Who's to blame? Jamie has a secret. But when someone starts digging into the past, her already-tattered life begins to fall apart at the seams. With her marriage, her job, and her sanity in jeopardy, Jamie is desperate to escape everything that reminds her of that fateful night. If only the nightmares would stop. Widowed pastor Byron Mitchell lost his wife and his son in the same weekend. Desperate to win his son's affections back, no matter the cost, Byron strikes out at every turn until he gets injured trying to stop a bank robbery. Forced to visit him in the hospital, his son makes it clear he doesn't appreciate Byron's intrusion into his life. When Jamie interviews Byron for a magazine article, the peace in the old pastor's eyes tells her he might be able to help with her problems, and she's determined to help him reconcile with his long-lost son. As the pastor teaches Jamie about God's forgiveness, she must make a choice between reconciling with her family or keeping her secret forever.Either way, her life will never be the same. Fans of Karen Kingsbury will enjoy the realistic characters and faith-driven novels by Valerie Howard.

Can God save someone in a night club? Can He save a high school dropout? A victim of child abuse? What about someone who tried to burn their parents alive? Find the answers in this collection of over 35 true inspiring stories!Excerpts:"e;Once I had watched a movie about a kid who hated his parents, and he burned his house down. I thought, I could do that. So one night, I stayed up late soaking gasoline on the carpet in my parents bedroom. I took newspapers and laid them around their bed. I poured gasoline all over the doorway. I lit a match, dropped it into the carpet, and ran out of the room to avoid the explosion."e;"e;One night at supper, as I sat at the table with my husband and three children, I looked at them and thought, Where did this lonely feeling come from? When did I start feeling so unhappy? How long have I felt this way?"e;"e;As a young boy, I feared death, and though I didn't think about it often, when I did, it was a scary thought. By the time I became a teenager, I had been introduced to all sorts of bad and wrong ideas of what was acceptable for me to do and say. I didn't consider myself a bad person, but I struggled with anger and it showed. I also had trouble "e;adjusting"e; to high school. It was an unpleasant experience, as I remember it, and I did not make it far before dropping out."e;

You've never read Pilgrim's Progress like this ... A slave since childhood, Mara awaits the death penalty. When the Prince she betrayed arrives at the prison, promising freedom in exchange for allegiance to him in marriage, Mara agrees to his terms. But her hasty decision is soon tested. The journey to the palace is riddled with difficulty, but Mara has nowhere else to turn. In the midst of fierce wolves, violent storms, and the threat of being captured by the rebel army she deserted, the unlikely princess must press on. Can she learn to trust her lifelong enemy to deliver her to safety? An allegory depicting salvation, Avalon is the first book in Valerie Howard's Celestial Kingdom series, and is perfect for fans of faith-strengthening Christian allegories like Pilgrim's Progress and Hinds' Feet on High Places. Books in the Celestial Kingdom series can be read in any order, and are great for anyone ages 12 to adult:AvalonVoyage

Unlikely friends can be the hardest to let go. After her mother passed away in the midst of being swindled by a greedy religious leader, Amanda swore she'd never let anything like that happen again. That's why she became a nurse: to save as many lives as possible. But when Amanda's live-in boyfriend asks her to move out, she loses her job, and she struggles to make a new life in a new town, she becomes the one who needs saving. 92-year-old retired Army chaplain Hector Demetri's work on Earth is done, and he's more than ready to spend eternity with his late wife in heaven, but when a foolish accident lands him in the hospital, his son decides to hire a home nurse to keep Hector's heart pumping for as long as humanly possible, much to Hector's dismay. When Amanda meets Hector, their personalities instantly clash, but as they learn to open their hearts and listen to each other instead of judge, they grow to realize the value of friendship as they navigate Hector's sullen attitude and Amanda's hatred of anything remotely religious. Fans of Karen Kingsbury, Lisa Wingate, Cynthia Ruchti, and Katie Powner will also enjoy the true-to-life characters and faith-driven stories written by Valerie Howard. Available in Kindle, paperback, and audiobook format.

