Welcome...
To Hope-Inspired Stories, for anyone who'd like to discover more about stories and books that uplift and encourage.
Several years ago, while teaching high school art, I discovered I was as thrilled as my students when they won awards or were acknowledged for their accomplishments, and that promoting other people's good works was very gratifying.
Please join me in getting acquainted with writers of fiction, nonfiction, and devotionals; of romance, mystery, historical and contemporary stories as they share their work. It is my hope you are blessed with a message of grace through the words of authors featured here.
For the months of September through November, Hope Inspired Stories will hi-light historicals, mysteries, and non-fiction. Well-known multi-published author Michelle Ule joins me with her most recent selections. Enjoy finding out more about these stories--and giveaways offered in months to come! Blessings!
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| Michelle Ule ~ Author |
A Poppy in Remembrance
Publisher: CreateSpace Ind. Publishing
Oct. 2018
Spanning three countries and the four years of World War I, A Poppy in Remembrance tells the epic story of a young American woman’s struggle to become a journalist in her father Jock Meacham’s world. As she searches for where she belongs professionally in London, Claire Meacham meets Reverend Oswald Chambers who opens her eyes to a completely different life. Working as Jock’s stenographer, Claire journeys to Egypt in 1916 where unbeknownst to him, she volunteers at Chambers’ YMCA ministry for ANZAC soldiers.
Claire finds her heart divided between a YMCA worker and a New Zealand soldier, while her reporting opportunities increase. When Jock demands she choose between her family and her faith, Claire struggles to find a balance. Chambers’ death throws everything into confusion as she and Jock transfer to France for the final year of the ghastly war.
Poppies mark WWI battlefields, but also serve as a mythological sign of hope. As Claire survives the final days of war in France, how will she find a way to encourage a ravaged world, a man to share it with and that elusive byline?
Mrs. Oswald Chambers
Publisher: Baker Books
October 2017
Among Christian devotional works, My Utmost for His Highest stands head and shoulders above the rest, with more than 13 million copies sold. But most readers have no idea that Oswald Chambers's most famous work was not published until ten years after his death. The remarkable person behind its compilation and publication was his wife, Biddy. And her story of living her utmost for God's highest is one without parallel.
Bestselling novelist Michelle Ule brings Biddy's story to life as she traces her upbringing in Victorian England to her experiences in a WWI YMCA camp in Egypt. Readers will marvel at this young woman's strength as she returns to post-war Britain a destitute widow with a toddler in tow. Refusing personal payment, Biddy proceeds to publish not just My Utmost for His Highest, but also 29 other books with her husband's name on the covers. All the while she raises a child alone, provides hospitality to a never-ending stream of visitors and missionaries, and nearly loses everything in the London Blitz during WWII.
The inspiring story of a devoted woman ahead of her times will quickly become a favorite of those who love true stories of overcoming incredible odds, making a life out of nothing, and serving God's kingdom.
Treasured Christmas Brides
Barbour Publishing
Sept. 2019
Six historical Christmas romances prove life’s most priceless gifts come not in the form of polished gold or silver—but from the vast riches of a loving heart.
The Christmas Star Bride by Amanda Cabot
Wyoming, 1885—Esther Hathaway lost her one true love at Gettysburg twenty years ago, but she is still willing to celebrate her niece’s wedding by commissioning Jeremy Snyder to paint her portrait. Will Esther’s prayers for God to ease her loneliness be answered by a wounded vet?
A Token of Promise by Rebecca Germany
Alaska, 1897—Promised in marriage to a man she has never met in exchange for a place to call home, Charlotte Vance is headed to the Klondike and struggling not to fall in love with the wrong man. Gabe Monroe has found a bride perfect for his brother. A wife will help his brother run his supply business and raise his daughter, and Gabe will be freed to seek riches in the Yukon rivers after the spring thaw. But what will become of Charlotte when both brothers refuse to marry her—even though one loves her?
Band of Angel’s by Cathy Marie Hake
Colorado, 1893—The first time Jarrod McLeod dips his pan in the river, he strikes gold—a wedding ring! Sure the woman who lost it must be beside herself, he goes upriver to return it. He meets laundress Angel Taylor. She did lose the ring; however, she refuses to take the ring back. Jarrod’s first impressions of Angel are scandalous, but he soon discovers the truth, bringing her a Christmas gift to span the perimeters of time.
Winterlude by Colleen L. Reece
Alaska, 1930s—A single out-of-place snowflake in San Diego lures Ariel Dixon home to Ketchikan, Alaska, despite her wealthy fiancé’s protests. When she encounters slim, handsome Jean Thoreau, a childhood friend presumed dead, a swift rush of events changes the course of Ariel’s life. Drawn back to the home she loves, Ariel finds peace in the arms of the man who would not break a promise made long ago.
Christmas Bounty by MaryLu Tyndall
California, 1855—Caroline is a widowed mother alone in a small California town that is suddenly exploding with gold fever. When she sees the ship’s captain who once saved her and her husband’s lives on a scaffold to be hung, she must do something—even propose marriage.
Goldrush Christmas by Michele Ule
Alaska, 1897—When Samantha and her twin Peter book passage to Alaska in search of their missionary-minded father, they never imagined getting caught up in the rush for gold or that their neighbor would follow them. Soon their youth and inexperience are challenged on all fronts.
...Michelle tells us how she was inspired to write "Mrs. Oswald Chambers". It's an amazing story!
Places you can order Michelle's books:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=michelle+ule&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss
https://www.christianbook.com/apps/easyfind?Ntt=oswald+chambers&N=0&Ntk=keywords&action=Search&Ne=0&event=ESRCG&nav_search=1&cms=1&page=4
Another surprise for Michelle...!
Hope-Inspired Stories Photo: The beautiful photo of Sodus Bay, N.Y. during a particularly harsh storm on Lake Ontario earlier this year was taken by photographer and sister in Christ, Ginger Strom. Note the courageous lone seagull taking flight in the upper right corner of the photo.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8).
Thank you...May you all be blessed and inspired!
