Book Review | “Pieces of Granite” (Prequel, Coming Home series) by Brenda S. Anderson Jorie happily returns to a series that touched her heart!

Posted Friday, 22 July, 2016 by jorielov , , , 2 Comments

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Acquired Book By: I answered a call to become a member of Ms. Anderson’s Author Street Team which was posted on her blog in March 2014. She accepted me as part of her Street Team, whereby I am one of her early readers who has the opportunity to read her novels a bit ahead of their published release or just after their release date, whilst finding ways to talk about why I love reading her novels on my blog and Twitter feeds. I truly love championing her collective works as she’s writing wicked good INSPY fiction for today’s modern reader. I re-affirmed my commitment to her Street Team in July 2016, as I never truly left but my participation was on hold until this Summer. Most of my participation between 2014 and 2016 occurred on Twitter; you can still find my tweets threading through the twitterverse about the Coming Home series!

I received a complimentary copy of “Pieces of Granite” direct from the author herself, Brenda S. Anderson in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein

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Why I personally love reading the Coming Home series:

When Ms. Anderson says she writes ‘gritty fiction’ she is referring to the fact she likes to dig deeper than the superficial layering of telling a story. She likes to go directly into a character’s soul and walk of faith, rooting out their emotional and psychological stability or instability if the case might be, in order to best show the growth and spiritual awakening they need to embark towards. For some it is a spiritual renewal and for others, it’s an awakening because they never gave themselves the proper credit towards understanding God in the first place. She breathes honesty and raw emotions into the context of her stories, and her vision for her characters is realistic humility in recognition of everyman’s faults, fragilities, and sensitivities. She organically digs deeper to tell a more compelling and openly captivating story which pulls you in from page one and does not leave your heart even after the last page is turnt; the story fully absorbed and known. She is most definitely an emerging voice in Inspirational Fiction to keep an eye out for new releases and a finger-tap on interlocking book series!

She maintains the spirituality of Christianity in a gentle way of allowing you to oversee the character going through the motions of returning to a God-centered life which is cross-referenced by light commentary of scriptures and affirmations of God’s grace. It is through the lessons of her character’s actions that the greatest arc of spirituality is found.

-quoted from my review of Chain of Mercy

I realise Ms Anderson softens her approach to writing the tone within the Where the Heart Is series which follows publication after the Coming Home series – however, what personally tethered me to her writerly core of heart initially was how honest she was to write an emotionally raw and convicting story-line about wicked real characters who were struggling to find a bridge through adversities and life-changing moments erupting through their ordinary hours. They were in the midst of changing who they were internally as much as spiritually – re-awakening themselves to mercy and forgiveness.

Her cardinal approach to cut a slice of life affirmative fiction into our readerly hours is a lift of joy to me as a reader, as these are the kinds of stories I love to find within the realms of today’s Contemporary INSPY! I also love how she follows her heart, penning stories that are a firm step outside the box of where Inspirational Fiction has the tendency to become a bit too predictably stagnant and re-writes how all INSPY writers can find fuller freedom in painting a portraiture of our everyday world.

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The Coming Home series by Brenda S. Anderson

 Converse via: #ComingHomeSeries + #ChainOfMercy + #PiecesOfGranite

PREQUEL: Pieces of Granite | December 2014

BOOK 1: Chain of Mercy | April 2014 | (see Review)

BOOK 2: Memory Box Secrets | April 2015 | (Synopsis)

BOOK 3: Hungry for Home | September 2015 | (Synopsis)

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comWhen you first set out to write the Coming Home series did you envision each individual book in the series or has the series knitted together organically one story at a time?

Anderson responds: When I first started writing, I had no clue that I would end up with a four book series. Each book grew organically from the previous. I first wrote Chain of Mercy and realized that I actually had two stories in one, so that’s how Memory Box Secrets was born. The story expanded from there. Pieces of Granite came about because I kept hearing from agents and editors that female readers didn’t want to read a book about male issues, so I decided to create a story from the female perspective.

