Write Now Literary Tour with Jess Lederman and Hearts Set Free

 

Write Now Literary is pleased to be organizing a two-week book tour and giveaway for Hearts Set Free by Jess Lederman. The book tour will run January 18-29, 2021.

 

Book Title: Hearts Set Free

Genre: Literary Fiction/ Historical/Christian

 

ISBN-10 : 1098511093

ISBN-13 : 978-1098511098

A graduate with a degree in music from Columbia University, Jess Lederman is an author of Christian-themed fiction who lives with his wife and two young sons in the Pacific Northwest.

He is currently at work on a novel that begins in the last days of the Wild West and ends in Las Vegas in 1955. When Jess is not writing or chasing his young sons around, he can usually be found at the piano playing Chopin nocturnes for his wife, Ling.

Seven Lives Inexorably Intertwined. Over Eighty-Six Years. That Will Bring a Revelation Beyond What Any of Them Could Imagine.

 

The Alaska Territory, 1925. When Yura Noongwook’s husband abandons her and her thirteen-year-old son, she vows to win him back and destroy the woman who stole his heart. They embark on an epic cross-country quest that leads them to the Nevada desert, where they meet a man who has turned into the last thing anyone expected him to become …

 

David Gold. Reno, 1930. A Bible-school dropout known as the Pummelin’ Preacher. His boxing career is fading, just like his faith. But then a former call girl shows up, tells him about the rag-tag congregation she’s part of; how their pastor was murdered. And that the Spirit is moving and David’s destiny is to lead their tiny flock.

 

Las Vegas, 2011. Cable TV star Tim Faber is an atheist bent on proving God is only alive in people’s imaginations. But Joan Reed, his producer, is trying to recapture the faith of her youth. And both of them are driven to unravel a mystery surrounding the Big Bang theory, never dreaming the answer will forever change their lives.

 

To do that, they have to meet with the now 99-year-old Luke Noongwook and David Gold’s grandson, Daniel.

 

The veil is being pulled back, but none of them are prepared for what they’ll find on the other 

side.

Read my review here.

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Chapter One

Luke and Yura: The Alaska Territory, 1925

 

My father deserted my mother and me when I was thirteen years

old. He had become famous that winter on the Great Race of Mercy, one

of the Athabascan mushers who brought diphtheria serum to Nome

and saved ten thousand lives. He’d done the impossible, a blind run in

the howling darkness, crossing the open ice of the Norton Sound, the

temperature falling to sixty below, the sun a distant dream. He was our

hero, our North Star.

 

And then he was gone.

 

He left us, of course, for a woman. A blizzard had hit him at

Unalakleet, a storm so powerful that it travelled four thousand miles,

till at last it reached New York and froze the Hudson River. The woman

lived in just that far-away land, on the wild island of Manhattan, and

her name was Kathleen Byrne. The Hearst papers had been giving the

Great Race front-page headlines; Kathleen was a reporter, lean and

hungry, she’d go to the ends of the earth for a good story, and one day

she got her chance.

 

No one in my hometown of Nenana had seen anything like her,

a slender redhead with emerald eyes, smoking Lucky Strikes and

exhaling expertly through her nostrils, this coolly confident young

woman with fiery hair.

 

She wanted details that would bring the story to life, so Father

brought her to our home to show off his sled dogs. At least, the ones

who’d survived, for three he had raised since they were pups had died

on the trail. Somewhere in the madness of that journey he’d forgotten

to cover their groins with rabbit skins, and they’d perished of frostbite

in the unfathomable cold.

 

I gaped at her stupidly.

 

“Excuse my son,” said my mother. “He has no manners.”

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/96d196a638/?

 

New from Keely Brooke Keith Uncharted Freedom

Uncharted Freedom 
Book 9 in the Uncharted series
Keely Brooke Keith

Nov 17, 2020
Edenbrooke Press
Near future dystopian fiction
$4.99

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About the Book
When she finds the perfect place to hide from one past, another finds her.

Naomi McIntosh is running from her family’s oppressive expectations and the despicable man her father has demanded she marry. Renaming herself to live incognito, she takes a housekeeping job at the Inn at Falls Creek and promises God this false identity will be her last.

