The Finding home Series
This is a four-book contemporary fiction series that is very much inspired by my life growing up in a Scientology-style cult until I got out at 17 – as well as how life was when I got out. Similar in tone and sweetness to Bridge to Terabithia, but not quite as sad. Very similar to books like The Fault in Our Stars (but with better writing and less manipulation), All the Bright Places, The Astonishing Color of After, Wonder, and The Impossible Knife of Memory.
Beyond the Cabin
First, is my novelization of my childhood in a Scientology splinter cult. Good for a solid ugly cry, this is a clean, uplifting, but at times very serious coming of age story. Appropriate for kids from eleven years up.
Born into a controlling, abusive cult and betrayed by those he trusted, Josh hungers for freedom from the Fundamental Faith in God. After his first escape attempt fails, Josh takes even more solace in a rustic cabin he and his oldest brother made, finding peace in isolation. After unspeakable tragedy strikes, Josh flounders for hope and anything that will soften the grief threatening to destroy him. Determined to escape the cult that offers only heartbreak and loneliness, he’s stunned by an unexpected connection with one of the other kids in the cult orphanage. That doesn’t stop him and he continues to prepare for a final escape. But when the other kids in the cult need him to protect them and be part of their family, is Josh betraying them by trying to get away?
FINDING HOME
This is the sequel to Beyond the Cabin, and takes place three years after the first book. Still inspired in many ways by my life. Still good for an ugly cry or two – this time with some very sweet romance. Appropriate for kids from twelve years up.
Three years after he chose not to escape, Joshua Kerr remains in the Fundamental Faith in God, doing his best to protect the other kids being abused in the cult. Of course, he also chose to stay with Mary, the girl who opened his eyes to becoming a defender of the littles.
For three long years, Josh and Mary have followed their simple plan: stay and protect the little ones until Mary is eighteen. Then Josh and Mary will leave and make a new life—while also finding a way to make life better for those kids who can’t escape yet.
When a family member Mary never knew about shows up, everything is upended. Mary is taken away with no chance for contact. With nothing left to lose, Josh must finally stand up and defy the cult and break free.
He will find Mary. Even if he has to cross an entire country he knows little of, Josh will find the girl he loves.
WORLDS APART
This is the third book in the series, released on March 31, 2023. It takes place a few months after Finding Home. Still inspired in many ways by my life. Still good for an ugly cry or two – with sweet romance, difficult teen experiences, and struggles with mental health and trauma, including PTSD, abuse, and Reactive Attachment Disorder. Appropriate for kids from 14 years up.
Josh and Mary have escaped from the cult and are discovering just how big the real world is. Josh is working and spending as much time as he can with Mary, the girl he crossed the country to find. Mary, a senior in high school, is learning the joy and wonder of spreading her wings.
But Mary is having nightmares that she can’t explain and struggles to feel comfortable when she’s close to Josh. She doesn’t understand why her skin sometimes crawls when he touches her.
Josh can’t wait for Mary to graduate so they can be married and start their lives together. They’re in love and he doesn’t understand why she sometimes seems hesitant or worried. They love each other – isn’t that enough?
Both yearn to move on from their past into a bright future, but will their journeys bring them together?
Or will they always be worlds apart?
Academic Writing: As easy as 1, 2, 3
Academic writing, to many, seems like an impossible task. There are rules and structure conventions to follow that sometimes seem as hard to decode as, well, a code.
But it doesn’t need to be this way.
In this groundbreaking, super user-friendly workbook, I take students and writers of all ages, levels, and abilities by the hand and lead them on a step by step process of writing an excellent academic essay. You’ll understand and be able to use five-paragraph format, including thesis statements and topic sentences and hooks. You’ll also have a greater ability to brainstorm and organize your thoughts so your next essay gets high marks.
Nearer
Most recently, I published a compilation of religious, Christian articles and talks/sermons. This is volume one of a series of three to five volumes I’m planning. The pieces’ topics range from Mother’s Day to being refined through struggle and from Easter to focusing on the Savior Jesus Christ.