A story of redemption... The Crossing at Cypress Creek by Pam Hillman (Guest Post)


Welcome! I'm welcoming Pam Hillman to my blog today as
she talks a little about her newest release. Check it out below...

The Crossing at Cypress Creek
(Natchez Trace #3)
By Pam Hillman
Christian Historical Romance
Paperback & ebook, 432 Pages
June 4th 2019 by Tyndale House Publishers

Summary

Sailing and soldiering around the world has taken Caleb O’Shea far from his native Ireland, so he never imagined that a promise to see a fellow crewman safely home would practically land him on his brother’s doorstep. After spending years away from his family, Caleb isn’t certain what kind of reception he will receive when he steps foot in Natchez, Mississippi. The one thing he knows for sure is that he won’t stay long.

Since her sister was kidnapped by river pirates six months ago, Alanah Adams has taken special care to avoid drawing attention to herself. Those living in the rough-and-tumble settlement of Cypress Creek might even think she’s addled. But when she stumbles into Caleb and his friends in Natchez, she appears to be the picture-perfect lady.

Caleb only catches glimpses of the mysterious and beautiful Alanah before she disappears. But a chance encounter with her at his brother’s logging camp near Cypress Creek leaves him uncomfortable at the thought of the young woman traversing the dangerous area alone. At a crossroads in his life, Caleb must decide whether he wants to give up the worldly adventures he’s been seeking for one closer to home.

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Guest Post:
Redeem the Substance
by Pam Hillman

Much like meeting strangers for the first time, when I started planning my Natchez Trace series, I didn’t know my characters at all, especially the characters who would not make appearances until the second or third book. At that point, I was focused on the hero and heroine in the first book.

When I gave my editor a few lines about Caleb O’Shea, the hero in The Crossing at Cypress Creek, I said he was a dark-haired, dark-eyed Irishman who’d left his family behind in Ireland and spent the last few years crisscrossing the globe as a mercenary and merchant seaman. It didn’t occur to me that he might be following in the footsteps of the Prodigal.

When it began to look like we might have a viable series proposal, my editor asked for a spiritual tie-in for the entire series. Suddenly, I was stumped. I chose and discarded half a dozen ideas, not exactly pleased with any of them. Then I looked at my notes one last time, and it hit me. The three heroes in my series represented the father, the elder son, and the younger son from the story of the Prodigal.

But again, how could this be? To those of us familiar with the story of the Prodigal, the younger son asks his father for “the portion of goods that falleth to me.” Of course, his father divided his estate and not long after, the younger son went into a far country and “wasted his substance with riotous living”.

The O’Sheas were penniless Irishmen, so how could Caleb be an 18th-century party boy? I wasn’t sure either, but I knew he was a prodigal. Caleb O’Shea had no money to waste, but he wasted much of his youth in unknown parts of the world away from his family. He wasted his talents, his compassion, his desire for health, hearth, and home.

Did you know that “possessions, means, and wealth” are way down the list of definitions for the word substance? You don’t have to be a rich playboy or debutante to waste your substance. For many of us middle-class Americans, it’s not monetary riches we waste, but we waste our time instead of helping others. We waste our God-given talents on meaningless pursuits.

But when all is said and done, the Father is watching and waiting, and it’s never too late to redeem the substance.

Other Books in the Series

Linked to my review (book one) and to Amazon (book two).

About the Author


Award-winning author Pam Hillman writes inspirational fiction set in the turbulent times of the American West and Gilded Age. Her novel Claiming Mariah won Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Golden Heart award. She lives in Mississippi with her husband and family. Visit her website at www.pamhillman.com.



Have you read any of the books in this series or by this author? Do you like stories that retell the story of the prodigal son?

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