When shepherd James Roberts goes home to the Inn at Falls Creek for his sister’s wedding, he doesn’t expect the woman who once broke his heart to be working there. No matter how much he wants to be with Naomi again, he can’t go along with her charade, especially since he is trying to persuade his father to make him the heir.

Though Naomi yearns for a future with James, if she confesses her deception to everyone, her estranged fiancé will find her. And the longer James goes without telling his family the truth about Naomi—and their growing relationship—the further he jeopardizes the inheritance. But just when their relationship looks promising, the inn proves to be a poor hiding place from Naomi’s past.

Meanwhile, in Good Springs…Connor Bradshaw wrestles with the overseers’ decision to preserve the Land’s pacifist ways. His desire to build a defense system for the Land keeps him up at night, secretly scanning for radio transmissions from the warring outside world. His training to be a village overseer will require him to lay down his weapons, but a voice over the radio waves ignites his worst fears.


My review
After getting to know the Land through a dozen novels, I look forward to getting to know the inhabitants even more. Although there are ties to previous novels and there is some sequence, the books can be read as stand-alones. In this story, we learn more about the Falls Creek inn family, the Robertses, as they struggle with long-standing patriarchal tradition. The eldest son, Revel, has already declared he will not take over running the inn, but complications other than tradition are involved in this society of loosely connected communities on a large island.

When the new housekeeper arrives in Falls Creek, she brings more secrets and unrest. Naomi, a young woman attempting to hide, and James Roberts, the second son who longs to have a place at home, have a history. As in Keely Keith’s other novels in the saga, the conflicts are gentle but thought-provoking. Underlying currents of more disruption to this 1860-era culture untouched by the increasingly dystopian outside world continue to intrude in this outwardly idyllic society.

Well-done story-telling of a time-caught faith-based culture lost in a shroud of mystical gray-leaf trees whose magical healing powers provide ample reason for invaders to plunder the defenseless colony. Unless the only person ever to successfully land and stay in the Land, former Lt. Connor Bradshaw, can convince the naïve elders danger exists. The people must be proactive to protect themselves from the ruthless, plagued outside world. Several narrators meld their voices of quiet romance amid turmoil in this latest addition to the saga of the Land Uncharted.

About the Author
Keely Brooke Keith writes inspirational frontier-style fiction with a futuristic twist, including The Land Uncharted (Shelf Unbound Notable Romance 2015) and Aboard Providence (2017 INSPY Awards Longlist). Born in St. Joseph, Missouri, Keely was a tree-climbing, baseball-loving 80s kid. She grew up in a family who moved often, which fueled her dreams of faraway lands. When she isn't writing, Keely enjoys teaching home school lessons and playing bass guitar. Keely, her husband, and their daughter live on a hilltop south of Nashville, Tennessee.

WWI era Alaskan adventure

Until June

By Barbara Britton

June 2020

Pelican Book Group

266 pp

Historical Romantic Fiction, Americana

Alaska

$5.99 Ebook

$15.99

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About the book

When seventeen-year-old seamstress, Josephine Nimetz, agrees to take care of a WWI amputee in a remote Alaskan lodge, there's enough friction to melt the Mendenhall Glacier. Her position is only until June, and it pays well enough to overlook the hardship of managing a rustic home and a shell-shocked veteran.

Geoff Chambers makes it clear that he isn't too fond of the “runt” sent to take care of his needs, nor of her painful mistakes. Dealing with a depressed and addicted veteran, pushes Josephine to the brink of leaving, if not for the money her salary brings.

But Josephine is a perfectionist, determined to get Geoff back on his feet—figuratively...Although, sending a rich, handsome veteran back into society may cost Josephine the man she has grown to love.

My review

When a proper young Alaskan miss and a wounded and bitter WWI veteran are bound together by need, romance isn’t the first order of business.

Too determined to get Geoff on his feet, albeit wooden, once Jo finds the amputee’s wooden legs hidden in a closet, Jo forgoes dignity and gossip as they spend time together at an island lodge off the cost of Juneau, Alaska in 1918 and 1919. Birthdays and holidays pass over the course of nine months as Josephine turns to nurse and helpmeet from her work as a seamstress to help provide for her family after her stepfather is brutally murdered. The murder case remains open, and anxiety over the potential perpetrator keeps the sense of suspense present under the main theme of the story.

