Patricia Johns: Beautiful Idiots

What were you like when you were young?

I look back on ideas that I thought were so clever back when I was twenty, and I cringe. Good grief--I had no clue! But that's youth for you--efficient metabolism, tight skin, limited life experience. I was a beautiful idiot.

There are benefits that come with age, like some actual perspective on things. We no longer think we're quite so clever, and we're more compassionate. Life is no longer about being the brightest and the shiniest, it starts being more about the long haul--and that takes humility, empathy, and a whole lot of courage.

In A BAXTER'S REDEMPTION, Isabel Baxter has had a life-altering accident. She's gone from flippant beauty queen to "ordinary" in one metal-crunching moment. When she returns home, she has to face the person she used to be, and start over as a scarred woman. No more special treatment by the male population, and no more power in one sultry look.

Add to that, her wealthy father has remarried a woman younger than she is, and they're expecting a baby together. The inheritance that Isabel has always counted on--her cushion in hard times--is about to change... and while the rest of us have a good twenty years to gain some maturity and perspective, Isabel doesn't have that luxury.

How do "ordinary" women face life? How do they get their way? How do they navigate men?

Isabel is about to find out.

***


Has she really changed? 
Former beauty queen Isabel Baxter returns to her hometown, scarred after a near-fatal accident. But in high school, she was the fantasy of every teenage boy in Haggerston, Montana, including James Hunter. Even though James was too far below her social circle to be noticed…

Now her father's attorney, James isn't ready to forgive Isabel for the part she played in his own family tragedy. Yet she seems eager to make amends and prove herself capable of being more than a pretty face. Has the girl he once worshipped—his boss's daughter—grown into a woman James can respect…and maybe love?

Find this book online in January! 


Come by my blog--I'd love to see you!

Comments

  1. Patricia, I wish you all the best with your first Heartwarming release!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm anxious to read this--I'm guilty of having too little patience with (or compassion for) people who are too beautiful, too rich, too etc. Maybe it's time I learned something in that regard. Good luck with your release!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Liz! Yes, I tend to be the same. It's hard to pity someone who seems to have it all.

      Delete
  3. Patricia,
    Your book sounds intriguing and I can't wait to read it. Congratulations on your first Heartwarming release! Happy New Year, huh? WOW.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Catherine! Happy New Year to you, too. :)

      Delete
  4. I just finished reading the book. You did a great job with Isabel and her feelings. Loved the story. Took me back to memories of growing up in a similar small town. Cliques form and last for generations--some unfortunately. Thanks for the memories.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Roz! I'm thrilled that you enjoyed it! That makes my day!

      Delete
  5. Can't wait to read this! So glad you're part of the Heartwarming family!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Patricia! I'm really happy to be here! (And to share a blogging day with you! :) )

      Delete
  6. Patricia, I love your "beautiful idiot" comment. It says so much about life and youth. There are some good things about getting older and I think wisdom is one of them. This sounds like a lovely story. I look forward to reading it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This book sounds great. I agree with Carol. Wisdom is a gem if we attain it in our later years. Not every old person is wise of course, but I'd like to believe that most are. My dad used to quote someone who said "youth is wasted on the young." I think that statement is very true.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Can't wait to read it. You're right - most of us mature gradually. It must be a shock to have your appearance and circumstances change so suddenly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! Yes, at least the rest of us get some time to acclimatize.

      Delete
  9. Patricia - what a great set-up. I still feel like a work in progress that's just not getting there. But I'm trying. Congratulations on the birth of your book. Writing is one of the few birthing experiences where all the sleepless nights come before!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Muriel! I've read so many of your comments, and trust me--you are a wise woman!

      Delete
  10. Sounds wonderful. As someone who's always been ordinary, I say just see yourself as extraordinary and other people will too :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agreed, Pamela! I always used confidence in my favor, too. ;)

      Delete

Post a Comment