Home to Heather Creek

For Charlotte Stevenson, when it comes to family it's all about the love they have for one another. One to out last anything that they will face in the future and one that will heal them with enough time. Charlotte has now taken on the guardianship of her grandchildren, Sam, Emily and Christopher after the car accident claimed the life of their mother, Denise. Now uprooting the kids from their apartment in San Diego, Charlotte believes that the home where their mother lived might be able to heal the pain in their grieving hearts. But carrying for three children who grew up without knowing their grandparents will provide a challenge and a hurdle that they must all over come.

For Sam, the oldest at sixteen and an avid skateboarder, living on a farm isn't what he had dreamed his future would look like. Just where does one ride his board when all he can see is miles and miles of dirt? How will he ever fit in here? For Emily, the fact that her grandparents have limited internet holds out some hope for a connection back to her friends she left behind. What she doesn't expect however is marginal cell phone coverage. How will she ever find the same kind of loyal friends she left behind in San Diego? For Christopher, the youngest, he seems the most lost. Unable to find a way to make a connection anywhere, he resolves to follow his older brother and sister as a shadow wherever they go. They believe that once their mother's insurance money is settled, they can find a home for themselves someplace else and perhaps locate the father that has been absent in their lives. All they know is they don't want to live with their grandparents on a smelly farm in the middle of nowhere.

Charlotte will have to work hard both with her own feelings and that of her husband Bill to raise her grandchildren in the same faith that has allowed them to endure the distance Denise created when she ran away when she was pregnant with Sam so many years ago. Perhaps God was offering her a second chance to get to know the family she never had when Denise was alive. If only she could find a way to reach them and connect with them. What Charlotte will learn is that it often takes more than just family to find a way to heal through the brokenness that keeps up in bondage to our past.

I received Before the Dawn by Kathleen Bauer compliments of Guidepost Publishing and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. I received no monetary compensation for a favorable review. Kathleen Bauer is the pen name for a team of writers who have come together to create the series of Home to Heather Creek. Before the Dawn was written by Carolyne Aarsen, herself a city girl who was transplanted in the country to raise her own children and foster children. This is an unforgettable story that teaches us that through faith, anything is possible and often times we need to look outside of our family to gain insight that will enable us to move forward. This is the first novel in the Home to Heather Creek Series and I can't wait to immerse myself in the next book, Sweet September by Tricia Goyer. I rate this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Now that school has picked up again for Sam, Emily and Christopher, some things are changing more than just grade levels and teachers for the Slater children. It's been a rough time not only coming to terms with the death of their mother, but relocating from busy San Diego, to a country farm in Nebraska along Heather Creek to live with their grandparents Charlotte and Bob.
For Sam, he doesn't see the sense in trying to memorize geometry facts along with history names and dates. What's worse is that it's beginning to take its toll on his grades and if his teacher can't convince him, perhaps his grandparents are willing to listen.

Emily is still trying to fit in without the lack of technology she had grown accustom to, it is now non exist on the small farm. What's worse is that her friends from San Diego have apparently moved on without her and there isn't a decent place to shop for clothes in town. Her only hope is the one friend she has managed to make with Ashley, a girl who has befriended her at school but also introduced her to youth group at church as well. Sure beats hanging out on the farm. Christopher, the youngest has managed to keep all his deep secrets hidden along with the occasional treasures he finds during his outings with the family dog, Toby. He wonders if finding a way to invent a time machine might just be the answer they all need to go back to before his mom died. Perhaps they would all be a whole lot happier.

Charlotte knew that it would take time for the grandchildren to fit in but last thing she expected to hear while Ashley spent the night was a conversation between Emily and herself.

" I don't know why anyone would want to stay in Nebraska forever. There is no ocean, no mountains, not to mention all the potholes and no place to shop. As soon as I'm old enough, I'm out of here, just like Sam. Nothing here worth keeping me around."

What would it take for all these issues to be resolved and for her family to find peace amongst one another? Will it take the loss of Bob's health to drive them to put others before their own needs? Will more sacrifices need to be made in order for the family to come together or will another tragedy drive them all apart once and for all?

In the novel Sweet September written under the pen name of Kathleen Bauer, by a team of writers who have come together to create the series Home to Heather Creek. Tricia Goyer takes the helm as she takes us back to the lives of the Slater children whom we read about in Before the Dawn. In this novel however, the children have had some time to adapt to life on the farm, and even though Charlotte had hoped things would work out, it appears that there is more going on than meets the eye. Even her vegetable crop is mysteriously vanishing which means that there will be even less of a harvest to meet the needs of her growing family. Will the family find a way to work together to see that despite tough times, love really does conquer all? You'll have to pick this one up to find out, but well worth the time.

I received Sweet September by Kathleen Bauer (Tricia Goyer) compliments of Guidepost Publishing and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review and I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable one. I absolutely LOVE this series. There is so much to admire and appreciate about the family that is struggling to overcome the odds brought about by the death of the children's mother and their daughter, but also in resolving the differences between the generations that were brought up so differently. In the end, it is truly satisfying to see how it all works out. I rate this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars and look forward to many, many more in this series. It's almost like the Little House on the Prairie Books for adults that grew up loving that series. Now for a more contemporary version with a unique and unforgettable twist.



Guideposts Books is thrilled to announce their brand new series, Home to Heather Creek, by Kathleen Bauer. The first two books, Before the Dawn and Sweet September, launch this month and Guideposts Books is celebrating with a Paperwhite Kindle Giveaway!

One winner will receive:

• A Paperwhite Kindle
• Before the Dawn and Sweet September by Kathleen Bauer

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on October 5th. All winners will be announced October 7th HERE.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to visit the Litfuse blog on the 7th to see if you won! (Or better yet, subscribe to their blog [enter your email in the blog sidebar] and have the winner announcement delivered to your inbox!)