Shibori Surprise: What to Do When Things Don’t Turn Out the Way We Expect

 

I was lucky enough to attend an indigo workshop a while back while researching for my book Indigo Isle. What a treat that was to be able to learn more about indigo’s history in my home state of South Carolina and to learn the entire process of making indigo. During the workshop, we harvested the pigment from the plant and then used the pigment to dye silk scarves.

Shibori is resist-dyeing, aka tie-dyeing. We were shown several techniques on how to fold, tie, clamp, and even braid the fabric to get different designs. The fun part is that you really have no idea exactly how it’ll turn out. If the folds are too tight, the pigment won’t reach the inside layers. If you don’t follow the accordion folding technique, then your patterns won’t have much pattern to them.

About a dozen of us prepared and dyed scarves, and every single one turned out completely different. We all followed the same directions and used the same dye, but each scarf varied. Some of the attendees seemed disappointed in their outcome, saying it looked nothing like what they had expected. That got me thinking about how life is so very similar to this. We put in the work and followed directions to a T, yet the end results are not what we expected. There are only two choices when this happens: Try again or accept the unexpected outcome.

I think those silk scarves changed my perspective. Before, I would be the one to trash the first outcome and try again—only to get more frustrated when things still didn’t turn out the way I wanted. But I have come to realize there can be beauty in accepting the unexpected.

Typically, life doesn’t turn out the way we expect it to. Yes, that’s frustrating and can be quite scary, but . . . that’s life. I can’t help but think about that saying, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” It’s all about our approach to difficult times. I know when I huff and puff about something not going my way, my poor attitude only makes it worse.

You want to know another way to make something worse? Impatience. I’m a people watcher, which comes with the author territory, in my opinion. So, the day of the indigo workshop I spent a lot of time watching the other people work on their shibori projects. Some were done lickety-split while others took a good bit more time to prepare their scarves for dyeing. Truly, each scarf looked like art when complete, but it was easy to spot the scarves that had been meticulously folded or tied. The patterns were more precise and intricate. Some of the impatient participants commented that they wished they’d taken more time with preparation. Darned if there isn’t a life lesson in that too, am I right?



I’ve heard that 2023 is the year of indigo, so what better time to discover more about this fascinating pigment. Learning more about indigo and shibori is really just a YouTube video away if you’re unable to attend a workshop. And dye kits can be purchased online. I highly recommend giving this art medium a try and perhaps reflecting on my musings here while you do so.

T. I. Lowe is an ordinary country girl who loves to tell extraordinary stories. She is the author of nearly twenty published novels, including her recent bestselling and critically acclaimed novel, Under the Magnolias, and her debut breakout, Lulu's Café. She lives with her husband and family in coastal South Carolina. Find her at tilowe.com or on Facebook (T.I.Lowe), Instagram (tilowe), and Twitter (@TiLowe).



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                                                                         Author photo by Jordyn Strickland, copyright © 2019. All rights reserved.

Do You Feel Lost?

 

Jami Nato (www.jaminato.com) is a blogger, Instagram influencer, and serial entrepreneur. She mentors thousands of leaders by running an online business and a local coffee shop. She has four non-Catholic kids who attend Catholic school, one irritatingly athletic husband, two unkempt dogs, and several plants she brings to the edge of death regularly. She juggles this circus in the best-kept secret of the Midwest where people genuinely do care about your aunt's hip surgery: Kansas City, Missouri.

Feeling a Bit Lost These Days? Here's Your Map Home

You want a life of purpose and meaning, but if there's a map to get you there, you haven't been able to find it.

Until now.

Your treasure map is closer than you think, and Jami Nato tucked it inside these pages. Your journey begins by looking at your past, and then following the breadcrumbs that God has left for you every step of the way.

Jami found her breadcrumbs in the rubble after her marriage fell apart. Downgraded from perfect Christian wife and mother to hot mess, she finally let go of what the world (and the church) said she should be and let God reforge her into a thriving, joyful woman living on purpose.

