Dora Hiers

You Want Me To Do What? by Dora Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 9 Comments

We’re outta here! With their bags packed and camels loaded, the Jewish remnant of Judah planned to flee to Egypt. They’d had enough.

Ishmael had just slaughtered Gedaliah, the king’s appointed governor, and filled an entire cistern with dead bodies. Not only did the remnant fear Ishmael’s return, but they also worried about the king’s reaction to Gedaliah’s murder. Not that they had killed him, but back then they didn’t have Twitter or Facebook to spread the word.

The survivors begged Jeremiah for a word from the Lord. What should they do? Where should they go?    “Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God…” ~Jeremiah 42:6 NIV

Jeremiah relayed the Lord’s instructions:   “Stay here in this land. If you do, I will bless you, and no one will harm you.” ~Jeremiah 42:10 TLB


Say what? You want us to stay? They’d just witnessed horrific killings, and the Lord was telling them to stay, that no one would harm them? Outraged, they accused Jeremiah of siding with the Babylonians and departed for Egypt ~ against the Lord’s wishes.

Ouch. Hadn’t they just said they’d obey whether the news was favorable or unfavorable? At first, their flagrant disobedience blew my mind, but the longer I dwelled on it, I realized that whether it’s disobedience or ungratefulness, He views all sin the same. When God reveals His path and it doesn’t line up with my plans, isn’t my reaction usually disbelief or displeasure rather than gratitude?

Case in point: my quest for an agent. My publisher doesn’t require an agent to submit, and since their contracts are fairly straightforward, I didn’t feel the need for one early on. Eleven books and four years later, I would welcome career guidance and appreciate help navigating the ever-evolving publishing industry. So after prayer and research, last year I submitted my Harmon Heritage series to two well-known CBA agents, and both declined representation. OK. So God obviously didn’t want me partnering with them, but I didn’t perceive their rejections as a STOP sign, rather as a YIELD. I kept praying about my writing journey. Feeling a definite nudge to venture into unknown territory, I wrote Roping the Cowboy, my first book targeted for the mainstream market, and queried two more agents who represent both markets. Again, two more rejections. This time, I pouted. Yes, I admit. I pouted, and it wasn’t a pretty sight.

“Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God…” and “Stay here in this land. If you do, I will bless you, and no one will harm you.” The first convicts me; the second confuses. If I’m praying for God to direct my path, shouldn’t I be happy when He responds with either a RED or GREEN light? Sometimes I wonder if the nudge to write stories lacking a distinct faith element, but still sprinkled with grace and hope, was truly from Him. Or had I mistaken His voice for my own?

I’m being completely transparent for a couple reasons. Let me just put it out there. First, I confess that I still struggle with discerning God’s will for my life and my writing. I can’t be the only one, right?

Secondly, if you’re another writer, to encourage you that even published authors still receive rejections both from agents and publishers, and they still sting like a slap in the face. Not only that, but things start to wear a writer down. Lukewarm or negative reviews, no real down time because you’re responding to emails and facebook posts or working on a galley when you’re supposed to be on vacation, and the royalty statements that don’t quite match the effort and time you’ve invested. Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it, if I shouldn’t just let it all go…

But it doesn’t let go of me. Because when I hit that pothole of discouragement, God rains down blessings. It may be a sweet friend who listens to me rant over coffee, a glowing review, an invitation to present a workshop because of a referral, or just hearing about someone else’s problems and realizing mine pale in comparison. Sometimes, He plants another idea in my head and characters who yearn for their story to be heard, their hurts to heal, who crave forgiveness or who long for a second chance at love. Other times, He grants me a stellar word count day with peace that overflows from my heart and spills onto the page.


So, I’m still tooling down the road until God plants a ROAD BLOCK in front of me. 
What about you? Has the Lord revealed a different path recently than the one you expected to take? How did you respond?

The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. ~Prov 22:3 NIV

You reign, Lord, in every aspect of my life. Take my hand and lead me where You’d have me go. Obliterate my fears and doubts. Fill my spirit with peace as only You can do. Amen.

