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The Writing Desk

Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available

This happily ever after romance tells the captivating story of two women bound together across time by a shared dream and a mysterious writing desk.

Tenley Roth's first book was a runaway bestseller. Now that her second book is due, she's locked in fear. Can she repeat her earlier success or is she a fraud who has run out of inspiration?

With pressure mounting from her publisher, Tenley is weighted with writer's block. But when her estranged mother calls asking Tenley to help her through chemotherapy, she packs up for Florida where she meets handsome furniture designer Jonas Sullivan and discovers the story her heart's been missing.

A century earlier, another woman wrote at the same desk with hopes and fears of her own. Born during the Gilded Age, Birdie Shehorn is the daughter of the old money Knickerbockers. Under the strict control of her mother, her every move is decided ahead of time, even whom she'll marry. But Birdie has dreams she doesn't know how to realize. She wants to tell stories, write novels, make an impact on the world. When she discovers her mother has taken extreme measures to manipulate her future, she must choose between submission and security or forging a brand new way all on her own.

Tenley and Birdie are from two very different worlds, but fate has bound them together in a way time cannot erase.

"Rachel Hauck enchants us again! Tenley and Birdie are bound together by the understanding that creativity is a guiding force and that their stories must be told. A tale both bittersweet and redemptive, The Writing Desk is your must-read." —Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author

This sweet, split-time read is a standalone novel, though characters in this story appear in Rachel Hauck's book, The Fifth Avenue Story Society. Includes discussion questions.

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    • Library Journal

      January 1, 2018

      Hauck (The Wedding Shop) winningly casts an oft-overlooked desk as a talisman for two aspiring authors. Gifted with the desk in the 1890s, heiress Birdie Shehorn stashes her novels-in-progress inside; more than a century later, Tenley Roth sits before the furniture immobilized by writer's block as her book deadline looms. Both women contend with family legacies bestowing privilege and obligation: Birdie--a "true princess of New York"-- dreads the loveless marriage engineered by her parents; Tenley, descended from eminent authors and praised for her debut, fears being unmasked as a hack. As chapters crisscross between Birdie and Tenley, Hauck contrasts the women's faith journeys: Tenley's dawning awareness of comfort from prayer and Scripture, Birdie's longer-held conviction and more mature (though no less spirited) response to trials or injustice. Romance fans will cheer gratifying plot convergences, revelations of piquant secrets, and beguiling depictions of Gilded Age society. Among book clubs, Tenley's solution for her second novel may raise both eyebrows and discussion. Narrator Windy Lanzl smoothly bridges the time shifts, accommodating period-appropriate diction and infusing warmth that enhances the engaging narrative. VERDICT Public libraries should purchase for inspirational romance readers, especially Hauck's fan base.--Linda Sappenfield, Round Rock P.L., TX

      Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Booklist

      June 1, 2017
      It's 1902, and socialite Birdie Shehorn has spent four years at Wellesley instead of doing what's expected of her: finding an appropriately rich husband. So now her parents have arranged for her to marry. But Birdie wants to write, something women of the time aren't encouraged to do. In the present, Tenley Roth has penned a best-seller and become a star. She's expected to write a second, but she can't because she's been in a state of shock ever since her father's death. The mother who left her when Tenley was nine has asked her to move in with her and care for her through 12 weeks of chemo treatments. To top everything off, Tenley's boyfriend has surprised her with an insistent marriage proposal. Two strong women from two different eras, both writers facing unpleasant futures, share many similarities as they strive to achieve their goals regardless of any obstacles. And it all starts with a very special writing desk. Best-selling Hauck's (The Wedding Shop, 2016) latest faith-based book has wide appeal.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

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