In Chain of Mercy, the hero (Richard) talks about a fight he’d had with his younger sister (Debbie), a rift he created when Debbie told him about her daughter having Down syndrome. I took Debbie’s story and expanded it. I wrote Finding Home because I left a few loose threads dangling at the end of Memory Box Secrets (that’s all the spoiler I’ll give!) I needed to address those threads properly.

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Read our full conversation

Read an Excerpt from Pieces of Granite

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On my two year absence on reviewing the Coming Home series:

I initially intended to read and review the books as they were releasing as an active member of the author’s Street Team, however, [2015] proved to be quite the difficult year for myself and my family. As previously reflected on my End of the Year Survey, 2015 – I even garnished a bit of a backlogue of reviews and titles I was seeking to read. I elected to focus on the stories I was able to read and remained hopeful the tides would turn to where I could reclaim the stories I was not yet able to greet against the page!

Thus, as 2016 started to unfold, I was hoping I could arrive inside a moment where I could lay heart and mind back inside this beautifully conceived Realistic INSPY series as my first reading of Chain of Mercy was such a powerful one, I was drawn immediately inside the vision Ms Anderson had for the series as a whole! I knew from that one reading, I would be forever grateful to be amongst the readers who not only sought out her collective works but could continue to find out what she drew together for these characters I had become so dearly attached too knowing more about!

It so happens, this Summer I felt was a renewing season for myself as a reader – where I could not only dig back inside the stories on my bookshelf I longed to soak inside but I could pull together stories on parallel themes that truly touch my spirit and heart as I am reading them. Be sure to watch for my upcoming reviews on behalf of stories of mumhood & alternative families: Claiming Noah by Amanda Ortlepp this July, followed closely by Ignoring Gravity by Sandra Danby, Dear Carolina by Kristy Woodson Harvey and Inconceivable by Tegan Wren in early August. As together with Pieces of Granite I am reflecting on all aspects of being a Mum and how family enters our lives whilst grounding us on a path that is a true blessing to be given.Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Notation on Cover Art: I personally love how Ms Anderson was able to get synchronicity and harmony with her cover art designs for the Coming Home series – she truly found designers who knew how to create a certain textural feel to the undercurrent thematic of the series but also, the level of hope within any story writ under the INSPY umbrella. I felt collectively they are an incredibly layered series creatively etched to mind through their covers and the choices wherein the story-lines are represented.

Book Review | “Pieces of Granite” (Prequel, Coming Home series) by Brenda S. Anderson Jorie happily returns to a series that touched her heart!Pieces of Granite

A distressing diagnosis
A retreating husband
A prodigal brother
Debbie Verhoeven is not your typical woman.

• She sacrificed a counseling career to be a full-time mother
• She’d rather pound a nail than round steak
• Oprah? No way! Give her ESPN any day
• Nothing could be more stressful than scrap-booking

Nothing, except…
A distressing diagnosis,
A husband who is pulling away,
And two older brothers who refuse to get along
When the counselor is caught in the middle,
when she needs to be strong for those around her,
who is left to be strong for her?


Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9780986214707

Pages: 356

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Author Biography of Brenda S. Anderson

Brenda S. Anderson

Author Photo Credit: Portraits from the Heart

Brenda S. Anderson writes gritty and authentic, life-affirming fiction. She is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, and is currently President of the ACFW Minnesota chapter, MN-NICE. When not reading or writing, she enjoys music, theater, roller coasters, and baseball (Go Twins!), and she loves watching movies with her family. She resides in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area with her husband of 28 years, their three children, and one sassy cat.

Her debut novel, Chain of Mercy Book #1 in the Coming Home series, came out in April of 2014. Pieces of Granite the prequel to Chain of Mercy was a semi-finalist in the ACFW Genesis Awards released on November 18, 2014!

Official Author WebsitesSite | Twitter | Facebook | GoodReads | Pin(terest) Boards
Active in Book Blogosphere: Personal Blog
+ Guest Blogger @ Inkspirational Messages
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Jorie Loves A Story Cuppa Book Love Awards Badge created by Jorie in Canva. Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo.

