Special thanks to Dave Lambert, who’s been editing my books for years, and always challenges me to take my writing to the next level. He edits with deep thought and insight into my characters and plot, and forces me to rewrite and rethink until the book is worthy of shelf space. I’m also thankful to Karen Ball, who acquired this series and helped edit it. Karen has a way of drawing the best out of her authors. Sue Brower has championed me at Zondervan for years. I owe so much of my success to the decisions she’s made, and for that I’m very grateful. And thanks to Karwyn Bursma and Bob Hudson, for all they do to get my books into your hands.
And I can’t end this series without a huge thanks to Beth Runnels, Gayle DeSalles, and Ellen Tarver, who’ve all assisted me in various aspects of my work. Each one of these ladies is uniquely talented, and they all provide me with services that make my life much easier.
Finally, thanks to my readers who have hung in there with me through all four of the Restoration novels. I pray that God will use the books to strengthen, challenge, and bless you.
An Excerpt from TRUTH STAINED LIES
CHAPTER 1
The email from Jay’s wife clearly demonstrated that miracles happen. He hadn’t expected her to ever speak cordially to him again, even though the custody battle was tearing their child apart. When he read her letter on his office computer, his jaw dropped. The civility in her tone and the plea for him to ditch his attorney’s advice and come to her house to talk shocked him.
Hope budded where it had all but shriveled. Dropping everything, he wrote a quick note back:
I’ll be right over. Leaving now.
Yes, it was a miracle. Annalee hadn’t spoken to him in almost a year. Every visitation had been arranged through their attorneys. He had longed for the chance to talk to her face-to-face and tell her of his concerns for Jackson if she won full custody. Every other weekend and Wednesday night visitations — the deal most fathers got under this judge — would not cut it. He had wanted to remind her how desperately the child needed his dad. To remind her that children who had their father ripped out of their lives often grew up with voids they tried to fill through self-destructive choices. He’d wanted to appeal to her as an adult and a parent, to get past this bickering and put Jackson first.
Now he had an invitation to do just that.
It wouldn’t be an easy conversation. He’d have to put aside his bitterness over her string of affairs and the influence some of her boyfriends had on his five-year-old son. He’d tread carefully, so as not to set her off.
He realized as he drove that he was almost out of gas. Why hadn’t he filled up this morning? He pulled into a gas station and hurriedly put in ten dollars’ worth, then headed to her neighborhood.
He turned onto her street, wondering if Jackson was home from kindergarten yet. If so, he would run to Jay yelling, “Daddeeeee!” Or was he still at day care? Usually, Annalee worked until seven or eight in her home office, taking tech support calls for the software company she worked for. She often had to work late, since she had to be available for those on the west coast as well as those in the Eastern time zone. Her long hours were the main reason Jay had tried to get custody during the week. There was no reason for Jackson to spend twelve or thirteen hours a day with a babysitter when his own father could be with him part of that time.
Jay slowed as he reached the neighborhood. The houses sat on five-acre wooded lots, so they were spaced far apart. He remembered the day he and Annalee had closed escrow on their lot. They’d been giddy with excitement and had pitched a tent and spent the night there.
It seemed like an eternity ago, back when they were still in love.
Then came Jackson, and the joys and exhaustion of parenthood. After that they’d entered the house-building phase, and the stress tamped their romance. Annalee wanted more than they could afford, running the cost higher with every decision. Their head-butting became more and more frequent. By the time they’d moved in, their love had grown lukewarm. It was probably around that time that she’d had her first affair.
But there was no sense in thinking about that now. He passed the stretch of woods separating their house from the others. As he rounded the curve, the house came into view.
A white pickup truck was parked at the curb in front of the house. Annalee’s latest boyfriend drove a silver Jaguar, but according to her Facebook posts, they had broken up weeks ago. As far as Jay knew, she wasn’t seeing anyone now. So who was visiting when she knew he was coming over?
As Jay pulled into the driveway, the front door swung open. He shifted into Park as a clown bounced out. Jay did a double-take. A clown?
The man wore a wig with a bald head on top and red curly hair on the sides, and was dressed in a red costume with yellow, white, and green polka-dots. His face was painted in full clown makeup, so it was difficult to tell if he was smiling or if that was just the effect of the red lips curving up on his face. The clown lifted his gloved hand in a wave to Jay as he went to the truck, his big yellow shoes flopping across the lawn.
Jay waved back. Maybe Annalee was hiring a clown for Jackson’s birthday next month. But that wasn’t like her. She rarely spent money on anyone but herself.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Terri Blackstock is an award-winning novelist who has written for several major publishers including HarperCollins, Dell, Harlequin, and Silhouette. Her books have sold over 6 million copies worldwide.
With her success in secular publishing at its peak, Blackstock had what she calls “a spiritual awakening.” A Christian since the age of fourteen, she realized she had not been using her gift as God intended. It was at that point that she recommitted her life to Christ, gave up her secular career, and made the decision to write only books that would point her readers to him.
“I wanted to be able to tell the truth in my stories,” she said, “and not just be politically correct. It doesn’t matter how many readers I have if I can’t tell them what I know about the roots of their problems and the solutions that have literally saved my own life.”
Her books are about flawed Christians in crisis and God’s provisions for their mistakes and wrong choices. She claims to be extremely qualified to write such books, since she’s had years of personal experience.
A native of nowhere, since she was raised in the Air Force, Blackstock makes Mississippi her home. She and her husband are the parents of three adult children — a blended family which she considers one more of God’s provisions.
Terri Blackstock, a New York Times bestselling author, has sold over six million books worldwide. She is the author of numerous suspense novels, including Intervention, Vicious Cycle, and Downfall (the Intervention Series), as well as the Moonlighters Series, the Cape Refuge Series, the SunCoast Chronicles, the Newpointe 911 Series, the Restoration Series, and many others. (www.terriblackstock.com)
Terri Blackstock, Dawn's Light
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