surprised me with their insistence on having their own story.
Their clamoring started in late spring of 2023. It’s the time of year I follow the legendary Texas Water Safari, “the toughest canoe race in the world.” The participants start in the Hill Country and paddle two-hundred-sixty miles to the bay at Seadrift. Their courage is inspiring. It’s a three-to-four-day journey in a canoe or kayak on rivers that test the mettle, strength, and inner fortitude of all who enter. The weather is scorching, and the rules are tough.
As Natalie and Silas yakked in my ear, I searched for the right story angle for them to fall in love and achieve the crucial happily ever after found in contemporary romance. Thinking about it one day, I had two ideas in quick succession—1) These two characters are complete opposites and 2) What if I put them in a boat together for three days?
The timing was a God-thing. Then another problem presented itself. As much as I love the TWS, I have never taken part in the race. Fortunately, I know someone who has. Bill Stafford has raced it for thirty-two years and counting. When I met with Bill and explained what I wanted to do, he wasn’t sure about it until I said, “I want to write a story about two people who race together and fall in love.”
He gave a chuckle and replied, “That could work, because I’ve seen it happen over the years.”
Bill gave me permission to use his book, The Texas Water Safari Has a Polecat In It, to write my story. Glitter and the Grouch would not have any depth if it wasn’t for his recorded experiences. It helped me understand the race on a different level and be faithful to the nitty-gritty details.
Glitter and the Grouch was fun to write but also a challenge. One of the things the participants battle with throughout the race is the monotony of endless rowing. I had to use creative license plot wise to keep reader engagement high. Aligning the actual checkpoints while sticking to the story narrative proved a real head-banger. And making the love story realistic when Nat and Silas were mentally losing it from sleep deprivation was another hurdle.
People have asked what motivated me to write this story. On one hand, it was exhilarating to write about things far from my daily existence: logjams, alligators, miles of portaging, getting lost in the dark, and Hallucination Alley.
On a deeper level, though, the Texas Water Safari provided plenty of time for Silas and Natalie to examine their motives about life. I like Silas’s conclusion: “The canoe race had little to do with who reached the finish line first. It was more about discovering a person’s true character. The hidden part that God saw so clearly. Getting his (Silas’s) perspective realigned had become the real win.”
I also wanted to share my sheer joy of the race with readers. The underlying message of this story is that we’re capable of so much more than we think.
I have a tender spot for Glitter and the Grouch. It’s my “oops book baby” because it happened when I wasn’t looking—yet it was in God’s heart all along.
About Mary Pat Johns
Mary Pat Johns’ writing career began once she retired from teaching speech and writing. She has
written devotions for an online publication, had short stories published by Chicken Soup for the
Soul, and was a columnist for the Victoria Advocate, a local newspaper.
Her four-book series, Romance in Valiant, received Amazon’s Hot New Release tag for Christian
Contemporary Romance. God put it in her heart to tell stories of brave veterans and their
reintegration into civilian life after suffering the traumas of war.
She writes Christian romance because when we view life through the hope of Christ’s sacrifice,
we find that happily ever after is God’s idea.
Mary Pat lives in South Texas with her husband and their two dapple dachshunds. Her grown
children and five grandchildren are useful sorts who keep her grounded with her reading/writing
obsession. You can find her at the gym, at her computer, or reading a good book.
Connect with Mary Pat!
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Read the first three chapters of Glitter and the Grouch for FREE!
Email:
Address: 15 Lucky Lane
Phone : 501-289-9319