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What has remained true about why I loved Chain of Mercy:

The story isn’t a work of judgement but rather an exploration of a living truth: come what may in our lives we are still able to be forgiven even if for choices that we feel are the ultimate sacrifice of receiving forgiveness. No one has the right to judge anyone else, not on the level of where they stand on this topic of political and sociological charging narrative but what can be spoken about is how we choose to handle what life presents us. We can choose our attitudes on how we survive what happens to us in life and we can choose how we will walk forward even when we no longer feel we have the ability to walk at all. That is the strength of the story in Chain of Mercy, in seeing how the fragments can be put back together and how nothing is ever truly lost if we are willing to remain humble.

The hidden beauty of the life affirming message knitted into Chain of Mercy is that all three principal characters (Richard Brooks, Sheila Peterson, and Meghan Keene) are each walking their own path towards self-acceptance, self-forgiveness, and ache for a redemptive measure of mercy and grace none of them believe they deserve. It is how they are all threaded together and how their individual lives are interwoven into the plot that left me wanting to turn each new page to see what was coming along next! Brooks own walk of faith can easily be translucently applied to the other two as each of these three characters reached cross-roads whilst their own lives intersected with each other.

-quoted from my review of Chain of Mercy

My Review of Pieces of Granite:

Ms Anderson surprised me with a Coming Home series bookmark feat. Chain of Mercy & Pieces of Granite – it’s one of those wicked sturdy double-sided bookmarks you simply cherish to have!? I happily used it to mark my places in the text whilst blogging my ruminative thoughts as I read!

I’m quite thankful I had some time away from the series, as I am approaching this prequel with the heart of the series in my soul but with the ability to resume reading it with fresh eyes! Quite the luxury! I remembered all the important bits, such as Debbie’s heart willing her brothers to make amends and how absentee Richard truly was in her life at this junction of time. Moving backwards a bit in time, the joy is seeing how other things started to resolve prior to Richard’s moment of truth and soul search towards redemption he never felt he deserved. Debbie is vulnerable here – she was her sibling’s pillar of strength and more times than you can count, she was the one who rallied everyone together. Seeing her in the light of uncertainty, as (I knew) her pregnancy has news that is never easy to hear but carries with it a sliver of hope of how new life can bring new chances of where love can surprise you with joys you cannot imagine.

Seeing the joy lighting up Richard’s face in this installment was such a treat! I also noted he preferred to go by ‘Ricky’ which on reflection made me instantly think of Castle, not Richard! Laughs. (I seriously still miss Classic Castle) His affection for his niece was always quite apparent as he truly loved children from the first moment I met him in the story-line originally; he loves being the favoured Uncle, charming and able to spoil his charges like a grandmother would! The fierceness of his animosity with his brother Marcus is tangible as this is not the family that hold’s back from talking things out – even if whilst doing so, someone gets their feelings squashed and properly hurt. It’s not that they lack communication, but at this stage of Richard’s life, he’s not settled (in body or spirit) which causes the most grief between them. Debbie feels like she’s a ping pong ball – volleying between them, never quite able to break through the thick fog of arguments and save her sanity of trying to sort out why each of them never can yield to spare disrupting their brotherly bond past the point of it’s fragile present state. Counter-point to the brothers vying to edge the other past all reason, Debbie has a swirl of heaviness upon her own heart, as she tries to find the strength to handle everything she did not yet understand.

There is more than one wee one arriving in the Brooks’ family – Richard’s brother Marcus has the wicked joy of expecting another child, where his child and Debbie’s will be closely related! I oft wondered if cousins would love growing up together and honestly, one of my best friends’ in the UK had this happen to her and she said the boys grew as close as brothers; which unfortunately was sometimes confusing when her son’s brother arrived a few short years later! I could see how it could be quite brilliant as cousins don’t always get to know each other if distance or age intrudes on their potential relationship. I was smirking though realising this was another layer of issues about to steam prickles of discourse between the warring brothers! At their core of hearts, the Brooks’ only wanted the best for Richard, but unless a person reaches that part of their own path to walk, change is hard-won if at all.

