INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR JODIE WOLFE--THE MAGNETISM OF AN HISTORICAL NOVEL

Interview with Jodie Wolfe

http://ow.ly/w4WM3002Ucb

1. Why did you choose to write historical instead of contemporary novels?

I love reading historical romance so it makes sense that it's also what I like to write. I do occasionally read contemporary, but most times you'll find a historical book in my hands. J

2. What is your favorite historical era?

My absolute favorite era is the 19th century, probably because I grew up reading and watching Little House on the Prairie.

3. How you research the time period?

I've previously done a lot of research on my favorite era and then I fine-tune it when I have a certain time period I hope to convey. Like for Hearts Tightly Knit, I researched about The Children's Aid Society and the orphan trains. Fascinating stuff. J

4. What have you discovered that especially fascinated you?

I had heard about the orphan trains before, but never realized that children on the trains were as old as eighteen.

5. Do you have real people in your books, or are your character purely fiction?

My characters are purely fiction, although I did have an adult set of twin sisters who read through and advised me of whether or not I was getting the 'twin thing' right.

6. Who is the character that almost sprang from the page that you can’t forget?

That's a hard question. I guess I would have to say Luke. A lot of times I'm able to figure out my hero before the heroine. I'm not sure why…maybe because I grew up with brothers and had sons. J

7. What have you allowed to happen to a character that you regret?

Sorry, I can't think of anything. I put my characters through difficult times and have them work their way through it…much like we have to in life. I throw my characters in rough situations to see how they handle it…do they try to do things on their own or do they seek the Lord for help. They have to make that choice and deal with whatever consequences arise.

8. Do readers sometimes complain?

Well, since this is my first book in print, I haven't had anybody complain yet. J Although I do have some other stories where my beta readers aren't happy when troubles arise…but that's what keeps them reading.

9. Is marketing your greatest challenge, as it is for many authors?

This is my first time to dip my toe in the marketing aspect of writing and promoting a book and it has been daunting at times. How do I get notice in a noisy world? I'm not sure if I have much to say on that yet. J

10. What haven’t you done with your writing that you’re just aching to do?

I'm still aching for that first book contract. Praying God will open the doors in His timing, His way.

11. What is your favorite character from other writers’ books?

I'm not great at reading specific books after I've read them…so I'll have to draw on books from my youth to answer that question. My favorite character has been Laura Ingalls in the Little House on the Prairie series.

12. Is your Christian message easily woven into your books, or do readers need to look for it?

I try and provide history, hope, laughter, and happily ever after in each of my stories. The history and happily ever after are easy since I write historical romances. I love to laugh, so I try and sprinkle humor throughout my stories. I think it's funny…whether or not the readers do; they'll have to be the judge on that one. J Most importantly, I write about the hope we have in Christ. No matter what we are facing, He promises to be with us. I take great comfort in that and pray my readers do too.

Anything you would like to add?

Thank you for having me today, Ada. It's been fun.

SUMMARY OF HEARTS TIGHTLY KNIT

Orphaned at age ten, Ellie Stafford and her twin sister Mae made a vow—to stick together and never marry. Now in their mid twenties, they are bucking convention in Calder Springs, Texas, as women with respectable occupations who can take care of themselves. Ellie works at the Good Fixin's Diner and spends her evenings knitting garments for The Children's Aid Society. When a handsome local rancher shows up searching for a cook, she's hardly tempted, despite his good looks.

Luke Rogers owns a spread just outside of Calder Springs. It was running as smooth as cattle going through a chute until his cook up and marries and high-tails it back east. With no cook and a bunkhouse full of ranch hands ready to revolt, he persuades Ellie to temporarily fill in until he can hire someone else. He should have known better than to get tangled up with another woman.

http://ow.ly/w4WM3002Ucb

MEET JODIE WOLFE

Author Bio: Jodie Wolfe got bitten by the writing bug as a young girl after reading and watching Little House on the Prairie. She loves writing stories about feisty heroines and strong, godly heroes. The power of story to influence lives and change hearts is what motivates her to weave tales that tell of the Savior's faithfulness and forgiveness. Her books provide history, hope, laughter and happily-ever-after. When not writing she enjoys spending time with her husband in Pennsylvania, reading, walking, and being a Grammie. Learn more at www.jodiewolfe.com.

WHY ARE WEDDING DRESSES WHITE?

