Published: April 15, 2014
Publisher: Independently Published
Cover by: Allison Brennen
Description:
Michele and David have it all: successful careers, a loving marriage and the perfect daughter. Until the past raises its head, intent this time on wrecking damage to their daughter. When tragedy strikes, they find their faith in God and His plans tested. Can their family remain strong in the face of adversity or will they crumble in ruins? Will love fail them when they need it most or will it restore their faith in what the future holds?
“I couldn't out this book down! I just bought book two.” Heather
“Tina Klinesmith has done a remarkable job of weaving a romance around the subject of redemption. It's rare to find a book that deals with sin and guilt in such a sensitive manner. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and rank it close to the works of Francine Rivers.” Rosewster
“Author Tina Klinesmith did an amazing job not only the writing style but also with the emotion of the characters. I must admit I shed more than a few tears on this journey!” Sarah S.
“Awesome storyline that only keeps me wanting more, more, more!!” Jerri Ann
GUEST POST
Six Words To Describe the Book:
Fear: Actions, right and wrong, are most often driven by fear whether as simple as peer pressure or as complicated as losing life as you know it. Michele, David, Faith and Declan each face their fears throughout.
Hope: While fear motivates the action, hope gives confidence to continue moving forward in the face of fear, even when all appears lost. Hope, in spite of tragedy, is what lifts spirits and brings beauty from the midst of catastrophe.
Faith: Besides the obvious character in the story, faith is a central theme. Believing, with certainty, what you hope for will be accomplished because you know, in your heart, Who you believe in is far more important than any outward evidence.
Endurance: When faced with trials, it’s easy to grow weary. Michele and Faith handle their struggles in completely different ways but neither gives up. They continue to press forward in the face of exhaustion.
Understanding: This is where Declan and Micah excel. Both have been in similar positions to where Michele, David and Faith now find themselves and have survived. Neither shies away from offering a supportive shoulder, using their pasts to walk alongside, sharing the burden.
Love: Throughout the story, love emerges. Even as it evolves and changes, morphing into something greater, it moves beyond the boundaries of the family unit leaving a legacy.
EXCERPT
Original
Exerpt:
Faith
twisted the knob on her locker, trying again to get the lock to open. She
lifted the latch to no avail, again. Growling at the mechanism, she hit the
metal locker with the side of her fist.
“What’s
the matter, can’t get it open?” Faith should have known Raif wouldn’t give up
tormenting her simply because she’d been suspended for a few days. “I didn’t
have that problem with your mom last night.”
The
mocking laughter from several of his teammates nearby echoed through the near
empty hall. What were they even doing out of class? She’d deliberately waited
until long after the bell rang before hurrying to her locker, trying to avoid
him. He edged closer to her as she pretended to ignore him. Hopefully, he’d get
bored with her lack of reaction and go away.
He placed
a hand against her locker, blocking her. “You know,” he began, his voice smooth
and almost hypnotizing, “I’ll bet that you’re just as easy as your mom.” He
rubbed against her back suggestively while his friends laughed.
Faith
glanced toward the end of the hall. She saw a few kids hurrying to their
classes, already tardy, but none looked her direction. It was as if they
couldn’t see what was happening, or chose not to.
Raif
slipped one arm around her waist and pulled her against him. He reminded her of
a python surrounding prey. “You know you like me, Faith.”
“What do
you want, Raif? I’m not really your type. Aren’t you dating Marissa?”
“You
should come home with me, Faith. We could have some fun. You’d enjoy it. I
promise.”
Faith
wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of an answer but she wasn’t going to
be a helpless victim while he bullied her either. Her father taught her enough
self-defense growing up to protect herself, although she’d never used it before.
He had no idea what happened when she stomped on the instep of his left foot
with her boot before elbowing him as hard as she could in the diaphragm.
“Get off
me, Raif. You’re a pig.”
Raif’s
friends stumbled backward, out of his way, as he fell away from the lockers,
trying desperately to catch his breath and regain control of this girl he’d
mistakenly assumed was helpless. She’d already given him stitches, Faith
doubted he wanted more. He moved quicker than she expected, grasping her wrists
and shoving her back against the lockers before pinning her there with all
six-foot-three-inches of his basketball physique. She found herself trapped
between him and the wall of metal lockers, the handle of hers biting into her
aching shoulder. His friends encircled the two of them, blocking them from the
sight of anyone walking the hall.
“You can
come willingly and we can both have fun, or we can do this the hard way. Either
way, I’m going to have some fun with you,” he hissed in her ear before taking a
deep inhale at her neck.
“Hey!”
The
pressure holding her to the locker disappeared and she heard the sound of flesh
connecting. She hadn’t even realized she closed her eyes until she opened them
to see Raif, with his nose bleeding and his lip split again, getting up from
the floor of the hall. His friends left, fleeing in every direction, leaving
Raif to try to regain his dignity at the hands of an unknown assailant.
