JUST BELIEVE ~ Leslie L. McKee

Image courtesy Pixabay.com

Just Believe

By Leslie L. McKee

“What do you mean, ‘If I can?’” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”

Mark 9:23 (NLT)

Have you ever faced something that seemed absolutely impossible? I know I have—on multiple occasions. It’s likely that everyone has encountered such a situation at some point in time. Perhaps it was damage from a natural disaster, a medical report that wasn’t good, or a child who’s gone astray. You may run yourself ragged trying to “fix” the situation. What you find instead is something that feels like pushing a three-ton cement wheel up a steep hill.

Any of those circumstances could be overwhelming … and a “quick fix” is often way beyond our human control. That’s like what was happening surrounding today’s verse.

A father brought his son to Jesus. When the evil spirit inside the boy saw Jesus, the boy went into violent convulsions. This had been happening for years. The father had tried everything to rid his son of the spirit, to no avail. In desperation, the man went to Jesus, to see if there was any way He could help the boy.

Jesus reminded the father that “Anything is possible if a person believes.” What the father cried out is likely relatable to most people. He said, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

Do you ever feel that way? Know that you believe in Jesus, but, on occasion, wonder if your current circumstance is beyond repair … even for Him?

Jesus wasn’t offering a quick fix, though it would be possible for Him to do so. After all, He’s more than able. Yet Jesus is seeking something else. He’s interested in the long-term spiritual fix … for that father and for us.

Like the man in today’s verse, we’re asked to believe. To have faith. Faith doesn’t put limits on God’s ability. If we trust in Him, we can be witnesses to great things. (Mind you, this doesn’t mean that we’ll automatically receive anything and everything we ask for.) But if we believe, we will see things come to pass according to the Lord’s plans. His power is released through our faith.

 Lord, help me to not put limits on You, but, instead, to fully trust in Your Word. Amen.

Leslie is an editor, reviewer, and author. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and The Christian PEN. Some of her devotionals were published in 2017 compilations by Ellie Claire: Just Breathe and Refresh Your Soul. Another is in Breathe: Devotions to Quiet the Soul, published in 2020. Her flash fiction story, “A Knight to Remember,” was published in Splickety Magazine’s September 2018 issue, and “Love on the Scrambler” in Spark Flash Fiction’s July 2019 issue.

Leslie enjoys reading, playing piano, crocheting, spending time with family and friends (and her turtle!), and rooting for the NY Giants.

MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN ~ Julie Arduini ~ Giveaway

Job’s Wife & Me

Job's Wife and Me

A Throwback Thursday post from Julie Arduini

             When I decided to update the first Christian romance novella I wrote, Match Made in Heaven, I wanted to add a surrender issue readers could relate to. The heroine, Beth Prescott, has congenital hypothyroidism, the same endocrine diagnosis our daughter has.

             Through the years, our daughter has not only struggled with weight gain and exhaustion. She’s needed consistent lab works that have always been difficult draws. We also learned with hypothyroidism is Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Then for us, another diagnosis, the rare disorder called Albrights Hereditary Osteodystrophy. In our situation her bones fused and her height maxxed out at 4’9”. There are certain aspects of puberty that are delayed, and there isn’t a lot of information on Albrights patients her age to know what to expect.

             After a while, I was angry. Mad enough I started pointing fingers. At God. Like Job’s wife, I couldn’t see anything in her situation to be thankful about. “His wife said to him, ‘Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!’” (Job 2:9). I looked at our daughter’s friends surpassing her in height and cried hot, hurt tears. If God is such a good Father, why was He allowing this?

             It took time for me to heal and transform from Job’s wife thinking of cursing God and Job, who blessed the name of the Lord even when He gave and took away. The biggest thing I had to do was lament. Thanks to the book No More Faking Fine by Esther Fleece, I realized I had to let my real feelings out. I was mad. I didn’t understand. But I couldn’t stuff it. I let God know everything He knew anyway. Then I let Him have it all. Surrendered the pain and questions and chose to trust Him with her and her health.

