Book #1: When I signed up to share this reveal, I didn’t put together a conversation with the director of Vox Dei a month earlier with this book. The title Little Girl Mended resonated with me. I consider myself mended from a childhood sexual abuse. Then I read the blurb:

No little girl should ever have to learn about sexual abuse at the hands of her father. But I did, and I survived. This is my story.

Little Girl Mended is both a story of abuse and a story of redemption, spanning more than fifty years. From the loss of innocence at age seven, through ten-plus years of abuse, forty-five years of silence, and finally—well into my fifties—coming to understand that healing is possible. My walk through recovery coincided with a deepening of my  relationship with Jesus Christ. Through that relationship I came to experience the Father’s love—a love I couldn’t fully understand while viewing everything through the distorted lens of incest.

In this first-person narrative, I examine painful memories and difficult emotions, allowing myself to feel for the first time in my life. As I grapple with shattering hurt and long-buried pain, I come to realize there can be no healing without surrender. It’s not in my strength that I find healing, but in my complete surrender to Jesus Christ.

The power found in the pages of Little Girl Mended is there for you, too—whatever the circumstances of your own life’s story. Come along and claim it.

Being an adult survivor of childhood abuse, I said, this is a must read for me. So, look for Little Girl Mended by Niki Krauss coming out soon from Vox Dei.

Book #2: The blurb for The Gates Manor Band by Jan Hemby pulled me in and said read. See for yourself.

Julia Burch is a typical 50 year old who is tired of her typical life. But that changes when she answers the phone to find it isn’t a person on the other end of the line, but a recording of a conversation that happened over 30 years ago.

A series of inexplicable events leaves Julia searching for answers – and forces her to face the source of her unhappiness. But this is only the beginning; there are others who desperately need what Julia has rediscovered. Prisoners to their past, they have lost hope for anything better, and for some, time is running out.

What follows is a journey that crosses social status, racial lines, and even time itself to unite a group of people called to an adventure that will surpass anything they could have imagined.

Add this title to your list.

Book #3: It wasn’t the blurb (although good) that got my attention for Wheelman by Brian L. Tucker, nor was it the cover, it was the excerpt. I’ll let you decide. I’ll show you the blurb and then the excerpt. I’m hoping to interview Brian on an upcoming #VoxDeiChat in January.

Teen Cy Vance wants to do one thing: D-R-I-V-E. Except he has nowhere to go and no way to get there. But when he’s given a note at church, he discovers his dad–one of the FBI’s Most Wanted–is alive and well in Mexico…and he wants Cy to meet him ASAP!

With the help of a best friend, Cy escapes Child Protective Services and flees to Mexico. What he doesn’t know is that his father is going to ask even more of him when they meet. How far will Cy go to help his family, and will it cost him his life?

RUNNING AWAY IS ESCAPE.

STAYING PUT IS UNTHINKABLE.

THE ROAD AHEAD IS ANYTHING BUT STRAIGHT…

So, what caught my attention? Three excerpts. I’ll share the most powerful one with you. I’m sure Wheelman will be on your to-be-read list as well.

The appearance of the outside of the bar fit its namesake. There weren’t adornments or décor to speak of, and the clientele walking into the swinging, saloon-style doors added to its appearance. Vance Sr. reached over to Cy’s shoulder and gave it a good shake. “We’re here now. No backing down.”

“Wouldn’t think of it.” Cy swallowed, feeling how dry his throat was for the first time. Please God.

Just then, two men exited the swinging doors: one noticeably older and grey-headed and walking with a limp, the other more robust and beak-nosed. The Franco father and son wasted no time in their assemblage of several seedy-looking thugs. A group of three sluggish, somnambulant girls were gathering around the corner. What in the world? The girls, who seemed drugged into submission, all stared dejectedly down at the cobblestone street and made eye contact with no one. The El Zorro clientele who passed the girls tried to grab their wrists and lead them back into the bar through the swinging doors. Each time this happened, father or son Franco walked up and shoved the patrons, yelling for them to back off.

Cy was about to ask how long they would wait, when a nondescript Ford Fiesta crept up to the bar’s entrance on Hidalgo, lights off—stopping just short of the girls. The elder Franco spat some words at the girls. They held hands, Cy noticed. He watched as they stooped to get inside the compact car, and he saw that each face looked younger than him. He started to get out of the Camaro, but felt his dad’s hand.

“Just another minute,” he said.

“If we wait another minute, we’ll miss them,” Cy urged.

“Patience and hastiness were never friends. Just count to sixty. Breathe. And start again.”

“What?”

“Just count.”

