Our Story BEFORE The Story ~ NORTHERN DECEPTION

Kira: I’m Kira Summers and my brother Michael and I were raised by our Aunt June after our ne’er-do-well Dad left us on her doorstep when we were in middle school. Michael took care of me and dragged me to the church youth group because he could make friends with anyone. I remember being angry most of the time, but I didn’t know why or at who.

Lukas: I’m Lukas Tanner and Michael was my best friend. We went through school together; getting in trouble, driving fast cars, and pulling crazy stunts. I noticed Kira straight away when he brought her out to youth group. She liked to dye her hair green and blue and wore black skinny jeans. Once she learned to drive, she’d race us out on Jefferson Road after school.

Kira: I couldn’t believe it when Lukas Tanner, of all people, asked me out! He was the richest guy at school. His dad bought him a vintage ’67 Mustang for his 16th birthday, and he always sprung for everyone’s meals at our favourite fast food place after school. He ran for Class President and won. I have no idea what he saw in me back then, but I kept him on his toes! I loved beating him in drag races!

Lukas: Kira was–is–the smartest person I’ve ever met. She’d ace every science and math exam. I remember our guidance counsellor, Mrs. O’Grady talking to her about scholarships to university because she was number one in our graduating class. She doesn’t dress or act like it, but she is brilliant!

Kira: I love Lukas but he’s a perfectionist. His car is immaculate, his clothes are perfect, everything must be “just so” or he gets upset. It’s his one flaw, but he’s such a great guy I try to overlook it. He’s smart and funny and doesn’t care I don’t come from money like he does. I know his father doesn’t approve of me and wants him to date girls in his “social sphere”. Lukas just laughs at him.

Lukas: We got into the same university! I was terrified we’d end up miles apart because Kira got into all three schools she applied to and I only got into one, but we’re both accepted there, so it’s all good. When we graduate, I’m going to ask her to marry me!

Kira: A terrible, terrible thing happened to me last night. I can’t get out of bed. I’m not turning on the lights. I need to be in darkness. Lukas has texted me fifteen times but I’m ignoring him. This is horrible… I can’t tell anyone… I’m so ashamed…

Lukas: I’m asking Kira to marry me tonight! I’ve got the dinner ordered at our favourite restaurant, there’s going to be a violinist playing, and the ring is perfect! Here she comes… she’s so beautiful, it takes my breath away. Her hair is glowing in the candlelight and her laugh! I love her laugh! “Kira, I love you. Will you marry me?”

Kira: My breath hitches in my chest and my vision tunnels into a pinpoint. I stagger as I get up from the chair, my hands out to ward off Lukas’s hand holding out a diamond solitaire. I turn and run away… out of the restaurant and away from Lukas, as fast as I can.

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My Story Title:   NORTHERN DECEPTION

My Story Genre:  Romantic Suspense

My Story Released:  December 4, 2018 

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The Author of My Story:    LAURIE WOOD

Laurie Wood is a military wife who’s lived across Canada and visited six of its ten provinces. She and her husband have raised two wonderful children with Down Syndrome to adulthood, and their son and daughter are a wonderful blessing to their lives. Over the years, Laurie’s books have finaled in prestigious contests such as the Daphne du Maurier (twice), the TARA, the Jasmine, and the Genesis. Her family lives in central Canada with a menagerie of rescue dogs and cats. If the house were bigger, no doubt they’d have more.

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Get Connected:

• Website: https://www.lauriewoodauthor.com
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/LaurieJeanWood
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lauriewoodreadersgroup

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WHERE can the book be purchased?

• Amazon

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The author will be honored to gift a winner a signed copy of
NORTHERN DECEPTION

Be sure to leave a comment with an email address where you can be reached should you win.

DRAWING TO BE HELD WEDNESDAY EVENING ~ May 1, 2019.

My Story BEFORE The Story ~ THE PROMISE

We came to the United States when I turned four and my sister, Leah, was two. I’m eleven now, my name is Jack.

My dad had traveled ahead of us to find work and a place to live. Momma, Leah and I sailed a year later. I remember as we came down the gangplank the buildings took my breath away. Most were four or five stories high, much different from the cottages in Ireland.

