About the Book

Book: Love’s True Home

Author: Lori DeJong

Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

Release date: June 25, 2024

She craves roots. He seeks adventure. Will finding one mean leaving the other behind?

Allyson Kincaid needs roots. After being born and raised on the foreign mission field, all she wants is home and hearth on American soil. Finally past the break-up with the man she’d thought was the love of her life, she’s ready to put herself back out there. Too bad the first guy who’s made her pulse skip in nearly two years dreams of a life spent in foreign missions. She respects and supports his calling but knows it’s not one she shares.

When self-described vagabond Zane Carpenter relocates to Arlington, Texas, his only thought is to meet his obligation with Becker Ministries then move on to a foreign mission assignment, his dream and goal for the past several years. But working so closely with Ally in student ministry has his heart feeling things he’s never experienced. He’s ready for a future with her, until she makes it clear she doesn’t share his calling to the mission field.

A trip to her father’s Guatemalan mission changes everything when one stays and one leaves. Can she make a place on foreign soil, or will he find a home in Texas he didn’t even know he was looking for?

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About the Author

Lori DeJong is a contemporary Christian romance author who enjoys penning stories full of grace and the redemptive power of God’s love that inspire others to hope regardless of circumstance, find joy in the moment, and grow in their faith. She resides in Georgetown, Texas, with her husband and two fur-babies and is the mother of one grown daughter. Lori’s debut novel, “Love’s True Calling”, is the 2022 winner of the ACFW Genesis Award for Romance, a double finalist in the 2024 Selah Awards, and was released in June 2023. “Love’s True Home” is the second book in the True Calling Series and releases on June 25, 2024.

More from Lori

Do you ever wish you had a second chance to make a first impression? I know I have.

And I can’t help but think that Allyson Kincaid, the female protagonist in my upcoming novel, Love’s True Home, would desire the same thing. Her first appearance in Love’s True Calling, Book One of the True Calling Series released last year, may not have painted her in the best light. But who could blame her for acting from a broken heart, trying to win back the man she thought was the love of her life? I knew from the moment she stepped off the page in chapter thirty-one she needed her own story. Her own true love. Her own path to finding her true calling. And I hope readers will give her that second chance to win their hearts.

As I set out to get to know her better, I found she had a lot to tell me. Much of her history was spent growing up on foreign mission fields across Central America, leaving her feeling rootless and without a place to call home. Until she came to Arlington ten years ago and found exactly what her heart longed for. Now her dream is to settle right there in Arlington, get a house someday—and a dog, of course—and grow her roots in rich, Texas soil.

Over a brainstorming session with a close writer friend, I mapped out an entire story concept for Ally, with a handsome missionary love interest. Then Zane Carpenter popped up in the last few chapters of Love’s True Calling and I knew he was the guy for Ally. Out with the old story and in with the new.

Getting to know Zane was a kick, even if he has enough of his own heartbreak in his history. His sense of humor, extrovert adventurer personality, and deep love for the Lord had me hooked from the beginning. Except for the myriad friends he’s made in the half-dozen places he’s lived over the past thirteen years, Zane’s alone in the world. And until meeting Ally, he was okay with that. Traveling here and there for new opportunities, new adventures, meeting new people. With a foreign mission assignment being his ultimate dream.

But what happens when the girl who’s been-there-done-that as a missionary kid and has no intention of leaving Texas meets a guy who sweeps her off her feet, only to find out his goal is to work in foreign missions?

Come along for the ride as Zane and Ally discover more about themselves, each other, the Lord they both wholeheartedly long to serve …

And the true meaning of home.

Interview with the Author

What does success as an author look like to you?

That anybody would want to read my book. Haha! I’m not being flippant. When my debut novel came out last year (Love’s True Calling, Book One in the True Calling Series), I was afraid nobody would read it. Or they would and never want to pick up another one of my books. So the positive feedback I received after that release was such a blessing to me. I don’t expect to ever get rich as an author, but when somebody says they stayed up way too late because they couldn’t put it down, or that something in the book resonated with them, or encouraged them, whatever it might be, I feel like that’s a success.

Which character did you connect to best in this book?

I would have to say Ally. I’m a homebody by nature. I love being home. And I love having roots with my family close by. Ally was born in Central America and raised on various mission fields there. When she left to attend school in the States and settled down in Arlington, all she dreamed of was growing her roots deep into some Texas soil. She’s also very involved in the student ministry that is central to the True Calling series. But she’s so busy serving the Lord, she forgets to check in to see if maybe He might have something else for her to do. I totally get that. It’s hard to lay down our dreams for fear of what He might ask of us. But once we do, He’ll equip us for the journey and bless us beyond measure.

Which part of the book was the most difficult to write?

I don’t want to give anything away, but in general, it was Zane’s past. Zane grapples with abandonment but covers it up with humor, an extroverted personality, and service in ministry. But his need to keep moving, to not let anybody get too close, speaks volumes about his fear of being left. I cried several tears over Zane as I got to know him.

What inspired this book?

When Allyson showed up in Love’s True Calling and tried to win Wyatt back, I think most readers considered her an antagonist. But I saw something much deeper in her. I knew I wanted her to have her own happily-ever-after, so set about writing her story. However, the concept I first came up with for her was a completely different story. But when Zane showed up at the end of Love’s True Calling, I knew he was the guy for Ally. So I threw out the original concept and started over. They were really so much fun to write, even if I did shed a few tears during their more heart-rending moments.

What is your favorite Bible verse or life verse?

Philippians 3:7-11 is one of my favorite passages, all about laying down what we once thought was valuable, “but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done … For his sake I have discarded everything else … so that I could gain Christ.” Our family walked through a season of financial hardship from which it took several years to recover. I found this passage during that time, and it helped me keep in perspective what was truly important. We pretty much lost everything, which was difficult, and, in some ways, I carried a cloud of shame for it, even though the circumstances were out of our hands. I had to get to the point where I considered the things of this world as worthless in light of what Christ had done on our behalf, and I had such peace about where we were on our journey and that God was with us. It was a difficult road, but we grew stronger as a family and in our individual relationships with the Lord. From verse 10, “I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead…” That’s what it’s all about – knowing Christ.