#SaturdaySpotlight is on Kathleen Neely @NeelyKneely3628 & In Search of True North

Good Morning and Welcome!

I'm sure you've heard the latest weather reports and I hope you are praying for Louisiana right now along with our troops and those suffering wildfires and floods. My goodness, our country and world as a whole need our prayers and loving thoughts and I Thank You for yours!

There's only a few days left in Pelican Book Group's Contemporary Tales (which includes a copy of The Inheritance) and Historical Heroes and Heroines giveaways so check them out and good luck if you enter to win one of the many prizes their offering.

Today's guest has visited us before. Last month Kathleen Neely introduced us to her new book, In Search of True North but today we get a peek into the novel. So get your cup of coffee or tea and enjoy!

Heartbroken, Mallory Carter leaves home at graduation. She decides to never burden her family with her choices again. Twelve long years of loneliness are comforted only by the homemade telescope she uses to stargaze. Then she receives a call that her sister has died, leaving behind a son, the son Mallory gave up at the tender age of seventeen. When her family pressures her to raise Samuel, she agrees, despite the fact that he’s unaware of their true relationship.

Samuel’s uncle, handsome architect Brady Donaldson, welcomes Mallory to the family, but she doesn’t know how much she can trust him. Brady has a bond with Samuel that Mallory has only been able to dream of for the last twelve years. But Mallory holds secrets that could ruin her new life. As threats surface from Mallory’s past, the relationship she is building with her son is endangered. Will she lose Samuel a second time? She realizes she desperately needs someone to trust, and Brady seems determined to fight for Mallory and Samuel. Searching for true north has never felt so hard. Will Brady Donaldson be the one to guide Mallory home, and to the God she abandoned long ago?

Excerpt: She left the emporium and turned toward Wilmington’s Historic District to her apartment on Third Street. The antebellum house had fallen into disrepair when a greedy landlord got his hands on it. The outside was a masterpiece of architecture with Corinthian columns and Greek revival moldings, but he chopped the interior up, fitting it into tiny efficiency apartments. The price had been right when Mallory moved here ten years ago, but rent increased each year. If the trend continued, it would price her out of living downtown. She had to return her dad’s calls, but not in this suffocating heat. After climbing the three flights to her apartment, she kicked the AC into action, and downed a tall glass of ice water. Then she sat close to the vent that began to release cool air, and placed the call. 

“Mallory Rose, I’ve been trying to reach you.” His voice cracked with emotion. 

She bit her lip as a wave of apprehension rippled through her. “I saw that, Dad. I was working. What’s wrong? You sound upset.” 

“Sit down, Mallory Rose.” He continued to use her middle name. 

Her parents, in true southern style, chose six names for their three daughters—Jolene Rae, Savannah Joy, and Mallory Rose. She couldn’t remember ever being just Mallory until she left home. “I am sitting. What’s wrong?” 

“It’s Jolene Rae and Mark. They were … were …” It took him three tries to get the words out. “There was an accident. A terrible accident.” 

Mallory waited through his silence, her pulse pounding stronger with each soundless moment. When the void of information became unbearable, she broke his reticence. “Dad?” 

He choked out the last two words. “They’re gone.” 

“No!” Mallory sprang to her feet with nauseating force. Jolene Rae, her oldest sister. She couldn’t be gone. A vice squeezed Mallory’s chest. She swallowed the lump that jammed her throat. “Samuel?” She whispered the panicked question. 

“He wasn’t in the car. He’s here with us.” 

Kathleen Neely is the author of The Street Singer, Beauty for Ashes, The Least of These, and In Search of True North.  She is a former elementary teacher. Following her years in the classroom, she moved into administration, serving as an elementary principal. Kathleen is an alumnus of Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania and Regent University in Virginia. 

Among her writing accomplishments, Kathleen won second place in a short story contest through ACFW-VA for her story “The Missing Piece” and an honorable mention for her story “The Dance”. Both were published in a Christmas anthology. Her novel, The Least of These, was awarded first place in the 2015 Fresh Voices contest through Almost an Author. She has numerous devotions published through Christian Devotions. She continues to speak to students about writing. Kathleen is a member of American of Christian Fiction Writers.

She resides in Greenville, SC with her husband, two cats, and one dog. She enjoys time with family, visiting her two grandsons, traveling, and reading. Find out more by connecting with Kathleen at her Website or Facebook, Twitter or Instagram 

Get your copy of In Search of True North at Amazon.

I read this book and it is a wonderful story! Thanks for sharing, Kathy. We wish you the best of luck and God's blessings in all of your endeavors.

Hope you enjoyed the peek into Kathy's book, friends and that you'll stop by each week for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight. 

Until next time, take care and God bless.

PamT

PS: Everyone who comments will be entered into a drawing for Pelican Book Group's "Editor's Choice" CD which contains 14 books!