Family drama fiction from Terry Barnes

As the Leaves Kiss the Stream 

Terry Barnes

ISBN-13: 978-1632132505

Print $10.99

Ebook $4.99

August 2016

eLectio Publishing

buy on Amazon Kindle or Print

Family drama

novella

... a story about a father and his seventeen-year-old daughter. He is a missionary; she is a problem.

Together they go camping and fly fishing in the Ozarks. Together they clash and argue.

Then one cold, October morning as they fly fished beside the pure water of the stream, together they learned something about grace.

For the tears of a father ... are as the tears of God ... that fall silently and caress the one beloved, much as the autumn leaves that gently fall and kiss the stream.

MY REVIEW

As the Leaves Kiss the Stream is a beautiful, poignant novel, a vignette of a three-day battle culminating a lifetime of passing in the night. The combatants have only words, memories, and perceptions for weapons. There is blood, tears, a baptism and the promise of rebirth. And fly fishing.

If missions begin at home, Elijah Gamble missed the boat. He’ll be the first one to admit it, once he learns how truly deep the home field and Kenya divide had grown. Elijah and Evelyn, his wife, did the best they could with their only child, daughter, Erin, to provide the safest and best education while in Africa. This is the part of the story that reveals how parenting can go so very wrong—not for lack of love or good skills, but for doing the best a parent can in a situation where that will never work out the way it should. The story reminded me of my family in a similar situation, but without the fallout.

At his wits end, Elijah takes his daughter on a camping trip to get her away from her volatile mother. The reader winces throughout his truthful inner monolog and Erin’s harsh, self-condemnation, through soaking, cold, stormy nights and days, fried trout & potatoes, caddis flies & confessions. Somewhere during these stubborn days comes the revelation of emotion and spiritual abuse from a wrongly trusted place, a deep-seated sense of abandonment. Elijah comes to grip with his call to serve God in a way he couldn’t hear while serving as an alien in a foreign land.

Told in first person from the father’s point of view, with flash forwards and real-time memories of past events, readers who appreciate and explore family drama in novella—short book—form will be touched by this lovely, thoughtful story. Hope, faith, and love…yes, these three remain.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Terry Barnes won the 2005 Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel contest for his first novel, In Everything Give Thanks. His second novel, Whispered to the Heart, also explores the fundamental questions of life and faith. His latest novella, As the Leaves Kiss the Stream, is a story of conflict and grace between a father and his seventeen-year-old daughter, in the context of fly fishing in the Ozarks.

His writing shows the quest for meaning in the swirl of life, a struggle common to humanity. As for literature, its purpose is to illustrate truth with such words that will capture the heart and soul of the reader. 

Terry is also an online adjunct professor of religion for several major universities. His website is http://terrybarnes.us.

Rex Owens and Contemporary Irish Fiction

               

Murphy’s Troubles

Rex Owens

eBook $2.99

Print $14.99

ISBN: 978-0615895048

348 pp

Buy on Amazon

Ian Padraic Murphy harbors a scandalous secret. To avenge the death of his best friend in a Belfast raid, Ian joins the Provisional IRA which he conceals for 30 years. He meets investigative reporter Eileen Donohue and friendship blossoms into a love affair. Eileen inadvertently discovers the man she thought was a reclusive novelist is actually the brain trust for the IRA. Eileen betrays her lover by disclosing his secret in Ireland's leading newspaper. Driven by guilt and remorse, Ian atones for his years in the IRA by working with Sinn Fein to negotiate the 1998 Peace Accord which ended The Troubles in Ireland. After deserting the IRA Ian's own troubles are far from over when they order his assassination. The assignment is given to his friend, IRA Commander, Kieran Fitzpatrick. Will Ian pay the supreme price for disloyalty to the IRA?

My review:

Owens has a passionate voice for the historical extremist movement in contemporary Ireland. Told mostly through alternating viewpoints, the reader is carried along with Ian Murphy, who as a young university student, is recruited and serves the next thirty years in the Irish Republican Army.

