The Red Journal by Debbie Elkink

THE RED JOURNAL

A child’s antique ring and a message from beyond the grave point to the treasure of a legacy lost.

Flirty globetrotter Sybil badgers her friend Libby to travel along in seeking out the world’s “sacred places” — a monastery in Japan, a mountaintop in Africa, a mosque in Istanbul. Her footloose wandering far from family values costs her more than money.

But Libby can’t afford to travel, and she’s plagued by a different kind of restlessness. Grieving the recent death of the grandmother who raised her in their inner-city Minneapolis tenement now slated for demolition, Libby faces homelessness in both heart and habitation.

When Libby discovers a cryptic message from beyond the grave and an antique ring pointing to a mystery in an inner room of a mansion museum in North Dakota, she sets out on a quest of her own for the meaning of heritage and home.

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MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK 

This book was very different than what I thought, but it was an interesting read. I did have a difficult time keeping my interest in the story especially through most of the book. Closer to the ending, the story comes to life more, with a very nice and interesting ending.

Libby and Sybil are so different and as they travel the world together, readers get to see two different perspectives of the things they do and see. Sybil got on my nerves some, her personality needs some adjustments, but then that’s what gives the book it different layers, the different flavors of each person.

I liked the way this author gave such vivid descriptions of the girls journey. It made me feel like I was traveling along with them. And I’m glad Ms. Elkink was able to weave everything together and write a very neat ending. I encourage you to give this book a try. If you enjoy those books that slip back and forth between the past and the present, you will enjoy this one.

A copy of this book was given to me by the author or publisher. I am not required to write a positive review. The opinions here in this review are totally mine alone. I am disclosing this with my review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Watch video trailer HERE

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

 

Deb Elkink lives with her husband in a cottage beside a babbling creek in rural Alberta, Canada. She grew up in Winnipeg and attended college in Minneapolis-Saint Paul (BA Communications), publishing her first short stories and articles. She married and spent twenty years as a Saskatchewan ranch wife and homeschooling mom (when she rounded up cattle on horseback and cooked for huge branding crews). Graduate studies (MA Theology) then prepared her to edit doctoral dissertations, a professional quarterly magazine, and an online expository Bible study. Today she writes, edits, and teaches, and she loves speaking to women’s groups about the Christian faith. Her debut novel, The Third Grace (2011), received Canada’s prestigious Grace Irwin Award, and her literary study on the fiction of G.K. Chesterton, Roots and Branches, was published in 2015, with another novel, The Red Journal, to be released in 2019.

CONTACT

Email: deb@debelkink.com or deb@rolledscroll.com

Website: www.debelkink.com

 

Mosaic Collection Deb Elkin

Welcome to the Blog Blitz for The Mosaic Collection, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE COLLECTION

For His glory…

The Mosaic Collection is an international community of women authors who use faith-based fiction to touch hearts with the good news that Christ’s finished work on the cross has made us one family, and to nurture affection for the people God has placed within our circles of influence, so that the grace and glory of God may become visible and personal to everyone we meet.

…and our good

We are sisters, a beautiful mosaic united by the love of God through the blood of Christ. We have experienced the redemptive, restorative power of God’s grace in our marriages and families, and we believe our God is able to heal, restore and redeem our brokenness. His love fills us with the courage to persevere, and to offer others a Christ-like compassion that is full of His wisdom and grace.

Visit the Mosaic Collection Website to stay posted on each new release & follow the collection blog for meaningful posts from the authors!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Deb Elkink lives with her long-time husband in a cottage beside a babbling creek in rural Alberta, Canada. She grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and studied in Minneapolis–Saint Paul(B.A. Communications), publishing a dozen or so short stories and articles as a youngadult.She spent the next twenty years as a rancher’s wife and homeschooling mom (rounding upcattle on horseback, cooking for huge branding crews, earning her private pilot’s license,readying kids for high school).Graduate studies (M.A. Theology) thenprepared her for editing a professional quarterlymagazine, doctoral dissertations and scholarly articles, and an online expository Bible study.Today she writes and edits, travels like mad, drinks lots of creamy decaf with friends, andspeaks to women’s groups about the Christian faith.Her debut novel (The Third Grace) received Canada’s prestigious Grace Irwin Prize in 2012,and her literary work on the fiction of a late-Victorian British writer (Roots and Branches: TheSymbol of the Tree in the Imagination of G.K. Chesterton) was published in 2015. Her upcomingnovel is a contemporary women’s fiction with a historical/theological twist:Eat, Pray, LoveandThe Wizard of Ozmeet theBook of Hebrewsin showing that “home” is a state of soul, a state ofinner rest.

