Setting Two Hearts Free

June 20, 2023

Why I Wrote a Revolutionary War Series

I’m intrigued by the motivations, means, and results of people who emigrated to the American colonies. Many came to escape circumstances in their homeland, others sought adventure or the potential of a better life.

The ingenuity, courage, and inspiration of our founders in declaring independence and establishing our constitutional republic fascinate me.

A series allows for a more in-depth character examination and circumstances over an extended period.

While historical events are set at a specific point in time, there are often details about them that readers have little knowledge of and find interesting.

Fictional characters in historical novels often experience many of the same issues mankind has struggled with throughout time. While characters’ attitudes and how they navigate life decisions are often a view into the era and culture in which they live, people of any generation can relate to them.

A Heart Set Free

Desperate to escape further deception, disillusionment, and disgrace Heather Douglas flees Scotland in 1770 as an indentured servant. Her life detours when a widowed Virginia planter purchases the indenture and marries her. Through her journey of self-examination and maturing faith, Heather is finally free to experience the life she desires.

It is in the Virginia countryside that she begins her greatest journey, one of self-discovery and faith. She discovers that her emotional and spiritual scars bind her far more than her indenture. Will the liberty she seeks finally provide her with the freedom she longs for?

https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Set-Free-Janet-Grunst/dp/1946016012/ref

A Heart For Freedom

By the spring of 1775, antagonism between the colonists and the British has escalated to confrontation. Strife between factions loyal to the crown and those demanding independence is pitting friends, neighbors, and families against each other. Like many others, Heather and Matthew Stewart’s world has turned upside down, and for children, growing up always has its challenges, but war can accelerate and define it.

When Matthew disappears, unexplainable and odd events create doubts and suspicion, and loyalties are questioned. His absence tests the Stewart family in ways they could have never imagined. The characters face heartaches and grief, joys and hope, dangers and intrigue, love and faith.

https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Freedom…/dp/B07FB5J172/ref

Setting Two Hearts Free

Donald Duncan joined the Patriot cause for noble reasons. The war has changed him, and now the battle is internal.

Mary Stewart spends the war years with her family at Stewarts’ Green, helping them operate their ordinary, waiting for Donald’s safe return, … until that day the evil side of war touches her.

Two hearts were altered by a war that dragged on for six years. Two hearts left hurting and struggling to find the love and trust they once knew. Is there a path for them to rekindle what was lost and finally find peace? https://www.amazon.com/Setting-Hearts…/dp/B085DRXFZY/ref

August 11, 2021

The Series is Finished—Now What?

Setting Two Hearts Free, the last story in my Revolutionary War series, was released in the fall of 2020, preceded by A Heart For Freedom in 2018 and A Heart Set Free in 2016. I began writing the series in the 1980s but put it aside for many years.

In the midst of that, I had the fun opportunity of writing a novella in

collaboration with three other Smitten authors. My story is The Year Without Summer in The Highlanders: A Smitten Historical Romance Collection which was released in 2019.

Authors can get very attached to their characters when they spend years writing a series. But then it’s time to move on to other stories and other characters, and in my case a different era. I am currently writing a story about the Irish potato famine which took place in the mid-1800s. It was during the potato famine that some of my ancestors emigrated from Ulster Ireland.

A time of starvation and emigration

There were successive potato crop failures but the famine of 1845-1852 was the worst. It is estimated that one million people died of starvation and disease and another million people emigrated. Many of those emigrating to Canada and other countries perished on the ships. Many, like one of my characters, emigrated to the United States.

This story has a twist that connects it to the novella and the series. I’m about three-quarters of the way through it so stay tuned.

May 13, 2021

Writing Reviews Really Does Help Authors

I loved writing this Revolutionary War series and grew quite attached to the characters. I hope if you read any of these stories and enjoyed them that you would consider writing a review.

A Heart Set Free

In 1770, Heather Douglas is desperate to escape a brewing scandal in her native Scotland. Penniless and hoping for a fresh start far away, she signs a seven-year indenture and boards a British merchant vessel headed to Virginia.

Widowed planter Matthew Stewart needs someone to help raise his two young children. The tall blonde standing on the Alexandria quay doesn’t look like much after her harrowing sea voyage, but there’s a refinement about her that her filthy clothing cannot hide. Could God be leading him to take this unknown servant as his wife?

When Matthew purchases Heather’s indenture, marries her and takes her to his farm, she is faced with new and constant challenges. And Matthew wonders if they can ever bridge their differences and make a life together.

But in the Virginia countryside, Heather begins her greatest journey, one of self-discovery and of maturing faith. Here, she discovers that her emotional and spiritual scars bind her far more than her indenture . . . and love will finally set her heart free.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33224574-a-heart-set-free

https://www.bookbub.com/books/a-heart-set-free-by-janet-s-grunst

https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Set-Free…/dp/B01MQK0SXR/ref

A Heart For Freedom

By 1775, the conflict has escalated between Loyalists and Patriots throughout the colonies. The Stewarts’ ordinary and the surrounding Virginia countryside are not immune from the strife, pitting friends, neighbors, and families against each other.