When most girls are completing high school, Josephine is stuck on a deserted island with a grumpy young man addicted to drugs. Worse yet, he’s trigger-happy, calls her a runt, and forces her to sin—by playing card games with him. When he calls her out on romantic stories she reads in a women’s magazine and dares her to enter a writing contest, Jo slowly amends her initial impressions of the soulful Geoff.

Scarcely older than Jo, Geoff had enlisted in army only to be wounded dreadfully early on. With his bad attitude, his prognosis is grim, and he’s sent away to recover or die in a secluded place where he won’t bother his stepmother and younger half-brother. But Geoff surprises everyone, including himself, when he realizes his life is far from over.

Told through our young heroine’s eyes, Britton has created an earthy and heartwarming romance filled with down-to-earth characters. Frankness and realism pepper this journey of healing from the inside out. Britton’s fans won’t find much of a leap from Biblical Israel to historical territorial America as her latest tale unfolds with her usual storytelling aplomb.

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, Wisconsin Romance Writers of America, 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.

Far Away Bird by Douglas A Burton

I love this book! read more about it and my review here.

Empress Theodora and the Origin of Women’s Rights

By Douglas A. Burton

There are many currents that flow into the story of women’s rights. Many cultures are recognized for their egalitarian traditions and we have countless examples of great women in power—from the pharaoh Hatsheput to Queen Victoria to Eleanor Roosevelt. But one woman—Empress Theodora— achieved such a decisive victory for women in her time that her relative obscurity is breathtaking.

More than fifteen hundred years ago, Theodora helped influence massive legal reforms aimed at improving the plight of women. During her reign, she influenced parts of a legal codex known as the Corpus Juris Civilis, which included a wave of specific rights for women. Historians credit this body of Roman law as central source material to the legal tradition of Western civilization. Whoa. Therefore, Theodora made direct contributions to a legal system that survived into the American Constitution, English common law, and even international public law. It’s rare to see such lofty legalism in the early Medieval era, but rarer still to know the individual woman behind the campaign.

But who the hell is she? What laws did Empress Theodora change? And how could such an influential woman be forgotten?

“Therefore, Theodora made direct contributions to a legal system that survived into the American Constitution, English common law, and even international public law.”

Abandoned by most Western thinkers throughout the centuries, Empress Theodora came off as a salacious novelty, a Medieval prostitute-stripper who made it to the top through a lucky marriage. The scandalous gossip[i] of her past, which is handed down to us by a single male source, Procopius of Caesarea, no doubt stirred the imaginations of Western historians through the centuries. The general consensus throughout history is that prostitutes have little historical value and make poor role models. But missing from this harsh judgment is the fact that as a prostitute, Theodora was part of an institutional system that marginalized women to an extreme. Her perspective was necessary for addressing women’s rights because she had firsthand knowledge and experience about the reality for women. She dared to articulate the specific problems women faced at a time when no one cared or listened. Even so, Theodora insisted on designing real-world solutions, defined in legal terms, to fix the problems she knew existed.

Theodora’s personal ideas and solutions became law[ii]. And she didn’t eff around about it.

Under Empress Theodora, rape was made punishable by death. This law extended to anyone present during the rape, regardless of position or rank, and the rapist’s property was even transferred to the rape victim[iii]. 

Theodora also saw to it that women could own and inherit property[iv], which is quite a breakthrough because it gave daughters and wives real social power. A family’s wealth could now continue through a daughter, and should a woman’s husband die, the wife could claim the property and fortune. This greater legal right alone gave women throughout the empire real power in real terms.

Unlike today, professional outlets for women were severely restrictive. Besides the socially acceptable “work-from-home-and-raise-a-family” jobs, such as weaving, innkeeping, or baking, the very concept of ‘professional women’ as a large and recognizable class did not exist with one exception. A large number of women worked in theaters and brothels. So, although this professional class of women carried a huge social stigma, their industry was one of the few places where women worked publicly outside the traditional family structure and earned real income.

Therefore, laws that addressed legal matters for this lowly and socially powerless group is bold and unashamedly supportive of women in general. Theodora meant to treat the professional women of her society, sex workers though they may be, as professionals. She understood that these prostitutes, actresses, mimes, and singers earned money and could technically sustain themselves independently. But brothel keepers had legal authority over these women. So, Theodora shifted that legal authority back to women.

