The Best of 2012!! Wildflowers from Winter by Katie Ganshert

 

This is absolutely the very best book of 2012 and it is only March! I received this advance reading copy from the author. I have been waiting for it since before it arrived on her doorstep!!

Look at this cover because you are going to be seeing a lot of it in the near future!
Release date: May 8, 2012.



* HEADLINES * HEADLINES * HEADLINES * 
~* Read all about it! *~

If you like movies from Nicholas Sparks' books, you are in for a treat!! Get your popcorn ready. As I visually read Wildflowers from Winter, with each word, I saw the story action being portrayed before me. I don't know if I have ever had that happen before so clearly.

Wildflowers from Winter
A young architect at a prestigious Chicago firm, Bethany Quinn has built the life she dreamed of during her trailer-park teen years. An unexpected call from her estranged mother reveals that tragedy has struck in her hometown and a reluctant Bethany is called back to rural Iowa.
   Determined to pay her respects to her past while avoiding any emotional entanglements, she vows not to stay long. The unexpected inheritance of five hundred acres of farmland and a startling turn of events in Chicago forces Bethany to come up with a new plan.
   Handsome farmhand Evan Price has taken care of the Quinn farm for years. When Bethany is left the land, Evan must fight her decisions to realize his own dreams. But even as he disagrees with Bethany's vision, Evan feels drawn to her and the pain she keeps so carefully locked away.
   For Bethany, making peace with her past and the God of her childhood doesn't seem like the path to freedom. Is letting go the only way to new life, love, and a peace that she's not even sure exists?

To read the first chapter for free, click here. http://multnomahemails.com/wbmlt/pdf/SneakPeek_WildflowersfromWinter.pdf My Review

Wildflowers from Winter excels. The writing is so [OH, I CAN'T EVEN FIND THE WORDS!!!] living... alive. This is not a gushy book. It is a story of real daily getting up in the morning, making decisions with the knowledge you have. Accurate? It is if it is real to you. Flaws? Not until revealed Truth is added that dispels the darkness of pain and memory, can you see the whole picture without distortion. What I especially liked is the metaphors throughout. It is beautiful writing. I intend to go back to the beginning and read again. The wisdom of Bethany's grandfather allows this story to take hold, as my favorite Elisabeth Elliot quote, "Do the next thing." When you don't know which way to turn and what to do, get busy and do the next thing that comes your way:

Do The Next Thing
(quoted by Elisabeth Elliot)
From an old English parsonage, down by the sea
There came in the twilight a message to me;
Its quaint Saxon legend, deeply engraven,
Hath, as it seems to me, teaching from Heaven.
And on through the hours the quiet words ring
Like a low inspiration--"DO THE NEXT THING."
Many a question, many of fear,
Many a doubt, hath its quieting here.
Moment by moment, let down from Heaven,
Time, opportunity, guidance, are given.
Fear not tomorrows, Child of the King,
Trust them with Jesus, "DO THE NEXT THING."
Do it immediately; do it with prayer;
Do it reliantly, casting all care;
Do it with reverence, tracing His Hand
Who placed it before thee with earnest command.
Stayed on Omnipotence, safe 'neath His wing,
Leave all resultings, "DO THE NEXT THING." 
Looking to Jesus, ever serener,
(Working or suffering) be thy demeanor,
In His dear presence, the rest of His calm,
The light of His countenance be thy psalm,
Strong in His faithfulness, praise and sing,
Then, as He beckons thee, "DO THE NEXT THING."
  --Author unknown

Bethany Quinn and Evan Price's lives intertwine as they are living life, doing what they know to do. Bethany, to continue with her life plan and goals, and Evan, to continue with his field plantings toward harvest. Little do they know that their plans and plantings will bring them together because of the heart connections in their lives. This is a beautiful story of trust rebuilt and faith restored because when we look to God and not man for our direction, it will be given.

Like the winter, grief has a season. Life returns with the spring.


And while you are waiting, would you like a little sneak peek before this book comes into your hands? Go to Katie Ganshert's website to read her free-reads. My favorite is "Hubba Bubba and Redhots."
http://katieganshert.com/extras/free-reads/


Author, Katie Ganshert

Katie Ganshert was born and raised in the Midwest, where she writes stories about finding faith and falling in love. When she's not busy plotting her next novel, she enjoys watching movies with her husband, playing make-believe with her wild-child of a son, and chatting with her girlfriends over bagels and coffee. She could talk books all day and is often spotted around town walking her dog, pushing a stroller, and reading—all at the same time. She and her husband are adopting from the Congo and her debut novel, Wildflowers from Winter, releases this May through Waterbrook Press. You can find her online at katieganshert.com

http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9780307730381

Publisher: Waterbrook Press, ISBN-10:0307730387, ISBN-13: 978-0307730381, Also available as an eBook. You can preorder now from: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, ChristianBook.com, IndieBound.

Following after Wildflowers from Winter, book two is entitled, Wishing on Willows.

Note and thanks to Katie Ganshert for sending me a copy of her debut novel to read and review. Katie, thank you for your heart, for projecting real life in this beautiful story of love and warmth that comes from following paths set before us.