Matthew Stewart has avoided taking sides and wants only to farm, manage Stewarts’ Green, and raise his family. But political tensions are heating up and circumstances and connections convince him that he should answer a call to aid the Patriot cause … with conditions.

Heather Stewart, born and raised in Scotland, has witnessed the devastation and political consequences of opposing England. Threatened by the prospect of war, she wants only to avoid it, and protect the family and peace she sought and finally found in Virginia.

The journey the Stewarts take is not an easy one and will involve sacrifice, and questioned loyalties. Lives and relationships will be changed forever. Ultimately the knowledge that God is faithful will equip them with the courage to face the future … with a heart for freedom.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40967736-a-heart-for-freedom

https://www.bookbub.com/books/a-heart-for-freedom-a-novel-by-janet-s-grunst

https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Freedom…/dp/B07FB5J172/ref

Setting Two Hearts Free

Donald Duncan joined the Patriot cause for noble reasons, battling the British while enduring deprivation and hardship on every side. The war has changed him, and now the battle is internal. Returning home to Virginia is in sight where a new life and his Mary wait for him.

Mary Stewart spends the war years with her family at Stewarts’ Green, helping them operate their ordinary. Daily, she prays for Donald’s safe return, eagerly waiting for him … until that day the evil side of war touches her.

Two hearts changed by a war that dragged on for six years. Two hearts left hurting and struggling to find the love and trust they once knew. Is there a path for them to rekindle what was lost, Setting Two Hearts Free?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54458496-setting-two-hearts-free#

https://www.bookbub.com/books/setting-two-hearts-free-by-janet-s-grunst

https://www.amazon.com/Setting-Hearts…/dp/B085DRXFZY/ref

September 28, 2020

SETTING TWO HEARTS FREE ~ Releases October 6th

History has always fascinated me, particularly people and events that change the course of a nation or the world. When interpreting history through a Biblical worldview (Providentially) one sees God’s presence, provision, protection, power, and at times permission to accomplish His will. Our world has been polluted by sin since mankind’s fall, ushering in all manner of evil over time. And while God does not endorse these horrible events, we know that He often works through them or despite them to accomplish His greater purposes.

Discovering God’s direction and intervention in the years leading up to, during, and after the American Revolution inspired me to write a series of stories about the American Revolution. I’m delighted that the final book in the series Setting Two Hearts Free releases October sixth.

Setting Two Hearts Free is dedicated to all who suffer the invisible wounds of war and other trauma. And to their families and loved ones, sometimes struggling to best know how to help and cope.

A HEART SET FREE ~ A story of Forgiveness

1770 ~ Heather Douglas, a woman, disillusioned and desperate to escape her native Scotland, signs a seven-year indenture and flees aboard a British merchant vessel to the Virginia colony.

Matthew Stewart, a widowed farmer with two young children needs someone to help raise them. Is God leading him to take this unknown indentured servant as his wife? How would these two individuals, from opposite sides of the Atlantic, each having experienced tragedies, bridge their differences to make a life together?

A HEART FOR FREEDOM ~ A story of Faithfulness

1775-1776 ~ When hostilities break out between the British and colonials, the antagonism between colonists and the British escalate to confrontation. Throughout Virginia, strife between factions loyal to the crown and those demanding independence pit friends, neighbors, and families against each other.

Like so many others, Heather and Matthew’s world is turning upside down. Loyalties are questioned and odd and unexplainable events create doubt and suspicion. Their journey is filled with challenges but God’s faithfulness will encourage His people.

SETTING TWO HEARTS FREE ~ A story of Forbearance

1781-1783 ~ Donald Duncan joined the Patriot cause for noble reasons, battling the British while enduring deprivation and hardship on every side. The war has changed him, and now the battle is internal. Returning home to Virginia is in sight where a new life and his Mary wait for him.

Two hearts are challenged by a war that dragged on for six years. Two hearts left hurting and struggling to find the love and trust they once knew. Is there a path for them to rekindle what was lost, Setting Two Hearts Free?

August 6, 2020August 5, 2020

Setting Two Hearts Free

Two months from today is the release of Setting Two Hearts Free, the third book in my Revolutionary War series. For those who haven’t read A Heart Set Free or A Heart For Freedom, this is a stand-alone story, though you’ll better understand the characters’ background by reading the first two books.

Setting Two Hearts Free picks up in 1781 five years after A Heart For Freedom ends and focuses on the younger generation. The war is winding down but the danger and challenges the characters face haven’t—and some will last long after leaving the battlefield.

Here’s the blurb from Setting Two Hearts Free:

A Heart Set Free was a Selah Award winner. A Heart For Freedom was a Christian Indie Award winner.

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March 7, 2020