Book Recommendation - Defiant Joy: Taking Hold of Hope, Beauty and Life in a Hurting World

While a vast majority of what I read is Christian fiction, there are a few Christian non-fiction authors that I follow as well. Stasi Eldredge (and her husband John) are among those that I read everything that they put out. Stasi's latest release, Defiant Joy, is one of the best books I've read. In a time when the news is so readily available and we're therefore more aware of all of the suffering in the world (including our own), it is very poignant to have a book on being not only joyful, but defiantly so.

 I went through this book with a highlighter in hand. There were so many wonderful statements that needed to not only be read, but re-read again and again. Here are a few of them in "meme form".

 Stasi pours out her heart and bares the pain of losing loved ones, chronic physical pain, chemical depression, and the feeling of "not fitting in". She doesn't mince words or avoid the tough topics of loss and depression, but instead delves into how we can have joy in the midst of our sorrow. Joy is not the same thing as happiness, but it stems from the hope that we have in Christ. We can have joy regardless of our circumstances because of what Jesus did for us at Calvary. And because He loves us still. He loves us in our pain and in our mess. He is our Father. He is our Savior. And because of that, we can have joy. Defiant joy that stands up to our Enemy and death and pain and suffering, and says "You do NOT have the final say in my life!" Stasi did an interview for the Christian Post, some of which I've included below:

To achieve true and lasting joy in this broken world, one must come to know God's character and hold to the unwavering belief that sorrow and loss do not have the final say. We live in a society defined by heartbreak, loss, and hopelessness. But amid this dark reality, Christians have the opportunity to choose love over fear and experience a joy rooted in the hope found in Christ, Stasi Eldredge, author of Defiant Joy, told The Christian Post.

"Every day, you get on Facebook and you watch the news and your heart breaks for what is going on in people's lives," she said. "We seem so rooted in hopelessness, and that's the antithesis of Christianity."

"Every moment, we are faced with the choice to either be buried by what we see and have that be the canopy under which we live, or to choose to actually obey what we are instructed to in the Word of God: To fix our eyes on Jesus, to choose to ask Him for grace in the face of suffering."

Eldredge, who is also the director of the women's ministry at Ransomed Heart and author of Captivating, told CP that choosing joy doesn't mean denying that pain exists or diminishing the reality of pain and loss. Instead, it means understanding that suffering and joy can coexist.

"Joy isn't about singing in the garden all day; it's not even about a feeling," she explained. "It's about coming to know God more deeply and understanding His character, goodness, and immeasurable love. Joy is the heartbeat of Heaven. It's about acknowledging the reality of the world we live in, but understanding that death doesn't have the final say. It's a shift of gaze. It's holding to the deepest reality that God reigns over the universe and that nothing is up for grabs."

Eldredge speaks from experience; she told CP Defiant Joy was written in "one of the most difficult years" of her life."We lost a brother, we lost our first grandson, we lost our best friend," she said. "I was also in the worst physical pain I'd ever felt in my life due to a hip replacement and struggling with depression."

She continued, "In the midst of my pain, God began to speak to me about my heart being tethered to His in such a way that the reality of my life wasn't something that should bury me, but someplace for me to come to know that He is unwavering, that He isn't thrown by loss, and that loss doesn't have the final say."

In her book, the Kansas native shares personal stories, deep vulnerability, and practical steps readers can take to have the kind of joy that is present in both goodness and grief.

