holiday story from Barbara Britton

 

Christmas at Whispering Creek (Christmas Holiday Extravaganza) 

Barbara M Britton

White Rose Publishing

October, 2022

$5.99 ebook

$15.99 print

264 pp

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About the Book

All Samantha Williams wants to do is to use her teaching degree to instruct a classroom of second graders. But, after a breast cancer diagnosis at the age of twenty-three, and failed reconstruction surgery, Sam finds herself without a job and temporarily living with her parents. This isn’t the life Sam expected. When a family friend dies and leaves Sam a house and land in Whispering Creek, Tennessee, Sam must decide if leaving Wisconsin for Southern living is in her lesson plans.

Nashville native, Cole Donoven, left his family’s electrical business to write country music. When Cole’s song-writing partner and girlfriend dumps him for a country music star, Cole abandons Nashville to hole up in Whispering Creek and compose one more song. The last thing Cole expects to find in the sleepy small town is a deceased friend, estate squabbles, and a Northern beauty. Will the chaos in Whispering Creek help create a bestselling song for Cole and possibly help him find a life-long collaborator?

My Review

Echoing an achy country song, Britton’s latest contemporary inspirational holiday romance is a sweet twang of a hurting-and-healing stoked ballad set in rural Tennessee. When a down-and-out too-young cancer survivor is crushed by the loss of her beloved teaching job, and gets two more jolts in one day with the creepingly suspicious loss of her boyfriend and news of the death of Ted, a beloved influential friend, Samantha heads out for an adventure to learn the details of her inheritance. To her surprise, it comes with a house, cranky neighbors, and another handsome, hurting stray friend of Ted’s, the ultra-handsome and helpful songwriter Cole. Cole happens to be recovering from an unceremonious dumping of his glamorous partner, and appears at Ted’s country home to finish a contractual obligation for one last song. It’s chaos when he happens upon a furious contender for Ted’s estate, a beautiful damsel, and a tornado, all of which work to remind him that he’s never been the one in charge of his fate—God is, and he’d better re-learn that trust and faith practice.

Filled with lots of natural angst, a steady measure of faith, and delicious sweet romance, fans of Britton and clean romance will enjoy this loving holiday story.

About the Author

Barbara M. Britton lives in Wisconsin and loves the snow—when it accumulates under three inches. Barb writes romantic adventures from Ancient Israel to Modern Day USA and especially enjoys bringing little-known Bible characters to light. She has a nutrition degree from Baylor University but loves to dip healthy strawberries in chocolate. Barb is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Romance Writers of America and American Christian Fiction Writers. You can visit Barb online at www. barbarambritton.com or follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Write Now Literary presents Tansformational book tour

 

 

Write Now Literary is pleased to be organizing a one-month book tour and book giveaway for Naked & Not Ashamed: The Transformational Devotional Experience by Chanelle Coleman. The book tour will run May 2- 27, 2022. 

ISBN: 979-8985407600

Genre: Spiritual

 

   

Chanelle Coleman Wesley is a native of Milwaukee Wisconsin. She is the creative powerhouse of CeCi’s Ink, an innovative storytelling company that conveys stories through poetry, books, playwrights, blogs, fashion, and motivational speaking. Chanelle is significantly inspired by her late mother’s, Brenda J. Coleman, penchant for prolific storytelling and developing a strong sense of faith. As a survivor of abuse, Wesley believes in passing on the communication skills she developed to cope in those environments. She is also an accomplished playwright with her latest project, a gospel stage play entitled The Beautiful Truth About an Ugly Lie to be released soon. She strives to empower individuals who have lost their ability to advocate for themselves by challenging them to recognize the power of their voice. Her greatest accomplishment, however, forever remains becoming a mother to her six beautiful children and “GiGi” to her two adorable grandchildren.