Moving seamlessly between the hilarious and the heartbreaking, Jami asks hard questions and shares what God has taught her through her own story--so you can step fully into yours. And while you shouldn't trust her with your laundry or houseplants, you can trust her to help you discover the unique calling God has for your life.

Her Three Great Loves

Valerie M. Bodden is a USA Today bestselling author with three great loves: Jesus, her family, and books. And chocolate (okay, four great loves). She writes emotion-filled Christian fiction that weaves real-life problems, real-life people, and real-life faith. Her characters may (okay, will) experience some heartache along the way, but true to her tendencies as a hopeless romantic, she will always give them a happy ending. Valerie is living out her happily ever after with her high-school-sweetheart-turned-husband and their four children. The whole family is currently learning to say "y'all" instead of "you guys" after moving from Wisconsin to Texas. Visit her at www.valeriembodden.com to get your free short story.

Their marriage is already falling apart. So when she loses her memories of their life together... can he make her fall in love all over again?

Abigail thought marrying Simeon was her chance to start over. To be a better person. To forget the sins of her past. The sins Simeon knows nothing about. But after a series of devastating losses, she knows those sins are catching up with her—and they’re hurting Simeon too. If he learns the truth now, he’ll send her packing. Just like her family did. Better that she push him away first.

As a Christian counselor, Simeon should be able to help his wife cope with the losses they’ve suffered. And it’s killing him that he can’t. It seems like the more he tries, the harder she pushes him away. He’s determined to save their marriage... but what if it’s already too late?

When an accident leaves Abigail with amnesia, stealing her memories of their life together, will it be the end of their marriage? Or is God giving them a second chance to build a love even stronger than they remember?

Books That Brings Smiles

 

If you love to smile as you read, then you will want to read bestselling author Karen Witemeyer's warmhearted historical romance that has a flair for humor, feisty heroines, and swoon-worthy Texas heroes. 

She writes stories of true love, adventure, and faith set against a backdrop of the American West.

Voted #1 Readers' Favorite Christian Historical Author in 2023 by Family Fiction Magazine, Karen is a multiple award-winning author and a firm believer in the power of happy endings. She is an avid cross-stitcher, tea drinker, and family board game player who makes her home in Abilene, TX with her heroic husband who vanquishes laundry dragons and dirty dish villains whenever she's on deadline. Learn more about Karen and her books at www.karenwitemeyer.com.

Her newest book, Fairest of Heart releases June. Can't wait to read this one. I am told it is an enchanting Western that takes on the classic Snow White fairy tale that will sweep you away from once upon a time to happily ever after.

Once upon a time in Texas . . .

Beauty has been nothing but a curse to Penelope Snow. When she becomes a personal maid for a famous actress whose troupe is leaving Chicago to tour the West, she hides her figure beneath shapeless dresses and keeps her head down. But she still manages to attract the wrong attention, leaving her prospects in tatters--and her jealous mistress plotting her demise.

After his brother lost his life over a woman, Texas Ranger Titus Kingsley has learned to expect the worst from women and is rarely disappointed. So when a young lady found in suspicious circumstances takes up residence with the seven old drovers living at his grandfather's ranch, Titus is determined to keep a close eye on her.

With a promotion hanging in the balance, Titus is assigned to investigate a robbery case tied to Penelope's acting troupe, and all evidence points to Penelope's guilt. But Titus might just be convinced that the fairest woman of all has a heart as pure as her last name . . . if only he can prove it.

Interviews and Reviews, says, “An excellent start to [Witemeyer's] Texas Ever After series. . .  I loved this story from beginning to end and applaud the author for her ingenuity. I can't wait for the next one!”

In March, her book In Her Sights was released.

He's sworn off love, but she has his heart in her sights and doesn't intend to miss.

Stained by his wastrel father's legacy, Jackson Spivey lives on the fringes of society. Townsfolk tolerate him since he keeps the local hotel supplied with fresh game, but mothers coach their daughters to avoid him. After tasting consistent rejection, Jackson spurns all attempts at courtship. The only things he can count on are his guns and his God.

