Thursday, December 15, 2022

Forever Home

With a fulfilling job and a home of her own, former foster child, Merritt Hastings, relishes her stable, respectable life. Dreaming for more is a sure way for heartache. When a contested will turns her world upside down, she must reevaluate what’s important to her, what’s worth fighting for, and what’s worth sacrificing.

Patience has never been Sam Daniels’ strong suit with his history of acting quickly and asking questions later, and he’s ready for changes in his life…now. Too bad the plans for acquiring a radio station didn’t include a contract. Now he’s out of a job, out of a radio station, and out of prospects.

While his life is in flux, at least he can help Merritt steady hers, or will he rush in and overstep …again?

Will the sparks flying between these two opposites lead to a happily-ever-after or heartbreak for both?

My thoughts: I enjoyed returning to this series and the Daniels family with Forever Home! You don't have to have read the rest of the series to enjoy this book, though I highly recommend reading them all! I enjoyed getting to know Sam and Merritt, with their different personalities that are quite opposite. I also love that there is a lot of music in this story, something I enjoy with being a music teacher. This story is a wonderful addition to the series!

I received this book from Celebrate Lit. This is my honest review.

Click here to get your copy! This post contains affiliate links.

About the Author

Hope Toler Dougherty holds a master’s degree in English and taught at East Carolina University and York Technical College. Her novels include Irish Encounter, Mars…With Venus Rising, Rescued Hearts, Forever Music, and Forever Home. Her recent novella, “A Hatteras Surprise,” appears in Candy Cane Wishes and Saltwater Dreams and is also available as a standalone novel. She and her husband delight in visits with their two daughters and twin sons.

More from Hope

When I introduced the Daniels family in Forever Music, the first story in the Forever Series, I wrote about Josie, the little sister. I wanted to write about her brother Sam next, but after about eight chapters, the words stopped flowing and then the pandemic struck. Instead of writing during lockdown, I cleaned out closets, crocheted mask bands, and perfected a killer sourdough loaf.

I wanted to write. I tried to write. I loved Sam and wanted to discover his story, but…nothing.

When my publisher offered a slot in a novella collection, I pushed Sam to the back of my mind and wrote about his older brother, Ben. Ben’s story is set on the beautiful Hatteras Island on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Check out his romance in A Hatteras Surprise.

Sharing Ben’s courtship with Ginny Stowe freed me to get back to Sam and Merritt in Forever Home. Their story highlights foster care, music, friendship, and radio stations.

Impatient Sam usually acts first and thinks second. His happy-go-lucky personality chafes Merritt’s stick-with-a-plan attitude. Too bad she needs his help with her livelihood. They don’t hit it off at first, but both are definitely intrigued with each other.

Readers can find subtle Italian references throughout the story. Here’s a favorite recipe friends might find in Merritt’s kitchen. I hope you like it and the story, too!

Orange Pistachio Biscotti

Ingredients:
2 C plain flour                         1 egg white
1 t baking powder                   2 T orange zest
¼ t salt                                    ½-1 C chopped pistachios
1 C sugar                                 1/2 C candied orange bits
2 eggs                                      orange juice, if needed

Directions
Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar into a mixing bowl. In another bowl, beat eggs and egg white together, then add to flour mixture. Stir in orange zest, nuts, and orange bits. Mix until dough is smooth. If the dough is too dry, add orange juice a tablespoon at a time.

Flour hands and scoop half the dough onto one side of the cookie sheet prepared with cooking spray. Shape the dough into a 15×3-inch log. Repeat with remaining dough. The logs should be several inches apart.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Tops of the logs should be firm.

Remove to wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Cut logs on a diagonal into ½-inch-thick slices. Place the slices, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake for 15 minutes.