Ada and Les Brownell 1953

By Ada Brownell

Excerpt from Imagine the Future You

When my husband and I were married, couples took blood tests to check for Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

When a virgin discovered she was set to marry someone affected with a disease, there was time to call off the wedding. Of course, my husband and I had nothing to worry about, and the testa came out negative

.

I would guess in my day most of us were virgins, and I knew my beautiful white satin gown testified to that fact.

According to Kelsey McIntyre in From Times Past, white has been accepted as the preferred wedding dress color since Queen Victoria married her cousin Albert of Saxe-Coburg in 1840. Godey’s Lady’s Book in 1849 reported, “Custom has decided, from the earliest ages, that white is the most fitting hue, whatever may be the material. It is an emblem of the purity and innocence of girlhood and the unsullied heart she now submits to the chosen one.”

A wedding gown probably is the most beautiful dress most women wear in their lives. Even the least expensive are exquisite.

Young men, too, probably will never be more handsome than the day they stand all dressed up at the altar waiting the beautiful bride.

Children often like to play “bride and bridegroom,” and during their growing years, many girls dream of the day when they walk down the church aisle, dressed in white, as the wedding march fills the sanctuary.

When we married In 1953, about half of all women were married by age twenty, and half of all men by age twenty-two. In 2002, the average age for the bride was twenty-five and bridegroom age twenty-seven.

Today, thousands of couples are living together without being married, and multitudes of young women give birth to babies without being married. In addition, more than fifty million babies have been killed by abortion in the United States since abortion became legal in 1973.

Something happened. A large number of young men don’t bend a knee and extend a tiny box containing a diamond and ask their beloved to marry them. Instead, many just want to rush the girls off to bed somewhere and perhaps live together.

Some folks blame the lack of finances and needing to wait to earn a college education as the reason to delay marriage, but it doesn’t make sense. You can get a marriage license for a few bucks. A pastor will marry you for free, but it’s customary to pay him one hundred dollars or so. A couple can live cheaper than two single people, and you can get your education after marriage. I did. Thousands of people earn their degrees later, and most of the people did from generations before us.

But there is something else—and it’s huge. Young women and men are giving away their virginity as if they are dropping a penny on the sidewalk and leaving it there. Guys who already have a sexual relationship with a woman won’t hurry to get married. A woman who gives away her virginity before marriage risks never being married—especially to him!

IMAGINE: UNBLEMISHED

With throwing away virginity goes the dream of walking down the church aisle in a white wedding gown or a tuxedo as a virgin, pure and unblemished. Maybe the bride will wear white, but it won’t mean anything—especially to the couple.

In addition, sex before marriage causes emotional consequences. Physicians Joe S. McIlhaney and Freda McKissic Bush, authors of the book Hooked,[1] say neuroscience has discovered sexual activity releases a chemical that impacts the brains of developing adolescents and young adults. These chemicals cause an emotional bond between partners, and when this bond is broken, the youth suffers depression and difficulty with bonding in future relationships.

In contrast, when the bride is a virgin and her man loved her enough to control his own urges for his wedding day, there is suspense, excitement, electricity, and sparks that go way beyond the fireworks of the wedding. When they bow their knees together and pray with the minister’s hands on their heads, they are serious about this commitment. They recite their vows to God, concluding with tears in their eyes, “Until death do us part,” and they intend to keep their vow. If they continue to follow Him, God will help them through the better or worse, thick or thin, hair or baldness, sickness or health, poorer or richer.

Staying pure until the wedding night is the way God dreams of life for young couples.

Sure, God knows about sex. He invented it. Here’s what God’s Word says: “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled” (Hebrews 13:4.

 In contrast, sex before marriage exposes a person to sin that could jeopardize an eternal future; to a multitude of horrific diseases; pregnancy that not only affects both sex partners but also a baby, and impacts emotional and spiritual health. 

Don’t believe it if Satan tries to make you believe the sexual experience will be worth anything you pay for it. In a moment of passion, people do believe that. In reality, it often is over within a few seconds or minutes. Some counselors say single men seldom find sex outside of marriage as satisfactory as married sex, and women almost never are satisfied with early sexual encounters.

IMAGINE REACHING YOUR GOALS

Many young people are ruining their health, future, and their lives by having sex before marriage.

