Forgiveness

I had something else planned for the ‘F’ word today, but last night I received the final version of the cover of my February release from Whiskey Creek Press, 'Fragrance of Violets'. So I thought I'd let you have the first view of it.

I'm thrilled to bits with it. I think it's fantastic and fabulous!

The title comes from a quotation by Mark Twain: Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.

‘Fragrance of Violets’ is a story of two people who need to forgive each other and deal with other issues in their lives where forgiveness is also necessary.

Abbey Seton distrusts men, especially Jack Tremayne who destroyed their friendship when they were teenagers.  Ten years later, they meet again.  Can they put the past behind them?

Abbey has to forgive not only Jack, but also her father who deserted his family when she was young.  Jack holds himself responsible for his fiancée’s death.  He’s also hiding another secret which threatens the fragile resumption of his relationship with Abbey.

Will Abbey ever forgive him when she finds out the truth?

It occurs to me that the theme of forgiveness, in one form or other, appears frequently in romance novels. So often our characters hurt (deliberately or unwittingly), misjudge, distrust or believe badly of each other. They then have to learn how to put things right, forgive each other, and in the process learn more about themselves and their faults and foibles, so that they don’t make the same mistakes again.

I wonder just how many romances have the words ‘I’m sorry, I was wrong’ somewhere in them? And, because all romances ended happily ever after, of course, all is eventually forgiven and forgotten.