Allow the cookies to cool completely on a wire rack. They will harden as they cool. Yields about 48 cookies depending on size

Blog Stops

Pause for Tales, December 14

For Him and My Family, December 14

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 15

Inklings and notions, December 16

Texas Book-aholic, December 17

Cover Lover Book Review, December 18

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 19

Beauty in the Binding, December 20 (Author Interview)

deb’s Book Review, December 20

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, December 21

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, December 22

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 23

For the Love of Literature, December 24 (Author Interview)

Susan K. Beatty, Author, December 25 (Author Interview)

Blogging With Carol, December 26

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 27

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Hope is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card, one signed copy of Forever Home, and book swag!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/23236/forever-home-celebration-tour-giveaway

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

No Plan Like No Plan

Chance & Addie are back for a new adventure. Riding high off of the success of their first business, they decide to launch a new venture, this time shoveling snowy driveways in the winter. They are full of confidence: they have a team of kids, a shed full of shovels, repeat customers, and, best of all, a great plan. But sometimes the perfect plan can get in the way of adapting to something as fickle as the weather. Will they learn to be flexible and figure how to make this new venture work? They’re losing money fast as new challenges pile up faster than the falling snow. Perhaps a curious new partner can show them the way.

KidVenture stories are business adventures where kids figure out how to market their company, understand risk, and negotiate. Each chapter ends with a challenge, including business decisions, ethical dilemmas and interpersonal conflict for young readers to wrestle with. As the story progresses, the characters track revenue, costs, profit margin, and other key metrics which are explained in simple, fun ways that tie into the story.

My thoughts: My kids love figuring out how to make money, so this is a fun series for them! I love how there is a fictional story, with Chance and Addie starting a snow removal business and learning lessons along the way. Then, there are the different challenges and ethical dilemmas that can be faced. I appreciate the wonderful resource that this series has been for our family!

I received this book from Celebrate Lit. This is my honest review.

Click here to get your copy! This post contains affiliate links.

About the Author

I wrote my first KidVenture book after years of making up stories to teach my kids about business and economics. Whenever they’d ask how something works or why things were a certain way, I would say, “Let’s pretend you have a business that sells…” and off we’d go. What would start as a simple hypothetical to explain a concept would become an adventure spanning several days as my kids would come back with new questions which would spawn more plot twists. Rather than give them quick answers, I tried to create cliffhangers to get them to really think through an idea and make the experience as interactive as possible.

I try to bring that same spirit of fun, curiosity and challenge to each KidVenture book. That’s why every chapter ends with a dilemma and a set of questions. KidVenture books are fun for kids to read alone, and even more fun to read together and discuss. There are plenty of books where kids learn about being doctors and astronauts and firefighters. There are hardly any where they learn what it’s like to run small business. KidVenture is different. The companies the kids start are modest and simple, but the themes are serious and important.

I’m an entrepreneur who has started a half dozen or so businesses and have had my share of failures. My dad was an entrepreneur and as a kid I used to love asking him about his business and learning the ins and outs of what to do and not do. Mistakes make the best stories — and the best lessons. I wanted to write a business book that was realistic, where you get to see the characters stumble and wander and reset, the way entrepreneurs do in real life. Unlike most books and movies where business is portrayed as easy, where all you need is one good idea and the desire to be successful, the characters in KidVenture find that every day brings new problems to solve.

More from Steve

My kids are very curious and are always asking how things work. Whenever they’d ask about something related to business or economics, I’d create imaginary scenarios where they were the business owner so they could understand better what was going on. For example: why one business would partner with another; why they would choose to sell a product at a loss; why the price of something changes; and so on.

And then one day it occurred to me to write one of these scenarios down as a story. And that’s how KidVenture started. When I was working on the first draft, whenever I told someone I was writing a book for kids to teach them about business, they would frequetnlty tell me it was something that is needed.

There aren’t a lot of books out there for kids about being an entrepreneur and running your own business; and yet, it’s something that kids like learning about because they have a sense it’s important. Not everyone is going to grow up to be a farmer or doctor or airline pilot, but knowing how to manage money and negotiate is something most kids understand they should know more about because they see it every day.