All over America, however, are youth who respect themselves enough to wait until they get married. These young women and men—and there are larger numbers of them than you would think—aren’t concerned about being “sexy” or whether they have a date for the weekend. The girls have lots of girlfriends and friends who are boys. The boys enjoy friends of both sexes, too. Many go places in groups but usually don’t pair off with the opposite sex. Others date, but sex is off-limits.

These young people have principles they believe in and goals in life they plan to reach.

Wise young people keep their eyes on goals they want to pursue and stand firm in not allowing Satan to snatch their future. Even some who aren’t dedicated to God know they’ll never reach their goals if they take that beer, smoke that pot, use that drug, or engage in premarital sex. They don’t want to be stuck with an addiction or a disease, a baby to support, or a hysterical person in love with him or her at this point in life.

Young people who are committed to God have those and much deeper reasons for resisting temptation. It’s not because parents and pastors get up and yell and warn them about the dangers of premarital sex, although the warnings should be heeded.

It’s because they made a commitment to the Lord, who loves them more than anyone, and they want to please God and obey His Word.

---

[1] Moody Publishers, 2008.

Copyright Ada Brownell 2014

SUMMARY OF IMAGINE THE FUTURE YOU

IMAGINE THE FUTURE YOU

By Ada Brownell

Will you be the person you dream of being—or someone from your nightmares?

You don’t need a fortune teller to reveal your future. You are the person who determines who you will be, what your life will be like, and how your hopes and dreams will be fulfilled.

This book will show how to make the right connections, how to grow your talents, and how to begin believing in yourself and things greater than yourself—for a wonderful Future You!

A Bible study available in paper or for Kindle http://www.amazon.com/dp/1489558284

TWEET

Ready or not you are headed into your future. Imagine the Future You
Read or listen to first chapter free! amazon.com/dp/14895582

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT SEX?

By Ada Brownell

During the hippie era evangelist Billy Graham visited a college campus and asked students what they would like to talk about.

“Let’s talk about sex!” yelled one uncouth student.

“Sure,” said the evangelist with a smile. “That’s how we all got here, isn’t it?”

Then he explained sex is a wonderful thing between two married people, and marriage is endorsed by God.

God invented sex.

In Genesis 1, the first book of the Bible, we’re told, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness ... So God created man in his own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

“Then he blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it’” (Genesis 1:26 and 27).

How can you look at the anatomy of the male and female bodies without knowing God designed it? Reproduction is among the most awesome evidence of a Creator.

God believes in romance

If you don’t believe God supports romance, study the Song of Solomon.

How Isaac and Jacob found their wives are examples of real love that lasts, and the stories of their love are written in the Bible.

Abraham arranged the marriage for his son, Isaac, and a servant actually picked her out in the story related in Genesis 24 (NLT). But the servant asked God to show him the right girl out of the dozens of women who came to a well to draw water.

“Help me to accomplish the purpose of my journey,” the servant prayed.  “See, here I am, standing beside this spring, and the young women of the village are coming to draw water.... I will ask one of them for a drink.  If she says, `Yes, certainly and I will water your camels, too!’ -- Let her be the one you have appointed as Isaac’s wife.  By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”

As he was still praying, a young woman named Rebekah arrived with a water jug on her shoulder.... Now Rebekah was very beautiful and she was a virgin.... She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again. Running over to her, the servant asked, “Please give me a drink.”

“Certainly, Sir,” she said, and she quickly lowered the jug for him to drink. When he had finished, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels, too, until they have had enough!”

So she quickly emptied the jug into the watering trough and ran down to the well again.  She kept carrying water to the camels until they finished drinking.

The servant watched her in silence, wondering whether she was the one the Lord intended him to meet. Then at last, when the camels finished drinking, he gave her a gold ring for her nose and two large gold bracelets for her wrists.

They were acquainted; the servant stayed with her family and told them about how his prayer was answered.

 So the father gave Rebekah to the servant, but only after Rebekah agreed to go.

Isaac was taking a walk out in the fields meditating, when he looked up and saw the servant coming home, he ran out to greet them.

When Rebekah saw him coming, she dismounted, covered her face with a veil, and went to meet him.

Rebekah became Isaac’s wife and he loved her very much, the Bible says. She was a special comfort to him because his mother had just died.

In Old Testament times, most marriages were arranged.

 Jacob met Rachel at a well and was so smitten with her he kissed her. Perhaps it was on the cheek, who knows?

