Thursday, October 11, 2012

Unexpected Christmas Hero

I'd like to welcome another first time visitor here to my blog, and with the number of stories she has out there I'm sure we'll be seeing more of her! Welcome, Kathi, thanks for stopping by.

So glad to be here. Thanks for having me!

I just love the cover of your latest release Unexpected Christmas Hero. I don't know why, but it just brings the Christmas spirit to mind.

I thought so too. I was so pleased when the publisher first showed it to me, and I’m even more excited about it now that I know the “story behind the story.” It seems they found the man on the cover (Willard Parker) at a homeless shelter and thought he looked exactly like Rick, the homeless Vietnam vet in my book. They got his permission to take his photo and use it on the cover, and then he told them he hoped it would help him find/reunite with his family, especially his grown daughter. We’re now using the cover to ask people to help us make this happen. You can find the story and how to help/respond on my website (www.kathimacias.com).

Wow! That's wonderful! I pray that his family sees it, or someone hears his name who knows his daughter...It's truly a small world. I pray God will use this to bless this family!

I've noticed a lot of your stories deal with people who are under the radar of what most of us consider mainstream life. How did you come to write about these things? What's your connection?

That’s where my heart is. God birthed in me a passion for social justice long before I became a believer at the age of 26. I’m so excited about being able to incorporate that passion into my writing now. My previous novels have dealt with things like families with loved ones in jail/prison; the persecuted Church around the world; human trafficking; illegal immigration. The upcoming topics in my new series (the first one releases in January 2013 and is titled The Moses Quilt) cover issues like interracial relationships, abortion, and people with disabilities. So this new Christmas story, dealing with homelessness, fits right in, especially since I first became involved in homeless ministries more than twenty years ago.

Well, God bless you and I pray your stories create awareness and bring help in these areas. I know this one has certainly opened my eyes and heart to helping!

So here's a peek at Kathi's story:

Unexpected Christmas Hero is an inspiring and compelling story of friendship and survival. Forced by unexpected circumstances to live on the streets and in homeless shelters, Josie Meyers and her two small children share in the lives and struggles of other homeless people. Eventually, Josie meets Rick, a homeless, disabled vet who becomes their ultimate friend.While living in the shelters she continually hears the gospel, reigniting memories of the words she heard and believed as a child. Will these events lead her and her children home to the ultimate shelter?

Excerpt:

Josie Meyers shivered as she stood in line behind her two children, waiting their turn for a free Thanksgiving meal.
            Tears bit her eyes at the memory of past Thanksgiving celebrations, particularly the most recent one the previous year. Though they had all been grieving the passing of Josie’s mother, they still managed to turn the day into a festive occasion, as the four of them gathered around the table to give thanks for the spread that awaited them.
            Sam, she thought. You stood there that day, offering a brief prayer of thanksgiving to a God I’m not sure you even believed in, and never let on for a moment that you hadn’t a clue where our next meal would come from or how we’d make the mortgage payment that month. How in the world were you able to carry it off for so long? If you hadn’t gotten sick, would you finally have found a way out of the mess we were in—or would you be standing here with the three of us now, begging for a hot meal and wondering where we’d sleep tonight?

Review:
This story just grabbed hold of me from the start and wouldn't let go. It has given me a whole new view of the homeless and made me determined to find a way to help. 

Josie's story, her fall from the life she had always known, to the depths of being homeless with two young children, is heartbreaking. And Rick shows more kindness and generosity out of his poverty than many who have more - kind of reminiscent of "the widow's mite".

I loved this story. It made me laugh and cry...and hope. Ms. Macias does a wonderful job of making it all real and bringing the truth home. I pray this story touches many hearts!



About the author:

Kathi Macias is a multi-award winning writer who has authored nearly 40 books and ghostwritten several others. A former newspaper columnist and string reporter, Kathi has taught creative and business writing in various venues and has been a guest on many radio and television programs. Kathi is a popular speaker at churches, women’s clubs and retreats, and writers’ conferences. She won the 2008 Member of the Year award from AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association) and was the 2011 Author of the Year from BooksandAuthors.net. Kathi “Easy Writer” Macias lives in Homeland, CA, with her husband.

11 comments:

  1. Thank you so much, Donna, for helping me spread this story of homelessness in America. Sadly, too many people are living it right now. May we all be moved to help in some way!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amen! I truly feel blessed for having read it, so thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's on my wish list and I'm going to buy it next week! I love Kathi's writing and am looking forward to this one very much.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's truly a wonderful story in so many ways. My review didn't cover half of it!

      Delete
  4. Wow. That excerpt has got a hold of me. Sounds a wonderful story and sadly all too real in our modern world. The return of the days of Dickens.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kathi is a great author,and, woman. I still have to get the middle book in her Deliver me from Evil books, but I also want this one! God bless you Kathi. Also thank you Donna for this interview. Maxie ( mac262@me.com )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My pleasure! This book is an absolute blessing for anyone who reads it!

      Delete
  6. I worked with a wonderful group, 'Room In The Inn' in Charlotte, NC. I know they have groups in other states as well. We would bring 15 homeless people to our church on Tuesday nights to feed them dinner, gave them a bed to sleep on, make them breakfast and packed them a lunch for the next day. I used to be one of the volunteers that spent the night with them at our church. So many of the people were just the same as you and me and for one reason or another had lost their homes or apartments, their jobs, their cars and the list goes on.
    It was a very humbling experience.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is a very timely book with the Christmas season approaching.
    Thanks for sharing this insightful book with us.God Bless Kathi Macias for having the heart to care for those in need.

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a wonderful way to weave important issues of our day with a good story. And I do pray that this man is united with his family. I do not believe in coincidences! Kathi, I pray that your book touches many, many hearts!!!

    ReplyDelete