It’s Here! :  “Mine to Share”

In the first book of this series (Mine to Love), James Hawthorne located and befriended the daughter he had given up for adoption many years ago.  This second book is a continuation of that relationship, expanding to include the biological mother.

James’ daughter Marta struggles financially following the suicide death of her husband.  She finally lists her home with a realtor, understanding that moving would uproot her and her daughter, Jannah, from their new friendship with James.

Tucker, the beloved family dog, is involved in a near fatal accident.  The veterinarian who steps into the story to help Tucker becomes involved in Marta and Jannah’s lives.  When Jannah discovers that her mother and the veterinarian are becoming emotionally involved, she fears that another tragedy will happen to take another loved one away from her.

Following her spiritual encounter with Christ at the end of the first book, Donna, Marta’s biological mother, turns her life around and finds purpose for living again.  Donna suffers a stroke, but her faith in God gives her strength to fight her way back to health.  As a step in confronting her past, she shares her secret of the birth of her first child with her other daughter, Elizabeth.

Marta makes the decision to meet her biological mother.  Soon after Marta and Donna meet, another stroke sends Donna to the hospital.  Relationships are both questioned and healed at the bedside of the one person who is common to Marta, Elizabeth and Jannah.

As in the first book, the theme of God’s goodness and love for His children is highlighted throughout the book but most prominently at the end.

“Mine to Love”

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  Romans 8:28 (NIV)

James Hawthorne, a widowed and recently retired minister, has searched for and found his only child, given up for adoption at birth.  Leaving behind his congregation, he purchases a house next to his daughter, Marta, now an adult with a family of her own.

James longs to reconnect with Marta, but secrets and tragedy force him to question everything.  Tracking down the biological mother, he finds a broken woman who is weary of living.  Of all the souls he has ministered to, the mother of his child is the last person he ever expected to help.  In his quest for answers, she reveals information that both devastates James and sets him free.

Beset by uncertainty and doubt, James must rely on faith, love, and his belief in family.  Already very attached to Marta and her child, he knows they need him more than ever.  But will he ever have the family he has secretly wept for all of his adult life?

Get your copy of “Mine to Love” at the following places:

       

“To Comfort a King”

“They searched throughout Israel for a beautiful girl and found Abishag, a Shunamite, and brought her to the king.  The girl was very beautiful; she took care of the king and waited on him.”  I Kings 1:3-4 (NIV)

When Abishag leaves her home to fulfill the commission to comfort King David during his final months of life, she leaves behind a deaf sister, a small brother, and a father who is still grieving the death of his wife.  Also left behind is Abishag’s betrothed, Joseph, who has already waited many months to claim his bride.  Now, he must wait until Israel’s king no longer needs her.

Torn from the comfort of her small village, Abishag is thrust into a world of unfamiliar customs, royal expectations, and palace intrigue.  She is greeted suspiciously by the king’s concubines, warmly by Queen Bathsheba, and reluctantly by King David himself.  Adonijah, the king’s son, is bitter over his father’s choice of Solomon as Israel’s next king.  He determines to ruin Abishag to prevent her from being given as a prize to Solomon at their father’s death.

Suffering personal losses, as well as scorn from much of the royal court, Abishag begins to question God’s goodness in placing her in the king’s service.  Can she find someone there who understands that the one who comforts the king is in great need of comfort herself?  Will Abishag’s time with the king end in despair or joy?

Get your copy of “To Comfort a King” at the following places: