I've Got Lake Hair and I Just Don't Care by Marianne Evans

Marianne Evans

My happy place as a spirit, as a person, as a writer…this…this is my happy place. Lake Avalon, in the tiny, picturesque hamlet of Hillman, Michigan. Avalon, to me, represents a half-century of my life. From the time I was born, it’s been a touchstone to all that I’ve become.

 Many is the time I laid on the dock at my grandma and grandpa’s “cabin,” gazing up at an unpolluted sky glittering with stars, constellations, galaxies, and dreamed of romantic stories full of hope, and joy, and time, and place. I’d putter around the kidney-shaped perimeter with my grandpa in an aluminum fishing boat, watching people, imagining their stories…

This sandy-bottom, spring-fed lake is a precious part of my life. When I’m not here, I literally dream of its radiant shades of blue, it’s cool, clear water. I can always find beauty here. I can always find simplicity here. I can always find who I am, and who I want most to become here. The scent of pines, water, foliage, calls to me.

During a recent visit, in less than a few hours at its shores, I watched grandparents play on floaties with their grandkids. I watched brothers and sisters, friends and family, gather to splash and horse around in the shallows. I found myself thinking: This is life as it should be. So much of the world’s ills could be solved right here, in these moments. For these are more than simple summertime memories, these are precious slices of time that define a sense of self and connection.

 

So, thank you, Avalon, for all the ways you enrich my soul and inspire my God-given call and gift to create, to write, and to honor Him with all of my days.

Where do you go to find rejuvenation? What time or place calls you home—to your best self? I’d love to hear about it! Want to know more about Lake Avalon? I’ve written a book wherein it stars. 

How could I not?

Until next month friends—blessings!

~~~~~

Then & Now

Aiden Balfour has always craved stability, independence and security. He’s led a rocky life but always treasured his summers in Northern Michigan with his best summertime friend, Olivia Masters.

Olivia is dedicated to preserving the life she’s known and always treasured at her grandparent’s home high on a bluff overlooking the pristine waters of Avalon. With their blessing, she’s turned the expansive piece of property into a quaint, restful bed and breakfast.

But developers are circling—and they’re led by none other than Aiden Balfour.

Now an ambitious businessman, he’s determined to turn the lake into a tourist mecca. A successful business owner, Olivia is equally determined to stop him...no matter what his hold on her heart.

Can the innocent joy and love of their youth be reclaimed? Can Then…and now…ever be reconciled to a future overflowing with love, and hope?

~~~~~

Marianne Evans is an award-winning author of Christian romance and fiction. Her hope is to spread the faith-affirming message of God’s love through the stories He prompts her to create. Readers laude her work as “Riveting,” “Realistic and true to heart,” “Compelling.”

Her Christian fiction debut, Devotion, earned the Bookseller’s Best Award as well as the Heart of Excellence Award. Her follow-up novel, Forgiveness, earned Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year honors as did her book Hearts Communion. She is also a two-time recipient of the Selah Award for her books Then & Now and Finding Home. 

Marianne is a lifelong resident of Michigan and an active member of Romance Writers of America, most notably the Greater Detroit Chapter where she served two terms as President. You can connect with Marianne at www.marianneevans.com.