Monday, January 25, 2021

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.


Join Jess's Mailing List 

 

Join the authors mailing list to be entered into a drawing

https://www.jesslederman.com/special-offers




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Amazon




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.”



 

Friday, January 15, 2021

Sign up for a free monthly craft summit from WWA

 

Serving all writers since 1948


WWA...Announcement
What You need to Know from the Wisconsin Writers Association


Have a plot knot you just can't untie? Does your protagonist feel more like a caricature than a character? 

Yeah, writing is hard, but you no longer have to face these challenges alone!

The Wisconsin Writers Association is pleased to announce its 

Craft Solutions Summit with Ryan R. Campbell! This monthly event offers participants the opportunity to troubleshoot their story woes with other writers in our community--with help from the WWA Craft Development Chair and International Book Awards finalist, Ryan (R.R.) Campbell.

How does it work?

The first five people to sign up for the summit each month will be invited to join the call and 1) share one writerly bit of pride, 2) one writing-related woe they're facing, and 3) their goal for the next month.

We'll then, as a group, talk out each other's challenges in order to encourage, inspire, and urge each other back to the page with solutions at the tips of our fingers!

Sounds great, but what if I'm not among the first five to sign up?

Never fear! If you're not among the first five to sign up for the summit, you can still watch the discussion live with other WWA members. During the event, you'll be able to learn from others while sharing your own insight via the Zoom text chat. 

And then, hey: you can try to sign up again next month!

When and where will these be held?

The Craft Solutions Summit with Ryan R. Campbell will be held via Zoom on the third Thursday of every month from 7 - 8:15 p.m.

Register

Join us on February 4th at 7PM for an Open Mic and Craft Chat with Thomas Wayne King and Debbi King. Tom and Debbi will host the evening and present a short craft talk called Your GPS for Writing Success: Polishing Your Work. 

Want to read at the open mic? Email Julia at jnusbaum11@gmail.com. We have 10 spots open. First come first serve. 

Register


Become a Member
 
 
 



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Write Now tour with Bre's Heavenly Adventures prize drawing

 



Write Now Literary is pleased to be organizing a two-week book tour and Amazon gift card giveaway for Bre's Heavenly Adventures with Jesus by Breanna Brown. The book tour will run Jan 11-22, 2021.

ASIN: B08R6M41Q1
Genre: Christian Children's Book







Bre Brown currently serves as the Youth Minister of Watchman Ministries, alongside her Husband Eric Smith, located in Fredericksburg, VA. She’s been regarded, as the "prophetic voice for the next generation." She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Louisville and currently possesses her qualified mental health professional registration in the state of Virginia. She is currently pursuing her graduate certificate in non-profit studies. She is the CEO and founder of Child Enrichment Solutions LLC. Which is a full-service coaching and consulting firm that helps youth to identify negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that inhibit them from achieving personal achievement utilize constructive coping strategies to lead happy, empowered, and successful lives.

 



Bre gets angry when her father breaks his promise and refuses to play with her. But Bre's mom tells her that she another father named Jesus-and he is the best father ever. He is always there, always ready to listen, and he will never stop loving her-even when she has made a mistake! So Bre goes to heaven to meet him...and this book will tell you what happened there!




"As the tears began streaming down her face. Her mama stopped to ask, "will you be ok?" Why doesn't he love me? Bre asked. He always does this! Do you think he's mad?"

 



TWITTER


 

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Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Hearts Set Free epic historical inspirational drama

   

Hearts Set Free
Jess Lederman
 
March, 2019
400  pp
Available in $12.99/$19.99 print, $2.99 ebook, $21.99 audio
Buy on Amazon 
Barnes and Noble 
 
About the book
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.
 
My review
Hearts Set Free is a cautious mix of a mainstream story invaded by the Holy Spirit. It’s not a tame Christian tale, nor follows the traditional Christian literature ground rules, so if you expect traditional pure inspirational lit, this isn’t it.
 
Author Jess Lederman creates a puzzle of time and characters, seemingly disparate eras and goals, and begins to weave them together, dancing back and forth in time and place. Several storylines emerge: in the 1920s and 30s a First Nation Alaskan husband leaves him family, who some years later, decide to go after him; a young man called to ministry during WWI makes a left turn into the underworld of professional fighting; in the modern era, a pair of lovers in midlife crisis seek an elusive genius’s theorem regarding the universe for their television reality documentary while debunking the God myth, and a Las Vegas pastor searches for redemption. Many pieces of the story set the foundation for the final battle.

Some ways into the story, it becomes heavily nuanced with the gospel message and lengthy biblical exegesis, as all characters in all walks of life are introduced to faith. These are real people who are often trapped in real sin.

The book should be read in larger chunks, or the reader might consider keeping notes of characters and names in significant historical eras, as several of them interact at different times and have very similar names. The chapters jump around through time and among the players until they begin to coalesce as little bits of details begin the reveal the puzzle’s picture.
 