Defiant Joy debuted on October 16, 2018 and is available anywhere books are sold. My review is below.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38915943-defiant-joy

Book Recommendation - Shelter of The Most High

If you enjoy Biblical Historical fiction, then chances are, you have heard of Connilyn Cossette. Her debut novel, Counted With The Stars, was an amazing re-telling of the Exodus, told from the viewpoint of an Egyptian slave, who joined the group of Hebrews leaving Egypt in order to save her brother, a first-born. There were 2 more books after that one in the "Out of Egypt" series that brought the Bible to life in telling of the time in the wilderness and the battle at Jericho. Her current Series, the "Cities of Refuge" series is a continuation of her first series and takes place after the Israelites have settled into the promised land. This time-frame, and these cities, are only briefly mentioned in scripture. So, the fact that Ms. Cossette is still able to bring them to life in a story-telling, but true to history and scripture as can be done, is nothing short of amazing. Shelter of the Most High is the 2nd book in this series and I was blessed to be on the launch team for this book.

This book is a beautiful story of love and mercy, told from alternating points of view of Sofea, a foreigner, and Eitan (who you might remember as as child from book 1, A Light on the Hill). Sofea is the daughter of a high priest in Sicily and one decision one day turns her whole world upside-down. She finds herself (and her cousin with her) in a strange land where the people speak a strange language that she does not understand. Eitan knows the moment that he sees this blue-eyed beauty that he wants to get to know her better, but is not sure how to communicate when she doesn't understand his words. Due to Sofea's experiences and inability to understand, she misinterprets many of the behaviors of this strange people, and it takes awhile for her to understand that the One God of the Hebrews is nothing at all like the gods of Sicily. Similarly, their priests are nothing alike. As she learns that she does not need to fear, she also learns that Yahweh has drawn her here with a purpose and is shown such love and mercy. There are many quotable passages in this book. The one below is one of my favorites. 

Being on the launch team for this book, I had the opportunity to ask the author a few questions of my own, and these really brought out the heart of this book.

Do you relate particularly well to any one of the characters in this book? Why or why not?

I always find little ways I relate to many of my characters but in Shelter of the Most High I think perhaps I connected the most with Eitan’s struggle with recurring self-condemnation. In order to avoid spoilers I won’t say exactly how he handles these issues but I think for me, and for many other followers of Jesus, I have a habit of bringing up my past sins and beating myself over the head with them, even though His grace is sufficient and I have no need to wallow in condemnation any more. If we are in Covenant with Jesus through his blood then we have been freely forgiven, so we must stop letting the Enemy whisper in our ear that we are not worthy. Eitan goes through the process of trying to “earn” forgiveness for something he had already been given grace for and I am guilty of doing the same thing at times. His journey was a great reminder to me that I am already free, so I need to stop acting like a slave to my past!

Was there anything interesting that happened during the writing of this book (or that made its way into the writing of this book) that the average reader wouldn't pick up on?

The biggest change for me was traveling to Israel. I went from having to rely on the internet and Google Earth for my experiences of the Land to getting the opportunity to see and feel and taste and touch and smell those places for myself. It shifted my understanding of the “smallness” of the country and how close everything in the Bible is in relation to one another and gave me a wealth of sensory detail to layer into my stories. I’d already written Shelter of the Most High when I went there but during editing I was able to tweak and expand due to my firsthand experiences. It was life-changing in many ways.

Is there any particular message (that isn't obvious) that you would like your readers to get out of this book?

As I began writing the Cities of Refuge Series I came to the realization that the places God set up as sanctuaries for those convicted of manslaughter (Joshua 20) were a wonderful picture of the Body of Christ and how the Church should relate to the world. Our congregations should be a haven for the hurting, a place of safety and provision for those who are suffering, a place where the teaching of the Word (Torah) is central, a gathering of redeemed people who appreciate the grace and mercy they’ve been given, and a light on the hill to the weary and heavy laden. Throughout the series you’ll see cities of refuge like Kedesh where these principles are upheld and valued and others that have became more focused on wealth, power, self-righteousness or have slidden into idolatry and compromise. History shows us that these cities of refuge were kind of a blip on the timeline, in fact scholar think that many of the 48 cities designated for the Levites by Moses were never even settled. If the Church wants to have an impact on the culture around us, instead of the other way around, we would do well to pattern our congregations after these places of perfectly balanced justice and mercy.