             I’ve had to lament quite a bit since then with big stuff, and small irritations. I realized when revising Match Made in Heaven that Beth’s health and her reaction could be something readers could relate to. She grew up noticing she wasn’t exactly like her peers, and she resented it. Her family were barely church goers to begin with, so it was an easy slide to fault God. When Dean Kellerman enters her life, he’s trusting God with every single thing because he knows too well what it’s like to live without Christ in his life. Writing Match Made in Heaven was a blessing and a challenge, and I believe readers will find their own healing and peace with Jesus as they relate to the story.

             Have you ever blamed God, or do you need to? Please leave a comment below and I will randomly choose one USA winner to win a signed softcover copy of Match Made in Heaven.

Match Made in Heaven:

She’s afraid to mess up. He already has.

Beth Prescott wants to make a difference with the senior citizens she serves as a volunteer coordinator, but their matchmaking efforts leave her guarded. She’s experienced too much pain to make that leap again.

Dean Kellerman returns to the Finger Lakes area to help his grandfather and heal his own broken heart. He’s recommitted his life to Christ and doesn’t want any distractions.

When his grandfather needs assistance with a senior program, it places Dean right in Beth’s path. Can these two surrender their pasts to Christ and have faith in each other and their future?

About Julie:

Julie Arduini loves to encourage readers to find freedom in Christ by surrendering the good, the bad, and ---maybe one day---the chocolate. She’s the author of the contemporary romance series SURRENDERING TIME, (Entrusted, Entangled, Engaged,) as well as the stand-alone novellas, MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN and RESTORING CHRISTMAS. She also shares her story in the infertility devotional, A WALK IN THE VALLEY. Her other latest release, YOU’RE BRILLIANT, is for girls ages 10-100, written with her teenaged daughter, Hannah, and is book 3 in their SURRENDERING STINKIN’ THINKIN’ series. She blogs every other Wednesday for Christians Read, as well as monthly with Inspy Romance. She resides in Ohio with her husband and two children. Learn more by visiting her at http://juliearduini.com, where she invites readers to opt in to her content full of resources and giveaway opportunities.

• Facebook: http://facebook.com/JulieArduini
  
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• BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/julie-arduini
• Monthly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/321e32f02e17/juliearduininewsletter

 About the Giveaway:

 As stated above, Julie is giving away a signed copy of Match Made in Heaven to one USA reader of today's post who leaves a comment below, including your name AND contact information. Otherwise we have no way to let you know if you're the winner. Make sense?

This giveaway will run for one week from today, ending on Thursday, August 6, 2020, at MIDNIGHT, Central time.

 

THE AMISH MENORAH, from The Men who write Amish Fiction

A busy year for Patrick E. Craig… and much more to come!

Plus . . . a Giveaway, to boot!

Patrick E. Craig

It’s been a busy year for me. Since September of 2019 I have released three books and contracted for three more. I have completed another book slated for Indie release and started a second series with my writing friend Murray Pura. Here’s what my year has been like.

In September 2019, Elk Lake Publishing released the second book in my YA Mystery/Adventure series, The Adventures of Punkin and Boo. The book is titled The Lost Coast and is the continuation of a series I first started writing in 2007 but put on hold until I connected with Deb Ogle Haggerty, owner at Elk Lake . With her help I released book one, The Mystery of Ghost Dancer Ranch, in April of last year and then we followed that with The Lost Coast. Book three, The Hidden Gate is on its way and should be done for release in early 2021.

Then I got involved in some projects with my friend, Murray Pura, who has written more than 28 books of his own. We decided we wanted to do a World War II story and the Islands Series was born. Far on the Ringing Plains is the first book. It’s the story of three young men who are raised as pacifists but through different circumstances end up in the Marines fighting on Guadalcanal, two as soldiers and one as a medic. The book has a lot of the same spirit as Flags of Our Fathers, Hacksaw Ridge and Pearl Harbor. We Indie published it in April 2020. We just finished writing book two, The Scepter and The Isle. In it the same three young men have gone on to the battles of Tarawa and Saipan. It’s in the editing process now and we hope to have it released early next year. Our grand plan is a nine book series going through WWII, Vietnam/Cambodia and the current desert wars. Murray and I are also writing a western series, The Storm Riders, also contracted to Elk Lake, and we are part way through Book one.

