All posts by mikekalmbach

No Longer a Child of Promise

by Amanda Farmer

NoThis sequel to If You Leave This Farm chronicles the life adventures of this young Mennonite lady who, after choosing to walk away from her father’s farm at age 29, is now free to make her own choices as an adult. Amanda shares the joy of discovering the world away from the farm, of falling in love, and about her decision to eventually leave the Mennonite church. But that freedom and joy is tainted by the continuing intertwined and overpowering conflicts that result from unspoken and unresolved expectations in her family of origin.

With an engaging style, Amanda provides an honest glimpse into her roller coaster journey of hope and love alternating with pain, hurt and bitterness as a result of misplaced familial values, favoritism, and the effect of the ultimate rejection – disinheritance by her parents.

No Longer a Child of Promise vividly portrays the struggle in one woman’s heart to grasp the meaning of forgiveness, to experience triumph and acceptance in her personal journey, and to eventually release the all-consuming pain of rejection in her heart to God.

Publisher

Published by: Archway Publishing

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About the Author

Amanda Farmer grew up on the farm and worked there with her family until the age of twenty-nine. She earned a master's degree in nurse anesthesia. Farmer now lives with her husband on a hobby farm in southeastern Minnesota. They have one grown daughter.

Aten’s Last Queen

The Forgotten #1

by J. Lynn Else

Aten's"I am King Tut’s wife, but my name is barely a whisper in history’s memory. I was the last of my family to survive the Aten revolution. I had a child at age 12 and was forced to marry three times. But that didn’t mean my story ended badly. My name is Ankhesenamun, my loved ones called me An, and I will stop at nothing to save my family."

Despite the vast treasure found in Pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb, there is little left over regarding his bride. From the turbulence of her father’s reign, Akhenaten, who forced monotheism on the country to the mending of these wounds by the now-famous Tutankhamun, her life saw more change than most ancient Egyptians dared even dream about. Evidence left to us about her is this: She was forced to marry her father, her brother, and her grandfather. She gave birth to one healthy baby girl and two stillborn girls. She was widowed at age 12 and 23. She saw four pharaohs crowned within 23 years. After her grandfather took the throne, she disappeared from history.

Ankhesenamun grew up a princess and became a queen at age 13. Her husband, Tutankhamun, was 9. With outside forces try to influence every choice they make, Ankhesenamun finds herself torn between her duties and her desires. In addition, her husband must deal with a crippling deformity that leaves him vulnerable. Meanwhile, Ankhesenamun wrestles a matter of the heart, her own heart. There is a young girl whom was never supposed to have survived the fall of Akhenaten City, a daughter she bore that carries the blood of the heretic in her veins. There are some who will stop at nothing to find this daughter and end the line of Akhenaten once and for all.

Guided by a traveler from the desert wanders whose leader left Egypt in ruin, Ankhesenamun finds herself longing for true love and the ability to worship a God now banned from her world. Can she find a way to escape the game for which she is being played by forces she cannot see? Will it enough to survive the most terrible of all fates -- the threat of her own death and having her name and her family's erased from the walls of history? Because once the new king is crowned, she is dispensable.

With a twist of biblical history interlaced, Ankhesenamun’s voice has a new song to sing which has otherwise been forgotten. Her story weaves through the sands of time as in each chapter she narrates her past and the path her life has been directed to take. Between chapters, Ankhesenamun is dealing with the repercussions of her husband’s death as power-hungry men are grappling for pharaoh’s crown. Using newly discovered facts about Akhenaten’s and Tutankhamun’s genealogy and their reigns, this tale breathes new life into a fascinating and dangerous time in Egypt’s history. Can a lone woman stand against the tides of time which have already consuming her parents, her sisters, and her husband? May the gods have mercy...

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About the Author

J. Lynn Else loves reading and writing about awesome women from antiquity. Besides history, she also gets nerdy with Star Wars, Star Trek, and MST3K. She’s self-published two historical fiction novels set in ancient Egypt, The Forgotten: Aten’s Last Queen and The Forgotten: Heir of the Heretic. Descendants of Avalon, Awakenings book 1, a YA Fantasy with interwoven elements of the legends and people of King Arthur's time, was released through Inklings Publishing in May 2018. Additionally, in July 2018, she self-published a sci fi novella, Strangely Constructed Souls, which asks 'what the price of revenge and how far would you go to right a wrong?'

J. Lynn’s always had a flare for the dramatic, graduating college with a theater major and a dance minor. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and two kids where her shelves are overrun with books, her kitchen is overrun with loose-leaf tea, and her workroom is overrun with Funko Pop figures. She enjoys sketching, reliving her 1990s by watching the latest X-Files episodes, honing her Fruit Ninja skills, and randomly busting out into song and dance. She believes in unicorns and practicing random acts of awesome.

