Blog tour a Christmas Journey Home by Kathi Macias with giveaway.

How did you come up with the idea for A Christmas Journey Home?

I knew I wanted to do a Christmas book—the first of what would become an annual event that my publisher and I were discussing—and I also knew that despite the lighter tone required in a Christmas book (as opposed to the darker themes of the persecuted Church and human trafficking, which I’ve been writing about), I had to stick to my “brand” as closely as possible: hence, an “issues-related” Christmas novel, dealing with the issues related to illegal immigration.

What was your favorite scene to write in A Christmas Journey Home?

I loved writing this entire book, and the characters are delightful (except the villains, of course!), so I loved almost all the scenes. But I think I liked the scenes with Isabella’s old abuelo best, as the grandfather reminded me of my own grandpa and even my dad, both of whom I loved dearly. I love incorporating at least one elderly saint in each of my books, and in this one I decided on a man since most of the other books have had women as the elderly, praying characters. I also brought in a little boy because children can add such a delightful element to any story, and six-year-old Davey certainly does that in A Christmas Journey Home.

What was the most difficult scene, and why?

The toughest scene had to be when Francisco and Isabella thought they were finally on the verge of being able to get away from the migrant camp and find a small home of their own, where their baby could be born in relative comfort and safety. If you’ve read the book, you know that isn’t at all what happens. But this heartbreaking scene had to take place to bring the story to its miraculous conclusion.

What is there about you, apart from writing, that many people don’t know?

First, my “road name” is “Easy Writer” because my husband and I were Harley riders for many years. (We’ve traded the bike in on a 2005 Corvette, so I’m still “Easy Writer” but in comfort now!) Also, I served on staff at a large Southern California church for several years, training small group leaders and doing biblical counseling, among other things. 

Who are some of your favorite writers, and are you an avid reader?

Absolutely I’m an avid reader! I have always loved books/reading/words and been fascinated by them. When I ran out of books as I child, I started writing my own. (Voila! Look what came of that!) As for favorite writers, that’s tough, but here are just a few: Brock and Bodie Thoene, Francine Rivers, Patti Lacy, Athol Dickson, Jim Rubart, and Alan Paton, who wrote my favorite all-time fiction book, Cry the Beloved Country. That book changed my life and inspired my novel set in South Africa in 1989, No Greater Love. I also enjoy reading Brennan Manning, Jennifer Kennedy Dean, Oswald Chambers, and Max Lucado for nonfiction.

What’s on the horizon for you now, so far as future book projects?

I am currently finishing up the final book of the three-installment Freedom series (Deliver Me From Evil, Special Delivery, and The Deliverer). Then I will jump into my Christmas 2012 novel (working title is A Home For Christmas) and a novel called Last Chance for Justice, which is part of the multi-author Bloomfield Series with another publisher. After that I hope to get going on a new fiction series, which is still in the discussion/planning stages with my publisher and agent. So life is busy, but most contracts coming my way seem to be fiction right now. I am also keeping busy with very occasional editing projects and some speaking/teaching around the country.

Where can we find out more about you, The Freedom Series, and keep up with your to-be-released books? 

Please feel free to visit my website at www.KathiMacias.com.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for posting the author’s interview on my blog. This blog tour is managed by Christian Speakers Services (ChristianSpeakersServices.com).

Book description:
During Isabella Alcantara’s seventh month of pregnancy, her parents and siblings are murdered in gang- and drug-related violence, simply because their home was targeted by mistake. Isabella knows she was spared only because she now lives in a different location, but she knows too that the same thing could easily happen to her and her husband, Francisco. When her grandfather offers to hire a “coyote” to bring them across the border to America, she agrees. But Francisco and Isabella are abandoned by the coyote and left to die. Francisco then valiantly sacrifices himself to get Isabella to safety. Homeless, nearly penniless, pregnant, and alone, Isabella determines to find a way to honor her promise to her beloved husband.

Living on one of the smaller spreads along the Arizona border, Miriam Nelson becomes furious with God and turns from her faith when her
border patrol agent husband, David, is killed in a skirmish with drug smugglers. Though her mother and young son do their best to woo her back from the anger and bitterness that have overtaken her, they make little headway.

Two widows—one driven by fear and a promise, the other by bitterness and revenge—must make their journeys along different pathways, but with the same destination: a barn full of animals that stands waiting for them on Christmas Eve. Forced to face their personal demons, Isabella and Miriam soon discover a common yearning that will bind them together in a most miraculous way.


My review:
I requested this book cos it looked interesting and was a Christmas book. I got more than I expected. This book deals with issues showing things are not always black and white. Isabella and Francisco have escaped to America to get away from the violence but its not as simple as it seems they are left to die in the desert. What happens to them and their story is heart wrenching. I understand the way they entered America illegally but we learn why and what happens to many illegals. On the other side of the coin we have Miriam who's husband was killed by drug smugglers. She is bitter and angry at all illegals blaming them for her husbands death. When their paths eventually cross on Christmas Eve a miracle happens. I loved this story we learn why Isabella's Grandfather wanted her safe. There were times this book had me almost in tears and  made me think of the issues. I loved the way Kathi told the story and I hope many will see another side of this issue. I could see this book being used to break down some misconceptions and be used to create awareness. This is a good read and I would recommend this book.




For information where FREE copies of this book will be given away, please visit: 
http://christianspeakerservices1.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/1616/. 