Naked & Not Ashamed is a transparent conversation between Sisters. One that allows both the writer and reader to expose themselves without fear or sense of condemnation. It’s a journey towards healing that allows us to dialogue without masks, charades, or pretense. We explore familiar stories of women in the Bible. These powerful narratives of trial, triumph, failures, and flaws show the resiliency, redemptive and transformative power of encountering Christ. I also reveal personal experiences of my own Christian walk with all its ups, downs, twists, and turns. But the most amazing part of these chronicles is you! Right now, you are writing your story. Are you living with pain, grief, and regret that needs to be released? This book is designed to help you see your own undeniably powerful narrative. I want to challenge you to see the hand of God in your life and urge you to find the ability to tell your story. We accomplish this through journal prompts, activities, prayer, etc.

Tony instantly began screaming and yelling. I continued to bite down harder. I continued biting and grinding my teeth until I couldn’t bite anymore. I let go. He fell back onto the bed. I jumped up out of the bed, my heart was pounding, terrified I opened the door, and I was met with darkness. Hurriedly I ran out past the dining room, through the hallway to the kitchen. Panicked, I reached the back door. I began pulling on the door, but it was locked. Fear seized me as I began fumbling with the knob trying to unlock the door. The latch finally twisted up and I raced up the back-hallway stairs. At last, there was light. I ran as fast as I could through the open kitchen door. The light continued to welcome me as I forged ahead running through the hallway past the bathroom and my aunt’s and grandparent’s bedrooms, the dining-room and into the living room to the couch where my grandmother was sitting. I distinctly remember her shocked expression as I pounded towards her as she sat there speechless, on the couch holding my baby brother. I felt relieved and a sense of security momentarily came over me until my grandmother spoke. She stared at me, with her mouth opened in shock. She screamed, “Chanelle, you’re naked! Where are your clothes?” Momentarily, I had forgotten that I was naked, but the awful realization of my nakedness began to cover me like a garment. It was the evidence of my pain, humiliation, and fear. I stood there breathlessly as I gasped, painting for air, naked and ashamed, I told her my story. 

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How to move from partisan bickering

 

 

Seeking Truth: How to move from partisan bickering to building consensus

Elgin L. Hushbeck, Jr.

Inspirational, Epistemology, 292 pp

April 26, 2022, Energion Publications, Gonzalez, FL

ebook $8.99

Print paper $24.99

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About the Book:

We live in a world that is not governed by Truth. Disagreements surround us. Recent Presidential elections are hotly contested and won by the narrowest of margins. Charges of misinformation, fake news, and bias abound. Everyone claims they are correct; they have the Truth.

Seeking Truth looks at both the philosophical and practical issues of Truth to understand how we come to know what we know and why we disagree so much. More importantly, it lays out how we can disagree in ways that avoid division and polarization and instead move to build a consensus on the Truth.

Seeking Truth addresses things like how to think about what you believe, how to handle disagreement and errors positively, how do you know if you are open-minded, and how to make better decisions.

Seeking Truth uses a lot of examples to make this case. To avoid current disputes, most are drawn from history, as people in various times and settings sought to understand how nature works, what happened in a particular event, or what is the best way to proceed or govern ourselves. Science, history, politics, business, all of these areas involve Truth in one way or another.

Get Seeking Truth to become a better thinker, a more critical thinker, and one who moves closer to the Truth.

My Review:

Using examples from our past in science and philosophy, politics, and communication, Hushbeck sets out to show us a more perfect way to disagree while not having to be of the same mind in his compelling book, Seeking Truth. It’s a big topic and timely as the world has become more polarized in action and reaction. Hushbeck’s approach to guiding readers on this journey out of the pit of partisanship is a thoughtful, pedagogical study of applying critical thinking to distill “absolute, objective truth.”

The book is not terribly long but well detailed and covers considerable ground from the antiquities to recent US polls of opinion. The book is divided into three main parts with digestible chunks: one – a study of history to set the table for establishing truth; two – how disagreement and error shape society and understanding; and three – a reasonable guideline for purposeful discussion. It’s not an easy read, but honest and forthright and best of all, sensible and objective.