Jacob stayed with Rachel’s father, Laban, a month, working for him like a ranch hand. Finally, Laban asked what Jacob expected to be paid, and Jacob told Laban he was in love with Rachel and he agreed to work seven years for her.

Finally there was a wedding feast, and after the ceremony, Jacob discovered the veiled bride was Rachel’s older sister, Leah.

He protested, and Laban said he couldn’t give the younger daughter before the older daughter was married.

Jacob worked another seven years to get Rachel.

There is a reason arranged marriages work: falling in love is an act of the will.

Sex is expected  part of  marriage.

Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge (Hebrews 13:4).

Marriage is expected to last until death parts the couple.

From Matthew 14:1-6 “He answered, ‘Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.’”

The powerful bond of intimacy

“Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman. But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control” (1 Corinthians 7: 1-5 ESV).

A COMMAND TO LOVE

“Wives submit yourselves to your own husbands, as unto the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22).

“Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25).

WHAT ARE THE SHALT NOTS OF SEX?

1.  You shalt not commit adultery.  From the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 and verse 14.  Counselors today define adultery as any kind of sexual sin.

2. Walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16-25). Specific sins are listed.

3. Jesus sums it all up in the last book of the Bible. “Behold I come quickly and my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be. I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter into the gates of the city (Heaven).

“For without are dogs, and sorcerers, whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

“I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

“To the spirit and the bride say, ‘Come,’ and let him that heareth say, “Come. And let him that is thirsty come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:12-27).

“I will give unto him that is thirsty of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my child.

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers and idolaters, all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death” (Revelation 22: 6-8).

Notice, God allows us to choose.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”

HOW SEXUAL SIN ENDANGERS YOUTH

            

      

By Ada Nicholson Brownell

                       

            Moral depravity and the underlying lack of faith in God cause greater risk to the under-40 crowd today than the economic and political earthquakes shaking our nation.

            Somewhere hidden beneath the heartache of virginity lost, beneath dead or diseased bodies of people who died or suffer from sexually transmitted diseases, beneath the millions of babies aborted, beneath children born into poverty because their unwed mother couldn’t provide for them, and beneath the tormented conscience, is one of the most special things God created for humankind—intimacy between a man and woman.

            God didn’t plan for it to be abused. Yet, today’s evils revolve around immorality.   

What happened?

Of course, sin happened.  Sin began in the Garden of Eden and trails every generation.  It seems evil encroaches over the United States today like a deadly gooey fungus threatening to contaminate our whole society.

“This might be the most wicked generation in history,” said Jim Bradford, General Secretary of the Assemblies of God. [1] while he was pastor of Central Assembly in Springfield, MO.

            Some say sex education promotes illicit sex. We’ve read studies that blame contraceptives.  Others lay the problem at the feet of the media, parents and even the church.

After years working with youth and as a newspaper reporter covering the problems immorality causes in society and reporting the discouraging statistics, I believe the following helped put our youth in peril.

EARLY DATING

 If you start dating at age 12 and don’t marry until the mid-20s, that’s a long time to practice self control. Can anyone who kisses and hugs the opposite sex for that many years expect to be morally pure?

DELAYING MARRIAGE

Young people – even Christians – have trouble with self control if they wait until after college to wed, especially if they are in love and alone often. Sexually-active unmarried Christian youth sometimes feel God will overlook their sin because they will marry eventually. Scripture doesn’t give any excuse, but warns about the disastrous consequences of such sin.[2]

GLORIFYING ENTICING ACTIONS AND CLOTHING

            Being “sexy” is contrary to the teachings of Jesus. Jesus said if we lust in our hearts, it’s the same as committing adultery. While many women don’t feel lust when they dress in tight or revealing clothing, they cause men to lust after them.

            Let’s teach our young women to be classy instead of sexy!

            TOLERANCE OF SINFUL LIFESTYLES.

We should love the unwed mother and her child, but we should not put these women in places of leadership in the church until they accept Christ and live an exemplary lifestyle for an acceptable time.

            Even if he’s repented of sexual sin, so long as a man doesn’t pay child support for his children, he should be barred from lay ministry as well. Teach that if a young man wants sex, he should take responsibilities that go with what God created, which means self control or marrying the girl with whom he wants to be intimate and sticking with her until death parts them—the most romantic and loving action in life.