With loving exacted scenery and dialect, the author transports his readers to the Ireland of the sixties, to the underlying despair of prejudice, anger, and inequality due not to outward characteristics, but to devotion and heritage according to faith. Allegiance to a culture of religion causes sides to be taken and lines to be drawn. Owens’ fictional account of the inner workings of what it might have been like for principal players in the movement, unable to trust anyone, not even the people you grew up with, called brother, or confessed to or shared a bed with, provides a rich and satisfying read.

Out of Darkness, book 2

Rex Owens

eBook $2.99

Print $14.99

400 pp

ISBN: 978-0983298489

Buy on Amazon

Author Ian Murphy battles lifelong alcoholism and chronic depression. Desperate to cleanse his soul, Ian dedicates himself to finding redemption. To confront his demons, he spends a summer hiking on Dingle Peninsula. He meets Mairin McCarthy, and finds unconditional love but still succumbs to the shadows within. 

In the fall of 1998 the British government is determined to build walls in Belfast to separate Catholics and Protestants. The only peace citizens of the city can have requires walls. Murphy dedicates himself to stopping more walls from being built. He's convinced the challenge is his path to redemption. 

While living in Belfast Ian learns that distrust and hatred divide the city's residents as much as the walls do. Both Catholics and Protestants accept the walls as the price of peace. The walls will be built. How will Ian Murphy find redemption and crawl out of the darkness?

My review:

Owens slips into first person for this second book of his trilogy about contemporary Ireland and the violence of religious extremism. We left Ian Murphy at the end of book one still alive after his friend is ordered to execute him. Realizing his entire life was one of self-imposed seclusion and layers of lies, Murphy tries to reach out and grasp a spark of life before he has nothing left but darkness. In the first book, Murphy wants to end it all; in this book, he’s coming out to meet the life he’s missed.

Told in on-the-spot scenery and dialog, Owens transports readers into a vicarious visit in Ireland of today, with all the nuances, smells, and sights that hide the brewing troubles. The authors has a fine voice with a message of hope that any reader in any era can grasp.

About the Author:

In 1997 novelist Rex Owens attended the first of many UW Madison Writers Institutes. The featured speaker was author was Robert Moss who talked about conscious dreaming as a way to explore the writing life. The die was cast to be a writer. In 1999 he joined a critique group led by Dr. Laurel Yourke where he learned craft the old fashioned way – by writing. 

His son brought him newspapers from Ireland. He read a story of children injured in the Peace Zone in Belfast in 1998 which became the inspiration for MURPHY’S TROUBLES. By 2003 Dr. Yourke suggested he had enough material to consider writing a novel. 

Touring with Barbara Britton and her book Providence

Today we welcome debut author Barbara M. Britton.

Barbara, welcome!


Providence: Hannah’s Journey was a blessing to write, edit, and share with the world. Little did I know when I wrote this novel, that its theme would carry me through a challenging time in my own life. My main character, Hannah bat Zebula, is on a mission to find the prophet of Israel and find out what she needs to do to be healed from deformities she has suffered since birth. Hannah goes through many trials. Conflict and tension are mainstays in modern day writing, but as a writer, you want the chaos to stay on the page.

The theme I chose for Hannah is—God is in control even in the chaos of life. Great theme, eh? It was and is today. After I sold my story to Pelican Book Group and finished my edits, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. A lumpectomy and radiation were supposed to take care of the cancer. Though, after surgery, I still had cancer. What? That’s what I said. This news was a major bummer with major chaos. But, I remembered my theme. Through much prayer and consultations with doctors, I became a cancer ninja. I battled cancer with a bi-lateral mastectomy, physical therapy, and radiation. Is the cancer gone? The doctors are hopeful. I’m hopeful. I’m also prayerful.

I received my galley for Providence: Hannah’s Journey after my second surgery. I had to laugh at the timing. God knew I needed a distraction from hospitals and doctors and needles. What a blessing to focus on my debut novel rather than cancer, prosthetics, or a recurrence. Jesus was my rock. His gift of writing served as a diversion from the chaos of cancer.