But my most current project is the one I want to feature today. In the summer of 2019 I met Thomas Nye at an Amish Writers Event in Shipshewana, Indiana. Over coffee and apple pie at an incredible Amish family dinner we attended, we bemoaned the lack of recognition of the men who write Amish fiction. There are about eight of us compared to the hundreds of women who write Amish Fiction. We decided that an anthology of stories would be a great idea. When I got back to Idaho I contacted Murray, who has written several Amish books for Harvest House, Harlequin and other traditional publishers and broached the idea. He jumped on board and we contacted Amos Wyse, Willard Carpenter and Jerry Eicher. They all agreed to join the project, Deb Haggerty signed it and at the end of April we published The Amish Menorah and Other Stories. Here is a short blurb:

The Amish Menorah and Other Stories

Six short stories by the men of Amish fiction to entertain and educate you. You’ll journey with an Amish man and the Jewish woman whose life he saves (The Amish Menorah by Patrick E. Craig), agonize with an Amish girl in love with an Englische man (A Cloudy Day by Willard Carpenter), fret with two sisters both in love with the same man (When Hearts Break by Jerry Eicher), pray with the family whose child is injured in a fall (The Silo by Thomas Nye), work with the Amish sheriff in a western town (Lone Star by Murray Pura), and laugh at the girl forced to be Amish for the summer (Amish For The Summer by Amos Wyse.)

The six of us had so much fun with The Amish Menorah project that we are doing another anthology for Christmas. We don’t have a title yet, but we will let you all know as soon as we do.

And that’s what the last year has been like for me. I am looking forward to 2021, and all the writing I will be doing then. **I will be giving away a signed copy of The Amish Menorah with this post so comment below and enter the contest. Stay well this next year and keep reading.

Thanks, Peg, for having me.

About Patrick E. Craig:

Amazon Best-Selling author Patrick E. Craig, is a lifelong writer and musician who left a successful music career to become a pastor in 1986. In 2007 he retired to concentrate on writing and publishing fiction books. In 2011, Patrick signed a three-book deal with Harvest House Publishers to publish his Apple Creek Dreams series. His self-published books, The Amish Heiress, The Amish Princess, and The Mennonite Queen, as well as the reprinted Apple Creek Dreams are now published by Patrick’s imprint, P&J Publishing. In 2017, Harlequin Publishing purchased The Amish Heiress for their Walmart Amish series and released it in April 2019.

Patrick and co-author Murray Pura have just released Far On The Ringing Plains, Book 1 in a nine book series that will take in the whole sweep of men and women at war from WW II to the current Desert Campaigns. They have also collaborated on an anthology of realistic Amish stories written with the four other men who write Amish fiction: Willard Carpenter, Jerry Eicher, Thomas Nye and Amos Wyse. The Amish Menorah and Other Stories was published by Elk Lake Publishing in May of 2020. He has also recently released two books in his YA mystery series, The Adventures of Punkin and Boo, with Elk Lake Publishers. They are The Mystery of Ghost Dancer Ranch and The Lost Coast. Patrick and his wife Judy live in Idaho. They have two daughters and five grandchildren. 

Where can readers find Patrick online?

www.patrickecraig.com  Webpage
https://www.facebook.com/PatrickECraig  Facebook

https://twitter.com/PatrickECraig  Twitter

Where can readers purchase his books? http://tinyurl.com/n6sfagg Amazon

Also on any of the other online stores.

