The Memoir of Johnny Devine

“Sharp, on-point writing immediately engages and makes it difficult
to tear one’s attention away from this emotionally riveting novel.
The romantic tension sizzles nearly from the beginning, and readers
will often find themselves breathless from the sheer delight of
it.”

—
RT Book Reviews
, 5 Gold Stars, Top
Pick

2015 Reviewers’ Choice Award Nominee for
Inspirational Romance

“I love this story! The golden era of movies,
a Clark Gable bad-boy turned good, and a woman with a broken heart
learning to love again. A beautifully written story of redemption
and second chances, this Hollywood romance is one that will leave
you with hope. A fantastic weekend escape!”

—Susie May Warren

RITA- and Christy Award-winning, best-selling
author of the Christiansen Family series

“Film noir and gripping romantic tension leap
from the pages of
The Memoir of Johnny Devine
like a
perfectly choreographed dance. Camille Eide’s writing is poignant
and lovely from the first page to the last.”

—Carla Stewart

Award-winning author of
Stardust
and
A Flying Affair

“Combining the romance of classic Hollywood,
the intrigue of the Cold War era, and a stirring spiritual message,
The Memoir of Johnny Devine
is unforgettable. Eliza, John,
and all the supporting characters are compelling, and Camille
Eide’s strong and evocative writing brings the story to life. A
novel to savor.”

—Sarah Sundin

Award-winning author of
Through Waters
Deep

“There is not a false beat in this engaging
story. Eide has managed to create an intricate plot that flows
effortlessly from one page to the next. Full of insight, intrigue,
romance, and faith,
The Memoir of Johnny Devine
is so well
constructed, it makes me want to go right back to the first page
and read it again. Highly recommended!”

—Cindy Kelley

Screenwriter, co-author of
Traces of
Mercy
and
Finding Mercy

“Camille has written another heartthrob of a
novel, with an inspiring beat of true love, beauty, and grace.
The Memoir of Johnny Devine
takes us from the Golden Age of
Hollywood through World War II and into the Red Scare of the early
1950s, as it weaves a story of both despair and redemption. It’s a
page-turner—literally a one-sitting story that I couldn’t put down
until the very last word!”

—Leslie Gould

Christy Award-winning and #1-bestselling
author

“
The Memoir of Johnny Devine
is one of
those special reads you hope to find but rarely do. The power of
this story drew me in and refused to release me. When I was forced
to put down the book, the characters went with me, and I couldn’t
wait to return to its pages. It is brilliantly written and felt as
if every fragment of story and nuance of character were real. It
did not feel like fiction. Truly a must read.”

—Bonnie Leon

Best-selling author of
The Journey of
Eleven Moons
and
To Dance with Dolphins
, 2015
RT
Reviewers’ Choice Award Nominee for Inspirational Novel

Ashberry Lane

© 2015 by Camille Eide

Published by Ashberry Lane

P.O. Box 665, Gaston, OR 97119

www.ashberrylane.com

Smashwords Edition

This book is available in print at most
online retailers.

All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written
permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations
in printed reviews.

Names, characters, places, and incidents are
either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously.
All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living
or dead is purely coincidental.

Published in association with Rachelle
Gardner of Books & Such Literary Agency.

ISBN 978-1-941720-30-1

Library of Congress Control
Number: 2015951809

Cover design by Miller Media Solutions

Edited by Rachel Lulich, Kristen Johnson,
Andrea Cox, Amy Smith, and Tami Engle

Scripture used in this book, whether quoted
or paraphrased by the characters, is taken from the King James
Version of the Bible.

FICTION / Christian Romance / Historical

Endorsements

Read the Book

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Discussion Questions

Other Books by Ashberry Lane

There is neither Jew nor Greek,

there is neither bond nor free,

there is neither male nor female:

for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:28

To Mom, my anchor

a woman of class and grace

a true tender heart

After all the women I’ve known and all the
illusions of romance I’ve helped create on stage and film, you’d
think I was Hollywood’s leading expert on love. In fact, many
people not only
believed this, but banked
on it.

~
The Devine Truth: A Memoir

October 1953

Laurel District, Oakland, CA

A tiny cyclone of dry
leaves raced ahead of Eliza as she crossed 35th Avenue, urging her
to hurry. Or perhaps, more likely, the urge to hurry was coming
from her stomach. The warm, leaf-scattering breeze caught the hem
of her skirt and swirled it around her knees, quickening her steps
all the more. Her heels clicking across the pavement sounded like a
tiny
horse’s
hooves.

At
the entrance to Lucky’s Diner, Eliza stopped and searched her
sweetheart handbag—a gift from Betty, of course—just to make sure
the money was still there. Eliza didn’t care what today’s Blue
Plate Special was, as long as it didn’t cost more than fifty
cents.

Inside the diner, her stomach groaned at the
smells of coffee and fried food. A waitress Eliza had not seen
before worked the window side of the diner. Tugging off the scarf
that barely kept her dark, collar-length curls in order, she
followed the woman’s progress.

The new waitress moved deftly from table to
table. Perhaps this one would be friendlier than old Greta.

Eliza hurried to the only empty window seat,
then turned up her coffee cup and waited, shushing the embarrassing
sounds coming from her insides.

Anticipation must have awakened the sleeping
beast.

As she waited, she made a quick study of the
other diners. Two young women, one with a toddler and the other
with an infant, sat in the next booth. The baby peeked over her
mama’s shoulder and blinked at Eliza with big, blue eyes.

Eliza smiled until the baby broke out in a
toothless grin. She widened her smile and waved her fingers, but
the mother glared over her shoulder and quickly shifted the child
down onto her lap. Cheeks warming, Eliza returned her hands to her
own empty lap.

A man in a long, dark coat, seated at the
counter, peered over his shoulder at her.

She turned and focused her attention on the
busy crisscross of traffic outside her window. Busy was good.

“
Coffee?” the new waitress
asked, carafe in hand.

“
Yes, please.” Eliza poked
her cat-eye glasses higher and read the name
Peg
on the waitress’s
pin.

Peg handed her a menu and filled her cup.
“Holler when you’re ready to order, hon.”

“
I’ll have the Blue Plate
Special, please.” Eliza took a scalding sip of coffee. Black as tar
and bitter as always.

Frowning, Peg watched Eliza gulp down her
coffee. “Don’t you even want to know what it is?”

Eliza set the half-empty cup down and
smiled. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s divine.”

As Peg left with her order, the jukebox
blared to life.

Eliza tapped her toes to the lively sounds
of Les Paul’s guitar and Mary Ford’s voice singing about her
undying love for a boy named Johnny.

Papa would have closed his eyes, tuned out
the sounds of traffic and café chatter, and focused on the sound of
the guitar. After listening to a song once or twice, he would
practice for hours until he could play it note for note.

With a sigh, Eliza shelved the memory. The
last time she saw her parents was in 1938, just a week before her
high school graduation. They had looked so full of life, waving
goodbye from the train as it pulled away from the station,
promising to return with pennants from Fresno State for her and
Betty, and with any luck, two full-time teaching jobs. Papa had
been especially keen on teaching again. Eliza always suspected the
lean years following the Great Crash had been harder on him than on
Mama. But the only souvenir Eliza and Betty got from their parents’
trip was a telegram saying they’d been killed in a railway accident
outside of Modesto.

When her meal arrived, Eliza quickly
assessed each item. The gravy-coated mashed potatoes and breaded
mystery meat wouldn’t keep—those she would eat now. The dinner roll
and dill pickle spear could wait. The green beans were
questionable, but they would also wait.