THE THIRD DAWN:

FROM BETHLEHEM TO GOLGOTHA

by

Thomas J. Nichols

Inspirational Religious Fiction / Historical Fiction

Publisher: Nicholson Books

Page Count: 212 pages

Publication Date: September 14, 2023

Updated version with new dialogue and more detailed descriptions

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Nichols turns his award-winning writing career to the greatest mystery of all time in The Third Dawn: From Bethlehem to Golgotha.

Accompanied by His lifelong friend, Nur, the young Jesus ventures throughout the towns and villages of Israel, Palestine, and across the sea to the port city of Ephesus. With Nur always at His side, Jesus experiences the joys and hardships of humanity—Jews and gentiles, rich and poor, believers and nonbelievers, freemen and slaves.

Nichols’s gifted storytelling brings forth this unique perspective on the life of the Messiah, providing a rare insight into His personal joys and suffering. The reader will experience the emotions of His power and authority when, on a mountaintop above Capernaum, He pronounces the future, and a spectacular miracle occurs in the city below.

The Third Dawn was initially published in 2011 but is now updated with new dialogue and more detailed settings.

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Thomas J. (Tom) Nichols’s law enforcement career ranged from patrol, detective, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Deputy Chief, and Chief of Police. spanning the era of the growth of the Mexican drug cartels and war on drugs. He has written seven novels and three short stories with themes of the border wars, espionage, international intrigue, and the supernatural.

Tom’s latest work is The Third Dawn, an inspirational retelling of the early life of Jesus galvanized by his devotion to local and international church affairs. His ideas were brought to life while traveling with Gwen, his wife who also serves as his editor, to experience of the Holy Land—the Church of the Nativity, the Holy Sepulcher, The Annunciation, the Mount of Olives, the River Jordan, Capernaum, Tiberias, the Sea of Galilee, Jericho, and Ephesus.

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Synopsis

Have you ever felt like one of the least of these?

What do you know of the woman at the well? What led her to the well that day – the exact day Jesus would be there? What of the lepers, the blind man, the woman who dried Jesus’ feet with her hair? What of the Centurion who said at the cross, “Surely this was the Son of God”?

Stories of Jesus. You have heard them since you were young. But what about the parts that you’ve never heard?

The stories that need to be told? The stories you need to hear?

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Review

Have you ever read the stories in the bible and wondered about the backstory of the different men and women that are portrayed? How did they get to where they were? What drove them to seek out Jesus for healing or forgiveness? What was their life like before meeting the Messiah?

While we will never really know the stories of these people, this author has created a potential life for them. I really enjoyed the tales, and it makes each story become alive and have more meaning than the little that we read in the bible. And let’s be honest, the language is what always throws me off, and I don’t understand some of it anyway! But each story makes me feel a part of those times, and my understanding and compassion is increased. These are relatable stories no matter the times we live in today.

You don’t have to be religious or have read the bible to enjoy these short stories. I think they will inspire almost anyone. The stories are short and can be read quickly, but you might want to take your time to savor the words.

We give this book 5 paws up.

About the Author

Kathryn is a lover of words and a bearer of mood swings. When she feels the need to inspire, she writes a Christian fiction book. If a mystery is waiting to be uncovered, she finds it. If something otherworldly is finding its way through her fingertips, she travels to it.

Kathryn has been a reader since she was a young child. Although she took classes in writing as a teen, it wasn’t something she really thought would become her career until she was married. And even then, it took a few more years for something worthy enough to publish to manifest itself.

Kathryn’s first book was published in 2002. Since then, many other books have found their way out of her head, depending on the sort of day she is having. Kathryn is a journalist, a teacher, a mentor, an editor, a publisher, and a marketer.

Her greatest joy, other than writing her next book, is meeting with readers and authors who enjoy the craft of writing as much as she does.

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SANDS OF TIME TRILOGY

by

C.J. PETERSON

Young Adult / Christian Fiction / Science Fiction

Publisher: Texas Sisters Press

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Appointed Time

All we have in this life is the time we are granted. Like sands of the seashore, our lives depend on where we land. Some grains of sand land in an oyster and are turned into beautiful pearls. Some land in the bottom of the sea floor and become beds for bottom feeders.

Blake and Holly Hunt and Adam and Deanna Roth all were created for a purpose by Professor Noah Roth. There were many years the genetic manipulation did not allow the babies to be viable…until the four. He had big plans for the children. Two nurses, Ben and Grace, had a different idea.