I appreciate the examples from science and history about how theories of elements, disease, and energy have evolved as the methods of testing improved; how the Lincoln-Douglass debates of the mid-nineteenth century US show that complexities of context shape public opinion, echoing down through the generations.

Moving beyond bickering can only happen when people are willing. “Reason does not work on those who embrace irrationality,” Hushbeck points out. “For some, truth is just a power structure, a tool for oppressors to use on the oppressed.”

Offering plenty of advice for defining and refining disagreements and errors and avoiding repression and censorship, Seeking Truth is not an answer, but a process. Reaching a common goal is a commitment, a constant testing of theory and practice, and keeping communication open. “Hopefully, if a side consistently loses because of bad arguments, they will seek to develop better ones. As a result, the level of discussion will improve.”

We are fallible, Hushbeck concludes, but learning better arguments “can only improve the process of seeking and bringing us all closer to the truth.”

 Recommended for readers interested in learning more about applying and practicing critical thinking.

 

About the Author:

Elgin L. Hushbeck Jr. has been many things over his life, author, hardware engineer, software developer, manager, small business owner, educator, lecturer, and family man. He wears many hats, but there is a common thread throughout. Mr. Hushbeck has been an Evangelical Christian for over 40 years.

Mr. Hushbeck's background includes academic studies in religion, history, and engineering, culminating with a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, and Master's degrees in both Christian Apologetics and an MBA/Technology Management. As an engineer, he worked for several engineering and technology firms, including five years at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. There he was part of a team developing a high accuracy GPS receiver. He was also part of the Voyager Flight Team for the encounter with the planet Neptune. His wife Hanna also has dual Master's degrees, one in Nursing with an emphasis in Informatics, and the other in Applied Computer Science. From 1999-2007 they owned their own company, which designed and developed databases and custom software applications for small businesses.

Mr. Hushbeck has taught at the University of Phoenix, and most recently for Rassmussen College. He has taught, among other things, classes in Information Technology, Computers Science, and Business. He also taught critical thinking both to students and to other faculty. http://www.hushbeck.com

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Sci fi and Frank Dravis's Dianis series

The Matriarch, book 2 in the Dianis, a World in Turmoil Chronicles

Frank Dravis

Epic Sci-fi/fantasy

Six Factors Publishing, LLC, March 2020

386 pp

$3.89 ebook

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About the Book

The second book in the Dianis, A World In Turmoil chronicles, The Matriarch, a sci-fi fantasy, centers on the protected planet of Dianis. In a sudden shift of federation policy the planet is stripped of its cultural observers and colonization control agents, but a single team circumvents the withdrawal and stays behind. Love, friendship, and career aspirations drive the members of the last remaining Interspecies Development Branch team.  In many ways The Matriarch can be compared to Dune. Both are on primitive backwater worlds with precious resources coveted by the galaxy. Both are protected by a caretaker organization, and both succumb to galactic intrigue and betrayal.

The IDB team has disappeared, and the Matrincy, the governing council of adepts has intervened seeking clues as to their whereabouts. In the absence of the IDB, Nordarken Mining has intruded in the planet in its quest for new sources of aquamarine, a strategic resource needed in the Turboii War. Before his disappearance, Chief Inspector Achelous of the IDB predicted Nordarken Mining, in the form of extrasolars, would invade the planet and they do.

The effort to defend Dianis from extrasolar incursions has attracted the attention of the powerful Paleowrights a major religious sect on Dianis. The Paleowrights covet the technologies that Achelous brought to Dianis and have begun to raid any suspected sites where Achelous and his team may be. The free peoples of Dianis are thus faced with two enemies: galactic conglomerates intent on stealing their resources and the provincial Paleowrights intent on suppressing their free will.

Becoming aware of the cosmic turmoil that surrounds her lover Achelous, Marisa, a trader princess and force of nature, learns more and more of Achelous's secrets: he is not the simple Dianis trader he pretended to be but an undercover agent for a secret monitoring organization of a galactic federation hundreds of years in advance of her own. Marisa loves Achelous, her son, and her country, but can she unravel the mystery of Achelous' disappearance in time to save him from Paleowright retribution?

