L D. Stevens

Thanks for visiting my page! 'Keeping Enemies Closer' has been a two decade long effort that has finally become a reality for me and my two amazing children. I began writing this when my oldest was 6 months old and we had taken a trip to Kentucky for a wedding. I was enchanted with the state and wanted to incorporate it into a story - any story. I also love Wyoming, so I was able to blend the two states together with a common theme - horses. Throughbred horse racing in Kentucky and a cattle ranch in Wyoming.

My characters - they've always been the same. Shelby is somewhat my 'alternate life' character. Troy is and has always been a gorgeous quarterback. They've never changed, although I had to change Shelby's name. She was originally Rebecca, but my sister decided to name her second daughter Rebecca and it wasn't going to work in my book after that.

And something interesting - if I had finished this book a decade ago, it would NOT be the book it is today. Ten years ago, I was a naive, stay at home mom who thought I had a great life with a husband and two beautiful kids. Fastforward ten years and I'm a divorced, single mom raising her two beautiful kids entirely alone - and my life IS even better! Sometimes, what we think will make us the happiest, is not what God has in mind for us, and what we find, in the end, is that what we get far exceeds what we had hoped for in the beginning. My experiences in the last decade have changed me, educated me, matured me and given me a new perspective on the world. I hope it is reflected in my work. The world isn't always as we hope it will be...sometimes, through pain of growth and change, we find something better, and my life is a testament to that. I want my work to reflect that as well. And above all, I want my children to be proud of their mom. I never gave up, I never walked out and I never stopped trying - they are my entire WORLD!

Thank you for reading my book - from the bottom of my heart!