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?
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.
Allyson Kincaid needs roots. Born and raised on the foreign mission field, all she wants is home and hearth on American soil. Finally past the break-up with the man she’d thought was the love of her life, she’s ready to put herself back out there. Too bad the first guy who’s made her pulse skip in nearly two years dreams of a life spent in foreign missions. She’s been there, done that, and, although she supports him in his calling, knows his choice means she’ll be laying even more broken dreams, and a newly shattered heart, at the feet of Jesus.
Can a young man born in America navigate between his family’s fears and the enthusiasm he encounters as he returns to his ancestral homeland?
Raised in a German-American community, Frederick cannot resist the pull of the Fatherland. America is in the depths of the Great Depression, yet Germany is thriving under Adolf Hitler. A sense of opportunity draws him back to Europe, and together with his new friend Fritz, he volunteers for the German Army.
Though Frederick anticipates adventure and camaraderie, he experiences a continent plunging into war. His new friends say he can’t possibly understand their perspective. Can an army chaplain help bridge the gap? Or does the man hold a secret that will only devastate Frederick further?
Can Maggie afford to let her guard down around the charming Preston? Will Preston’s past jeopardize his chances with the one girl who could anchor his future? After a series of bad choices rocked his world, seventeen-year-old Preston charts a new course as far from his ladies’ man ways as he can get. He distances himself from the dating scene and avoids his party-loving friends—the things that once dominated his life. Then he meets Maggie, the new girl in town, the first day of their junior year. She’s beautiful on the inside and out, knows nothing of his past, and he can’t get her out of his mind. After a disastrous first date leaves her skeptical about the guys at Madison High, Maggie slows down her pursuit of a guy to trust with her white-wedding-dress future. She wants a boyfriend, sure, but he’d have to be nothing like the jerk who forced her first kiss. Someone more like Preston, who’s been nothing but sweet and helpful, not to mention, easy on the eyes. But he is so out of her league.
In this sequel to “before I knew you”— Maggie’s head is spinning. The best and the worst parts about junior year at Madison have one thing in common: Preston. If only his past hadn’t collided with their present. But it did. Now, his ex is back in the picture, and Maggie has a big decision to make. Time will help her figure things out and make the right choice, won’t it? With his past revealed and the worst behind him, Preston has big plans to salvage what’s left of his junior year. No. What’s left of their junior year. Yep. Life will settle down for him and Maggie. Soon the nightmare will be just a bad memory. His baggage has been unpacked, so things can only get better, right? She needs time. He’s willing to wait. But nothing is ever that simple.
Preston and Maggie thought they’d survived the worst that his past had to throw at them. But a change of heart on Maggie’s part shoots holes in Preston’s plan to never look back.
She’s not backing down. He’s not giving in. What could have been the best summer-before-senior-year is, instead, marked by a string of crises and confrontations. As they navigate the fine lines between caving in and compromising, there’s more questions than answers.
Then, Maggie’s future comes calling, offering up a major senior-year-twist that tries to unravel any progress they might have made.
A collection featuring seventeen short stories about broken people finding hope in the hardest times…
Zoran, a teen in foster care, has been separated from his sister and has lost all trust in people. Depression looms over his life, drawing him to give up on his childhood dream of a home.
Grief creates a chasm in Constance and Ranaan’s marriage after multiple miscarriages and the loss of their premature daughter. They question their belief in God…and each other.
Fifteen-year-old Kathie discovers she’s pregnant. Afraid, heartbroken, and abandoned by those she trusts, she realizes she has only one way to regain the love and life she has lost: end the pregnancy and pretend it never happened.
Seventeen stories intertwine as Zoran, Constance, Ranaan, Kathie, and more, seek healing, discover faith, and find that hope remains despite their circumstances.