First Fridays with the Crew - Groundhog Day, Stories of Redemption and More

Happy Groundhog Day! 

In the United States and Canada, Groundhog Day is celebrated on February 2. It all started with a Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog came out of its burrow and saw its shadow, it would retreat to its den and winter would continue for six more weeks. If no shadow and no retreat, then spring would arrive early.

In 1993, the Groundhog Day movie (starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell) put a great spin on the superstition and created a timeless story with classic themes such as redemption, selflessness, self-improvement or rebirth (breaking through to your true self), and more. It's one of my favorite movies. I've heard many say the same.

So I thought I'd ask the Get Lost in a Story Crew to SHARE a favorite story they've written with a THEME or SCENE of redemption, selflessness, self-improvement or rebirth...  




Jacqui Nelson

In Between Love & Lies (book 1 in my Gambling Hearts series) on the trail from Texas to Dodge City, my hero, Noah Ballantyne’s longhorn cattle herd trample and destroy my heroine, Sadie Sullivan’s farm and livelihood. He tries to compensate her with money, but due to her unredeemable father, Sadie ends up homeless and penniless in Dodge City.

A year later, when Noah comes back to Dodge with a second herd, he looks for Sadie - and finds her in the employment of the pitiless madam of the Northern Star Saloon.

When he realizes he's responsible for Sadie's downfall, he chooses to stay in Dodge City and make amends, at all costs, rather than return home to Texas. Here's his redemption vow: Noah made a promise—to God, to himself and the whole forsaken town of Dodge. He wasn’t leaving until he fixed the wrong he’d done.

Amanda McIntyre

In Rugged Hearts, the first book in the Kinnison Legacy trilogy, my hero , Wyatt Kinnison-oldest brother of three--is attempting to be the patriarch of the family. To be the man his deceased step-father trusted to carry on his ranch legacy.  He's been burnt by every woman in his life, starting with a mother who abandons him and his younger brother. His fiancee betrayed him and Wyatt retreats into his world at the ranch, determined not to fall in love, determined not to rely on anyone or anything, but himself. Until he meets Aimee Worth , a hard-headed, optimist who recently moved to End of the Line as the new third grade teacher. Both have baggage in their past. Both need to trust again. They need each other, they just don't know it yet.
With a little Christmas magic and the guidance of family and friends, these two will discover that no matter what, love can find a way.

Avril Tremayne

2014 novel Turning the Good Girl Bad, personal assistant Catherine North has been hiding her real self from her new boss Max Rutherford – scraping her hair into a tight bun, dressing dowdily, and adopting a prim and proper persona. Why? Because Catherine’s learned the hard way what happens when your boss puts his hands where they don’t belong, and it’s well known that gorgeous Max, whose PAs almost always fall for him, isn’t the type to resist an office affair. But despite her best efforts, Catherine can't help being attracted to Max, and as though reading her silent signals, he's growing increasingly intrigued by her. In desperation, she tries to work her Max-fantasies out of her system by writing them into a steamy novel, but when he inevitably discovers her secret… Well, I won’t say any more because spoilers! All I'll say is that as they learn each other's secrets, they go through a kind of rebirth – sometimes the path to get there is funny, sometimes it’s painful, but they tread it determinedly and emerge at the end better and stronger. Today, I personally find boss/assistant romances troubling; I seriously don’t know if, in 2019, I’d write this same story with its flawed hero needing redemption and its hesitant heroine finally coming to see that she wasn't to blame for the harassment she experienced in the past – but I can’t in all honesty regret having brought Max and Catherine together, because they needed each other to tread that path.

Lizbeth Selvig
My novel The Bride Wore Starlight is the third book in my "Seven Brides for Seven Cowboys" series, and even though you're not supposed to pick a favorite child, I have to admit that is my favorite book in the series. It centers around Joely Crockett, the third of six Crockett sisters who inherit their family home Paradise Ranch. Joely has spent her life as the family beauty--from being crowned Jr. Rodeo Queen, to Rodeo and Homecoming Queens to Miss Wyoming, she's always been able to rely on her looks to get her from scholarships to marriage. Although she's never been a diva, she is a little spoiled by her easy path in life. When, after a painful divorce, she is in a horrific car accident, her life is forever altered by permanent injuries. A scarred face and a limp she'll have forever force her to face the realities of what beauty really means. When she meets Alec Morrissey, a former rodeo champion, she believes she's found a man as perfect as she used to be. The truth is, Alec is an amputee who has merely learned to put a perfect face on an imperfect life. Together Joely and Alec have to learn not only to face their pasts, but to embrace the accidents that have made them who they are today. And only if they can find peace and beauty in their "imperfections" do they find real love and rebirth.

E.E. Burke

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Jolie LaFemme has been a working girl at La Maison for four long years...ever since being betrayed and left penniless. She’s jaded, distrustful and blind to the possibility of love. As far as she's concerned, being the madam of a popular parlor house is the best she can hope for, and nothing will convince her to give up the coveted and lucrative position.

Hank Donavan arrives in Noelle with a plan to ensure his sister's financial security and regain his pride. He’s a man in his prime, handsome by any measure, but an accident ruined his vision, and his future. Now, he travels with his dog Bear, and sells beautiful handmade Valentine cards. His big opportunity comes when he's offered a chance to invest in the richest silver mine in the state. There’s only one catch: he has to be married first. Who would marry a blind man with little to recommend him when there are plenty of hale and hearty men to go around?

Angi Morgan

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I love Groundhog Day the movie and I love true redemption stories. SHOTGUN JUSTICE is a favorite of  my second chances stories--I seem to have quite a few of them. My very first book was a second chance story. SJ was a best seller and top pick from RT. I'm especially proud that my fans helped develop the serial killer.

Jesse in Shotgun Justice messed up horribly. No one thinks he's going to get a second chance or will even be given time to explain himself In the story, he's sent to guard Avery from the serial killer. The hitch is that ONE...she doesn't need his help (she's a deputy). TWO..why would she want an ex who threw her under the bus. And THREE... she especially doesn't need her big brother's best friend who threw her in jail. 

What's your favorite redemption story?