Tessa James has been secretly in love with Jackson for ages, but trying to gain his favor only pushes him further away. When she learns Annie Oakley is traveling through Texas, Tessa seeks lessons from the famed markswoman. If Jackson's life revolves around guns, taking up shooting might help her engage his interest. Too bad she can't hit the broad side of a barn.

When Annie loans Tessa a custom pistol, however, things begin to change. The lore behind the mysterious weapon fosters hope that Tessa might finally hit the target of Jackson's heart. But when danger threatens, she might be forced to use the pistol for something other than finding love.

Be sure and check out her website, www.karenwitemeyer.com where you will find contests, deleted scenes, unpublished epilogues, character trivia, and ways to personally connect with her. She loves hearing from her readers.

Romantic Comedy Writer

Mary Connealy writes romantic comedy with cowboys. She is independently publishing a contemporary romantic suspense series called Garrison’s Law, book one is Loving the Texas Lawman. Her new historical series, High Sierra Sweethearts begins with The Accidental Guardian. She is also the author of these series: Kincaid Brides, Trouble in Texas, Wild at Heart, Cimarron Legacy, Lassoed in Texas, Montana Marriages and Sophie's daughters, and has man other books.

She is a two-time Carol Award winner and has been a finalist for the Rita and Christy Awards. She’s a lifelong Nebraskan and lives with her very own romantic cowboy hero. She’s got four grown daughters and four spectacular grandchildren.

Find Mary online at:

Her website: maryconnealy.com

Mary is on Facebook at facebook.com/maryconnealy

And Twitter at twitter.com/maryconnealy

Releasing June . . .  The Laws of Attraction

Can they risk giving in to the attraction between them while their lives are on the line?

If widowed seamstress Nell Armstrong has to make one more pair of boring chaps for the cowboys in her tiny Wyoming town, she might just quit the business altogether! So meeting Brand Nolte, a widower struggling to raise three girls on his own, seems like her dream come true. Brand has no idea how to dress the girls properly, and Nell finally has a chance to create beautiful outfits while also teaching the girls to sew.

But Nell is much more than a seamstress, and the investigative skills and knowledge she picked up alongside her late lawman husband soon become critical when a wounded stagecoach-robbery survivor is brought to town. As danger closes in from all sides, Nell and Brand must discover who has a target trained on them before it's too late.

Sweet and Inspirational Romance

USA Today best-selling author Jessie Gussman writes sweet and inspirational romance from her farm in central Virginia. Having attended, but never graduating from the school of hard knocks, Jessie uses real life on the farm to inspire her cowboy, rural and blue-collar fiction.


When she’s not chasing kids, cows and the occasional roll-away haybale, Jessie enjoys wading in Naked Creek and not cleaning her house. Most of the time her main goal is to keep from catching herself on fire…again.


If you enjoy fun stories with vivid characters showcasing strong families with a ribbon of faith tying everything together, you might enjoy Jessie’s books.

Listen to Jay Dyess perform Jessie's books - for FREE - on YouTube HERE: https://www.youtube.com/SaywithJay

Subscribe to her newsletter and find out why readers say, "I eagerly look forward to Tuesday mornings" and "Jessie's newsletter is the only author newsletter that I read every word." https://dl.bookfunnel.com/97elto4gwl

Visit Jessie’s website:https://jessiegussman.com/ 

After losing her husband in the line of duty, Annie Brooks moves in with her mother in Sweet Water, North Dakota with her two small children to try to put the pieces of her life back together.
Hired to book clients for the Dude ranch her husband's best friends started, Annie is completely uninterested in any type of relationship. In fact, she's finding it hard to get out of bed in the morning, let alone care what she looks like. She's heading toward depression and is holding it together - barely - for the sake of her kids.

Zeke hates seeing the pretty, young widow of one of his Air Force buddies struggling so hard, but he doesn't know what to do about it. Until the matchmakers of Sweet Water come up with a plan.

