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About the Book:
Hope in My Heart is a collection of short, heartwarming stories with characters in need of hope.
In “Love Unexpected,” a car crash brings commitment-wary Sebastian and career woman Chandra together. Neither is looking for romance, but those around them see the potential, and Sebastian and Chandra discover that sometimes love shows up unexpectedly.
Christmastime is the setting for the middle story, “The Best Gift.” Christina desires to lose ten pounds so she can fit into her dress for her sister’s wedding. Jordan wishes her mom would stop trying to marry her off. And Joshua hopes to be reunited with his ex-girlfriend but eventually learns that the best gift this Christmas will be the restoration of his relationship with God.
In “Peace and Love,” three characters living in a metropolitan area are desperately searching. Elle, a starving artist, aspires to become a paid professional. Eric, a divorce attorney, wants to resolve his issues concerning his parents’ divorce. Kristine anticipates finding her birth mom before she marries Derek. All characters pray their searches will conclude this holiday season and fill their hearts with peace and love.
My Thoughts
Hope in My Heart is a collection of short stories about love and redemption. Although somewhat light in character development, each vignette weaves themes of God’s love and salvation into the plot line. I like that the protagonists have real-life issues and insecurities, such as Christina’s struggle with weight in Book Two: The Best Gift. Clever descriptions are scattered throughout; one of my favorites is the visual I get from Christina’s effort to “shimmy into her bridesmaid dress.” The author uses more telling than showing than I prefer, but the collection is a quick, easy read that allows the reader to escape everyday stresses. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
About the Author
Alexis A. Goring is a writer at heart and a journalist by profession. She loves the art of storytelling and is especially delighted to have released her first book, an inspirational romance novella called Hope in My Heart: A Collection of Heartwarming Stories, in Sept. 2013. When Alexis is not working on her next book or chasing down the next big story for the newspaper where she works as a freelance reporter, she can be found listening to songs by her most admired musicians, enjoying the food in cafes/restaurants, shopping at her favorite malls and spending quality time with loved ones (family and friends).
Guest Post from Alexis Goring
I met Sandra, founder of Celebrate Lit, through Facebook when she asked me to be one of the book reviewers for her company. At the moment, I was in grad school pursuing my MFA in Creative Writing so I didn’t have time to write a review. But I enjoyed reading my fellow bloggers’ reviews of the books featured by a blog tour hosted by Celebrate Lit. Imagine how delighted I was to be afforded the opportunity to participate in one of these tours not as a blogger but as a featured author!
I’m guessing that you’d like to know a little bit about me as an author. So, here’s my (real-life) story: I’m an East Coast girl with a love for writing, photography, good food and music that inspires hope in my heart. Most people think that I’m either from New York, California or an “exotic island”. They are right about the island heritage, because my dad is from the Caribbean. I love making connections with people and learning from their life stories. I believe in finding the good in everything and showing God’s love to the world. I have a heart for the hurting and hungry. I want to help people discover their true worth and realize their true identity—they are loved and belong to the Creator of the Universe. I believe that I achieve that goal to an extent, through my Christian lifestyle blog, “God is Love.”
As an author, my goal is to warm the hearts of my readers, bring a smile to their face and point them to the One who loves them with all of His Heart. I am talking about God. He’s amazing! I’m so grateful to Him for giving me the gift of writing and showing me ways to share my writing and His love with the world! I love that He made a way for me to publish my first book and is making a way for me to publish my next ones.
Hope in My Heart: A Collection of Heartwarming Stories was originally published by Crossbooks (former imprint of B&H Publishing Group) in Sept. 2013. However, after Crossbooks closed, my book was re-branded by WestBow Press (a division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan) and re-released in Nov. 2015. It’s available for purchase on Amazon.com and a few other book retailer sites online. Initially, it was on the shelves at Barnes & Noble (my favorite bookstore) but since being re-branded, it’s only available online.
Blog Stops
September 1: Bibliophile Reviews
September 2: Faithfully Bookish
September 3: Bukwurmzzz
September 3: The Power of Words
September 4: Mary Hake
September 5: cherylbbookblog
September 6: History, Mystery & Faith
September 7: A Baker’s Perspective
September 8: Southern Chelle
September 9: Book Reviews From an Avid Reader
September 10: Karen’s Krayons
September 11: Through the Open Window
September 11: Singing Librarian Books
September 12: His Grace is Sufficient
September 13: Carpe Diem
September 14: Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Alexis is giving away seven eBook copies of her book Hope in My Heart! Click here to enter: https://promosimple.com/ps/a2fc
Dear Linda,
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting this stop on my book's blog tour! :)
I am happy that you liked reading my book and I enjoyed reading your review! You've used so many clever and poignant descriptions when describing the stories in my book.
I appreciate it! :)
Take care and God bless you!
Sincerely,
Alexis