Hearts Set Free is not an easy or light read. Adult language and situations are part of the story. Ultimately, Lederman shares the battle between spiritual realities and the redeeming love only Christ can offer. 

About the author
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.



Friday, January 8, 2021

Dandelions book 4 of Waxwood series by Tam May



Dandelions
Tam May, book 4 Waxwood series

Genres: Historical fiction, women’s fiction, family saga/drama
Release date: December 20, 2020
$3.99 Ebook
$10.99 Print, 266 pp

Buy on Amazon
Barnes and Noble

About the Book:
She had more in common with her nemesis than she wanted to believe…

For Vivian Alderdice, the 20th century begins with a new start. Now a working girl and progressive reformer like her friend, Nettie Grace, she has forsaken the Gilded Age opulence of Nob Hill for the humbler surroundings of Waxwood’s commercial district. Rather than whittle away her days with other wealthy young women in gossip, parties, and flirtations, she sells talcum powder and strawberry sodas to customers at Nettie’s Drugstore and helps the poor to read at the Waxwood Women’s Lending Library and Reading Room.

But sometimes the scars of the past leave bitterness behind …

Harland Stevens, the man who ruined her brother’s life two years before, appears like another specter in Vivian’s life and, in spite of herself, Vivian is compelled to help him escape from a hell of his own.

Find more here.

My Review:
The Waxwood saga gets a new twist when Vivian Alderdice learns another lesson in compassion. I’m drawn into this series of the West Coast elite during the turn of the twentieth century – the Gilded Age in San Francisco. Author Tam May has done an artful job staying in character and context, scene and setting of this often overlooked and elusive era of modern history.

The Alderdice family is not what it seems – but then, everyone has secrets. The saga begins in book 1 with Vivian Alderdice’s grandmother, whose secret entices Vivian on a journey of discovery, first to unravel a mysterious friendship, then in subsequent books, a journey of self-discovery. Vivian chose to step away from the illusions of the wealthy elite to find a useful place in society. She moves in with a new friend and leaps headlong into aiding the working class society of Waxwood, the real life community just outside the resort community outside of San Francisco where the well-to-do spend summers.

In this fourth book, when Vivian’s past makes an unwelcome appearance in the guise of a former friend taking care of a relative now in a near catatonic state, the friend elicits Vivian’s help. Roger thinks she can reach inside his cousin Harland Stevens’s broken mind and find the man who once controlled the fate of young men which included her brother, resulting in disaster. Vivian has despised Stevens for ruining their lives.

Vivian receives a mysterious message about forgiveness from a beggar woman, and must decide whether to act on it. The lessons she’s learning about compassion have a greater impact than she expects. I look forward to reading more about her journey in future books.

Although readers will benefit from reading the books in order, each book is complete if you give yourself time to allow the story to unfold at its own pace. The Gilded Age, after all, was a gentile time. Take a step back and allow yourself to be immersed in an era of change. Told from a tight angle of omniscient perspective, readers follow the story mostly from Vivian’s point of view with occasional insights from the supporting characters.


About the Author
Tam May started writing when she was fourteen, and writing became her voice. She loves history and wants readers to love it too, so she writes historical fiction that lives and breathes a world of the past. She fell in love with San Francisco and its rich history when she learned about the city's resilience and rebirth after the 1906 earthquake and fire during a walking tour. She grew up in the United States and earned a B.A. and M.A. in English. She worked as an English college instructor, interesting a class of wary freshmen in Henry James' fiction. She also worked as an EFL teacher, using literature to teach English to business professionals before she became a full-time writer.

Her book Lessons From My Mother's Life debuted at #1 on Amazon in the Historical Fiction Short Stories category. She's also published a Gilded age family saga titled The Waxwood Series. Set in Northern California at the close of the 19th century, the series tells the story of the Alderdices, a wealthy San Francisco family crumbling amid revolutionary changes and shifting values in America's Gilded Age. Tam's current project delves into historical mystery fiction. The Paper Chase Mysteries is set in Northern California at the turn of the 20th century and features amateur sleuth and epistolary expert Adele Gossling, a young, progressive, and independent young woman whose talent for solving crimes comes into direct conflict with her new community, where people are apt to prefer the Victorian women over the new century's New Woman.

Tam lives in Texas but calls San Francisco and the Bay Area "home". When she's not writing, she's reading classic literature, watching classic films, cross-stitching, or cooking yummy vegetarian dishes.

For more information about Tam May and her work, check out her website at www.tammayauthor.com. You can also sign up for her newsletter, which offers glimpses into the nooks and crannies of history that aren't in the history books and subscriber-exclusive sneak peeks, giveaways, and polls. plus a free short story.

