Good things Come In Threes

Good things come in threes. Three act plays, primary colours, most fairy tale structures (three pigs, three bears, three mice), the three musketeers, and of course God Himself – Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

In my own childhood, this was certainly the case. I had two ‘best’ friends and we literally spent every day together. We talked, we played, we told secrets – it didn’t matter as long as we were together. One friend moved away and we drifted apart, but during my teen years I latched on to two other friends. The three of us were initiated into adulthood as we navigated those tempestuous waters, tasting the ‘forbidden fruit’ and all that other jazz that teens are ‘supposed’ to do. (My shortened version so as not to shock you, dear readers!) Even after we went on to college, we kept in touch. One introduced me to my husband, and these two were bridesmaids at my wedding.

Lasting friendship is one of the themes of my new novel, Three Strand Cord – releasing on May 25. The three friends, Tempest, Stella, and Cherise, have been through a lot together, but in this story their loyalty is tested to the limits as a simple ‘fib’ leads to a web of deceit that lands one of them in serious trouble.

I’m not sure how many readers will catch the hidden acrostic in the title. Three Strand Cord contains the first letters of each character’s name – Tempest, Stella and Cherise. It wasn’t originally that way. I had the title down quite early in the project – not something that always happens – but I knew it fit perfectly with the theme of friendship as well as the theme that God is the truest friend anyone can have. Originally, however, the characters were Tirzah, Myriah, and Cherise. Somewhere I had an epiphany that if I changed Myriah’s name to something with an ‘S’, it would mirror the title. I spent some time scouring baby name books and finally settled on Stella. I am unsure when the change to Tempest’s name came along, but I liked the idea of a separate book for her and the title Tempest Tossed hit me out of the blue. (That book – book three in the series – is currently in the very early stages.)

Book two, which continues the story of Cherise and her brother Dirk was originally called ‘The Cord that Binds’. I wanted to have some kind of reference to the original title and also refer to the blood bond between the main characters. Then I had another epiphany – Blood Ties was the perfect title for Book Two! It is finished, by the way, and awaiting final edits.

In the end, the real theme of the series is that God is the best friend of all. He is the friend that sticks closer than a brother. I hope those that read it find encouragement to let Jesus be that kind of friend.

You can pre-order THREE STRAND CORD at this link: AMAZON PRE-ORDER