Nicole M. Miller

  The idea for the novel came first as an image of a man, Michael Archer, standing on ridge looking down on a small town. As I asked myself why he was there, the story unfolded: He was there to attempt reconciliation, a prodigal by proxy, of a son, Ben Carstairs, hung for a crime he didn’t commit and his estranged father, Sam. The characters grew out of the story. I don’t know how else to describe it. Michael meets the stunning Rachel Stone while waiting for Sam to return from a business trip. Beautiful yet guarded, Rachel is running from a past as dark as Michael’s, and the last...

  Lady in the Mist released from Baker Publishing February 1, 2011 and has already been picked up by Crossings Book Club and by Thorndike Press for large print. The whole thing started thirteen years ago. I was in graduate school studying history with the duel purpose of wanting to write more serious historical fiction, so wanting more knowledge, and possibly teaching history. I do both now, but not as I expected. But that’s a different story. My first semester, I took two classes—Research Methods and The History of Medicine. In the former, I had to write a long research paper. In the other, I had to create a project,...

In late 2000 my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. I began to live the great sadness of seeing my father slip into the chains of Alzheimer’s, and watched his memories fade away. I wondered where they were going. Was God catching them as they escaped his mind? Would they one day be restored to him? When I read Psalm 139:16 I realized God had already written down every moment of my Dad’s life in His book. After that I started to wonder—what if that book was on earth? And what if we could find it and see our past, and our future? And what if my protagonist had to find...

Guest Blog by Robert Elmer – See my review of his book, Wildflowers at Terezin! My Danish heritage has flavored my interest in writing historical fiction, and I’ve always been interested in history. Perhaps it’s that way with children of immigrants. There’s a strong tie back to the old country, and when my parents and my grandmother told stories about their life in Denmark, I knew there were things there I had to pass along somehow. What was it like during the occupation years? What was it like to be a student back then, a kid? Were there lessons for us that we need to remember today? I wanted so...

  Today’s “Story Behind the Story” comes from Tiffany Amber Stockton! Hi! My name is Tiffany, and Nicole has invited me here to guest blog about the inspiration behind my first novel. It’s a story I love to share, and today I get to share it with you. Although I’ve been writing since I was in the 5th grade, I didn’t seriously begin pursuing professional publication until 2002 when I joined ACFW-American Christian Fiction Writers (then ACRW, American Christian Romance Writers). A good friend and favorite author, Tracie Peterson, suggested I join, so after 2 years of her nudging, I did. But let’s back up a little bit. Not long...