CONNECT WITH DEB:Website|Facebook

Cornerstone message from the collection:Look for God in the Bible. Everything (art, literature, fashion design, engineering, philosophy,travel, cooking, health, romance, community, fitness . . .) can be a way toexpressorillustrateGod’s action on our world, but only the living and breathed-out Word of God can give usknowledge of the Father our hearts are longing for. Only the mind of God revealed to the mindsof mortals by the Holy Spirit through Scripture can bring us into alignment with the Person ofJesus Christ. In today’s increasingly pagan culture, “spirituality” has become a buzzword for anybelief but the truth—the more mystical the better. But the Holy Book of God is the only source containing all we need for salvation and spiritual life.  

 

FUN FACTS

Author Spotlight Questionnaire 

Deb Elkink

Favorite place to read: In bed beneath my down duvet, propped up on goose-feather pillows, and ensconced in crisp, white, Egyptian cotton sheets of high thread count–with a chocolate snack to nibble.

Favorite book character from childhood: Nancy Drew–so poised, so brainy, and so gullible all at the same time. She led me into and through many mysterious plots that stimulated my curiosity about dude ranches and treasure maps and old attics. It’s funny I didn’t become a mystery writer.

Favorite movie: Usually psychological thrillers (with no spiritistic thread) like Gone Girl or The Game, or any movies I can read theology into such as Chocolat or Father Brown. Currently, however: When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story

Favorite quote or Bible verse: 2 Timothy 2:15 . . . rightly dividing the Word of truth.

Also Phil 1:9-11: And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Favorite splurge/treat: Chocolate! Dark, bittersweet, enveloping rustic candied ginger or cherries or salted caramel

Favorite character you’ve created: Mary Grace (renamed Aglaia after a Greek goddess), who ran from her rural background searching for herself (and love) in the arts. Or maybe Ebenezer MacAdam, the old Scottish sage full of truth. No, I take that back–better Libby Walker, who’s been walking away for all her life and finally finds her way home. That said, my current antagonist, Sybil Tansey, travels from one exotic international “sacred place” to the next for yet another thrill–gotta love the misplaced verve.

Last 3 great books you read: All the Light You Cannot See (Doerr); Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering (Keller); Hebrews (the Holy Spirit)

Dream vacation: A Japanese ryokan (traditional inn) in Kyoto during cherry blossom season

Hidden talent/little-known fact: I can hear the (silent to most) shriek of an armed but not activated high-frequency alarm in some shops–yikes, drives me bats!

Plotter or pantser: Definitely plotter

In no particular order, ten of your favorite things (i.e. hot cocoa, a warm breeze, the sound of my kids’ laughter, etc.) : Exotic perfume; Chinese brush art (ink on sepia paper); Mennonite food (especially vrenekje with schmontfat–look it up); deep red silk velvet; prairie thunderstorms; a huge church choir singing old hymns of praise beneath the vaulted ceilings of a cathedral; my sewing machine; a crisp sheet of blank superwhite paper and a new roller pen; my hot tub in a snowstorm; a warm hug

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TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive a $50 Amazon eGift Card & an ebook prize pack*!

Winner will receive an ebook of:

• Where She Belongs
• Pieces of Granite
• Lifelines
• Christmas on a Mission
• Vigilant
• Other Side of the River
• The Third Grace
• Carolina Grace
• The Benefit Package (a devotional)
• Dance of Grace
• When Love Calls

Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway will begin at midnight July 10, 2019 and last through 11:59 PM EST on July 24, 2019. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. Open internationally, but international winner will receive a gift card only *(may be substituted for a Book Depository gift card if winner cannot accept from US Amazon)

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

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See tour landing page for a complete list of authors & book release dates.

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

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