Times were good back then. I loved the city of New York. Dad had gotten a job for a furniture maker. He’d come home in the evenings smelling of sawdust and sweat. After a wash and a hearty supper, he would sit and tell us stories of long ago in the green isle. Leah and I would listen spellbound but Momma chuckling would tell Dad he was full of the blarney. Sundays were the best days. Leah and I would hurry to dress for church, anxious to see the other children. In the afternoons, our family would walk through the park or have a picnic by the river. Dad took us once to see a marvelous bridge they had completed a few years previous called the Brooklyn Bridge. We also visited the zoo and the museums. Life was full of joy and laughter.

But things have changed in New York City. The streets have become crowded. The leisurely strolls we once enjoyed are spoiled by impatient pedestrians and dirty litter. Shouts rain down from open apartment windows. Languages I don’t understand. Dad decided to find a better place to live and took a trip out West. Excitedly he told us of the beautiful farmland and open ranges. He started saving money for us to move to Oklahoma. He said it’s the land of opportunity. Things were fantastic till Momma got sick.

I never thought anything could ever happen to Momma. So full of life and happiness. When she cooked or cleaned, she sang little songs to herself and sometimes danced a gig across the floor. If I had a bad day at school just hearing her song as I came in the door would give me peace.

But Momma died last week. Dad said she had got Typhoid. We had to use the money he saved to bury her in the graveyard. Dad is sick now. Leah and I have taken turns trying to get him to swallow water and eat a little broth. He’s getting weaker. I don’t know what to do. If dad dies, we’ll be alone. I’ll have to be the man of the house, Dad would want me to take care of Leah. But I’m only eleven.

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My Story Title:   THE PROMISE

My Story Genre:  Middle Grade


My Story Released:   March 23, 2019

 

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The Author of My Story:    Carolyn Torbett-Johnson



Carolyn Torbett Johnson  grew up in Connecticut surrounded by a loving family of two brothers and two sisters. Her parents also cared for three foster children, one of whom they were able to adopt and became the light of their lives. She has worked with children for over forty years and now resides in Oklahoma where her husband is the pastor of a country church. She enjoys reading, gardening and working on Quilts of Valor. 

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  Get Connected:

• Website: www.carolyntorbettjohnson.com

 

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WHERE can the book be purchased?

• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Promise-Carolyn-Torbett-Johnson/dp/0359395813/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?crid=5JZ6K5LRY0BW&keywords=carolyn+torbett-johnson&qid=1555261671&s=gateway&sprefix=Carolyn+Torb%2Caps%2C137&sr=8-1-fkmrnull

• Barnes & Noble:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1122576964?ean=9780359395811

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The author will gift a winner a signed copy of
THE PROMISE

Be sure to leave a comment with an email address where you can be reached should you win.

DRAWING TO BE HELD WEDNESDAY EVENING ~ April 24, 2019.

My Story BEFORE One of FIVE Stories ~ MY FAMILY ~ ALL MY TEARS

Martie from MY FAMILY

Most of my family and friends call me Martie, not Martha. I guess that’s because I was a tomboy when I was a kid.

I can’t complain about my family growing up. Dad had his own business, so he was busy, not around much. Which meant that Mom was always bossy, trying to handle everything at home by herself.

But we knew they loved us.

My sister RuthAnne was beautiful, but she wasn’t snobby about it. She and I were good friends.

But I felt most comfortable hanging around with my brother John and his buddies. Playing ball, hiking through the woods, underneath somebody’s car trying to get it to run.

When I finished college, I needed to move away. John had joined Dad in his business. RuthAnne was married with a baby—so happy.

I didn’t fit in. I needed to make a place for myself in the world.

I moved to a large city, found a job and a church, started making new friends. I missed my family, but I visited on holidays. Once in a while, one of them would come to visit me. And I was making a life for myself.

Then RuthAnne and her husband died. And they made me guardian for their eight-year-old daughter Kim.

Kim doesn’t like me. She doesn’t want to stay with me. What do I know about being a parent?

My friend Jessica helps a lot. And Will, too, the cop who . . . Well, I won’t tell you about that yet.

Kim is so sad. Of course, she is. So am I. But she’s just eight, and she needs help. How can I help her? Sometimes I wish John and my parents were closer, to give me advice, to lean on.

