Melanin is the friend we all wish was in our group when we were in school. Kind, sincere, and smart, Melanin is a leader for our times whose compassion knows no bounds. Open these pages and accompany Melanin on her path to self-confidence!
About Melanin Brown Discovers America
Melanin Brown is a girl far beyond her years who observes a brand new student being bullied at her school because of his ethics. This causes her to feel distressed, uncomfortable, and the treatment does not sit right with her. As she is given guidance from her parents, friends, and teachers, she also leans on her desire to treat people in the same manner in which she would want to be treated. Melanin finds how to confront disparate difficult situations while simultaneously navigating her own sense of truth and justice.
Melanin is the friend we all wish was in our group when we were in school. Kind, sincere, and smart, Melanin is a leader for our times whose compassion knows no bounds. Open these pages and accompany Melanin on her path to self-confidence!
You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon, B&N and Mascot.
About the Author
Candice Davis is a middle school Special Education Teacher in Washington, D.C., with a background in film. She started her career in education as a Curriculum and Personnel Specialist, writing grants and proposals. Due to her desire to have more of a direct impact with disadvantaged students, she transitioned into teaching. This is Davis’s debut book. She holds a M.Ed. in Educational Psychology with a focus in Social Foundations from the University of Virginia and a BA in Film and Video Studies from George Mason University.
Disclosure: This is a spotlight tour, I did not receive compensation for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.
Lets Talk! A story of Autism and Friendship is the heart warming story of two friends and the different ways they communicate.
About Lets Talk! A story of Autism and Friendship
Harper, a seven-year-old little girl that is typically developing, meets a new friend one day at the pool that is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. They both love to swim at the pool and want to play together however, Emma has little communication skills. Emma can make sounds and not words and flaps her hands when she is excited. When Harper realizes she cannot communicate with her new friend she becomes determined to find a way to. She begins to learn about Autism Spectrum Disorder and the different ways that Emma can communicate. Once she does the two become inseparable. Harper introduces Emma to all her friends and teaches them how to communicate with Emma. Harper and Emma become the center of their circle of friends and have more many more adventures together.
Lisa Jacovsky currently is a doctoral level student at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She is excited the possibilities having her Doctorate degree will bring her. She has been in the field of ABA since 2014. She began working with children with Autism in 2018 and is currently working in Early Intervention. It is her experience with children that inspired her to finally fulfill her dream of writing a book. Lisa began writing short stories when she was seven years old. Writing is her passion and one of many things she enjoys. She is excited for the future of her series Lets Talk!.
In A Dance in Donegal, Moira decides to fulfill her mother’s wish that she become the teacher in Ballymann, her home village in Donegal, Ireland.
About A Dance in Donegal
All of her life, Irish-American Moira Doherty has relished her mother’s descriptions of Ireland. When her mother dies unexpectedly in the summer of 1920, Moira decides to fulfill her mother’s wish that she become the teacher in Ballymann, her home village in Donegal, Ireland.
After an arduous voyage, Moira arrives to a new home and a new job in an ancient country. Though a few locals offer a warm welcome, others are distanced by superstition and suspicion. Rumors about Moira’s mother are unspoken in her presence but threaten to derail everything she’s journeyed to Ballymann to do. Moira must rely on the kindness of a handful of friends–and the strength of Sean, an unsettlingly handsome thatcher who keeps popping up unannounced–as she seeks to navigate a life she’d never dreamed of but perhaps was meant to live.
My Thoughts
Moira is a bright young American woman who has grown up with the stories and dreams her Mother told her of Donegal, Ireland. When she loses her Mother, she decides to fulfill her Mother’s wish to become a teacher in her home village. She is excited to embark on this journey of discovery, learning about where her Mother came from, and experiencing first hand all of the stories she has been told (like so many of us whose parents have immigrated, we can’t wait to see the place our parents called home). I don’t think anything could have prepared her for what would be ahead of her.
Ireland is everything she could have imagined and more, as a reader the country comes alive in the story. We feel as though we are there with Moira experiencing each new moment, and seeing the country for the first time (how it made me wish we could travel right now). The village is very typical of many small villages, everyone knows everyone, gossiping happens and grudges can last through several generations. Moira gets the sense that people are hiding something from her about her Mother but she just can’t quite put her finger on it. Someone is determined to make her life quite miserable by leaving subtle hints that she is not welcome (I loved learning about their superstitions). Combine this with the culture shock, can Moira handle all of these changes both mentally and emotionally?
Moira’s faith and personal values are put to the test and while she struggled with decisions it is her compassion and faith that comes through strong in her actions and this is despite how she has been treated. She teaches us about compassion, forgiveness and understanding. Sometimes it is incredibly hard to forgive and to treat others with kindness, especially when they have hurt us, but to act out in retaliation (or to not act) only hurts us.
A Dance in Donegal is a beautiful story of finding love, compassion, forgiveness and hope for the future in the beautiful backdrop of Ireland. We are taken on a journey that is well written, and full of impact (I know I stopped and reflected on my own past and how I can change my own mindset). Historical fans will love this well written story.
Jennifer Deibel is a middle school teacher whose work has appeared on (in)courage, on The Better Mom, in Missions Mosaic magazine, and others. With firsthand immersive experience abroad, Jennifer writes stories that help redefine home through the lens of culture, history, and family. After nearly a decade of living in Ireland and Austria, she now lives in Arizona with her husband and their three children.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Parents never worry. No one journeys alone through life because whenever a child is born, he is given a guardian angel.