This is a tale of two sets of gifted children. One pair raised in a caring environment and taught to strengthen their gift with love and respect. Meanwhile, the others were raised under the strict and abusive conditions set by Professor Roth. When Deanna and Blake, raised by Professor Roth, are set free to retrieve the other two by whatever means necessary, chaos ensues. The first explosion will take place in a quiet little East Texas town called Willow Bend.

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Race Against Time

Professor Noah Roth is possessive of his children – the children he created by genetic manipulation. When Ben and Hope took Holly and Blake to give them a better life, they knew their days were numbered. Continuously looking over their shoulders, they still missed it when the Clinic made their move by sending a group, along with two gifted, after them.

Adam and Deanna Roth thought they were on the right side of things until they ran into the other two gifted – Holly and Blake. Presented with another perspective, Deanna and Adam agree to help Holly, Blake, and Sheriff Wyatt rescue Hope and Ben — if they help Deanna and Adam rescue the other siblings still under the control of Professor Roth.

As the five head toward Maine, the youth group kids who become close to Blake and Holly decide to help by doing research. Unbeknownst to the kids, they stumble onto information the Clinic did not want out. After their homes are invaded, each of the kids must make a choice – join the others in the rescue attempt or stay home, putting their families in danger. Will they make it in time to help the others or will they be too late? It’s a race against time!

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Out of Time

With the Maine Facility teens released and the Willow Bend teens safely tucked away, the next phase is to rescue the kids from the Wyoming and Oregon Facilities.

Colby is driving Holly, Blake, and Adam to the Wyoming Facility. Meanwhile, Wyatt is driving Deanna, Eddie, and Freya to the Oregon facility. Both teams are unaware The Professor is waiting for them with plans in place. With both facilities in lockdown, will the teens be able to rescue their siblings? Will Hope pull through from the damage inflicted by Professor Roth? Are the Willow Bend teens, Gemma, Bells, and Hope, safe all the way over in Philadelphia, or are they still a target? Everyone must be ready for this mental chess game. Moves and countermoves are being made. Calculations are continuously changing. Who will come out the victor? Will it be The Professor or the teens? Can the teens succeed, or are they out of time?

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I am reviewing the first book in this trilogy, Appointed Time. This YA novel has a lot happening within the pages, centering around Holly and Blake, two infants that were taken from a facility with a maniacal professor that has taken great strides to manipulate the genetic code.

While the book spans 16 years, most of the story occurs when Holly and Blake are 16 years old. They have been homeschooled all of their life and are just now truly meeting other teens. This is also when the action picks up, as the two are targeted by two other teens, Deanna and Adam, left behind when Ben and Grace leave the compound in Maine with them to save them from what they knew would be a traumatic childhood.

I found this book to be fast-paced, especially near the end. I was intrigued by the plot and wondered how I would adapt if someone had changed my genetic code before I was born and I had remarkable skills. Holly and Blake are also learning more that will impact their lives. Holly is a sensitive soul, and her first foray into church with her mother brings about a very emotional response when she learns about the death of Jesus and the events surrounding it. While most of us take these stories for granted, imagine what it is like to hear them for the first time and how they might impact your way of thinking. The two also meet members of the opposite sex that interest them. That is a new set of issues because they have never dated before, and considering the threat their life is under, it isn’t a typical dating situation.

I appreciated the clean storyline, even with the relationship between Grace and Wyatt. Wyatt came into their lives when the kids were 1, and he couldn’t find any information on Ben. He had to be told the whole story to keep things under wraps and not be discovered by the professor or anyone he hired to find them. This starts a 15-year romance between the two.

The book leaves you hanging, which is to be expected since it is a trilogy. I don’t want to spoil too much since the best part of the book is the last third, when the action picks up, but I am curious about what will happen if they find the professor and the other children that were genetically manipulated.

While I enjoyed the book, I do wish that we had more of a backstory on Ben and Grace. All we know is that they are nurses in the clinic but nothing about their past or families. Plus, an old boyfriend of Grace’s shows up in Willow Bend, and he lives in Dallas. Where were they living when they dated? Grace was in Maine before coming to Texas, and there is a mention of an uncle in Louisiana. Also, what happened to Helena, Hope’s sister? Hope dies giving birth to Holly, and Helena just seems to fade away after the first few chapters. Also, how did Holly get her name? Hope told Helena to name her Holly but died before the child was born, and there is no mention of Helena telling anyone to name her Holly, yet that is the name on her birth certificate.

We give this book 3 1/2 paws up.