My review

The world of Dianis holds more precious secrets than the desperately needed and highly sought aquamarine taken for granted by the planet’s inhabitants.

Once secluded and sheltered from a galaxy at war, matriarch herself, the leading adept, or a type of mind-reader, of the ruling federation council has taken an interest in the turmoil surrounding this planet. The federation's leading expert on Dianis, cultural anthropologist Archelus, chief inspector of Interspecies Development, has not only been found, but has committed a grievous misstep on the planet he's supposed to be observing. He's uncovered the surface secret that makes Dianis a prize to mining companies eager to profit from war, but also the darker secret that would destroy the balance of power in the federation.

Dianis is a complicated hierarchy of various species with several different moralities and faith values at odds--sound like another world we know? The mysterious but despised Paleowrights know something's amiss due to strange phenomena occurring on their world and will use any means to control the source of these powerful abilities. At war with the Life Believers and everyone else, they wreak havoc. The Matriarch goes undercover to the planet to determine the real interest in exploiting this little world. Who will win the battle over Dianis’s true treasure trove?

Told in multiple viewpoints in epic format from a boundless cast, it’s troglodytes, Timberkeeps, Paleowrights and various tribal peoples fight to defend their way of living and coping on Dianis, a small planet in the Margel Damansk Asteroid Cloud. At stake? The culture of Dianis. At greater stake? A battle for control of the galaxy. Fans of epic sci fi serials will enjoy this second episode in the World in Turmoil series.

About the Author

Living along the Mississippi River, Frank Dravis has leveraged his many life experiences to write The Foundry, the first book in the Dianis, A World In Turmoil series. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan where he and his father cruised the Great Lakes. His father often chose to go out on the lake when it was empty, on the roughest days. Frank spent six years in the US Navy chasing Soviet submarines during the Cold War. His love of the sea is reflected in The Foundry, a love he has shared with his wife and two girls.

A hunter, Frank has taken game with a variety of weapons, including the bow, rifle, shotgun, and muzzleloader, the weapon modeled in The Foundry and used as the tool of choice in the fight against corsairs in The Citadel.

He assists his wife in her passion for horses as stable hand and the sole rider of Shaboom their willful appaloosa. Equines appear regularly in the Dianis series, not as horses, but as eenus.

Frank's care for Earth and the stewardship of their land in Wisconsin are reflected in the culture and ethos of the Timberkeeps.

He has two degrees, a Bachelor of Computer Science and a Master of Business Administration. Those degrees have been integral to his professional life where he has worked in a variety of roles from software engineer, to marketing executive, to chief information officer, at such prominent firms as SAP and Organic Valley. The technical and scientific acumen he gained through those endeavors is demonstrated in the series in the effort to make the Dianis brand of science practically possible somewhere in the galaxy today.

Wonderful memoir from Amy Laundrie

Laugh, Cry, Reflect: Stories From a Joyful Heart

Amy Laundrie

HenschelHAUS publishing

June 1, 2018

200 pages

$9.98 Ebook

$14.95 Print

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IndieBound

About the Book

Laugh, Cry, Reflect: Stories From a Joyful Heart is a collection of short yet powerful personal stories. Some will make you laugh—like when you find out why the author’s 12-year-old daughter requested a home pregnancy test. Other stories may tug at your heartstrings—like when you learn what item was placed on a beloved relative’s casket. Many of these poignant essays will prompt you to reflect on moments from your own life. All are offerings of hope, wonder, and joy.

My Review

When an author begins her memoir with an apology to a police officer, you know you’re in for a treat.

Written mostly as essays and pieces for her local central Wisconsin newspapers, Laundrie’s reflections from a lifetime of being married, of teaching public elementary school, and being a parent emphasize finding moments of joy and memories to treasure and pass on.

These poignant and humorous vignettes range from finally accepting one’s attributes to exploring how to grow wings with her grandchildren. Laundrie offers an outlook on how to interpret the dizzying lifestyle changes across generations as well as shares precious lessons in lists garnered from her patience with fourth-graders, from raising ducks, and from sitting quietly for fifteen minutes outside on a beautiful morning.

