When your past comes back and shakes up your present, what are you supposed to do? Listen in as Stacy Ladyman and I chat about her novel, Shep and the King of Hearts.

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We talked about the origin of this story and how parts of her life inspired her to attend that gambling addiction talk and then how it helped her define this story.

I loved that she got to talk to those men and had pastors praying for her and the story.

It's a beautiful picture of how we're all broken and estranged and need to get back to a right relationship with each other and God.

Shep and the King of Hearts by Stacy J. Ladyman

Some wounds run deep. Love digs deeper.

As a hospital administrator, Chris Warren thrives on order, control, and clean emotional boundaries. But when the father who abandoned her decades ago stumbles back into her life—disheveled, addicted, and clinging to what little dignity he has left—everything she's built begins to unravel.

Desperate for answers—and closure—Chris finds herself reluctantly leaning on Shep, the hospital's unorthodox, chaplain whose faith is as bold as his sense of humor. What begins as a reluctant partnership becomes something far more personal as Chris and Shep navigate her father's self-destruction, each other's guarded hearts, and the jagged path toward grace.

Inspired by true events, Shep and the King of Hearts is a raw and redemptive contemporary romance about love that doesn't flinch in the face of failure. This story invites you into a journey of second chances, spiritual reckoning, and the unexpected ways love breaks through—when we finally stop running.

For readers who crave romance wrapped in redemption and a love story that heals more than just the heart.

Faith. Forgiveness. Falling in love. Begin the journey now.

Learn more about Stacy on her WEBSITE and follow on GoodReads and BookBub.

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