C.J. Peterson is a ten-time award-winning, multi-genre published author since 2012. She is also a podcaster, blogger, and publisher who knows how to relate well to folks of all ages. C.J. and her husband currently run a hybrid publishing company, Texas Sisters Press, LLC, which CJ and her sisters founded in 2019.

She has authored multiple series including the Grace Restored Series, the Holy Flame Trilogy, the Divine Legacy Series, the Sands of Time Trilogy, the Adventures of Chief and Sarge, plus her recently released time travel book with a twist, Chain Reaction!

“While the stories are fiction, the journey is real.”

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The Secret Diaries of Juan Luis Vives by Tim Darcy Ellis

Adult Fiction (18 yrs +), 246 pages

Literary fiction, historical fiction, religious historical fiction

Publisher: Tellwell

Release date: 2020

Synopsis

The Secret Diaries Of Juan Luis Vives chronicles the epoch-making adventures of Spanish humanist Juan Luis Vives. The novel begins as Vives writes in self-imposed exile in Bruges, Spanish Netherlands in 1522. He is on the run from the Spanish Inquisition which has devastated his Jewish family in Valencia. Later, Thomas More invites Vives to the English court to tutor princess Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. The plot reaches its climax as Vives navigates the murky world of English politics during the reign of King Henry VIII, ever trying to negotiate an escape from Spain for his family, and for the Jewish people. The early modern period in Europe was a time of incredible instability. Economic depressions were the norm in Northern Italy, the Holy Roman Empire, and large swaths of England and France. Wars were endemic, with power politics and religion playing leading roles in massive bloodletting. Despite the darkness, great men and women of courage and intellectual curiosity also defined the age as one of scientific discovery, humanism, and scholarship. One of the great titans of the early modern period was Spanish scholar Juan Luis Vives. In the novel, Vives is the embodiment of the cosmopolitanism of the intellectual elite during the Renaissance. As a secret follower of Judaism, and thus a major outlaw according to the thinking of his own Catholic monarch, Vives walks a swaying tightrope. He was a genius and a philosopher who had a lot to say (he has since been dubbed ‘The Godfather of Psychoanalysis,’ Zilboorg 1941, and the ‘Father of Psychology,’ Watson, 1915), however, if he speaks too loudly not only his survival but that of his entire people hangs in the balance. Along the way, the reader is given close up and intimate and unique views of well-known figures such as Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Sir Thomas More and his devoted daughter, Margaret Roper.

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Praise

“A fast-paced and richly engaging story about an intriguing historical figure… Ellis writes all of this with marvellous gusto that’s more reminiscent of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall (2009) than of a more traditional Tudor novel.” – Kirkus (starred review)

“In this beautifully detailed, thrilling historical novel, author Tim Ellis brings back to life the largely forgotten Juan Luis Lives, a Spanish Jew and leading Renaissance humanist…This enthralling story is sure to please lovers of high drama, international intrigue, momentous history and psychological thrillers.” – Blueink (starred review)

“With its clear portrayal of inner conflict, The Secret Diaries of Juan Luis Vives is a provocative, multicolored historical novel that examines hidden faith… Ellis’s intricate biographical novel approaches the Spanish scholar and Renaissance humanist through absorbing journal entries.” – Foreword Clarion

“A fast-moving, highly enjoyable historical drama, which features one of Western civilization’s most interesting men during the dazzling age of the Renaissance. Ellis draws his characters so wonderfully, and none is better than the lead. The smart, charming, and earnest humanist is depicted as the embodiment of a better world to come.” – Indiereader Review

Guest Post

How did your personal experiences shape your life as a writer?

It is a fascinating question; thank you. The question affords me the luxury of looking back over my reading life and tying it into the periods of my life that have shaped me into the writer that I am today.

At the age of five, I inherited the four weighty, leather-backed volumes of ‘Hutchinson’s Illustrated Story of the British Nations.’  It was England in the early seventies, winters were cold and dark, and apart from festivities and family functions, there wasn’t always a lot else to do but to read. The original volumes were written between the two world wars, and the images, from the stone age through to the end of the First World War, were so vivid that they gave me an indelible blueprint of British and world history. I lingered over the Tudors and Stuarts, so full of passion, plot and treachery.

I lost myself in the wandering of what life was like for the ordinary people during that period. I wondered what life had been like for immigrant and minority communities. Watching Alex Hailey’s Roots (1976) made me question how assimilation happened and what part of folk and family memory could be passed down to succeeding generations? That questioning has played out in The Secret Diaries of Juan Luis Vives, set in London and Flanders’ secretive Spanish and Portuguese communities in the 1520s.