How did you come up with the topic for this story?

Well, in the beginning it was an off-hand comment by my husband’s best friend that I actually laughed off at first and then began to realize was a completely cool premise! But I can’t really tell you what that comment was because it’s a major spoiler! But I also did some research about the Bronze Age and found out there was a real problem with pirates back then and knew I had to weave them in too. The original plot idea was very different and involved more pirates and even some ancient drug trade (yes, there was such a thing) and ended up being a tangled mess that didn’t make much logical sense, so I am really pleased with how it all came together…eventually.

Is Sofea and Eitan’s story finished, or will we see more of them?

The next book, Until the Mountains Fall, opens about 8 years after Shelter of the Most High, so you will definitely see what Eitan and Sofea are up to. I won’t spoil anything about their appearances but I will say that it made me so happy to revisit them and to “see” their love story through the eyes of a grown-up Malakhi (the hero of UTMF).

Until The Mountains Fall is scheduled to come out next summer, which seems an eternity to wait to see what happens next. If you enjoy Biblical Historical fiction, or simply want to bring this mostly unknown portion of the Bible to life, I would strongly recommend this one! Shelter of the Most High is out on October 2, 2018.

Link to my review is below.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2294209409

Book Recommendation -- Hidden Among the Stars

I've seen a great deal of buzz for Melanie Dobson's books, particularly her latest, Hidden Among The Stars. So, when I had a chance to get a copy of it, I knew I needed to check it out. I was immediately drawn in to the story. This was a dual timeline story, which is fast becoming a favorite genre of mine. It combines both history and contemporary (hence the dual timeline), both mystery and romance, and often finds a resolution from the earlier timeline in the modern one, so there's almost always closure in the story of these books. This book did not disappoint on this level. Ms. Dobson is a very talented author, making the book flow both lyrically and between the timelines. The modern timeline was written in 1st person whereas the past timeline was written in 3rd. That actually helped the flow of the book and made it easy to remember which timeline you're in, which is sometimes difficult in this genre.

This book starts in Vienna, Austria in 1938. Annika Knopf has grown up in the shadow of a castle that her father is the paid caretaker of. The castle is owned by the wealthy Dornbach family. Their son, Max is a few years older than Annika, but she is completely smitten with him. Because of that, she is willing to keep his secrets and help him with anything. As Annika grows through the duration of the book, her love for Max is fully demonstrated. Max is in love with Luzia Weiss, who is a Jewish musician. The past timeline shadows the lives of these 3 individuals. The modern timeline follows the life of Callie Randall, who owns a bookstore along with her sister Brie in Mt. Vernon, OH. For her birthday, Brie gets Callie an original German copy of the book "Bambi" and Annika's name is written in the front cover. Callie begins to search for Annika or her descendants to get the story behind the odd added script contained within the pages of the antique volume. As she seeks the story behind the book, the timelines intertwine and Ms. Dobson does an excellent job of drawing the 2 story lines together. This book brought me to tears and really brought to life the plight of the Jews during Hitler's reign. There was also a good bit of character development and growth in both timelines.

The author came across the idea for this novel 15 years ago. She and her husband went back-packing across Europe for their 5th anniversary and one of their favorite spots on the trip was a small town in Austria - Hallstatt. The alpine lakes and the mountains, with the ancient feel of the buildings made Melanie and her husband want to learn more about the history. They learned that near the end of WWII, as the Nazis were fleeing south, they stashed their treasures in nearby lakes, mines, and forests. This was excellent fodder for Ms. Dobson's book. What most captured her imagination, though, was the abandoned castle on the lake shore. As time has passed and information has become more readily available on the internet, she dug further into this mysterious castle and learned that it was used during the war as a Hitler Youth camp. She filled in some of the before and after gaps and built her story around this estate.

