Lori DeJong | Updates

Mistletoe and Malice Blog Tour!

Lori DeJong — Sun, 2 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Mistletoe and Malice is going on tour! From November 3rd through 7th, various bloggers will feature the book in either a review, book spotlight, or author interview. Go to https://justreadtours.com/2025/11/03/welcome-to-the-mistletoe-and-malice-blog-tour-giveaway/ to check out my blog stops and enter to win a $50 Amazon gift card, a signed copy of Mistletoe and Malice, and a signed copy of "A Match Made at Christmas" novella collection featuring my award-winning Jingle Bell Matchmakers! Be sure you enter by 11:59PM EST on Friday or you'll miss out on this great giveaway!

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Mistletoe and Malice #2 on Amazon Hot New Releases!

Lori DeJong — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Mistletoe and Malice made it to the #2 spot on Amazon's Hot New Releases list for Contemporary Christian Fiction! MIND. BLOWN!

Get your copy HERE!

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ScrivTalk Podcast

Lori DeJong — Tue, 4 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I had a blast talking with Liana George at Scrivenings Press on their ScrivTalk podcast! Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxKV4ZK8lPc&t=3087s !!

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It's Release Day!

Lori DeJong — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I'm so excited about the debut of my new Guarded Hearts Series, beginning with Mistletoe and Malice releasing TODAY! Let me introduce you to Riley Hudson and Colton Blankenship.

Riley: I made my name fighting for people with the smallest chance. When Caitlyn’s killing comes back as a case that could free—or doom—the wrong man, I dive in because I can’t live with a lie. Only I didn’t expect the case to find me back. Suddenly, someone’s hacking my life: fake photos, unsigned threats, blood-curdling, voice-altered phone calls. Suddenly, I’m the story I used to try to fix.

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The Romantic Side of Suspense Podcast - Quick Takes

Lori DeJong — Fri, 3 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I had the honor of guesting on Sarah Hamaker's The Romantic Side of Suspense Podcast -- a short Q&A for Quick Takes and a longer interview that will air in 2026. Click Quick Takes link below to hear snippets about newly released or upcoming romantic suspense novels, include Mistletoe and Malice!

https://sarahhamakerfiction.com/podcast/october-2025-quick-takes-in-christian-romantic-suspense-episode-151/

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Interview with Lori DeJong, Award Winning Christian Romance Writer

Lori DeJong — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I had the privilege to be a guest on the Pencil Shavings Podcast with Christina Fennell, where I talk about my writer journey, character-driven plots, and more. Listen at https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468685/episodes/17888780

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Why Romance?

Lori DeJong — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Writing the Hard Things … With Hope at the Heart

I’ve always loved reading romantic fiction, whether it was clean mainstream romance, Christian contemporary romance, historical romance, and even romantic suspense. I love reaching the end of a book with that warm, fuzzy feeling that romantic fiction leaves me.

So, naturally, when I started writing many years ago, contemporary romance was the obvious choice. But while I love a happy ending, I also knew I didn’t want to shy away from the messy, complicated parts of life. Because that’s what I believe I’m called to as a writer of Christian fiction—to tell the hard truths, but never without reminding readers that God is still in the middle of it.

Real life is rarely wrapped in a pretty bow. It’s full of broken families, second chances that don’t come easy, and wounds that take more than a few chapters to heal. But I also believe that within the pages of my stories, I can offer something more than escape. I can offer hope. Redemption. Restoration. A picture of what God can do with even the most shattered parts of our real-life stories.

In my True Calling Series, each book deals with themes that aren't easy—addiction, abandonment, grief, abuse, deep disappointment. Even anger at God. But woven through every page, every struggle, is the quiet and steady presence of hope.

Why I Write the Hard Things

Why do I tackle such weighty subjects in my books that are “supposed to be” romance? Because love, real love, is forged in the fire. It’s not just about butterflies and banter (though I always include a bit of those, too). It’s about seeing one another fully—scars and all—and choosing to stay. It’s about what God does when two people learn to love each other the way He loves us—sacrificially, patiently, with grace.

In Love’s True Calling, Harper carries wounds from her past that most people don’t see. Wyatt questions whether he’s missing something in his ministry to teenagers. If he’s truly doing enough. Their second-chance love story isn’t simple, but it’s honest. It’s hopeful. And it reflects the God who doesn’t leave us where He found us.

In Love’s True Home, Ally just wants to build a stable foundation beneath her but can’t escape the conviction that she hasn’t fully surrendered her dreams to God. Fun-loving, always-sees-the-good-in-everything Zane is hiding a deeply buried pain stemming from a childhood tragedy. Together, they discover the true meaning of “home” is nothing either ever expected.

And Love’s True Measure—perhaps the most emotionally raw of the three—deals with the ache of loss, the kind that changes your whole rhythm of life. Shannon has hidden her deepest shame beneath layers of “doing good” while Hunter, whose carefully curated life and career is put to the test after a family tragedy, is faced with defining what truly measures a life. Success, wealth, status? Or a heart surrendered to God? Writing that story stretched me. It reminded me that sometimes healing isn’t about resolution, it’s about presence. About showing up. About love that doesn't run from grief but walks through it with open hands and a listening heart.

Romance as a Reflection of God’s Love

One of my greatest joys as a writer is crafting stories where love doesn’t rescue the characters from their struggles but stands with them through it. Where healing isn’t instant, and trust takes time. Where God's grace is the truest love story on the page.

That’s the heartbeat of the True Calling Series. Not perfection, but process. Not quick fixes, but lasting transformation. And always, always, a love that points beyond itself.

Hope for the Reader

My prayer in writing these stories is that readers will see themselves—whether they’re walking through addiction recovery, grief, family wounds, or just the quiet ache of not knowing where they belong. I want them to know they’re seen. That no matter how broken things might look, God isn’t finished.

Each book ends with the kind of hope that doesn’t deny the pain but transcends it. Not because everything is suddenly easy, but because grace has entered the picture. And grace changes everything.

So, yes, I write about the hard things. But I do it because I believe in the healing power of story. I believe God uses fiction to remind us that no one is too far gone, no loss is beyond redemption, and no heart is too wounded to love again.

If you’ve read any of the books in my True Calling Series, thank you for walking through those hard places with my characters—and maybe even with me. If you haven’t read them yet, I hope you’ll take a chance on stories that might just look a little like your own. Stories that dig deep but always leave you standing in the light.

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