**About Patrick's Giveaway:

As he said above, Patrick is offering one of this post's readers a free autographed copy of The Amish Menorah. To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment below with your NAME and CONTACT info so we can notify you in case you're our winner. As easy as that.

This giveaway will run for one week from today ending on Wednesday, August 5 at Midnight O'Clock, Central time.

Thanks for being my guest again, Patrick. I think it's neat that you're part of a group of men who've dipped their toes into the world of Amish fiction, a genre usually populated by women writers. Sounds like this book needs to be added to my Kindle TBR list.

GIFTS FROM THE GREATEST GENERATION

Dust Between the Stitches: The Great Depression

By Cleo Lampos

A bundle of quilting materials derived from chicken feed bags and sugar sacks.  A trunk full of diaries and letters from Iowa dated throughout the decade of the 1930’s. From these humble scraps a story threaded its way into a book. An historic novel, Dust Between the Stitches, brings the dust storms and the desperation of the Great Plains farmers to life.

When my mother died in 1988, she left very little earthly goods behind. In a hall closet, we found a bag of muslin feed bags and flour sacks that were cut into 12-inch squares and firmly ironed. On many of these textural pieces, a transfer of a bird and flower was visible in faint blue ink. All 48 states were represented. I started to embroider the state flower/birds to complete the quilt. Significantly, I developed a curiosity about the quilting practices of the Great Depression and began an obsessive collection of quilts from that era. Several years ago, my granddaughter helped to finish this abbreviated version of the State Bird and Flower Quilt of the 1930’s.

The Bird and Flower Quilt created from feed sacks.

In an old trunk, a stash of diaries from my mother’s marriage lay under white linens with deep tatting on the edges. Married in June of 1930, my father and mother began their wedded bliss just as the drought hit the West and Great Plains. My father owned a drag-line and was able to find work as he dug irrigation ditches and spud cellars in Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas. Twenty-three different addresses in five years, then they settled in Greeley, Colorado, with my kindergarten-aged brother.  Reading these diaries, letters from folks back in Iowa, and some newspaper articles, brought the heart ache, insecurities, and fear of the Dust Bowl into reality.

The Novel’s Characters Come Alive

Addy Meyers is a first-year teacher in a one room schoolhouse near Greeley, Colorado. She faces the Board of Education as they assess her teaching skills. The eighth-grade boys challenge her authority. The dust storms bring her to the reality of dust, pneumonia, and poverty.

Foreclosure of grandpa’s homestead threatens the security of Addy, grandpa and the two orphan children that Addy’s grandparents adopted. Jess Dettmann is a single man who helps them keep their wits and possibly the homestead. The homeless people who occupy the Hooverville nearby are introduced to Addy by Jess. Her compassionate heart reaches out to these resourceful families who have lost everything. Addy is shocked when she cans applesauce at the community canning center that other women are canning weeds to be eaten in the winter.

Creating a quilt from her Grandmother’s stash pile serves as a way for Addy to cope. Despair, dust, and drought weave through the Great Depression and Dust Bowl producing a fabric on which vivid threads of hope will appear. Will Addy save the farm, her job, and her heart on the Colorado ranch?

From Great Depression to Greatest Generation

The gifts of an unfinished quilt and a treasure trove of written accounts of a forgotten decade ignited my imagination. It is my wish that those who read this novel will realize that the children of the Dust Bowl grew up to be the members of The Greatest Generation. The children and young adults during the Great Depression learned to persevere in tough times and used those lessons in frugality all of their lives. We owe them a debt of gratitude that cannot be repaid.

Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Sam quilt that Addy created.

While teaching behavior disordered/emotionally disturbed students in a Chicago suburb, I discovered that historical fiction is an excellent way to learn about the issues and people of a time period. To help students write a book report on Dust Between the Stitches, an aid has been created. The insights help junior high and high school readers to understand the dust bowl’s uniqueness in the Great Depression, and to write an organized and thoughtful book report.

Cleo Lampos, M.Ed.

www.cleolampos.com

FB: Author Cleo Lampos

FB: Quilters: Mind, Heart and Soul

Books are available on amazon.com.

