Set in Mississippi during the 1980's, and spanning nearly two decades, The Letter begins when Tiffany Crenshaw moves from California to the small town of Natchez. She meets Steven Cross, a country boy with wit and charm beyond his years. At their first encounter, that once in a lifetime moment happens when eyes meet, hearts melt and true love has a chance to bloom. Rumors and lies spread by Amber, Steven's ex-girlfriend, threaten to destroy what has only just begun. And with his mother determined that her son marries the perfect southern belle, Steven must go against all expectations to fulfill his destiny.Their forbidden relationship drives the young couple to become deeply intertwined, with bonds that seem unbreakable. They share their lives during Steven's senior year of high school and experience a fiery love affair. Somehow they both knew that the other would be their soul mate and once they shared their passion, it would burn forever. Inevitably change comes to separate and test the depths of their love as Steven moves away to college. With desperate pleading, Tiffany makes him promise always to write her. Then he drives away leaving her hopes and dreams shattered in as many pieces as her heart.Circumstances begin to rip at the very seams of their love with each finding themselves living separate lives. The test of a long distance relationship proves treacherous for the young lovers but Steven never fails to touch his pen to paper and poetically spell out his love for Tiffany in words.After Tiffany graduates high school, she moves back to California in pursuit of an acting career. Despite the miles between then they remain close during the trials and triumphs of life. Their invisible bond remains strong because of the incredible soul-baring love letters Steven continues to send even when it seems all hope is lost. Throughout the years when their paths cross through chance meetings and strange coincidences they rekindle their relationship. When success comes, will the tides of fate finally change, giving them the chance to finish what they started so many years before?
About the Author: Charna Michelle Ainsworth was born in Lumberton, Mississippi, on August 30, 1967, the second daughter of Charles Lee Burkhalter (b. July 1945) and Barbara Faye (Herrin) Burkhalter (b. July 1948). Her only sibling is Charlotte Faye Henley (b. May 1964). As a child, she lived in Dallas, Miami, and New Orleans, finally settling in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, at the age of eight. She lived in Hattiesburg through high school and chose to travel in lieu of attending college. After traveling for over two years living in places such as Pensacola Beach, Florida, Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Los Angeles, California, she moved back to her home state of Mississippi. She then began to attend college, majoring in Accounting. She and her first husband William Horne (b. March 1965 d.Oct. 2010), met through mutual friends and were married in July 1993. While living in Hattiesburg, she wrote many award winning poems and began to write short stories. She worked a variety of jobs over the next several years including insurance sales, retail sales, and started her own skin care business. After the death of her first son, Andrew Horne (d. 1997), she became a homemaker and began to explore different genres of writing. She continued her first love, poetry and began writing longer short stories and screenplays. She wrote the first of her three novels, The Letter in 1999, over a period of six weeks. Within a year, she had a literary agent and her work was presented to major publishers, though it wasn't published. She remarried in 2003 and her first daughter, Maria, was born in May 2004. During this time she wrote two collections of poetry and one children's book. After her daughter began attending school, she reread The Letter. Pushing aside all normal paths of publishing, she chose to self-publish through the median of e-books and in paperback through CreateSpace. Her ancestry is German and American Indian. Charna is an avid reader, usually reading 2 to 4 books at one time. She is currently taking on-line classes through The University of Southern Mississippi and attends church regularly at The Church of God in Purvis with her daughter, Maria. She also contributes to a variety of local charities in her community. Charna Ainsworth lives in Mississippi with her young daughter and their dog and cat, Lakota and Buddy.