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Falling in love shouldn’t be this dangerous—but Jorgia Yates wouldn’t have it any other way.
She writes Christian Romantic Suspense with protective heroes, courageous heroines, and a faith that holds strong when everything else falls apart.
Jorgia married her teenage sweetheart (after a very awkward meet-cute in the 90s), and together they’re raising two amazing children on the spectrum.
Living with chronic illness means her world is a little smaller—but her imagination is anything but. So while real life includes rest, resilience, and lots of grace, her characters chase danger, dodge bullets, and fall hard for the kind of love that protects—body and soul.
Connect with Jorgia:
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads
Welcome to Heartbeats & Hideaways!
To celebrate the first novel in her Hawke Asset Recovery series, Jorgia is giving away two prize packages! Enter here.
Thanks for joining us today, Jorgia. I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.
What first sparked the idea for your latest book, and how did it change from concept to final draft?
The idea for Breach had actually been sitting on the shelf for about six months while I finished my Hightower Security series. Once I reached the end of that series, I had a choice to make: continue writing something readers were already familiar with or take a chance on a concept I couldn’t stop thinking about.
For some reason, I often get story ideas while I’m listening to sermons, so I always keep a little notepad beside my chair. One evening, the words “asset recovery” suddenly popped into my head. I thought they sounded cool, so I jotted them down.
Later, when I started thinking seriously about the idea, I did what I always do with a new series concept—I headed to Google, then Amazon. I wanted to see if asset recovery was a real thing and whether anyone was already writing romantic suspense around it. That’s when I discovered it was an actual profession. The more I researched it, the more I realized I’d stumbled onto something unique in romantic suspense. Before long, Hawke Asset Recovery was born.
Launching a brand-new series instead of staying with what was familiar was definitely a risk, but I’ve learned I’d rather write stories that genuinely excite me than simply play it safe. I think readers can tell when an author loves the world they’re creating, and I hope that enthusiasm comes through in every page of Breach.
Which themes or questions were you most interested in exploring through this story?
Every book I write explores faith and hope, but with Breach I found myself returning again and again to themes of forgiveness, betrayal, and what it feels like to be abandoned by people you thought would always stand beside you.
What surprised me was how personal the story became. Without intending to, I realized I was writing through many of the emotions I’d been wrestling with myself. Although the events in the novel are fictional, the questions behind them are very real. What do you do when you’re falsely accused and can’t defend yourself? How do you endure the silence when speaking up would only make things worse? And how do you forgive when the hurt runs deep?
Stories don’t always provide easy answers because life rarely does. But I believe they can point us toward truth. My prayer is that readers close Breach reminded that forgiveness isn’t about pretending the hurt never happened. It’s about trusting God to be just, to bring healing in His time, and to define our identity instead of the opinions of others.
How do you develop your characters—do they arrive fully formed, or do you discover them as you write?
I’m very much a discovery writer. I don’t spend weeks outlining every scene or plotting every twist. I start with an idea, put my characters into impossible situations, and then discover the story right alongside them.
That’s probably why my characters surprise me so often. They’ll react in ways I never expected or reveal something about themselves that changes the direction of the story completely. Those unplanned moments almost always become my favorites because they feel authentic.
Even though I don’t outline, there’s one thing I always keep in mind: each character’s spiritual journey. The action and suspense may drive the plot, but it’s the way God changes hearts that gives the story lasting meaning.
How do you balance writing with the rest of your life and responsibilities—any routines or boundaries that help?
Balance is something I’m still learning.
I’m a wife, a mom to autistic children—one of whom has additional special needs—and I live with multiple sclerosis and trigeminal neuralgia. Because of that, there are seasons when my health and my children’s needs set the pace instead of my to-do list. For a long time, I fought against those limitations. Now I’m learning that it’s okay to slow down when I need to and to give myself grace in the process.
One of the biggest boundaries I’ve put in place is stepping away from social media. While it can be a valuable tool for authors, I realized it was costing me more than it was giving back. I’d rather spend that time with my family, supporting my children in the ways they need, investing in my relationship with God, or writing the next book than feeling like I have to keep up with the latest trends.
These days, I try to keep my priorities in the right order: God first, family second, and writing third. I don’t always get that balance right, especially with the unique demands of parenting children with additional needs, but I’ve discovered that a sustainable writing career isn’t built by doing everything. It’s built by faithfully doing what God has called me to do in this season, even if that looks different from everyone else’s path.
For readers new to your work, what’s a good place to start, and what do you hope they’ll take away?
If you’re new to my books, there are two great places to begin. If you enjoy binge-reading connected series, start with Collision Course, the first book in my Hightower Security series. If you’d like to jump into something completely new, Breach is the perfect place to start, as it launches my Hawke Asset Recovery series.
No matter which series you choose, you can expect fast-paced suspense, clean romance, memorable characters, and authentic faith woven naturally into the story. I love writing books that keep readers turning pages while reminding them that hope is never out of reach.
If there’s one thing I hope readers take away, it’s that no matter how dark life becomes or how alone they may feel, God is still present. My stories may be filled with danger and impossible situations, but they’re ultimately about hope, redemption, and the faithfulness of God.
 Breach by Jorgia Yates (affiliate link) Their traitor.
His fiancée.
Killian Hawke built his life on trust, loyalty, and the brotherhood of Delta Force. Harper Kincaid was his analyst—the voice in his ear, his edge in the field, and the woman he was going to marry. Then she vanished mid-op. His unit was compromised, Harper was branded a traitor, and Killian lost his career and reputation.
Now, he heads an asset recovery unit, leading a team of burned operators who hunt what criminals kill to keep hidden.
But he’s never found her.
Until a job goes sideways in the New Mexico desert, and a blown engine strands him at a remote garage.
He needs a mechanic.
He gets a ghost.
Harper has a new skill set, a new identity, and a warning neither of them can outrun. When armed men close in with one clear objective, Killian has seconds to make a choice:
Turn her in and reclaim the life she destroyed…
…or go to war for the woman who might betray him again.
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