IT'S ONLY FICTION . . .

It’s Only Fiction But . . .

by Lillian Duncan

It’s only fiction but…could it happen?

I’m so excited about my new series—MESSENGER. This series has rattled around in my brain for a long time, but it’s not the type of book I usually write so I kept procrastinating. I finally decided it was time.

Keep in mind, I started writing this series last year, long before the pandemic.

The series is set in future America known as NewAmerica. Life is perfect in NewAmerica. No crime. No poverty. No war. No discrimination. Everyone is equal.  Life is perfect until the moment you wonder, “Is there a God?”

In many respects, NewAmerica sounds like the perfect place to live. But as is often the case, what looks perfect on the surface doesn’t look quite as good when you delve a little deeper.

There are four books in the series:

THE LAST CHRISTIAN (Book 1) is a short prequel that shows how America became NewAmerica. Mary Frances was born in the United States of America—land of the free and home of the brave. When anti-Christian sentiment spreads across America and the world along with a deadly pandemic, religious freedom becomes a thing of the past.

MESSENGER (Book 2) Magdalena Denton is an unlikely messenger since her home is NewAmerica where even saying the name of God is a crime, but when God has a message, he will always find a messenger.

UNCITIZEN (Book 3) Magdalena Denton’s bright future is gone. She’s been deemed an UnCitizen because she refuses to deny God. Her new-found faith is challenged as she struggles to stay alive, but God promises to never forsake his children.

EXILE (Book 4) After a daring escape, Magdalena and friend face life in the Empty Lands—an even more hostile environment  than they imagined. They discover that when you walk in faith, miracles become a reality. (Will release in July 2020.)

 It’s only fiction, but…could it happen?

 Lillian Duncan… turning faith into fiction.

 

Lillian lives in a small town in Ohio with her husband. She writes the types of books she loves to read. Even though her books cross genres, they have one thing in common, faith-based stories that demonstrate God’s love—and lots of action. OK, that’s two things.

She was a school speech pathologist for over 30 years but retired in 2012 after being diagnosed with bilateral brain tumors due to Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2), a rare genetic disease. 

Whether as an educator, a writer, or a speech pathologist, she believes in the power of words to transform lives, especially God’s Word. To learn more about Lillian and her books, visit:   www.lillian-duncan.com. 

DID YOU NOTICE?

WHISPERS IN PURPLE GOT A FACE-LIFT!

I, like many women, felt the need for change. You know, paint the walls with a different color, move the furniture around, get new curtains,  And change can be good, right?

Let me explain.

I was never completely happy with the theme and banner of the "old" site . . .

. . . and I wanted to see what I could do with it. Maybe clean it up, or make it more open.  Or something. So I spent this past weekend playing around with it, found this image, and it struck me just right.

The fuzzy wisps of the dandelion made me think . . .  Whispers. Sometimes it seems our prayers are mere whispers sent to God when we're upset or troubled. But we know He hears them. Then–if we listen carefully–God whispers back with sweet words of love and encouragement. Isn't that wonderful? We don't always need words to communicate with our Heavenly Father.

So, keep listening for that 'still, small voice'  and be comforted, knowing that He loves us.

Amen?

Oh, I'd love to hear from you about this blog's "new look"

Share your thoughts below in the comments section below.

Thanks, and God bless you.

~Peg

ALEXIS A. GORING ~ Conversations with God ~ Faithful Friday

Hi, all. It's Faithful Friday here on Whispers in Purple. Please welcome author Alexis A. Goring as she shares an adventure in traveling unfamiliar roads and encounters God in an most unusual way.

Conversations with God

A devotional by Alexis A. Goring

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

–      Psalm 46:1 (KJV)

God taught me many life lessons when I moved from Maryland to Montana to take my first big break in Journalism almost a decade ago. One of those lessons was that even when He’s silent, He’s still there.

