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Abuse

Based on real events beginning in 1797 – Rachel Taylor lives a rather mundane existence at the way station her family runs along the Wilderness Road in Tennessee. She attends her friend’s wedding only to watch it dissolve in horror as the groom, Wiley Harpe, and his cousin become murderers on the run, who drag their families along. Declaring a “war on all humanity”, the Harpes won’t be stopped, and Ben Langford is on their trail to see if his own cousin was one of their latest victims. How many will die before peace can return to the frontier?

Gunter Schrader was left behind when his brothers went to war in 1914. Two and a half years later, he makes his way to the front, though it means leaving the young woman he loves and lying to his widowed mother.

The need to fight refuses to let him go, even after the guns fall silent in 1918. Reunited with his brother Jochen and hungry to continue the struggle to secure Germany’s borders, it is only the desire for a deeper connection that threatens Gunter’s plans.

All Jakob Schmidt wants is to play music and marry his childhood sweetheart. Yet this is not the world he was born into. His cousin Friedrich arrives in 1923 and instantly becomes the paternal figure Jakob never had… until his estranged father moves back in.

Christmas has never given me anything to look forward to, but I’m learning to grit my teeth and get through the season without dragging too many people down with me. My reasons for hating Christmas are more than I’d ever admit to anyway.

Born the daughter of a Powhatan chieftain and a woman of unknown origins, Matoaka enjoys a carefree life. When strange men from across the eastern waters appear near her home, she regards them at first as a mere curiosity. Soon, though, she finds herself torn between friendship with one of their leaders and the opinions and politics of her elders. 

Jakob Schmidt joined the SS for the pride and prestige of the uniform. Now, all of Berlin lies before him, from career prospects to beautiful women who would like nothing more than to spend an evening in his company. Yet beneath the façade he carries moral injuries he wants no one to see.

Return to the “what if” questions surrounding the Lost Colony and explore the possible fate of Virginia Dare–the first English child born in the New World. What happened to her after her grandfather John White returned to England and the colony he established disappeared into the mists of time? Legends abound, but she was indeed a real girl who, if she survived to adulthood, must have also become part of the legacy that is the people of the Outer Banks. In the spring of 1602 by English reckoning, “Ginny,” as she is called by family and friends, is fourteen and firmly considered a grown woman by the standards of the People. For her entire life she has watched the beautiful give-and-take of the Kurawoten and other native peoples with the English who came from across the ocean. She’s enjoyed being the darling of both English and Kurawoten alike–but a stirring deep inside her will not be put to rest.

Nashville Homicide Detective Abbey Rhodes is caught between a high-profile murder and multiple disappearances in a homeless camp. When the Mayor discovers the victim is the stepson of Jonathan Lee Thomas, a wealthy investor in the city’s East Bank Project, he forces Abbey to abandon all other cases. She faithfully follows orders until her a friend goes missing. 

Each case triggers Abbey’s PTSD, bringing the past and its secrets crashing down around her. She stretches herself to the limit as her investigation jeopardizes the safety of her closest friends, and she must face the guilt when one of them is shot. In the end she learns every life has value.

Peter’s world is a lawless society of darkness and violence. At 21, he has no hope for the future. Life inside the mountain caves of Thélo is hard. Food is scarce, the weak are unprotected, only the strong get ahead, and many die in accidents or suicide.

Just before Peter’s initiation into a violent gang, a stranger, who emanates light from within, approaches Peter. Andrew offers to take him to a better place. He claims there is a world outside the caves, filled with light and plenty of food. They must leave now and they must crawl through dark, cramped spaces to get there. Should he risk trusting a stranger and leaving all he knows? And how can he leave his mother and sister alone to fend for themselves. On the other hand, if he stays, the initiation will surely kill him and he’d be no help to them anyway. Maybe, if he found something better…

Samantha O’Conor Clark lost her belief in story magic long before her husband left. Now it’s all up to her. She must stay in control. In spite of her efforts her daughter is spiraling, and a vicious beast threatens Samantha in her sleep.

