Fellow Readers,
This has been a challenging year to say the least. Personally, it’s been downright hard. But even in the midst of this difficult season, I’ve been surprised by the kindness of folks all around me.
Earlier in the month my family dealt with a personal loss that’s still hard for me to talk about. My mama passed away unexpectedly. She died at home in my daddy’s arms. I don’t want this to seem like I’m using her loss to promote books. I’m definitely not. If anything, I want to take this opportunity to honor her, by dedicating this post and these promotions to her.
With her passing, it’s an understatement to say there was an outpouring of generosity, love, and compassion on my family which left me awestruck, so I wanted to lead with that, to help us all focus on the fact that there are so many good, kind, and decent folks in the world.
As circumstance would have it, I’d already committed to sharing in a group promotion shortly before she passed away. I thought about pulling myself out of the promo, but decided against it. I wanted to honor my commitment and help some fellow authors.
Then the severity of the Covid virus became apparent and it seemed everywhere I looked folks were trying to find ways to help others. I know, there are lots of people just looking out for themselves and not taking the pandemic as seriously as they should, but I try to focus on the positive, and believe me there are lots of positive people doing good things for others.
For example, in the past few weeks, I’ve noticed several authors doing things for their readers (like offering books for free or reduced prices), so I’m including some of them in this post as well.
No matter where you may be in the world, I think it’s safe to say the vast majority of us have been dealing with this Covid-19 virus. Monday, March 23, was my first day of working remotely. I was surprised to find I spent more time grinding away at the things on my day job “to-do list”. Without folks constantly ringing my office phone or walking in the door, I was able to bear down and concentrate.
There are now limits in place as well; limits on where we can travel (for those who can travel at all), as well as how many people are allowed to gather in one place. (In Georgia, we’re currently limited to 10.)
But, there have also been many bright spots. As a family, we’ve pulled together during this time. Life has seemed to slow down a bit, and that’s been a nice change of pace. On Sunday, my small family – just me, my wife Staci, and our two teenage sons, had church in our living room. Caleb played his keyboards, while me and Levi played our guitars, and Staci helped us sing. We managed to make it through two simple songs, then we read from Psalm 91, had communion together, and watched episode two of “The Chosen” on VidAngel.
We’d also spent some time at my dad’s place this weekend. My sons went fishing in his pond, while my wife and I spent time talking to my dad and then going through some of my mama’s things. Daddy let my wife choose from Mama’s jewelry. She selected just a few small things and a simple, yet elegant gold ring. When Daddy asked if I wanted anything, I asked if I could look through her bookshelf. Maybe take a book or two.
Since my daddy’s not much of a reader, he told me to take as many as I wanted. I definitely couldn’t do that, as I have too many books already. Still, I took my time and selected some of my favorites from her collection.
Among them I found a book which brought back a funny memory. One that some of you may be able to relate to.
There’s this particular book which got borrowed back and forth between me and Mama enough times that it got to the point where the original owner was in dispute. Anytime it was in my possession, she would claim I had ‘stolen’ her book.
Of course I maintained it was my book the entire time, and had simply loaned it to her. Regardless of that fact, it would inevitably disappear from my shelf again and make it’s way back to hers.
I almost cried when I took it from her shelf a final time, but found myself smiling instead.
“Here’s that book I stole from Mama,” I said, as I took it from the shelf. My wife had to wonder what book it was, but I’m pretty sure Daddy knew, even if he never read it. (In case you’re insanely curious, the name of the book is “The truth will set you free….but first it will make you miserable” by Jamie Buckingham.)
On the inside page she had written her name (alongside my dad’s, since they were downright inseparable.) There were also two stickers, one on the inside cover and another on the opposing page: address labels for each of the two houses they lived in – with her name clearly displayed on the top line.
So, Mama, if you’re somehow reading this, I want to say thanks, just one more time – for letting me borrow your book. I’ll cherish it and maybe even loan it out to some like-minded book-thief like me someday. (But probably not.)
Okay y’all, I know that was a long intro, but I just started writing and that’s what came out. Now to get to my other point.
If you’re sequestered, or working from home, and have watched everything on Netflix twice (as I feel I have), maybe you’re looking for a few good ebooks to add to your ‘to be read’ pile. This time I’m doing these promos in honor of my mama, Hazel Lee Worth, who read Bible stories to me and my sister from a very early age, and played a big part in instilling a love of books in me. Not everything to follow are things I think she would’ve read, but I know she would’ve enjoyed a few. Since we’re all different in our reading tastes, maybe you can find something here for yourself.
Art of the Arcane is up first. There are several books in their current group promotion that are free. Click here to check them out.
H.L Burke also has some great work. You can browse her titles from her Amazon Author page here. (And many of them are free shorter works or complete anthologies.) She writes clean fantasy, many with a romance element, and most suitable for all ages.
Another author, who has been very kind to me in regards to purchasing my books and leaving great five star reviews (thanks Chris!), is C. S. Wachter. Her awesome introduction to her ‘Seven Words’ series is on sale for only $0.99. It’s titled ‘The Sorcerer’s Bane’ and is an awesome full-length (over 480 pages) fantasy novel. You can get the ebook here. The ‘Seven Words’ series is a tale of faith that mirrors the author’s Christian worldview. Lovers of epic fantasy, who also share the Christian faith, will not be disappointed.
All right. I think I’m going to call this one done. Thanks for hanging in there with me and reading this till the end. As I’ve said before, I’m so grateful to have each of you along on this journey of words and life. Feel free to drop me a line sometime. Writing is often a lonely endeavor, and words of encouragement, or even just a shout out to say hello mean more than you can imagine.
Until next time…
Peace,
John Stacy Worth
P.S. Below are images of the free ebook promo, H.L. Burke’s Author page, and C.S. Wachter’s novel I recommended (in case you’ve waited until now). You can just click on each picture to go to its respective page.
