Kim Vogel Sawyer's new book explores the complexity of family relationships

Kim Vogel Sawyer writes of an Old Mennonite

family struggling to survive their secrets

Bestselling author Kim Vogel Sawyer believes in the power of second chances — a theme she’s captured with poignant grace in her new book, When Grace Sings (WaterBrook Press/March 17, 2015/ISBN: 978-0307731333/$14.99) which follows the CBA bestseller When Mercy Rains in The Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy. Sawyer says the series is based on one simple truth: “God gives second chances. We as humans make our mistakes, we flounder and err and build walls that seem insurmountable,” Sawyer reveals. “When we confess our wrongdoings and ask God to redeem us, He brings restoration.”

When Grace Sings introduces readers to Alexa Zimmerman, who has relocated to Arborville, KS, where she’s converting her grandmother’s farmhouse in Old Order Mennonite country into a bed-and-breakfast. Inspired by her own experience of running a B&B, Sawyer was able to depict perfectly the charm and challenges she details in the book. “I would never have considered writing a story including a B&B were it not for our experiences at The King’s Inn,” Sawyer admits. “We’ve met so many wonderful folks we wouldn’t have known any other way. They came as strangers and left as friends. And that brings me to the hardest part — the goodbyes. It’s nice, though, that we are still in touch with many of our guests through Facebook.”

Seen by locals as an outsider, Alexa wonders if the close-knit community will ever fully accept her and her new business. Her family roots here aren’t what anyone thought when she first arrived, but she is hopeful her culinary and hospitality skills will win the skeptics over.

However, the arrival of overly confident and dashing Chicago reporter Briley Forrester throws Alexa for a loop. Despite her suspicions of just what his sudden appearance amidst the plain folk means, Alexa agrees to allow Briley to stay as a long-term boarder. She has to — she has a lot riding on her new bed-and-breakfast — even if his flirtatious manner annoys her. Struggling to fit in, Alexa encounters more than she bargained for when her cousin Anna-Grace Braun and fiancé, Steven, visit.  The presence of extended family brings out Alexa’s insecurities, and the two women find themselves on a trail to unraveling long-held family secrets.

Plans for a secure future and the sweetness of young romance hang in the balance when Alexa and Anna-Grace are forced to face that their secrets are connected, binding the two in ways they could not have imagined. Will the revelations they stumble upon shake them and their family to the core, or will they trust God to restore relationships and accept His grace?

This engaging novel will remind all readers that with God as their guide, it’s never too late for a second chance.

About the author

Kim Vogel Sawyer told her kindergarten teacher someday people would check out her books in libraries. That little girl’s dream came true in 2006 with the release of Waiting for Summer’s Return. Since then, Sawyer has watched God expand her dream beyond her childhood imaginings. With more than 30 titles on library shelves and more than a 1.5 million copies of her books in print, she enjoys a full-time writing and speaking ministry. Her books have received the ACFW Carol Award, the Inspirational Readers Choice Award and the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence.

Empty-nesters, Sawyer and her retired military husband, Don, enjoy a quiet existence in small-town Kansas, the setting for many of her novels. When she isn’t writing, Sawyer stays active serving in her church’s women’s and music ministries, traveling with “The Hubs” and spoiling her quiverful of granddarlings.

Keep up with Kim Vogel Sawyer at www.kimvogelsawyer.com, on Facebook (KimVogelSawyer.Author.Speaker) or by following her on Twitter (KimVogelSawyer).