THYME BOOKSTORE â—½ TIPS
THE GARDEN KEY was born out of a question God posed to me one sunny afternoon as I was picking up after my two Golden Retrievers in the backyard of our Southern California home.
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“Would you like to write a novel?”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know how to write fiction.”
“I will show you.”
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I had just started a freelance writing business for business clients after leaving a government job that was sucking the life out of my soul. And I had a degree in journalism, the direct opposite of fiction writing.
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By the time I had finished combing the quarter-acre lot for dog poop, God had given me the title of the book, the subject matter, the Scripture it would flow out of, and the names and basic make-up of the main characters.
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​THE GARDEN KEY, a young adult/new adult/women’s fiction genre novel is the first book in The Garden Key Tales series. The other titles in the series include MIND OVER MADELEINE (Book 2), FISH OUT OF WATER (Book 3), and THE MID-CENTURY BREAKFAST CLUB (Book 4), which is scheduled to be released Summer 2025.
THE GARDEN KEY is a tale of lust, redemption, and really good cheeseburgers. The story is rooted in the Song of Solomon 4:12, “You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.”
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Goth-girl Madeleine, a senior at Biola University, has a year-long crush on a mysterious musician who shops at the music store where she works and who she covertly gazes at on Sunday mornings at her church. She finally must speak to Peter when she quite literally bumps into him in line at the local Juice Stop. The novel follows the couple as they cultivate their relationship and passionately pursue purity through some harsh and hilarious situations.
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The story opens with Madeleine Marie Winger sitting in church one August Sunday morning in Chino Hills, California, battling with her biggest vice.
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“I’m not looking over there again. I’m not. I wish I had not seen him walk in. Now I’m all distracted. I’m supposed to be in a state of worship, but instead, I’m fighting with lust. I feel like standing up and confessing, “Hi, my name is Madeleine, and I’m a lust-o-holic.” Oh Lord, please help me to stop lusting over this guy. In Your name, I pray, Amen.”
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Through the story of the main characters, the novel reveals practical guidance on maintaining purity and the repercussions that stem from disobedience in this area of life. It drives home the point that God does have a definite plan for young people and that His plan for purity has a purpose.
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I hope and pray you enjoy this book God has given me, that it makes you laugh and cry, and blesses you as well!