Debbie refused to be defeated by the worriment pressing on her spirit – she turnt to prayer and tried to quell her own fears about what may or may not happen when her newborn daughter Lilly greeted the world. A mother’s mind is fraught enough with what is possible in regards to complications at birth, but for an expecting Mum whose daughter is being delivered knowing she’s Down Syndrome is something altogether different. You can hear it in Debbie’s resolve that she’s a mother for the ages; she believes in children and the miracle of birth, but it’s human nature to second-guess yourself and the blessings your given. Her husband Jerry is less convinced; you could nearly buckle under the weight of stress he was about to yoke against his tender shoulders – he hadn’t reached that critical point where prayer could takeover his unending fears. He was shackled to his past, the mistakes he made and the outcomes he survived due to situations out of his control. Each of them are approaching this differently, neither truly knowing the best way forward but Debbie is banking on the hope their marriage is sound enough to muddle through the worst bits and strengthen their love throughout the days where their cheeks are pinched from smiling!

Lee’s entrance into Granite Creek held a whisper of intrigue – how did he settle here and what’s the story behind his hesitation to attend church? If his experiences are equal match to most contemporary visits, I could understand his trepidation! There was such a genuineness about how Debbie met Lee at the park and how sometimes it’s hard for stay-at-home parents to find each other in their communities. It was such a lovely scene, as too often, I think we’re forgetting how to meet each other and how extraordinarily joyful a spontaneous conversation can become when we step outside our comfort zones to introduce ourselves to someone who may become a potential new friend.

The seeds of Richard’s redemptive future are planted inside these chapters – you start to notice what originally started to move his thoughts towards reconsidering his actions, his perspective and most importantly his determined grit to live a live outside the shadow of his faith. Richard is a complicated bloke by most accounts – he doesn’t want to infer he needs faith or family, yet the honest truth of it all is that he’s lost without either one! He’s embattled a bit by what he perceives (at this junction of his life) is important countered against what he knows to be important; it’s that double-blade sword of higher truth afflicting his mind with a battery of choices that has defined his path but not necessarily endeavoured him to live authentically.

I love the subtle gentleness of how Anderson expresses how to seek God’s love in the middle of a chaotic period of life where He might feel harder to find. Anderson had this same approach within Chain of Mercy as one blessing the author and I share is our conjoined love for the natural world! You’ll find reminiscences of finding grace in the wild and how through our walks in nature, we re-root ourselves to our faith lives simply by remaining open to what we can observe as measurements of heavenly love. Similar to The Prayer Box, Anderson provides a guiding blueprint towards bringing this aspect of living faith into your life whilst providing you with a way to have solace alight as gentle as a fluttering butterfly in the harried patterns of your everyday world.

I’d have grabbed a sledgehammer not a mere hammer in the garage (Debbie’s sanctuary away from the world; she loves to tinker & make things) if my (not that I have one) brother even dared insinuate what Richard spoke through the telephone wires! Wow! So, that’s how he reacted originally! No wonder Debbie’s ire was rankled and her protective shield was raised high! Oy vie! Good for Anderson to write such an alarmingly real scene and verbal exchange between what happens when a conversation gets honest real quick about pregnancy and God’s will! Beautifully done! Further proof how far Richard had to go in order to patch his heart and soul back together to beat in sync with his faith.

Nothing is ever black and white in life, nor are the circumstances that disrupt connections within families. For each reason we turn away from each other, there’s another motivation to reconnect or sometimes, walking away is best as it leads to new beginnings lateron. Depending on what is happening, it’s how we set our attitude to deal with what life affords us to experience that makes the most difference in the end. Breathing in the drama and the family situations within Pieces of Granite is to seek out the hard truths of how not everyone who crosses your path in life is going to have a happy-ever-after but it’s how the truism of life is that for each person who lives in the light will a bolstering of strength to rise to events that seek to shatter our hearts.

The title is aptly named as it’s speaking towards how for every surefire foundation we set in our lives (home, hearth, family, love and health) there are ripples of dissension waiting in the wings to disrupt our ability to filter and re-attach ourselves to the hope that is always lingering on the fringes of our chaos. We have to strive to dig deeper and to break through the different waves of anxiety intermixed with adversity that start off as small pebbles before they grow in density to represent unmovable mountains that can start to crumble apart the bonds we cherish the most.

