Showing posts with label Christian Speaker Services. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian Speaker Services. Show all posts

Salvaged: A Love Story

Title 
Salvaged: A Love Story 

Based on a Book by 
Stefne Miller 

My Review 

Based on the book Salvaged by Stefne Miller, this series of web-episodes, about 5 minutes each, is a teenage love story.  Sixteen year old Attie, a year previous, was the sole survivor of an automobile accident where she lost her mother and best friend, Melody.  This summer, she’s home from school and staying with Melody’s family.  Every night she has nightmares about the accident.  Getting her through the pain and survivors-guilt is Reilly, Melanie’s brother; and Jesus who appears to her as a thirtyish jeans-and- t-shirt-clad man only she can see. 


In a private viewing of the first six episodes, I saw that the two hormone-filled teens are getting closer to each other with every passing day.  Filled with great soundtracks, great acting talent, and a slowly unfolding message of love and Christ, I believe this series will be a huge success.  Every Wednesday a new episode will be released on YouTube.  I can hardly wait for next Wednesday.  

My Overall Rating
Author Interview

How did the Salvaged web series come about?
I was working with Director, Paul Morrell on a movie adaptation of my third novel, Collision. We had just completed the screenplay and were about to move in to the next phase, when I told him about an idea I had for Salvaged. I'd always believed that it would make a great teen drama series - either on television, straight to DVD or web streaming. He loved the idea and was interested in doing it. Within days, a friend that I mentioned it to, offered to pay to have a pilot/proof of concept reel developed. Less than a month later, I was in LA holding a casting call. Two weeks later, a cast and crew of 25 were in a rented house, shooting for five days. We decided to take the pilot episode and also release it as a web series so that we could introduce people to the story, characters and our quality of work. We believe that this can only help both the Salvaged and Collision projects.

What is the big goal?
The big picture goal is that a network or distributor would pick up the series. I've already written the scripts for eight 45 minute episodes or what could easily be turned in to a mini-series.

Who are you hoping to reach with this series?
Salvaged, the web series is based on my first novel by the same name. It is a young adult Christian fiction novel that was able to transcend the lines of Christian fiction and also move into the secular market. Salvaged was first picked up in the mainstream young adult fiction blogging world and the reviews and ratings landed me on the Goodreads.com Reader's Choice Awards finalist list for Debut Author of 2010. I am hoping that Salvaged will continue to reach out into various audiences and present them with a powerful story that has the ability to impact lives - no matter the way in which they receive it (book, web series, tv show, etc).

When does the series come out?
There are six episodes. The first was released on September 25th. The remaining episodes will release every Wednesday at 8 am (CST) through October 30th.

Where can viewers find the episodes?
Salvaged has it's own YouTube channel at: youtube.com/salvagedseries. The episodes will stay on the Salvaged YouTube channel for viewers to watch far into the future.

Where can we find out more about the series and the book?
You can also learn more about the series on the official Salvaged web site at salvagedseries.com. You can read an except of the first chapter of Salvaged, the book, at my web site, stefnemiller.com, or purchase a copy online or at your local bookstores.

What are more ways we can get involved in the Salvaged Series blog tour? 
  • Post a comment on the Facebook page for this book tour - CLICK HERE
  • Join the Salvaged Series Blog Tour & watch new episodes - CLICK TO TWEET
  • Watch the weekly episodes on the Salvaged YouTube channel ... Post comments and give thumbs up - CLICK HERE

This blog tour is hosted by Christian Speakers Services. 

Thoughts?  Questions?  Want to share your story?  Ask for prayer? Please share in the comments section.
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Unexpected Christmas Hero



Title
Unexpected Christmas Hero

Author
Kathi Macias

Publisher
New Hope Publishers, 2012 

My Review
by Carley Cooper

Unexpected Christmas Hero by Kathi Macias is about a young woman and her two small children who loose everything and become homeless after her husband suddenly dies.  It’s a story that touched my heart like no other.  Josie Meyers struggles against the elements, trying to come up with enough food to keep herself and her children alive, and a daily battle to find a place to sleep indoors.  She also has a battle inside; with her faith.  Does God really hear her?  Is He listening?  Does He care?  Her trust issues extend to those around her as well, especially now that she’s homeless and living on the streets in the dead of winter.  Then she meets Rick; a homeless man who is rich in Spirit and shows the love of Christ to everyone he meets; but Josie isn’t sure he can be trusted.  Then her family receives the most incredible miracle on Christmas Eve. They discover the true meaning of friendship and Christmas in a very Unexpected Christmas Hero