            We need to love sinners, but if they claim to be a Christian and continue to practice a sinful lifestyle, we should shun them (See 1 Corinthians 5:9-13).

            TOLERATING PORNOGRAPHY.

            This generation views shows in their own homes that would be against the law in times past. On weekends and evenings it’s almost impossible to view anything without nudity, sex, vulgar language and violence.

The selling of sin is no accident—it is by design.  Norman Lear, creator of TV shows  “All in the Family,” “Maude” and others, in the 1980s intended with his writing to savage television evangelists, including Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority.  Then he had another idea. He founded People for the American Way to use television and other means to counter evangelical Christian beliefs. Lear brought controversial television that glorifies sin to prime time, and other writers and producers who shared his beliefs caught the vision.

            The church as a whole took little notice. In fact, many watched Lear’s subtle and not so subtle messages.  But most of us now participate in the peddling of smut whether we view it or not because anyone who has cable or satellite TV subsidizes pornography.

I am a fervent believer in freedom of the press, but I resent helping to bring filth to the masses—particularly youth.  If people want their minds and their lives filled with sin, let them pay for it.

            I’ve written the Federal Communications Commission, City Council and the cable provider protesting forced subsidizing of smut for consumers who only want stations and networks with 24-hour news, weather and G-rated entertainment. I wrote letters to local pastors trying to get them involved.

            I’ve also contacted television networks about indecent programs.

The internet brings more moral temptations for this generation. Even church people are addicted to internet pornography and participate in illicit relationships online.  But somewhere along the way they will lose their commitment to Christ and His Word

            FAILURE TO PREPARE YOUTH FOR SPIRITUAL BATTLE

            The first mission of the church is to preach the gospel. When we do, we train each generation about the spiritual armor and weapons God provides to help us be victorious. We also need to give them a glimpse of the Enemy. [3]For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil.

            Our utmost goal is that every person experience salvation, the infilling of the Holy Ghost, and that they love God and others. Each of us needs to be exposed to scriptural doctrines such as divine healing, the reality of hell, that Jesus is the only way to Heaven, the Bible is God’s inspired Word, and know details about Christ’s imminent return.

            Many churches underestimate the spiritual desires of young people.

Mormons have no seminaries, yet most Mormon youth spend two years as a missionary—and they are prepared for it. For a newspaper religion story, I visited one of these preparation classes which met early in the day before school. I could hear the excited kids shouting memorized scriptures and portions of the Book of Mormon when I entered the building.

Muslims whisper the Call to Prayer in a baby’s ears soon after birth, and keep teaching the child. And we wonder why they are so dedicated to their religion?

            We, who have the TRUTH, seem to have forgotten how powerful, exciting and wonderful the Word of God is.        

The Word has every answer this generation needs.

FAILURE TO COUNTERACT SECULARIST TEACHING

            Belief in God keeps many a person out of immorality.

I taught my first session on the Bible and Science to a class of about 30 high school students when I was in my mid-20s. The course, written by the late Donald F. Johns, helped solidify my faith as well as the faith of my students. Some accepted Christ.

Over the years I used Josh McDowell’s “Evidences for Your Faith,” and similar teachings for ‘tweens, high school and college classes, and young marrieds. Without fail, I saw conversions, students’ faith blossom, and spiritual growth.

Faith and a genuine encounter with God bring awareness of sin.

FAILURE TO POINT OUT SIN’S CONSEQUENCES

Sin is dangerous! Unless covered with the blood of Jesus, sin sends you to hell but also drastically affects life on earth. Sexually transmitted diseases can ruin a person’s future, his health and maybe even take his life. These diseases cause infertility, cancer, liver problems, even blindness and death. Some STDs are incurable.

 Illicit sex also causes emotional consequences. Physicians Joe S. McIlhaney and Freda McKissic Bush, authors of the book, “Hooked,”[4] say neuroscience has discovered sexual activity releases a chemical that impacts the brains of developing adolescents and young adults.  These chemicals cause an emotional bond between partners and when this bond is broken, the youth suffers depression and difficulty with bonding in future relationships.

Teen pregnancy is another consequence that affects youth, but also impacts the child and a young person’s parents and grandparents. Abortion has devastating emotional and physical consequences as well, not to mention the death of the unborn child.

We reap what we sow and youth should know Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy.

WEDNESDAY: WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT SEX?

