Courier Publishing is pleased to introduce Stephanie Whatley’s first novel, Something Beautiful for Lauren (softcover, 258 pages, $13.95).

Lauren Hardy is 37 and has lost her husband. She is left to raise three children on her own. In her grief, she has become numb, going through the motions of life. She has learned to “play the part” at church and at work so that everyone thinks she is moving forward. But she is distant from God and feels unknown by those closest to her. Gathering what faith she has left, she decides to have some work done on her house, thinking it might be a step forward.

Bo McElwaney had what many would consider a successful life — money, a beautiful home, a gorgeous wife. But he could not shake the feeling that something was missing. He recognized his need for a personal relationship with God — a relationship that would cost him everything and send him back to his hometown to work as a handyman. His first job is for a widow, and Bo prays that God will use him to be a blessing to her and her family.

Whatley, who has a background in language arts and attends Philippi Baptist Church in Johnston, S.C., with her husband and four children, has loved the written word since she was old enough to sit on her great-grandmother’s lap, absorbing one book after another.

Something Beautiful for Lauren is available at major online booksellers, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble.