Today on Writer’s Wednesday we welcome Elizabeth Byler Younts, author of The Solace of Water.
Enter below for a chance to win a copy of The Solace of Water! Congratulations to Megan Lakner who won a copy of Karen Barnett’s Where the Fire Falls! Note: This post contains affiliate links.
My Writing Desk
For the first 10 years of my marriage, my husband was active duty Air Force so I had many different writing spaces over the course of those years in our different homes. Sometimes it was on the couch, dining room table, basement, or the smallest bedroom that didn’t need to be used as a bedroom.
Now that my husband is in the Air Force Reserves, we have settled in Central PA and in February we moved to a new house. Hopefully the last move for a long time! We were so excited about the new house for so many reasons…but I think my office is my favorite place in the house! I have never said that about any of my other writing spaces, nor did I ever think I’d say that. My husband is so supportive and as soon as we did our first visit to this house when we walked into the space that is now my office my husband said: This should be your writing studio.
I did not argue!
I am so grateful! Our house is a Yankee Barn House and is built with reclaimed barn beams. It’s three stories and the 2nd and 3rd are open to the rest of the house, besides the bedrooms. My office is the 3rd story loft. I have a view of the whole property through the window (it was night time when I took the photo) and the other direction I can see through to the other side of the house out to the backyard.
For my 40th birthday, my husband bought me my first new desk. I’d only ever had garage sale desks before now and while I was always grateful that I had a desk at all, it was an absolute blessing to have a new desk for my big 4-0!
So, this is my space. This is where I create and scrutinize every word and where much coffee gets consumed. Sometimes I sit in the comfy chair and doze if I need a break for a few but I recently spent weeks up here only leaving when absolutely necessary leading up to my recent deadline. The room is not walled off, so I can still hear my children if they need me and that also is a wonderful feature of the loft space.
So, while I still have some things stacked against the wall to be handled since our move a few months ago, I am so excited that this is where I get to write my stories for all of you!
The Solace of Water was released on June 5th and I hope you take a moment to check it out!
More about The Solace of Water
‘The Solace of Water is a gripping coming-of-age historical fiction story that will stick with readers for some time after the final word is read. Hauntingly beautiful prose is bountiful in this tightly woven tale . . . The characters demonstrate the impact secrets, guilt and unforgiveness can have on a person in this emotive gem.’ (RT Book Reviews, 4 1/2 stars, TOP PICK)
In a time of grief and heartache, an unlikely friendship provides strength and solace.
After leaving her son’s grave behind in Montgomery, Alabama, Delilah Evans has little faith that moving to her husband’s hometown in Pennsylvania will bring a fresh start. Enveloped by grief and doubt, the last thing Delilah imagines is becoming friends with her reclusive Amish neighbor, Emma Mullet—yet the secrets that keep Emma isolated from her own community bond her to Delilah in delicate and unexpected ways.
Delilah’s eldest daughter, Sparrow, bears the brunt of her mother’s pain, never allowed for a moment to forget she is responsible for her brother’s death. When tensions at home become unbearable for her, she seeks peace at Emma’s house and becomes the daughter Emma has always wanted. Sparrow, however, is hiding secrets of her own—secrets that could devastate them all.
With the white, black, and Amish communities of Sinking Creek at their most divided, there seems to be little hope for reconciliation. But long-buried hurts have their way of surfacing, and Delilah and Emma find themselves facing their own self-deceptions. Together they must learn how to face the future through the healing power of forgiveness.
Eminently relevant to the beauty and struggle in America today, The Solace of Water offers a glimpse into the turbulent 1950s and reminds us that friendship rises above religion, race, and custom—and has the power to transform a broken heart.
Purchase a copy of The Solace of Water
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | CBD | ElizabethBylerYount.com
Elizabeth Byler Younts gained a worldwide audience through her first book Seasons: A Real Story of an Amish Girl and is a RITA nominated writer. She is also the author of The Promise of Sunrise series. She has consulted on Amish lifestyle and the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect two award-winning television shows. Elizabeth lives in Central Pennsylvania with her husband, two daughters, and a cockapoo named Fable.
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