Greetings to all!

Here’s an update on the sequel to No Longer Alone. This year, I’m publishing The Shadows Come. I’m crowdfunding this novel as I did with Fallen. It’s an exciting way to bring a book to market, to let readers know what’s coming, and to give others the joy of being included in the project.

As with Fallen, right in the opening pages of the novel, the names of people who contribute to The Shadows Come will be included.

Find all the information right here. For as little as $5, you can be a part of the publication process AND get a free copy.

Come on over to Patreon to see what’s going on.

The Shadows Come begins where No Longer Alone ended. America enters The Great War. People we know and love will go to war. Some will die, and great personal loss will occur in the lives of our beloved characters.

I can’t wait for you to read this story!

I'm crowdfunding The Shadows Come. It's an exciting way to bring a book to market, to let readers know what's coming, and to give others the joy of being included in the project. Come and see! Click To Tweet

Today, I include a brief taste of The Shadows Come, a scene where Prentis and Tom discuss Tom’s preparation to leave for war. I hope you enjoy it!

Tom had left his breakfast coffee on the back of the cookstove keeping warm. As soon as they stepped inside, Prentis caught the aroma of slightly singed coffee. He smiled. They grabbed cups of the brew, then sat on Tom’s back porch nursing their coffee.

“It’s nice and thick,” Prentis said.

“Just the way you like it.”

“It’s got more staying power this way.”

Chuckling, Tom nodded. “Indeed, it does.”

Both took a long sip, savoring the invigorating fortification.

“When do you want to get your horses to market?” Prentis said.

“How ’bout next week? I’m getting all my personal papers in order and my theological library boxed up, in case it needs to be transported or shipped should I . . . well, you know . . . should I not return. Once that’s in order, I’ll be ready to sell my horses and the steers. You or my dad will have to sell what’s left, if I don’t make it back.”

“We’re counting on you coming home. But I don’t think a man gets to make that call.”

“No,” Tom agreed, “as with so many things in life, we only think we’re in control.”

“Seems to me that life is mostly about learning that very lesson.”

“I agree. The sooner we let go and trust God, the easier it is on us.”

Prentis glanced at him. “Unfortunately, the letting go part seems to be a lifelong challenge.”

“Yes. That’s a lesson we take a lifetime to even begin to comprehend. And then, I’ve seen that final death struggle. We don’t learn it truly until then.”

Prentis’s memory flashed back to his father’s final moments as he gasped for breath, fighting and clawing to hold onto life while his heart betrayed him, failing and giving out too soon. His father had not wanted to die; it had been a terrible struggle as they all stood round him weeping while Mother clutched his hand, tears flowing down her cheeks. She begged him to stay, but he could not, no matter how tightly he tried to hold on. Finally, the fight went out of his eyes as the priest intoned the Last Rites. And then his father had slipped away.

The mere memory of it felt as though it had torn a gaping hole right through his chest. Prentis had to glance down to verify that he was still whole. Surprisingly, he was.

“It’s a mighty difficult lesson,” he said softly.

“Indeed, it is.”

Come over to Patreon and find out more about the plot and the making of the novel. You can find my latest creation right here: CLICK FOR THE NOVEL.