I hope kids who read KidVenture books feel inspired to be more entrepreneurial. It doesn’t necessarily mean they start their own little business. It could mean they feel empowered to negotiate, to not reflexively take the first offer they’re given. I noticed that after reading the book with them, my kids started negotiating a whole lot more. Sometimes that would drive me crazy, but even as it did, I was proud of them for advocating for themselves.

KidVenture hopefully teaches kids to be problem solvers and inspires them to learn from experience. The characters in the story have a lot of learning to do, but it’s not book learning. It’s more…adventurous than that. They learn from trial and error. By making offers and counter-offers. By making a decision and then observing what happens. And they learn by talking to customers and picking their brains. It’s the way you learn as an entrepreneur: by doing. And failing. And trying again.

One thing I really love about the story is the relationship the main character, Chance, has with his parents. Now that I’m a parent, I wanted to write a story that, first of all, my kids could relate to, and second, that was edifying. There are plenty of books and movies about dysfunctional families. KidVenture is different.

I love that at key junctures in the story, Chance turns to his parents for advice. And their style is very different. The dad in the story is playful and sarcastic and doesn’t just give Chance the answers right away. It’s more like he gives him clues to follow. There is a dynamic where the son at times wants to impress, and even best, his father; and at other times, he turns to his dad for advice when he hits a dead end.

But while there’s a competitiveness to his interactions with his dad, there is a sweetness to Chance’s relationship with his mom. He’s able to be vulnerable with her, so when he faces an ethical dilemma in the story, he turns to her. And she’s very savvy and gentle in how she asks questions that get Chance talking and reasoning through the solution himself.

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 5

Texas Book-aholic, December 6

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 7

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, December 8

SK Bell, December 8

Vicky Sluiter, December 9

Cover Lover Book Review, December 10

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, December 11

deb’s Book Review, December 12

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, December 13

Lots of Helpers, December 14

Inklings and notions, December 15

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 16

Blogging With Carol, December 17

Mary Hake, December 17

For Him and My Family, December 18

Bookzone Reviews, December 18

Giveaway

To celebrate his tour, Steven is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/22ec9/there-s-no-plan-like-no-plan-celebration-tour-giveaway

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

She Seems So Normal

In She Seems So Normal: Shatter the Plastic Princess, Embrace Authentic Faith (Brookstone Creative Group, 2022), author Leigh Mackenzie draws from scriptural expertise as a former Bible research assistant for megachurch preachers and personal experiences as a childhood sexual abuse (CSA) trauma and military rape assault survivor to speak openly and courageously about biblical trauma healing.

My thoughts: This book is a must for those who have faced sexual abuse or who are seeking to help someone who has been raped. Leigh Mackenzie does a wonderful job of sharing from the heart and articulating what she went through as a West Point cadet shortly after women were allowed into West Point. My heart broke for her and her experiences there. I so appreciate her ministry and how she has used her pain to minister to others who have been in a similar situation.

I received this book from Celebrate Lit. This is my honest review.

Click here to get your copy! This post contains affiliate links.

About the Author

As a sermon research assistant at a multisite midwestern megachurch, Leigh Mackenzie shared her love and talent to delve deeply in Scripture and extract original perspectives on teaching and personal application for her preaching team.

Known as “The Church Girl Writes” (one of 2017’s Pureflix’s Top Christian Mommy Bloggers), her professional work regularly appeared in Christian Standard magazine on subjects ranging from child trafficking and church core values to thrift store ministry and the attributes of Hannah. Her Bible study questions for The Lookout magazine, one of the nation’s oldest Bible study guides for adults, and online communion meditations for Christian Standard equipped leaders for ministry. She also has written devotional material for The Upper Room.

Catch Leigh (rhymes with “bee”) narrating “She Seems So Normal” on her podcast, reflecting on her own trauma healing journey, shattering the plastic princess, and embracing authentic faith. Follow her on IG xoxo_leighmackenzie and FB @LeighMackenzie.

