Guest Post (and a Giveaway!): Penny Zeller & Love Under Construction

Please join me in welcoming author Penny Zeller to the blog today to chat about the real-life inspirations behind her new contemporary romance, Love Under Construction!

LOVE UNDER CONSTRUCTION by Penny Zeller
GENRE: Inspirational Contemporary Romance
PUBLISHER: Maplebrook Publishing
RELEASE DATE: November 30, 2021
PAGES: 257

She builds websites. He builds houses. Together, can they build a family for two orphans?

Irelynn agreed two years ago to help raise her best friend’s twins should anything happen. When she is called upon to fulfill that agreement, there is only one problem—Irelynn must share the responsibility with the arrogant but handsome Quinton Gregory.

Quinton takes the role of raising his niece and nephew with all seriousness. He will do anything for the twins, even if it means putting up with the beautiful but stubborn Irelynn Brady.

When forced to be in each other’s presence far more often than is comfortable, things slowly begin to change. Will the unexpected attraction between Irelynn and Quinton become a love under construction?

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by Penny Zeller, author of Love Under Construction

Thank you so much, Carrie, for having me as your guest on Reading is my Superpower. I am honored to be here.

Whenever I read a book (and I love to read every chance I get!) I always want to know how the author came up with the idea for the book or his/her inspiration for characters, plot lines, or events, so I thought I’d share three examples of inspirations for Love Under Construction, beginning with two humorous ones and one more serious example.

I honestly don’t remember where the initial idea for Love Under Construction came from; however, I do have tidbits in the story that were based on real events. For instance, when Max flings the chicken nugget across the restaurant. That was actually inspired by a true story that took place in a nice restaurant years ago. My husband and I were eating with our oldest daughter, who at the time was two-or three-years-old. Even back then, she was destined to be athletic, as she took her crayon and flung it across the room. It landed in another customer’s coffee. I can still see my daughter’s face with her bright eyes, wide smile, and contagious giggle. As for my husband and I? We truly wanted to escape the restaurant as quickly as possible!

Another “based on true events” tidbit from the book was when Quinton gets stuck in the slide. This, too, was based on a true story. My husband, a muscular former football player, decided he would like to try out the slide at the playground near our home when our daughters were toddlers. He would have been fine maneuvering the slide, were it not for his broad shoulders. Suffice it to say, Quinton had a bit more of an adventure than my husband did.

The third, and more serious, example of a real-life inspiration for the story would be my mom. One of the most exhilarating things as an author is developing characters. In our imaginary worlds, we create characters with personalities, hopes, dreams, and motivations. For Love Under Construction, I needed a couple of godly secondary characters. Characters who are full of faith and provide mentorship to the main characters.

One such secondary character was Cynthia Brady, Irelynn’s mom.

My mom was the perfect inspiration for this character.

Just like Cynthia Brady, my own mom (ironically, or maybe not so ironically, named Cindee) fit the bill. She is a strong woman, not only in the sense of personality, but, even more importantly, a strong woman of faith. Life has not been easy for her in the past decade, with diagnoses of scleroderma, fibromyalgia, and severe chronic pain. From the time I was a young girl, she tenderly guided me through the challenges of life with a listening ear, a hug, and wise words of advice. Most importantly, through the years, she has discipled me in my walk with the Lord.

Cynthia Brady does the same for Irelynn. At this moment in her life, Irelynn faces some huge obstacles. The main theme of Love Under Construction is relying on God during all times—the good and the bad. So while there are some differences between Cynthia and my mom, my mom definitely inspired the character for Cynthia Brady.

Thank you again for allowing me to be your guest to share a bit about my inspirations for Love Under Construction.

Penny Zeller is known for her heartfelt stories of faith and her passion to impact lives for Christ through fiction. While she has had a love for writing since childhood, she began her adult writing career penning articles for national and regional publications on a wide variety of topics. Today Penny is a multi-published author of several inspirational books. She is also a homeschool mom and a fitness instructor.

When Penny is not dreaming up new characters, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters, camping, hiking, canoeing, reading, running, cycling, gardening, and playing volleyball.

She is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency and loves to hear from her readers at her www.pennyzeller.com and her blog, random thoughts from a day in the life of a wife, mom, and author, at www.pennyzeller.wordpress.com.

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Penny Zeller is offering a print copy (or PDF if outside US) of Love Under Construction to one of my readers! (US only for print. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What makes you want to read Love Under Construction by Penny Zeller?