“Who cares about matching outfits,” she says of marriage, “when you find a mate who knows where your stressed muscles need massaging, or just the right words to lift your spirits.”

Who else but an intensely curious soul would wonder if her dust rag held asteroid or mummy particles? And then shake them loose outside to resettle elsewhere? Or why you should bite the tail of the minnow?

These simple but powerful imaginative, heart-warming bits of life are warmly accompanied by photographs illustrating many of the pieces. When is the right time to write a memoir? When you have something to say. Laundrie’s memoir will help you seek and find the joy in those important, quiet moments between breaths.

If you possess even a single sentimental skin cell, you’ll want a tissue box handy as you read this memoir. Better yet, buy one for a friend.

About the Author

A retired fourth-grade teacher, Amy Laundrie began writing personal essays because of a desire share some of her favorite stories and connect with others. Readers have called her stories poignant, humorous, and heartfelt testimonials to a woman's life. They have universal truths and emotions that speak to a wide reading audience. She considers herself a goal setter and is proud of finishing a half-marathon, surviving two wilderness backpack trips, and earning a black belt. She enjoys playing tennis, cross country skiing, hiking with her dog Josie, and raising pet ducks.
to 

Amy continues to write a weekly column for her hometown newspaper, The Dells Events, and work on various children's books.

Life in Germany for Expat GIs

Patriotic Expats

Former GIs Describe their Lives in Germany

By Robert Potter

April, 2019

Nonfiction

Ebook $2.99

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About the Book:

Would his late Cold War bride have been happier—and better able to fight the cancer that took her in the prime of life—if the couple had chosen to live in Germany, rather than the U.S., after his military service in the 1960s? Decades after his wife’s death, the author remained haunted by that question. In a search for answers, he returned to Germany in 2017 and sought out former G.I.s who married their German sweethearts and elected to reside there. The result of that quest is this series of sixteen interviews with American expats and women who married G.I.s. The men we meet in these pages came from very different backgrounds, but they all experienced the challenges common to immigrants everywhere: learning a new language, adjusting to cultural differences, overcoming bureaucratic hurdles, and earning a living. Each story, recounted with honesty, courage, and humor, provides a unique, fascinating response to those challenges—as well as a detached lens through which to view American society today.

My review:

Robert Potter, a former GI, brought his German bride back to the US when his service concluded. Life here was very different, including laws that would not accept (and still don’t) German education and work experience in many professions like teaching and medicine. Robert and his wife had two children. Gerdi was unhappy in general, couldn’t procure work as a requirement of her visa, and eventually succumbed to cancer. Although Bob eventually remarried happily, he remained aware of men who chose to remain in or return to Germany after they had relationships or married German women. Eventually, Bob, with the help of his tech college writing students, put together an interview format for a project to record stories from ex-patriots to learn more about their situations. Bob found a group of expats who met regularly to discuss their lives and support each other. Several of these men and one wife agreed to meet Bob and be interviewed for this book.

I appreciated learning about what it’s like to move and try to adapt to a different culture and language. The stories included mostly those of servicemen who had done their time. The unbelievable issues with obtaining work permits and regulations, how much language to learn for what skillset, what kind of certificates to obtain for professional work or even unskilled labor was fascinating. Medical care seemed to be a big issue among the expats, as far as where to go for care and who pays. Most thought German medical care was superior. Some men had wives willing to live in the US for a time, and a few cases worked out quite well when the spouse was able and willing to retrain for a profession and get a US license to work. Getting visas and residency requirements were quite different though both countries seem regulation bound. Driving licenses and gun control were stricter in Germany. Voter apathy didn’t seem much different, nor did political opinions. The book was interesting and every person interviewed unique. Bob’s original quest regarding whether he should have chosen to live in Germany instead of having his wife emigrate to the US was determined to remain an open theory, though Bob finally found peace through reaching out to other veterans who may have learned something through sharing their own stories.