Where Luck Meets Trust, Miracles Can Happen
Christy Haviland served eight months in prison, giving birth behind bars to the child of the man who put her there and might yet destroy her. Now sheâs free again, but what does that mean? As smart as she is, a learning disability has kept her from learning to read. And thatâs the least of her hurdles.
Georgia Ferguson, talented educator, receives a mysterious charm bracelet that may help her find the mother who abandoned her at birth. Does she want to follow the clues, and if she does, can reticent Georgia reach out for help along the way?
Both women are standing at a crossroads, a place where unlikely unions can be formed. A place where two very different women might bridge the gap between generations and education, and together make tough choices.
Somewhere between the townships called Luck and Trust, at a mountain cabin known as the Goddess House, two very different women may even, if they dare, find common ground and friendship.
Praise for the Novels of
âComplex characters, compelling emotions and the healing power of forgivenessâwhat could be better? I loved One Mountain Away!â
âNew York Times bestselling author Sherryl Woods on One Mountain Away
âRichards creates a heart-wrenching atmosphere that slowly builds to the final pages, and continues to echo after the book is finished.â
âPublishers Weekly on One Mountain Away
âHaunts me as few other books have.â
âNew York Times bestselling author Sandra Dallas on One Mountain Away
âThis is truly a marvelous piece of work.â
âNew York Times bestselling author Catherine Anderson on One Mountain Away
âRichards stitches together the mystery of a familyâs past
with the difficulties and moral dilemmas of the present for a story as intriguing as the quilt itself.â âPublishers Weekly on Loverâs Knot
âRichardsâs ability to portray compelling characters who grapple with challenging family issues is laudable, and this well-crafted tale
should score well with fans of Luanne Rice.â âPublishers Weekly, starred review, on Fox River
Dear Reader,
Setting a series in places that really exist is interesting for a novelist. How accurate must I be? If I create a restaurant that doesnât exist or, in this case, a town, will my readers go in search only to find theyâve been misled?
Obviously no author wants to brand an entire town as a scene of long-standing corruption, as I did here. So donât grab your map to find Berle, North Carolina, for a visit, because it wonât be there, nor will any of its landmarks. However, I can recommend the lovely town of Burnsville in the very real Yancey County.
Blue Mountain Pizza in Weaverville really exists, and I had a wonderful dinner there myself. Limones, which is only mentioned, is also real, and I can guarantee that Georgia and Lucas, along with Samantha and Edna, had a fabulous meal the night they went.
Most important, the townships of Luck and Trust really exist, right where the book sets them. And The Trust General Store and Café is not only a fun place to stop, but filled with good folks who were more than happy to answer all my questions. I think Cristy would be in good hands there.
Literacy is an ongoing, staggering problem in our society. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 30 million Americans over the age of sixteen canât perform simple, everyday literacy activities. The United Way estimates that the cost of illiteracy to businesses and taxpayers is $20 billion a year. Imagine the joy of helping one person like Cristy overcome her reading problem so that new doors open to her! Almost every community is looking for volunteers. What a wonderful way to spend our free time.
Have questions or comments? Please visit me at www.emilierichards.com or at my Facebook author page at www.facebook.com/authoremilierichards. And watch for another Goddesses Anonymous novel next summer.
Good reading,
Emilie
Chapter One
SOME DAYS WHEN the morning light stole softly through the window behind Cristy Havilandâs bed she believed, just for the moments before she came completely awake, that she was still a girl in the Berle Memorial Church parsonage. Sunlight filtered through pink organdy curtains had always given her childhood bedroom a rosy glow, and so many mornings she had lain quietly and watched the color warm and brighten the room until her mother came to wake her.