Healing Faith by Pamela Gossiaux

Healing Faith

Pam Gossiaux

June 20, 2020

Tri-Cat Publishing

$4.99 Ebook

$14.95 Print

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About the Book

A heartwarming story about trusting in your heart, even when it has been broken. By international bestselling author Pamela Gossiaux!

Faith is believing in something when the outcome seems impossible…

Rachel Walker’s husband left her for another woman, her parents are disappointed in her, and she is struggling with her job as a child psychologist. The only place she feels valued is at Three Hearts Ranch, the equine-assisted therapy center where she volunteers. It’s her safe space from the world.

Until Christopher Adler walks through the barn door. 

Christopher Adler is the only survivor of the attack that took the lives of the other men in his Humvee in Afghanistan.  Several years later, he has left a string of bad relationships and buried himself in a bottle until one cold night when he met God. Now, trying to turn his life around, he seeks help for his PTSD at Three Hearts Ranch. But he wasn’t counting on Rachel Walker – the girl he had hurt in high school– to be assigned as his therapist. 

Rachel detests Chris, and working together isn’t an option. But then Faith, an abused palomino mare, is brought to the farm. As they try to save her, old feelings resurface, and they start to question whether wounds can be healed and hearts restored. 

My Review

I love it when a story makes me cry. I’m not even a pet person. Gossiaux’s latest western Michigan-based horse therapy tale is much more than light romance. She touches on the very real trauma of adult-onset PTSD, as well as unfortunate consequences of teen angst and parental dysfunction. We all have choices, but sometimes I wonder what God is doing when He gives us enough room to…you know.

Rachel Walker is a psychologist whose specialty is working with children by day in a clinical setting, and volunteering on the side at an equine therapy center. The horse farm, her safe haven, grounds her when life overwhelms even the toughest human. Rachel’s friend/boss Gretchen at the clinic has given Rachel a lot of latitude to work out the lifelong anger that’s pretty much ruled every choice she’s made. Stemming from a devastating let-down in high school, Rachel has blamed every bad development on the one person who left her out to dry. But when that person, Chris Adler, shows up again a dozen years later and needing her help professionally, she faces more impossible choices. Now, Rachel’s boss/friend Kim, owner of the horse farm about to go under from potential financial ruin, isn’t about to let Rachel wiggle out of a responsibility to use her talent to help others. Especially when she’s Chris’s only hope of regaining a functional life.

When these lost and hurting souls team up to bring a special rescue horse named Faith back to face the world, they learn together that even if they can’t find a way to fix everything and everyone, a greater Presence will always have their backs.

Told in alternating viewpoints from Rachel and Chris, this story encompasses great love and the value of forgiveness no matter how hard it is to let go of anger, assumptions, and particularly the expectations we place on those we love. Beautiful story, well told, and highly recommended for those who enjoy chewy redemptive books.

About the Author

Pamela Gossiaux is the international bestselling author of the Russo Romantic Mystery series, the romantic comedy Good Enough, the YA novel Ordinary Girl, and the inspirational books, Why Is There a Lemon in My Fruit Salad? How to Stay Sweet When Life Turns Sour, and A Kid at Heart. She is also a keynote speaker, freelance writer, and teaches writing workshops. She lives and writes in Michigan near a wonderful university town with her husband, two sons, and three cats. Visit her website at PamelaGossiaux

Book Review WWI Canadian fiction with Jenny Knipfer

 

Silver Moon, By the Light of the Moon series, book 3 by Jenny Knipfer

Inspirational Historical fiction

self-published, June 30, 2020, 409 pp

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Print: $15.99

EBOOK: $2.99

About the Book

Silver Moon, the third book in the series: By the Light of the Moon, paints a stunning and poignant picture of life on the home front in Webaashi Bay, Ontario, and of three men who are a part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during WWI.

Shamed into joining the war, the tide turns for Luis Wilson when he is steered into the depths of espionage. Injured and presumed missing, will he lose his heart to the very woman who presented him with a white feather?

Oshki and Jimmy offer a grim perspective on life in the trenches. They despair of ever returning home to the women who hold their hearts.

Meanwhile, Lily fights for the cause in her own way and rallies the female troops at home as prejudices run high and the local cafe owner is accused of being a spy.

Will the women of Webaashi Bay receive their men back unscathed? Can the power of love win out over insurmountable odds? All this drama and more plays out under the light of a silver moon.