After standard English children’s fiction such as Enid Blyton (much criticised but much loved), I read classics such as The Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkein, 1955) and the War of the Worlds (HG Wells, 1898). I studied the Greek classics at school. I swore that EV Rieu’s 1950 translation of Homer’s The Iliad would be my desert island book. At the time, south-east England seemed so safe and boring, although I can see that that sense of safety was, in retrospect very hard-won. It was indeed a precious time and place to be brought up.

I studied Medieval archaeology at University in York (1985- 1988), which was a great adventure, travelling on digs throughout England and northern France. Archaeology, being more scientific than I had imagined, took me away from literature, somewhat, but furthered my connection to material culture. If I am writing about sixteenth-century England, I know what the houses of the poor looked like what those houses were made from. I know what working Londoners ate and how they scraped a living. I have seen and felt the ceramic ware they had at their dinner tables, the rubbish they discarded, and I can understand the consequences of the population shift to London, and other cities, from the country. This inside awareness of day-to-day life has given me an ability to write historical fiction with confidence and authenticity.

While working for the Museum of London in the late eighties and nineties, I read the great European writers such as Dickens, Hardy, Chekhov and Zola, who still influence me. It was a time when to read the classics, was essential to your social standing, and I was playing catch-up. Later I found relief in American Literature such as Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (1961) and JD Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye (1949). There was a clarity and a crispness about those books that felt new to me. With my newfound interest in twentieth-century American fiction, I then read and studied Maya Angelou, Alice Walker and Toni Morrison. Poetry was always at the forefront of my reading, and writing and I was a longterm subscriber to Stand Magazine and Poetry Review.

I have been fortunate to have lived in different countries. Through my work in health (having changed careers on moving to Australia in 2000), I have met many interesting people, many of whom are also great readers. These relationships have inspired me. The internet allows me to connect with peers who are fascinated in niche history, culture, and philosophy. For example, a patient of mine recently inspired me to listen to an interview with the 92-year-old linguist, Noam Chomsky, still sharp as a knife. I am interested in the process of ageing; what keeps some engaged and vital right up until the very end, and how others fade away so soon. I have written this into my novel, with a touching relationship between Vives and the ageing physician to King Henry VII, Thomas Linacre.

My healthcare work has also helped me understand the kinds of diseases and injuries that plagued sixteenth-century Europe populations. Men like Vives came from the Spanish Jewish tradition, where understanding health and medicine was considered essential. He used that knowledge in his quest to build sanitary hospitals and care facilities for the poor and disabled, both mentally and physically. Although there is room for improvement, I certainly don’t take the healthcare systems we have today for granted. Yes, I can undoubtedly say that my life events have presented me with a rich playing field of ideas and plenty of material to continue writing historical fiction.

About the Author

Tim Darcy Ellis (BA BSc, MHSc) is a writer, physiotherapy business owner and formerly a professional archaeologist. Tim studied Archaeology at the University of York (BA Hons 1988) and as a professional archaeologist, worked on sites throughout England and Wales. He held posts at the Museum of London and the British Museum’s medieval galleries. Tim is currently Managing Director and Principal Physiotherapist of Excel Physiotherapy and Wellness. He qualified as a physiotherapist at the University of East London in 1998. He moved to Sydney in 2000 where he completed his master’s degree in 2002. Tim is chief writer of Excel Life magazine: writing and teaching extensively on health and wellness and specializing in the treatment of complex hip and pelvic pain.

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Synopsis

As he did with Creator and Satan’s Psychotherapy and Cure, Jeremy Leven has once again created pure magic with this hilarious, moving, and thought-provoking tale of a man who abandons all to search for Perfect Love. And what could be more perfect to love than the Messiah, who now reappears in the prophesied Second Coming as a knockout young female. Declared to be the God of All Gods, She (her name is, in fact, She) beckons our protagonist, the somewhat bewildered Max Pincus, on a journey which is part Canterbury Tales and part, it becomes increasingly evident, a tongue-in-cheek reworking of the New Testament, from virgin birth to Sermon on the Mount, to… well that would give away what Leven has carefully crafted in this extraordinary tale.