The Fiesta’s door shut, with the girls inside, and the driver looked around calmly, unwilling to step out himself. Cy couldn’t make out the man’s face. Being the chauffeur in a sex trafficking ring didn’t appear to weigh too much on his conscience though, as he casually held onto the steering wheel, giving some demands to the Franco men through the window. Cy counted six heads duck into the Fiesta. The car weighed down with its new load. Cy heard a click sound, looked over and saw the passenger seat empty. His dad held his index finger to his lips outside the car’s window. Just as the man inside the Fiesta started to shift his car into drive, Cy saw his father running into the Fiesta’s path. How could he be so fast?!

“Let go of the girls!” Teddy shouted in English and waved his arms at the Fiesta, the Franco men beside it. No one moved. He reached into his pocket and pulled a .38 pistol out, pointing it straight at the men. Cy felt shock—fear, even—as the gun remained steady in his father’s hand. Both Franco men, and their thugs, ran from the alley to the side of the bar, to its safe illumination. The driver lifted his hands from the wheel, as Teddy approached. He kept his stainless steel pistol pointed squarely at the car. He only had time to open the door and pull three of the young ladies from the car, when the driver thrashed the car into gear and sped off recklessly, with three occupants still in the backseat.

What do you think? Ready for these three books? I sure am. So, how do you contact these amazing authors? Here is their info:

Contact Brian L. Tucker

Website, Facebook, Twitter

About Jan Hemby

Facebook, Twitter

Contact Niki Krauss

Website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads

All three are available for personal appearances and interviews; contact Becki Brannen to schedule.

Becki Brannen
Book Marketing Manager
Booktrope Publishing
becki.brannen@booktrope.com

All three books are available internationally – please contact us directly if you do not see it on your preferred book purchase website.

Discounts or customized editions may be available for educational and other groups based on bulk purchase. For further information please contact vox.dei@booktrope.com.

ABOUT VOX DEI

Our name rhymes with Fox Day. We’re an imprint of Booktrope, a new type of publishing company founded in 2011 in Seattle, WA that’s pioneering a model called team publishing. Our mission at VoxDei is to provide books for a primarily Christian audience that edify and entertain, encourage, and inspire. While Christian themes are woven throughout our fiction, our purpose is not to preach a sermon but rather provide a quality alternative to the secular market for entertainment. Our non-fiction titles are intended to help readers explore the Bible in a more personal way and grow in their walk with Christ, while being informal in voice and approach. Whether fiction or non, our goal is to shine the light and love that is central to the Christian faith into a dark and messy world. Learn more at voxdeipublishing.com.

As I had kids, I looked for fantasy and science fiction books that I could share with them. Timothy Zahn’s Dragonback series was one of those fun finds. I read the story of Jack and was immediately hooked from the first chapter with the shipwreck. It was fun to read it with my husband and then to see my kids read them. They loved it as well. The struggles of Jack to try to clear his name and move from thief to a poet warrior give hope to kids and make the reader cheer him on.

It wasn’t always that I showed books to my kids. Sometimes, they found a book and said, “Mom, you have to read this!” One such book was “Mom, you have to listen to this!” They found Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke in an audio book. We sat down in their room and listened as Brendan Fraser worked his magic with Cornilia Funke’s words. Sorrel the Brownie came to life as did Ben, Firedrake, Twigleg, and Nettlebrand. The characters still to this day have his voice when I read the book. The interactions of these characters with each other make the book work and make readers love it. When I teach students to write a children’s fantasy story in Spanish, I use excerpts from this book to show them character development. You can read an excerpt of Dragon Rider online.

The last two years, I had the privilege of spending 50 minutes each day on a one way road trip to school with my now seventeen-year-old son. We found the best way to spend the time, and stay awake, was to listen to audio books. We found all kinds of books. Some that were okay, but not great, and others that made it to my top 10 plus three list of children’s books. One of these was Beyonders by Brandon Mull. The story weaves from the real world into a fantasy world. Jason reaches it by falling into the hippo’s mouth! Literally! From there, he finds himself an unexpected hero. He must fight against the emperor to try to put the Blind King back on the throne. Jason works with another girl from the real world who followed a butterfly into the magical realm. Jason has an opportunity to return home, and must decide if it is worth returning to finish the quest. They go through numerous adventures as they try to fulfill the quest. It is well written, page-turning (if you’re reading it, CD changing if your listening) and encourages the reader to follow after good.

If I haven’t given you enough ideas for a book, then check out the other posts this week from Children’s Book Week. Whatever you do, find a book and curl up and read. Read to your kids, read to your family, read to yourself. Enjoy!

My kids enjoy a book read to them by their grandpa.