Coming Fall 2026

Set in England just after WWII, the CHRONICLES OF CHOICE series, by Patti Townley-Covert and Nan Rinella, introduces you to five friends: Lily (a stunning up-and-coming fashion designer), her best friend Phila (a brilliant Oxford student, who fantasizes about finding Prince Charming) and the three young veterans who cherish them.

Ollie, a tall red-haired Scottish hero, battles post-war demons as he tries to win Phila’s heart. Although her handsome genius brother, Hugh, still longs for national glory, he also yearns for Lily. Dan, an American humanist interloper becomes Hugh’s primary competition. Friendship develops among the five young adults amidst challenging inner voices such as Pride, Shame, and Doubt along with Humility, Honor, and Trust.

The wit and wisdom of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien at the Eagle and Child pub and in the halls of Oxford also influences their decisions. As the characters in this Christian Historical Fiction Series engage your mind and delight your heart, they’ll become your friends, too.

New York Times Bestselling  author of The  Secret  Book  of  Flora Lea,

Patti Callahan Henry said,

“I am always fascinated by stories that delve into the magnificent imagination of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. Rinella and Townley-Covert care deeply for both men’s work and weave their ingenious ideas into the CHRONICLES OF CHOICE series.”

• The Battle Begins, a free prequel, is ready for proofreading and fact checking.
• Derailed, Book One of the CHRONICLES OF CHOICE is finished except for the cover and back cover copy.
• Detoured, Book Two is about half written.

For the best reading experience, the prequel, Derailed and Detoured will all release about the same time. To stay updated on the progress and receive a free inspiring enewsletter once a month, sign up on the form below. Plus as soon as it’s published, you’ll be among the first to receive the free prequel.

Do you hear voices?

If we’re honest, we all do—you know the ones—those conflicting inner voices that whisper or SHOUT inside our minds.

Maybe you hear a sibling or teacher repeating messages of Ridicule and Shame. Sometimes that can even be a parent; “You’ll never amount to anything.”  Culture booms so loud, its messages seem impossible to ignore.

Voices like Regret, Defeat, Self-Pity, Scorn, and Guilt may beat you down. Pride, Ego, or Self can puff you up.  Some voices scream horrendous thoughts that spawn deplorable feelings about yourself. Fear, Rebellion, Hatred, and Bitterness often attack in the dead of night. Defeat, Despair, and Disgrace might send you deep into depression. Failure. “You’re a loser. You’ll never amount to anything.”

Or perhaps scripture you memorized conveys Wisdom. Truth. Hope. The words you most need to hear.

Have you ever heard them? The father of lies wants to deceive you, and misguided voices should be instantly silenced. Then you can hear the Holy Spirit whisper the truths of Courage, Compassion, Grace, Sacrifice, and Forgiveness. Their messages build your character and provide a pathway to peace..

During the writing of this series, Nan Rinella and Patti Townley-Covert have been rebuking negative voices and cheering each other on with positive messages.

About the CHRONICLES OF CHOICE creator, Nan Rinella

She claims to be a Hobbit in Narnia. Perhaps you already know that’s a small down-to-earth creature who loves life’s comforts. Yet, once upon a time (2004 to be exact), Nan, a petite down-to-earth journalist, ventured into “The Fantastic Worlds of C. S. Lewis & J. R. R. Tolkien” (a C. S. Lewis Foundation, CSLF, event). After reading the academic tomes of some of the exceptional other-worldly speakers, she went forth in fear and trembling and has been on a wild ride ever since.

The CHRONICLES OF CHOICE characters have come along with her. These five friends became her friends and delight her heart, just as they will yours.

After writing scenes for three books, and crafting enough for two more in her mind, she hired Patti Townley Covert as an editor. Sometimes writers (and hobbits) go down rabbit holes and alas, such was the case for the five-book series. A literary agent advised that there were too many detours. The five books needed to be consolidated, perhaps into two (but three might be better).

Then, another obstacle popped up. Nan got macular degeneration. That visual impairment led her to relinquish her role as lead author to Patti. It just made sense that as Nan’s brilliant research and masterful storytelling guide Patti; she can take the lead in recrafting the stories, making them more concise, and marketing them. Their partnership is teamwork at its finest.