Will a roadtrip with two small children to house sit a cabin in the woods be what Annie needs? Or will they end up with more than they bargained for?

A Day to Pay Tribute

 

Our Country has been celebrating Memorial Day for 155 years.


The day is set aside to honor and mourn the U.S. military personnel who died serving our country.


Many people take their vacations while some take a four day weekend. They attend events ranging from community gatherings to large sports competitions such as the The Indianapolis (“Indy”) 500 motor race, relaxing on the beaches, hiking in the mountains appreciating the variouos activities.


And many Americans visit cemeteries, where volunteers often place American flags on graves remembering what they sacrificed for us.


I've often wondered how many of us stop and give thanks for what our brave military men and women did so we would have the freedoms we have in this country. Do you, wonder?


This memorial day, let us remember all those who gave their lives for us and appreciate the freedoms they secured for us.


God Bless Our Soldiers! God Bless Our Country!

Reaching A Crossroads

Luke Russert is an author and an Emmy Award winning journalist who served as an NBC News correspondent from 2008 to 2016. Primarily covering American politics, he was seen on popular outlets such as NBC Nightly News, Today, NBCNews.com, and MSNBC.

After leaving media, Russert embarked on a three year, six continent travel expedition that took him to nearly seventy countries. Published by Harper Horizon, his first book, “Look For Me There”, is a reflection of his deeply personal internal journey across many diverse external places.

"I reached a crossroads in my early thirties where I felt empty and unfulfilled. I wanted to know—why? So I set out into the world, hoping to feel something. The reward of travel was that it made me much more aware of my surroundings — the beauty of nature, the weight of history and the common good of the larger human family."

He is the son of the late Tim Russert of NBC’s Meet the Press and Vanity Fair writer Maureen Orth. Russert resides in Washington, DC. with his pug named Shawkemo.

https://www.lukerussert.net/

In Look for Me There, Luke Russert traverses terrain both physical and deeply personal. On his journey to some of the world’s most stunning destinations, he visits the internal places of grief, family, faith, ambition, and purpose—with intense self-reflection, honesty, and courage."—Savannah Guthrie, coanchor of Today

“Look for me there,” news legend Tim Russert would tell his son, Luke, when confirming a pickup spot at an airport, sporting event, or rock concert. After Tim died unexpectedly, Luke kept looking for his father, following in Tim’s footsteps and carving out a highly successful career at NBC News. After eight years covering politics on television, Luke realized he had no good answer as to why he was chasing his father’s legacy. As the son of two accomplished parents—his mother is journalist Maureen Orth of Vanity Fair—Luke felt the pressure of high expectations but suddenly decided to leave the familiar path behind.

Instead, Luke set out on his own to find answers. What began as several open-ended months of travel to decompress and reassess morphed into a three-plus-year odyssey across six continents to discover the world and, ultimately, to find himself.

Chronicling the important lessons and historical understandings Luke discovered from his travels, Look for Me There is both the vivid narrative of that journey and the emotional story of a young man taking charge of his life, reexamining his relationship with his parents, and finally grieving his larger-than-life father, who died too young. 

For anyone uncertain about the direction of their life or unsure of how to move forward after a loss, Look for Me There is a poignant reflection that offers encouragement to examine our choices, take risks, and discover our truest selves.

Why Read? See What Pat Williams Says!

 

Pat Williams

Pat Williams is a basketball Hall-of-Famer, currently serving as co-founder and senior vice president of the NBA’s Orlando Magic.Pat is also the author of 100 books, his most recent title highlighting the secrets to peak performance in HUMILITY.one of America’s top motivational speakers, he has addressed thousands of executives in organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies and national associations to universities and nonprofits.Pat and his wife, Ruth, are the parents of 19 children, including 14 adopted from four nations, ranging in age from 28 to 42. For one year, 16 of his children were all teenagers at the same time. Currently, Pat has 14 grandchildren and counting.Pat teaches an adult Sunday school class at First Baptist Church of Orlando and hosts three weekly radio shows. In the last 15 years, he has completed 58 marathons—most recently, the 2011 Walt Disney World Marathon—and also climbed Mt. Rainier. He is a weightlifter, Civil War buff and serious baseball fan.