Kim’s other grandmother, on her dad’s side, isn’t helping at all. How did RuthAnne get along with this woman? Of course, RuthAnne always got along with everybody. Maybe I should have hung around her more, let some of her sweetness rub off on me.

Kim loves my dog. She’s making new friends at school and church. But I can’t find the trigger to get her to trust me. I pray that God will help us make this work.

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My Story Title:   MY FAMILY (one novella of five in ALL MY TEARS

My Story Genre:  Women's Fiction

My Story Releases:   April 2, 2019 ~ Just THIS week!

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The Author of My Story:   Kathy McKinsey    

 Kathy McKinsey grew up on a pig farm in Missouri, and although she’s lived in cities for nearly 40 years, she still considers herself a farm girl.

She’s been married to Murray for 31 years, and they have five adult children.

She’s had two careers before writing—being a stay-at-home-Mom and working as a rehabilitation teacher for the blind.

Now she lives in Lakewood, Ohio with her husband and two of her children. Besides writing, she enjoys activities with her church, editing for other writers, braille transcribing, crocheting, knitting, and playing with the cat and dogs.

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  Get Connected:

• Kathy.mckinsey@gmail.com
• http://kathymckinseyauthor.blogspot.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/kathy.brinkmann.mckinsey
• https://twitter.com/kathymckinsey

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WHERE can the book be purchased?

Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/All-My-Tears-Kathy-McKinsey-ebook/dp/B07P92QZPJ/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=All+My+Tears+by+Kathy+McKinsey&qid=1551488626&s=books&sr=1-1-fkmrnull

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The author will be honored to gift a winner an

AMAZON GIFT CARD

Be sure to leave a comment with an email address where you can be reached should you win.

DRAWING TO BE HELD WEDNESDAY EVENING ~ April 17, 2019.

This Is My Story BEFORE The Story ~ The Wrong Suitcase

I’m Regina Larson, Reggie for short, and here I am in Tel Aviv. But instead of basking in the sun on the Mediterranean beach across from the hotel, or shopping in the eclectic markets of the old port, I’m dragging a stranger’s suitcase over cobblestoned sidewalks back to the hotel.

It’s my fault. If I hadn’t been in such a hurry to begin this trip-of-a-lifetime, this pilgrimage, I would have checked the label on the suitcase before grabbing the wrong one at the airport. So now I’m stuck in Israel with a bag full of men’s clothing. It should have been an easy exchange. The voice on the beater phone I found in the suitcase said to return ‘it’ to Halper’s Bookstore in Joppa at 4:20. The man was obviously irritated and hung up before I could ask any more questions.

But there was no man at the bookstore.

Why is this happening? After saving for years for this Holy-Land tour, I’m finally here, ready to see places that have only been words on a page before. And I’m ready to get my calling. What better place to receive God’s calling than in the promised land—the land where Abraham received a covenant, Mary discovered her purpose, and Jesus changed the lives of many. Instead, I’m lugging someone’s suitcase back to the hotel with a virtual stranger.

This stranger—Jacob Ross—seems overly curious about the suitcase. He’s asking too many questions and insists on walking me back to the hotel. Is he just being nice? He’s charming and interesting, but something’s off. All I want is a shower, a change of clothes, and a short nap. And I want MY SUITCASE!

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My Story Title:   The Wrong Suitcase

My Story Genre: Romantic Suspense

My Story Released: February 2019

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The Author of My Story:   Sherri Steward

Sherri Stewart loves a good suspense novel, sprinkled with romance and a strong message that challenges her faith. She spends her working hours with books—either editing others’ manuscripts or writing her own. Her hobby is traveling to potential settings for future stories. Next stop: Israel. Sherri lives in the Orlando area with her family and lazy dog, Lily. She loves to chat with readers about their ideas. Contact her at www.stewartwriting.com.

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Get Connected:

• Website: www.stewartwriting.com
• Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/sherristewartauthor/
• Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/sherristewart/

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WHERE can the book be purchased?

• Amazon: The Wrong Suitcase
  This book is available in paperback, eBook, and Kindle Unlimited.

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The author will give away a signed copy of
THE WRONG SUITCASE

Be sure to leave a comment with an email address where you can be reached should you win.
 

DRAWING TO BE HELD WEDNESDAY EVENING ~ April 10, 2019.