“These reforms should be regarded as revolutionary since they 

shattered the most powerful class barriers.”

Under the new laws, no woman could be forced into prostitution[v]. If a woman willingly chose prostitution, but later wished to leave the profession, Theodora’s laws made it illegal for a brothel-keeper to stop her. And Theodora followed up relentlessly to ensure enforcement of the laws. When Theodora discovered that brothel keepers undermined the new regulations by making girls swear oaths never to leave the brothels, she responded by rendering such oaths illegal[vi]. She mandated that the provincial governor and the head bishop had the responsibility to enforce this law, giving her direct oversight over a manageable number of men in high positions. She chose two men to enforce, because if the governor, himself, blocked a woman’s departure from a brothel, then the bishop could override the governor. You see, Theodora had once been a concubine in the service of one of these provincial governors. She knew only too well the kind of power these men had over women. She curbed that power at the highest levels.

And Theodora didn’t stop there. She helped to overhaul the marriage laws of her time. These reforms should be regarded as revolutionary since they shattered the most powerful class barriers.

For centuries, there was a ban on intermarriage between the upper and lower classes[vii]. By law, a prostitute could never marry a nobleman. Such a rigid class system was characteristic of a Roman world view that regarded high title and rank as self-evident. Secondly, even under the new Christian perspective, prostitution was regarded as immoral and sinful. Therefore, when Theodora helped to facilitate the removal of the marriage ban, she did so without the support of either the secular or religious tradition. Her personal world view alone guided the legal reform. By removing the marriage ban[viii], prostitutes could now marry into noble houses and gain legal status. Like it or not, this represents unparalleled social mobility for women at the time. It gave women access to power.

By having the marriage ban removed, Theodora saw to it that her sister, her daughter, and numerous other theater friends all married into noble houses. Just like that, several women crossed an impossible barrier and gained incredible social power, and they achieved this change in fortune seemingly overnight.

“Therefore, when Theodora helped to facilitate the removal of the marriage ban, she did so without the support of either the secular or religious tradition.”

Once, Theodora arranged a marriage between one of her theater friends (an ex-prostitute) and a nobleman named Saturnitus[ix]. When Theodora heard that this Saturnitus complained that his prospective bride wasn’t a virgin, she had the nobleman rolled in a blanket and flogged with a cane. She asked Saturnitus just one question: why could he frequent the brothels with impunity and dare demand virginity in his wife? Theodora didn’t believe in double standards.

Other laws, too, applied to all women regarding marriage. In Byzantium, there was a law of ‘mutual consent’ in divorce cases. A divorce was granted only if both the husband and the wife agreed to void the marriage. By the way, this legal concept is still practiced in some countries today. If the wife seeks a divorce, but not the husband, she stays married against her will. You might point out that this law works in both directions. However, if a man was forced to stay in a marriage because his wife vetoed the divorce, especially back then, he could easily visit a brothel, hippodrome, amphitheater, or tavern and enjoy a full life outside the home. Wives did not have this luxury. (They weren’t even allowed on the street without a male escort[x]). So, the law of mutual consent worked disproportionately against women.

So, Theodora had the law of mutual consent struck down.

Secondly, women of the time were expected to offer a dowry to their grooms. By Theodora’s time, the custom had expanded to make it fashionable for men to offer something minor in return. This minor offering was called an “antenupital.’ Under the new laws, the antenupital had to be equal to the bride’s dowry. Equal to the bride. Theodora’s message is consistent and clear.

She also knew that prospective brides could sometimes be pressured into a marriage. A woman might give consent initially when put on the spot, but as the marriage date grew near, she might think differently. Therefore, a new law came out that required the prospective bride to give her consent twice—once at the original proposal, and then again before the marriage took place. This allowed women to change their minds before entering into a lifelong commitment[xi].

Finally, in what I regard as a remarkable example of Theodora’s scope, sympathies, and real-world knowledge, she even dared to protect criminal women. In the Sixth Century, protection for male criminals wasn’t even a concern. That’s why I regard Theodora’s intervention on behalf of criminal women to be truly groundbreaking. If a woman required prison time, the new laws forbade her imprisonment in common jails where she had no protection from male guards who could abuse these women without recourse. She saw to it that criminal women were removed from common prisons and detained in a nunnery (that she constructed), under the supervision of other women.

