About the Book Deep End of the Lake

Book: Deep End of the Lake

Author: Carol Grace Stratton

Genre: Women’s Contemporary Inspirational Fiction

Release date: March 2021

Life looks great for Ally Cervantes. She has a gig with the paper in Lake Surrender, two adorable kids, and is marrying camp director Will Grainger in a few months. What could go wrong? Her optimistic side assures her she can juggle it all, especially her new custom cake business.

But typically, Ally bites off more than she can chew.

Her dream job as a reporter is turning into the treadmill she left when downsized from a prestigious publishing company in Northern California. Now she covers everything from a contentious school board meeting to the new dog food store in town. Oh to have a day off. But she is bound to prove her worth as a writer even as Janice, the know-it-all office manager, scrutinizes her every move.

Her home front isn’t much better. Benjie, a 7-year-old on the spectrum has a penchant for squirrels, tantrums and running off at school. But Will has a way with him and can already see changes in Benjie as he bonds with the boy.

Kylie, her precocious thirteen-year-old is another story She’s trying to wedge herself in between Will and her mother, it’s obvious she doesn’t want her mother to remarry. And worse still, she’s discovered boys – the kind that drives cars.

When Will hints at Kylie’s resistance to the upcoming marriage, Ally blows him off.

Will, being a camp director, hears things about Kylie but Ally is in no mood to listen. When he confronts her about Kylie’s doings around town, Ally takes offence. Blending this family together is like mixing half-dried cement. The tension builds between them as he seeks out God’s will for his life.

Has he taken on too much?

A side of him reminisces about his ex-fiancé. Sarah, a quiet, calm woman doesn’t have a tangled mess for life.

It’s only through a near tragedy and coming close to losing Will, that Ally, a new believer, realizes what it means to trust God for her future. Her aunt reminds her “When you’re swimming in the deep end of the lake you’d better know how to swim.”

Click here to get your copy!

My Thoughts on Deep End of the Lake

Did you go to a camp when you were a kid or a teen?  I did.  It was a church camp and I loved it.  Within this book, there is a camp and it is part of the focus.  It’s the setting for our story if you will. 

Ally is trying to make this new life of hers work.  She’s a new Christian.  She’s a single mom to two kids.  One is a teenager and that has its own set of problems and hard things to work through.  The other child is on the spectrum and has some peculiarities of his own.  Add in a fiance and some problems she’s not willing to face and life gets pretty interesting. 

Will is the fiance to Ally.  He’s bonding with her some Benjie by Kylie is hostile to him, to say the least.  Will Kylie come between them and wreck any chances of happiness?  Can Will and Ally work out their problems?

I really enjoyed this book.  It’s a great example of Christian fiction and a nice quick-paced romance that doesn’t take long to read from cover to cover. 

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received through Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

About the Author of Deep End of the Lake

Carol has published three books through Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas: Changing Zip Codes, Lake Surrender and Deep End of the Lake. Her first novel, Lake Surrender, won a 2016 Illumination Award Medal for Inspirational/Romance Fiction and was chosen as one of the top favorite books for the Prismatic Prospects blog in 2015 as well as being a finalist for Serious Writer’s Book of the Decade.

Her work has appeared in a Guideposts book anthology, with credits from Focus on the Family online, CBN online, the MOPs website, and In Touch and Your Church magazines. Carol was a reporter for the Mooresville Weekly for two and a half years with over 500 articles to her credit. She speaks to MOPS groups, has taught at writing conferences, and has had a blog for twelve years (carolgstratton.com).

Although born on the West Coast, she lived in the Midwest for years and now lives with her literary muse husband in Winston-Salem, North Carolina where she diddles around on a mandolin, plays with eight grandkids and encourages new writers. Her most recent book, Deep End of the Lake, is a sequel to Lake Surrender and is a Golden Scroll winner.

More from Carol

Camps are in my blood.

I committed my life to Christ at a Young Life camp, kissed my husband-to-be (for the first time) at Mt. Hermon and worked at two summer camps as a college student. Experiences like standing under a giant California redwood tree in the rain or hiking in the rugged Sierra Nevada Mountains with a backpack shaped my early life and unleashed in me a love for God and His creation.

The tradition continued with all four of my children attending Bair Lake Bible Camp in Michigan when they were growing up. Experiencing camp helped them grow in their Christian life while having a blast water skiing, hiking and boating. They still talk about their experiences.

Now my grandchildren have discovered camp life. Fresh from their first experience, my grandsons shared stories of the 48-foot tall, (“Not just forty but forty-eight feet, Gammi.” they corrected me) climbing wall and the WATER BLOB a camper could jump onto to catapult their friend into the lake. So when I hunted for a setting for my story, a summer camp seemed the perfect fit. Why, of course, send Ally Cervantes to work at a camp.

Because at camp, magical things happen.

We can make lifelong friends at a camp, commune with nature, and most of all connect with the God of the Universe. At summer camp you and I drop all pretenses of our normal life. Suddenly we find ourselves singing ridiculously silly songs around a campfire, and there’s no other world that exists at that moment besides friends, fresh s’mores, smoky fire and a lumpy sleeping bag. But in the midst of the fun, we mull over life’s important issues while trudging through dusty hiking trails or having a whispered late-night conversation on the cabin porch with our new best friend.

Best of all, God shows up, knowing He can get our attention. Suddenly our mind becomes aware there is more to life than getting good grades, finding the right boyfriend, and discovering that perfect career. At camp, we shift into slow gear and listen to our Heavenly Father say, “Be still and know that I am God.”

Ah, what a life.

Blog Stops for Deep End of the Lake

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 7

Texas Book-aholic, November 8

Inklings and notions, November 9

Beauty in the Binding, November 10 (Author Interview)

deb’s Book Review, November 10

Locks, Hooks and Books, November 11

She Lives To Read, November 12

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, November 13

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 14

Spoken from the Heart, November 15

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, November 16

Blogging With Carol, November 17

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, November 18 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, November 19

Adventures of a Travelers Wife, November 20 (Author Interview)

Mornings at Character Café, November 20

Giveaway for Deep End of the Lake

To celebrate her tour, Carol is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and a copy of Deep End of the Lake!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway!

Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/22671/deep-end-of-the-lake-celebration-tour