In a few weeks, The Inn at Hidden Run will release, and right there on page 1 you’ll meet Jillian Parisi-Duffy. This is the first book in my new Tree of Life series, so as I created Jillian, I settled in to get to know her not just for one story but four. A few quick facts:

  • She gets her green eyes from her Irish father, who has a matching pair.
  • She gets her mass of dark hair from her Italian mother, whose loss she has lived with for exactly half her life now.
  • She’s amazing at her job—a genealogist—and works at home, but she could easily succumb to recluse tendencies if her dad and her friends didn’t drag her away from work once in a while.
  • She thinks she’s not a people person—that her dad’s territory—but actually she navigates relationships pretty well.
  • She can barista-up any kind of fancy coffee you can dream up.
  • And she is on a quest for a new favorite mug, because hers fatally cracked.

What I like most about Jillian, though, is her essential determination.

To do an excellent job at all times.

To stand by the people she cares about.

To solve a mystery.

To be herself.

To step up.

Release date: May 1, 2019

In the Tree of Life series, stories are uncovered and woven together by the endearing duo of Jillian and her father, Nolan, and characters learn about who they are, where they come from, and their unique faith journeys as they discover their own trees of life. It all starts when Meri runs as far as she can get from her family and discovers that Jillian and Nolan have her back, no matter what.

See you there on May 1.