Teaser Saturday

/ Dora Hiers / 4 Comments
“I should have known.”
“Should have known what?” Her voice came out soft, silky, refreshing as a tall glass of iced tea on a hot summer day.
“That you would be the one bringing them home. You’re a softie inside, you know that?”
He stepped close. Close enough for him to know that she had a cinnamon mint in her mouth, close enough to see the sheen glazing from those luscious jade eyes.
Winter narrowed her brows and glanced frantically in both directions. “Sheesh! Don’t let anybody hear you say that. You’ll ruin my reputation.”
Her face lifted up to his, her cheeks puffy with amusement, her eyes shining with joy.
“Your reputation? You mean spending all your off-duty hours helping a family be able to bring their children back home? Or the hard core cop image you show to the world? Which one, Winter?”
Her face softened, bringing that vulnerability she only showed occasionally, exposing her true beauty. Beauty that shone from the inside, from that huge heart of hers.
The banging, the laughter and tears, the hugging and slapping all faded into background noise, leaving just him and Winter, standing under the shade of a massive oak tree.
Tree branches swayed in the soft breeze, the leaves shimmering with beauty and strength, but fragile in the heavy winds and storms.
Just like Winter.
Sturdy and strong on the outside, but the inside?
Inside she harbored a fragile, gentle soul. One that suffered when the storms of life hit her at such a young age.
He leaned closer and flicked a wisp of hair that floated loose from her ponytail behind an ear. He held his breath, wanting to capture this moment, this picture of her, forever in his head.
Not just the midnight blue shorts and ruffled white top she wore. No, he wanted the essence of Winter. Her spirit of kindness and reconciliation. Her desire to heal fractured families. Her generous heart.
        If he were an artist, that’s what he would paint.
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Did you enjoy that little gem? It’s from When Love Triumphs, my first novella in the Pure Amore series, due to release in November via subscription with Pelican Book Group. It’s one click shopping. You don’t have to drive to the bookstore or check back for new releases. After subscribing, each month your “Pure Amore” romance will be emailed to your inbox, mailed as a print copy, or you can select a combination of both for as low as $48. Check out the gorgeous covers and intriguing blurbs for all twelve books here. Convenient, right? How cool is that? 🙂

Teaser Saturday

/ Dora Hiers

So, what’s been going on with you guys? You’re too quiet. Or maybe it’s just me? lol. 


You can probably tell from my sporadic blog posts that I haven’t been reading too much lately. I hope to remedy that soon, starting with Sandra Ardoin‘s debut novella, The Yuletide Angel. But I have been crazy busy writing. Six books are contracted and ready to roll off the presses with Pelican Book Group.




Pretty, huh? I agree. When Love Triumphs, my first novella in the PURe Amore series, is due to release in November. It’s available, along with eleven others, through subscription with Pelican Book Group. You can see the gorgeous covers and intriguing blurbs for all the books here. Subscriptions start as low as $48 (that includes one book a month for an entire year), and you have your choice of digital or print formats.

Maybe you’d like a peek into When Love Triumphs? Yes? Well, why didn’t you just say so? lol

Her lips tasted sweet and tangy, cinnamony. He meant for it to be a quick kiss, an encouraging gesture, a promise of more to come, but her sudden gasp and the way her arms curled around his neck made him linger and long for more, a lifetime of summer evenings with this woman by his side. His hands dropped to the curve of her back and tugged her close. She fit so right, so perfectly into his arms, that all the binds around his heart cut loose.
What will it take, God, for her to see that we can do this?
With a reluctant but satisfied sigh, he pulled back from her lips, dipped his forehead to hers, and willed his heart rate to slow to normal.
He didn’t see Winter’s chest expand, so he knew she was holding her breath. Finally, those luscious green eyes fluttered open, and then she inhaled, deep and shaky, her arms still wrapped tight around his neck. Her words whispered against his lips. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” Could the evening get any sweeter?
“Mine, too. But don’t let it happen again.” Her arms dropped.
Whoa! Back it up there. Hadn’t she just admitted that she enjoyed the kiss? What was he missing here? He narrowed his eyes. “Why not?”
 “Because I can’t—”
Did that delicious little goodie convince you to subscribe? I hope so. If not, I’ll be back later to share another one. Stay tuned!

Shortly after When Love Triumphs releases, Christmas in the Rink, my first ever Christmas-themed romance, will be offered as part of PBG’s Christmas Extravaganza. Yay! But more on that later. 

Right now, I’m working on Kester Ranch, a sweet contemporary romance series with cowboys, adorable kids and two Australian Koolies on a Texas ranch. The first book, Roping the Cowboy is complete, and I’m in the process of finding a home for the series. 

So that’s it for me. What’s going on with you?