Review By Laurie Cameron

When Zack and his friends find a coded message in the hole in the old oak tree in the park, they are determined to break the code. But it is not until they enlist the help of Evan Zolotny, the new kid in town who everyone knows is an egghead, that they decipher it: tonight, eleven fifteen, river bend. Someone is meeting that very night, but who? And where is river bend? They decide to return the note to the tree and set up a stakeout to see who will retrieve it. Before the end of the day, they have stumbled onto a den of thieves. And soon they discover that it is up to them to thwart these villains.

Besides the mystery itself is the tale of Evan, the poor kid from the other side of town who has lost his mother and rarely sees his father because he is working three jobs. Zack befriends him and draws him into the “gang,” a group of energetic friends ready for adventure. The book is beautifully written, fast paced and full of action. I recommend it for all middle grade readers.  To order from Amazon, click here.

• A blizzard, a wreck, and two Samaritans show an estranged mother the way back to her children and to faith.
  • Beggars outside an upscale L.A. church and a young girl teach the congregation the true meaning of Christmas.
  • A girl encounters an angelic messenger after wishing on an heirloom ornament and learns her mother’s secret, a secret that has shaped both their lives.
  • Ever-burning Christmas lights annoy Mrs. Emory’s neighbor, until the woman learns that Mrs. Emory’s son has been MIA for forty years. On Christmas Eve, both learn of the son’s death—and the eternality of the spirit.
  • An unemployed laborer finds a fat wallet and a gray kitten during a snow storm. The money will make a memorable Christmas and a better life for his two children, but can he live with his conscience?
  • A reticent legal secretary who attends the firm’s annual Christmas party discovers, with the help of a magical corsage, how her life has impacted people in the past and the present, but also learns that the future is hers to shape.
  • A Scrooge-like CPA is pressed into service as an emergency foster parent just before Christmas. His two small charges prove that money is secondary to kindness and love.
  • An out-of-work drifter robbed and abandoned by a trucker is rescued by a passing Samaritan. When a disabled child disappears, he and the townsfolk search through a blizzard to find the boy–and his faith is restored.
  • An old man confined to a nursing home is visited by guides who, through revisiting his past, show him that a hardened heart can be softened by empathy and unconditional love.
  • An upwardly mobile executive reconnects with her long-lost sister and children when she volunteers at a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving. When her sister contracts a potentially fatal infection, she realizes that family and love mean more than possessions.
  • After a slip on the ice, a judgmental woman suddenly can “hear” others’ thoughts and learns hard lessons in empathy and understanding.
  • A widow takes her frustration and fear out on her three children, who must find a way to bring Mom back to them. To order from Amazon, click here.   

“La magia de la luz tenue y el brillo de la Navidad está en un intenso grupo de escritores como Jan Weeks” – Rick Hamlin, director ejecutivo de la revista Guideposts.

“Si amas la Navidad, disfrutarás un Cuento de Navidad de Jan Weeks. Milagros, magia y maravillosas cosas llenan cada episodio con el dulce sabor del bastón de caramelo de Santa Claus. Cuando es deprimente, hace frío y nieva el brillo de la estrella comienza a calentar el invierno” – Cynthia Brian, New York Time best – selling author, TV / Radio personality / Fundadora de Be the star you are! charity.

“Tacaños tener cuidado. La colección de cuentos de Navidad de Jan Weeks derretirán, incluso, a los corazones más duros. Coger una taza de cacao, acurrucarnos en el interior de sus páginas y redescubrir el espíritu de la Navidad” – Lisa Earle McLeod, autora de Finding Grace When You Can’t Even Find Clean Underwear y The Triangle of Truth.