Friday, December 25, 2020

Dark Streets Shineth, a Christmas murder mystery

 


Dark Streets Shineth, a Say a Prayer whodunit
Clare Revell
PBGroup Holiday Extravaganza novella, December 1, 2020, 102 pp
 
Buy on Amazon 
Barnes and Noble
Ebook Currently on sale for 99 cents
 
About the Book
YOU'D BETTER WATCH OUT. YOU'D BETTER NOT CRY. SANTA CLAUS IS GOING TO DIE...DCI Boaz Matthias isn't a Christmas person. He never has been. Not since he discovered the truth when he was seven. Christmas is a lie and a con and nothing is ever going to change his mind. Being given a temporary six week assignment isn't helping his mood either—as it means Christmas with the family. Only good thing is the accidental meeting of someone he thinks he could grow very fond of.
DC Isabel York loves Christmas. So much so that she decorates her desk with lights, tinsel, and a novelty advent calendar. When her boss is called away, his replacement is the last person she's expecting to see—her fledgling boyfriend.

In the middle of a nasty case, Isabel is nevertheless determined to show Boaz the real meaning of Christmas. The only problem is that work and pleasure just don't mix—at least not according to him.
 
My Review
I loved these characters throughout the Say a Prayer series. They’re intentional short segments of murder investigations at a particular police station in England. They are well-researched and populated with all-too-real people. Isabel hasn’t been a DC all that long, but her intuition and ability to connects dots has had other officers in her department…shall we say jealous? While most of the problem people were shifted around to other departments or fired, a few officers are still afraid of her and try to make her life miserable. Things get a little worse when their favorite boss  has a family emergency and the temp is a grinch. Not just a grinch but the fellow who Isabel had started dating prior to his new assignment. The new temp, Boaz, walks in on an already-in-progress murder investigation. Someone is killing store Santas, and as it’s Isabel’s case, she’s in charge, much to the chagrin of the remaining problem parties in the department. Isabel’s got a lot to deal with this Christmas amid a boyfriend who hates her favorite time of year, numbskulls who whine at work even as Isabel continues to develop her self-confidence on the job, and a morgue filling up with bodies. Where can a person find a cup of Christmas cheer with all this mayhem?
 
Join the party as Isabel and Zander and their new friend, Boaz, take on the holi-craze. Told through Isabel and Boaz’s eyes, this holiday romantic thriller is just the perfect bite-size book for a take-me-away moment this Christmas.
 
About the Author
Clare is a British author. She lives in a small town in England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, and her three children. Writing from a early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fanfiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.

Her books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American, the books contain British language and terminology. The first draft of every novel is hand written.

She has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of four registrars.

She can be found at:
http://www.revell124.plus.com/clarerevell/
https://www.facebook.com/ClareRevellAuthor
https://twitter.com/ClareRevell
http://telscha.blogspot.co.uk/


Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Clare Revell and Christmas Time in London Town

 


Christmas Time in London Town
Clare Revell
PBGBooks Passport to Romance novella, December 1, 2020, 95 pp.
Buy on Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Ebook Currently on sale for 99 cents

About the Book
Needing a change of pace, elementary school teacher Kelly Seda accepts the school exchange position and flies from Ottawa to London. Exchanging jobs and houses for a year, he and six-year-old daughter Wendy have a less than a day to adjust before starting work.

Single mum Staci Kirk has carved out a life for herself and her young son Tommy. Fiercely independent and self-reliant, she's found a good place where she can settle in but she's all too aware that happily ever after applies only to other people—or to the fictional characters in the romance books she writes.

The arrival of Tommy's new teacher, also her next door neighbor, threatens to upset Staci's carefully balanced apple cart but she knows it's only a matter of time before Kelly packs his bags and flies back to Canada. No sense in starting anything she can't finish.

However, life is never as simple as it is in her novels, and when the worst happens, there is only one person she can rely on to help.

My Review

Revell’s newest addition to her impressive catalog of inspirational fiction is a lovely story of two single parents meeting in a most unusual manner. When a Canadian teacher is given a last-second opportunity as an exchange teacher in London, England, he’s quick to say yes, even though it uproots his fragile six-year-old daughter and distances them from his travel-reluctant mother at Christmas. Ending up next door to Staci who’s raising five-year-old Tommy is an answer to prayers Kelly hadn’t thought to make. Staci is a self-sufficient writer, able single parent, and content to quietly raise her child in peace. She’s not looking for complications of any kind—certainly not of the heart, as in potentially giving hers to a man who’s only in town for a few months.

The short but intense romance develops quickly. When you know, you know about love. But Kelly is on temporary assignment, and falling in love just can’t be an option. Can it… Even though they match in every way, how can either of them risk their hearts or children’s hopes? It romance and sight-seeing in London Town for Christmas. Told though both Kelly and Staci’s viewpoints, the reader is charmed by their respectful, emotional stories.

About the Author
Clare is a British author. She lives in a small town in England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, and her three children. Writing from a early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fanfiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.

Her books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American, the books contain British language and terminology. The first draft of every novel is hand written.

She has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of four registrars.

She can be found at:
http://www.revell124.plus.com/clarerevell/
https://www.facebook.com/ClareRevellAuthor
https://twitter.com/ClareRevell
http://telscha.blogspot.co.uk/