A few personal tidbits that made this book particularly interesting to me - the lead character in the modern timeline shares a maiden name with me. We attended the same college and her cat's name was a mix of my dog's and my sister's dog's names. She shares a middle name with my younger sister, and her first name sounds eerily similar. After only a chapter in, I began to wonder if the author had been stalking me! However, it made it much more fun and relateable. I was able to picture exactly where Callie's bookstore was and during the scene where she took a bike ride to clear her head, I could see all of those streets well as I've traveled them myself.

This is a book I would strongly recommend regardless of your genre of choice! Link to my review is below.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2509459129

Book Recommendation - A Secret to Die For

Lisa Harris's most recent novel was one of my most anticipated suspense novels this season. I was super excited to be selected as an influencer for this book. One of the aspects that had me intrigued was that the main character was a psychologist. For those that don't know, my undergrad degree is in Psychology, so I always find it fascinating to see things from their perspective. Ms. Harris did an excellent job of portraying her role. 

Psychologist Grace Callahan has no idea that she has a secret--one worth killing for. But when she finds out one of her clients has been murdered, she quickly realizes that the computer security specialist wasn't simply suffering from paranoia.
Detective Nate Quinn has just been cleared for active duty after a bombing killed eighteen people, including his partner, and left him dealing with PTSD. His first case back on the job involves the murder of Stephen Shaw, and his only lead turns out to be an old friend, Grace Callahan--and her life is in grave danger. Someone believes Shaw gave his psychologist information before he died. Information they are willing to kill for.
With her signature pulse-pounding suspense, Lisa Harris takes readers deep into the heart of fear in this race against the clock.

This book hit the ground running and did not let up in the action. I was drawn in from the get-go and did not know who the "bad guy" was till the very end. The plot-line was scary in its realism and I never knew what was going to happen next. The romance ended up very sweet (though at times felt a bit trite). The spiritual aspect was not overly religious, but addressed the question of where is God when life is hard? At one point Nate is talking to the police chaplain, asking where God is and the response is "Right where he's always been. It doesn't matter what is happening around you. He is here." Both of the main characters struggle with and grown in their faith throughout the book. 

I wanted to conduct an interview for my blog with Ms. Harris, but due to current circumstances (though she is a missionary in Africa, she is currently stateside, caring for her mother after a fall - if you are  praying person, please pray with me for Lisa Harris and her mother), I felt it best not to contact her. However, her publisher, Revell books, offered me their press release interview and I wanted to share a few of those questions here.

What was your inspiration for A Secret to Die For?

As with a lot of my stories, my inspiration started off with a random idea for a heroine, who quickly became Grace Callahan. She was a psychologist, but more than that, she had her own personal giants that she was facing in her life. After I began to flesh out her character, I brought in the hero who was also dealing with loss, and the ideas for the plot line started to come together—both for them personally and for the greater danger they were facing. 

Detective Nate Quinn struggles with PTSD. How did his disorder come in to play in A Secret to Die For? 

At the beginning of the story, Nate has just gone back to work after an explosion took the lives of his partner and several co-workers. And while he wants to be back on the job—even needs to be back—he’s not a hundred percent sure he’s ready. He encounters a number of triggers and begins to realize how his life has changed. He also has to deal with the guilt of being a survivor, which is something very real for those who have gone through trauma and lost people they care about. Grace becomes the perfect person to help him heal, which I love watching play out in the book. 

Was there any part of this book that really surprised you once you began writing it? 

As with a lot of the stories I write, I’m usually not sure who the villain is until the end of the book, and that was definitely true for this story. On the positive side, I’ve decided that if I’m not sure until the end who did it, then hopefully the reader won’t figure it out either!

What do you hope readers gain from reading your book? 

While I definitely want my readers to be entertained—and maybe a bit (okay, a lot) scared—while reading my books, I also want them to discover how God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things for him. People like you and me have the chance to allow God to use us in spite of all our fears and insecurities. I see the spiritual thread in my stories as a part of my characters’ reactions to life. How they react and deal with things on a spiritual level is crucial. Just like in my own life, I don’t want my faith to be simply tacked on but an intricate part of who I am. 

