It is an exciting day! Today I get to share the first glimpse into the second book in the Heaven and Earth series. GK Sihat was kind enough to host the cover reveal for Dwelling in Heaven and Earth, due for release in July, 2017. Head on over to her website and check it out!
I’m very excited to announce that More Things in Heaven and Earth is now available in e-book and trade paperback!
From author, Jennifer Friess: “This book is fabulous. I don’t read a lot of books with a supernatural element in them, except maybe the occasional vampire, but this story is very well-crafted and accessible to everyone. There are creatures of myth and religion throughout who battle over control of Earth & all the realms. It is a battle of biblical proportions, without being preachy. The villain builds his power by feeding off something we are all guilty of every day. I can’t tell you anymore, except that you should read this novel & I can’t wait for the next one.”
What did the other early readers say?
“The description is elaborate and elegant… your writing style is amazing!”
“I’m hooked.”
“Very thought-provoking.”
“Oh, the chills!”
“Intriguing.”
“New mantra: Faith is lethal to fear.”
“Getting pulled into the story. Loving it!”
“Your writing is dynamite!”
“Your writing is so layered and rich. It felt both mythological and contemporary.”
This day has been a long time coming! I’m excited to say that the e-version of More Things In Heaven and Earth is now available on Amazon!
Say you were one of the first and ORDER TODAY at a significant savings.
A random image of just one of the adorable distractions in my life.
It’s been forever since I wrote a blog post, I know, but not for lack of words. My words are just going elsewhere right now. I’ve written two novels (well, finished one and wrote a second) and a longish short story in the first half of this year.
I’m also wrapping up the editing process on More Things in Heaven and Earth and, with great excitement, awaiting the fall release.
There’s more big news on the horizon, but I’m not at liberty to fully spill the beans just yet.
On the side, there’s life. You know… family, church, job, new baby chickens… life. And, as
Yes, I do fill my phone with photos of chickens. Doesn’t everybody?
much as I enjoy blogging, it just doesn’t rank higher than some other things.
Which brings me to the first of the two points I felt moved to ramble about today:
Balance is a myth.
Take a long hard look at the people around you. Pick out the ones who rise above the crowd. They’re the ones who are AMAZING athletes or ASTONISHING in their business prowess.
Those people don’t have balance.
They never look at their calendar and say, “Oh, dear me, I haven’t had a day off in the last two weeks.”
They establish a vision and never look back until they’ve reached their goal. They live by the ant philosophy: no matter what falls in my path, I’m going to walk this line until I get home.
If you have a goal in your life, don’t let anyone make you feel bad for not knowing who the lead cast member of The Walking Dead is. You do you, and do it better than anybody else and, one day, they’ll all be looking at you thinking, “Gosh! How’d she get so lucky?”
(Luck! Haha!)
And that brings me to my second point:
Success in life is not the lottery.
I read, once, that 98% of people who set pen to paper, with the intention of publishing a book, will never see that goal realized.
But that’s not because the magical publishing fairy waves her wand over the select 2%!
People quit when they realize their plot derailed seventeen chapters in. They throw in the towel when they realize that the first draft was only the beginning of months (years?) of work. They give up when the first reader sends their manuscript back, covered in red ink. They call it quits when the first twelve (twenty/fifty/hundred) editors reject them.
The other 2% keep going.
#4 is still in training to be part of the 2%.
It’s the same in business. My husband and I own a thriving, growing business. People tell us all the time that “no one makes it in that field.” And yet, here we are. Why are we making it? Because we walked past the naysayers and found out that success was just on the other side of their negativity.
Now that I’m ranting… I’m thinking even marriage is that way, don’t you think?
People say that my Twin Soul and I are so LUCKY to have found one another and so BLESSED to have a great marriage.
I can’t argue on either account but, you know, every single day that man gets water all over the bathroom floor when he takes a shower.
You know what makes a great marriage? Choosing to do the work of loving, cherishing, respecting and honoring him anyway instead of screaming at him about my wet socks.
He does the same for me when I let the dirty dishes sprawl, unattended, across the kitchen counter while I snuggle on the couch with my laptop.
The family that eats bratwurst together stays together… er… something like that. (Isn’t he handsome? *swoon*)
It’s about determination, not luck.
I said all that just to say I’m still writing and dashing forward and I hope you are too. No one else in the whole history of the world can do what you can do in the way you can do it. Be encouraged, friends, and know that this lazy hippie mama is cheering you on every step of the way.
Check out the “Read Stuff” tab to see some of what I’ve been working on, or the “Contact Me” tab to connect on Facebook or Twitter!
I am so excited to share the cover of More Things In Heaven And Earth. The talented ladies at Twinja Book Reviews were kind enough to let me share their space for my special day. Stop on over to read the interview and enter their December giveaway.
The road has been long and, more than once, I was ready to raise the white flag.
Thank God for loving friends and family who spurred me on! Today I’m ecstatic to announce that I have signed a contract with Nuff Said Publishing.
They are an indie press in the Atlanta, GA area, “dedicated to promoting both gender and cultural diversity in science fiction and fantasy literature.” I love their philosophy and feel honored to be working with them.
We are anticipating a release date of September, 2016. Get ready! “More Things In Heaven And Earth” are coming your way!
***She’s taking advice from angels, but even angels aren’t all-knowing.***
Simone has been a Christian for a long time. Her faith has helped her build a perfectly normal life. After years of struggling against the voices that only she could hear, a normal life is all she really wanted. But when an angelic being approaches her with a plea to intercede between mankind and those who are “other” her eyes are opened to the fact that her idea of God and creation have been far too small.
When society crumbles and the very heavens quake with rumors of war, Simone must learn for herself exactly what price is paid by a human who assumes to speak for God.
********
An excerpt from More Things In Heaven And Earth. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
I was, once more, in the cool, dark, quiet of the late evening outside my own home. “You see,” he said, “that, while he too often succeeds with individuals, it is nearly impossible for Acedia to destroy all men through his treachery. Man is in The Image and holds the very power of all creation within himself. The spark that man has is very difficult indeed to snuff out. He must give it up on his own and his every instinct is to keep it burning at any cost.”
I felt a cold foreboding. If humans were so fabulously resilient, the threat must be vast beyond anything I could imagine. “So what has Acedia done?”
“In addition to his normal plaguing of mankind he has turned his attention to the others. He has moved among the beings of the realm and, most especially, among the creatures of legend. He has caused among them a terrible apathy, a restlessness that has spread and grown. These beings, who have been held in check for millennia, have decided they are no longer content in the shadows. They are bored.” He spat the last word out as though it had a bad taste before continuing.
“Simone, he has persuaded them to walk free of the shadows. He is striving to tear down the veils once more – telling the others that the only way to overcome the tedium of immortality is by drawing near once more to the warmth and power of man. More than that, he has convinced them that men should be their slaves to be fed upon and used for entertainment and pleasure without care or discretion. Remember, it is because they are created in The Image that men are special in all the realms. For those who have been long apart from the presence of That Which Is, or for those who have never known that Presence at all, man’s allure is nearly irresistible.
They are coming, Simone. They are coming and they desire for all mankind to know them and revere them and feed them and ease the pain of the apathy which consumes them. They will have their tedium relieved, even if it means literally consuming man to gain his power.”
“How many come?” I asked, though I’m not sure what I hoped to gain by knowing the answer. Even a single being of such evil was beyond my capacity to truly imagine taking a stand against.
“Millions.”
“Millions.” I repeated, my mind refusing to accept the word. I was just an average housewife. What in the world was I supposed to do to stop a movement of millions of malevolent supernatural beings bent on the destruction of my entire species?
