This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
One Holy Night
Sheaf House (April 1, 2008)
by J. M. Hochstetler
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
J. M. Hochstetler writes stories that always involve some element of the past and of finding home. Born in central Indiana, the daughter of Mennonite farmers, she graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Germanic languages. She was an editor with Abingdon Press for twelve years and has published three novels.
One Holy Night, a contemporary miracle story for all seasons, released in April 2008. Daughter of Liberty (2004) and Native Son (2005), books 1 and 2 of the American Patriot Series are set during the American Revolution. Book 3, Wind of the Spirit, is scheduled for release in March 2009. Hochstetler is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Christian Authors Network, Middle Tennessee Christian Writers, and Historical Novels Society.
ABOUT THE BOOK
In 1967 the military build-up in Viet Nam is undergoing a dramatic surge. The resulting explosion of anti-war sentiment tears the country apart, slicing through generations and shattering families. In the quiet bedroom community of Shepherdsville, Minnesota, the war comes home to Frank and Maggie McRae, whose only son, Mike, is serving as a grunt in Viet Nam.
Frank despises all Asians because of what he witnessed as a young soldier fighting the Japanese in the south Pacific during WWII. The news that his son has fallen in love with and married Thi Nhuong, a young Vietnamese woman, shocks him. To Frank all Asians are enemies of his country, his family, and himself. A Buddhist, Thi Nhuong represents everything he despises. So he cuts Mike out of his life despite the pleas of his wife, Maggie; daughter, Julie; and Julie s husband, Dan, the pastor of a growing congregation.
Maggie is fighting her own battle–against cancer. Convinced that God is going to heal her, Frank plays the part of a model Christian. Her death on Thanksgiving Day devastates him. Worse, as they arrive home from the gravesite, the family receives news of Mike s death in battle. Embittered, Frank stops attending church and cuts off family and friends.
By the time a very pregnant Thi Nhuong arrives on his doorstep on a stormy Christmas Eve, Frank is so filled with hate that he slams the door in her face, shutting her out in the bitter cold. Finally, overcome by guilt, he tries to go after her, but driving wind and snow force him back inside. With the storm rising to blizzard strength, he confronts the wrenching truth that what hate has driven him to do is as evil as what the Japanese did all those years earlier, and that he needs forgiveness as desperately as they did …
Frank doesn’t know that what God has in mind this night is a miracle. As on that holy night so many years ago, a baby will be born and laid in a manger–a baby who will bring forgiveness, reconciliation, and healing to a family that has suffered heart-wrenching loss.
If you would like to read the first chapter of One Holy Night, go HERE.
Learn more about Joan and her books on her Website.
MY REVIEW:
I had mixed feelings about One Holy Night the entire time I was reading it, probably because it dredged up uncomfortable memories of a devastating time of our history. As I read I also knew that tragedy, pain and grief was inevitable in the lives of the characters and I really didn’t want to go there. Needless to say, when that time came I was glad to have a box of tissues near.
The reader is given a view of the Vietnam era through the eyes of several different characters – a pacifist pastor, a recently returned veteran who experiences nightmares about his experiences there, letters from a soldier in the midst of the conflict, a father who still has his own unresolved pain and prejudices from World War II.
Emotions are highly charged as the McRae family deals with Maggie’s terminal cancer and Mike’s deployment to Vietnam. Mike’s subsequent marriage to a Vietnamese girl further incites Frank’s rage and the deaths of both Maggie and Mike send him into a tailspin. What happens on Christmas Eve brings Frank to face the ugly truth about himself and is the beginning of his restoration.
One Holy Night is a story of God’s grace and forgiveness at a time when life has reached its darkest moment. It is more than just a Christmas story but a look into the human soul and the love God has for each one.
Come and visit some of those joining in the blog tour:
Abi at lighter side
Adam at Northwoods Blumer
Amber at A Fiction-Filled Life
Amy at Simple Folk Schoolhouse
Amy at sprightly
Amy at My Life
Andie at frommipov
Andrea at Ask Andrea
Angela at One Baby, Seven Dogs, and a Mommy
April at Projecting A
Becky at Savvy Mom
Bonnie at Bonnie Writes
Brittanie at A Book Lover
Camy at Camy Tang
Carla at Carla’s Writing Café
Carole at Dark Parables
Carolyn at Serenity
CeeCee at Book Splurge
Cheri at Kudzu and Koolaid
Christy at Christy’s Book Blog
Dave at Dave Rhoades
Dave at Novel Spotlight
Debra at Soul Reflections
Deena at A Peek At My Bookshelf
Delia at Gatorskunkz And Mudcats
Edyth at Great Reads by Jasmine
Erin at Life Around Here
Gina at Upon Reflection
Gretchen at Inspire Me
Heidi at Take Root And Write
Janis at The Nearsighted Bookworm
Janna at Cornhusker Academy
Jenn at Adventures At Walden’s Pond
Kara at Ramblings-n-Writings
Karen at Mommy of Three
Karla at Another Road To Ramble
Kelly at A Disciple’s Steps
Kim at Window To My World
Krista at Welcome To Married Life
Kristi at Stamped With Grace
LaShaunda at See Ya On The Net
Laura at Laura William’s Musings
Leslie at A Little Bit Of Sunlight
Linda at Mocha With Linda
Linda at Reading For His Glory
Lisa at Musings
Lori at Noggin Bits
Lynetta at Open Book
Margaret at Creative Madness
Michelle at Edgy Inspirational Author
Michelle at Michelle’s Great Blogs
Michelle at Raising Little Women
Nora at Finding Hope Through Christian Fiction
Pam at Daysong Reflections
Patricia at Readin N Writin With Patricia
Peg at Sips ‘n Cups Cafeteria
Pepper at Great Christian Fiction
Rachelle at Stifled Squeal
Rhonda at Whatever…
Robin at Between Sundays
Rulan at Fiction Showcase
Sally at Smiling Sally
Sonya at My Thousand Loves
Sunny at That Book Addiction
Takiela at Beauty 4 Ashes
Tara at Tara’s View Of The World
Tracy at Pix-N-Pens
Vanessa at Ramblings of A Texas Housewife
Vicki atThe Savvy Christian Writer
Victoria at Overlooked Orchid