My Review:

The third book in Knipfer’s By the Light of the Moon series draws the reader into World War One on the European front and at home in Webaashi Bay, Canada. Although this story stood alone quite well, readers will be intrigued to see how the family drama developed in the first two stories plays out. This story felt comfortable for a first-time reader to the author, more like being welcomed by new friends. The setting, a time of need, camaraderie and survival, brings the large cast and reader together. I enjoy history, and Knipfer’s research and literary replay put me in place in Canada and the trenches of France and Belgium. 

Told from a dramatic starting point, Knipfer leads her readers through a web of time and place that slowly draws us toward a meeting point when all the timelines and character threads meld and move forward together. Three soldiers share their stories from the war front while the reader is pulled back in time to explain what led up to the events. I admit that the number of family members of each character and the time jumps from the start of the war at home to periods in between up to 1917 were somewhat jerky until I settled into intimacy with their unique voices and perspectives. In this case, I recommend that the reader simply let the stories unfold in their own time.

Luis is an artistic soul who joins up when challenged by a stranger, much to the surprise and dismay of his family. His First Nation friend Oshki then jumps on the bandwagon primarily to make sure his buddy stays safe. Their stories twine is precious ways. The third hometown boy’s story comes about some ways into the story when Luis’s sister Lily takes up a community effort to support the valiant men and begins not only a letter-writing campaign, but establishes a women’s civic club for mutual benefit among the citizens of the small Ontario community.

Knipfer’s sense of place and era were lovingly recreated as little-known facts emerge, such as placing citizens of German descent in internment camps during the war, much like was done to Japanese-descent citizens during World War Two.

Ultimately, Silver Moon is a story of forgiveness, second chances, prayer and patience. Although told through multiple characters, Lily and Luis carry the main threads. An epilogue wraps up this story line. Harvest Moon, the fourth in the series, is scheduled for release later this fall and I look forward to reading it.

About the Author

Jenny Knipfer lives in Wisconsin with her husband, Ken and their pet Yorkie, Ruby. She is also a mom and loves being a grandma. She enjoys many creative pursuits but finds writing the most fulfilling.

Jenny’s education background stems from psychology, music, and cultural missions. She spent many years as a librarian in a local public library but recently switched to using her skills as a floral designer in a retail flower shop. She is now retired from work due to disability.

She authored and performed a self-published musical CD entitled, Scrapbook of a Closet Poet. Jenny acquires joy in the journey as an author. Ruby Moon, the first title in her historical fiction series: By the Light of the Moon, earned a five star rating from Readers' Favorite. Her books are available in eBook and paperback formats through Amazon and Ingramspark.

Jenny holds membership in the: Historical Novel Society, Wisconsin Writers Association, and Midwest Independent Booksellers Association.

Jenny’s favorite place to relax is by the western shore of Lake Superior, where her novel series is set.

Write Now and The Life God Gives You

 Write Now Literary is pleased to be organizing a two-week book tour for The Life God Gives You by Shaquia M. Jimson. The book tour will run July 20-31.

           

Genre: Non-Fiction

Paperback: ISBN-13: 979-8642355381

E-book: ASIN: B08BJB9SXZ

Meet Shaquia

Shaquia is a  Certified Life Coach and the owner of Overcoming Bondage, a consulting business, where clients come and received emotional, spiritual, and physical therapy. Shaquia also is a pillar in her community where she donates to local shelter and assist at food banks for the homeless.

She resides in Kings Mountain, North Carolina with her family.

About the Book

Do you know your family history and the struggles they endured? Have you ever taken a moment to realize the sacrifices your parents made to give you a better life?

Take a Journey with Shaquia Jimson as she reminisces the journey of Grace Ann Jimson. Shaquia shares her family lifeline as they struggle through financial hardships, social acceptance, mental and physical abuse. This riveting book shows how Shaquia’s family made it through some of the most difficult

circumstances so that she could live a better life.

Shaquia’s book brings awareness to the cause of sex trafficking and domestic violence.

CONNECT SOCIALLY

FACEBOOK   WEBSITE

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BARNES & NOBLE               AMAZON

TOUR ORGANIZED BY WRITE NOW LITERARY BOOK TOURS

Season of Hope with Carol James

Pelican Book Group, July 19, 2020
ISBN 9781522302858
310 pp
Contemporary Inspirational Romance
Ebook $5.99
Print $16.99

Buy the Book:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/30mNHV9

Pelican Soft Cover: https://bit.ly/2MGgewZ

Pelican Ebook: https://bit.ly/2MGe28A

Barnes and Noble Soft Cover: https://bit.ly/2BIhkGo

Barnes and Noble Ebook: https://bit.ly/30lXZF9

About the Book:

Hope Stockton’s life is dead, frozen in a winter of guilt, deceit, and fear. When handsome young pastor, Josh Lewis, comes to serve in her church, she wonders if she can trust him with her past. Will he be able to help her answer the questions that have been buried in her heart for years? Or will his own secrets drive them apart and prevent him from helping Hope find her spring of forgiveness?

