Popular novelist Lenora Worth celebrates the season with three November releases
Lenora Worth gives thanks for the job she has—bestselling author of 100-plus romance novels and novellas, with more than 3 million books in print, and fans too numerous to count.
“I appreciate and never take for granted being able to write my stories in my own way,” she said in a recent interview. “I'm thankful for the many readers who send me notes and gifts and their prayers. I'm also thankful for the many writers I've become close to over the years…We stand by each other and encourage each other.”
And she’s got something for book lovers to be thankful for—three releases this very month. Whether you are looking for a fun story to help you relax during the hectic holiday season or for gift ideas for the girls and women on your list, Worth has new titles for you: “A Nanny for Christmas” (Tule Publishing), “Alaskan Christmas Chase” (Love Inspired) and “The Memory Quilt” (Kensington Books).
She is a New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller, has received the Romantic Times Pioneer Award for Inspirational Fiction and is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers Honor Roll. She writes romance and romantic suspense for Love Inspired and sweet romance for Tule. She also is writing her new Amish series for Kensington. A 30-year resident of Shreveport, Worth and her husband, Don Nazworth, now live in Florida.
Developing as an author
Worth wears a lovely, generous smile much of the time, and part of that comes from her growth as an author since 1993. “I've mellowed and I'm more pragmatic now. I try not to compare myself to anyone else. I'm not wealthy, but I make a good living doing something I love. My books aren't for everyone, but I have a lot of loyal readers, and that counts to me. I've seen it all, heard it all, been through all of it. And I'm still here, writing away.”
She rates her books, which all have a romance thread, PG-13. “Daughters, mothers and grandmothers all read my books and pass them back and forth,” she said. “I like being able to have generations of women reading my books. No profanity and nothing graphic, but what I hope is a good, touching story.”
Her productivity is extraordinary, reflective of her focus on a writing routine. This year she released four new titles and several reissues. In 2022, she has three new releases and one short novella and more reissues scheduled.
How she does it
“First, I love my work. I love the process of writing. I always have, since childhood. I get up and have breakfast, exercise or walk on the beach and then I get to work. I work from 11 in the morning till around six at night most days. These days, I have two or more projects going on. I write a couple of hours on one, then I go and ‘visit’ another one and develop that plot more, then I start all over the next day. At some point, I focus on finishing one, then turn back to the other one. That's the only way to balance three different publishers and my own indie work.”
About her November releases
“A Nanny for Christmas,” Nov. 2
When event planner Kara Benton walks into her latest client’s home and is mistaken for the new nanny, she impulsively says ‘yes.’ Kara’s determined to elevate her career, and saving a high-profile holiday party weeks before Christmas is the perfect solution. Suddenly she’s saddled with two adorable kids, one excited dog and a huge dilemma: Can she pull off both jobs?
Widower Richard Westfield may be a whiz at designing top-of-the-line security technology, but he’s flummoxed as to how to protect his kids and his heart from taking another emotional hit. He strikes a deal with Kara: If she’ll work her organizational magic, he’ll make an effort to find his footing as a father again.
But as they team up to return the Christmas spirit to his Colorado mountain chateau, sparks fly, and Kara realizes she needs to let go of her own pain to embrace the love she's beginning to feel in her heart.
“The Memory Quilt,” Nov. 30
Running a historic Inn on beautiful Shadow Lake is a satisfying life for the Amish King sisters... until love stirs a longing for more. This is Worth’s first in a series of Amish books published by Kensington.
When Abigail King stumbles upon a man lying on the beach near her family inn, her instinct says to help the stranger. With his memory gone, “Jonah” is reluctant to contact the authorities, so Abigail offers him shelter, despite her sisters’ reservations. As she nurses him back to health, she helps him recover his lost past, creating a quilt from images of the shattered fragments he recalls. But with every square Abigail adds, she wonders if she is falling for a man who can never truly be hers.
Jonah feels at home at The Shadow Lake Inn with Abigail and at peace with her Amish lifestyle. But as the pieces of his past are sewn together, the mystery deepens—until he knows the only way forward is to turn himself in to the police and discover who he really is. For the one thing worse than not knowing his past is not knowing what the future holds for him and Abigail . . .
“Alaskan Christmas Chase,” Nov. 30
“Alaskan Christmas Chase,” a novella in “Christmas K-9 Protectors,” finds criminal psychologist Mallory Haru, tech whiz Eli Partridge and a traumatized K-9 fighting to keep a teen out of the hands of a robbery gang.
More about the author
Visit www.lenoraworth.com to sign up for Worth’s newsletter and find her book list and upcoming releases.
Book columnist Judy Christie is the author of 18 books, including the nonfiction: “Before and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children’s Home Society,” co-written with NYT bestselling author Lisa Wingate. To sign up for Christie’s e-newsletter: www.judychristie.com.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Author Lenora Worth celebrates holidays with three November releases
