Beneath the Broom Tree

They thought healing was impossible...
Haunted by grisly scenes from her past, journalist Ione Stavros needs to heal and recharge. According to its website, the mysterious St. Ninian's Sanctuary is a perfect place to do that. On an island so far south it's nearly in Antarctica, the retreat center promises quiet opportunities to meet with God and find refreshment. She prays that's true, because this is her last hope.
Callen came to the island to escape a fatal failure that won't leave him alone. Working the island farm and hiding in a cabin alone, he prays God will let him stop hearing, even for a moment, screams from the past, back in his former life as a paramedic working Rocky Mountain search and rescue. He never expects God to begin that healing by placing a woman in his path who might be more broken than he is. He can't bear to carry her pain along with his own, but every time he turns around, there she is.
Together they listen for God's voice, explore the mysteries of the island, and try to make sense of hurts in their lives. As Ione moves forward, Callen steps back, and even the fragile healing they experience is put to the test. It isn't until danger threatens the entire island that they begin to understand God's plans for them—apart and together—as well as plans for the island they've grown to love.
Beneath the Broom Tree is a contemporary Christian small-town romance with a mysterious island twist.

Jill Penrod wrote her first novel in high school. It was a space opera (she watched Star Wars A LOT), and it was not great literature. But she persevered, graduating college with top honors in writing. Since then, she's published more than thirty novels. She writes in several genres including Christian teen romance, sweet romance, Christian fantasy stories, and non-fiction. None of them are space operas.
Jill lives in Kentucky with her husband and youngest son. She has three adult children out there doing adult things like work and marriage. When she isn't writing, she gardens and spoils her long-haired Chihuahua Sparrow, along with a few other cats and dogs. Recently she fulfilled her dream of moving to the country, although it has yet to be seen if this city mouse can become a country mouse or not.