When Cardinals Appear
The Love Birds Book 1
by Katie Eagan Schenck
Genre: Women's Romance Fiction
She has a promise to keep. But when her plans are thrown into a tailspin, will a persistent red bird show her how to let her dreams take flight?
From the Author.
When Cardinals Appear came into being a few months after my maternal grandmother died. I had heard the saying “a cardinal appears when angels are near” throughout my life, but never so often as I did after we lost my grandmother. I have a lot of Southern Baptist relatives, and whenever one of my mom’s siblings would post on Facebook about seeing a cardinal, inevitably someone would leave a comment that it was my grandmother checking in.
The idea fascinated me. I knew I was going to write another romance novel, and I found the cardinal belief inspirational. I started thinking, what if a person who had passed on was desperately trying to get a message to a loved one they’d left behind? What if these two people had a complicated relationship? Maybe one of them had a secret of something they had done to the other in the past that they regretted. How would the person left behind cope when they learned the truth? What would happen if they ignored the message their loved one was trying to convey?
All of these questions led me to write When Cardinals Appear. What started as a simple sweet romance eventually morphed into a coming of age women’s fiction with a second chance romance subplot. I originally wrote the novel from both Lanie and Nate’s points of view, but came to realize that just wasn’t working. It was always more Lanie’s story, and eventually I decided it was high time I allowed her to tell it.
She has a promise to keep. But when her plans are thrown into a tailspin, will a persistent red bird show her how to let her dreams take flight?
Lanie McAllister is ready to move on.
Wrestling with her mom’s death, the young woman just wants to settle the estate
and soar off for good to her boyfriend in California—far away from painful
memories. But she suspects the lucky cardinal she keeps seeing is trying to
send a message when a flat tire puts her back in the path of the man who broke
her heart.
With fate constantly throwing the man her
mother always hated in her way, Lanie can’t seem to shake the wounds of the
past. And when her current love makes a serious misstep and she discovers her
ex harbors a secret, she starts to rethink what will make her truly happy.
Questioning her vow to her mother to never
look back, is the cardinal a clue Lanie’s true happiness is hiding in plain
sight?
When Cardinals
Appear is the emotional
first book in The Love Birds women’s romantic fiction series. If you like
heroines who grow, overcoming loss, and second chances, then you’ll adore Katie
Eagan Schenck’s bittersweet tale.
Buy When
Cardinals Appear to read the signs today!
Excerpt
Ping. I glanced down, and my
stomach dropped.
Hey, Nate here. I need to
drop off my contribution as well. Happy to pick you up on the way, Lanie.
I set my phone down and
grabbed the mug, gulping down the scalding liquid and instantly regretting it.
My throat burned, and for a moment, I thought I might be sick. But I yanked a
chair out and slid into it, laying my head on my hands. The nausea passed, and
I took another tentative sip of coffee. Still too hot, but the warmth and
caffeine helped to wake up my brain.
What should I do? On the
one hand, I needed a ride, and Nate’s offer was more than gracious, though I
suspected he felt obligated since my car was still in his shop.
On the other hand, my
attempts to avoid Nate had so far been unsuccessful, and agreeing to a ride
would be the equivalent of admitting defeat. How many more awkward
conversations could one person be expected to survive?
I weighed my options. Rose
and Steven were both off that day. However, they were planning to visit a
caterer for a tasting. While they could likely drop me off on their way, I
would be stuck at the school until they were finished, giving the universe ample
opportunity to throw Nate in my face again. Perhaps it would be better to
accept my fate and meet him willingly. Then I would avoid any surprises like
the other day at lunch.
Torn over what to do, I
picked up my coffee and stepped to the window. My eyes swept over the backyard,
taking in the shortening shadows as the sun rose in the sky. A familiar flash
of red caught my attention, and I leaned toward the glass. The little cardinal
was back, perched on the railing and staring right at me.
“Am I crazy to see him
again?” I asked. The bird flitted closer and settled on a branch right outside
the window. I’d never seen a cardinal so close before. The distinctive black
dots resembling freckles were clear near its beak, confirming it was the same
cardinal I’d seen before.
“It feels like a bad idea,”
I continued as the little bird flitted closer to the window.
“Maybe I should say no and
take my chances with Steven and Rose.” The bird cocked its head and chirped.
Was it my imagination, or was there a hint of disapproval in the bird’s
song? Shaking my head, I tried to snap out of it, but something about
the tilt of the bird’s head and the way it fluffed its wings was eerily
reminiscent of a look Mom used to give me.
Before I could process the
resemblance, the bird flew away, and I was left disquieted. I ran a hand over
my face. Great, I was talking to birds. Was I going crazy? I returned to the
table and drained the last of my coffee. The weird resemblance between the
cardinal and Mom meant nothing. My confusion over Nate was causing me to wish
my mom was there. That was all. With that justification, I rinsed out the mug
in the sink.
As I picked up my phone,
Nate’s message stared at me, waiting, mocking. With a sigh, I typed a message
back, hoping I wouldn’t live to regret it.
Sounds good. Thanks, Nate.
Amazon * Apple * B&N * Google * Kobo * Bookbub * Goodreads
Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/When-Cardinals-Appear-Romantic-Fiction-ebook/dp/B0C8QKKZZF
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/when-cardinals-appear/id6450486848
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/when-cardinals-appear-katie-eagan-schenck/1143681609
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/when-cardinals-appear
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76791501-when-cardinals-appear
About the Author
Katie Eagan Schenck writes sweet romance and women’s fiction that warms the heart and gives all the feels. She has an MFA in creative writing from Queens University of Charlotte and her debut novel, A Home for Christmas, was released in October of 2022. When she's not writing she's either drafting regulations for the federal government, baking delicious treats, or binging Hallmark movies. She lives in Maryland with her husband, daughter, and their three cats.
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads
Author
Links
Website: https://www.keschenckwrites.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keschenck
Twitter: https://twitter.com/faery_whisper
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keschenckauthor
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/katie-eagan-schenck
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Katie-Eagan-Schenck/e/B0BH3N3H87/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22950250.Katie_Eagan_Schenck
Giveaway
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The blurb sounds really intriguing. Thanks for sharing.
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