Since the night her dear uncle gave his life for hers, Hannah Young is determined to risk everything by spying for the Patriots in order to seek retribution against the British soldier who killed him. But when her former love, Joseph Wythe, insists on ensuring her safety, she must decide if the vengeance she seeks is worth the danger of his nearness. For the love she once felt is liable to grow deeper and more threatening to her heart than it ever was before.

Leaving his young ward to join the fight for liberty is the hardest thing Joseph Wythe has ever done. Nearly. The most difficult happened ten years past, which he tries his best to forget. Seeing Hannah Young again after all this time does something frightening and wonderful to his soul. Though her determination to spy for the Patriots is honorable and brave, he will never allow her to take such a risk without him to protect her, no matter how she protests—and no matter how he knows he will ache all the more for the thing he always wanted and still could never have.

I have always loved history! In fact, my passion for history started long before my passion for writing. After I had my second baby I was searching for an outlet for that passion, and I just felt God leading me in this direction and I’ve been so happy! This writing journey is such a joy—but that doesn’t mean its always easy. Keeping a balanced life is important—God, family, church, home-school, writing, etc. But wow. It’s hard! Recently I found an article that said one writer sets aside two hours a day to write and she guards those hours ferociously. I’ve started to do that in the evening and so far (fingers crossed) it’s working! I lock myself in the back room, put in the earplugs and go for it. However, two hours isn’t much in the grand scheme of things, but that’s okay. I do what I can and I know if I stick to my plan, eventually things will get done.

During my historical studies, and as I researched my stories, my love for the colonial era has grown—and I didn’t think that was possible. The passion and drive for freedom was so strong—as was the desire for England to NOT let the colonies go, that the animosity and hatred between Whigs and Tories ran very strong. I had always figured that was the case, but until I started really learning about it, I had no idea how deep those emotions went. People don’t often think of the Revolution as a civil war, but it was! It tore many families apart and the animosity between sides was often very vicious. However, the colonist’s drive for freedom led them to. I love that! And I love being able to share their passion for life and liberty through my stories.

So Pure a Heart, the fourth book in my Daughters of His Kingdom series focuses on the sacrifices the Patriots made so their goal of independence could be realized. I loved researching this book and I hope that readers will enjoy reading this book as much as I loved writing it!