It takes adept multitasking for Ratana to thrive as a third-year med student who also does church concerts throughout Bangkok. Then one more thing threatens to explode her frantic schedule at Chulalongkorn U. His name is Jaidee: a heart-melting two-year-old orphan who needs a new mommy.

Studio sessions and concert gigs help her and Dad pay for a mountain of diapers and Sky Train commutes to arduous clinical sessions at Saint Catherine Hospital. Then a long-haired musical whiz from California shows up, eager to produce Thailand’s own version of Music Power...and Maw Ratana Kasemsarn is high on everyone’s list of possible superstars.

Can Noah Charoenkul mentor Bangkok’s favorite doctor wannabe to the final round? As the drama unfolds, Channel Twelve’s TV cameras seem to also be picking up a percolating love story.

If you missed any of the previous five stories in this ongoing saga, all are in audiobook format, and I’m especially proud of Love in a Distant Land, professionally performed by my gifted friend Tonya Foster Yancey. She put a lot of spirit into the project, nailing all the Thai pronunciations, and making that debut novel come to life.

It’s been a blessing to create these tales set in my childhood home, an awesome locale for a love story. My brothers and I grew up on the compound of Mission Hospital where Dad enjoyed a stint as the chaplain. This story also opens up at Pattaya Beach, a funky resort where we learned to water-ski! I’m thankful to God for a rich experience living among such dear Thai people.

Be sure to sample The Time Portal, a time travel story featuring a high school kid named Jordan Wickam. He ends up back in 1912, and–get this–buys a ticket for the maiden voyage of Titanic, already knowing the ice berg is out there. Why in the world would a time traveler want to do that? It’s a fun adventure.