Set in small town Texas in the years during and following the Vietnam war, Season of Hope is a story of forgiveness and restoration.

About the Author

Carol James is an author of redemptive romance. Her debut novel, Rescuing Faith, was an Amazon number one best-seller. She lives in a small town outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, Jim, and a perky Jack Russell "Terrorist," Zoe.

Having always loved intriguing stories with happy endings, she was moved to begin writing to encourage others as she'd been encouraged by the works of other authors of inspirational fiction.

Carol enjoys spending time with her husband, children, and grandchildren, traveling with friends. She volunteers at a nearby school and serves in the production department at her church. She’s a Frappuccino and soccer aficionado.

www.carol-james.com
Facebook.com/CarolJamesAuthor
https://www.instagram.com/caroljamesauthor
https://twitter.com/CarolJamesAuth

A Brief Interview with Carol:

What do you love about your new book: I love the truth illustrated in Hope’s life - that even when we feel unworthy to be a child of God, the Father is always pushing us with His perfect love.

What do you hope readers will tell others after they’ve finished the story? I hope readers will tell others that they laughed with Hope and Josh, cried with them, and mourned with them. I hope they will take away and share the truth illustrated in Hope’s life - that absolutely nothing we can do, no matter how bad we believe it is, will ever separate us from the love of God in Jesus.

Tell us about the most difficult part of the book to write.

Without giving away too much information (because it’s a crucial plot point), the scene in Season of Hope I struggled with the most and rewrote many, many times is the one in which our hero, Josh, returns from a fishing trip. He enters the guesthouse only to discover Hope sitting on his bed, and he realizes she has gone through his things. I won’t say what happens at this point, but I had to make certain that their reactions were true to the situation and their personalities.

What are you reading now? I’m just beginning News of the World by Paulette Giles, a historical fiction book a friend loaned me. It’s set in post Civil War Texas, and deals with the return of a young girl kidnapped by the Kiowa tribe. My friend recommended it because she knew my husband and I were originally from Texas, and that all my novels are set there.

What’s next for you? I just completed a Christmas novella entitled Redeeming Christmas that will release in December of this year, and I am currently editing a novel based on a trip I took to Longfellow’s Wayside Inn in Sudbury, MA where I discovered the Secret Drawer Society. My husband and I spent hours reading the hidden letters. (If you’ve never heard of this group, look it up online. It’s fascinating.) I knew then I wanted to include this concept in one of my novels. The working title for this piece is A Time for Singing. And the hero and heroine write anonymous letters back and forth and hide them in a secret drawer in a local inn.

Finding and Working with a good book designer

Good Book Designers

by Lisa Lickel

Lately I've picked up indie books that have decent ratings and are well-meant, thoughtful, and have the names of the editors and designers listed. I'm glad indie authors are taking the time to run their manuscripts through an editing process and trying to do the right thing by presumably paying someone to design the interior.

It's not always the case, unfortunately, that paying someone means the final product has an acceptably professional layout. I'm more picky than most readers. I know that. I'm more picky than most editors and publishers I have worked with. I know that. I am not perfect, so I'm not throwing stones, but I learn from my mistakes and make it my mission not to repeat them. So, the last book I opened with the above credentials had several designer errors in the first five pages that made me wonder what country and what style guide these folks were following. Not to mention dread trying to read the rest. Having worked for several publications, I understand that each publications company can have its own style guide. But when it comes to good, industry-standard, acceptable, professional literature, the Chicago Manual of Style is the go-to reference guide.

Typically, authors are focused on creating good story and leave the rest to professionals, so it pays to find experienced people. But, like any job that you can't or won't do for yourself, how do you know the right questions to ask or whether you've received the best service?

1. My number one piece of advice on finding a good, professional designer is to ask what style guide he or she follows.
2. Secondly, look at a "Big" imprint book - like one from Hatchette, Double Day, HarperCollins, or Random House, and simply examine the front and back matter and pay attention to the chapter header pages, where the page numbers are, and what's on the copyright page. You're observing, not performing the complex procedure itself. If your book doesn't look like that, ask the designer to follow traditional standards. It matters, maybe not so much to the casual reader, but to anyone who you want to take you seriously. A few tips follow.