That’s not all. Through radiation, I edited my second book in the Tribes of Israel series. Another wonderful distraction. Would I change anything? No, because God, in all His providence, knows what journey is best for me. And, I couldn’t have asked for a better release month for my print edition than October—Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

I urge all my female readers to get regular 3D mammography. If something shows up, do not wait to have a biopsy. Cancer doesn’t want to be found. And remember, if you receive a cancer diagnosis, God is still in control. His church and His people can walk beside you on your journey.
Because He lives, I can face the chaos of life.

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My website: www.barbarambritton.com
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
My real name is Barbara M. Britton. The journeys will continue in February with “Building Benjamin: Naomi’s Journey.”

 
Thanks to Barbara for stopping by today. Be sure to pick up her debut Biblical fiction, Providence: Hannah's Journey.
 

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Visit all the stops along the tour

COTT Olympia Champion Jennifer Uhlarik

Many deserving competitors entered the fray. One became the victor!

Congratulations Jennifer Uhlarik,

2016 Olympia Award Champion.

We took a few moments to get to know Jennifer a little better, and now here's your chance to do the same:

Jennifer Uhlarik discovered the western genre as a pre-teen, when she swiped the only “horse” book she found on her older brother’s bookshelf. A new love was born. Across the next ten years, she devoured Louis L’Amour westerns and fell in love with the genre. In college at the University of Tampa, she began penning her own story of the Old West. Armed with a B.A. in writing, she has won five writing competitions and finaled in two other competitions. In addition to writing, she has held jobs as a private business owner, a schoolteacher, a marketing director, and her favorite—a full-time homemaker. Jennifer is active in American Christian Fiction Writers and lifetime member of the Florida Writers Association. She lives near Tampa, Florida, with her husband, teenaged son, and four fur children.

How did you come up with the idea for this book and what made you want to write this particular story?


While working with a few other authors on some novella collection ideas, I came up with the idea of three adult siblings who reunite after being separated by adoption in their youth. This story and the two that follow it are the result of that idea—three strong siblings devoted to law and justice, each in their own way.


What does winning the Olympia Award mean to you?


It is such an honor! I love the Olympia since the first round is judged by readers. That is probably the truest group of judges one can have. And I know the competition is always stiff in contests, so just to final is quite humbling. To win is indescribable (and I’m an author, so that says a lot. I’m speechless. LOL)


How can people find you online/contact you?


I can be found in the following places:

Website: www.jenniferuhlarik.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferUhlarikAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JenniferUhlarik
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jenuhlarik/

Don't Give Up in Transition by Jennifer Hallmark

Don’t Give Up in Transition

By Jennifer Hallmark

In transition can be the most difficult place to find yourself. Stuck between who you are and who

you are becoming. Wedged in the middle of where you are and where you’re headed. In the middle of a shift.

When Lisa asked me to guest on her blog, I told her I haven’t published my own book. I’ve taken part in several compilations by adding chapters or essays and those are wonderful. But no book of my own. Yet.

I’m close. It’s almost within my grasp. One agent called me a developing writer. An editor liked my voice. A publisher said I was highly unusual. I took it as a compliment.

While I wait, in transition, I keep my focus forward. If you are in a similar place, take heart. Here are seven ways I keep myself motivated…

(1)   Blog consistently. I’m part of two blogs and try never to miss a post date.

(2)   Write for others. I’ve taken part in four different book compilations, sold short stories to magazines, and wrote guest posts for a ton of blogs.

(3)   Write and edit my WIPs. (works in progress) I’m polishing my two complete novels and working on book two for both series.

(4)   Continue to add friends to social media and my email newsletter. My emphasis is on forming relationships more than just adding numbers.

(5)   Take time to daydream and ponder for future WIPs. If I get a good idea, I put it in a folder for later.

(6)   Read. I average one to two books a week. All types of fiction and non-fiction.

