LORD willing, November 1st, Christmas Carol Society will be available for Kindle! Shortly followed by paperback. (All of my pushing has not managed a paperback version on the same day. LORD willing, that will be the following week!)
I should have posted this on Monday – but I forgot. I don’t know how, except I filled my entire day with editing. The good news is, Christmas Carol Society, is through with major editing and is just going through last read through!
Perry at perryelisabethdesign.com did a lovely job on my cover! I usually do my own, but I’m not sorry I decided to change things up. The cover makes me smile, just looking at it. It fits my modern story, while tying back to the original story of A Christmas Carol.
I can not pick favorites among my books. I haven’t ever had that ability. However, I do believe that Christmas Carol Society is very possibly the best book I have ever written. Miss Dartmoor proved to be a fascinating study for me, I had a lot of fun with Albert, and I loved Charlie. Then, of course, there is Ralph, Jessie, Ryan…
I have wanted to write a book that included A Christmas Carol for a number of years – and now I finally have one! And the release is oh-so close! We’ve got nine days and counting… I should go and work on formatting!
Thirty years in the future, when AI is so advanced that humans live
side by side with cognizant robots called Artificials, Kestrel Hathaway
must come to terms not just with what machines know, but what
they believe. Is hope real for them, or merely an illusion?
Soon after experiencing a personal tragedy, Kestrel witnesses a
terrorist attack and is drawn into a world of conspiracies and lies that
she and Jordan, her Artificial, have to untangle. With a second, more
brutal attack looming on the horizon, their best chance of stopping it
is teaming up with federal counterterrorism agent Nick Vernon.
But the clock is ticking—and all the while, Jordan is asking questions that Artificials were never meant to ask.
Deftly weaving suspense and intrigue into a rich, resonant tale that
explores faith and what it really means to be human, Steven James offers
us a glimpse into the future and into our own hearts.
Synapse is an unforgettable, gripping story of dreams shattered, truth revealed, and hope reborn.
My Review
Steven James is an exceptional writer. Never once did the story lag, even during long discussions of a philosophical nature. He knows how to weave together his words and story in a beautiful manner.
I enjoyed seeing from multiple perspectives, even from the criminals’ points of view, throughout the book. I rarely got confused – only with the NCB agents and that could be attributed to my not noticing their names when they first appeared on the page.
My biggest complaint about Synapse is the role of Kestrel Hathaway. Biblically, I don’t believe there is a role for female pastors. She didn’t act much like a pastor either, from what I could see, but as her character arch put her into a place of struggle, perhaps that could be expected. I did like how many times she called Scripture to mind, even though she couldn’t always say she knew her own thoughts on those Scriptures.
I would also include a warning regarding the violence of a few of the death scenes. As a thriller, one might expect deaths, but the level of detail, particularly for some of the murders, might disturb some readers.
I found the underlying premise regarding what Jordan, an Artificial, can and can not believe about God to be a fascinating topic and one that I want to think about more thoroughly. The discussions regarding existence, death, and eternity were well thought out and good food for thought.
Steven James is the critically acclaimed, national bestselling author of sixteen novels. His work has been optioned by ABC Studios and praised by Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, the New York Journal of Books, and many others. His pulse-pounding, award-winning thrillers are known for their intricate storylines and insightful explorations of good and evil. When he’s not working on his next book, he’s either teaching master classes on writing throughout the country, trail running, or sneaking off to catch a matinee.
It’s strange how memory works. Even when you’re 7.
We sat around the table, eating frozen pizza. The phone rang and my father answered it.
“WHAT?” his answer still echoes in my memory, louder then anything else in the house.
He slammed the phone down, urgency in his voice.
“Danny just died.”
My uncle hadn’t been expected to die.
Chaos. We covered our pizza with napkins. Jumped into the van. Daddy sped away from the house, my mother worried about his speed and the police.
We arrived at the hospital. My parents disappeared. My sister and I stayed in a room with family friends. Miss Stacey let me chatter to her for hours. She looked so sad.
They couldn’t get my uncle on the phone. They kept trying. No one could find him. Until they did.
He arrived at the hospital, went back to the room where his brother lay, and his grief seemed to break open a fresh layer all around me. Anguish and grief swirled around. My grandparents, my parents, my aunts, uncles, cousins…
We finally left the hospital. Everyone needed food. We went to Denny’s. The yellow glow of the letters signified grief and death for years afterword. I didn’t understand why we even went; I barely understood how to picture the world without Uncle Danny in it. How could I no longer have four living uncles? Shouldn’t I be grown up first?
We didn’t go to bed until the wee hours of the morning. I felt sure I had never been up so late. I lay in bed, trying to understand how the world had changed. Like it had when Granddad died four years earlier. I couldn’t, and I fell asleep still trying to understand. Knowing a part of the world would forever remain empty without them both.