Ultimately a love-story, along Pincus’s journey to find the new young female Savior, he finds himself attracting a growing cast of self-proclaimed apostles (who, it appears, are neither called nor chosen, but don’t especially care), including Rosalie (questionably a – not the – Virgin Mother), Theo Wainwright (an antique dealer who is seeking a satisfactory explanation for the recent passing of his wife of many decades), Sister Gloria Gloria (who keeps the assembly on the most devout spiritual path), Florence (the owner of a New England Bed and breakfast who longs for a life that can be called special), her husband, Sparky (a romantic without the normal bounds one might expect with this designation), his brother, Elliott (along with Sparky, the inventor of the gigantic – and perhaps lethal – Singing Machine, a device with a will of its own and a continually morphing and haunting song which leads all who join Pincus to seek out the new Savior to explain the song’s true meaning, dragging the Singing Machine along with them as they go), Meyer Steinmeyer (a philosopher seeking to define with great precision the exact moment a girl becomes a woman and whose nationality and accent seems to change depending on his mood and the weather), and The Thaumaturge (the father of the present Virgin Mother, who may or may not have been responsible for the possibly immaculate conception and who is a fervent anti-synoptic, having an extensive list of reasons why the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are not to be taken seriously).

But it is the budding romance between the Savior and Max Pincus which drives the story, as the so-called apostles attempt to determine whether She is, in fact, the Savior, in which case they have strong reservations about Pincus dating her.

At the end, Leven ingeniously leaves us with a tale which puts us in the midst of what might have been occurring had we been among the original apostles as they encountered the Messiah, and he suggests a world which might have been had the true intentions of the Messiah been realized. It is a comedy of the highest order.

Review

This was an interesting take on what might happen if there was a second coming.  However, this second coming isn’t like anything you could imagine.  The book follows a band of characters that in a way could be like the apostles to Jesus.  There is even a virgin mother in the merry group.

This book is billed as a comedy and while there are funny parts in it, I didn’t think the book was hilarious unless you take it as tongue-in-cheek.  When I first started reading the book I didn’t think I was going to be able to finish the book because the first 10% of the book felt very abstract and I wasn’t sure what direction the book would take.  I’m glad I stuck with the book because the story really picked up for me and I was curious to see how the story was going to end.

I think you have to look at this book as a journey and it is challenging our beliefs in God, religion, and humanity.  Do we take everything at face value or should we dig a little deeper into life and its meaning?  I enjoyed the interchange between She and the rest of the group because she did challenge their thoughts and beliefs and perhaps made them consider other possibilities other that what had been fed to them all their life.

I wondered about Max Pincus and his feeling that he was meant to be in a relationship with She.  I think it was more than we ever experience as humans and transcended everything.  The ending confirms that thought and I liked how the author wound everything up for the reader.

Overall we give this 3 1/2 paws.  The path was long but gives us much food for thought.

About the Author

Jeremy Leven, author of THE SAVIOR AND THE SINGING MACHINE, is an acclaimed screenwriter, novelist, and Hollywood director.  His novels, published in 17 languages, include Creator and Satan: His Psychotherapy and Cure by the Unfortunate Dr. Kassler, J.S.P.S.  He wrote and directed the films Don Juan DeMarco (with Marlon Brando, Johnny Depp and Faye Dunaway) and Girl on a Bicycle and has written the screenplays for The Notebook, Creator, The Legend of Bagger Vance, My Sister’s Keeper, and Real Steel, among others.  Leven was educated at St. John’s College, Harvard University, University of Connecticut, and Yale Medical School where he was a fellow in the Department of Psychiatry’s Child Study Center. Prior to film and fiction, he has been a Harvard faculty member, a Professor of Psychopharmacology, and Director of a Mental Health Center. Leven divides his time between homes in Connecticut and Manhattan. He is currently working on a non-fiction book, a play for Paris on François Premier, as well as a screenplay for Tom Hanks.

Synopsis

This is the most important book in the history of literature.

What if your afterlife was a dud? Would you want to spend your whole life following a religion if it led you to a terrible eternity? In this fun-filled guide I visit Heaven, Hell, Hades, and the afterlives of the Buddhists, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Australian Aborigines.

The definitive book to change your (eternal) life!

“The Travellers’ Guide To The Afterlives” truly is the most important book in the history of literature.

Whether you’re deeply pious or a hardcore atheist, just imagine this: what if the afterlife really does exist? And what if the afterlife you end up in depends on which religion you follow?

What if some of the afterlives are great and some are awful?

Wouldn’t you want to know? Wouldn’t you want to spend your life following the religion with the best eternity? Because life is short and eternity is really, really long.