Loving audiobooks and sunshine, Leigh and husband Christopher passionately explore the world, eating ethnic food, and enjoying good wine together. With a son in computer sciences at UIC and an Ethiopian daughter attending high school, the Mackenzies delight to reside in Chicago, IL with rescue dogs, Scout Charles and Louie Vuitton.

Leigh’s Superpowers: Vulnerable Honesty, Biblical Knowledge, Trustworthiness

Ministry Goals: Embrace, Encourage, and Empower trauma survivors to heal biblically, spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

More from Leigh

What inspired you to start a podcast and publish a book on biblical trauma healing? Why now?

I held my breath watching the Olympic gymnasts’ abuse testimony before Congress, bracing myself against a PTSD episode of my own in response.

Epstein, Cosby, McCarrick, R. Kelley… names representing mankind’s disturbing sin reverberated within me. Many survivor stories remain deeply hidden, scarring the souls of the abused and their abusers. Questions arise: How could this happen? Where was God? Is Jesus enough?

At the time, I felt like there weren’t a lot of hopeful, non-triggering stories containing solid answers from a biblical, medical, or community standpoint of healing. It was frustrating, so in December 2021, I began my indie-publishing odyssey.

She Seems So Normal: Shatter the Plastic Princess, Embrace Authentic Faith is a documentary narrative of a journey to unearth long-hidden, heinous childhood sexual abuse. As a megachurch biblical researcher for preachers, I was the picture of “put together, Plastic Princess” on the outside, but inside I was dying, believing the enemy’s lies, and wondering what’s wrong with my faith. When I stepped away from the grave of fearful rule-following legalism and into the gardens to embrace authentic faith, I found avenues of recovery and restoration for anxiety, trauma, and shame with Jesus, mentors, prayer warriors, therapists, and the work of the Holy Spirit.

Can we start a church movement of welcoming messy stories and accepting transparent instead of perfect so you can feel free to #ShowYourCrown, too? I think we can.

Who supported you through your valley of trauma therapy?

There were so many who prayed and supported me in this process, giving me courage and hope and, at times, a swift kick in the fanny to keep me going. I can’t name them all, but you’ll see how Dr. Michele Novotni, my family, and Allison Harris rallied around me through the horrors of the cemetery to bring me into the gardens of God’s delight and rest.

Friend and mentor Dr. Michele Novotni was my “old ox” leading, encouraging, and energizing me throughout EMDR therapy, helping me process post-session, developing coping strategies, and grounding me in faith with prayerful intercession.

Then there was my unbelievable little family… my faithful husband, Christopher, and our incredible kids, who unreservedly offered pickle jars, lullaby songs, and cooking lessons on clarifying butter for baklava… but you’ll have to read the book to understand.

Another friend in church leadership, my magazine publisher’s wife, Allison Harris, told me to write through this season (this is all her fault!) and supported me through prayer as I courageously marched into the trauma therapy that helped resolve my underlying issues for long-term PTSD, panic attacks, nightmares, suicidal ideations, and eating disorders (all of which are common symptoms as a result of sexual abuse).

Wait, do you have a legit recipe for Baklava?

Yes, but you’d have to torture me to give up our friend’s family recipe! It’s SOOOO good. And I’ve suffered enough trying to make it… ha-ha.

No, seriously.

Tell us about some cool extra features you included in She Seems So Normal.

Writing a sensitive book about sensitive subject matter, I passionately wanted to provide more multimedia resources for getting the help, support, or knowledge survivors, family, friends, or pastoral staff might need while reading. So I’ve sprinkled QR Codes throughout the book instantaneously linking people to online sites. You’ll also see little crowns with numbers corresponding to 60 podcast episodes where I’ve narrated and commentated my post-writing thoughts. BONUS: I included interviews with a couple key players you’ll not get inside the book because I wanted you to hear other voices of my champions, not just mine.

Isn’t it enough to just pray and have faith that Jesus will heal you? What role did the medical community play in your journey?

When I accepted Jesus Christ, I tried my best to clean up my act. Heck, I even stopped cussing and getting drunk! From Bible study and praying to leading small groups and serving funeral dinners, everything I saw other respectable Christians doing I began copying to act normal, becoming like a “Plastic Princess.” I served till the cows came home; I was just so thankful Jesus saved my soul from hell.

You can put lipstick on a pig, but that doesn’t make her a lady. For years I wondered what was wrong with me, why I didn’t always have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I begged Jesus to forgive me, to heal me, to rescue me from myself, wondering secretly, Was I even saved?

Severely traumatized and needing professional medical help, my therapist and other doctors helped me find peace with my past abuse by unravelling abusive grooming cycles to reveal my true identity in Jesus Christ. Along with the glorious work of the Holy Spirit, they played a valuable part in sweeping up the shattered pieces of Little Me, Middle Me, and Teen Me to make me whole and serve the Lord once again.

Who should listen to the podcast or read “She Seems So Normal”?

Many women silently endure the after-effects of trauma, so I am writing

for the 1 in 3 women in the U. S. who have experienced “sexual violence.”

(https://www.cdc.gov/injury/features/sexual-violence/index.html) This book is

for the suffering Christian who may question her salvation or be losing

hope that Jesus is big enough to heal her, who has limited outlets to begin exploring

these topics (mental health wellness, predatory grooming, suicidal ideation, sexual abuse) except between the covers of a book. She may look the picture of “put together”

on the outside but on the inside, she is dying, believing the enemy’s lies, and

wondering what’s wrong with her faith.

The podcast and book are also for FAMILY, FRIENDS, and CHURCH STAFF looking for ways to support and understand those in their lives who have been traumatized.

Are you working on other projects?

Yeah, I’m jazzed and honored to be co-authoring with the amazing Randy Petersen on two projects. The first, Stories Not Shared on Sundays (and Why We Feel Like Imposters In Church), will combine modern stories of Church people with many lesser-known, uncomfortable Bible stories (and their messy characters!) not normally preached in a 52-week sermon schedule to help churches create more authentic, transparent environments with a broader acceptance and understanding of those who aren’t “perfect” for them to encounter a Savior who is.

As an extension of his work for the American Bible Society’s State of the Bible in America, we are also in the beginning planning stages for The Five Major Cultural Shifts the Church Has To Make To Be Relevant based on research and statistics over the last ten years by ABS about the state of faith, the church, and Christian culture in America.

There are a few other books in the works, too, about parenting across two generations written with my Gen Z son; a few evangelistic death stories; and “The Rest of the 23rd” as well.

Stay tuned.

Blog Stops

Texas Book-aholic, December 9

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 10

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 11

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, December 12

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 13

Inklings and notions, December 14

An Author’s Take, December 15

Cover Lover Book Review, December 16

Splashes of Joy , December 17 (Author Interview)

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, December 17

deb’s Book Review, December 18

Guild Master, December 19 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 20

Spoken from the Heart, December 21 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, December 21

Rebecca Tews, December 22

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Leigh is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card along with a “She Seems So Normal” #showyourcrown pin and sticker along with a signed copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/23057/she-seems-so-normal-celebration-tour-giveaway

Monday, December 12, 2022

Once Upon a Winterland

Join USA Today best-selling author Susan May Warren, award-winning author, Rachel D. Russell, and talented multi-published Minnesota authors Michelle Sass Aleckson and Andrea Christenson in this delightful twist on Bing Crosby’s holiday favorite song, Winter Wonderland.