What’s next on your writing to-do list? 

Next up is another stand-alone novel for Revell that I’m super excited about as it takes my hero on a treacherous path I’ve never taken them on before. (Sorry, no spoilers!) 

How can readers connect with you? 

I’d love to hear from you! 

Website: www.lisaharriswrites.com 

Blog: myblogintheheartofafrica.blogspot.com 

Facebook Author: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLisaHarris 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/heartofafrica 

Pinterest: https://za.pinterest.com/lharriswrites/

You can purchase this book from  your favorite retailer:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2KICneB

Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/2lQjUPs

Christianbook.com:

 https://bit.ly/2KEWj2f

Check out my review here:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2378778088

Book Recommendation - A Perfect Weakness

I recently had the pleasure of being a part of a launch team for a work of romantic historical fiction, which is a genre that is slowly growing on me (as long as the romance isn't super gushy). Jennifer Davids is a "new to me" author, so I was a bit hesitant. But I didn't need to be. The book was very well written and the characters were delightful. I was immediately drawn into the time of 1860s England, where we meet our heroine, Penelope Howard, at the grave of her uncle who had recently passed. He was the lord of Ashford hall in the village of Woodley. His heir is an American doctor who must be convinced to come to England and become a lord. Here we meet John Turner, who has given up medicine for a reason unknown to us at this time. He appreciates the opportunity to escape his troubles and find his way to England. He plans to settle the estate, hand the reigns to another, and hide away in England. The story focuses on the lives of these 2 main characters, John and Penelope. Both of them have committed grievous sins in their past that they attempt to keep hidden. John struggles with the possibility of God's grace and believes he has fallen too far. While Penelope has accepted God's grace, she still struggles with the repercussions of her past mistakes and believes that her sins will keep her from finding true happiness and seeks contentment in her current circumstances. Throughout the story, various circumstances come to light and they seek to help each other come to terms with their pasts. 

While parts of the story felt predictable and I was fully convinced I could see the ending coming a mile away, the author brought along a few surprises throughout and the ending was so sweet! This was a lovely romance story, but it was made more so because of the resounding theme of grace. The theme verse of the book is 2 Corinthians 12:9 where God says to Paul "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (hence the title), and that theme came through loud and clear. God used both of their weaknesses to bring about a great result in the end. 

I was able to have a little Q&A with the author of this one as well. Here's how it went:

1. Where did you get the inspiration for the book? Is there any specific inspiration for the setting, the characters, the overall theme?

The inspiration for the book came from my second Heartsong book, Wounded Heart. A Perfect Weakness was originally intended to be a Heartsong length novel but the line shut down before I could get it finished. And it had become too long at that point anyway. The character from Wounded Heart I drew from was a secondary character who is a doctor and a victim of unrequited love. I had always wondered what happened to him after the close of the book and that is the seed from which A Perfect Weakness was born.

2. Do you relate to any of the characters in particular? Why?

I do relate to John Turner, my hero. We both have a tendency to be too hard on ourselves. Plus we also both need our peace and quiet and we enjoy the same woks of fiction. 

3. Is there anything interesting that happened during the writing process that altered the course of anything in the book?

I had an opening scene derailment of sorts. In it, the heroine, Penelope Howard, is standing over a recently deceased relative’s gravestone. I had it all set and worded exactly how I wanted when I re-watched the first episode of Season 4 of Downton Abbey. I got to the part where the Dowager Countess is speaking about Matthew’s gravestone and how they don’t set it in place for six months to allow the ground to settle. I realized that since Penelope’s relative had not been deceased that long the gravestone she was standing over would not be there yet. So I had to rewrite that scene and briefly explain the lack of a gravestone. Ah, the trails of historical writers! Lol!

