Silent Mornings with Grandpa by Naomi Rawlings

Some of my most treasured childhood memories involve fishing with my grandfather. My grandparents lived on a little inland lake in central Michigan, and every summer morning, Grandpa would sit on the bench at the end of the dock and fish. I loved when I woke up before my parents and siblings. The first thing I would do was go to the window and look out. Sure enough, Grandpa would be sitting at the end of the dock , his shadow barely visible through the mist shrouding the lake. I’d pad outside barefoot and sit on the dock by his feet, asking if he’d caught anything and then growing silent as I watched the bobber float on the glassy water.

Those are the kind of moments that you don’t want to ruin with words. You just want to sit there, watching the lake and the mist and the bobber, knowing someone you love is sitting beside you. You don’t dare speak of the connection you feel, lest you shatter it. But you know the person beside you feels that same connection, and it means something special to both of you.

My Grandfather has long since left this earth, but I’ll never forget those quiet, early morning times that we shared. And I hope to give them to my own grandchildren one day . . . which is a very, very, future day. Because at the moment, I’m still trying to figure out how to raise my own precious little ones!

*****

A mother of two young boys, Naomi Rawlings spends her days picking up, cleaning, playing and, of course, writing. Her husband pastors a small church in Michigan’s rugged Upper Peninsula, where her family shares its ten wooded acres with black bears, wolves, coyotes, deer and bald eagles.

Naomi and her family live only three miles from Lake Superior, where the scenery is beautiful and they average 200 inches of snow per winter. Sanctuary for a Lady is her debut novel, and she has three other novels currently under contract with the same publisher. At the moment, she’s busily writing the sequel to Michel and Isabelle’s story.

Sanctuary for a Lady:

Running to freedom, she found love . . .

The injured young woman that Michel Belanger finds in the woods is certainly an aristocrat, and in the midst of France’s bloody revolution, sheltering nobility merits a trip to the guillotine. Yet despite the risk, Michel knows he must bring the wounded girl to his cottage to heal.

Attacked by soldiers and left for dead, Isabelle de La Rouchecauld has lost everything. A duke’s daughter cannot hope for mercy in France, so escaping to England is her best chance of survival. The only thing more dangerous than staying would be falling in love with this gruff yet tender man of the land. Even if she sees, for the first time, how truly noble a heart can be . . .

Available on Amazon: Kindle and Paperback

Johnnie's Note: Naomi and I met (via email) when she judged my entry in a writing contest for unpublished writers. She was my most critical judge . . . and also the most helpful. It was a blind judging, but my thank you note was forwarded to her, she emailed me back, and we've been emailing back and forth ever since.

I've read Sanctuary for a Lady and love Naomi's lyrical way with words. Isabelle and Michel are well-developed characters struggling with their individual heritages during a turbulent time.