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From the LORD OF THE RINGS  to the CHRONICLES OF CHOICE

In The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears, Mark Batterson wrote that God doesn’t call the qualified; He qualifies the called. Isn’t it amazing how God actually prepares you for His calling ahead of time?

When Nan first read a C. S. Lewis novel, she got this really cool idea for a book and knew that he and Tolkien would influence it.

Her first read of the LOTR was in 1971 while her husband served in Vietnam. She fell madly in love with Tolkien’s writing and began reading most of his other works. Before The Fellowship of the Ring (Book I) movie debuted in 2001, she reread it.

Then, when the twin towers, fell, the night of September 11th, after hours of watching the news, she resumed reading The Two Towers (Book II).

“‘What hope have we?’ said Faramir. ‘ . . . for the Enemy increases and we decrease. We are a failing people, a springless autumn . . . The Men of Númenor were settled far and wide on the shores and seaward regions of the Great Lands, but for the most part they fell into evils and follies. Many became enamoured of the Darkness and the black arts; some were given over wholly to idleness and ease, and some fought among themselves, until they were conquered in their weakness by the wild men.

‘ . . . Yet even so it was Gondor that brought about its own decay, failing by degrees into dotage, and thinking that the Enemy was asleep, who was only banished not destroyed [emphasis mine].’”

Her blood froze. Words penned half a century before rang with such relevance they shook Nan to the core. A couple of nights later, she read:

The world changed, and a single moment of time was filled with an hour of thought (emphasis mine).

No words could have better captured her reaction.

Déjà Vu

Tolkien fought in the trenches of the Great War, WWI. During WWII, he worked on LOTR. Yet as Nan read his words in 2001, they described America. Lord of Gondor’s gentle son, after being forced to become a soldier said.

“War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.”

For Nan, the LORD OF THE RINGS will always be connected to 9/11.

Seeing the debut of Return of the King (Book III) with her son and a bunch of his fraternity brothers, led Nan to watch the extended DVD versions with their extra features over and over. And, she read the four volumes of The History of the Lord of the Rings by Christopher Tolkien. Then she started visiting www.theonering.com regularly.

After reading Tolkien, she returned to Lewis’s works and began to devour books on both authors. She was addicted!

It was while visiting www.theonering.com, Nan discovered the C.S. Lewis Foundation’s conference, “The Fantastic Worlds of C. S. Lewis & J. R. R. Tolkien.” After attending two such conferences, this dedicated Tolkien/Lewis fan was pressed into Aslan’s army. As her volunteer work with the foundation began, she felt like Bilbo—the little old hobbit—among the elves. Hobbits being regular down-to-earth people and Lewis/Tolkien scholars the elves. While attending  this college in Narnia and Middle Earth, her training to write THE CHOICE Series had begun.

Coordinating the Texas conference and retreat gave Nan the opportunity to work with these elves, oops better said scholars, and she read their books on Lewis/Tolkien. While assisting with the Summer Seminars at Oxford and Cambridge, Nan stayed in Lewis’s home, the Kilns and entered into the fantastic worlds of those great masters.

Aslan was on the move

So was the Holy Spirit. Nan began her story with two young English girls—a vicar’s daughter (Lily) and an earl’s daughter (Phila). However, she soon discovered that she wasn’t exactly in control.

Neither was Tolkien. While he was trying to wind up the LOTR for his publisher, a new character stepped out of the forest. Faramir took a major part in the third book of the epic series. He’s the gentle soul who spoke those words that impacted Nan after 9/11.

Her three male characters entered gracefully. Ollie began as a mild-mannered lesser English lord, short and slightly plump, a dear sweet young man. The name Oliver, “Ollie,” fit his personality to a tee. However,  over time, his birthright morphed to Scotland. He grew ten inches, sprouted red hair and big ears, and channeled his wild ways into soldiering during the war. But since the poor lad hated his given name, his nickname stuck. Phila’s brother (Hugh), the epitome of British nobility, appeared quite naturally. Where and how the American flyer (Dan) came about, she can’t recall, other than sharing their birthplace of Hollywood and calling L.A. home.

She’d planned to tell the entire story from the points of view of the two girls. However, as men tend to do, the three strong WWII veterans–Ollie, Hugh, and Dan–demanded a say.