4. Any other fun facts that would be fun to share with readers?

I did spend some time researching various contagious diseases in the Victorian age. And for the record, no, I’m not going to say why – read the book and you’ll understand. ;). Anyway, I would expound on the symptoms of said diseases to my husband and kids. Eventually, we latched on to one disease in particular – cholera – and whenever one of us would come down with a cold or something we would joke that ‘it must be cholera’. Yeah. My family and I have a strange sense of humor. Lol!

Jennifer's next book will be in the WWII era. Nothing like skipping around timeframes! She's currently working on that while moving her family from one home to another (she's a fellow Ohioan as well!). You can learn more about Jennifer and her works on her website: https://www.jenniferadavids.com/

Book Recommendation - The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond

I was first introduced to author Jaime Jo Wright last fall when her debut novel "The House on Foster Hill" was released. Her name showed up in several author newsletters and her book was lauded by no fewer than 3 authors that I follow and trust. And so, I did something that was rather rare for me. I BOUGHT a book by an author I'd never heard of before. Typically with new authors, I download a freebie or check them out at the library. I will very seldom spend money on a book where I don't already know the author. But because of the recommendations by other authors, I gave this one a try, and was very glad I did. Her debut novel was nothing short of spectacular. So, when she sent out applications to help launch her sophomore novel, I jumped at the chance.

The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond takes place in the small town of Gossamer Grove, WI,  during 2 timelines a century apart. We start out meeting Libby Sheffield in 1907 as she comes across a dead body. She had received his obituary at the newspaper office and had stopped to check in. The obituary referenced (and altered) some lines from Edgar Allen Poe, which only added to the mystery of the death of the Deacon. Other strange happenings occur in the 1907 timeline that seemed to coincide with the arrival of twin revivalists who seem set on flushing out the hidden sins of the small town and raise a good bit of controversy.

In the other timeline, Annalise Forsythe, in modern times, finds herself approached by police after the body of Eugene Hayes (one of the poor and broken down of Gossamer Grove) is found dead, with a picture of Annalise clutched in his hand. As she attempts to connect the dots, her home is broken into and her deepest secret is brought to light. As she seeks answers, she finds her past is connected to the happenings of Gossamer Grove in 1907.

Ms. Wright has an immense talent for these dual timeline novels that take two times in one place and bring them together. After I was through reading this book, I wanted to look into my own past and see what mysteries might reside in my own family tree. I love seeing how both stories intertwine into one and find the redemption that comes to both timelines' characters. I love dual timelines because they encompass a lot of different genres in one. There is always an element of mystery (how the 2 timelines will come together, if nothing else), historical fiction, contemporary fiction, and often an element of romance. While this book did not have the "edge of your seat" intensity that "The House on Foster Hill" did, it still kept me fully engaged and wondering what was going to happen next!

A few extras about this book and author:

1. Jaime Jo Wright is enamored with Edgar Allen Poe. That is why she included his writing in this book.
2. The twin evangelists Jacobus and Jedidiah Corbin were loosely based off the real ministry of a set of twins who evangelized the Midwest region. They were controversial in their approaches and not timid in their response to death threats, attacks, and even skunk attacks. See pictures of them here: https://www.findagrave.com/…/52311114/horace-b-morrill/photo
3. The real-life twin evangelists that the Corbins of the book were based off of, visited the author's hometown in the early 20th century. The baptist church that Ms. Wright calls home today had dwindling attendance at the time. But, after the Morrill twins came to town with their controversial revival methods, attendance surged and the church has never been the same since.
4. Obituaries in the Victorian era were often quite wordy and elaborate. Into the turn-of-the-century, they continued the habit, but grew progressively less detailed until they became what we see more often today, a simple declaration of one’s passing. It wasn’t uncommon for the obituary to go into detail about the cause of death, the person’s last moments, etc. Jaime read one that described a young woman in the chicken coop feeding her chickens when lightning struck from the sky and hit her in the head, having been attracted to the metal in her hairpin. Unfortunate and odd circumstances such as these, were almost sensationalized for news. (Or so it feels today when one reads them.)

