The true story of a good girl who married a seriously bad boy.

A handsome Italian film producer and a beautiful Mexican dancer . . . a match made on a movie set and a lavish Beverly Hills wedding . . . the beginning of Cammy Franzese’s true story sounds like an exotic fairy tale.

But a closer look at her marriage to mafia capo Michael Franzese exposes more than a decade of anguish endured in the shadows of her husband’s crimes. The fear of arrest, the prison sentences, the house raids from federal agents—Cammy lived through it all, not knowing whether her family could remain unbroken amid the turmoil and uncertainty that accompanied her husband’s life of crime.

This Thing of Ours is the poignant story of a young woman married to a powerful mobster—and the God who is more powerful still.

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Valentine’s Day… aww. I love love. Don’t you?

At least the thought of love makes my heart squishy and causes my pulse to thump. Not just romantic love, but friendship love, and grandchildren love. Ah, yes. And what about puppy love? I’m talkin’ real bouncy wet-nosed puppies and playful furry-ball kittens. Who can see new born animals and not ooh and ah with delight? And chuckle with pleasure.

There is the cutest video online these days of a man kneeling next to a box full of yapping puppies. He begins to softly sing and the puppies amazingly hush, curl up, stretch out, close their eyes, and fall fast asleep. Aww. So sweet.

Maybe you remember a lullaby that was sung to you or that you sang to a little one that hugs your heart when you hear it. Tenderness breeds love.

My dad use to sing “You Are My Sunshine” to me. To this day I celebrate that song. Mom sang as well, but what I remember most is her tender touch stroking my forehead and rubbing my hands.

Every Valentine’s Day I made my parents cards. One, that survived the years, has a side profile of my dad that I attempted and because dad was bald I drew sparkly light glowing from his dome. Oh dear, he must have appreciated that.

I received my first Valentine from my hubby Les when I was 15. I still have it. Am I mushy or what? It had a mail box stuffed with cards on the front, which was significant since we lived 600 miles apart and there was no such thing as texting or emails. And the only twittering was my heart when I would see Les’ handwriting on an envelope. Oh, heart be still.

But the love I’d like to focus on this February is self kindness. Taking care of you. I’d like to encourage you to put yourself on your Valentine List. To give is to receive, we know, but because God treasures us we must learn to love ourselves as well. Not indulge our weaknesses, (put that chocolate-covered cherry down, girl!) but to find a way to be kind to us. It could be a new book that you set aside an hour today to begin… one that will nurture your heart. Or a long distance call you take time for that reconnects you to someone you miss. Or maybe you could extend mercy to yourself for not doing everything right.

Be creative. Be loving. Be kind.

I love love.

And remember…we can love because He (Christ) first loved us.

— Patsy Clairmont

As part of “Celebrate Love” month, we’re featuring a new Christian romance each week in February—because sometimes you just need to curl up with a good love story.

Smitten, Vermont is about to become the most romantic town in America.

First, the bad news: the lumber mill is closing, throwing much of the town’s population out of work. How will the town survive without its main employer?

Here’s the good news: Natalie, Julia, Shelby, and Reese think they’ve got just the plan to save their town. They’ll capitalize on its name and turn Smitten into a tourist destination for lovers—complete with sweet shops, a spa, romantic music on the square, and cabins outfitted with fireplaces and hot tubs.

Kind of ironic, really, considering none of the friends currently has a love interest of her own. But as always, God has a plan—and as always, it’s better than the friends could ever imagine. As the romance factor heats up, the faith of a little child reminds the whole town what it means to have real faith in the God who is the always and forever Love.

Join best-selling authors (and real-life BFFs) Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, and Denise Hunter for an inspiring stay at the (soon-to-be) most romantic town on the eastern seaboard. One visit . . . and you’ll be smitten too.

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From the authors of Smitten

When our publisher (Thomas Nelson) asked if we were interested in collaborating on a novel, the answer was a resounding “Yes!” Since the four of us (Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, and Denise Hunter) are BFFs, we decided to write about 4 friends living in the town of Smitten, Vermont. We gave them the tough challenge of saving their dying town and 4 rugged heroes to win their hearts, but we also gave them a little piece of ourselves—as in our personalities. That was the best way, we figured, to keep the characters consistent throughout. (And it made for a whole lot of fun!)