Debbie is a rockstar just by being uniquely original:

One of the characters I truly loved reading about this time round, was Debbie! Grant you, she’s the lead character, but if I may?! She has such an amazing presence in Pieces of Granite – especially for moments such as the one you find on page 79 where she’s expressing her desire to be less like herself and more like others? Not that the feeling lasts for long, but anyone whose rockin’ their own vibe and being uniquely original unto their own, has those tangible moments of wondering why they stand-out from their peers and why their peers have the tendency to turn against them.

Her internal struggle to remember to be confident of one’s self and own the path one chooses to walk is counter-point of importance to resolving her concerns whilst preparing to raise a child with special needs. She’s in that vacuum space between motherhood and resuming where she left off in her career – where the ties she has to home & hearth are incredibly strong, but so is the inclination to be in service to others; guiding them and supporting them on their own journeys (she’s a therapist).

I actually liked the fact Debbie was sharing the responsibility to remain spiritually centred in her home and marriage. I wasn’t sure why her husband Jerry felt he needed to shoulder that completely on his own, as the best marriages are the ones where both partners are equally uplifting the other and being the sounding board to each others dreams, hopes, fears and doubts. It’s the best way to keep a marriage healthy whilst encouraging each other at the same time through the adversities life brings to our lives.

Why I love continuing to read the Coming Home series:

You can feel the emotional pull on Debbie and her husband Jerry as soon as you open the first page, Ms Anderson has such a cleverly intuitive pen, she knows instantly how to grab your emotional conviction within a short expanse of narrative! This I remember well from her debut novel, Chain of Mercy and why ever since I finished reading it, I hungered to devour the rest of the series directly! Of course, back then, the series was still a good year or so from being completed! Imagine the joy in knowing the books are all published and in print? Go Jorie!

One of the graces I feel any author can etch into the foundation of their stories is the truism of real-life; I have been blessed to have stories touch and move me with such affirmative clarity of realism, I could distinctively feel everything a character was internalising. One of these authors is Ms Anderson – as one of the hardest scenes to write convincingly is the ‘heart-clutch’, where within a singular nanosecond you have heightened fear, choking anxiety and that line of doubt of unknowing before the crucial bit is revealled to either unwind your nerves on hyper-speed or draw them further to a climax! There is a classic moment between the end of Chapter Two and the start of Chapter Three where you will cleverly observe how Ms Anderson ‘nails it!’ once again! My hat’s off to her for the depth of the moment being reverberated through Debbie’s stilling raw emotional responses!

I appreciated reading this novel for a personal reason – my Uncle was bourne with Down Syndrome as well, however, he lived in a time and age where the success rate towards living through childhood was quite rare. My Uncle also had a more severe case of his condition and could not not handle regular patterns of a home life; the fact he died tragically young from illness left a mark on the family. I oft wondered how things might have been different if he had been bourne even ten or twenty years after his birthday; if enough time had moved forward to change his life by giving him a way to thrive. I have good memories of my Uncle despite the fact we never met, his life echoes of memories passed down from my own Mum’s recollections of her brother; of whom she sadly never met either. Keeping memories alive even of those of our relatives who spent a short moment on Earth, I believe is important; to not only honour them but to give meaning to the brief hours they had to impact our lives in return.

I also appreciated how Anderson continues to actively paint both sides of emotional turmoil from equal grounds of gender perspective as too often I feel it’s only one sided (or bent towards) revealling the emotional lives of women (across markets & genres) wherein there is a loss for understanding what men go through as they too, have to work through their own emotional baggage as life presents different challenges where their faith is tested as well. It is one more strength in her writerly toolbox to provide realistic stories for our contemporary world where all of life is explored; the gritty bits alongside the spiritual highs and lows of living on faith and anchouring ourselves to light and hope tied together with love.

Readers will love the continuity and the gift of the first Chapter excerpt for Chain of Mercy at the conclusion of Pieces of Granite if this is their first reading of an Anderson novel! I loved how she tied everything together as if this story was written and released before Chain of Mercy! That’s a gift for having a story-telling eye and a keen insight into how serial fiction ought to be threaded together in perfect harmony! You truly love spending time with her characters and although the settings are contemporary by timescape, you simply want to entreat inside the locales as you find people you’d love to call friends whilst visiting a second home of your own!

