Today’s Friday Features guest is no stranger to the Teegarner Blog, we’re pleased to help her share in the celebration of her new book release Where My Heart Belongs, in the Encounters of the Heart series, so let’s welcome author,
A N N M A R I E B R Y A N
Ann Marie Bryan is a dedicated, graceful, multi-talented leader with a passion for excellence. She is the CEO & Founder of Victorious By Design, an organization committed to providing top quality professional writing services, comprehensive personal and professional development programs and exceptional performing arts services to meet the unique needs of individuals and organizations.
A Christian Fiction author, Ann Marie writes to educate, inspire and empower others. She desires to tell great stories with fascinating characters to show the awesome power of God in the lives of people and places. Shades of the Heart is the first book in her bestselling, Encounters of the Heart series. Book 2 – Mirrored Hearts: Sealed By Fire was released February 2016. Book 3 – A Place For My Heart, the highly anticipated third installment in the series, was released in March 2017. Book 4 – Where My Heart Belongs was released in April 2018.
Ann Marie’s greatest passion is to empower others to succeed by tapping into their God-given potential. She enjoys writing, reading, dancing, teaching, meeting people and traveling. With all the knowledge and experiences that God has so graciously blessed her with, Ann Marie is determined to make her life a ministry for the Lord.
Let’s see what Where My Heart Belongs is all about.
Love guided them to precisely what they needed—each other.
From the moment Tyler Bradshaw first lays eyes on Madison Kanate, it’s a dream come true. She is everything he wants, yet everything he feels he cannot have. He is determined to keep his distance, but he can’t, not with the love she offers him. They become the best of friends. That works flawlessly, until she wants more….
That was seven years ago.
Madison has come a long way since falling apart at any reminder of Tyler. He had left her questioning God’s plan for her life, and uncertain of how to move forward. Eventually, she takes charge of her life, putting memories of Tyler to rest with a successful interior design business, along with many charitable projects. Anything else, especially love, ranks a distant second.
Tyler and Madison reunite through the shenanigan of Mason, Madison’s twin brother. Tyler wishes he could change the past… but life does not offer do-overs. Even so, he believes God has provided a golden opportunity for him—his last chance to win Madison’s heart. As he begins to open up about his childhood and trailing baggage, Madison realizes that his faith has been built in the face of adversity.
But Tyler’s childhood holds a secret even he doesn’t know. In the face of a staggering revelation that challenges the fabric of his faith, Tyler drops a bombshell of his own. When Madison tries to walk away, she recognizes that deep down she wants happily-ever-after. With her faith rekindled, she decides to trust God, believing she will not be left to pick up the pieces of her heart all over again. But will Tyler allow himself to heal so he can let Madison in? Will they move beyond the past and build a life together?
Standalone books in the Encounters of the Heart series:
Book 1 – Shades of the Heart (The story of Blake & Gabrielle Montgomery)
Book 2 – Mirrored Hearts: Sealed by Fire (The story of Larry & Rozene Kanate)
Book 3 – A Place For My Heart (The story of Chandler Peynard and Sabrina Benjamin)
Book 4 – Where My Heart Belongs (The story of Tyler Bradshaw and Madison Kanate)
Other books by Ann Marie:
Unforgettable, My Love Has Come Along
Truth Awaits You on the Other Side: An Anthology about the Consequences of Sin
Mirrored Hearts (A Short Story)
An excerpt from Where My Heart Belongs
His heart rate kicked up and he raked a hand over his head as uneasy dread shot through his veins. Still, wisdom demanded he move speedily to help, even if the situation would force him to come face-to-face with someone he was unprepared to see.
“God, help her,” he prayed aloud, before jumping into action.
He moved swiftly to grab his Jeep keys from the coffee table then rushed through the door. He did not relish the journey that now lay before him. Nor did he wish to confront the one thing that would never let him rest—the one painful remorse that continually aggravated his gut. The one thing in his life he needed to fix—his relationship with the woman he had nicknamed Em.
Madison Emma Kanate. She was his first love….
Once his soul found her, he loved her.
One look and he was helpless to her pull. She had caught his attention and lingered in his heart ever since. He had endured two years of being near Madison—drowning in her love. She always stirred him. Around her, he constantly felt the flutter of butterfly wings in his stomach. She made him feel things he longed for… things he couldn’t have.
Despite all the love she offered him, he could not bring himself to reach for her. Fear held him bound, propelling him to escape the source of his misery.
At the first opportunity, he had left it all behind.
He ran.
He had run away like a frightened animal.
And he had kept moving. He hadn’t looked back.
But, he couldn’t outrun the memories or the guilt that haunted him.
.