5. While writing The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond, Jaime consumed approximately 4 pounds of coffee beans, ground and turned into liquid form. Some was eventually poured down the drain, as she can only consume so much, but her cupboard definitely decreased the stock of beans.

Coming up next from this author is "The Curse of Misty Wayfair" - another dual timeline novel that I can't wait to read! Release date for that is set for January 2019!

Book Recommendation - The Hope of Azure Springs

I've been blessed lately to be on several book launch teams. Recently, I was invited to participate in the launch of a debut for new author Rachel Fordham. Her first published novel, "The Hope of Azure Springs" releases July 3, 2018. As part of her launch team, I was able to get an advanced copy and it was fantastic! The story begins with a small, plain dirty girl who is nearly dead showing up in the town of Azure Springs. We find that many years prior, this girl, whose name is Em, came to Iowa from New York on the orphan train. Her guardian has been killed and she was wounded before she fled and found herself near death when some folks find her and bring her to Azure Springs for care. She is taken in by a family and nursed back to health, and she works closely with the sheriff, Caleb Reynolds, to find the men who attacked her and determine why. This book is a work of historical fiction, taking place in 1881, and has elements of great story across the board. There is definitely a romance going on, but it's not a quick and sappy romance (I don't care for those at all). There is action and adventure as Caleb goes after the "bad guys", and there is definitely some mystery about Em's past, as well as about the men who attacked her and their motive. The characters in the book are well developed and likeable. They grow throughout the book and bring hope to one another, hence the "Hope of Azure Springs".

Being part of the author's launch team gives me access to additional bits of inside information that I'm thrilled to be able to share with you!
1. Rachel never pictured herself as an author. She is a wife and mother of 6. While she has always loved to read and has enjoyed all things historical, she never thought she would be published. Her husband encouraged her to turn her passion into an actual book and here we are! The Hope of Azure Springs is actually her second written novel, but the first to be published. She hopes to go back to her first manuscript and edit and get it to print as well. But "The Hope of Azure Springs" was written with her heart.
2. During the writing of this book, her son got very ill. He was 4 at the time and they nearly lost him, but he survived, albeit with a daunting diagnosis. She took a break from writing for 5 months in that time. When she came back to it, she was a different person and took the book in a different direction. She became more emotionally connected to her characters, and I have no doubt that added to their depth.
3. One thing that I have in common with this author - Rachel and I both have a heart for adoption and foster children. Because of this passion, when she learned of orphan trains (previously called "mercy trains" as not all of the children were actually orphans), she knew she had to craft a story around that. She selected small town Iowa as Iowa was a pretty regular stop for those trains, and it worked with Caleb's back-story as well.
4. I mentioned that she has 6 kids - each of her kids' names are used in this book. The older kids have already read her author copy and have enjoyed getting to find their names (and their siblings' names) in print.
5. The main character of this book, Em, is described as being "plain". She is neither a beauty, nor is she ugly. However, throughout the book, as her light shines among those in Azure Springs and her beauty is found in that. Part of the author's motivation in this story was to advise her own daughter that true beauty comes from within.

6. When I asked the author what she hoped to convey through this novel, her response was "I hope that readers walk away from this story with a stronger sense of true beauty and belief in our capacity to define for ourselves what is beautiful. I also hope readers will be reminded that despite the difficulties of life we can find joy, we can carry on and we can be an influence for good. And of course I hope readers smile and maybe even sigh because it was an enjoyable read! "
7. Her next release will be in 2019. The book will begin in the "dead letter" office, and I can't wait to see what this story will bring!

If you enjoy a good heartfelt historical fiction, I would definitely recommend this one. My Goodreads review is below.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2349348013