Susanna Don't You Cry ~ Zachary McIntire

In August 2015, Journeys To Joy welcomed Jason McIntire with his story, Flight School. This week we want to feature his brother Zachary McIntire with his debut novel

 ~ Susanna Don't You Cry ~

 
Book Synopsis

"I'll never forgive him - never!"
Chuck Kincaid made a vow of hate the day his father walked out, and he still keeps it ten years later. His sister’s bad choices, his mother’s drug addiction - he knows who to blame for all of it.
But when Susanna and Kelly get their lives turned around by Jesus, Chuck doesn’t know what to think. And why is the rich stranger with the scarred face so interested in being his benefactor?
Failure and restoration. Hate and forgiveness. What is broken can be put back together, one small piece at a time.

 About The Author

Zachary McIntire is a homeschool graduate, entrepreneur, and history lover. He lives in the Missouri Ozarks, where, in between business and ministry activities, he occasionally finds time to write

 

 

Susanna Don't You Cry officially released on February 2nd, 2016.

  

NOTE:

This book is recommended for ages 12 and up due to themes such as divorce and drug addiction.

 

JOY'S OPINION OF ~ Susanna Don't You Cry:

Without spoiling the book for you the reader, I will say this.
Zachery brings the characters to life, depicting very REAL emotion. Anyone who's been in the shoes of the hero in this book, will be touched. I've not gone through any of the angst the characters have, and I experienced vicariously, the turmoil, anger, joy, etc expressed here.

You do NOT want to miss out on this story!

 

 

WHERE TO FIND ~ Susanna Don't You Cry

URL LINKS:  

1 - Book page: http://elishapress.com/susanna-dont-you-cry 

2 - Amazon page (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019O2LPSU 

3 - Amazon page (print): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0692435476 

4 - Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28858599-susanna-don-t-you-cry

I highly recommend you read and review Susannah Don't You Cry"  Let's get this book out there, readers.

 

 OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE READER ABOUND:

 

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DAY 6 ~ STRANDED ~ Devotional ~ Don and Stephanie Prichard

 Day Six~ If you've not seen Days 1~5, be sure to go back and see those before reading this one ~

STRANDED

by

Don and Stephanie Prichard

Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? Why does He allow evil in the first place?

In the overarching theme of God’s sovereignty in Stranded, those are the questions that eat away at Jake’s and Eve’s hearts. The questions gnaw at our hearts too. Few of us have escaped personal trauma in our lives, and some of us have been whopped up the side of the head by them.  

Yet the Bible tells us that affliction and God’s goodness go hand in hand.

Wait—don’t I mean sometimes? Sometimes affliction and God’s goodness go hand in hand?

No.

The Bible says always. Always is the big picture of God’s sovereignty. The beyond-the-sky, looking-down-from-the-heavens picture. The one that’s hard for us to handle and that generates the two questions at the opening of this devotional.

That’s because what we tend to grasp is the smaller picture. The down-on-earth, below-the-clouds picture—yep, the sometimes picture.

Sometimes, because our eyes look at circumstances and those circumstances hurt. The tsunami that wipes out hundreds of thousands of people. The war that kills thousands of soldiers. The thief who steals our credit card. The spouse who commits adultery. Rejection, exclusion, hate.

A fallen creation and a fallen creature. Those are our circumstances. And we are right to cry—and cry out—because of the pain they bring. But not to cry out at God. Not to blame Him. Not to question Him.

Why? Because God is not a fallen Creator. He is sovereign and He is good. He is in control—even over evil. And He is accomplishing good—even during evil. Those two great truths give us the always picture.

When we can’t lay ahold of the always because the circumstances and the pain are too close to see God’s goodness, we can still cry out to God and receive His comfort. We can still lift our eyes to the heavens and receive His healing grace. We can still trust that He loves us and find He is working on our behalf. 

In the end, we are the benefactors of God’s good sovereignty. Evil and its pain will be used by God to make us wiser, kinder, better able to love our neighbor and our Savior. We can say with the psalmist, “It was good for me to be afflicted.” Psalm 119:71

But those who reject Him and fault Him? They are left with only their pain.

A Marine Corps reservist sets sail on an anniversary cruise with his wife but ends up shipwrecked and bereaved on an uninhabited jungle island where he must protect the lives of three other survivors, unaware that one of them is responsible for his wife’s death.

CHECK DAY ONE'S POST to find out how to win this e-book or get an exchange for another on Amazon. . .DRAWING TO BE HELD Monday November 17th.

