Dear Reader,

Today’s guest author, Jennie K. Drollinger says…

After spending much of my adult life in the fashion industry, I reinvented myself mid-life with a second career in the legal field, where I’ve worked as a paralegal for the past decade. Today, I call beautiful Star Valley, Wyoming, home, where I live with my husband, my own lost-and-found love story and soulmate. Together, we’ve been blessed with a wonderfully blended family of nine children and five grandchildren.

Writing ‘As Sure as the Stars’ has been a dream come true. Co-authored with bestselling author Tricia Goyer, this heartwarming split-time novel takes readers back to the halls of an Alaskan high school, where one unforgettable love story begins in 1985. The journey then shifts to present-day Boise, Idaho, where the ripple effects of one missed phone call in 1989 changed the course of two lives.

You could win one of three copies of ‘As Sure as the Stars.’ To enter the drawing, send an email to Jennie, jendoll701@gmail.com Please include your shipping address in case you’re a winner.

Welcome to the book club, Jennie K. Drollinger…

If my house were on fire, I know exactly what I’d grab!

Not my collection of shoes…and believe me, I have a closet full and then some. I’d leave every pair behind if it meant saving my beloved books! They have always been my greatest treasure.

Growing up, we didn’t have a television. When we finally got one, it was only for weekends. That meant the rest of the week belonged to stories! Every trip to my school library ended with my arms full of books, and when the bookmobile rolled into town each week, I’d check out another stack to carry home.

Walking into Waldenbooks was another kind of magic. I can still remember the smell of fresh print on paper, the rows of covers waiting to be opened, and the wonderful feeling that any book I picked up might take me somewhere new.

My favorite stop was always the mystery aisle.

Nancy Drew became my faithful companion. I followed her through haunted mansions, hidden staircases, secret tunnels, and puzzling clues. I still own the complete collection today, and every time I see those familiar yellow covers, I’m transported right back to my childhood.

Years later, when the Nancy Drew computer games were released, my daughter and I spent countless hours solving mysteries together. Then my nieces joined in. We searched for clues, debated suspects, and celebrated every solved case. If life weren’t so busy now, I’d probably still be chasing Nancy through another adventure. Instead, I settle for Friday nights with ‘Dateline’ and Keith Morrison’s unmistakable voice.

Looking back, it’s kind of ironic that I co-authored a romance novel. I spent my childhood solving Nancy Drew mysteries, only to discover I was living one. It took more than thirty years to uncover the truth behind one missed meeting, one disconnected phone, and one very big misunderstanding.

The greatest gift books give us isn’t simply entertainment. They invite us to participate. The words on a page become a kind of magic spell. They ask us to imagine the sounds, the smells, the colors, and the emotions. One paragraph can place us on a windswept cliff in Scotland, or traveling across the prairie with Laura Ingalls. No screen has ever matched what the human imagination can create.

That’s the beauty of reading. Every reader builds a slightly different world, even while sharing the very same story. We become travelers without packing a suitcase and detectives without leaving our favorite chair.

Turns out, the greatest mystery I ever loved wasn’t hidden in a haunted mansion or a secret passageway. It was discovering what really happened…and finally solving the case of the disconnected phone.

So yes, I may collect shoes, but books have always carried me much farther.

— Jennie K. Drollinger

You could win one of three copies of ‘As Sure as the Stars.’ To enter the drawing, send an email to Jennie, jendoll701@gmail.com Please include your shipping address in case you’re a winner.

Thanks for reading with me. It’s so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com