Raif
pressed the heel of his palm against his bleeding lip and stared at the blood
on his hand before pointing at the hulking beast standing between him and
Faith.
“This
isn’t over.” Raif pointed at the stranger. “We’ll finish this later.”
“You ever
touch my girlfriend again and I won’t let you off this lightly. Leave her
alone, understand?”
Girlfriend? I don’t even know who
this is. Faith
watched as Raif stormed off toward his class. As much as she wanted to take
pleasure in the moment, watching Raif run away in pain, she wasn’t even sure
she was safe with her rescuer. She wasn’t sure if she should thank him or try
to disappear before he moved toward her. She reached for her backpack and slung
it over a shoulder as the stranger turned to face her and reached for her arm.
“Are you
all right?” She could barely understand him through his thick Irish accent.
“I’m
fine.” She shook off his huge, meaty hand.
“I’m sorry
I told them you were my girlfriend, but I was hoping that would give them a bit
more of a reason to leave you alone.” He’d lowered his voice but she couldn’t
mistake the Irish brogue. “I’m Declan.” He held out his hand to her.
Faith
stared at his hand. She could see blood on the back of it, but wasn’t sure
whose it was. She shifted her backpack nervously, “Well, Declan, you might want to go wash that hand off,” she pointed out.
Declan
rubbed his knuckles on his jeans and folded his arms, causing his big biceps to
flex against his t-shirt. “Well, isn’t that a fine thank you?” He cast her a
disarming, lopsided grin, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners.
She cocked
her head and tried not to return his smile but was finding it difficult. She
shouldn’t take her troubles out on him. After all, he’d been the one to run
Raif off this time. If he’d planned on hurting her, he certainly could have
done it by now.
This guy
was enormous. He wasn’t as tall as Raif, although he at least six-foot tall but
he was incredibly broad shouldered and well-muscled. He must spend all day in
the gym, she thought. If he were to hug her, she wouldn’t even take up half of
his body.
Why am I even imagining hugging him?
She met
his gaze and was struck by how blue his eyes were. In fact, they matched the
turquoise t-shirt he wore. She wondered if he had planned it that way. Faith
frowned at the path her thoughts had taken.
“Now, what
could make a girl as pretty as you frown like that?”
Faith
frowned at Declan, a blush creeping over her neck and cheeks. As good-looking
as he might be, she certainly wasn’t about to fall for this Prince Charming
act. She didn’t want Raif to have anything else to talk about. “Thank you for
helping me out, but I have to go.”
“Did I do
something to make you mad?” The ear-shattering sound of the second bell
reverberated through the empty halls. He looked the direction Raif had gone.
“I’ll walk you to your class?”
“No need.
I’m not going,” she answered. She’d never cut class before but she wasn’t about
to get caught at her locker again by Raif or any of his friends. If Declan
hadn’t been nearby to help out, who knew what might have happened. She didn’t
want to chance it.
Modified
Excerpt – From Declan’s POV:
Declan watched the swirling mass of bodies as they
pushed and pressed their way through the crowded hall. School in Ireland was
never this cacophony of sound, pressing at the walls of your brain, threatening
you with madness. It had been far more relaxed, as if the learning happened by
accident rather than forcibly crammed amidst the noise reverberating all
around. He just wanted to return home, where he could be closer to Alaina, or
at least the memory of her.
The slam of flesh against metal narrowed his eyes as
he looked through the crowd to where the noise had come from. It was farther
than he’d thought but the mocking laughter of several athletes caught his
attention. He edged closer, ignoring the
final warning bell signaling he would be late for class again.
Declan couldn’t see through the semicircle of male
bodies but a shiver ran down his spine. He tried to tell himself to turn away.
Whatever might be going on wasn’t his business and he didn’t want to cause any
trouble his first week in yet another new school. Even as his mind warned him
to turn away, his feet propelled him closer to the group.
He caught a glimpse of wavy dark hair and frightened
golden eyes before the girl was pinned behind one of the guys.
“You should come home with me,
Faith. We could have some fun. You’d enjoy it. I promise.”
Declan
couldn’t hear her response but jumped backward with the rest of his friends
when the guy stumbled backwards, grasping at his stomach and grunting. Declan
looked up in time to see a petite girl, her eyes wide with fury yet tempered
with fear. She almost looked surprised by the attack, yet he could also see
pride. She wasn’t going to back down.
“Don’t
take that from her, Raif!” yelled one of the guys on Declan’s left. He looked
back at the girl, knowing this group of guys wasn’t about to rescue her.
Raif,
lunged at her, grasping her wrists and pinning her to the locker with all of
the weight behind his six-foot-plus frame. Declan knew he couldn’t let anything
happen to this girl. Whoever she was, regardless of what she had done, no girl
should be forced to deal with this sort of abuse.
He heard her back slam against the locker and winced
as if feeling the pain himself. The group surrounding them closed in around the
pair, like a pack of wolves moving in for a kill. Declan, standing in the back,
jerked the nearest guy backwards and threw him to the ground before shoving
past several others in an attempt to get closer to her.
