Guest Author, Heidi Gray McGill

This is a fantastic story. Heidi, thank you for joining us today.

 

 

Thank you for inviting me to be with you today! I’m super excited to share about my newest release, Dial E for Endearment, especially since February is Low Vision Awareness Month.

Everly, the main character in Dial E for Endearment and I have something in common, but it may not be what you’d expect.

I’m an author of Christian Historical Fiction and Contemporary Romance, and the retired Director and Founder of an ESL program. I regularly walk 12 plus miles a week in my neighborhood, care for my grandsons as often as possible, scrapbook, read voraciously, cook but do not bake, and am legally blind. That last phrase was difficult for me to say out loud not that long ago.  

Vision loss does not discriminate.

It is generally estimated that Retinitis Pigmentosa affects roughly 1 in 4,000 people. My diagnosis in 2001 of this rare eye disease was devastating. There is no cure, and there is no surgery. But that does not mean there is no hope. Those who do not know me well often don’t realize I have low vision. As humans, we are amazingly adaptable, and I do a pretty good job covering up my disability. My friends have learned to watch out for me and alert me to potential pitfalls, some better than others, which is always good for a laugh.

Being blind is certainly not something I would have chosen, but it does not define me.

When I wrote this story, I purposed in my heart to shed light on blindness in a lighthearted, relatable fashion.

I use a white cane when I am out and about on my own, but I’m usually with another person who helps guide me. One of the most significant challenges in writing this book was ensuring Everly acted and responded in a way that would resonate with other white cane users. Everly’s personality is upbeat, yet she carries the burden of a poor relationship with her mother. Being authentic and realistically portraying life is essential to me, so I had to do some soul searching and people watching to understand human nature better. 

I also share my faith in Jesus Christ through my writing, fleshed out through the story’s characters. Although my book is not evangelistic, it does show how Jesus Christ can be an integral part of life and how leaning on Him can bring tremendous peace and fulfillment.

I’d love for you to join me on this fun adventure and see for yourself that God does not discriminate. You’ll laugh your way through mishaps—most of which may have happened to me at some point. But most of all, you’ll learn that we ALL have value, and that includes YOU.

 

 

Everly knows fulfillment, but not love—not even from her mother. She wants a man who can open her eyes to everything she cannot see and make her feel more than a girl with a white cane.

 

Everly Johnson is every man’s dream of the perfect date, even though none of her audience has met her. As host for the Choose Joy segment of JOY Radio in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, she receives countless gifts of flowers and candy on behalf of her admires, which she promptly donates to her mother’s assisted living facility. Everly wants words--heartfelt, meaningful endearments meant for her ears only. She wants a man who will open her eyes to everything she cannot see to make her feel more than just the voice behind the mic.

Cameron Boyd struggles to make eye contact with anyone, let alone say something coherent unless it is the one-way conversation he has each Friday with Everly Johnson. Date night for Cam involves sitting alone on his back porch overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains while he dreams of things to say if he were ever to call in to her show.

A chance meeting changes everything.

Will Cam be able to step out of his comfort zone and into the world he has only been able to envision in his mind? Will Everly trust this stranger with her life as well as her heart?

Tune into JOY Radio to find out!

 

 

Heidi is an optimist who chooses to find the silver lining in life’s clouds of doubt. This plays out in her writing. Her ability to seamlessly weave scripture into the lives of her characters will uplift and encourage you, while her masterful storytelling will keep you turning page after page and wishing for more. 

Heidi lives with her husband of thirty years near Charlotte, NC. When she isn’t writing, you will find her outside playing with her two grandsons, walking, scrapbooking, reading, cooking, traveling, or finding an excuse to have an outing with a girlfriend… as long as they’re driving.

If you’d like to connect with Heidi, here are a few ways:

Website: http://heidimcgill822089357.wordpress.com/author/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/heidigraymcgill

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/choosingjoynovels/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20851872.Heidi_Gray_McGill

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/heidi-gray-mcgill?follow=true

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorHeidiGrayMcGill

All Author: https://allauthor.com/author/heidigraymcgill/

FREE BOOK with Newsletter sign up: https://heidimcgill822089357.wordpress.com/contact/