• A good designer will follow a professional style guide. Chicago Manual of Style is traditional; however, within those standards you, the indie author, can ask for particular idiosyncrasies such as stylized chapter headings or artwork in the scene breaks or header/footer specifics. It should be consistent.
• A good designer knows what goes on the copyright page, and how to word the language. While "by" does not go on the cover or front matter, it does go on the copyright page, as in copyright by author name. Good designers know that copyrighted material that is quoted in your manuscript must adhere to specific permission requirements and will follow them. It's not that hard. Good designers and editors know that certain material does not fall under fair use rules and permission must be obtained and will either walk you through it or take care of it.
• A good designer and editor knows what Foreword means and who can write it
• A good designer will either get or walk you through the Library of Congress cataloging data; helping you obtain a processing number and working on the data block that shows librarians and booksellers where to place your book on the shelf or how to enter it for reference or sales.
• A good designer understands and can advise you on ISBNs and whether adding a barcode is necessary in your case, why you don't need to pay for a copyright or if you should; and registering your ISBN and imprint
• A good designer and editor knows that super and subscript is not used as part of a date
• A good designer takes the time to make sure headers and footers are not used on every page of the manuscript, but set up either by template or manually to ensure certain pages such as tables of content or new chapter pages are unique
• Epigraphs are not in quotes
• neither are endorsements
• opening chapter text is left justified
• usually, so are first lines after scene breaks
• no fewer than four lines show flow onto a blank page
• the facing page is the recto page, the right hand, and is odd numbered
• the back side, the verso, is even
• A good gutter and nice margins create a pleasant reading experience, not frustrating the reader who must constantly bend the book to read into the spine or move their hands to keep their thumbs out of the margins
• A good designer recommends fonts and line heights
• A good designer understands back matter
• A good designer understand how to prepare manuscripts for electronic delivery and that they are in a different format. They do not have gutters or different odd/even page setups, and have a clickable Table of Contents if they have one at all. They are in different formats.
• A good designer can also prepare your manuscript as an audio script

Howard Watson is on the case

The Scheduler: a Howard Watson Intrigue

JoAnn Fastoff

June 15, 2020

ISBN 9781087875965

174 pp

$2.99 ebook

$12.95 print

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Amazon 

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About the Book

Five men have been targeted for death by someone trained on an M-24 sniper rifle…a rifle that only the military provides. The person or persons unknown is an expert shot. Howard Watson is an FBI Supervisory Special Agent in Charge in Washington, D.C., and his friend, Allen Knox, is one of the two targets on the offenders’ list who escapes the deathtrap. What do these five men have in common that has garnered the wrath of the shooter? The FBI Profiler will offer her insight.

A brief interview with the Author

Tell us what you love about this new Howard Watson Intrigue, JoAnn.

This particular HW intrigue is a personal battle for Agent Watson. Emotions are high.

Introduce us to your favorite perp.

My favorite perp in this “Intrigue” is Marjorie Halstrom (dynamic character) because of the weight she carried in her life and how she believed she squashed it in her daughter’s life.

What do you hope readers will tell others when they’re finished the book?

Although “The Scheduler” is a book of fiction sexual molestation is real. I would hope people, in addition to be being entertained with the story, are subliminally outraged by one characters action on a minor.

What’s next for you, JoAnn?

I am currently taking a break from HW to write about the early stages of women in sports.

What are you reading now?

Right now I am reading The Most Famous Woman in Baseball (Effa Manley and the Negro Leagues).

Read JoAnn's post about her series here.

My review

In Fastoff’s incredibly fast-paced thriller, FBI Special Agent Howard Watson is back on a new case, and this time it’s personal.

Starting with a literal gunshot bang at his close friends Janet and Allen’s wedding, Watson rushes directly into the hunt for the shooter. The fact that his friend is only one of several similar but apparently random victims around the country only makes the crack cross-agency team work faster to prevent another attack.

When Knox’s fiancé, Janet, unofficially gets involved, as well as Knox’s partner, it’s not long before the agents begin unraveling a lengthy skein of terror stretching back decades.

The Scheduler is a quick thrill ride with a favorite crew of special agents, back for a sixth dramatic case dealing with the devastating effects of the ultimate betrayal in dysfunctional family dynamics. Fans of FBI fiction and serial intrigues will love the emotional twists and turns during the tracking of a killer through America’s Midwest.

About the author

JoAnn Fastoff is an award-winning author of both fiction and non-fiction books. She has written for numerous publications, has produced three one-act plays Off-Off-Broadway in New York, and produced and directed Live from the Warehouse, a jazz program for several PBS affiliates. Ms. Fastoff is an environmental activist, the mother of two adult children and the grandmother of Lia. She lives in Chicago. Visit her website at www.JoAnnFastoff.com

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

Buy the book

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Pelican Book store

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.