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Getting to know you Thursdays with Kay Marshall Strom with review

Getting to know you Thursdays with Kay Marshall Strom. I first read Kay's book Once Blind the story of John Newton and had to contact Kay about the book. I have since read her first 2 books in the Grace in Africa series and I can't say I loved them cos the topic is not one to love but these books captivated me and had me crying and outraged at what happened. These books really evoke emotion and this is a sign of a good reader. I have been in contact with Kay over the past couple of years and am so happy to have her on my blog today. I would recommend you check out her websites also.  Welcome Kay thanks for visiting with us today.

If you have a question for Kay I am sure she will be happy to answer it.

1.     Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Well, I am a wife and a mother, a writer and a railer against social injustice.  I am follower of Jesus Christ.  I have been writing for 25 years (probably as long as some of your readers have been alive!) and have 35 published books.  Because I write on so many global topics, my books have taken me to the most interesting places around the world and have brought me in contact with the most intriguing people.

2. When you were a child did you have a favourite book or books?

I loved to read, and read every book I could get my hands on, but my favorite of all was Grimm’s 50 Famous Fairy Tales.  I read it so many times I could recite the tales by memory!  (Jenny here I have a Grimms fairy tale book and one of my favourite books was a book with 3 fairy tales)

3. Do you have a favourite Genre to both read and right write?

I really enjoy historical fiction.  I love the realism it lends to the plot line, and it’s such a fun way to learn about different times and places.

4. Did you have favourite authors growing up who have influenced you?

Charles Dickens.  When I was in 8^th grade, I was given the assignment to read  A Tale of Two Cities.  It was a thick book, and looked terribly stogy, and I really did not want to read it.  But once I got started, I couldn’t stop.  I loved that book!  Oh, the way Dickens wove bits of plot into the story—Madame DuFarge’s knitting.  And the panorama of history he laid out—the French Revolution.  And the heart-rending lines— “I would give my life to keep one you love beside you.”  Charles Dickens not only convinced me I wanted to be a writer, he demonstrated the power a story has to touch hearts and change society.

5. When did you know you wanted to be an author?

Right then, when I was in eighth grade.  In fact, I wrote my own first heart-rending short story that year.  It was terrible!

6. How did you go about becoming an author?

When my children started school, I decided to really try writing for publication, so I took a class in adult education.  I learned nothing, but I did build up my confidence.  As an assignment I rewrote the story of Deborah from the Bible, and I took it to the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference.  No one was impressed with my efforts.  But at the conference I took a class on writing for children, rewrote the story and the proposal and presented it again.  By the end of the conference, I had a contract for my first book.

7. If you were not a writer what would you like to be?

Well, before I was a writer, I was a teacher.  I enjoyed it and would probably do that again.

8. Outside reading and writing what do you like to do?

Travel!  I am so fortunate that my writing has called for so much global travel. I also speak on cruise ships in exchange for cruises for me and my husband.  How cool is that? ( wow that is so cool)

9. Do you have a place you love to visit or would love to visit?

Anywhere!  Point me in a direction, and I’ll go! (So when are you coming to Australia?)

10 . If you could have a meal with 3 living people who would you choose and why?

Oh, hard choice!  Maybe I’d say Geraldine Brooks, John Grisham, and Liz Curtis Higgs.  Geraldine is an amazing writer of historical fiction, and I’d love to pepper her with questions.  John Grisham is a great researcher, so he would have a lot to add to the conversation.  And Liz would keep us all laughing.  I’m afraid we’d never get a chance to eat!
Finally can you tell us about your current books and/or any that will
be coming out soon. Also where we can find you on the web.

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My just released book, The Voyage of Promise, is actually book 2 of the Grace in Africa trilogy—the saga of Grace Winslow, a woman with an African royal mother and an English slaver father.  In book 1, The Call of Zulina, Grace is forced into a slave rebellion where she is forced to choose who she was—African or English, slave or slaver—and then to live with the consequences of that choice.  Book 2 begins five years later in West Africa, 1792, when slavers burst into Grace’s life and tear her new family apart forever.  She watches in anguish as her husband is led in chains aboard a tightly packed slave ship bound for America.  An old enemy has a more sinister plan for Grace—a different kind of servitude in London.  But Grace will not be enslaved, and she will not give up on the man she loves.  In her determination to be reunited with her husband, she finds God reaching out to her. Book 3, The Triumph of Grace, takes Grace to slavery in the American south.  It will be released February 1, 2011. 

Find me at: www.kaystrom.com  and  www.GraceInAfrica.com

My review of The Voyage of Promise

Another great book. It continues Grace's story 5 years after book one ends. This book had me crying within the first couple of chapters at what happens to Grace and her people and injustice of it all. This book had me captivated to find out what would happen next. this book is a really good read but it is also hard hitting and I love how it tells the story of the slave trade from the point of an African. We also see how England was starting to oppose the slave trade but how the traders and businessmen who made there money because of it clash. This is a series that should be compulsory reading for history students as it shows the slave trade for what it really was. This is not a read for the faint hearted but it is a book and series that needs to be read so people never do this again and to help fight the modern day slave trade. I was hoping to finish the book by the end of 2010 as it would then have made my top 10 reads for the year but at this point I am sure it will be in the top reads of 2011.

Cant wait to read book 3 I read the first 2 chapters and really cant wait to read more.