To read more of Pat Williams story, his achievements, his fight with cancer and the remission go to https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B000AR9E0A/about

'Pat Williams reminds us that reading can transform our lives. But for that to happen we have to turn off the TV and pick up the book. Books give us information, remind us we're human, and above all challenge our imagination. Pat Williams encourages people not to take this gift for granted.'

-- Senator Bill Bradley

"Pat Williams does an extraordinary job illustrating the social and educational benefits of reading."

--David Stern , Commissioner of the National Basketball Association

Have you ever thought, 'I need to read more,' but not known how or where to start? You can start right here! Read for Your Life reignites your love affair with books and shows you how to prioritize reading--no matter how busy you think you are. It's not just about filling that hard-to-find 'downtime.' Books improve your life in every imaginable way and can give you a mental workout guaranteed to keep your brain fit, alert, and active your whole lifetime.

Author Pat Williams is on a mission to help us all fully access and enjoy the power of reading. If Pat--a father of nineteen children, a four-marathon-a-year runner, and the senior vice president of the Orlando Magic--can make time for it, anyone can. With anecdotes and interviews from today's greatest icons in business, academia, and sports--including Alex Rodriguez, Grant Hill, Oprah Winfrey, Rick Warren, and Rudy Giuliani-- Read for Your Life shows you how you can:

• · Minimize distractions and maximize your reading time
• 
  
• · Develop a personalized program for reading more often
• 
  
• · Discover the many ways that reading can improve your mental well-being, your outlook on life, and your level of success in your career
• 
  
• · Rediscover and reconnect with the real you by reading regularly

The lifetime gift of literacy is inside this book. Unleash it!

What About Love?

Mary E Hanks

Can Liv marry a man she doesn’t love for a good cause?

Seven months pregnant, alone, and homeless, Liv sits in a diner in Spokane, crying over her cold french fries. With plans to spend another night in her car at the rest stop, she has no direction for her life. So when Trish North, a motherly stranger, invites her to stay with her, how can she refuse?

Trish’s son, Smith, has felt a calling to be a pastor ever since he was a kid. However, the church where he feels led to minister has a strict requirement. Their pastor must be married. When Smith’s engagement disintegrates, along with his dreams of pastoring, he faces a faith crisis.

Trish has a solution. Why doesn’t he marry their houseguest?

A preposterous idea!

Yet, in their unlikely, unexpected friendship—and over baking mishaps—Smith and Liv discover laughter, purpose, and hope. Are those things enough to build a marriage on?

What about love?


If you enjoy lighthearted inspirational Christian fiction with a slow-burn romance, flirting while baking, and a marriage of convenience storyline, try Liv & the Preacher today! This is a standalone novel set in 1988.

Married for 40+ years, Mary Hanks loves to read and write Christian fiction married romances. She has written twelve books in the second-chance inspirational Christian fiction genre so far. Liv & the Preacher is her first standalone marriage of convenience story. She hopes to write many more heartwarming stories!

Besides writing, Mary likes to do artsy stuff, go on adventures with Jason, and meet her four adult kids for coffee or breakfast. Check out her website at https://maryehanks.com/

Will She Play Her Part?

Ann H. Gabhart

If all the world's a stage, Jacci will play her part.

She only hopes her story does not turn out to be a tragedy.

In 1881, Jacci Reed is only five years old when a man attempts to kidnap her from the steamboat her mother, Irena, works on. Badly wounded during the confrontation, Irena takes Jacci aboard the Kingston Floating Palace, a showboat tied up beside them. There, Jacci's actor grandfather tends to her mother and Jacci gets a first taste of the life she will come to lead.