SEE BELOW DIVIDER ~ POST A COMMENT TO BE ENTERED . . .

TOMORROW ~ DAY SEVEN ~  STRANDED ~ Interviews with Author Helpers 
~DRAWING DAY ~
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.ARKANSAS WEDDINGS - by - Shannon Vannatter

WELCOME to Journeys To Joy, Shannon. I was so intrigued by this book - I can hardly wait to read it for myself.

I find I'd like to visit the place that became the foundation of your soon to be released book.

ROMANCE, ARKANSAS, USA

I stumbled upon Romance, Arkansas in 2009. In my pursuit of getting a novel published, I'd learned that a publisher in Ohio was looking for inspirational romances set in real life small towns with local flavor. I got my atlas, searched my home state, and found Romance, Arkansas.
Since I live in Cleburne County and travel to Little Rock often, I'd seen the Romance sign but never turned off Highway 5 to go there. I vaguely remembered something about a Love series postage stamp being released there and people getting married there. With a little research, I realized Romance, Arkansas was the perfect place to set my romance and made several research trips there.
Romance, Arkansas, population 1772, is in west central White County. According to legend, the community of Romance was named many years ago by a school teacher who thought the view from the bluffs on the community’s eastern side was particularly romantic. Couples used to spark at a gazebo in front of the old general store. Over the years, members of the community have maintained the gazebo and it still stands.
Romance is one of several post offices to participate in the re-mailing program. Romantics send stamped, addressed Valentine’s cards and wedding invitations in manila envelopes which are re-mailed from Romance, AR with a hand-stamped postmark.
According to former Postmaster Angie Davis, they have three or four weddings a year on Valentine’s Day at the post office. Couples exchange vows in the lobby or outside the office often near a heart someone carved in the parking lot declaring it the Heart of Romance.

I incorporated the re-mailing program and the falls into my book. After nine and half years of writing and over two-hundred rejections, my setting captured an editor's attention and my dream of publication came true. The book turned into a series of three, all set in Romance, Arkansas.
When the news came out that 3700 post offices might close, I wondered about Romance. According to Lisa Tolliver Gay at the Arkansas Postmasters Office, the Romance Post Office is safe. For now.

Looking for a more romantic wedding setting? The Romance Waterfalls--once a popular swimming hole--is now a wedding destination. Owner, James (Buck) Weatherly gave me a tour of his privately owned property, which he and his wife rent to the public for weddings and events. Wisteria drapes over an archway leading to the landscaped garden with numerous flowers and bushes. A wooden walkway leads down to the waterfalls, surrounded by jutting rock/steps.

You can hear the waterfall long before you get there. Mr. Weatherly built two gazebos and balconies overlooking the waterfalls and he opens his home for receptions and family reunions. When real flowers are out of season, silk blossoms add beauty to heart-shaped flowerbeds and archways, along with numerous planters. 

And the book?

Arkansas Weddings: 

Love’s never easy in three Arkansas romances.

Pastor Grayson loves his wife. The problem is, Sara was killed by a hit-and-run driver two years ago. He knows he needs to move on, but it’s not until florist Adrea Welch arrives at his church that the seeds of healing are planted in his heart.

Laken left home eight years ago and never looked back. Who knew when she applied for the promotion to postmaster that she’d end up in Romance, Arkansas, and much too close to her past—and Hayden Winters?

Shell doesn’t have a good reputation. But no matter what everyone in Rose Bud, Arkansas, thinks of her, she’s back in town with a job to do. Ryler also has reasons for being in Rose Bud, and they don’t include Shell.

But God’s love can soften the hardest heart and overcome the darkest past. These hearts may not know it, but they’re about to change.

Central Arkansas author, Shannon Taylor Vannatter is a stay-at-home mom/pastor’s wife. Vannatter has won the 2011 Inspirational Readers Choice Award in the short contemporary category, The 18^th Annual Heartsong Awards 3rd Favorite New Author and #1 Contemporary Award.

Her books are available at christianbook.com, barnesandnoble.com, amazon.com, harlequin.com, and barbourbooks.com. Learn more about Shannon and her books at http://shannonvannatter.com and check out her real life romance blog at http://shannonvannatter.com/blog/. Connect with her on Facebook: facebook.com/shannontaylorvannatter and Twitter: @stvauthor

Thanks for coming by, Shannon and for sharing your latest with us at Journeys To Joy...

Leave a comment AND your email address to get your name in a drawing for a PRINT COPY of ARKANSAS WEDDINGS -  Drawing will be held Monday evening, September 9, 2013