Meet and Greet Monday: Jennifer AlLee

This week's guest is Jennifer AlLee. To win a copy of her new release, The Pastor's Wife, leave a comment with a way to contact you. Or you may email your comment to me with Book Giveaway: The Pastor's Wife in the subject line. Participation is limited to those with a mailing address within the United States and Canada.


As a child, Jennifer AlLee lived above a mortuary in the heart of Hollywood, California, which may explain her unique outlook on life. Her publishing credits include The Love of His Brother, a contemporary romance from Five Star Publishing (November 2007) as well as skits, activity pages, and over one hundred contributions to Concordia Publishing House’s popular My Devotions series. Her latest novel, The Pastor’s Wife, releases February 1, 2010 from Abingdon Press. She’s an active member of American Christian Fiction Writers and serves as the Nevada Area Coordinator. Jennifer resides in the grace-filled city of Las Vegas, Nevada with her husband and teenage son.

Did you ever know someone in school who got a little too excited about writing assignments? Someone who would write a novella when the goal was a simple short story? If you didn't, you do now, because I was that girl.

I wrote my first novel in high school. It was a melodramatic mess of purple prose, but it had a beginning, middle and end. There was character development. And there was a heroine who was everything I wished I was (skinny and popular). I completed my next manuscript in my second year of college. This one was better. I'd been studying my craft and reading lots of books. The First of May was about a gal who found love when she ran away and joined a circus. I submitted it to Harlequin and received a full page, personalized rejection letter telling me what worked, what didn't, and encouraging me to take some writing classes. That was 1984.

Fast forward to the release of my first published book... in 2007, twenty-three years after my Harlequin rejection. So what took so long? I didn't stop writing. I just stopped submitting novels. During that time I did sell a few short stories, skits, Sunday school ciriculum pages, and a ton of devotions. I also worked at a variety of different jobs, including serving as a secretary at two different churches. Little did I know how that would prepare me for writing book number two, The Pastor's Wife.

When I was working on the original concept for this novel, I thought about the pastors’ wives I’ve known over the years. All of them handled themselves with amazing grace under pressure. But what if another woman couldn’t? What if a young woman thinks she knows what she’s getting into, but the reality of losing who she is and becoming a “pastor’s wife” is more than she can handle? What if some other tragedy pushes her over the edge? Would she run? And what would happen if she had to return to the scene of her heartbreak years later? All those questions eventually became The Pastor’s Wife.

First and foremost, I hope you enjoy the journey of The Pastor's Wife. But I also hope it speaks to you on a slightly deeper level. At its core, it's a story about the power of love and forgiveness. Those are subjects we can all relate to, regardless of our careers or titles.

Maura Sullivan never intended to set foot in Granger, Ohio, again. But when circumstances force her to return, she must face all the disappointments she tried so hard to leave behind: a husband who ignored her, a congregation she couldn’t please, and a God who took away everything she loved.


Nick Shepherd had put the past behind him. At least he thought he had, until the day his estranged wife walked back into town. Intending only to help Maura through her crisis of faith, Nick finds his feelings for her never died. Now, he must face the mistakes he made and find a way to give and receive forgiveness.

As God works in both their lives, Nick and Maura believe they can repair their broken relationship and reunite as man and wife. But Maura has something to tell Nick before they can move forward. It’s what ultimately drove her to leave six years earlier, and the one thing that can destroy the fragile trust they’ve begun to rebuild.

Read the first three chapters of The Pastor's Wife here.
View the Book Trailer in the sidebar of this blog or see it full size by clicking here.

Purchase Information:

Purchase on Amazon.com
Purchase on ChristianBooks.com


Find Jennifer Online:

Website: http://www.jenniferallee.com/
Personal blog: http://jenniferallee.blogspot.com/
Inkwell Inspirations: http://inkwellinspirations.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jennifer.allee
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jallee