Empress Theodora was known to hold court in her opulent imperial bedchamber. There, surrounded by a retinue of her most trusted women and eunuchs, she ruled over what has been described as an almost “parallel government[xii].” Many women (and men) came directly to Theodora to plead for justice, and the formidable empress meted out justice with purpose. The scene in Theodora’s bedchambers must have mirrored the impressive throne room of the Byzantine Empire, just a few hundred feet away. In the words of James Allan Evans in his book about the empress, “In the eyes of the upper-class beholder, what Theodora represented was revolutionary.”

What’s more about this incredible woman is that she acted out her beliefs on equality. She inspired an unprecedented partnership with her husband, Justinian. Far from a great woman who ruled in the absence of a male ruler, Theodora ruled right alongside Justinian the Great, who is considered one of the greatest emperors in Byzantine history. When he addressed the Byzantine court in the throne room, Theodora sat exactly beside him, which was not typical. Theodora was free to address whomever she pleased. The emperor did not grow angry when she disagreed with him before the court. Instead, they actively debated the merits of different policies openly. She and Justinian were also faithful to each other. Their relationship was considered bizarre by their contemporaries, but I see it as a shining example for any of us. Theodora insisted on being treated as an equal, and Justinian unapologetically treated her an equal.

“The scene in Theodora’s bedchambers must have mirrored the impressive throne room of the Byzantine Empire, just a few hundred feet away.”

Theodora’s mark on history is a powerful, immovable example for us. The body of laws that came into being during her reign is known as the Corpus Juris Civilis and, according to Wikipedia: “The Corpus continues to have a major influence on public international law. Its four parts thus constitute the foundation documents of the Western legal tradition[xiii].” Uh, wow. If this is true…if the corpus is at the heart of the Western legal tradition, then Theodora stands front and center to the tradition of women’s rights. Official credit goes to Justinian for the Corpus, and he deserves plenty of it. But no historian can doubt Theodora’s presence in the laws that pertain to women. History, it seems, remains uncomfortable with Theodora’s sexualized past. But it’s time to recognize the crucial connection between her early life experiences and the incredible legal reforms she oversaw as an empress.

Our culture is taking a second look at history and rediscovering the many contributions of women throughout the ages. I say, look further eastward, beyond Europe, and deeper into the past. In my view, Theodora should finally take her place among the Pantheon of our greatest women in history.

Douglas A. Burton is on a crusade to introduce Theodora to as many people as possible. His award-winning novel, Far Away Bird, which details Theodora’s early life, is available in paperback (Amazon, Barnes & Noble) and as an amazing audiobook (Audible.com, iTunes, Author Republic). Learn more at douglasaburton.com.

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[i] The Secret History, Procopius [9. p15]

[ii] The Empress Theodora: Partner of Justinian p. 37

[iii] Codex Justinianus [Book IX Title 13]

[iv] Novellae 5.2 cf. Evans (1996a), pp 209-10

[v] Codex Justinianus [I.4.33]

[vi] Novellae 51

[vii] The Empress Theodora: Partner of Justinian p. 37

[viii] Codex Justinianus (Book V Title 4-23)

[ix] The Secret History, Procopius [17. p24-26]

[x] Constantinople: Birth of an Empire

[xi] The Emperor Justinian and the Byzantine Empire p. 27

[xii] Theodora: Empress of Byzantium p.175

[xiii] Wikipedia ‘Corpus Juris Civilis’

[1] The Secret History, Procopius [9. p15]

[1] The Empress Theodora: Partner of Justinian p. 37

[1] Codex Justinianus [Book IX Title 13]

[1] Novellae 5.2 cf. Evans (1996a), pp 209-10

[1] Codex Justinianus [I.4.33]

[1] Novellae 51

[1] The Empress Theodora: Partner of Justinian p. 37

[1] Codex Justinianus (Book V Title 4-23)

[1] The Secret History, Procopius [17. p24-26]

[1] Constantinople: Birth of an Empire

[1] The Emperor Justinian and the Byzantine Empire p. 27

[1] Theodora: Empress of Byzantium p.175

[1] Wikipedia ‘Corpus Juris Civilis’