About the Book

Author: Laurel Blount

Genre: Amish Romance

Release date: February 22, 2022

In this heartwarming Amish romance, Emma, a brokenhearted woman and Sam, a steadfast man discover that the safest place to weather tragedy is to love and trust each other.

After the murder of her parents, Emma Hochstedler returns to the small community of Johns Mill, to resume her quiet life on its altered scale. This proves harder than she thought, in the glaring limelight of the movie being made about her family’s loss. But then, an old friend offers her a lifeline that gives her new purpose.

Amish builder Samuel Christner, a gentle giant and the strongest man in town, has only one weakness—Emma. Although she broke his heart once, he is determined not to let his childhood sweetheart face her troubles alone. When he hires Emma as a nurse for his elderly aunt, he loses his heart to her all over again.

But while the rose of romance blooms, dark storm clouds gather overhead. And ultimately, it will take all Sam’s deep, inner strength and all the passionate fullness of their love to see them through the looming darkness hanging like a sword over their heads. Read this beautiful story of Emma and Sam. It will touch your hearts like never before.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Award-winning author Laurel Blount writes inspirational romances full of grit and grace—with characters who’ll walk right off the page and into your heart! She lives on a farm in Georgia with her husband, their four fabulous kids, and an assortment of ridiculously spoiled animals.

A enthusiastic multi-tasker, Laurel writes for both Berkley/Penguin Random House and Love Inspired/Harlequin. She’s the recipient of ACFW’s Carol Award, The New England Reader’s Choice Award and GRW’s Maggie Award. She’s represented by Jessica Alvarez of Bookends Literary Agency.

Strength in the Storm is Laurel’s seventh book—and four more stories are in the works! Stay tuned!

Blog Stops

lakesidelivingsite, April 1

Bigreadersite, April 1

The Avid Reader, April 2

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, April 3

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 3

Texas Book-aholic, April 4

SusanLovesBooks, April 5

Lighthouse Academy Blog, April 5 (Guest Review from Marilyn Ridgway)

Inklings and notions, April 6

Writing From the Heart Land, April 6

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, April 7

Remembrancy, April 7

deb’s Book Review, April 8

Miriam Jacob, April 8

Bizwings Blog, April 9

Locks, Hooks and Books, April 9

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, April 10

Mary Hake, April 10

Books I’ve Read, April 11

I luv the books, April 11

For Him and My Family, April 12

Maureen’s Musings, April 12

Connie’s History Classroom, April 13

Pause for Tales, April 13

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 14

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Laurel is giving away the grand prize package of a $75 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/1c570/strength-in-the-storm-celebration-tour-giveaway

CONVERGENT BOOKS, PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE PUBLISHING GROUP, PHILIP YANCEY

WHERE THE LIGHT FELL – Philip Yancey

July 5, 2021July 5, 2021 Administrator

“Where the Light Fell” is Philip Yancey’s long-awaited, stunning, self-revelatory memoir, a deeply personal, extremely arresting and heart-gripping book, painfully honest, raw, transparent and vulnerable. It is a story of unimaginable pain and divine redemption, of lives shattered to smithereens, yet beautifully healed by God’s redeeming grace. Yancey’s inspiring ministry of grace-filled empathy was born from the wounds he sustained in early childhood. His gifts were shaped by scars to give him stars in God’s firmament.

Yancey reveals the sordid details of his impoverished upbringing and his heart-wrenching discovery of a tragic family secret, revealed to the whole world but hidden from himself and his brother. This set him on a persistent quest to uncover the truth. In his most personal book yet, he examines the very nature of love and how love still finds us against all odds.

Although remnants from Yancey’s childhood, in the modern form of racial hostility, political division and culture wars, have resurfaced in today’s social and political divides, at its very heart and core, this is a book about finding solace and healing in God’s loving arms. No pain and loss is ever wasted in God’s divine plan for our lives. In Yancey’s childhood and growth into adulthood, “Where the Light Fell” illuminated the darkness and chased away the shadows, making him into the person God intended him to be.