A small note of when Lee enters the series:

I was most delighted reaching Chapter Ten and finding Lee Aldrich was entering the scene! His novella is the third in sequence and already, I had a sneaking feeling his story was going to be one I would appreciate seeing expanded! Especially considering it’s not oft-times you find a stay-at-home Dad being featured in a Contemporary Women’s Fiction story or in most Contemporary Fiction overall. I generally spy a few titles under Love Inspired or the previously lovely (and now extinct) Heartsong Presents moreso than I do in other outlets for mumhood, fatherhood or parenthood novels. In this way, I find merit in novellas which focus on secondary characters, it’s only my grievance* about which formats said novellas are generally released and not further developed into traditional formats that gives my brow a firm knitting.

*(as mentioned via #LibraryLoot, No.2)

This is one reason why I am thankful Ms Anderson understands those of us traditionalists who cannot cross into the 21st Century method of reading digitally and happily provides her readers with print editions for her stories. I think she might extend the release dates between the digital and print novellas, but even that doesn’t disway my keen desire to read them! Honestly, I’d wait a decade if that’s how long it takes novellas to go into print! I do hope she sets a new standard – all novellas should be in print at some point – which was one of my last grievances with the #LadyDarby series!

For those readers of mine who read digitally, please note:

Also, quite remarkable – Ms Anderson is re-setting the standard for ebook pricing, something she blogs about every so often and I firmly believe in her moxie to ask for an honest price for a well-written story that took so much heart and focus to compose. Honest wages for honest work is growing rare in the publishing industry, and I wish more authors would stand-up to a fair price rather than continue to cut into their bottom-line by undercutting the price the e-book should have been set at time of release. Even the music industry is fighting back – by gaining better price per song/streaming and a return to vinyl where the prices were always fair in regards to the breadth of work contained on them. Writers need to join arms and start a conversation on equality in pay for fair wages regarding works of fiction and non-fiction. Therefore, if you see an author taking a stand and asking to reconsider how you spend your ebook budget, do yourself the favour of honestly listening to what their saying before you cast a stone against the idea.

This might not directly affect me but I feel strongly about fair income and honesty about how where we source our books can have a direct affect on the authors we love (one nod of a reason why I prefer Indies as often as I can frequent them).

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This book review is courtesy of: Brenda S. Anderson‘s Street Team Coming Home series boxed set (ebook edition) graphic provided by Brenda S. Anderson Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comThis Autumn 2016, I am hoping to resume reading the Coming Home series by purchasing copies of ‘Memory Box Secrets’ and ‘Hungry for Home’.

I cannot wait to see what happens next!

The whole series is brilliantly unputdownable! I heart these characters & for serial fiction readers, this is the kind of series that you champion because of how authentically the characters are being represented whilst grounding you in a faith-lived life, sharing honest emotions & a foundation of family. The Brooks family is as beloved as the O’ Connor clan from Julie Lessman!

I truly need to spend the back half of 2016 bringing my love of the *Daughters of Boston* saga to #JLASblog! Both series are equally attached to my bookish heart –

one historical, one contemporary, two beloved families that redefine INSPY!

Quote from my review of Chain of Mercy feat. on Chain of Mercy banner by Brenda S. Anderson

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Coming Next in the Coming Home series: (more info)

Most of Ms Anderson’s new releases are Digital First, followed by print editions

Look for these beautiful lovelies (starting) in 2017!

All are exclusive novellas of the series! Extending our cosy reprieve inside their lives!

  • Lauren’s Story (feat. in Memory Box Secrets)
  • Nathan’s Story (Richard’s nephew)
  • Lee’s Story (Debbie’s friend whose a stay-at-home Dad; feat. in Pieces of Granite)
  • Brittany & Austin’s Story (homeless & foster children feat. in Hungry for Home)

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Which will release in-between her second INSPY Contemporary series: Where the Heart Is

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This series is releasing Digital First with print hopefully to follow thereafter (more info)

Ms Anderson’s notes on behalf of her second series:

This new series is nothing like my first series in that the focus is on romance, and each book spotlights different characters rather than follow one couple. It’s not nearly as gritty as the Coming Home series either, but I don’t shy away from reality.

