Does Violence have a Place in our World? #newrelease #inkspellbook

Violence. Even the word is ugly. We hear enough about it during the evening news each day but is there a place for it in our world? We talk about fighting back and standing up for ourselves. Is it okay to use violence if we are being noble? We believe that children should be protected and cherished, but what about when they aren't? Can we use violence on the perpetrators? And what about the people who are violent? Should we put them away?

The hero in Jennifer Raines' latest novel- Planting Hope- struggles with these questions. Kit Silverton is a man who knows all about violence. He's seen too much of it and is trying to turn his life around and the lives of the children in his research project. He believes that gardening can tame the wild beast inside him.

Planting Hope is an emotional romance which asks compelling questions and is filled with interesting secondary characters. Ms. Raines draws the reader into the story and forces them to think about their own lives and loves. 

Now available in ebook and print, Planting Hope is a wonderful book and is a perfect read for the summer!! Be sure to get a copy today!!

Blurb:
Can digging and weeding, planting, and pruning equal love?

Nursing is Holly Cooper’s vocation, and her sanctuary, until she witnesses a murderous attack during emergency surgery. Her childhood fear of never belonging resurfaces. Untethered, she’s following music festivals down Australia’s eastern seaboard, sometimes working as a nurse, sometimes as a volunteer.

Reclusive gardener Christopher (Kit) Silverton needs a nurse for his half-finished research project: the therapeutic power of gardening. In plain English, can digging and weeding, planting, pruning, hacking, or any one of those activities help kids to heal after domestic violence? A survivor himself, he knows what it’s like to live with pain, guilt, and relationships that end in tears.

When Kit’s partner, and on-site nurse, is injured, she suggests her granddaughter, Holly Cooper, as a replacement. Holly has the qualifications, but Kit will need convincing that a pink and green haired free spirit has anything to offer the project.

As the garden develops, passion blooms between Holly and Kit. When security on the site is breached, Kit confronts his worst nightmare. Defending the kids and Holly proves his critics right—violence lives within him. Can Holly overcome her own doubts to prove he’s wrong?

Jennifer Raines’s books evoke the romance of Nora Roberts’ books but set in the sweeping Australian countryside. PLANTING HOPE proves that love can overcome demons and let our true self shine through. Don’t miss this story that blooms like a garden of hope.

EXCERPT:
She sat down and snagged a biscuit. “Tell me about the kids.”
​
“Didn’t Mona?”

“I know they’re all children where one parent, usually the father, attacked or killed the mother.” She sounded as unmoved as a court official reading out a charge sheet.

Did she have the faintest idea what violent death involved? Before Kit had escaped his bad-boy reputation, he’d seen a knife slicing into the soft flesh of a gang member. Seen it sliding along a bone, easy as filleting a fish. Watched blood spurting like a geezer and listened to screams die to a whimper. An obscene death. Bile scorched the back of his throat at her bohemian complacency.

“They are,” he said. “Sometimes they were present, other times not.” Kit remembered afternoons when he’d dragged his feet on the way home from school, afraid of what he’d find, and other days where he’d sped home, driven by an urgency he couldn’t explain to do something—anything. Some kids never got the chance to be free spirits. “Billy and Sophie were in the house. They had a secret place, in case their father broke the restraining order. In case help didn’t arrive in time. Their mother told them to hide when her ex-husband arrived.”

She nodded. “Billy gets his bravery from her. Strong protective instincts.”

Kit hadn’t anticipated perception from the vagabond.
 

---

Buy Links:
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4S52WKM
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/planting-hope-1
BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/planting-hope-jennifer-raines/1143466188
APPLE: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6448963861

Check out Jennifer Raines' other Contemporary Romances

About the Author:
Australian Jennifer Raines writes contemporary romances set mainly, but not exclusively, in Australia – think Malta, Finland, New Zealand or ? A dreamer and an optimist, her stories are a delicious cocktail of mutual respect, passion and loyalty because she still believes in happily-ever-afters.
​
Jennifer fell in love with romance as a teenager. Starting with historical romance. Everything in the school library and then a personal treasured collection of Georgette Heyer, hard copies, paperbacks and e-books. Comfort food, she calls them, like vegemite toast, for those times when she feels low. Her library of comfort food has grown over the years, but Georgette Heyer was an early star, under the blankets after lights out using a torch.

Jennifer is a member of Romance Writers of Australia. Three times a finalist in the Emerald competition, including in 2017, 2018 (Taylor’s Law) and 2022 (Quinn by Design). She’s a member of Romance Writers of New Zealand, winning the Pacific Hearts competition twice, including in 2019 with Grace Under Fire, the sequel to Taylor’s Law. She’s also a member of Romance Writers of America and has been a finalist in chapter competitions in 2019, 2020 and 2021 (Taylor’s Law). Jennifer won the contemporary romance section in the 2020 Orange Rose Contest for Planting Hope and was second overall. Jennifer values competitions for the constructive, honest, not always comfortable feedback they provide.

Jennifer loves those days when words flow and the joy of writing makes the hard slog worthwhile. She’s always made up stories about strangers in the street, in a café or strolling through an airport terminal; finding inspiration in snippets of conversations, news items and the sheer puzzle of human interactions.

Jennifer lives in inner-city Sydney, Australia, with the requisite number of partners (1) and animals (2). Her desk overlooks a park which nourishes her soul when she raises her head from her keyboard. She gets some of her best ideas during long yin yoga poses or walking – anywhere. While Jennifer adores historical romance, she chose to write contemporary because she thought (wrongly) it needed less research while she was holding down a full-time job.

You can find out more about Jennifer and her writing at https://jenniferrainesauthor.com or via https://www.facebook.com/jenniferrainesauthor
Or https://www.instagram.com/romanceauthorjen/
 

---