Despite being a lifelong atheist, I didn’t want to take the chance of being wrong and ending up floating in an infinite pool of embryonic fluid forever after. So I devised a way of travelling to the afterlife and returning to my body back on Earth. In “The Travellers’ Guide To The Afterlives”, I visit Heaven, Hell and Hades, as well as the afterlives of the Buddhists, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Australian Aborigines. Join me as I recount my adventures and enjoy the tales of life, death, life again, more death, more life, a bit of sex, and an adorable couple of koalas.

Find out which religion will take you to the best afterlife so you can make an informed decision about your hereafter.

Excerpt

About the Author

Pete Malicki is a versatile writer and a maverick of the arts and entertainment industries. He’s won writing awards all around the globe and holds a world record for running the longest short play festival in history.

As a writer, Pete began by writing five novels before broadening his horizons and diving into the theatre world. His first published novel, “Eyes And Knives”, was named book chain Berkelouw’s “Book Of The Week” upon its release. His fifth novel, “The Travellers’ Guide to the Afterlives”, is an endearing mock-autobiography affectionately thought of as The Most Important Book In The History Of Literature, because no other book tells you how to secure the best eternal life!

In theatre, Pete has had over 750 productions of 70 different plays in 20 countries. His plays have won 21 awards between them at nationwide/international events. “V.D.”, his full-length one-woman show, has toured Australia, England and New Zealand to great critical acclaim.

His speciality is writing theatrical monologues which actors love to perform. These have rich, textured characters and engaging stories, and with 200+ performances of them each year they are among the most popular and successful monologues in the world. Six volumes of these monologues have been published and a Complete Works anthology is coming soon to SmashWords.

Outside of writing, Pete is a heavyweight producer in his hometown of Sydney Australia. He’s run the world’s largest short play festival – Short+Sweet Sydney – four times and been the coordinator of artist development program Crash Test Drama for close to a decade. He founded The Monologue project in 2013, which offers live shows, a script resource and workshops for drama students. He’s directed dozens of award-winning actors and stood at the helm of major Sydney productions. On top of that, he runs workshops on business skills and monologue performance, works as an editor for New Holland Publishers and his own company Editors Australia, and holds regular writing courses.

He is also developing Monologue Master, an online educational resource for actors wanting to get better at performing monologues, and co-founded Horizon VR, a virtual reality production company.

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ANGELS AT THE GATE
By T. K. Thorne
Publisher: Cappuccino Books
Publication Date: March 5, 2015
Price: $22.50/hardcover

Synopsis

Angels At The Gate Brings The Ancient World To Life Through The Eyes of An Extraordinary Woman

Little is known about Lot’s wife, the unnamed biblical figure who was turned into a pillar of salt as she fled the destruction of Sodom. But for writer T.K. Thorne, just one reference was enough to ignite her imagination and form the basis for her dazzling new novel, Angels At The Gate (Cappuccino Books, March 2015). Like Noah’s Wife, Thorne’s highly praised debut, this book brings the ancient world to life through the eyes of an extraordinary woman.

Based on historical, biblical, and archaeological research, visits to the Middle East, and a large measure of creativity, Angels At The Gate is the story of Adira, destined to become Lot’s wife. A daughter of Abram’s tribe, Adira is an impetuous young girl whose mother died in childbirth. Secretly raised as a boy in her father’s caravan and schooled in languages and the art of negotiation, Adira rejects the looming changes of womanhood that threaten her nomadic life and independence.

But with the arrival of two mysterious strangers – Northmen rumored to be holy or possibly even “Angels” – Adira’s world unravels. Raiders invade the caravan, and she loses everything she values most – her father, her freedom, and even the “Angels.”

Caught between her oath to her father to return to her tribe and the “proper life for a woman” and tormented by an impossible love, she abandons all she has known in a dangerous quest to seek revenge and find her kidnapped “Angel.” Now, Adira must use the skills she learned in the caravan to survive the perils of the desert, Sodom, and her own heart.

Angels At The Gate is a story of adventure and the power of love, exploring themes about choice – the importance of asking the right questions and walking the fine edge between duty and personal freedom.

Based on a simple mention in the Bible, T.K. Thorne has developed a complex and full-bodied character in the wife of Lot, a woman both ancient and modern, who will touch readers’ hearts, and live in their memories for years to come. As Dianne Mooney, founder of Southern Living At Home says, “For all those whose curiosity is piqued by how it might have been in the time of Sodom and Gomorrah, this is a must read!”