 1st Novel – Risking Love (Author’s Synopsis) #PubDay 4th October, 2016

*UPDATE: Read on Ms Anderson’s Facebook feed this is going to be avail in PRINT this October!

2nd Novel – Capturing Beauty #PubDay 6th February, 2017

3rd Novel – Planting Hope #PubDay TBA May 2017

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I look forward to reading your thoughts & commentary!

Especially if you read the book or were thinking you might be inclined to read it. I appreciate hearing different points of view especially amongst bloggers who gravitate towards the same stories to read. Bookish conversations are always welcome!

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{SOURCES: Book covers for “Chain of Mercy”, “Pieces of Granite”, “Memory Box Secrets” & “Hungry for Home”, author biography, book synopsis for “Pieces of Granite”, Quote from my review of Chain of Mercy feat. on Chain of Mercy banner and Coming Home series boxed set (ebook edition) graphic were provided by the author Brenda S. Anderson and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Ruminations & Impressions banner, Jorie Loves A Story Cuppa Book Love Awards Badge (Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo) and the Comment Box banner.}

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About jorielov

I am self-educated through local libraries and alternative education opportunities. I am a writer by trade and I cured a ten-year writer’s block by the discovery of Nanowrimo in November 2008. The event changed my life by re-establishing my muse and solidifying my path. Five years later whilst exploring the bookish blogosphere I decided to become a book blogger. I am a champion of wordsmiths who evoke a visceral experience in narrative. I write comprehensive book showcases electing to get into the heart of my reading observations. I dance through genres seeking literary enlightenment and enchantment. Starting in Autumn 2013 I became a blog book tour hostess featuring books and authors. I joined The Classics Club in January 2014 to seek out appreciators of the timeless works of literature whose breadth of scope and voice resonate with us all.

"I write my heart out and own my writing after it has spilt out of the pen." - self quote (Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story)

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Posted Friday, 22 July, 2016 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 21st Century, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Cover | Notation on Design, Book Review (non-blog tour), Bookmark slipped inside a Review Book, Brenda S. Anderson's Blog, Brothers and Sisters, Christianity, Clever Turns of Phrase, Compassion & Acceptance of Differences, Down Syndrome, Equality In Literature, Family Drama, Family Life, Indie Author, Indie Book Trade, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, INSPY Realistic Fiction | Non-Fiction, Jorie Loves A Story Cuppa Book Love Awards, Life Shift, Mid-West America, Minnesota, Modern Day, Realistic Fiction, Self-Published Author, Siblings, Small Towne Fiction, Small Towne USA, Special Needs Children, Street Team for Author, Unexpected Pregnancy, Women's Fiction, Women's Health, Women's Right to Choose (Health Care Rights), Writing Style & Voice




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2 responses to “Book Review | “Pieces of Granite” (Prequel, Coming Home series) by Brenda S. Anderson Jorie happily returns to a series that touched her heart!

  1. Oh my goodness, what a comprehensive, well-thought-out, novel-sized review! I love that you “get” my stories, Jorie. :) Reading this today has really blessed me and it’s great encouragement for me to keep writing what God has planted on my heart.

    Bless you, Jorie!
    ~Brenda

    • Hallo, Hallo Ms Anderson!

      I’m incredibly blessed to have found your blog when I was seeking out wicked brilliant book bloggers & author blogs in 2012, a good six months before I ever created Jorie Loves A Story! Our paths have been entwined since then, as I’ve watched your career blossom right before my eyes and being able to read your stories now as a blogger is pure blissitude for me! I truly love what your doing and how your taking guidance from above to write the type of stories we truly need right now in the world. I could not wait to share this review with you, as it’s my note of gratitude back to you for giving me such an incredibly well-conceived prequel to a series I already beloved & wanted to return too, post haste!

      Definitely continue to follow your writerly muse,… it is leading you to such wonderful places!!

      I’ll look forward to continuing to take the journey with you!

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