When Ingrid Chastain agreed to accompany
her father to deliver vaccines to a mining town in the Montana
Territory, she never could have anticipated a terrible accident would
leave her alone and badly injured in the wilderness. Rescue comes in the
form of a mysterious mountain man who tends her injuries, but she’s
hesitant to put her trust in this man who seems to have wounds of his
own.
After tragedy struck his family, Micah
Bradley left his work as a doctor and escaped to the wilds of Montana.
But his self-imposed solitude is broken when he finds Ingrid in
desperate need of medical attention, and he’s forced to call on his
doctoring skills once again.
Micah can’t help but admire Ingrid’s tenacity despite the severity of her injuries, until he learns the crate she brought contains smallpox vaccines to help quell a nearby outbreak. With Ingrid dead set on delivering the medicine–with or without his help–he has no choice but to accompany her. As they set off through the treacherous, snow-covered Rocky Mountains against all odds, the journey ahead will change their lives more than they could have known.
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Misty is giving
away the grand prize package of a copy of Hope’s Highest Mountain, a $20
B&N gift card, and cute mountain cards!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
After working for 13 years in the corporate world, Misty M. Beller (mistymbeller.com) is now the author of fourteen independently published Christian historical romance novels. Raised on a farm in South Carolina, she combines her love for Christian fiction and the simpler ranch life by writing historical novels that display God’s abundant love through the twists and turns in the lives of her characters. She lives outside Charlotte, North Carolina, is an active member of ACFW, and teaches regularly at conferences and writing groups on effective book marketing.
SIBYL
TRIMBLE, the daughter of a wealthy banking family during the Great
Depression in Shawnee, Oklahoma, promises her father to be part of a
political movement to change the world. By 1932, the timing to fulfill
that promise seems right. Her life consists of fashionable clothes,
cruising in a Model T, and dancing every weekend at the local speakeasy.
FREMONT POPE is a handsome, blue-eyed, down-on-his-luck hobo, and Sibyl’s life turns upside down when she meets him. Her love for him and his Christian family opens her eyes to a different way of life than she has ever known.
Based on a true story, this historical novel follows Sibyl through some difficult choices. She must dig deep within herself to find strength to face her father and determine which, if any, of her past beliefs can be salvaged. What is more important, love or duty?
My Review
I actually decided to read this book based on the cover. That’s not something I usually do, but the cover for A Promise to Breakreally is beautiful.
Unfortunately, I really didn’t care for the story. I found the main character to be very self-centered, despite her repeated claims to live for pleasing her father. Her constant internal complaints about life, her husband, her dreams became wearying.
Throughout the first half of the book or so, the few Christians in the story were among the most easily offended or most ill behaved.
In the latter half of the book, the Popes showed a good example of Christ’s love in care, both by word and example. Fremont, their son and Sibyl’s husband, improved after marriage. I didn’t like him in the beginning, as he was forward and didn’t seem to stand up to most of his beliefs, but later he became a good example of a decent, godly, and hardworking man.
The story wove the various members of the Trimble family lives around Sybil, but most of the book read as a sordid tale of their sins, including Sybil’s, with a smattering of Christianity.
I wanted to like this book, but I really couldn’t recommend it to anyone.
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Kathryn is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon 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.
A Christian writer, Biblical counselor, teacher and speaker who
offers insight, the author loves connecting to people individually and
through retreats and conferences.
Kathryn’s mission is to teach that the passion of godly love knows
no boundaries. Whether with prisoners, international students or those
needing assistance, her platform strategy is the concept of personal,
intimate encounters with Jesus. Her historical novel, “Up Town,” shows
the importance of spiritual encounters with Jesus—small encounters that
lead to a more mature spiritual life. Kathryn’s Biblical counseling and
teaching background lends itself to this message.
She lived in South Korea for two years in her early twenties, spent
time in an orphanage and adopted two Korean babies. A single mom for 18
years, she went from welfare to owner and CEO of a multimillion dollar
corporation, Integrity Healthy Care. Her company took care of the
medical needs of over 4,000 prisoners and during that time she counseled
over 200 women.
Kathryn and her husband, Bill, hold Bible studies for international
students attending the University of Central Oklahoma. They have had
many different students live in their home and try to help students in
all areas of their lives.
Kathryn is on the Mission Team at her home church, Henderson Hills
Baptist Church, in Edmond, Oklahoma, where she has been a member for
over 13 years. While attending her prior church, Country Estates Baptist
Church in Midwest City, Oklahoma, she was on the Finance and Long Range
Planning Committees, and taught DivorceCare and Financial classes. She
is a Crown Money Map coach.
Bill and Kathryn have six children and nine grandchildren at the last
count, including some adopted. Their family is internationally diverse.
God’s love is enormous and includes all of us.
