Great Reads Monday - Redeeming Grace by Smoky Trudeau

Smoky Trudeau is the author of two novels and two nonfiction books especially for writers.  Her stories and poetry have been published in literary journals and online e-zines.  She was a 2003 Pushcart Prize Nominee. Finally succumbing to her bohemian spirit and need to live near the mountains and the ocean, Smoky moved to Southern California in 2008, where she lives with her husband and daughter in a ramshackle cottage in the woods overlooking the San Gabriel Valley and the San Gabriel Mountains beyond. When she isn’t writing, she spends her time hiking in the mountains, camping in the Sierras, splashing in tidepools, and fighting the urge to speak in haiku.  You're going to love her book, Reedeming Grace - this week's Great Read!

The tragic deaths of her mother and two younger siblings have left Grace Harmon responsible for raising her sister Miriam and protecting her from their abusive father, Luther, a zealot preacher with a penchant for speaking in Biblical verse who is on a downward spiral toward insanity. Otto Singer charms Grace with his gentle courtship and devotion to his brother, Henry. But after their marriage, Otto is unable to share with Grace the terrible secret he has kept more than twenty years. Otto believes he is responsible for a tragic accident that claimed the life of a young woman and left Henry severely brain damaged. Luther's insane ravings and increasingly violent behavior force Grace to question and reassess the patriarchal religious beliefs of her childhood. Then tragedy strikes just when Otto's secret is uncovered, unleashing demons that threaten to destroy the entire family. Can Grace find the strength to save them, and in the process find her own redemption? Redeeming Grace is set on Maryland's eastern shore in the late 1920's. The book will appeal to lovers of literary fiction who enjoy theological debate and who understand happy endings, in novels as in life, sometimes come at a heavy price.

One reader says:

"Love, pain, guilt and secrets, guilt are skillfully woven throughout this story which takes place in rural Maryland in the 1920's. Smoky Trudeau manages to walk a very fine line without ever crossing it. Her villains are quite mad but not unbelievable. Redeeming Grace is a story of marital love, understanding and forgiveness. Throughout the moments and days of contentment and joy are memories of tragedy and loss. Partially known secrets and a feeling of impending danger make this book an unforgettable page turner." - M.S.

Visit Smoky's website to read more!

Or buy Redeeming Grace today on Amazon.com!

Great Reads Monday: A Chaunce of Riches by Chelle Cordero

Chelle Cordero is a freelance journalist and author. Her articles have been published in various Gannett publications, regional and national trade magazines. She is also the author of many novels and short stories.  Chelle and her husband live in Rockland County, NY, where they raised their two children.  I'm happy to share her book, A Chaunce of Riches, with you - another great read!

The day that Ben Johnson was hired as a bodyguard for some rich widow and her kid, he never expected to be working for the woman who had abandoned him just when he had needed her the most so many years before. Damn it all, he still wanted her. Samantha Chaunce never thought she would see him again. She never thought she would have to explain why she married the rich man over the man she had sworn she once loved. And she certainly never expected to find out that her rich husband had been murdered and fingers were pointing to her former lover.

One reader says:

"Personal conflict kicks off at the very start of Ms. Cordero's A Chaunce of Riches, as widower Samantha Chaunce comes face to face with a man from her past - Ben Johnson. She told him she loved him oh-so-long ago, and then she departed in the arms of another.

"Nothing is simple in the complex tale of love, danger, and this shared, almost-mourned, past....  However, the two main characters are both strong, edgy people, and their history together creates a rather unusual relationship between the two. There is anger, resentment, yet, somehow, there is an enduring trust that becomes more and more important in the face of danger.

"The very focused plot keeps us madly turning the pages, right to the very end. Yet, it's the romantic in us that is waiting, and so hoping, that they are both the people we think they are...that somehow, out of all this emotional clutter, disaster and more, they can find their way to true feeling. The story is simply super on all counts. Mark A Chaunce of Riches a Must-Read." - J. Thomas, The Long and Short of It Reviews

Read more on Chelle Cordero's website.

Or buy today on Amazon.com (available in paperback and on Kindle)!

Great Reads Monday - Forest Song: Letting Go by Vila SpiderHawk

Vila SpiderHawk is the author of three novels, a book of short stories and a cookbook.  She lives with her husband in the woods of Pennsylvania, in a log house of their design.  They share their home with five cats and enjoy frequent visits from their many woodland friends.  I'm thrilled to be able to share with you her latest work, Forest Song: Letting Go.

She left her birth home to learn the ways of the woods in Forest Song: Finding Home.  She grew into her powers as protector of the denizens of the forest in Forest Song: Little Mother.  And now, Judy Baumann faces the horrors of World War II: the concentration camps, Jewish ghettos, and the other persecution of the Jews.

Join Judy as she struggles to survive death-defying challenges, overcoming betrayal and loss with courage, cleverness and humor.

One reader says:

"Amazing but true.  SpiderHawk has again written an outstanding novel that touches the very core of loss, yearing, learning and beginnings.

"It has been my privilege to own all of Vila SpiderHawk's wonderful books and this one, as I myself am getting on in years, touched a deep vein of recognition in me.  It deals with loss, new beginnings and blossoming awareness of ability and truths.

"As with all her work, Vila SpiderHawk's ability to bring the reader deep within, with her color descriptions is an utter joy.  This is a truly inspiring novel and I highly recommned it to anyone.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again...Vila just gets better!  Of all her novels, this one touched me to my very soul.  There were times when I smiled, times I associated closely with the characters and times when I cried in sympathy, because always, there is somewhere a place that we too have visited.  In this, her most recent book, I was drawn into her web and held utterly spellbound from start to finish." - J.H.G.

Visit Vila Spiderhawks's website to read more!

Or buy today on Amazon.com (available in paperback and on Kindle)!