Kathi Macias takes us into this world of homelessness in a way that made my heart want to reach out and help.  There are elements in the lives of homeless people that the rest of us do not even consider.  There was a time when I believed that homelessness was a possibility in my own future.  But thankfully, just like Josie Meyers, I have people that love me enough to step out of their way to help those in need simply because it’s what Christ wants us to do.  A meal, a bed to sleep in for a night or two, a ride some place, a few dollars, a simple gift like a disposable cell phone, or a prayer can change the whole world for someone in need.  Who are you going to be a hero for this Christmas?  
My Over-all Rating
Author Interview
Homelessness is a tough topic for Christmas. What inspired you to use that as the basis for your annual Christmas novel?I’ve been involved in homeless ministries, to one degree or another, for decades, so I’m not new to this area of ministry. But I’ll admit that I had never considered writing a novel about it until someone in my family, who had personally experienced homelessness at one time in his life, suggested it. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed the perfect theme for a Christmas novel. After all, at Christmas we celebrate the birth of our Savior, who was pretty much homeless at that particular point in time and was born in a stable because there was no room for them at the Bethlehem Motel 6.

Despite having previous ministry and even personal experience with the homeless, were there still some difficult times for you as you researched and wrote this novel?
Absolutely! I always try to climb inside the skin of my characters, and when I thought of myself as the young mother Josie, attempting to care for and protect her two small children while living on the streets, I wept. There were times when my own children were little that we didn’t have a lot of material things and almost never had enough money at the end of the month, but we always had a roof over our heads and never wondered where we would find our next meal. When I consider that approximately 25 percent of the homeless in America are families (either single or dual-parent) with small children, it breaks my heart.

Can you give us a brief synopsis of Unexpected Christmas Hero?This is a story about a young family—husband, wife, two small children—who seem to be living the American dream. But when the husband dies unexpectedly, the wife (Josie) not only has to deal with that loss but quickly discovers that they are destitute. Her husband had lost his job some months earlier but didn’t want to worry her, so he hid it from her, hoping to find another position. He didn’t, and eventually ran up all their credit cards, took out a second mortgage on the house, emptied their savings, and even cashed in his life insurance policy. It doesn’t take long until Josie and her children lose their home and find themselves living on the streets, depending on the charity of others to survive. Then they meet Rick, a homeless Vietnam vet who takes them under his wing and, in a most surprising and sacrificial way, becomes their unexpected Christmas hero.
Tell us about the “story behind the story,” which involves the man on the front cover.
When the publisher sent the designer out to find someone to pose as Rick, the homeless vet in the book, he spotted a man on the street who looked amazingly like him. He asked the man—whose name is Willard Parker—if he would pose for the book cover. The man readily agreed and then explained that he truly was homeless and hoped having his picture on the cover would somehow help him find his family, particularly his grown daughter. We are doing our best to stay in touch with Mr. Parker and also to spread his story across the Internet and on radio/TV in hopes of fulfilling his dream to be reunited with his family. If anyone looks at the picture on the cover and/or recognizes the man’s name (Willard Parker) and knows the whereabouts of any of his family, we would truly appreciate it if they would contact me at ezyrtr@ca.rr.com so we can take the necessary steps to try and make this reunion happen.

Where can people find your book?
It’s available on any of the main online venues (Amazon, ChristianBooks.com, Barnes & Noble, etc.) and many stores nationwide.
Can you give us your website info?
Sure! You can find me at www.kathimacias.com or www.boldfiction.com. I’d love it if people would stop by there and check out all my books, as well as the video trailers that go with them. They can also sign up to receive my weekly devotional, or check out where I’ll be speaking in the near future. Above all, click on “contact” and send me an email. I’d love to hear from them, and I promise to answer.
___

I was given a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for posting the author’s interview and/or book review on my blog. CSS Virtual Book Tours are managed by Christian Speakers Services (http://ChristianSpeakersServices.com).


———– About Kathi Macias ——— 

Kathi Macias is a multi-award winning writer who has authored nearly 40 books and ghostwritten several others. A former newspaper columnist and string reporter, Kathi has taught creative and business writing in various venues and has been a guest on many radio and television programs. Kathi is a popular speaker at churches, women’s clubs and retreats, and writers’ conferences. She won the prestigious 2008 member of the year award from AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association) at the annual Golden Scrolls award banquet. Kathi “Easy Writer” Macias lives in Homeland, CA, with her husband, Al.




———– Book Trailer ———  



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