About the Book

Book: Shilo: A Sweet, Quirky, Romantic Muddle (The Weather Girls Wedding Shoppe and Venue: Book 7)

Author: Jennifer Lynn Cary

Genre: Sweet Romantic Comedy

Release Date: May 1, 2025

From Breck Girl to Hippie to Jesus People…

…It’s been a long journey back home

But can her heart truly find peace where it all began?

When free-spirit Shilo Anderson inherits two million dollars with an unexpected condition—marriage—she refuses to be bound by her grandfather’s will. Until her beloved aunt faces cancer with no insurance to cover chemotherapy.

She won’t marry for money for herself, but to save her aunt’s life? She’ll make that sacrifice in a heartbeat.

Maybe.

Jesse Franklin never forgot his first love. When her grandfather’s will brings Shilo back to their hometown, he discovers his love for her has only deepened with time. Offering to marry her to help save her aunt, no problem.

Keeping it a marriage of convenience, that might be a problem. More like impossible.

As their feelings grow stronger, Shilo faces her greatest fear: revealing the truth about her past decade. Can she make Jesse see she doesn’t belong on anyone’s pedestal?

Return to 1973 Kokomo, Indiana, where faith shapes the journey and the legend of the cardinal in the sycamore still proves true love endures all seasons.

You will enjoy this sweet, quirky tale of second chances, because sometimes the rough patches prepare us for the wildly wonderful.

Click here to get your copy!

I received a complimentary copy of this book, and all opinions given are my own and not an endorsement of all author’s opinions.

Author Interview

• What was the most enjoyable part of writing your book?

I’ve had this story in my head for a long time, well over a year. I even had very specific scenes that I wanted to add to a book and this one was the one crying out for them—one scene involved the cardinal in a new and different way. I’ve heard from readers that it made them crack up, that they never saw it coming. Those moments were fun. I also needed a different editor on this book as my regular editor was slammed. So I had a good friend who is also a professional edit for me. I got a chance to see her in person afterwards and her feedback and “Oh my word, I couldn’t believe you did that,” was priceless.

• How do you weave Biblical truths into your writing?

As a rule, I try to use an organic, honest to the situation touch that doesn’t beat anyone over the head, but doesn’t shy away from truth. I think I did in this book as well but since Shilo was part of the Jesus Revolution movement, I needed to let it be very central to her personality. She has a lot of conversations with Jesus more than proper prayers, and she thinks about things in how they are related to God and her relationship with Him. She also has some unique prayer vocabulary since she simply prays from an honest heart.

I didn’t start out with this theme in mind when I wrote my first book, but I eventually discovered that every one of them, no matter the genre or timeframe, have three things in common: Faith, Family, and Forgiveness. And that pretty well covers most of the Bible, right?

• Are any of your characters based off of yourself or those close to you?

Shilo isn’t based on just one person though there’s a lot of my friend, Heather Farrah, in there. Heather passed away a few years ago, but she had a unique outlook on things. I think she and Shilo would have been good friends.

• Why did you pick this genre for your book?

I think it was a combination of several things. I had finished a series I’d set in the late 60s to early 70s and found I enjoyed writing and remembering things from my childhood. However, those books had been heavier in feeland I wanted something lighter. About that time I began reading some romcoms that were funny and clean and rewarding in their HEA. They weren’t Christian, though. I unapologetically write Christian fiction, so it wasn’t a big leap to write something fun, clean, Christian, and to set it in that timeframe. I still incorporate a few tough situations into the stories—where would they be without conflict, right?—but the main idea is to make it fun and enjoyable to read.

• How many books do you personally own?

I have no idea! Never thought to count them, But they are all over the house. And that’s after giving many away. I have books that are over a hundred years old—one was a gift to my grandfather from his sisters. A first edition copy of Sherlock Holmes. And I have some that I’ve been blessed to have signed by the author. Oh, I just realized I never considered all the books on my Kindle. Holy cow! It would take me a month to count them all, I think.

Thank you, Katie, for this interview. If anyone would like to contact me or learn more about my books, you can find me at jenniferlynncary.com. Abundant blessings to you all.

About the Author

Historical Christian Romance author and three-time Selah Award nominee, Jennifer Lynn Cary, likes to say you can take the girl out of Indiana, but you can’t take the Hoosier out of the girl. Now transplanted to the Arizona desert, this direct descendant of Davy Crockett and her husband of forty-plus years enjoy time with family where she shares tales of her small-town heritage and family legacies with their grandchildren. She is the author of The Crockett Chronicles series, The Relentless series, and The Weather Girls trilogy, as well as the stand-alone novel, Cheryl’s Going Home, her novella Tales of the Hob Nob Annex Café, and her split-time novels The Traveling Prayer Shawl and The Forgotten Gratitude Journal. Her current spin-off series, The Weather Girls Wedding Shoppe and Venue, contains standalones with a common thread.

More from Jennifer

The story for Shilo has been fermenting in my brain for a long time. I had always loved Neil Diamond’s song of the same title and could see his characters playing out their parts and thought what would happen if the girl came back after ten years?

However, what I didn’t catch was that Shilo in the song was a boy, an imaginary boy who’d been a friend to a lonely boy.

In my brain, I missed the importance of him turning to his only friend in his mind.

Instead, I had a little girl moving in next door—she was Shilo—and they went from being friends to first loves, but something called her away and though he understood, he called her name like before hoping she’d return.

Okay, so not what Neil Diamond had in mind, but it became Jesse’s back story.

Then I had to ask, what was so important that she had to leave? That’s when I remembered Breck Girls. Do you remember them?

There was a time as a child that I thought one of the Breck Girls on the back of a magazine was so beautiful, I said, “She’s prettier than Mom.”

I was quickly (verbally) chastised by my dad who made sure to inform me that no one was prettier than my mom. I never thought of it as an insult. My mom was the high standard for beauty, and for someone to be even prettier, they were definitely a looker. However, I learned to keep those types of opinions to myself if my Dad was around. Mom understood and didn’t take offense—in fact, as I meant it, she thought it was a compliment that I found her so pretty.

All that to say that Breck Girls were a part of my growing up years, into the seventies. I wondered how Breck Girls were chosen, and if Shilo could/should be one. I learned there’s even an exhibit at the Smithsonian dedicated to Breck Girls and those lovely pastel portraits.

So, when (my) Shilo told Jesse she had to go before he could tell her that he loved her, it was because she’d been chosen to be a Breck Girl. Now I had a framework to start building the story.

I hope that when you read Shilo: A Sweet, Quirky, Romantic Muddle, you will be transported back to 1973 with many of your own memories.

Abundant blessings,

Jenny