“You can come willingly and we can both have fun, or
we can do this the hard way. Either way, Faith, I’m going to have some fun with
you,” Raif hissed, his mouth close to her ear before he sucked in a breath, his
lips close to her neck.
Declan’s jaw clenched. He’d never seen a woman
manhandled this way, never seen a girl attacked. Rage shot through him,
lighting his blood on fire. He fisted his hands, every muscle in his broad
chest flexing, preparing for battle as adrenaline rushed through his veins. He
might not be as tall as this guy but he had sheer mass and anger working for
him. He grasped the collar of Raif’s t-shirt, hearing the material give way as
he jerked him backwards, throwing him into his crowd of friends.
“Hey!”
Raif launched himself from the floor, rushing Declan
as his friends cheered him on. The air shot from Declan’s lungs as Raif hit his
waist, circling his arms around him but he was no match for Declan’s fists as
he brought one around the side of Raif and connected with his ribcage, breaking
his hold. Raif fell backward again in surprise, giving Declan the opening he
needed and quickly jabbed at Raif’s face, his knuckles connecting solidly.
Blood immediately poured from Raif’s nose and Declan wondered if he might have
broken it.
Raif moved to his knees and pressed himself from the
floor of the school hallways. His friends fled in every direction, like
cockroaches in sunlight. Raif pressed the heel of his hand against his lip and
stared at the blood on his hand before pointing at Declan.
“This isn’t over.” He could see Raif trying to
maintain any dignity he could salvage.
“We’ll finish this later,” he
threatened.
“No, we won’t. You touch my girlfriend again and I
won’t let you off this lightly.”
Declan wasn’t sure what possessed him to call her
his girlfriend when he didn’t even know her name but he wasn’t about to
second-guess his instincts. He could hear her moving behind him as Raif skulked
down the hall, glaring back at him. Declan turned to face her and reached for
her arm as she slung her backpack over her shoulder.
“Are you alright?” She flinched, backing up against
the lockers in an effort to avoid his touch. “Look, I’m sorry I told them you
were my girlfriend, but I was hoping it would give them a bit more of a reason
to leave you alone.” He lowered his voice and held out a hand. “I’m Declan.”
The girl eyed him, curiously, and shifted her
backpack, moving her weight from one foot to the other. “Well, Declan, you might want to go wash that
hand off,” she pointed at the blood on the back of his hand.
He glanced at it and frowned, unsure if it was his
blood or Raif’s. He scrubbed his knuckles on the side of his jeans and folded
his arms, staring down at her. She was so small and petite, he was worried if
he shook her hand, he might break hers. She didn’t seem unfriendly but her
defiant stance almost dared him to try and make her smile. He wanted to see if
her eyes turned even more yellow when she laughed. He gave her a grin, hoping
she would return the smile.
“Well, isn’t that a fine thank you?”
He could see her fighting the smile tugging at the
corners of her mouth before she cocked her head and bit down on the edge of her
lower lip. Her gaze grazed over him, from the top of his now messy mop of black
hair over his turquoise t-shirt to the blood now on his jeans, as if she was
appraising him. She frowned and he wondered what he’d done wrong.
“Now, what could make a girls as pretty as you frown
like that?”
He played up his Irish accent, knowing girls
couldn’t resist it. He saw the blush creep over her cheeks as her eyes widened
in surprise. She clamped her lips together, forming a thin line and squared her
shoulders. Instead of smiling, he saw her eyes harden like chips of topaz.
“Thank you for helping me out but I have to go.” She
turned to leave as he reached for her arm.
“Did I do something to make you mad?” The
ear-splitting sound of the final bell shattered the near silence of the now
empty hall. He glanced toward the direction Raif had fled. “I’ll walk you to
your class.”
“No need. I’m not going,” she answered.
Declan looked down at the girl, whose name he still didn’t know and wondered what in
the world could have caused such a beautiful girl to try to hide. He could see
it in the way she averted her eyes from his, or how she stepped backward,
moving away from him, keeping a two-foot distance between them. She was odd but
something in his heart tugged at him to find out more about her. He hadn’t felt
this way in a long time. Not since…
Declan realized he hadn’t felt this way since his
heart was broken, the day Alaina died.
Tina Klinesmith (1973-present) found she had a love for stories at the ripe age of 2 when her mother found her trying to read a romance novel. Even in childhood, she spent time crafting stories, plays and songs for family and friends.
Raised in the lush Central Valley of California, Tina continues to reside there with her wonderful husband, three children and a menagerie of beasts who believe they are also children.
Tina loves the outdoors and spending time camping, fishing and just hanging out with family and friends. She is an accomplished horsewoman and trainer as well as a fitness instructor and online coach. She loves to hear from her readers!
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2 comments:
I am excited to read this in paper back.
I am excited to read this in paper back.
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