Review

If you liked The Red Tent then you will probably like this book. It is not a fast read because it is very complex, but it tells a tale of a woman who becomes Lot’s wife and what her life was like, well at least according to the author’s imagination. Adira is young, late teens, but leads an interesting life. She is portrayed as her father’s son for most of her life (at her mother’s wish before dying) and possibly to protect her and allow her the opportunity to learn more than she would as a woman. Women were not thought of very highly during this time and had she lived as a woman she may not have learned how to defend herself, how to speak many languages or earn the respect of those in her caravan.

The author weaves a tale that kept me interested from start to finish. I am not one that reads the bible on a regular basis or really knows the stories so I am always fascinated to see what someone else thinks about the lesser known individuals and how their life might have been lived and what they might have experienced. The author does a good job of combining stories from the bible in with this novel to make it feel more realistic to the reader.

We give this book 4 paws up!

Praise for the book

“A masterpiece of historical research, interweaving history and theology in a re-visioning of an ancient story from a woman’s perspective. Thorne is a dazzlingly gifted writer.”
–Sue Walker, Poet Laureate of Alabama, 2003-2012

“Thorne unspools an ancient adventure with crackling undertones of our contemporary lives. Lean, polished action sequences render a young woman’s life with both intensity and nuanced truth.” –Dale Short, public radio commentator and author of A Shinning, Shinning Path

About the Author

T.K. Thorne’s childhood passion for storytelling deepened when she became a police officer in Birmingham, Alabama. “It was a crash course in life and what motivated and mattered to people.” When she retired as a captain, she took on Birmingham’s business improvement district as the executive director. Both careers provide fodder for her writing, which has garnered several awards, including “Book of the Year for Historical Fiction” (ForeWord Reviews) for her debut novel Noah’s Wife. Her first non-fiction book, Last Chance for Justice, was featured on the New York Post’s “Books You Should Be Reading” list. She loves traveling, especially to research her novels, and speaking about her books and life lessons. She writes at her mountaintop home, often with two dogs by her side and a cat on her lap.

Website * Twitter * Goodreads

Giveaway

I am giving away the ARC that the was sent to me for this review.  Open to US residents only since I have to mail it!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

ANGELS AT THE GATE
By T. K. Thorne
Publisher:  Cappuccino Books
Publication Date:  March 5, 2015
Price:  $22.50/hardcover

Synopsis

Angels At The Gate Brings The Ancient World To Life Through The Eyes of An Extraordinary Woman

Little is known about Lot’s wife, the unnamed biblical figure who was turned into a pillar of salt as she fled the destruction of Sodom.  But for writer T.K. Thorne, just one reference was enough to ignite her imagination and form the basis for her dazzling new novel, Angels At The Gate (Cappuccino Books, March 2015). Like Noah’s Wife, Thorne’s highly praised debut, this book brings the ancient world to life through the eyes of an extraordinary woman.

Based on historical, biblical, and archaeological research, visits to the Middle East, and a large measure of creativity, Angels At The Gate is the story of Adira, destined to become Lot’s wife.  A daughter of Abram’s tribe, Adira is an impetuous young girl whose mother died in childbirth.  Secretly raised as a boy in her father’s caravan and schooled in languages and the art of negotiation, Adira rejects the looming changes of womanhood that threaten her nomadic life and independence.

But with the arrival of two mysterious strangers – Northmen rumored to be holy or possibly even “Angels” – Adira’s world unravels.  Raiders invade the caravan, and she loses everything she values most – her father, her freedom, and even the “Angels.”

Caught between her oath to her father to return to her tribe and the “proper life for a woman” and tormented by an impossible love, she abandons all she has known in a dangerous quest to seek revenge and find her kidnapped “Angel.”  Now, Adira must use the skills she learned in the caravan to survive the perils of the desert, Sodom, and her own heart.

Angels At The Gate is a story of adventure and the power of love, exploring themes about choice – the importance of asking the right questions and walking the fine edge between duty and personal freedom.

Based on a simple mention in the Bible, T.K. Thorne has developed a complex and full-bodied character in the wife of Lot, a woman both ancient and modern, who will touch readers’ hearts, and live in their memories for years to come.  As Dianne Mooney, founder of Southern Living At Home says, “For all those whose curiosity is piqued by how it might have been in the time of Sodom and Gomorrah, this is a must read!”