A Deep Haven wedding at Christmas? With snow glistening in the lane, sleigh bells ringing, and all the world a winter wonderland—magical, right?
Or maybe not, because the snowstorm of the century has buried their small town, and as Vivien Calhoun and Boone Buckam fight the sleet, snow, and ice, just about everything can—and does—happen to skid their big day into the ditch. It’ll take all their friends—and a few strangers—to turn this Christmas wedding from a blizzard to a beautiful sight in this charming collection of novellas.
Discover four enchanting stories featuring old friends, and new, who discover that there just might be a happy ending waiting in this winter wonderland—if only they can shovel their way out of trouble.

Book 1: A Beautiful Sight
Vivien Calhoun has planned the perfect wedding—and it had better be perfect, because the prewedding day jitters have hit her like a snowplow. Boone’s recent call-outs with the Deep Haven Crisis Team haven’t helped. She just needs a perfect day—and that starts with the perfect dress.
The perfect, custom-made dress that she designed, herself. The dress that she left with her seamstress…that has now gone AWOL.
It’s a race to find it before their date at the altar…but is the dress just an omen for a wedding day disaster?

Book 2: We’re Happy Tonight
Detective Duke Lowry hates Christmas, and a wedding at Christmas is simply a double whammy. But he’ll show up as Boone’s best man, and he’ll take charge of Boone’s beloved Mustang, getting it detailed and ready for Vivien’s crazy picture idea. He’ll even put up with Vivien’s quirky, somewhat annoying friend, Zuri, from Minneapolis.
And then the Mustang goes missing, and Zuri’s the last one to see it. Suddenly, it’s up to Duke and Zuri to save the day. And along the way, Zuri just might change the Grinch into a guy with a heart of gold.
Maybe.

Book 3: The Snow is Glistening
“Keep the guests happy and don’t burn down anything.” These are Owen Christiansen’s parting words to his cousin, Romeo Young, before leaving him in charge of the Evergreen Resort—and the Wilder wedding venue—while the family vacations in Florida.
But when the blizzard hits, Romeo will have to keep the resort running and the wedding on track. The last thing he needs is a tag-along in the form of a guest. But Owen did say to keep the guests happy…
Stella Brown can’t believe that she’s third-wheeling on her parents’ second honeymoon, but what’s a girl to do when her life is derailed? Helping Romeo add some Christmas cheer to the resort seems the right answer. But when her “help” turns into horror, has she destroyed yet another bright future?

Book 4: Sleigh Bells Ring
Pastor Bob Brown feels frozen over. And not just from the Minnesota cold. He’s numb from the never-ending problems in his parish. He just needs a break, okay? A getaway with his wife seems the perfect Christmas holiday. And he’s delighted to have his daughter, Stella, along. Maybe he’ll even get some peace and quiet, and hear, deep in his soul, his now-silent calling.
With their best friends recently divorced, and Bob acting, well, weird, Margaret Brown fears the worst. But with this getaway, she intends to put some heat back into her chilly marriage. Thank goodness their daughter seems to have gotten the hint. The only one who remains clueless is Bob.
Maybe their love has turned icy, no longer able to hear the love song from the past. But she’s not going to give up…

Spend your Christmas in Deep Haven, where the sleigh bells ring and love is listening, in Once Upon a Winter Wonderland.

My thoughts: I have enjoyed returning to Deep Haven time and again in the different stories and series by Susan May Warren, so I was thrilled to receive a copy of this collection of holiday novellas to review! Each one was delightful, and I love how they dovetail so nicely together, with being from different characters viewpoints, all over the days leading up to Boone and Vivien's wedding. I personally loved getting another story with Vivien at the helm, since she is one of my favoritest characters from the small town. Fans of the Deep Haven books will enjoy returning to catch up with old friends and get acquainted with new ones.

I received this book from Just Read. This is my honest review.

Purchase a copy here! This post contains affiliate links.

These Simple Gifts

This year, Annalee has more ugly to deal with than you can find at a Christmas sweater party.

