Good morning, dear reader! Today on Women of Faith and Fiction, we are talking with Dora Hiers. Dora and I met online through social media a couple of years ago. I treasure her friendship and look forward to meeting her in person one day. Good morning, Dora. Tell us a little about yourself.

Let’s see. It takes a couple cups of extra strong, extra bold coffee in the mornings to rev my motor enough to crank out 1,000+ words on my story before lunch rolls around.  I’m married to a foodie fire chief. We’re eating our way through Charlotte and blogging about our experiences on Fiction Faith & Foodies. And he’s a seriously good cook, too! Smoked ribs, people. Need I say more? Lol.

And…earlier this year two sweet labs adopted us. Well, one is sweet, the other is not-so-sweet, but we still brought that roller derby wannabe home. Picture the little dude using his 100-pound sleeping brother as a launching pad to jump onto the couch. He’s so crazy, you can’t help but laugh.

I DON’T LIKE traffic, bad coffee, technological meltdowns, or a sad ending to a book or movie. That’s why my books always end with happily-ever-afters!

That’s it for me. I’d love to know more about you!

Dora, you are a gem. I love seeing your pics of Que and Bolder and following your food recommendations. Reader, if you are looking for a restaurant in the Charlotte area, be sure to check out Dora’s blog on Saturdays. Good food, people! Moving on to the next question. This month’s theme is thankful. Please share your thoughts with our readers.

Well, you see those sweet darlings up there? Not sure what we were thinking adopting a not-even-close-to-being-potty-trained puppy in the throes of winter! Because Que suffered severe separation anxiety, I had to venture out in frigid temperatures and arctic blasts of wind and bucketloads of rain with two dogs every thirty minutes. And then, once back in the warm house, watch the little proceed to wet on the floor! I complained more about that than thanking God for these little sweethearts, and I’m quite sure they were probably inwardly grumbling about the crazy human who dashed outside all the time. Lol. As contrary as it seems, the Bible instructs us to “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NLT) Not just the joyful, happy events, but even during the painful seasons of our lives. I’m not gonna lie. It’s easy to say, not so easy to do.

I agree with you! I’ve done the potty training in the winter. Not fun. LOL. Now, life is a continual journey of learning, applying, and transforming. Have you ever experienced a season when you found it challenging to remain thankful? How did you overcome?

More than one occasion comes to mind, but the hardest and most challenging season was when we moved from Florida to North Carolina. Don’t get me wrong. We’d been praying about a move for over a decade, and God answered our prayer in a mighty way! NASCAR heaven for hubby, and a chance to work another fifteen years or so in a career he loves. Unfortunately, our youngest son wasn’t quite on board with the move and chose to stay in Florida until graduation. Ripped my heart out to lose 2 ½ years with him, years I’d never get back. On top of that, our oldest son who also stayed in Florida struggled through a real tough period.

Was I thankful? Most definitely not! Honestly, I recall blaming God for not answering our prayers sooner. Why, when we’d been praying for so long, had He waited until our son was in high school?

How did I overcome? Much, much prayer. Christian counseling. An understanding hubby. And choosing to focus on the good rather than the ugly.

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. ~Philippians 4:8-9 The Message (MSG)

What was good about our son staying behind? Having family still in Florida to house and love on him. Having enough savings to provide for the additional needs, like a car to get him back and forth to school, and to pay for my/his monthly flights. The soul-deep realization that my heavenly Father had carried me through some pretty rough waters in the past and that I just needed to trust that His path held a higher purpose, one I might not ever understand in this lifetime.

Isn’t that God’s way with His children? Leading us to that realization, to that point of peace and acceptance? And now, dear friends, let me tell you how awesome our God is! Our youngest son actually chose to attend University of North Carolina for college AND because of our NC residency, we paid reduced in-state tuition rates! And our oldest son, his beloved wife, and our two precious grandkiddos live about five minutes from our home now. Wowza! Go, God!

I can so relate. My first born lives 8+ hours away. I miss seeing him daily. And yes, we serve an awesome God. Even though, Levi isn’t with me, I see the hand of the Lord in his life. So thankful for that. Tell us, in what genre do you write and how does your faith influence your writing?

I write Christian romance as Dora Hiers and mainstream romance as Tori Kayson, but you’ll find messages of grace and forgiveness and second chances sprinkled in all my stories. All my books are clean and wholesome, so no need to hide them from your kids or grandkiddos.

Dora, thank you for visiting with us and sharing more about yourself. You have a heart of gold, my friend.

Thank you so much for your gracious hospitality, Gail. I’ve enjoyed visiting with you and your friends!

Author Bio:

Dora believes that a person should love what they do or choose to do something else. She’s doing exactly what makes her heart sing, and considers every day a gift. When she takes a break from cranking out heart racing, God-gracing romances, Dora adores reading, chowing down on her hubby’s lip-smacking home-smoked ribs, and sipping coffee on a mountain cabin deck. Life’s too short to be stuck in traffic, to drink bad coffee, or to read books with a sad ending. Dora and her real-life hero make their home in North Carolina, but with a world full of amazing places to explore, that’s only a landing point.

Come hang out with Dora on Fiction Faith & Foodies, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. She loves hearing from reader friends at DoraHiers@gmail.com. Dora also writes sweet romance that sizzles under the pen name, Tori Kayson.