Allow me to explain …

One Friday afternoon, I was driving my car down a gravel road, on assignment, trying to make it to a small town and back to my apartment before sundown.

I lived near the city in Maryland so I never actually had driven on a gravel road. Therefore, I didn’t realize that I couldn’t safely go the same speed on a gravel road than I could on a paved road. I think you know where this story is going … in a matter of minutes, my car fishtailed and spun around several times before crashing into a wire fence in the middle of nowhere!

Literally nowhere. To my left of the road was the wire fence that my car crashed into and to the right of the road was another wire fence that blocked off lines of farm property.

I got out of my car to survey the damage. The entire rear bumper was ripped off and it looked like my car had taken a beating. In addition to all of this, I realized that my car’s undercarriage was trapped because it was entwined with the wires from the fence. Clearly, I could not drive my car back onto the gravel road. It wouldn’t move! Surveying the damage, I just about lost it and I had a conversation with God. Just me, God, and the cows grazing on the farmland that was on the other side of the road.

My conversation was clearly one-sided and it went something like this:

What are You doing? How am I going to pay for this? You know that most of my paycheck goes to rent, bills and food! I have no more money! What am I going to do? Where are You?!

In the middle of my venting session, I paused as my gaze lowered from looking up at the sky (because God is beyond the heavens), to looking at a cow. To this day I remember that cow because he was the only cow whose coat was all black. All of the other cows were eating grass farther away on the right side of the fence, and they all were white and brown in color. But this cow, as beautiful and sleek as a black stallion, was positioned directly across from me. It stood by silently like a faithful friend, pressing close behind that fence, looking at me with pools of sympathy and empathy in its expressive round and dark eyes.

For a moment, I paused, completely awestruck. I’ve never seen an animal look at me like that, it was as if he knew what I was going through and somehow he wanted to comfort me.

But that moment was gone as quickly as it had come and I returned to my conversation with God. I flailed my arms and shouted at the sky, “Great! How is a COW going to HELP ME?!”

I reached for my phone to call the police so that I could report the accident and call a tow truck. But when I tried to dial a number, I noticed that there was no signal! I panicked, realizing that I was still in the middle of nowhere and it was only two hours before sunset. I did not want to be stranded at night!

Once again, I turned to God. This time, my conversation was more panicked. I asked God, “Are you just going to leave me here?”

Suddenly, an alternative form of communication dawned on me: I could try using my email on my phone to dial the newspaper office and tell my office manager to send the police and a tow truck. So I did then I waited. While I was waiting, a kind, older gentleman arrived in a pickup truck. He just “happened” to be a plumber (looking back, I wonder if he was an angel sent by God but at that time, I was too distressed to consider that possibility).

I watched as he took his tool kit out of his car and slid beneath my car like a natural mechanic and used tools from his kit to untangle my car from the wire fence. Then, at my request, he sat behind the wheel and maneuvered my car back onto the gravel road.

I thanked him then got into my car and started driving back toward where I lived. My plan was to drive straight to my apartment but as I was driving, I heard disturbing noises that I later learned indicated that I had a flat tire. I knew it wouldn’t be safe for me to drive all the way back to my apartment, which was an hour away, with my car in its battered condition.

When I spotted a restaurant (also in the middle of nowhere) about ten minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot, got out of my car, walked into the restaurant where the aroma of delicious food wafted to my nose, and I asked to use their telephone. It was there, while I was on the phone reporting my accident to the agent from GEICO car insurance that God spoke to me.

The female agent paused in her work to gather data about my accident and told me that she had to be silent for a few moments while she processed my claim but she wanted me to know that she’s “still here.”

And that was when the floodgates that I’d been holding back burst. I started crying. Not hysterically but still, openly crying. I’d kept it all together around other people until that point. God spoke to me. He helped me realize through that agent’s words spoken in the softest, kindest, most reassuring tone that HE was still there with me. And He’s never leaving my side. Even when I railed at Him in the middle of nowhere after my car crashed. Even when I doubted Him to take care of my financial needs which now included trying to figure out how to repair my totaled car.

