Independence Island Contemporary Romance Series
Welcome to the Independence Islands page, where you can stay up to date with fun giveaways, background information and lots more about each of the books in this fun contemporary series
This month's release: Refining Josie by Carolyn Miller
What’ll it take for the prodigal daughter to share her deepest secrets… and her heart?
Josephine Green returns to the islands in an attempt to reconcile with her family, but with a cloud over the family business, and little in the way of gardening skills, Josie’s painful past and flaky ways prove less than endearing for Greener Gardens’ hardworking crew.
Stuck without any other options, Josie is forced to accept her sister’s offer of a job that takes her to Breakers Head where she encounters Aussie teacher, Lachlan Jones.
A long-lost relative might’ve brought Lachie to a tiny music recording studio on the Independence Islands, but it’s also brought questions about how to care for someone he barely knows, especially considering he’s the last family she has. Questions regarding his future soon pale when he encounters the vibrant-haired Josie, whose sass and attitude takes some getting used to.
Neither imagined more until they began to bond over music and environmental causes. Both discover that first impressions need not be lasting ones.
But with the future of Greener Gardens looking shaky, and Josie’s faith and self-worth just as tenuous, can deepening a friendship into something more ever work? And what happens when Lachlan’s work means he has to return to Australia after Christmas? What’ll it take for two hearts to heal and make a future possible?
This Breakers Head novel is Carolyn Miller's final book in the Independence Islands Series featuring five islands, six authors, and a boatload of happily-ever-afters.
The Independence Islands Series: beach reads aren’t just for summer anymore.
Buy your copy of Refining Josie at Amazon.com
You can also enter the giveaway to win an ebook of Refining Josie here
AND a $5 Amazon gift card. How fantastic is that?
Visit all the blogs and enter the giveaways & find out each author's posts about best friends with the authors of the Independence Islands series.
Carolyn Miller -December 6
Chautona Havig -December 7
Melissa Wardwell - December 8
Kari Trumbo - December 9
Rachel Skatvold - December 10
Tabitha Bouldin - December 11
Sandy Barela - December 12
Christmas - the Ultimate Redemption Story...
Wow. So here we are at the end of the Independence Islands series with my book, Refining Josie. It's a book about a prodigal daughter coming home to the islands after pain and misunderstandings have kept her away. She's not perfect, but none of us are, are we? I can think of many dumb things I've done over the years, but I'm so grateful to God that He's in the business of restoration and healing.
God loves you. His love isn't dependent on how good we are or how often we get it right, which is something Josie has to learn, and something I've had to learn over the years too. I make mistakes. I stuff up. I misunderstand and get offended and have moments where I realise I'm really not as wonderful as I sometimes like to this I am.
But God is. His mercies are new every morning. His forgiveness is sure and strong. Nothing can separate us from God's love. Which is a message I delighted in sharing in Refining Josie. And something I hope you know too.
God loves you. God wants to be your friend. His offer of forgiveness is there for everyone who believes. It's actually the point of Christmas: that God so loved the world that He gave His only son so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but will have everlasting life. Whosoever. That's you.
So don't let misunderstandings or past hurt keep you from the peace that only restored relationship with God can offer. Take a moment to be still, to confess your sins, to choose to believe and KNOW that God loves you. And walk into the freedom, joy and hope that God has for all who believe.
That's my Christmas prayer for you.
Thank you for reading the Independence Islands series.
May God bless you.
Carolyn xx
RESTORING FAIRHAVEN ~ now available
Samantha Green of Greener Gardens gets more than she bargained for when she is employed to restore the overgrown gardens of the estate owned by a reclusive writer, whose romances about unrequited love have become bestsellers and movies, despite never having a happy ending. New to this role, Sam is determined to succeed, despite facing challenges with the business and her family.
Max Fairhaven just wants to be left alone. But the green-thumbed intruder to his island hideaway is stubborn, and her quick wits and sunny disposition
soon get under his skin. Between banter and garden renovation she gradually brings some much needed life to this widower, as he begins to engage with the real world.
Can happily-ever-afters be found in real life as well as fiction?
REGAINING MERCY ~ now available
A mother ready to do anything for her son. A man determined to win the woman he loves.
Going on Love at First Glance had seemed like such a good idea. She didn’t care about finding Mr. Right. Mindy Murray chose the reality TV show for more mercenary reasons. A mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do when it comes to feeding her son.
When Mindy returns to Elnora, the girl from the “wrong side of the island” just wants a chance to rebuild her reputation. Too bad the folks at church don’t practice what the preacher preaches.
