Q. Karen, you wrote a story about a happily married couple? In most love stories the happily ever after is merely a parting nod. A. I wanted to provide the missing slice of life that readers crave. Such a story is rare. I see a great need for one. Q. Who is Michael’s gentle wife? A. Her name is Carol, and Michael Weaver adores her. With wisdom and sweet humor, the Weaver’s marriage inspires an ideal. The ideal is not as unrealistic as some want us to think. I write what I’ve experienced to be possible, true, and even joyful. Q. Romantic love within marriage will be a different sort of read for many, don’t you think? A. Yes. Married 12 years, Michael and Carol have developed an abiding friendship that is a deeper love than that of a courting couple. Q. Do you respect this couple’s privacy? A. I do. Hints and small shows of affection make it clear that this couple enjoys a comfortable, intimate relationship. Q. What’s their secret? A. The Weavers are Christians with a faith in Christ that cannot be hidden. It influences every aspect of their ordinary lives. It mingles with their hopes and dreams, brings joy to family life, guides them in difficulties, comforts them in sorrows, and, gives them a roll-up-your-sleeves compassion for others (Galatians 6:2). Q. What’s the plot? A. To keep Michael’s Gentle Wife more of a treat I’ll give you only a peek. It’s 1937 in rural New England. The Weavers are busy bringing up their children: Donald (10), Emily (8), and Baby Eliot (born in January). It's been a long, cold New England winter, with tired Carol plodding along, caring for her hungry newborn. Michael is concerned about his wife's slow recovery. The story begins on the first day of spring. Snow is melting, and the woods ring with the first Robin songs. Q. Did you lavish this story with domesticity? A. Yes. Domesticity is what I know best. Among the book’s string of episodes and surprises, Carol’s homemaking and mother culture permeate every page. Q. Would you say this JUMBO standalone novel, in 4 parts, is likely to be breezed through in a weekend? A. Probably not. I avoided the hurry-the-reader-along strategy. The aim of my pen was to edify as well as entertain (1 Thessalonians 5:11). This creates the pace of a bubbling brook that allows the reader to hear herself think. May they be lovely thoughts that linger. Q. Do you have a writer’s motto: A. For this story, a line by the minister JC Ryle guided me. “Resolve that, by the grace of God, you will make Christianity beautiful in the eyes of the world.” Psalm 29:2