Easter Stories and More!

It's book review day on the blog and today we are featuring the soon-to-be-released latest InScribe Anthology - EASTER STORIES & MORE!

This anthology comes on the heels of Christmas Stories & More which came out in 2017. Once again, it is full of heartwarming true stories, some fiction, poetry, devotionals, photographs and even some recipes! 

One of the things that is truly exciting is that the inspiration for this anthology started right here on this blog! It's true. Here is an excerpt from the introduction:

"It all started with some blog posts. Thanks to Sandi Somers’ inspiring themes each month, contributors to our InScribe Writers’ Online blog wrote pieces during Easter of 2019 from the point of view of those who may have been there during that first Easter. Contributions were so creative and from such a variety of viewpoints that it was one of our most successful and talked about online series. Alan Anderson, a long-time member of InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship and a regular contributor to our blog, suggested that these posts be collected and published. This was exactly the catalyst needed to spur the next InScribe Anthology to life. You can find most of these original stories in the ‘Creative Non-Fiction’ section. "  From introduction by Tracy Krauss

You can pre-order your copies at various online vendors. https://inscribe.org/press/publications/

Amazon 

Kobo

Or search for it at your favourite vendor.

Join us online for the launch on March 26!

Two Christmas Stories - Tracy Krauss

This month we were encouraged to think of our favourite Christmas stories and even try writing one of our own. 

One of my all time favourite Christmas stories is 'The Gift of the Magi' by O. Henry. In the story, Jim and Della, a young married couple, are very much in love, but have no money to buy Christmas gifts. Each one secretly decides to sacrifice something of importance in order to buy the other a present. Della cuts off her long, beautiful hair and sells it so that she can buy Jim a chain for his heirloom pocket watch. Jim sells the watch so that he can buy Della some combs for her hair. The irony is evident. She no longer has her long hair and can't use the combs and he doesn't need a watch chain since he no longer owns the watch. 

I often think Jim got the short end of that deal - at least Della's hair will grow back! In any case, the real message is that true love is never self serving but will sacrifice all for the sake of the other. 

While the story takes its title from the tale of the wise men who brought gifts to Jesus, I think it is better compared to the ultimate gift that Jesus himself gave us. He gave his very life in order that mankind might be reconciled to God. There is no greater gift than that.

As far as writing my own Christmas story, it just so happens that I have a short Christmas story releasing this week, published by Helping Hands Press.  It is called 'The Best Blue Christmas' and follows a disgruntled insurance worker as she struggles to avoid the holidays. When she finds an unlikely sympathizer in her good looking neighbour, she realizes Christmas doesn't have to be all bad. The story is part of an anthology of Christmas stories releasing this month by HHP.  
  

Who Is My Neighbor? Tracy Krauss

With this question, I am sure you are expecting some kind of reference to the story of the 'Good Samaritan'. While it is one of my favorite Bible stories, I'm actually going to tell you about a current writing project called NEIGHBORS - a series of short novella length stories that I'm writing published by Helping Hands Press.

This series is dedicated to anyone who has ever had to pull up stakes and move, or to anyone who feels like they don’t fit. As a person who has moved multiple times, I know how hard it can be. The good news is, if God is with you, you are always at home.

The story itself takes place in Calgary and was inspired by my love of 'people watching'. Airports, waiting rooms, shopping malls –these are ripe fields for the student of human nature. It was during one of these ‘research’ sessions that I started a list of possible characters that might make an appearance in one of my novels. As I began to flesh some of these people out, it dawned on me that I had an entire community. What if they lived in the same neighbourhood where they could interact? I soon realized that several characters had their own unique story to tell, perhaps not long enough for a full-length novel, but perfect for a series. Thus NEIGHBORS took shape.

To date, the first three volumes have been released and there are six more to come. Volume 1- New In the Neighborhood is about displaced rancher Lester Tibbett, who has moved to the city with his teenaged sister to get a job on a construction crew. Life is far more complicated than what he is used to, especially when he finds himself attracted to a mysterious woman who is out of his reach.

Volume 2 Stuck In the Neighborhood is told from Professor Sherri Chan's point of view. As the youngest member on the faculty of a small college, she has always taken pride in her ability to rise to any challenge, until her boyfriend proposes and her life goes into a tailspin.

In Volume 3 Sneaking Around the Neighborhood, Lester's younger sister Patsi gets into trouble when she starts hanging around with a rich friend from school and her handsome older brother.

Volume 4 Working the Neighborhood should be releasing this month and Volume 5 Back In the Neighborhood is in the production queue. Four more installments round out the series with the possibility of another entire book if all goes well.

I hope you enjoy meeting this varied, sometimes quirky, cast. Welcome to the neighborhood!

Tracy Krauss is a multi-published author, playwright, artist and teacher, with several best selling and award winning novels to her credit. Tracy received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Saskatchewan with majors in Art, and minors in History and English. Apart from her many creative pursuits, she directs an amateur theater group and leads worship at her local church. She and her husband, an ordained minister, have lived in many remote and unique places in Canada's north, and currently live in northern British Columbia. For more visit her website: http://tracykrauss.com