Who's to blame? Jamie has a secret. But when someone starts digging into the past, her already-tattered life begins to fall apart at the seams. With her marriage, her job, and her sanity in jeopardy, Jamie is desperate to escape everything that reminds her of that fateful night. If only the nightmares would stop. Widowed pastor Byron Mitchell lost his wife and his son in the same weekend. Desperate to win his son's affections back, no matter the cost, Byron strikes out at every turn until he gets injured trying to stop a bank robbery. Forced to visit him in the hospital, his son makes it clear he doesn't appreciate Byron's intrusion into his life. When Jamie interviews Byron for a magazine article, the peace in the old pastor's eyes tells her he might be able to help with her problems, and she's determined to help him reconcile with his long-lost son. As the pastor teaches Jamie about God's forgiveness, she must make a choice between reconciling with her family or keeping her secret forever.Either way, her life will never be the same. Fans of Karen Kingsbury will enjoy the realistic characters and faith-driven novels by Valerie Howard.

Can God save someone in a night club? Can He save a high school dropout? A victim of child abuse? What about someone who tried to burn their parents alive? Find the answers in this collection of over 35 true inspiring stories!Excerpts:"e;Once I had watched a movie about a kid who hated his parents, and he burned his house down. I thought, I could do that. So one night, I stayed up late soaking gasoline on the carpet in my parents bedroom. I took newspapers and laid them around their bed. I poured gasoline all over the doorway. I lit a match, dropped it into the carpet, and ran out of the room to avoid the explosion."e;"e;One night at supper, as I sat at the table with my husband and three children, I looked at them and thought, Where did this lonely feeling come from? When did I start feeling so unhappy? How long have I felt this way?"e;"e;As a young boy, I feared death, and though I didn't think about it often, when I did, it was a scary thought. By the time I became a teenager, I had been introduced to all sorts of bad and wrong ideas of what was acceptable for me to do and say. I didn't consider myself a bad person, but I struggled with anger and it showed. I also had trouble "e;adjusting"e; to high school. It was an unpleasant experience, as I remember it, and I did not make it far before dropping out."e;

You've never read Pilgrim's Progress like this ... A slave since childhood, Mara awaits the death penalty. When the Prince she betrayed arrives at the prison, promising freedom in exchange for allegiance to him in marriage, Mara agrees to his terms. But her hasty decision is soon tested. The journey to the palace is riddled with difficulty, but Mara has nowhere else to turn. In the midst of fierce wolves, violent storms, and the threat of being captured by the rebel army she deserted, the unlikely princess must press on. Can she learn to trust her lifelong enemy to deliver her to safety? An allegory depicting salvation, Avalon is the first book in Valerie Howard's Celestial Kingdom series, and is perfect for fans of faith-strengthening Christian allegories like Pilgrim's Progress and Hinds' Feet on High Places. Books in the Celestial Kingdom series can be read in any order, and are great for anyone ages 12 to adult:AvalonVoyage

Unlikely friends can be the hardest to let go. After her mother passed away in the midst of being swindled by a greedy religious leader, Amanda swore she'd never let anything like that happen again. That's why she became a nurse: to save as many lives as possible. But when Amanda's live-in boyfriend asks her to move out, she loses her job, and she struggles to make a new life in a new town, she becomes the one who needs saving. 92-year-old retired Army chaplain Hector Demetri's work on Earth is done, and he's more than ready to spend eternity with his late wife in heaven, but when a foolish accident lands him in the hospital, his son decides to hire a home nurse to keep Hector's heart pumping for as long as humanly possible, much to Hector's dismay. When Amanda meets Hector, their personalities instantly clash, but as they learn to open their hearts and listen to each other instead of judge, they grow to realize the value of friendship as they navigate Hector's sullen attitude and Amanda's hatred of anything remotely religious. Fans of Karen Kingsbury, Lisa Wingate, Cynthia Ruchti, and Katie Powner will also enjoy the true-to-life characters and faith-driven stories written by Valerie Howard. Available in Kindle, paperback, and audiobook format.