キャミー・タング著「戌年」連載小説 プロのドッグトレーナーであるマリ・ムトウは、厄年を迎えている。 犬小屋と訓練所の改築をしながら、いつも不服そうにしている家族と同居することになった。母と姉に言わせれば、犬の毛とよだれかけにまみれる仕事は、家族にとって恥ずべきものだという。彼女は元カレを説得し、数ヶ月間犬を預かってもらうことにした。しかし、彼の兄は、数週間前に彼女が誤って車に追突した、怒り狂ったセキュリティ専門家であることが判明する。 アシュウィン・ケイトウは十分な問題を抱えている。叔母が玄関先に現れ、同居を希望している。彼は彼女にすべてを借りているので、断ることができません。母親が家を出て行った後、ネルおばさんはアシュウィンと弟を引き取り、愛のあるキリスト教の家庭で育てた。しかも、弟のダスティもアパートを追い出され、居場所を求めている。しかし、彼は犬を飼っている。そして、その犬の飼い主は誰だと思いますか? しかし、旧友でオアフ島のノースショアでデイスパを経営する私立探偵のエディサ・ゲレロから依頼を受ける。マリの施設で奇妙な破壊行為があり、3年前に失踪したエディサの妹の財布を発見する。エディサはマリが危険な目に遭っているのではと心配する。警備の専門家であるアシュウィンがすでにマリを知っていることを知ったエディサは、忙しい若い女性を密かに監視することを彼に依頼する。 アシュウィンは、活発でのんびりとしたドッグトレーナーに不本意ながら惹かれていく。彼女は、幸せそうな母親を思い出させる。その母親の裏切りによって、彼は人と距離を置くようになったのだ。マリは、アシュウィンの冷たい外見を見抜き、彼が家族に忠実な男であることを認める。彼は、彼女のキャリア選択を批判するだけの母親や姉とは違う。 マリのバラバラな家庭とアシュウィンのバラバラな家庭の中で、過去を隠そうとする人たちから、彼らの周りに危険が迫ってくるようになる。彼らは、影で動く秘密に光を当てることができるのか? 過去に発表されたパートへのリンクはこちら。 *** 第8章 - 恐ろしくも真っ白な不動産書類 『みんな仲良くできないのかな?』 マリは無用に力を込めて箱に本を投げ入れた。最近、なぜ彼女は人生の中で全員と言い争いをしているのだろう?もしかすると、これは本当に悪いアイデア
Captain’s Log, Stardate 09.26.2006
Today I have a guest blog from author Jack Cavanaugh, whose novel with Bill Bright released this month. He also wrote Fury, the next book in the Great Awakenings series set in 1825-1826:
HE JUST WITNESSED A MURDER...AND NOW THE KILLER IS ON HIS TRAIL. BUT NO ONE WILL BELIEVE HIM!
Daniel Cooper: the son of a famous preacher, he’s running from more than “religion.”
Hannah Robbins: a spunky farmgirl and someone’s “intended”...but could she be what Daniel needs?
Cyrus Gregg: an esteemed businessman, he’s after two things. And he’ll do anything to get them.
Ever since his parents drowned while crossing the Atlantic after a revival, Daniel Cooper has felt as if the world is out to get him. For the past year he's had to live with his Uncle Asa and Aunt Camilla -- and all their rules. One night, deciding he's had enough, Daniel sneaks out his bedroom window and flees to the alley behind his employer's casket shop. What he sees there shocks him to the core.
Pursued by two men, Daniel embarks on an agonizing journey...through deceit and betrayal. A journey that will test his physical stamina and challenge his understanding of God and friendship. A journey that may well change his life...if it doesn't kill him first.
Read an excerpt on Amazon.com’s Search Inside!
Here’s Jack:
This is going to sound self-serving. It isn’t intended to be that way. Maybe it would help if you understand that even though I write novels full-time and am no longer the pastor of a church, I am still in the ministry.
My call to ministry was to communicate God’s truth to the present generation. At first, that meant preaching, and preaching meant the pastorate. I was good at the preaching, not so great as a pastor. One thing I noticed while preaching is that people would remember the stories I told long after they forgot my carefully crafted three point sermon.
Go figure.
So I began collecting stories that communicated God’s truth in a powerful way. I discovered that they had three things in common: strong visuals, emotional punch, and they made good sense.
So when God opened-wide the doors for Christian novels to be published, I began writing longer stories, but my goal remained the same. In every story my characters discover the theme of my ministry: God’s ways are always best.
