Lantern author

Lorie Hovater

Small-town love stories filled with hope, healing, and second chances.

Contemporary RomanceSmall-Town RomanceChristian RomanceSecond-Chance RomanceSweet Romance

Behind the byline

About the author

I’m Lorie Hovater, a Southern romance author who believes some of the best love stories begin with a second chance.

I write warm, heartfelt stories about ordinary people finding their way through life, love, loss, and new beginnings. My stories may take you from a small Southern town to a cottage by the ocean or even a little schoolhouse in Alaska, but you’ll almost always find family, faith, hope, and a place that feels a little like home.

I’ve been writing for more than ten years, but it took me a while to find the courage to share my stories with readers. Now I’m making up for lost time, one story at a time.

When I’m not writing, you can usually find me with my family, a glass of sweet tea nearby, and another story already taking shape in my head.

⌖ North Alabama

Visit the author’s website →

Author marginalia

The fun stuff.

The little things readers always want to know after the last page.

Forever shelf

Favorite books

Coma
Outbreak
Contagion
Chromosome 6
Mutation

In the headphones

Writing soundtrack

Country music
Soft instrumental music
Whatever fits the scene I’m writing
Sometimes absolutely nothing

Tiny author lore

Things to know

Writes with a pink mechanical pencil
Runs on sweet tea, never coffee
Has a hidden flamingo habit
Has been writing stories for more than ten years
Always has another story waiting in her head

On Lantern

Stories by Lorie Hovater

Romance

The Cottage on Shell Road

After a painful divorce, Lauren James heads to Harbor Point, North Carolina, hoping the cottage her Aunt Jane left behind will give her room to breathe and figure out what comes next. She expects repairs, quiet mornings, and maybe a fresh start. She does not expect Eli, the boy she once knew during childhood summers, now very much a grown man with roots in the town and reasons of his own for keeping people at a distance. As Lauren begins restoring the cottage, she finds herself rebuilding more than an old house. Harbor Point starts to feel like home, old connections begin to matter again, and the future she thought she had lost may be waiting at the end of Shell Road. A sweet coastal romance about second chances, unexpected beginnings, and finding home when you least expect it.