(7)   Study craft. I’m constantly reading craft books, listening to podcasts, and studying ways to become a better writer. Since I only had one year of college, I’m making up for what I’ve missed.

For ten years, I’ve tried to be consistent and continue to learn. I love what I do. Some asked me why I haven’t indie published. Simple. At the beginning of my journey, God laid it on my heart to follow the traditional road to publishing. (Good thing He didn’t tell me how long it would take) I haven’t heard anything different, so I just keep plugging away. If you are in transition, like me, don’t give up.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 NIV

You’ll be glad you didn’t. 

Now it’s your turn. 

What other activities beside the ones I named help you during times of transition? 

What makes transition harder?

About Jennifer:

Jennifer Hallmark is a writer of Southern fiction and fantasy; a combination that keeps the creative juices flowing. She’s published over 200 articles and interviews on the internet, short stories in several magazines, and been part of four book compilations: A Dozen Apologies, Sweet Freedom A La Mode, Unlikely Merger, and Not Alone: A Literary and Spiritual Companion for Those Confronted with Infertility and Miscarriage.  

When she's not working in the garden or keeping the grandkids, you can find her at:

http://www.jenniferhallmark.com

http://writingpromptsthoughtsideas.wordpress.com

https://www.facebook.com/jenniferhallmark

https://www.facebook.com/authorjenniferhallmark

https://twitter.com/JenHwrites

https://www.pinterest.com/jenlhallmark989/

  

The Heart Seeker Series

For the first time, all four stories are offered in this boxed set. And for the first time, they're all offered in a single print volume.

A Dozen Apologies: Mara Adkins, a promising fashion designer, has fallen off the ladder of success, and she can’t seem to get up.  In college, Mara and her sorority sisters played an ugly game, and Mara was usually the winner. She’d date men she considered geeks, win their confidence, and then she’d dump them publicly. Now, Mara stumbles, bumbles, and humbles her way toward employment and toward possible reconciliation with the twelve men she humiliated.

The Love Boat Bachelor: What’s a sworn bachelor to do on a Caribbean cruise full of romance and love? Brent will either have to jump ship or embrace the unforgettable romantic comedy headed his way.

Unlikely Merger:  If her best friend has her way, Mercy will simply marry one of the single, available men she meets, but they overwhelm her. So handsome and kind. And so many. Even if she felt obliged, how could she ever choose?

The Christmas Tree Treasure Hunt: Grace takes delivery of a package and her life is turned upside down by nine sealed mystery envelopes from her late grandmother. Grammie’s instructions require Grace to take the journey of her lifetime, not only to far off places, but also into the deepest parts of her heart. As she follows the trail laid out for her and uncovers her family’s darkest secrets, Grace is forced to confront the loss and betrayal that has scarred her past and seek the greatest Christmas Treasure of all.

Historical romance with Nancy Bolton

Answering Sarah

Nancy Shew Bolton

 

Prism Book Group

2016

Print $14.99

ISBN  978-1533575661

Ebook $3.99

Buy on Amazon

Historical fiction

About the book: After a fire destroys their home when she was a girl, Sarah’s family rebuilds their lives, yet the echoes of the fire’s damage remain. Sarah learned to turn inward, and keep her curious mind to herself, asking God all the questions that her own father used to delight in. But the fire silenced her father, and spread the stillness to the rest of them. Yet Sarah longs to express herself, to find answers to all her questions. A new, young pastor arrives, and captivates her heart. The prospect of a challenging and unexpected life dances before her, but then is held out of her reach. And with the new possibilities come questions she’s never asked herself before. Is she ready for the answers?

My Review:

What a delightful though slower-paced historical romance. Bolton uses interesting antagonists to weave the two love interests into a true cord of three strands throughout a courtship to their wedding.