Most recently, I’ve been blessed to co-author four stories with Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ. He caught the vision of the power of story to communicate God’s truth. While working together, he told me, "Jack, if I had known the power of the novel, I would have started writing them earlier in my ministry." He and I shared two passions in common: story and a desire for revival in America. The result is the Great Awakenings series which tells four incredible stories of how God visited our land with revival. It is our hope that these stories will ignite the prayers of believers asking God to do it again.
Over the years I’ve learned that people will read a novel (my stories) long before they’ll ever come here me preach. And they’ll more readily accept the loan of a novel from a friend more quickly than an invitation to come to church.
By writing novels my ministry has gone from a local pastorate to an international audience. The world is my pulpit.
When Russia emerged from its dark days of Communism, to the world’s surprise we learned that the church in Russia had survived it all. When asked why, one man explained, "They took away our Bibles, but they didn’t take away our great Russian novels. It is in them we found God."
So, where does the self-serving part of this blog come in? Read Christian fiction. The stories that touch your heart, pass along to a friend, or give away as a gift, or simply leave the book lying around in the lunchroom. A good story will open up dialogue. A good Christian story will convince readers that God’s ways are always best.
~Jack
Camy here: Thanks so much, Jack! This was very inspiring, especially for me as a Christian novelist.
Today I have a guest blog from author Jack Cavanaugh, whose novel with Bill Bright released this month. He also wrote Fury, the next book in the Great Awakenings series set in 1825-1826:
HE JUST WITNESSED A MURDER...AND NOW THE KILLER IS ON HIS TRAIL. BUT NO ONE WILL BELIEVE HIM!
Daniel Cooper: the son of a famous preacher, he’s running from more than “religion.”
Hannah Robbins: a spunky farmgirl and someone’s “intended”...but could she be what Daniel needs?
Cyrus Gregg: an esteemed businessman, he’s after two things. And he’ll do anything to get them.
Ever since his parents drowned while crossing the Atlantic after a revival, Daniel Cooper has felt as if the world is out to get him. For the past year he's had to live with his Uncle Asa and Aunt Camilla -- and all their rules. One night, deciding he's had enough, Daniel sneaks out his bedroom window and flees to the alley behind his employer's casket shop. What he sees there shocks him to the core.
Pursued by two men, Daniel embarks on an agonizing journey...through deceit and betrayal. A journey that will test his physical stamina and challenge his understanding of God and friendship. A journey that may well change his life...if it doesn't kill him first.
Read an excerpt on Amazon.com’s Search Inside!
Here’s Jack:
This is going to sound self-serving. It isn’t intended to be that way. Maybe it would help if you understand that even though I write novels full-time and am no longer the pastor of a church, I am still in the ministry.
My call to ministry was to communicate God’s truth to the present generation. At first, that meant preaching, and preaching meant the pastorate. I was good at the preaching, not so great as a pastor. One thing I noticed while preaching is that people would remember the stories I told long after they forgot my carefully crafted three point sermon.
Go figure.
So I began collecting stories that communicated God’s truth in a powerful way. I discovered that they had three things in common: strong visuals, emotional punch, and they made good sense.
So when God opened-wide the doors for Christian novels to be published, I began writing longer stories, but my goal remained the same. In every story my characters discover the theme of my ministry: God’s ways are always best.
Most recently, I’ve been blessed to co-author four stories with Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ. He caught the vision of the power of story to communicate God’s truth. While working together, he told me, "Jack, if I had known the power of the novel, I would have started writing them earlier in my ministry." He and I shared two passions in common: story and a desire for revival in America. The result is the Great Awakenings series which tells four incredible stories of how God visited our land with revival. It is our hope that these stories will ignite the prayers of believers asking God to do it again.
Over the years I’ve learned that people will read a novel (my stories) long before they’ll ever come here me preach. And they’ll more readily accept the loan of a novel from a friend more quickly than an invitation to come to church.
By writing novels my ministry has gone from a local pastorate to an international audience. The world is my pulpit.
When Russia emerged from its dark days of Communism, to the world’s surprise we learned that the church in Russia had survived it all. When asked why, one man explained, "They took away our Bibles, but they didn’t take away our great Russian novels. It is in them we found God."
So, where does the self-serving part of this blog come in? Read Christian fiction. The stories that touch your heart, pass along to a friend, or give away as a gift, or simply leave the book lying around in the lunchroom. A good story will open up dialogue. A good Christian story will convince readers that God’s ways are always best.
~Jack
Camy here: Thanks so much, Jack! This was very inspiring, especially for me as a Christian novelist.