I’m pleased to intoduce you to Karen Baney – thanks so much for sharing your heart with us, Karen!

Over the past two years, I’ve been challenged to make friendships a priority.  See, I had a few friendships that ended in heartbreak and disappointment.  I was afraid to open up and even convinced myself that I didn’t need friends.

Then, I began to realize that I was missing the heart-healing that comes from having good friends—close friends—the kind that you can call on for anything.

So, I picked up a copy of Dee Brestin’s book, The Friendship of Women, and started a book club over the summer two years ago.  This began my journey of seeking out new friends.

One of the things Dee discusses in the book is the importance of not reading into a “no” answer when trying to initiate a new friendship.  It was a hard lesson to learn, but one that I was given an immediate opportunity to apply.

There was a woman at my church that I met while serving in women’s ministry together.  I thought we had a good connection and that she was someone I would want to be friends with.  So, I spent three days working up the nerve to email her (too afraid to call, even though I had her number). 

Then I waited.  And waited.  And waited.

For two weeks I waited.  I went through a range of emotions.  Maybe she doesn’t have time for another friend.  Maybe I misread the connection.  Maybe there was something wrong with me.

One day, after I had given up hope of hearing from her, I received a reply.  She was so excited that I contacted her.  She had been thinking of getting together with me (faint!).  She told me the reason she was so delayed in responding was because she was out of town on vacation and hadn’t been checking her emails.

I was cautious at first.  I mean, what if she backed out?  What if we met for coffee and ended up hating each other?  What if she decided I wasn’t worth the time?

Well, our first get together was for coffee.  One hour, rolled into two, then into three, then into four.  Somewhere around the five hour mark, a customer approached us.  He asked if we had left and come back or if we’d been sitting there all day.  See, he had been in that morning with his little girls and noticed how animated our conversation was.  When he returned in the afternoon to pick up a coffee on his way somewhere, and he still saw us sitting there, he just had to know how long we’d been friends.  We told him the truth:  five hours.

See, that connection I thought was there—was really there.  For the past two years, I’ve been blessed to know and rely on my five-hour-coffee friend.  Whether by email, text message, or a quick dinner together (really three hours is never enough), I leave feeling uplifted and renewed.  She cheers me on.  She prays for me.  She encourages me.

Friendship is so important.  We need friends apart from our spouse, children, and co-workers.  Sometimes it takes deliberate effort.  But it is always worth it.

Karen Baney, in addition to writing Christian historical fiction and contemporary novels, works as a Software Engineer.  Spending over twenty years as an avid fan of both genres, Karen loves writing stories set in Arizona.

Her faith plays an important role both in her life and in her writing.  She is active in various Bible studies throughout the year.  Karen and her husband make their home in Gilbert, Arizona, with their two dogs.  She also holds a Masters of Business Administration from Arizona State University.

Here’s a little bit about Karen’s new novel:

Niki Turner has finally arrived.  Her career as a Software Engineer is soaring—she has just been offered the company’s most sought after account, Helitronics.  Life would be perfect, if she could stop her roommate from playing matchmaker.

Then Kyle Jacobs mysteriously re-enters her life.  As painful memories resurface, his presence turns her life upside down and threatens to waylay her career.  She must find a way to work with him—after all, he’s the helicopter flight consultant for the new flight control system she’s coding.

Can she forget the past and see him as the new man he has become?  Or will her resentment keep her from finding what she has always been searching for?

This contemporary novel is an upbeat and compelling story set in the Phoenix Metro Area.  Karen Baney shows a new side to her writing with great wit and banter between the main characters.   Inspired by her love of romance and of computers, this story takes readers on a journey filled with laughter and tears.

You can purchase Nickels HERE.