NEW MADRID, Mo. -- Had someone told Christy M. Jones this time last year she'd have written and published a romance novel, the New Madrid resident said she wouldn't have believed it.

Yet, Jones has done just that.

Her novel, "The Stranger in the Rain," was published in October by CreateSpace Publishing.

In March, Jones retired after working more than 30 years as a Family Support Division supervisor for the state of Missouri.

"I have to stay busy, and my mind doesn't shut off," Jones said. "My mind is constantly spinning about stuff, and I needed something to channel (that into), so I sat down and started writing this story."

Jones said she's always loved to read.

"I've been an avid reader as long as I can remember," she said, adding Sidney Sheldon is among her favorite authors.

So, Jones sat down at the computer and began typing.

"When the creativity is there, you just keep going," she said. "I kept typing and typing, and the next thing I knew, I had a novel."

The story follows Camilla Connor, Parker Cambridge and Matthew Stone as their lives "intersect in ways they never imagined, leading them to love, infidelity and finally the ultimate betrayal, making them question everything they believed in. They will find that dreams can come at a cost, and sometimes, the road to happiness is littered with consequences of actions taken in the name of love," according to the novel's description.

People have asked how Jones wrote the novel so quickly.

"That story had been in my head for a while, and I was working on it six to seven days a week, 12 hours a day," Jones said.

When she completed her rough draft, she had her family and friends read it.

"I wanted the feedback because I wanted it to be the best novel I could put out," Jones said. " ... I told my family and friends: 'I don't want rainbows and puppies. I want to know the truth, and it won't hurt my feelings.'"

The first person to read it was one of her cousins.

"She doesn't hold back anything," Jones said. "She told me: 'I think it's one of the best books I've ever read.'"

The book is available at local bookstores and at www.Amazon.com.