After eighteen years of living in the shadow of danger, shame, and regret, preschool teacher Annalee Prichard just wants to keep life safe and simple. It’s worked so far, but her best friend has other ideas and guilts Annalee into helping with a Christmas charity event. When the event’s entertainment backs out, it’s up to Annalee to convince her high school crush, Nick Daniels, to step up and step into the gig.

Nick Daniels has never been accused of having but one oar in the water, and he learned the hard way that pride truly does come before a fall. He sacrificed everything to achieve the fame he desired above all else. But after hitting rock bottom, he returned home to Bedford County, clinging to a mustard-seed-sized faith.

That’s when homely Annalee Pritchard shows up, convinced he’ll be willing to flirt with fame once again—all in the name of Christian charity.

Nick’s friendship has Annalee grinning like a fool. Could there be more to life than shame and shadows? Could this be her most blessed Christmas ever?

Little does Annalee know that her fearsome past is about to rear its ugly and perilous head and drag her and Nick down together.

My thoughts: Annalee is very different from the young lady she once was, hiding behind her glasses and baggy clothes, trying to draw as little attention to herself as possible. Then there is Nick, who's fame led him to hit rock bottom and wind up back with his mom, trying to redirect his music into ministry for the Lord. I thought that the author did a wonderful job of writing about two complex characters who face a mystery from Annalee's past, adding some suspense to the story. I will say, there is a trigger in this story, but the author does a wonderful job of handling it and turning the story into a beautiful message of hope for the future.

I received this book from Celebrate Lit. This is my honest review.

Click here to get your copy! This post contains affiliate links.

About the Author

Jennifer Sienes holds a bachelor’s in psychology and a master’s in education, but discovered life-experience is the best teacher. She loves Jesus, romance and writing–and puts it altogether in inspirational contemporary fiction. Her daughter’s TBI and brother’s suicide inspired two of her three novels. Although fiction writing is her real love, she’s had several non-fiction pieces published in anthologies–two in Chicken Soup for the Soul. She has two grown children and one very spoiled Maltese. California born and raised, she recently took a step of faith with her real-life hero and relocated to Tennessee.

More from Jennifer

Who doesn’t love a good redemption story? The bad boy (or girl) gone good. My husband and I have recently started watching the television show Nashville. Yes, I’m aware it’s probably considered a prime-time soap opera, and it certainly wouldn’t come close to passing as “clean” television, but we were hooked from the very beginning. Why, you might be asking? First and foremost, the talent on this show is absolutely amazing. Take it from someone who can’t carry a tune to save her life, I am enamored with people who can sing like the actors in this show. The second reason we enjoy it is because it was basically filmed in our backyard. We live an hour south of Nashville, and it’s always a treat to recognize your own surroundings on television. I remember my mom was a big fan of The Streets of San Francisco back in the day, because she worked in this city and the scenery was familiar. I don’t think the fact it starred Michael Douglas hurt either.

How does this connect to a redemption story? One character in Nashville, named Avery Barkley, starts out as someone that’s hard to stomach. Self-centered, arrogant, and immature. He reminds me of Nick Daniels in These Simple Gifts and Night Songs. So much so, had I been watching the show before I wrote Night Songs, I would’ve believed that I based Nick off of Avery. However, that wasn’t the case.

And just like Avery in Nashville does a 180-degree (albeit slow) switch in his character, so it is for Nick Daniels in These Simple Gifts. Redemption is every bit as attractive to me as romance. I love that we are all just broken jars of clay that the Lord shapes for our good and His glory, if we’re sensitive enough (and broken enough) to recognize it.

I didn’t care much for Nick when I created him—and neither did my readers. More than one church lady-fans gave me an earful about how much they didn’t care for him. But if I know one thing it’s that no one is all good or all bad. We are a combination of our upbringing and choices (both right and wrong). And until we leave this earth, God isn’t done growing our character. I like to believe anyone can be redeemed given the right circumstances and a heart toward the Lord. Even Nick Daniels.