Inspirational Fiction

In David Joseph’s third collection of fiction, I Never Knew How Old I Was, the stories explore the complexity of relationships across age - physical, emotional, spiritual, and experiential. Young and Old. Age that can be life affirming or world-weary. Foolish or wise. Confident or insecure. All written from the first-person perspective, the stories here are deeply personal and revealing. Through the emotional and physical intimacy of the characters’ interactions, his writing unearths the invisible wounds we cannot see. Consistent with his first two collections of fiction, The Old Men ...

A marriage built on secrets cannot stand. The Porter family is about to lose their house. Belle Porter’s father knows he will not have enough money to care for both his daughters. When Belle discovers that her father has made plans to send his youngest daughter out west to become a mail order bride in the name of saving their family, Belle makes a life-changing decision to take her sister’s place. Belle, masquerading as her sister Susie, arrives in Wyoming to meet Daniel Wright, and his eight-year-old son Will. But Will is not ready to share his father with Belle. Neither is Belle ...

Do you brace for Christmas and the energy it requires to meet the social demands? At the same time do you long for that elusive Christmas spirit that brings refreshment and satisfaction? You will find amusement and nostalgia in your favorite Christmas movies. You will enjoy singing along with your favorite characters about a white Christmas and love. But the Christmas spirit your soul craves is found in the story of a babe born in a stable. The story of the Christ child being born in squalor and what his life means for people everywhere is the story that will bring you the Christmas spirit ...

Adelaide Fountaine, general manager of the Darkwater Inn, has just returned to New Orleans from a six-month sabbatical in Europe. She's rested and ready to take on the inn's busiest season: Mardi Gras. But Adelaide hardly has time to unpack before a jewel heist interrupts a visit from foreign royalty. A priceless tiara goes missing from the hotel's safe, and three people are left dead. Detective Beau Savoie discovers the robbery was an inside job, making everybody at the Darkwater Inn a suspect--including Dimitri, the son of the inn's owner and Beau's competition for Adelaide's heart. ...

Mail order brides don’t expect to find love… but sometimes they get lucky. Mary Jean has a secret. She’s been in love with Jasper since she was thirteen. Too bad he was twenty-four Too bad he never gave her the time of day. Their age difference never mattered. At least not to her. Especially when she saw him risk his life for their neighbor just to have justice served. But eleven years between them isn’t easy to overcome. Until now. Ten years later, and MJ needs a husband. Desperate to care for her aging grandmother, she needs money and a place to live. Fast. This time, Jasper ...

The nuns need income… The guests need hope… Victoria encounters a unique experience when she books a rustic cabin—a poustinia—in the woodlands of the Monastery of St. Carmella. While trying to discern her future, she meets other guests who face their own challenges in life. The Sisters also have a dilemma, as they anticipate a merger because of their dwindling numbers and an aging congregation. Will they lose their beloved homeland, nestled among the vineyard, forest, and lake? Poustinia: A Novel is the first book of the Poustinia series. If you enjoy contemporary and inspirational ...

In the sleepy town of Shadow Cove, Maine, a woman’s desperate flight becomes a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse. After escaping Iraq with her twin sister, Jasmine seeks refuge from Qasim, the terrorist she was forced to marry. She’s determined to carve out a safe haven in this peaceful coastal town for herself and her unborn child. But her dangerous pursuer threatens to shatter her fragile world, leaving her with nowhere to hide. Enter Derrick, a guardian angel in the guise of a friend. Drawn to Jasmine's quiet strength, Derrick vows to shield her from harm, even as the boundaries of ...

A football player with a panic attack problem. A woman who sings like an angel. A baby who needs them both. After leading the Destroyers through their worst season in football history, Sam Dumont gets traded to the Miami Surfs, and to top it all off, his estranged father has a heart attack. Now he’s doing the last thing he ever thought he would do—going to Wolfe Creek, Utah. Maybe he knows he does owe Roman Young a long overdue apology, but honestly, he’s mostly going because his shrink suggested it could help him get rid of the tiny panic attack problem he’s been having. Instead of...

'I LOVED IT.' Phoebe MacLeod, Author of An (Un)Romantic Comedy '…unexpected twists & turns, which made it all the more captivating.' An Amazon Reader Not every love story follows the script. When Eleanor’s crumbling ancestral estate becomes the setting for a Pride & Prejudice TV adaptation, romance is the last thing on her to-do list. Between managing a sinking fortune, wrangling ranting producers and dodging rampaging cows, Eleanor’s hands are more than full. Enter four very different men vying for her attention – an actor with a dangerous reputation, a quiet missionary on vacation...