In his searing, heart-rending memoir, Philip Yancey finally reveals his relentless quest to identify true faith. He learned the priceless value and true worth of grace because it was denied to him. He discovered that to find true peace is to ask God for the seemingly impossible: a Christ-like love, the God-given power to forgive, and joyful hope to face life head-on, confident that God who is with us today, will be with us tomorrow. In the final outcome, Yancey’s hard-won spiritual awakening is miraculously given by God, who loves him as the apple of His eye.

Yancey’s life story is a deep exhale of a heart’s passionate cry for relief from trauma, inflicted by the people around him, with nobody to shield him from things a child should never see. Yancey certainly experienced some of the worst and some of the best, yet remained intact through it all. Here was God’s protection at its very best.

Although Yancey wrote so much about pain and suffering, hardly anyone knows about the story of his childhood, which he finally shares openheartedly, truth be told to the world. This book is a well crafted memoir, with characters one identifies with, hardships to be sorrowed over, triumphs to be rejoiced about, a soul-stirring, heart-moving commentary on America – after World War II. “Where the Light Fell” strikes a profoundly deep and very personal chord in one’s heart. I highly recommend it to all avid readers who wish to know how Philip Yancey grew out of his turbulent childhood into the graceful servant of God he is today.

Compiled by Miriam Jacob

BOOK REVIEWS, KAREN WHITE, NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY, PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE, PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE PUBLISHING GROUP

THE SOUND OF GLASS by Karen White

June 28, 2015July 9, 2017 Administrator

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NAL/Penguin Random House Publishing Group,

ISBN-13: 9780451470898

Published: May 12, 2015.

The Sound of Glass by Karen White reveals how discovering the life-shattering secrets of a Southern family changes Merritt Heyward who unearths them. Engulfed by guilt after her husband’s tragic death, Merritt hears that Cal’s family home is bequeathed to her. Facing an unpredictable life and an unforeseeable future, Merritt travels to find the hidden secrets of Cal’s past buried deep in the heart of his ancestral home. This mysterious legacy re-defines the priorities of Merritt’s life as she unravels the tangled threads of the family’s past to confront her own dumbfounded fears for the healing she desperately needs.

In this multilayered mystery of a multigenerational, multifamily saga with a multifaceted plot, Karen White, “the Queen of Women’s Fiction,” plumbs the subtle depths of humanity as she deals with the inexplicable facts of life and death intertwined with tragedy. Her sensitive, story-telling style and precise, to-the-point narrative is an intricate weaving of the ultimate triumph of good over evil. Her sweeping, commanding and powerful execution of the complex plot and storyline of this extraordinary classic is praiseworthy, right from the start to the poignant, heart-rending revelations at the end. Karen White paints a vivid, multifaceted portrait of a family rooted in strife with hidden secrets and enduring love that ultimately leads to courage and healing.

I like the precious words of wisdom in the story, with their rare power to illuminate and inspire the hearts of readers. Here are some of the brilliant facets of wisdom and knowledge, shining like the brightest jewels:

It is in utter darkness that we see the brightest light. We are tossed and turned in the fire of affliction by the turbulent waves and storms of life, bearing deep scars to show what we have suffered. With each scar we learn new lessons. We turn toward the light unflinchingly, unbelievably strong at the torn, jagged and broken places. We absorb the light and reflect it outward.

Our paths cross, our lives meander as the twisting rivers bring us back to the starting point. Nothing happens simply. Everything happens for a good reason. Life never gets any easier than this. We just get stronger as time goes by. We cross bridges in the heart of the storm. I will not be afraid any more. The heart bears a compass pointing toward home. The horizon trembles with new light. The darkness gives way to the light. I see the beauty and the good in unexpected places. And in ourselves.

Stars shine through the darkness to illuminate the hidden places. When you gaze at stars, you look back in time long gone. Starlight takes millions of years to reach the earth, so when you see the stars , you know how it looked like millions of years ago.

Courage is doing the one thing you think you cannot do. The glowing lights soften the darkness. It is never really dark. There is always light if you look hard enough. The darkness is illuminated by the soft glow of lights. A single light glows in the darkness. You are strongest at the broken places.

Complex, engrossing and emotionally rich, The Sound of Glass lingers in the heart long after the gripping, beautifully told story is over. An endearing must-read for all.