“¡Qué colección tan inspiradora de historias! Después del primero, era escéptico con las referencias a lo sobrenatural, pero la historia de la Sra. Emory fue conmovedora, y yo estaba realmente enganchado por ‘Scarlet Ribbons.’ ¡Es mi favorito! También disfruté ‘Miracle in the Desert’, ‘The Audit’ y ‘Lost and Found.’ ¡Un grupo de historias muy intrigante para cualquier época del año! ¡Gracias por el placer de leer su libro! “- Judge, Writers Digest 24º Premios Anuales del Libro

Jan Weeks es una premiada escritora y periodista cuyas novelas e historias cortas han obtenido comentarios favorables. Es miembro de The Author’s Guild y profesora en talleres de escritura creativa; Cómo escribir para revistas, Cómo enviar tu manuscrito, tan bien es miembro de Colorado Mesa University. Click here to order from Amazon

Nine skulls a remote clearing in the Black Hills outside have been placed in an incomplete circle. Ben Logan, chief of police, can only conclude that more children must die. But why? And when? Two local teens vanish, and rumors of a Satanic cult spread quickly. Ben finds the teens’ bodies, headless and hearts cut out. A silver medallion in the mud is the only clue to the killer. As Ben chases rumors and reports, he’s suspended on a trumped-up charge lodged by a jealous officer. Unfettered by his badge, he follows his instincts, even when they flout the law. Nightmares of slashing talons and a vanishing girl unlock a horrifying childhood secret, a secret Ben’s mind has blocked but his heart has not forgotten, and when two more children disappear, the nightmare becomes real. This taut procedural draws readers into the hearts and minds of two men, one who has chosen to uphold good and one who worships evil. Who will win?  To order from Amazon, click here.

In Past Lives, beautiful and frigid Mara Cinque seeks a cure from Dr. Richard Tumesso, a psychiatrist who uses hypno-regressive therapy to help her relive and conquer her fears. He’s not prepared for the many lives that Mara reveals: as a woman on the prowl in a USO club during WWII, a prostitute in Toulouse-Latrec’s Paris, a soldier blinded during a Crimean War battle, a Tahitian woman who happily shares herself with the captain of the Bounty, a young widow in Salem during the witch trials, an unloved empress during China’s Tang Dynasty, a Nordic maiden who marries a Viking captain to save her village from destruction, and a Druidic Middle Priestess during a Samhain rite.

As Mara relives the horrors and joys of her past lives, she begins to fall for her therapist, as he does for her. Once she’s cured and no longer his patient, they are free to explore each other the way they’ve longed to. Click here to order from Amazon

When Caitlin Morrisey’s parents are killed in a freak accident, she must take over the care of her younger brother and sister and try to keep the family ranch afloat by turning the old barn into a B&B. Mysterious lights in the pasture, an unexplained fire in the new inn, and a legend of hidden Spanish treasure threaten the future of Caitlin, her family, and her home. Click here to order from Amazon

• An old woman takes control of her life as she nears the end.
• A mentally ill mother makes one last surreptitious visit to her husband and son.
• A son defies his dying mother’s wish.
• A potential dropout learns empathy the hard way when the school burns.
• A couple must cope with the aftermath of 9/11 while overseas.
• A homeless woman says goodbye to the daughter she has failed to protect.
• A divorced mother finds her nemesis in a New Mexico bar.
• A young boy is chosen to bear the sins of his family to save them from damnation.  Click here to order from Amazon

In spite of plans, hopes, and dreams life seldom unfolds the way we want it to. The characters in these eight stories discover hidden strengths and weaknesses that take them down entirely different paths from what they’ve imagined. Click here to order from Amazon

In this collection of supernatural stories, you’ll meet:
•A blind, retarded, crippled boy who can change the weather at will.
•A ghostly friend who saves the young narrator from a gruesome death with an unspoken warning.
•A man beset by humanoid beasts in a New Mexico forest when his van breaks down at dusk.
•A man so terrified of “them” that he takes extraordinary measures to remain safe during the dark hours, including murder.
•A mirror that shows a woman the worst sides of her guests’ natures during a housewarming party and the decisions she must make.
•A party of archaeologists discovers that an unknown tribe of natives is the least of their problems as they search for a Mayan temple deep in the jungle of Central America.  Click here to order from Amazon