Ruth and Deborah were among the chosen—disciples of Jesus Christ who followed him throughout his ministry. When the time came, after his resurrection, for Jesus to give a special blessing to his disciples, they both asked for the same thing: to be allowed to stay on earth, sharing his gospel until he returns. Ruth and Deborah are sent to the small town of Husk, Iowa, because a young boy, Chase Dunleavy, prayed for help for his family. Three years ago, a tornado swept through the town, causing destruction and despair. The aftermath of that day continues to affect his family. Deborah and ...

After the old gods warred and drove themselves to extinction, the cataclysm of their fall shattered the land of Vigrio. Now, power-hungry jarls carve out petty kingdoms, and monsters stalk the shadow-haunted woods and mountains. A world where the bones of the dead gods still hold great power, promising fame, and fortune for those brave - or desperate - enough to seek them out. As whispers of war echo over the plains and across the fjords, fate follows the footsteps of three people. All three will shape the fate of the world, as it once more teeters on the edge of chaos.

She sees the patterns no one else will admit. She keeps the records no one else dares to write. In a city that would rather forget its missing girls, Roxie Williams refuses to disappear. Atlanta’s streets hum with secrets, and Roxie knows them all too well. Armed with a battered notebook, a sharp mind, and a promise she can’t break, she hunts for the truth behind the “Vanishing Girls”—a string of disappearances the city would rather ignore. But the closer Roxie gets to the heart of the case, the more dangerous her world becomes. Cops who can’t be trusted. Friends who vanish ...

Left widowed within her first year of marriage, southerner Thea Sykes turns to a mail-order bride service in order to stay afloat. Shipping off to a mountain in Wyoming comes with its fair share of fears – until Thea sets eyes on her new husband, Wakefield Briggs. A strong and generous man, Wakefield seems to know exactly how to bring the joy back into Thea’s life, and she into his. Everything is simpler in Whiteridge, Wyoming. Full of love and hope. But things can’t stay the same forever. Thea is pregnant, and ‘no children’ is a stipulation of this marriage. It’s not the fact ...

Craig Brown wants to move on — but the past won’t let him. Every time he closes his eyes, Craig finds himself back at The Edge — the seedy bar where everything fell apart. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t escape the memories that haunt him or the regret that chains him down. As his life spirals out of control, Craig must make a choice: remain trapped by guilt or reach for a hope he no longer believes he deserves. The Edge is a powerful story of grief, healing, and second chances — a heartfelt reminder that redemption often begins when we finally reach out to God and face the ...

Crystal Frost has grown accustomed to the supernatural, but months of passive paranormal activity have left her believing her mother’s wedding will be a breeze. That changes when a ghost named Melissa shows up in Crystal’s dressing room while she’s picking out her maid of honor dress.

A grieving widow. A quiet carpenter. Will Gott lead them to a new love? Rachel Bontrager has spent two years mourning the husband she lost too soon. Her days are filled with quiet work and prayer. Now, she's pouring her heart into a memorial quilt honoring Jacob's memory. When she asks talented carpenter Isaiah Yoder to build a special frame for the quilt, she finds comfort in his steady presence. Isaiah is patient and kind, a man whose quiet strength helps ease her sorrow. As they work together, a gentle friendship grows into something neither expected. But is Rachel ready to let go of the...

Will this shame-filled believer ever allow God to heal her broken heart? Or will she carry the burden of her lie alone, permitting history to repeat itself? Barbara Wagler is filled with shame over dishonoring her husband’s memory. While the young Amish woman is devastated after her husband of five years dies in a farming accident, she is left to raise their sons alone. When her first love, Joseph Wagler, returns to Willow Springs, can they bury the past, or will widower Roy Mullet from Sugarcreek stir up trouble in Barbara and her sister Susan’s life? Still struggling to allow herself ...

Lydia Troutman, successful private chef, is a woman with a heart for the Lord. She’s smart, resourceful, kind, and beautiful. Given that she’s all that, she should have a loving significant other in her life, right? Unfortunately, every single man Lydia has ever dated has turned out to be a dud. When she happens to meet a handsome widower at a counseling session, perhaps Lydia will discover that when it comes to love, God can order a sista’s footsteps, helping her stride into Heaven, right here on Earth.

Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours, except for its most seminal event: the Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales, and talons; left a trail of fiery destruction in their path; and took to the skies. Was it their choice? What will become of those left behind? Why did Alex’s beloved aunt Marla transform but her mother did not? Alex doesn’t know. It’s taboo to speak of.

Doctor Thomas Grant is a man accustomed to loss. The widower spends most of his days tending to the town’s sick, trying to get over the grieve of losing his wife and child in childbirth. When Mabel Walker arrives in the secluded Colorado town, however, she shakes things up for Thomas. Asked by a dying father to seek out her half-brother, Mabel comes out west to find that her half-brother is a drunkard, violent and aggressive, and disrespects women. But Mabel is not one to abandon someone in need. She sets to the task of sobering up her abusive brother – a task which proves just as ...