Longer story short: I got it together, hung up the phone, met with the police and then a truck driver drove me home. Gratefully, God did not allow me to be hurt in that car accident. My car was totaled but I was not.

Thankfully, God never left my side. Even when I couldn’t feel His Presence, He showed up for me through that black cow, the patient plumber, and the kindhearted agent from GEICO.

I am sharing this story with you to encourage you to not give up on God because He will never give up on you! He loves you with ALL of His Heart.

When you’re weary, allow Him to carry you (Isaiah 46:4). When you’re hurt, let Him heal you (Psalm 103:2-3). When you’re in distress, trust Him to rescue you

(Isaiah 43:1-2). May the Lord bless you and keep you (Numbers 6:24-26).

In closing, I’d like for you to listen to this song, “He’s Able” by Pastor Deitrick Haddon.

Remember, God will never leave you to face life by yourself (Matthew 28:20)!

  

—

Author Bio: Alexis A. Goring is a passionate writer with a degree in Print Journalism and an MFA in Creative Writing. She loves the art of storytelling and hopes that her stories will connect readers with the enduring, forever love of Jesus Christ.

CLEO LAMPOS ~ A Mother's Song ~ Giveaway

Hi, everybody. It's "Throwback Thursday" here on Whispers in Purple Blog which gives authors a chance to spotlight a book from their back-lists. Please welcome Cleo Lampos as she talks about her historical novel A MOTHER's SONG, a fascinating peek into the historical Orphan Trains. 

While researching documents for the historical fiction, A Mother’s Song, the issues of the nineteenth century and the crisis of present times coincided. The challenges of the past mirror those of today.

Reading books on the orphan trains that transported over 200,000 homeless waifs from New York City to farms on the Great Plains occupied several years of my life. Each true account from the point of view of a train rider captivated my imagination. The resiliency of the children, their defenses, the fears, and the ability to cope brought their plights to life. Their stories stirred my heart.

The women who rode the trains for years with these children, helping them find “forever homes” inspired me. These agents of the Children’s Aid Society became the forerunners of social work as they fought against exploitation and work issues of their charges. They became heroes.

But the mothers of 1890. They astounded me. Those Irish immigrant mothers in New York City, Five Points, who had more children than they could support gripped my soul. The difficulties they faced on a day to day basis. The choices that haunted them. The ability to allow their children to ride the orphan train to a life that they could not give to them. Hard decisions. Life giving chances. Deep regrets. Their plight haunted me.

My husband traveled with me to the National Orphan Train Museum in Concordia, Kansas, to gather more books and information about the ragamuffins and agents who traveled the tracks between NYC and the west. He attended the Little Falls, Minnesota, Reunion of the descendants of the trains.  We heard the stories from four surviving riders and warmed at their positive attitudes toward life. Then I wrote this book, A Mother’s Song.

Perhaps for me, the creation of this novel served personal therapy. My father died when I was young, and my mother married an alcoholic. Several years of my life were spent in foster care. The stories from the orphan trains touched areas of my emotions needed healing.

When I presented a lecture on this book to a group of South Side Irish women, they leaned into the information. For them, the book represents the most complete view of what happened to Irish immigrants who escaped the Great Famine. They empathized with the main characters only in a way that hardship can generate.

A Mother’s Song follows the main character, Deirdre O’Sullivan, her husband, son, and four year old Ava Rose in Five Points, NYC. This 1890 washerwoman is pregnant with her third child.  When her husband is killed in an accident, Deirdre is left with three children and no support. Her older son becomes a newsie and lives on the streets. Rather than let the baby and Ava Rose starve to death, she signs for them to be put on an orphan train.

 In Nebraska, Claudine has suffered multiple miscarriages and is depressed. She adopts the children. Will the adoption provide the safety and opportunity that Deirdre hopes? This researched story of two mothers and the child who lives both is heart wrenching. It is a poignant tale of hope and courage against unfathomable odds for a better life free from prejudice and poverty.

