An Aussie Christmas Angel

Welcome, Clare! It's always nice to have you bring something by for a visit. I'm very excited that the Christmas stories from Pelican Books are going to be available starting tomorrow and I'm planning to spotlight them all, starting with yours!

An Aussie Christmas Angel

Blurb:


On an extended holiday from the UK, John Connington finds himself in Sydney, Australia with no lodging, and only a telephone number from a friend-of-a-friend offering him a place to stay. Trusting that God knows what He’s doing, John makes the call.

Jo Heywood can’t believe the audacity of John Connington, yet when her flat mate knows of this obscure offer, there's nothing Jo can do. She’s not prepared for the avalanche of feelings this stranger elicits. Not impressed by God’s sense of humour, Jo fights how she feels.

Can a long distance relationship really work or is God just testing them both?

Excerpt:

He slid his card through the phone and dialed the number. It rang twice.

“Hello?” a very warm and feminine voice answered.

John took a deep breath, not sure about asking for a place to stay from a stranger. He wasn’t impulsive and never made a decision without praying about it for several days first. “Hello, my name’s John Connington. Is Pippa there?”

“I’m afraid she’s not. I’m Jo, her housemate. Can I take a message? I can get her to call you back.”

For a moment, John was tempted to hang up, and he wiped his damp palm on his jeans, before he slid his free hand into his pocket. “Not very easily, I’m afraid.” Something prompted him to speak. “I’m calling from a pay phone. I was given Pippa’s number by a Christian friend of hers—Sandy Franklin. She works with my sister, Emma, in the UK. The short story is I was told if I needed a place to stay in Sydney, that I should ring Pippa, and she’d put me up.”

Silence echoed before the voice stammered. “I—I see. Well, like I said, Pip isn’t here right now. She should be back in an hour or so. Call back then.”

His heart sank. “All right. I’ll do that. Goodbye.” He set the phone back on the wall. What do I do, Lord?

Gentle feelings touched him that he should go on faith and just leave the hostel. No room at the inn, yet they found a stable. I will provide.

Review:

Man, how would you feel if you arrived in a foreign country and found you didn't have a place to stay? At least not where you felt safe...

And I don't know about you, but Christian or not, I would hesitate to open my door to a total stranger.

But I can just picture this happening. Ms. Ravell did a wonderful job of bringing these two strangers together. Trust me, you'll feel like you're there with them!

And the absolute best part is that this is based on a true story. You know what they say, truth is stranger than fiction.

Very well done, Clare!

Buy Links: http://pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/an-aussie-christmas-angel

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Aussie-Christmas-Holiday-Extravaganza-ebook/dp/B00A0QDHQ8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353766768&sr=8-1&keywords=an+aussie+christmas+angel

Don't forget to stop back on Monday for my next spotlight...'tis the season!