CFBA: In Golden Splendor by Michael Reynolds

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing:   In Golden Splendor B&H Books (July 15, 2013) by   Michael Reynolds

Although I didn't sign up for this tour, I was accidentally sent a copy of the book. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to read it before the tour, although it definitely looks intriguing. I wanted to share the info with all of my readers so you can have the chance to evaluate it for yourself. If you do read it, please comment below and let me know your thoughts, I'd love to hear your opinions! Happy Reading!


ABOUT THE BOOK:

Irish immigrant Seamus Hanley is a lost soul, haunted by his past as a U.S. Army deserter and living alone in the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains in 1849. But after witnessing a deadly stage coach crash, he finds purpose in the scattered wreckage -- a letter with a picture of a beautiful and captivating woman named Ashlyn living in San Francisco at the height of the Gold Rush. Moved by her written plea for help, he abandons all and sets out on an epic journey across the wild and picturesque American frontier. While being pursued by those who want to hang him, Seamus encounters fascinating characters including a young Pauite Indian who makes the ultimate sacrifice in helping Seamus to cross the snowy Yosemite Valley. Battered but changed for the better, Seamus reaches San Francisco on Christmas Eve as the city burns in the tragic fire of 1849. But there is little time for rest, as an even greater, more harrowing adventure involving Ashlyn is about to begin.


If you would like to read the first chapter of In Golden Splendor, go HERE



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Michael K. Reynolds is the writer and producer of Emmy and Telly Award-winning film campaigns and has more than two decades of experience in fiction, journalism, copywriting, and documentary production. He owns Global Studio, a marketing agency, and is also an active leader in church and business, speaking in both ministry and corporate settings. Michael lives with his wife and three children in Reno, Nevada.

CFBA: Flight of the Earls by Michael Reynolds

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing:   Flight of the Earls B&H Books (January 1, 2013)   by   Michael Reynolds




MY TAKE:

Some writers make you laugh, some make you cry, some make you want to strangle a character in frustration. Sometimes though, if you're lucky, you find a writer gifted with words that can make you do all of the above and more.

Flight of the Earls starts in a field as fog rolls over the potato crops carrying a smell that hovers in the air and niggles in the back of your mind. You know, even though you can't smell it, that it's bad news. When the farmer finally revealed the black rotting potato root under the dirt, the smell literally jumped out of the book and smacked me in the face. Anyone who's ever smelled a rotten potato knows how distinct and horrible the smell is. The author managed to draw that out as a matter of suspense.

That's just an example of the kind of descriptive writing that fills the pages, the emotions run strong and it's hard not to be caught up in the moment as the small community participates in the "American Wake", mourning those they send off to America knowing they may never see them again. The world then was do different and yet it's not hard to find ways to connect with the characters.

Flight of the Earls isn't a light hearted read, but one worth experiencing.



ABOUT THE BOOK:

It’s 1846 in Ireland. When her family’s small farm is struck by famine, Clare Hanley and her younger brother, Seamus, set out across the ocean to the Promised Land of America. Five years prior, Clare’s older sister Margaret and her Uncle Tomas emigrated in similar fashion and were not to be heard from again. But Clare must face her fears as she lands in the coming-of-age city of New York. There she discovers love, adventure, tragedy, and a terrible secret which threatens to destroy her family and all she believes. Flight of the Earls is the first book in a historical novel trilogy based on Irish immigration in the 1840s.


If you'd like to read the first chapter of Flight of the Earls, go HERE


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Michael K. Reynolds is the writer and producer of Emmy and Telly Award-winning film campaigns and has more than two decades of experience in fiction, journalism, copywriting, and documentary production. He owns Global Studio, a marketing agency, and is also an active leader in church and business, speaking in both ministry and corporate settings. Michael lives with his wife and three children in Reno, Nevada.