Fifteen years later, Jacci is an actress aboard the Kingston Floating Palace, and largely contented with her adopted family of actors, singers, and dancers. Especially Gabe, who has always supported her, and the gruff grandfather she has come to know and love. Jacci's mother has been gone for years, but the memory of the altercation that ultimately took her life--and the cryptic things Jacci has overheard about her past--is always there, lurking in the back of her mind.

When someone on the showboat tries to kill Jacci, it's clear her questions demand answers. But secrets have a way of staying in the shadows, and the answers she craves will not come easily. Gabe only hopes they come in time for him and Jacci to have a future together.

Ann H. Gabhart caught the writing bug at the age of ten and has been writing ever since. An award winning author, she's published many books for both adults and young adults. Her books cover several genres from historical to small town family stories to cozy mysteries (mysteries published with author name A.H. Gabhart). Her ideas are sparked by events in Kentucky history and by experiences in her own family. Her first Shaker novel, The Outsider, was a finalist for the ECPA Christian Fiction Book of the Year. Love Comes Home won the Selah Book of the Year award, and These Healing Hills was the Faith, Hope & Love Readers' Choice Women's Fiction Book of the Year.

Ann lives on a Kentucky farm not far from where she was born. She and her husband have three children and nine grandchildren. Ann enjoys hiking on her farm with her grandkids and her dogs, Frankie and Marley. See more about her books at www.annhgabhart.com or join the conversation on her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/anngabhart https://www.facebook.com/AnnGabhart.

Family Secrets?

Stephenia H McGee

A surprise inheritance. A cache of family secrets. A choice that will change her life forever.

Lillian Doyle has lived her entire high-society life with her widowed mother, believing her father died long ago. But when news arrives that her estranged father only recently passed away--in jail--Lillian is startled to find that the man has left a business and all of his possessions to her, making her a rather unusual heiress.

When she goes to take possession of her father's house in a backwoods Georgia town, the dilapidated structure is already occupied by another woman who claims it was promised to her son, Jonah. In her attempts to untangle the mess, Lillian will discover not only a family she never knew she had but a family business that is more than meets the eye--and has put a target on her back.

To discover the truth and take hold of the independence she's always dreamed of, she'll have to make friends with adversaries and strangers--especially Jonah, the dusty and unrefined cowboy who has secret aspirations of his own.

Stephenia H. McGee is a multi-published author of stories of faith, hope, and healing set in the Deep South. She lives in Mississippi, where she is a mom of two rambunctious boys, writer, dreamer, and husband spoiler. Her novel The Cedar Key was a 2021 Faith, Hope, and Love Readers’ Choice award winner. A member of the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) and the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution), she loves all things books and history. Stephenia also loves connecting with readers and can often be found having fun with her Faithful Readers Team on Facebook. For more on books and upcoming events and to connect with Stephenia, visit her at www.StepheniaMcGee.com.

Welcome Back to Hope Harbor

Irene Hannon

Bestselling author Irene Hannon invites you back to Hope Harbor, where hearts heal and love blooms.

Buying a haunted house was never in Ashley Scott's plans, but when an intriguing opportunity drops into her lap after a major setback, she finds herself trekking cross-country to Hope Harbor on the Oregon coast to launch a new life.

Wounded warrior Jonathan Gray isn't sure what to make of the attractive woman on his reclusive older neighbor's isolated property, but her presence is none of his business--until she enlists his help with an ambitious project. When Jonathan finds his interest in the new arrival becoming more personal than professional, however, his defenses go up. There's no room in his life--or his heart--for romance.

Yet, as these three hurting people join forces to restore life, laughter, and love to a historic estate that has known too much sadness, they may also find healing, hope, and happiness for themselves.

Irene Hannon is the best-selling author of more than 35 novels. Her books have been honored with the coveted RITA Award from Romance Writers of America, the HOLT Medallion, the Reviewer's Choice Award from Romantic Times BOOKreviews magazine and the Daphne du Maurier Award for mystery/suspense. Irene and her husband make their home in Missouri, USA. Irene invites you to visit her at her website, www.irenehannon.com

Ties Are Hard To Break

Lynette Eason

She's worked hard to distance herself from her father's legacy--but family ties are hard to break

When FBI Agent Daria Nevsky returns home to an intruder, she's not exactly surprised. She's been on high alert ever since her father, a powerful figure in Russian organized crime, was killed. She is surprised, however, when the man in a ski mask and hoodie tells her that her father sent him.