I love a too-good-to-be-true hero. While true that the pastor, Mark, must undergo a transformation from his initial declaration of pure service to God to that of sharing his life with a God-ordained helpmeet, he does so with little struggle. Even the temptation of being with Sarah and the major obstacles in their way are a bloodless coup. But I meant what I said. I enjoyed this pastor’s maturity and would love to learn at his feet. Our heroine, Sarah, has all the right ingredients, too, in a youthful and spunky joie de vivre. Her solutions to handling her parents are a good lesson for us all. Her deep-seated faith life was truly inspirational.

Bolton’s setting of small town America during late settlement is a good microcosm of personalities and opinions. I was afraid for the fate of the library, and am only slightly shocked that times haven’t changed all that much. A local book club I belong to tries to read at least one “banned” book a year—only they keep changing! Readers will have to check this book for some sweet and entertaining way to deal with curmudgeons.

Answering Sarah is told through the eyes of both Sarah and Mark. Sarah learns not only to ask her questions at the right time and place, but to learn when silence is a golden, mature option. I enjoyed this story, and though it is quite long, it didn’t feel as though it dragged and kept me reading into the next chapters even when I knew my time was up. Recommended for those who enjoy rural and rustic historical romance that takes its sweet time to be told by achingly sweet and respectable characters who know when to pull the reins and when to smack them.

About the Author:
Nancy Shew Bolton is a wife of 43 years, mother of five grown sons, and grandmother to a boy and girl. Ever since she learned to write, she would jot down her thoughts and impressions in little snippets of inspiration in the form of poetry, song lyrics, or short essays. About six years ago, she decided to try her hand at writing a full length book. She’s since written five works of fiction, two non-fiction, and is working on an idea for a children’s book, as well as more fiction manuscripts. 

Biblical nonfiction from Guy Right

Who Told YouThat You Were Naked?

Guy Right

c. 2016

Kindle eBook

$3.99

Buy on Amazon 

About the Book:

Are You Facing Trials & Hard Challenges? Does God want to rescue you? Do you want Him to?

There is a grace revolution sweeping the world - the return to the New Covenant of grace as explained in the Bible. The Bible says that if we have to work for grace then grace is not grace. Grace is the unearned and undeserved favor of God. This book is a product of grace, where it is not our obedience but the obedience of Son of God that provides us with a way out in life when there is simply no way. We are rescued, not because we are good, but because God is good! Are you desperate? Are you suffering and in pain? Is the naked truth about your sins and failures disqualifying you from God’s help? Then you need to know that only the unworthy qualify for God’s grace. If you need to receive God’s help, then this book will change your mind about God and position you to receive the abundant life that Jesus promised.

My Review:

This non-fiction walk through the Bible by the author, a godly Christian businessman, is meant to dispel some of the more common misconceptions, or urban myths, many folks, even other Christians, have held about God. I always approach these types of books, no matter who the author is, leery about biblical interpretation, but I found Who Told You? to be an intriguing and informative read.

From the author’s comment in chapter two, “There is no insignificant detail in the Bible,” to his discourse in chapter sixteen about “natural” disasters, Right shares cross-referenced Old and New Testament verse proofs with resources about how people came to believe certain disparaging untruths about our heavenly Father. I had never heard about the ancient interpretation of the skin with which God replaced Adam and Eve’s clumsy attempt to retrieve their garments of glory they cast off when they gave themselves to Satan’s lies, but it certainly makes sense.

Focusing on the Garden of Eden and the connection to Job specifically, Right discusses the nature of mankind created in God’s image and clothed with glory, and Satan’s lie that we are naked. Always focusing on the act of grace, the author reminds us that God is love and is not the author of disaster, but surrounds us with His protection. Naked we might come into the world, but through God’s redemption, we do not have to depart that way.

Other obscure connections, such as the symbolism the particular stone Satan tempted Jesus with and the number of days between the Ark resting on Ararat and the Passover are certainly interesting for those who enjoy finding codes and marveling at the fascinating writing of the Bible. This book is not for those who are new to the faith or have spent little time in dedicated Bible study. My bottom line is, “Does this information affect my salvation?” The answer here is no. Who Told You? adds some interesting concepts to my faith, but remains consistently on the foundation of the redemptive gift of God’s only Son.