Stone Ridge

by Nick Hupton

StoneSince Zach Sutton's last fateful trip to Pine Ridge, his life has been relatively quiet. But one year later he begins to see visions of his nemesis, Victor Leppla, which drags him back into the villain's nightmarish world. Zach's first brush with evil was simply a dress rehearsal for what awaits him now. How will he ever face Victor again? Will he find his missing brother, Chris? Find out in this thrilling sequel to The Ridge.

Publisher

Published by: North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc.

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About the Author

Nick Hupton received his BA from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1999 and his MA from Hamline University in 2008. He teaches high school English in Bloomington, MN. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Tara, and two children.

The Ridge

by Nick Hupton

TheZach Sutton's little brother has been missing for over a year. His parents have divorced. The police have found no clues. But it isnt until Zach takes a field trip to Minnesota's north woods that the mystery really begins. Faced with supernatural visions and ghostly images, Zach finds himself in a scary adventure he couldnt have dreamed.

Publisher

Published by: North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc.

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About the Author

Nick Hupton received his BA from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1999 and his MA from Hamline University in 2008. He teaches high school English in Bloomington, MN. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Tara, and two children.

If I Know It’s Coming

by Nick Hupton

IfThirteen-year-old Tim Hansen lives in a quaint little neighborhood in South Minneapolis. For the most part, he leads a normal, preteen existence. He is concerned about friendships, girls, sports, and even schoolwork from time to time. But when his mother, who is a nurse in the United States Army Reserve, is deployed to Iraq, Tim’s relatively normal and happy existence gets flipped upside down. How will Tim cope without his mother? Will his family ever be the same? Middle school was unpredictable enough, but when Tim faces this sudden dose of mortality, the adventure is just beginning.

Publisher

Published by: North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc.

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About the Author

Nick Hupton received his BA from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1999 and his MA from Hamline University in 2008. He teaches high school English in Bloomington, MN. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Tara, and two children.

My Life with Stella Kane

by Linda Morganstein

MyIn 1948, Nina Weiss, a snobby college girl from Scarsdale, goes to Hollywood to work at her uncle's movie studio where she's assigned to help publicize a young actress named Stella Kane. Nina is immediately thrown into the declining studio system and repressive fifties Hollywood. Adding to her difficulties is her growing attraction to Stella. When a gay actor at the studio is threatened by tabloid exposure, Nina invents a romance between Stella and the actor. The trio becomes hopelessly entangled when the invented romance succeeds beyond anyone's dreams. This is the "behind-the scenes" story of the trio's compromises and secrets, a story that still has relevance for today.

Publisher

Published by: Regal Crest Enterprises

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About the Author

Linda Morganstein is an award-winning, overeducated writer of who also happens to be the product of a Borscht Belt childhood in the Jewish hotels of the Catskills. In the seventies, she dropped out of Vassar College and drove a VW van to California, where she lived in Sonoma County for many years. Later, she studied with Jane Smiley in Iowa. She currently resides in Saint Paul, Minnesota with her understanding spouse Melanie and her exceptional dog, Courage. In addition to writing, Linda is avid golfer and sourdough bread-baker. In short, she has a phobia for boredom. Due to her Borscht Belt background, she has a distinct interest in humor as an antidote to the complications of life. This includes an arsenal of jokes supplied by her late father, a master comedian.

Loon Child

by Joanne Vruno

LoonTom Jackson follows the call of a loon to find a small boy alone on an island in the middle of a northern Minnesota lake. They need to figure out who the kid is, why he was left on the island, but the real issue seems to be that a loon led him to the boy. Tom's father-in-law, a full-blood Native American mystic, hints that the loon might be the spirit of his dead wife.

Publisher

Published by: North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc.

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About the Author

Joanne Vruno was born in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe), to very adventurous parents who were missionaries at the time. She spent her childhood in Maplewood, Minnesota, houses away from Battle Creek Regional Park. Her childhood introduced her to a love of nature by exploring and hiking the woods, camping with her family, and gardening.

Summer of Elves

by Joanne Vruno

SummerSummer of Elves is an enchanting fantasy about a twelve-year-old girl thrust into a magical world she knew nothing about. Trained by her grandmother, Aly must learn how her new-found talent and embrace the responsibility of seeing a mythical world that most humans never will see. In this coming-of-age novel, our heroine needs to embrace these powers so that good conquers evil.

Publisher

Published by: North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc.

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Summer of Elves is available from:

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About the Author

Joanne Vruno was born in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe), to very adventurous parents who were missionaries at the time. She spent her childhood in Maplewood, Minnesota, houses away from Battle Creek Regional Park. Her childhood introduced her to a love of nature by exploring and hiking the woods, camping with her family, and gardening.