People often ask me which book is my favorite. That’s like asking me which of my three children is my favorite. I have loved writing each of my fourteen books. Each has presented different challenges. Each brings a particular joy.
However (there is always a however, isn’t there?) if I was forced to choose, I’d say A Great and Terrible Darkness, K-9 Search & Rescue Book 6, would be one of the finalists.
For most of my life, I have lived in the Mid-Atlantic near the Appalachian Mountains. Growing up, I went to Girl Scout camp the mountains. My husband and I frequently camped there, and for forty years, I lived in the foothills. The Appalachians feel like home.
I deal with hard things in my books. Life is hard, and I put my characters in difficult situations and watch as they work through them. As I approached writing Book 6, I knew it was Nate’s turn.
Everybody loves Nathan Tanner. He’s a simple guy, born in the mountains of western Virginia. Left home at eighteen to join the Marines. Handled military working dogs in Afghanistan. Was wounded. Sent home. And had a boatload of bitterness until a double-amputee introduced him to Jesus.
Nate recovered and learned to live with his scars, but his problems weren’t over. In Book 6, his wife is killed by a drunk driver. Nate is devastated, and for the first time, he doubts God. He is angry. Abandoned. And in despair. When time doesn’t heal those wounds, Nate does what a lot of people do: He decides to walk out his grief on the Appalachian Trail.
The trail is a national treasure. Running from Mount Katahdin in Maine, it’s about 2200 miles long and goes through fourteen states. About 3,000 people attempt to hike the whole thing every year. Twenty-five percent are successful.
Nate decides he’ll walk just the Virginia portion of the trail, about 550 miles. Jessica, his friend, thinks he’s crazy. Nate just knows he’s sad.
I had the best time researching this book. I studied maps, read books, and followed thru-hikers’ vlogs on YouTube. I learned to use hiking poles. I drove with friends up to the AT to explore huts and bear boxes, privies, and the iconic white blazes that mark the trail. The mountains are beautiful, the trail is fascinating, and the idea of a pilgrimage to reconnect with God is attractive to me.
Nate does reconnect, of course. He finds out that when he bumps into the limits of his own understanding, God is still there, patiently loving him, gently carrying him home.
That’s why I love A Great and Terrible Darkness. I’m thankful for photographer Tim Lewis of Salem, Virginia, who allowed me to use one of his many photos of McAfee Knob for the cover. And for my friend June Padgett, who added the image of Nate and his dog.
We’re all on a walk. We all will hit hard things. Taking time out to seek God, especially in nature, is a powerful way to find peace.