By The Book

Successful New York editor, Jen Gibbs, is at the top of her game with her new position at Vida House Publishing — until a mysterious manuscript from an old slush pile appears on her desk. Turning the pages, Jen finds herself drawn into the life of Sarra, a mixed-race Melungeon girl trapped by dangerous men in the turn of the century Appalachia. A risky hunch may lead to The Story Keeper’s hidden origins and its unknown author, but when the trail turns toward the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a place Jen thought she’d left behind forever, the price of a blockbuster next book deal may be higher than she’s willing to pay.

Lisa Wingate is an award-winning journalist, magazine columnist, popular inspirational speaker and a national bestselling author of 16 books. Her first mainstream novel, Tending Roses, is in its fifteenth printing from Penguin Putnam. Tending Roses is a staple on the shelves of national bookstore chains as well as in many independent bookstores.

Recently, Lisa’s Blue Sky Hill Series, set in Dallas, received national attention with back-to-back nominations for American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award for A Month of Summer (2009) and The Summer Kitchen (2010). In 2011, Lisa’s Novel, Never Say Never, won the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award. Pithy, emotional, and inspirational, her stories bring to life characters so real that readers often write to ask what is happening to them after the book ends.

Lisa is one of a select group of authors to find success in both the Christian and mainstream markets, writing for both Bethany House, a Christian publisher, and NAL Penguin Putnam, in mainstream fiction. Her bestselling books have become a hallmark of inspirational southern fiction. Her works have been featured by the National Reader’s Club of America, AOL Book Picks, Doubleday Book Club, the Literary Guild, American Profiles and have been chosen for numerous awards.

When not busy dreaming up stories, Lisa spends time on the road as a motivational speaker. Via internet, she shares with readers as far away as India, where her book, Tending Roses, has been used to promote women’s literacy, and as close to home as Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the county library system has used Tending Roses to help volunteer mentors teach adults to read. Recently, the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa along with Bill Ford, Camille Cosby, and six others, as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life.

My Impressions:

What a great experience I had being a part of Lisa Wingate’s Sisterhood of The Traveling Book. I was chosen to be a part of a group that read Lisa’s newest book The Story Keeper, due out in September.  Sharing insights and stories of our own, we passed the book around. My group is still in the process of reading and reflecting before the book heads back to Lisa in Texas. And while the Sisterhood is certainly special, The Story Keeper is a novel that you will not want to miss.

Jenn Gibbs left her Appalachian roots behind when she moved to New York to pursue a career in publishing. When she takes a new job with Vida House, a mysterious manuscript from the infamous slush pile appears on her desk and she is swept into an intriguing story and again forced to revisit the haunts of her childhood. An elusive author and her demanding family keep Jenn in North Carolina longer than she would like, but she soon discovers that you cannot really escape your past.

Two stories in one kept me turning the pages of The Story Keeper. I was impressed with the many voices that Lisa employed in telling the stories. Lisa masterfully brings to life the places and peoples of Appalachia. Her characters are real and relatable, even Jenn’s sisters who live a life dedicated to a conservative Christian cult. I loved the theme of lives being a compilation of many stories.

The Story Keeper releases on September 1, so be sure to keep a watch out for it. You can pre-order it from Amazon too.

Highly Recommended.

Great for Book Clubs.

(Thanks to Lisa Wingate for the opportunity to read this book. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

To pre-order The Story Keeper, click on the image below.

Tags: contemporary fiction, Lisa Wingate

When Iola Anne Poole, an old-timer on Hatteras Island, passes away in her bed at ninety-one, the struggling young mother in her rental cottage, Tandi Jo Reese, finds herself charged with the task of cleaning out Iola’s rambling Victorian house.

Running from a messy, dangerous past, Tandi never expects to find more than a temporary hiding place within Iola’s walls, but everything changes with the discovery of eighty-one carefully decorated prayer boxes, one for each year, spanning from Iola’s youth to her last days. Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paper–the hopes and wishes, fears and thoughts of an unassuming but complex woman passing through the seasons of an extraordinary, unsung life filled with journeys of faith, observations on love, and one final lesson that could change everything for Tandi.

Chapter 1

Lisa Wingate is an award-winning journalist, magazine columnist, popular inspirational speaker and a national bestselling author of 16 books.  Her first mainstream novel, Tending Roses, is in its fifteenth printing from Penguin Putnam.  Tending Roses is a staple on the shelves of national bookstore chains as well as in many independent bookstores.

Recently, Lisa’s Blue Sky Hill Series, set in Dallas, received national attention with back-to-back nominations for American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award for A Month of Summer (2009) and The Summer Kitchen(2010). In 2011, Lisa’s Novel, Never Say Never, won the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award.  Pithy, emotional, and inspirational, her stories bring to life characters so real that readers often write to ask what is happening to them after the book ends.

Lisa is one of a select group of authors to find success in both the Christian and mainstream markets, writing for both Bethany House, a Christian publisher, and NAL Penguin Putnam, in mainstream fiction.  Her bestselling books have become a hallmark of inspirational southern fiction. Her works have been featured by the National Reader’s Club of America, AOL Book Picks, Doubleday Book Club, the Literary Guild, American Profiles and have been chosen for numerous awards.

When not busy dreaming up stories, Lisa spends time on the road as a motivational speaker. Via internet, she shares with readers as far away as India, where her book, Tending Roses, has been used to promote women’s literacy, and as close to home as Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the county library system has used Tending Roses to help volunteer mentors teach adults to read.  Recently, the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa along with Bill Ford, Camille Cosby, and six others, as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life.

My Impressions:

I got a sneak peak at The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate, due out in September, through a unique and quite innovative way. I was chosen to be part of Lisa’s Sisterhood of The Traveling Book in which 13 books were sent out to groups of 4 women or sisterhoods to read, comment on and chronicle the book’s travel. I am #2 in my Sisterhood group. The reading experience took on a deeper dimension because of the comments and highlights by big sister Brenda.  And because I did the same, I felt a deeper connection to the characters, the author and the other sisters in my group. Thanks so much Lisa for this great opportunity.

The Prayer Box is written from the first person perspective of Tandi Jo Reece, a young mother on the run with her two children. She ends up in the Outer Banks where she spent happy days while visiting her grandparents. Those memories have helped her to withstand an unstable childhood, foster homes, two unplanned pregnancies, a prescription drug dependency and now her flight from an abusive husband. Tandi is a mess. But her desperate wish to change her life and the future for her children intersects with the prayer letters of her reclusive and now deceased landlady. Through Iola’s letters, Tandi learns about a loving and faithful Father who listens and responds in ways more wonderful than she could imagine.

I loved the characters in The Prayer Box. Tandi undergoes a transformation that is miraculous. Iola’s real life, thoughts and character are revealed through her prayer letters giving the reader and Tandi a sense of really knowing her. And Paul, with his crazy Hawaiian shirts, is the best friend and love interest perfect for Tandi. The ending of the book will have you crying — the promise of James 5:16 illustrated in a wonderful way.

I very highly recommend The Prayer Box. This is a must read that will will stay with you for a long time.

Very Highly Recommended.

Great For Book Clubs.

(Thanks to Lisa Wingate for the chance to read this book. The opinions expressed are mine alone.)

A Taste of — The Prayer Box

Iola makes banana beignets for the UPS driver. Tandi in turn continues this tradition. Enjoy the recipe for Banana Beignets courtesy of Food.com.

To pre-order your copy of The Prayer Box, click the image below.

Tags: contemporary fiction, Lisa Wingate