Hi there.
My name is Azure Hewitt. Elizabeth asked me to swing by and tell you a little about my family. I’m not one hundred percent clear on why–she can be evasive when she wants to be. Have you noticed that?
No?
Well, maybe just when she’s talking to me.
For all of that, it’s actually been a little while since Elizabeth and I have talked at any great depth. Back in the summer of 2018, Elizabeth and I were great friends. She spent a ton of her time helping me navigate some stuff in my life.
What stuff? Oh, well, I guess that’s a good enough place to start. See, my parents raised me and my four younger siblings in a converted school bus. Dad never wanted to be tied down to a house–or a job, for that matter. He went where the work was. And that changed a lot. He always used to say anything you owned could turn around and own you, if you weren’t careful.
So we moved around. A lot.
It wasn’t too bad. Mom homeschooled us, so it wasn’t like we were in and out of new classrooms every time we turned around. And there were enough of us in that bus that there was no chance to get lonely. And so me, Cyan, Indigo, Royal and Skye got to be pretty close for siblings.
What’s that? Oh yeah, Dad has a thing for blue. None of us ever really minded. I guess because we weren’t around a lot of other kids, so it wasn’t like people made fun.
Anyway, when we grew up and got off the bus, none of us kids was big on settling down either. I mean, if you grow up moving around all the time, that’s what feels normal, right? I found this super cute vintage truck and trailer and spent a lot of time moving around to paint. That’s what I do, I’m an artist.
My brother Cyan is a whiz with computers. He does some sort of cyber security consulting. It’s all remote work, so up until recently, he’s been house sitting and moving around to where ever his whim strikes. But not too long ago, on my recommendation, he went to northern New Mexico to meet our grandparents for the first time. They have a nice place on a mesa near Taos. It’s called Hope Ranch and my visit there changed my life. It’s looking like Cyan’s visit is doing the same for him. If nothing else, it finally convinced him to stop running from Jesus. And he met a woman.
My sister Indigo is married–or at least lives like it, I’m not actually sure if they ever made it legal–and lives on an artist commune near Sedona, Arizona. She has an alpaca herd and I think some sheep, too. She harvests their wool, turns it into yarn, and in addition to a pretty serious yarn dying operation, she also does some weaving and knitting. Their place isn’t far from where my parents just bought a house.
Can you believe it? My folks sold the bus and now own property! I’m not sure what’s up with that, but if Dad can change that much, maybe there really is hope that he’ll come to know Christ. Or, I guess, come back to Christ. My grandparents say he used to love the Lord. They’re not sure what happened. Maybe it’s something only he knows.
The twins–that’s Skye and Royal–are still kind of settling. Royal’s running a YouTube channel with sponsorships and everything. He’s always chasing the next great video idea. But I guess it makes him happy and keeps him out of trouble. Mostly. I’m not sure that his quest for fame is going to leave a lot of room for God to work on his heart, but I also know God is a God of miracles, so there’s still hope.
Skye…has been acting strange lately. She’s distant. Like she’s hiding something. And I’m ashamed to admit I’ve been busy enough with my own life that I haven’t pushed. I should. I know I should. But right now I’m just praying for her–and for all my siblings. We didn’t grow up with Jesus, but now that He’s a part of my life, I know how much I want them to find Him.
What’s cool is knowing my grandparents are praying for them too. And I really do believe that with God, nothing is impossible. That’s one of the reasons the grandparents named their place Hope Ranch–because with Jesus, there’s always hope.
Thanks, Azure!
If you haven’t met Azure and Cyan, you can read about their path to love in A Heart Realigned(for Azure) and Hope for Christmas (for Cyan.) Look for Skye’s story in Hope for Tomorrow (Hope Ranch book 2) coming hopefully in March 2020!
Elizabeth Maddrey is a semi-reformed computer geek and homeschooling mother of two who lives in the suburbs of Washington D.C. When she isn’t writing, Elizabeth is a voracious consumer of books. She loves to write about Christians who struggle through their lives, dealing with sin and receiving God’s grace on their way to their own romantic happily ever after.
I like the sound of all of these characters and their world.
Sounds like a very interesting family. I will pray for salvation for your siblings and your Dad.
I can’t remember if I’ve read Cyan’s story. Off to Amazon I go!
Looks like a great series, Elizabeth! I look forward to reading them!
Thanks Mary!
I have some ideas of what’s in store for this family as I write their stories – and Jesus is definitely going to make Himself known. The best part about fiction is that we can make endings maybe a little happier than might happen in real life.
I feel like we may have talked about it at one point – but Amazon will let you know (anyone else think the best thing they ever did is make sure you can see what you already bought??)
Thanks Paula! I hope they live up to expectations!
I really enjoyed this post from Azure. And funnily enough, I was having a conversation about New Mexico, and Taos specifically, the other day.
Oh, these sound good!! I’ll have to add them to my wish list!
Oh fun! I love northern NM. :)
Yay! I hope you get a chance to enjoy them!
Can’t wait to see what Skye is up to!!!
Ha. Is here where I say “me too!” ?
Hoe cool. I loved this. So different from other interviews kind of post and a good chunk of information about this blue family
Ops. I meant *how* cool.
Yay! I never know what questions would be interesting when I do a straight interview, so I was hoping a more stream of consciousness take over would work. It was fun to write!
It is, except when the said book was part of a boxed set… :-)
I too look forward to Skye’s story!!
Yeah. I do try to make sure it’s at the bottom of the book description (I think it is for this one!)
Yay! :)
I look forward to the story. I feel like I read one bit I’m not sure which one. And yes I’m glad kindle keeps me from buying things multiple times. But I have rebought a paper book on sale that I had on kindle.
Azure’s story is A Heart Realigned (#3 in the Peacock Hill series) and Cyan’s is Hope for Christmas, which was in the A Christmas to Remember box set (2018) and is now a solo.
Sounds very interesting. Thank you for sharing your characters.
Thanks! I hope you get a chance to read them.
Just won and finished reading A Heart Restored and loved it. Looking forward to reading the rest of her books!
“You coulda knocked me over with a feather when Azure said her folks bought a *house*! Cause I remember that bus. Her daddy asked me to work on it once or twice. I figured if he wasn’t a man of prayer, he oughta been. There was more than one thing held together with baling wire and duct tape underneath that thing. Well, good to hear about the family and how some heart healin’ is going on. I’ll be praying for ’em and looking forward to hearing more of their stories.
Earl Highland, Mechanic and artiste in baling wire.”
Lol.
Yay!
I’m excited to read Skye’s story!!
This sounds like a series that I can really get into.
I too am a homeschooling mom. As a mother of 5, I was an active homeschooling mom for 25 years. It was hard but very rewarding.
Hard but rewarding is a perfect description :)
And yay! I hope you get a chance to enjoy the series.