My guest today is Irene Hannon, a longtime Love Inspired author who is now also writing for Revell. Irene today tells a family story of faithfulness in the face of unfaithfulness. Here’s Irene:

“Today I’d like to pay tribute to a woman I never met but who I suspect had a tremendous influence on my life.

Her name was Catherine Hannon, and she was born in Ireland more than 100 years ago. Still single as she approached 40, she was drafted by her newly widowed brother to take care of his two pre-school children, James (my father) and Cis, while he set off for America. He promised to send for the siblings soon and to provide financial support.

So Aunt Kate, as Dad called her, moved into her brother’s home. In that small rural cottage without indoor plumbing, electricity, or heat (except for a fireplace, where she also cooked), she took on the temporary job of substitute mom.

Except it wasn’t temporary. Her brother never sent for the children. And financial support was sporadic. Aunt Kate worked in the fields, took in laundry, served as a midwife, prepared bodies for burial—no job was beneath her as she struggled to put food on the table and take care of the two little children in her charge.

Years later, as adults, my dad and his sister did come to America. They both regularly sent money to Aunt Kate, who never married. When she died, they paid tribute to her with a headstone that said, “In Loving Memory of Catherine Hannon…erected by her ‘children’ James and Cis.”

In a country that was very traditional, Aunt Kate took on a role usually reserved for men—the head of a household. I have to believe that her competence and strength and independence had a profound effect on my father, who never factored gender into any challenge I faced, nor limited my opportunities based on sexist stereotypes. He encouraged me to reach for the stars. And I did.

While I’ve never consciously based any of my heroines on Aunt Kate, I always write about strong, brave women. Psychologist Emily Lawson, the heroine in my latest suspense novel, An Eye For An Eye, (Book 2 in my Heroes of Quantico series) is a good example. Though a sniper turns her world upside down, she carries on with grace, courage and even a touch of humor as she reconnects with her first love, FBI Hostage Rescue Team member Mark Sanders. Yes, she’s afraid. But she doesn’t let fear paralyze her. The same is true for Monica Callahan in Against All Odds, Book 1 in the series, after terrorists mark her as the next victim. Both of these women endure—and triumph—in the face of obstacles.

I have a feeling Aunt Kate would have liked them.

If you’d like to know more about the brave women who are the heroines in my stories, please visit my Web site at www.irenehannon.com. And drop me a line, if you like. I love to hear from readers!”–Irene

On Irene’s website, she has a page titled, “What’s Cooking?” She’s features a new recipe every month. And she also has a page “News and Notes” where she keeps her fans up to date on her activities.

Thanks, Irene, for a wonderful story.–Lyn