In the midst of it all, story calls to Samantha. She even thinks she sees Sorchae, the bright fairy from Granddad’s stories. Real or imagined, Sorchae encourages Samantha to write again.

When bits of her written words bleed into real life, she’s forced to face the magic. But can she trust it when all may be lost for her daughter?

Alexi de la Castellanos, the senior salesperson of a marketing firm, is focused, seductive, and drop dead gorgeous. She’s also falling apart. Her father kills himself and visions of him invade her dreams. The torment stirs up a past long forgotten, and then he shows up when she’s awake. Alexi thinks her father’s ghost is haunting her. But he’s not. It’s much worse.

Nolan Krae, a seminary grad who can’t find a ministry position, is stuck as the night watchman at the same marketing firm. Nolan feels trapped and useless, but when Alexi’s nightmares take on a deadly cast, she turns to him for help. Over the next few weeks, Nolan tries to help her, but everything backfires and Alexi spirals out of control. Can Nolan help her escape the demonic attacks?

Rock-bottom has a name for Rebecca Chastain, and it’s Dahlia, South Carolina.

Once a celebrated big-city journalist with a promising future, Rebecca now finds herself shattered—jobless, abandoned by her fiancé, and haunted by her own desperate attempt to escape it all. The small-town newspaper job in her granny’s hometown isn’t just a step down but a humiliating reminder of everything she’s tried to outrun. If not for reconnecting with her childhood friend, Josh, she’d already be gone.

Then there’s Devon—an eleven-year-old boy with eyes too old for his years, caring for his ailing Memaw while hiding stories he’s terrified to share.

Tiff Steadman has spent seven years running from the broken pieces of her past—the alcoholic parents, the convicted-felon brother, the shame of being “one of those no-good Steadmans.” Now, as editor of the Dahlia Weekly, she’s finally built the respectable life she’s always craved. With a proposal from her upstanding boyfriend Bobby, everything seems perfect.

Until her past comes knocking.

James Steadman has found God behind prison bars, but freedom feels more terrifying than his cell ever did. All he wants is a chance to reconnect with the little sister he once protected—the sister who now refuses to even acknowledge his existence. When his parole officer sends him to Dahlia, James discovers Tiff’s walls run deeper than he imagined, and starting over means confronting the wreckage they both left behind.

After years of jumping through other people’s hoops to be all they thought she should be, and enduring a tragedy no mother should, self-described “newbie” Christian, Harper Townsend, has finally found her true calling … and her true love. Until it appears that to follow one may mean leaving the other behind.

Adolescent Psychologist, Wyatt McCowan, is beyond delighted to have the-girl-that-got-away back in his life, and his heart. But even as they fall more in love, he realizes that being obedient to God’s calling on each of their lives may pull them apart. She rejected him once in favor of another, which left him hurt and angry. But this time, he can’t fault her for following hard after the God she loves with all her heart, even if it means leaving him once again.

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  • Aubrey Taylor
  • B.D. Lawrence
  • Beth Steury
  • Brianna Lynn Campbell
  • D. T. Powell
  • Fred von Kamecke
  • Jessica Brodie
  • Lori DeJong
  • Mitchell S Karnes
  • Rebecca Reed
  • Sarah Hanks
  • Shannon McNear
  • Terri Lynn Thompson

Brave Story Topics

  • Abortion/Prolife
  • Abuse
  • Addiction and recovery
  • Church Hurt
  • Crime/Violence
  • Divorce/Remarriage
  • Grief
  • Homosexuality
  • Human Trafficking
  • Loss of A Child
  • Mental Illness
  • People of Color/minorities
  • Pre-Martial Sex/Adultery
  • Prostitution
  • Racism
  • Self-harm/suicide
  • Sexual Assault
  • The Occult/Demon Possession/Spiritual Warfare
  • Trauma
  • Getting Real with God, an excerpt
  • Writing Fiction That Addresses Homosexuality
  • The Source of Courage
  • Will You Still Trust Me?
  • Ask Me Anything

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