Dr. Ryker Donahue knows he's heard the name Daria Nevsky before. As he tends to the young woman's wounds, he tries to put the pieces together. No sooner does she show up at his hospital than it becomes painfully clear that whoever she is, she's in trouble. He feels a strong pull to protect her--but he quickly realizes that this is a woman who knows how to handle herself.

It will take both of them--and a handful of their skilled friends--to figure out who's after her, what they really want, and how to make it out alive.

Award-winning, best-selling author, Lynette Eason writes for Harlequin's Love Inspired Suspense line and for Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Her books have hit the Publisher's Weekly, CBA and ECPA bestseller lists and have won numerous awards such as the prestigious Carol Award, the Selah, the Daphne, the IRCC award and more. Lynette is married, has two children, and lives in Greenville, SC.

https://lynetteeason.com/

The Intelligence was Rock-Solid or Was It?

From New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author Joel C. Rosenberg comes the fifth military and international political thriller in the Marcus Ryker series.

The world’s most wanted terrorist is dead. Marcus Ryker recommended the drone strike himself. The intelligence was rock-solid. But what if it was wrong?

Abu Nakba—the man responsible for lethal attacks in Washington, D.C., London, and Jerusalem—is finally dead. Marcus Ryker has been tasked with hunting down and destroying what’s left of the terror group Kairos.

But before Ryker can mobilize his team of CIA operatives with their new assignment, a disturbing report from Libya suggests all may not be as it seems. The U.S. bombing that should have taken out Nakba’s headquarters now appears to have been a disastrous mistake—and Ryker himself may be responsible.

With Kairos gearing up for a major retaliatory strike against the U.S., time is short, and terror cells may already be inside American borders. But Ryker won’t be able to stop this threat until he clears his own name, and his closest ally inside the White House can no longer help him.

The Libyan diversion threatens to leave Ryker on the sidelines just when his country needs him most.

Packed with action and intrigue, this thriller novel is everything Joel’s fans have come to expect.

• A high-stakes suspense novel for fans of Jack Carr, Ryan Steck, and Kyle Mills
• Perfect for fans of geopolitical thrillers

Joel C. Rosenberg is a New York Times bestselling author of seventeen novels and five nonfiction books with nearly 5 million copies in print.

Rosenberg's career as a political thriller writer was born out of his filmmaking studies at Syracuse University, where he graduated with a BFA in film drama in 1989. He also studied for nearly six months at Tel Aviv University during his junior year. Following graduation from Syracuse, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked for a range of U.S. and Israeli leaders and nonprofit organizations, serving variously as a policy analyst and communications strategist.

He has been profiled by the New York Times, the Washington Times, and the Jerusalem Post and has appeared on hundreds of radio and TV programs in the U.S., Canada, and around the world. As a sought-after speaker, he has addressed audiences at the White House, the Pentagon, the U.S. Capitol, the Israeli president's residence, the European Union parliament in Brussels, and business and faith conferences in North America and around the world.

The grandson of Orthodox Jews who escaped out of czarist Russia in the early 1900s, Rosenberg comes from a Jewish background on his father's side and a Gentile background on his mother's side.

Rosenberg is the founder and chairman of The Joshua Fund, a nonprofit educational and humanitarian relief organization. He is also the founder and editor in chief of All Israel News (allisrael.com) and All Arab News (allarab.news).

He and his wife, Lynn, are dual U.S.- Israeli citizens. They made aliyah in 2014 and live in Jerusalem, Israel. They have four sons, Caleb, Jacob, Jonah, and Noah.

For more information, visit joelrosenberg.com and follow Joel on Twitter (@joelcrosenberg) and Facebook (facebook.com/JoelCRosenberg).