Praise for the book

“A masterpiece of historical research, interweaving history and theology in a re-visioning of an ancient story from a woman’s perspective. Thorne is a dazzlingly gifted writer.”
–Sue Walker, Poet Laureate of Alabama, 2003-2012

“Thorne unspools an ancient adventure with crackling undertones of our contemporary lives.  Lean, polished action sequences render a young woman’s life with both intensity and nuanced truth.”  –Dale Short, public radio commentator and author of A Shinning, Shinning Path

About the Author

T.K. Thorne’s childhood passion for storytelling deepened when she became a police officer in Birmingham, Alabama.  “It was a crash course in life and what motivated and mattered to people.” When she retired as a captain, she took on Birmingham’s business improvement district as the executive director. Both careers provide fodder for her writing, which has garnered several awards, including “Book of the Year for Historical Fiction” (ForeWord Reviews) for her debut novel Noah’s Wife. Her first non-fiction book, Last Chance for Justice, was featured on the New York Post’s “Books You Should Be Reading” list. She loves traveling, especially to research her novels, and speaking about her books and life lessons.  She writes at her mountaintop home, often with two dogs by her side and a cat on her lap.

Website * Twitter * Goodreads

Aaron L might be a newcomer to the creation of Christian fiction but is not one when it comes to the arts and all things creative. Growing up spending a lot of his time drawing, Aaron always knew that his future lay in this field. With his first novel, Light Under the House, Aaron has chosen to focus his creative skills on the task of storytelling.

Donna Fawcett Dawsonis a multifaceted author.  She writes suspense novels, Christian fiction and has been singing since age 4.  She was brave enough to homeschool her kids (that is an admirable task by any parent!).  She has received several awards for her books.  Donna’s call to writing is centered around her purpose statement: To make a difference in the lives of many who would not see Christ but for words I write; to show his love and sacrifice in the pages of each book.

Synopsis from Smashwords:

Light Under the House is the saga of an American family—the Levis, a family of secrets. None greater than the secret of what lies under their house, a secret that could destroy them. A secret that an ancient evil will stop at nothing to uncover. The novel follows the Levi family line for a generation, exploring lives lived in the aftermath of the cultural rebellion of the late 1960’s.

Aaron was kind enough to answer a few questions for me despite his busy schedule!

SBR: What inspired you to write this story?
I feel very stongly about the breakdown of the family and fatherlessness and how there is much dysfunction and despair because of it. I wanted to tell a story to shed some light on the situations that many face and hopefully bring some type of reversal to the current dynamic in whatever small way I could. I wanted to challenge men, fathers especially, to be who they were created to be….its certainly a challenge I face myself daily. A challenge that I often fail at but keeping picking myself up to start again.

SBR: Did you model any of the characters after people you know?
I used many things to model the characters…people I know, other literary figures, actors, biblical characters, celebrities….the characters are a combination of all of these. I wanted them to be new and familiar at the same time, universal.

SBR: Why did you choose the Dallas/Ft Worth area as your primary setting?
First of all, the south has a certain reputation for is deep spiritual roots (bible belt and all). I patterned the book in part after Gone with the Wind (another book set in the south)…not in the sense of a love story but in the sense of “here is civilization that is about to cease to exist, come see it before its gone”. Dallas just seemed to have everything I needed to make the story work from both a symbolic and technical standpoint.

SBR: Do you have plans to write more books? 
I have an idea or two floating around…nothing concrete yet.

SBR: What sort of research did you do for the historical portions of your book? What did you like best about the research? The least?
My co-author and I researched deeply in ancient history for some aspects of the book….I learned alot of things….some things I’d rather forget but most of it was enlightening. What I liked best was that it comfirmed for me mostly what I already knew, there really is nothing new under the sun.

My thoughts:

 Any time a book is set in Texas I am intrigued to see how it compares to the actual setting.  Granted I didn’t realize it was set in Texas until I read the book so that was a bonus!  The novel starts off during biblical times and then moves forward in time to the 60’s to the present.  The storyline kept me riveted because I liked seeing good win over evil and there were even loose ties to other biblical stories that most everyone has heard.  Sometimes the storyline doesn’t seem possible, but it is a fiction and if we can’t suspend reality then what is the point of reading a novel?  Sometimes it was hard to keep track of the characters especially if they weren’t a prominent character in the storyline, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the book.  Overall I would give this book 3 1/2 stars.

All in all I really enjoyed this book and am happy to share it with all the readers of my blog.  Aaron has kindly sent me a copy of the book to giveaway to a lucky reader.  All you have to do is fill out the form below and one lucky winner will be chosen.

The contest will run until Sunday, February 5th.  One entry per person (duplicates will be deleted).

 Good Luck!