Enter Dermott Reilly. The interim boss at Greener Gardens has always had a soft spot for Mindy and her son, but with his new responsibilities and an important garden contest, he finds it difficult to prove himself to her. A tropical storm and a missing child prove that sometimes grace appears in the most unusual ways.
RECLAIMING HOPE ~ now available
Opposites attract - but can they last?
Callie Steele might be a bit… focused on work, but despite what her employers say, she enjoys her well-ordered, productive life. When she’s sent to meet the owners of an estate requiring post-hurricane landscaping, Callie meets their son, Kai Brody, a super-chilled pro surfer, who is as opposite from her as they come.
Though initially smitten, Callie knows a relationship with Kai is a bad idea—a very bad idea. Kai, however, can’t help but be intrigued by someone who challenges him to make something of his life again. He’s determined to pursue her, if she’ll give him half a chance.
The more time they spend together, negotiating the challenges of work, illness, and family, the more their opposing outlooks clash and connect. What do these unlikely friends really want from life? Kai and Callie must consider if such complete opposites have enough in common to make a relationship last.
REBUILDING HEARTS - now available
Who knew a bank robbery could show a girl that good guys still exist?
Tim Franklin. Quiet, shy, almost incapable of speaking to a girl, and a budding horticulturist. Oh, and he survived a bank robbery five years ago, not to mention its resulting trauma.
Bookworm Bella Dwyer just wants to feel safe, and Tim’s actions during the robbery made her believe there might be guys who live up to her fictional heroes. Trouble is, a chance with Tim seems as remote as this year’s celebrity heartthrob. Instead, she settled for a relationship with a guy who’s commitment-phobic.
So when Bella encounters Tim on tiny Sparrow Island, the challenges of her past and present collide, and she questions whether there really is a future with a man who can't commit. In a leap of faith, Bella dumps her boyfriend, even before shy-guy Tim can make a move. But in wanting to live by faith and conquer fear, has she made the right choice, or are her hopes for freedom and a future destined to fail?
REFINING JOSIE - Releasing December 6
What’ll it take for the prodigal daughter to share her deepest secrets… and her heart?
Josephine Green returns to the islands in an attempt to reconcile with her family, but with a cloud over the family business, and little in the way of gardening skills, Josie’s painful past and flaky ways prove less than endearing for Greener Gardens’ hardworking crew. Stuck without any other options, Josie is forced to accept her sister’s offer of a job that takes her to Breakers Head where she encounters Aussie exchange teacher, Lachlan Jones.
A long-lost relative might’ve brought Lachie to a tiny music recording studio on the Independence Islands, but it’s also brought questions about how to care for someone he barely knows, especially considering he’s the last family she has. Questions regarding his future soon pale when he encounters the vibrant-haired Josie, whose sass and attitude takes some getting used to.
Neither imagined more until they begin to bond over music & environmental causes and both discover that first impressions need not be lasting ones.
But with the future of Gardens Gardens looking shaky, and Josie’s faith and self-worth just as tenuous, can deepening a friendship into something more ever work? And what happens when Lachlan’s work means he has to return to Australia after Christmas? What’ll it take for two hearts to heal and make a future possible?
This Breakers Head novel is Carolyn Miller's final book in the Independence Islands Series featuring five islands, six authors, and a boatload of happily-ever-afters.
My Garden >
I suppose it was inevitable that my Independence Islands books would focus on gardening. Anyone who knows me knows I love gardens - perhaps that's partly due to the fact that I'm married to a horticulturalist. When we moved into our house our garden was very bare. Over the past twenty years my hubby has planted many decorative and useful plants, including a pear tree with over twenty different varieties grafted on it!
Australian plants >
These are just a sample of some of the flowers, trees and plants you can find here in Australia
Gardens Around the World >
I've been very fortunate to visit a number of gardens in interesting parts of the world. In England, many of the grand estates have equally fascinating gardens and grounds to explore. My husband worked at Lyme Park, the setting of the 1995 production of Pride and Prejudice (with Colin Firth as Mr Darcy)! Poison gardens are another fascinating thing to explore, as have been gardens in the US, Canada, New Zealand and closer to home.
If you enjoy looking at pictures of plants, flowers and gardens, then please follow me on Instagram, where I regularly post pictures of what's growing in my garden, as well as fabulous pictures from my travels - in addition to my bookish posts, too.
Follow me on Instagram at @carolynmillerauthor