fox lane press

The Girl Who Painted the Rain Yellow is a powerful psychological thriller that brings a six-year-old girl between a self-righteous university professor, Layne Jennings and a captivating young woman who hides a dark secret.

In the news, child abuse near the small Indiana town of Westville, Frank Roberts is in jail and charged with abuse and neglect of his young daughter Amy. The court-appointed defense attorney, Kathy Anderson - aggressive - manipulative - ambitious, argues that Roberts is a first-time offender and immediately motions the court for reduction of bail. Opposing points of view about what is best for Amy, who is now in foster care, cause heated disagreements between Layne and social worker Harry Meredith and result in Jennings referring to Meredith as public enemy number one. But Harry, too, has an undisclosed secret that he finally reveals.

Scenic New Glarus, Wisconsin, where Jennings is spending the Thanksgiving holidays at the family summerhouse, a loud knocking on the door late at night startles him. Standing in the snow is a frightened Sarah Beck who tells Layne her father has had an accident on the ice and that she needs his help to save him. It is not until they are sitting in the hospital waiting room that he realizes the young woman’s stunning beauty. But there is something strange about Sarah - something enticing, but more ethereal than real.

Their summer romance on the Little Sugar River is not without painful lessons for both of them. Sarah realizes Layne’s love for her is increasingly metaphysical; and still lurking in the shadows - Bobby Stevens and his blue pickup truck. This slow-burn romance intensifies during a haunting Wisconsin summer when Layne proposes to Sarah. After an unexpected phone call from a distraught Harry Meredith, Jennings is back in Valparaiso, Indiana listening to an apologetic Meredith explaining what happened weeks after the court granted supervised custody of Amy to her father.

Confusion and uncertainty in the days that follow! Returning to New Glarus to set a wedding date, Layne inadvertently overhears enough of Sarah’s conversation with Bobby Stevens to know the secret she tried earlier to reveal but could not. A spiritual journey of self-discovery and renewed faith, The Girl Who Painted the Rain Yellow is more than fiction. It is a bold, gritty, and poignant perspective on child abuse and why it continues to be one of society’s most invasive pandemics. Romance, deceit, and hope drive this story to a startling conclusion that will anger readers without offending or disappointing them.