About Whenever a Child is Born
In his 2014 homily for the Feast of Holy Guardian Angels, October 2, Pope Francis told those gathered for daily mass to be like children who pay attention to their “traveling companion. No one journeys alone, and no one should think that they are alone.
“According to Church tradition,” the pope said, “we all have an angel with us, who guards us . . . It is what God said: ‘I send an angel before you, to guard you, to accompany you on the way, so you will not be alone.”
In this children’s book, angels wait anxiously and with great excitement to see which one of them will be chosen to be the guardian angel of a child that is to be born. This delightful book depicts the joy of all God’s creations anticipating the birth of another precious child. The sun shines brighter, the moon has a shinier glow, flowers grow taller, birds tweet more sweetly, and angels dance and sing with bliss, as all creation awaits another baby girl or boy.
Whenever a Child Is Born offers the perfect message for parents as it charmingly tells the story of how all of heaven and earth react to the news that a child is about to be born. The story comforts parents with the knowledge that their baby is a special gift from heaven to them, and that they will never be alone raising their child, and that their child will never ever be alone in life.
Parents never worry. No one journeys alone through life because whenever a child is born, he is given a guardian angel.
Nancy Diedrich was born and raised in South Louisiana, where storytelling was not just an art form, but an authentic way of communicating. Everyone had a tale to tell! This was, more than likely, where her love of communication developed. With undergraduate degrees in English and speech, and graduate degrees in psychological counseling, Nancy learned that words can educate; they can entertain; they can inspire and they can heal. In Nancy’s career, she has been a teacher, a counselor and an author, where the power of words always guided her in interaction with her students, clients and readers. Nancy’s value for genuine communication extends beyond her career, to the anchors of her life, which are her faith, her family and her friendships.
Whenever A Child Is Born is Nancy’s first published children’s book. In it, the reader gets a glimpse of this author’s compassion for family, and her gift of faith, as the story tells how all of heaven and earth react to the news that a child is about to be born.
From the multiple-award-winning author of To Tuscany with Love comes a captivating story of the epic tug of war between honor and duty, the irrepressible power of love, and the concept of family.
About It Happened in Tuscany
From the multiple-award-winning author of To Tuscany with Love comes a captivating story of the epic tug of war between honor and duty, the irrepressible power of love, and the concept of family.
In 1945, Will Mills and his fellow soldiers in the 10th Mountain Division scaled Italy’s treacherous Riva Ridge in the frigid night to break through the nearly impenetrable German line of defense. Severely wounded, Will was rescued by Italian partisans and one, a beautiful girl, tended his injuries until he had the strength to rejoin the U.S. troops.
Tormented and haunted by his decisions and actions during wartime, Will knows he has unfinished missions in Italy to complete. The passage of time and years of carrying this unfulfilled need have molded Will into a bitter, angry man.
Seventy-five years later, Will’s spunky thirty-two-year-old neighbor, Sophie Sparke, faces disaster in her life. Everything is going wrong—her job, her love life, even her dog. Part of the problem is that confident and fiercely independent Sophie lets her quick mouth get her into trouble.
Grouchy, mean-spirited Will finagles Sophie into traveling with him to Tuscany to find the partisan who saved his life. Will also secretly hopes to confront the demons his wartime actions created. Sophie and Will comb enchanting Tuscan hill towns on an improbable and unfolding mission with few clues to aid them. Will’s passionate tenacity drives their quest and in the process exposes their darkest secrets. The journey alters the course of their lives, and Will and Sophie find more than they had imagined in the hills of Tuscany.
My Thoughts
A beautiful story from start to finish, It Happened in Tuscany made me laugh and cry and I did not want to put the novel down.
Will fought in Italy during WWII and was rescued by the incredible Francesca. Like so many fellow soldiers, Will carried guilt, regret and many more emotions from the time he spent during the war in Italy. Like so many individuals his age, he guards his secrets well. He lets Sophie in but only a little at a time. After the death of his wife, and likely facing the end of his of his own life, he wants to write the wrongs he did and find the love of his life. He enlists the help of Sophie, although she was reluctant at first. Why would she want to help her angry and grumpy neighbour? But as Sophie begins to get to know Will a bit better, she begins to grow fond of this soft man with a hard shell and all of the secrets he holds close to his heart.
Together the two of them undertake quite the journey – to find his lost love in Italy after seventy five years! What a journey this becomes – a journey that seems almost doomed from the start. But on their way, the pair make friends, make peace with their past and their future, something that Will so desperately needed. We watch the pair struggle, become lost and their despair and frustration. You are on their side cheering them on, hoping and praying that they find the lost Francesca. The rich plot brings to life Italy and their search for love.
It Happened in Tuscany is a beautiful and rich story, full of hope, faith and forgiveness. The characters hold a special place in your heart, their story will bring tears to your eyes and you will not want to put the story down as you have to know what happens. It is a beautiful story of forgiveness, healing, hope and love. This is a definite must read novel!
You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon, Audible, B&N and Indiebound.
Rating: 5/5
About the Author
Gail Mencini is the acclaimed author of It Happened in Tuscany and To Tuscany with Love, both of which are Denver Post #1 bestsellers and award winners. Gail grew up in DeWitt, Nebraska, graduated from Wartburg College with a BA in Accounting and Economics, and earned a master of taxation degree from the University of Denver. A frequent visitor to Tuscany and a homegrown gourmet cook, Gail has toured Italy by car, train, bus, Vespa, and foot. She lives in Colorado with her husband.