 

The author, Cleo Lampos, is a retired educator who taught emotionally disturbed/behavior disordered children for 26 years. She lives in a suburb on the south side of Chicago where she quilts, helps her husband with their urban garden, and enjoys eleven grandchildren. She is the author of eight books and numerous magazine articles.

Cleo Lampos’ books are available on amazon.com.

The Giveaway: One free copy of this historic novel will be given to one reader of this post who leaves a comment below with name and contact info (so we can notify you if you're the winner).

Giveaway will run for one week from today on Thursday, July 23, 2020, at MIDNIGHT central time. Winner will be drawn via random.org and notified via email.

JANE DOE ~ Lillian Duncan ~

 Welcome to "What's New Wednesday" . . . on Thursday. . . . with author Lillian Duncan. The spotlight is on her newest release JANE DOE. I don't know about you but the story and entire concept sounds intriguing to me. Read on, see what you think, and share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Welcome, Lillian!

 

Title: JANE DOE

Author: Lillian Duncan

Contact: lduncan512@aol.com

Genre: Suspense/Romantic Suspense

Release Date: June 26

About the book: A Broken Body. A Broken Mind. What If She Wasn't The Last Victim?

Raven Marks survives a brutal kidnapping but just barely. Along with a broken body, her mind is broken. She wants to put the past behind her, but nightmarish memories won’t let her. . .at first because she doesn’t have them, and then because she does.

Even though her fractured memory can’t recall every detail, she’s haunted by one thought: What if she wasn’t the last victim? Her search for answers leads her to the highest politicians in the land. Each reclaimed memory brings her closer to the truth—and to even more danger.

JANE DOE is my latest novel and it’s a doozy!

What’s the genre you ask? It’s suspense with lots of drama and action…it's also a political thriller…but it also has a lot of mystery components…but there’s the romance element as well… and let’s not forget the spiritual message! No matter what genre you classify it as, it’s one I think you’ll enjoy!

So how did JANE DOE come about?

I’d finished all my edits on a current book and was feeling very uninspired. I had no idea for my next story, so I went on FB and asked people to send me an idea for my next suspense novel. An old high school friend sent me the suggestion to write a story where the main character struggled with memory loss.

Mmmm… but the old amnesia plot has been done and it’s a big no-no that writing experts warn against. I took the challenge anyway and wrote JANE DOE. It’s definitely not your typical amnesia plot, but the main character is haunted by her memories.

First, because she doesn’t have them and then because she does!

Raven Marks survives a brutal kidnapping but just barely. Along with a broken body, her mind is broken. Even though she can’t remember the details of her kidnapping, she’s haunted by the thought that someone else is being victimized by the kidnapper she can’t remember.

Her journey to discover the truth leads her to the highest politicians in the state and then the country. Each reclaimed memory brings her closer to the truth—and to even more danger.

I’m not going to give away the plot, but there’s plenty of twists and turns to keep you reading late into the night!

Off-site Giveaway:

 I’m having a giveaway to celebrate the release of JANE DOE on my blog! So hop over to www.lillian-duncan.com and leave a comment on any of my JANE DOE blogs at www.lillian-duncan.com and you'll be entered to win one of three $10 AMAZON GIFT CARDS! That's right--three winners!

Lillian Duncan… turning faith into fiction.

Lillian lives in a small town in Ohio with her husband. She writes the types of books she loves to read. Even though her books cross genres, they have one thing in common: faith-based stories that demonstrate God’s love—and lots of action. OK, that’s two things.

She was a school speech pathologist for over 30 years but retired in 2012 after being diagnosed with bilateral brain tumors due to Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2), a rare genetic disease.

  

Whether as an educator, a writer, or a speech pathologist, she believes in the power of words to transform lives, especially God’s Word. To learn more about Lillian and her books, visit:   www.lillian-duncan.com. 

Thank you, Lillian, for being my guest this week.