Dear friends, I’m heartbroken that my dear author friend Marion Ueckermann from South Africa has passed away. I had the pleasure of meeting Marion in person in September 2015 at the ACFW Conference in Dallas, USA. I wasn’t planning on going to that particular conference, but Marion’s joyful enthusiasm and persuasive optimism changed my mind. I booked my flights from Australia, and shared a hotel room in Dallas with Marion, Heidi McCahan, and Janet Ferguson.
A group of us, including Judith Robl and her delightful friend, Sally, went out to dinner during the conference to celebrate Marion’s birthday. 2015 wasn’t an easy birthday for Marion. Both her parents had recently passed, and her beloved husband, Noel, and her family were thousands of miles away on the other side of the world. Marion shared with us her hopes and dreams to step out in faith and follow God’s calling to retire from her day job and write full time. Indie publishing was taking off, and the contemporary Christian romance (CCR) genre offered many opportunities for Marion to write her beautiful and inspiring romances grounded in Biblical truth.
Marion and I attended the ACFW Zone breakfast, and we sat at the table for international members. I was excited to finally meet Lisa Harris in person, and we all had so much fun catching up with the wonderful writers from around the world who we’d known online for many years.
Back in 2015, I couldn’t have imagined that a global pandemic was around the corner, and that the pandemic would mean Marion only celebrated five more birthdays before Jesus called her home.
I first met Marion online in 2009 when a group of us from the ACFW Beyond the Borders Zone Group started the International Christian Fiction Writers group blog. I was thrilled for Marion when she published her first CCR novelette, Helsinki Sunrise, in the Passport to Romance series.
Marion also blogged for many years at Inspy Romance. Marion’s books are favourite reads that Valerie Comer, Elizabeth Maddrey, and I discuss often on our StoryChats @ InspyRomance podcast/YouTube. In Episode #13 – International Settings in CCR, we discussed many of Marion’s wonderful books set in exotic locations around the world.
A side note: We record the StoryChats episodes in advance, and the upcoming July episodes were recorded and scheduled before Marion became ill. This means we’re talking about Marion and her books in the July episodes in the present tense, and we apologise if this is confusing for our listeners. We will continue to talk about Marion’s books because we love her stories.
I have bought all of Marion’s books, reread a couple of favourites, and I’ve worked closely with Marion in writing A Tuscan Legacy multi-author series.
A Tuscan Legacy story world was created by Marion and our dear friend Autumn Macarthur. I was thrilled to be invited to write a book for the series that included stories by Alexa Verde, Elizabeth Maddrey, Heather Gray, and Clare Revell. Marion designed the gorgeous book covers for the series. My girl in Solo Tu (Book 7), Sienna, is the sister of Marion’s characters: Rafaele in That’s Amore (Book 1), and Alessa in Ti Amo (Book 4). Sienna spent time with Alessa in Rome in Ti Amo before flying to Australia and meeting her own Aussie hero, Dave, in Solo Tu.
I was honoured when Marion, Autumn, and Alexa invited me to write stories in their A Chapel Cove Romance story world. I’m currently writing my first story and, if everything goes according to plan, my book will release later this year.
Over the years I’ve posted a number of book recommendations for Marion’s books. When I reread Marion’s books, I’ll add more book recommendations here. It’s super-hard for me to pick a favourite Marion Ueckermann book because I love them all.
I obviously have a soft spot for Marion’s A Chapel Cove Romance books and A Tuscan Legacy books. Poles Apart and Orphaned Hearts are two of my favourites with international settings.
I’ve included links to my book recommendations below. Marion has also guest blogged for me when I was posting a travel blog series, and I’ve included the links for Marion’s posts below, plus a long list of Marion’s wonderful books.
We will all miss Marion. My thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends from around the globe who are coming to terms with life without her. We are blessed that Marion was a prolific and talented author who has left behind a lovely literary legacy. We can hold onto the promise that we will reunite in eternity. Love to all, Narelle xo
Here’s a list of Marion Ueckermann’s romance books that are available at Amazon.
Limited time multi-author box sets (ebook only)
More Than This — in Love’s Treasure (box set — June 2021 release)
I Take You — in Save the Date (box set 0n pre-order — releasing September 2021)
Chapel Cove Romance series
Accept Me (ebook only)
Ride with Me (ebook only)
A Tuscan Legacy series
The Mosaic Collection
The Potters House Series
Under the Sun – Seasons Change series
A Time to Laugh (Book 1)
A Time to Love (Book 2)
A Time to Push Daisies (Book 3)
Seven Suitors for Seven Sisters series
A Match for Magnolia (Book 1)
A Romance for Rose (Book 2)
A Hero for Heather (Book 3)
A Husband for Holly (Book 4)
A Courtship for Clover (Book 5)
Heart of Ireland series
Spring’s Promise (Book 1)
Heart of Africa series
Dancing in the Rain (ebook only)
So sorry you’ve lost such a significant friend and colleague. Marion sounded like an amazing person and you were blessed to know her.
Sending regards to her family on this tragic loss. ❤️🙏
Thank you, Elaine ❤️
So sad to read this. Marion sounds like a wonderful person. I love the titles of her books and have already ordered a couple of them. She certainly has been a prolific writer. Love and prayers for her family as they grieve for her, and for you too Narelle 😘❤️🙏
Thank you, Kaye. ❤️ Marion’s books are wonderful reads.