As a child growing up in Atlanta, Tamera Alexander developed an early appreciation for Southern history. Then when she was 9, her family spent a month traveling around Europe in a tiny VW bug, with Tamera tucked into the cubbyhole in the back. Despite the close quarters, she has nothing but wonderful memories. "It was heaven!" she says. "We toured the castles along the Rhine River, and I remember running my hand along the stone walls, wondering about the people who lived there—what their lives had been like."

That experience further cemented her budding love for history. Combine those leanings with her deep Christian faith, and it's easy to trace her literary path to the bestseller's list—which started on a dare. About 10 years ago, Tamera and her husband, Joe, were driving late one night, and she was passing the time reading a Christian historical novel. As she finished the last page, she turned to Joe and jokingly said, "I think I could write one of those." He said, "Well, do it!" Since the two share a bit of a competitive streak, Tamera accepted the challenge and put her keyboard to work. It has been buzzing ever since. Her first novel, Rekindled, was published in 2006. She has written a total of 10 to date, with an additional eight currently contracted.

Tamera's first two series, Fountain Creek Chronicles and Timber Ridge Reflections, take place in the 1870s in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The captivating narratives track six couples whose destinies are changed as they heed God's calling for their lives. Her third and fourth series, the Belmont Mansion novels and the Belle Meade Plantation novels, are set in Nashville, where those real-life estates—and Tamera's own home—are located.

Her latest offering, A Beauty So Rare, is the second book in the Belmont series. It draws from historical accounts of the thousands of widows and fatherless children who poured into the city at the end of the Civil War. This seemingly indefatigable author is currently hard at work on the third and final book in that series (A Note Yet Unsung), and fans will be happy to know that it will feature the kind of strong, spirit-seeking protagonists they've come to love, dealing with problems readers can relate to.

"Every story I've written has begun either with a question I'm struggling with in my faith walk or with the current-day issue that snagged my attention and won't let go," says Tamera. "What drew me to write Christian fiction is the desire to write about the whole person—not only the action thread and the emotional thread, but also the faith thread. Without all three, the journey of a character isn't complete to me. And by exploring all three, the story is all the richer."