---

[1] In a sermon while he was pastor of Central Assembly of God in Springfield, MO

[2] Galatians 5:19,21

[3] Ephesians 6:10-17

[4] Moody Publishers, 2008

DO YOU HAVE A CAREGIVER PERSONALITY?

By Christine Lindsay

There are a number of personality traits and one that is very familiar in my family is that of “caregiver.” Other personality lists will describe this type of personality as a “savior” type, or supporter. Doctors and nurses frequently have this trait in their complex personalities. It’s not a bad thing.

In my family I am so used to the savior or supporter personality. Some of us have it to a fault. I did.

How can one be faulted for having strong desires to help others? What’s wrong with being a person who expends a lot of energy being of service to others or bringing them comfort? Not much really…

Unless your kind of service, your fixing of the situation, actually hinders God from doing what He wants to do in that person’s life. Have you ever stopped in the middle of helping your kids or a friend out of a jam, and thought, maybe it would be better if they took their lumps and learned from their sad situation.

As parents, don’t we often use a “time out” or some other type of discipline to teach our kids important life lessons? So does God teach us through the disciplines of life.

This particular truth inspired my latest historical romance Sofi’s Bridge. The hero and the heroine in this book are both “savior” or “supporter” personality types. In Sofi’s Bridge, they both had to learn the same lesson that I had to learn in my life—that we cannot save our loved ones. Only Christ can do that.

Sometimes that will mean letting our loved one go through a difficult time and not manipulating the circumstances to alleviate their discomfort.

In Sofi’s Bridge, Sofi Andersson and Dr. Neil Galloway learn to let the Lord work through the sufferings of the ones they loved.

Here is a brief excerpt of when Neil learns this important spiritual lesson:

Back when Neil and Jimmy were only lads, the two of them hanging on to their father’s hand as they walked to church on a Sunday morn. Bells chimed all over Belfast. Inside the gray stone building, Neil had listened to the minister preach of what Christ had done on the cross for all mankind, taking the punishment that people like him deserved.

Now in this jail cell, Neil sat up and leaned his elbows on his knees. His hands dangled between them like heavy weights. As a boy he’d believed in what Jesus had done. But as an adult he’d demeaned that sacrifice. Instead, he’d tried to be Jimmy’s savior. But how could he save anyone, him a fallible human being?

Lord, I’ve been a fool. He dropped his face into his hands.  

It’s not easy to stand back and not fix the problem your loved ones are going through. But you are not alone. Your loved ones are in the best of hands when we leave them to God.

Click HERE to read chapter one of Sofi’s Bridge.

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Seattle Debutant Sofi Andersson will do everything in her power to protect her sister who is suffering from shock over their father’s death. Charles, the family busy-body, threatens to lock Trina in a sanatorium—a whitewashed term for an insane asylum—so Sofi will rescue her little sister, even if it means running away to the Cascade Mountains with only the new gardener Neil Macpherson to protect them. But in a cabin high in the Cascades, Sofi begins to recognize that the handsome immigrant from Ireland harbors secrets of his own. Can she trust this man whose gentle manner brings such peace to her traumatized sister and such tumult to her own emotions? And can Neil, the gardener continue to hide from Sofi that he is really Dr. Neil Galloway, a man wanted for murder by the British police? Only an act of faith and love will bridge the distance that separates lies from truth and safety.

ABOUT CHRISTINE LINDSAY

Twilight of the British Raj, Book 1 Shadowed in Silk, Book 2 Captured by Moonlight, and the explosive finale Veiled at Midnight.

Christine’s Irish wit and joy in the use of setting as a character is evident in her contemporary romance Londonderry Dreaming. Her newest release Sofi’s Bridge features a dashing Irish hero, and her current work in progress is set on the majestic Irish coastline.

 

Aside from being a busy writer and speaker, Christine is the happy wife of David of 35 years, mom to four grown kids, and Nanny to five grandsons. She makes her home on the west coast of Canada, and in Aug. 2016 she will see her long-awaited non-fiction book released, Finding Sarah, Finding Me: A Birth Mother’s Story.

Please drop by Christine’s website www.ChristineLindsay.org or follow her on Amazon on Twitter. Subscribe to her quarterly newsletter, and be her friend on Pinterest , Facebook, and  Goodreads

PURCHASE LINKS FOR SOFI’S BRIDGE:

AMAZON.COM

This book can also be purchased on Barnes & Noble, Pelican Book Group, and Christian Books.Com