Smitten is special to us because so much of our friendship is between the covers of that book. Women need friendships like ours—not just the kind that shares conversation over a cup of coffee, but the deeper kind that gets you through spiritual struggles and bouts of cancer.

In many ways, Smitten is a celebration of our friendship, a celebration of enduring love, and a celebration of God’s unexpected blessings, all wrapped up in one book. We hope our readers will feel part of that as they join us on a journey to a very special place called Smitten.

— Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, and Denise Hunter

A sample from Smitten

The aroma of the freshly brewed coffee overpowered the less appetizing smell from the drum roaster in the back room. Natalie let her cousin Zoe handle the customers at the bar, as Natalie took the hot beverages to the seating area by the window where she and her friends could see the white-topped Sugarcreek Mountain. Spring had come to their part of Vermont, and the sight of the wildflowers on the lower slopes would give her strength.

“So what are we going to do?” she asked, sinking in to the overstuffed leather sofa beside Reese MacKenzie?

“Do? What can we do?” Reese asked. Her blond ponytail gleamed in the shaft of sunlight through the window. She was the practical one in the group. Reese was never afraid of hard work, but while Natalie saw only the end goal, Reese saw the pitfalls right on the path. “We can’t make them keep the mill open.”

While rumors about the mill had been floating for months, no one had really believed it would fold. The ramifications would be enormous. Natalie’s business had been struggling enough without this added blow.

She took a sip of her mocha java. A little bitter. She’d have to tweak the roast a bit next time. “If the mill closes, the town will dry up and blow away. We can’t let that happen.” If Mountain Perks closed, she didn’t know how she would provide for Mia.

And she wasn’t leaving Smitten. Not ever. After being yanked from pillar to post with an alcoholic mother until she was ten, Natalie craved the stability she had found here with her great-aunts and extended family which included her three best friends.

Julia Bourne tossed her long hair away from her face, revealing flawless skin that never needed makeup. “This is one of those things outside your control, Nat. I guess we’d all better be looking for jobs in Stowe.”

Shelby Evans took a sip of her tea and shivered. Her Shih-poo, Penelope, dressed in a fashionable blue-and-white polka-dotted shirt, turned around in Shelby’s lap and lay down on her navy slacks. “I don’t know about you all,” Shelby said, “but I wanted my kids to grow up here.”

The women had no children of their own—and none of them was even close to thinking about settling down—but that was a moot point for Shelby. She had a storybook ending in mind that included a loving husband and two-point-five children for each of them. Natalie was sure her friend would find that life too.

Natalie moved restlessly. “There has to be something we can do. Some new export. Maple syrup, maybe? We have lots of trees.” She glared at Julia. “What about your New York friends? Maybe you could ask some of your business friends for advice.”

Julia shrugged her slim shoulders. “They know spas. I hardly think a spa is going to save us.”

Reese had those thoughtful lines on her forehead. A tiny smile hovered on her full lips, and her hazel eyes showed a plan was forming. “We don’t have time for exports, but what about imports? Tourists would love us if they’d come visit. We have heart.” She took out her ever-present notebook and pen and began to jot down ideas.

“They come to ski in Stowe anyway,” Shelby said. “All we have to do is get them here.”

Natalie rubbed her forehead where it had begun to ache. “But what do we have to offer that’s different from any other town?”

Julia crossed her shapely ankles. “Smitten is cute with its church and all, but cute doesn’t bring tourists. I can’t even get a decent manicure in this dinky town. People aren’t going to pay for ambience. We need some kind of gimmick.”

Reese tapped her pen against her chin. “I have an idea,” she said. “Everybody jokes about the town name. Why not capitalize on it?”

“How do you capitalize on a name like Smitten?”

“What does Smitten make you think of?” Reese asked. “Love, right? What if we turn the town into a place for honeymooners?”

Excerpted from Smitten. Copyright © 2011 by Kristin Billerbeck, Colleen Coble, Diann Hunt, and Denise Hunter. Published by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.