Hello again, dear readers! Continuing until October 28th (culminating with a list of winners), I have the privilege of featuring all of the 2021 The Christy Award Finalists! Today I’m featuring Amanda Barratt (yep! she finaled twice too!) and her short novel Christy Award finalist book “Far as the Curse is Found” from the Joy to the World collection! You can check out a list of all the finalists HERE.
FAR AS THE CURSE IS FOUND
COLLECTION: Joy to the World
GENRE: Inspirational Historical Romance / Regency / Christmas
PUBLISHER: Kregel
RELEASE DATE: October 13, 2020
PAGES: 299
Inspirational Regency romance with a Christmas twist from three best-selling authors
In Joy to the World, three popular authors come together to offer a heartwarming collection of holiday Regency romance. Based on lines from a beloved Christmas carol, these three novellas in one book have depth, faith, and satisfying stories all packed into the perfect length for readers to curl up and take a brief break from their holiday busyness.
“Heaven and Nature Sing” by Carolyn Miller
“Far as the Curse is Found” by Amanda Barratt
One winter night, a woman struggling to provide for her illegitimate child encounters a scarred veteran of the Napoleonic Wars on the streets of London. Can love conquer the darkness of two broken pasts?“Wonders of His Love” by Erica Vetsch
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I asked the author for a peek inside…
Movement caught his gaze. A shadow flitting across the street.
He peered into the darkness. Not a shadow. A woman.
Running with a bundle in her arms.
A sense of urgency pricked his spine. What reason would anyone have to be out so late, alone, and running?
He lengthened his stride.
She crumpled to the cobblestones.
He ran and knelt beside her. His breath caught. She lay motionless, face pale, eyes closed.
And in her arms . . . a baby.
The sight froze everything inside him. Had the fall harmed the child? Carefully, he lifted the bundle from her arms. An unnatural flush spotted the baby’s round cheeks. Its eyes were open, but everything about the little one seemed listless. Blue tinged its lips.
The child was gravely ill.
Sheltering the baby in the warmth of his cloak, he looked down at the girl. Hair pale as moonlight fell over her shoulders.
It couldn’t be. The woman he’d rescued? Impossible.
He stretched out his ungloved hand and laid it against her cheek. Heat radiated from her skin.
The young woman’s eyes flickered open. She stared up at him with an unfocused gaze, wetting her chapped lips.
“I will not hurt you,” he said quietly. “Please let me help you and your child.”
“Anna,” she murmured, struggling to sit up. A fit of violent coughing hindered her efforts. When the spell passed, she drew in a shallow, wheezing breath.
“If you hold the child, I can carry both of you.”
She reached for the baby and cradled it against herself with surprising strength. “My sweet Anna,” she breathed, or something like that.
He didn’t have time to decipher the words. He had to get them out of the cold.
He lifted her into his arms. She was lighter than he’d anticipated, the angles of her bones pressing into him.
“Are you going to take her?” Fear stemmed from her voice.
He started down the street. “No one will take her.” Somehow he sensed he must assure her of this.
“Then she will be safe?” The trembling in her body wrung something in him. Who was this woman, and what was she so afraid of? For the first time in recent memory, he did not assume himself to be the cause of the fear.
“Both of you will be,” he said softly.
She relaxed, leaning her head against his chest. Cold stung his face, but he barely noticed it.
Moonlight guiding the way, he carried her home.
Excerpt taken from Far as the Curse Is Found © 2020 by Amanda Barratt. Published by Kregel Publications. Used with permission. May not be excerpted or distributed without the express written permission of the publisher.
Amanda Barratt is the ECPA bestselling and Carol Award-winning author of fifteen historical novels and novellas including My Dearest Dietrich: A Novel of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Lost Love and The White Rose Resists: A Novel of the German Students Who Defied Hitler.
Amanda lives in Michigan with her family where she can be found plotting her next novel, catching up on her TBR pile, and jotting down travel itineraries for her dream trip to Europe. Visit Amanda at her website www.amandabarratt.net and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Amanda Barratt is offering a print copy of Joy to the World to one of my readers! (US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.
What about you? What makes you want to read the short novel Christy Award finalist Far as the Curse is Found (from the Joy to the World collection) by Amanda Barratt? Or, if you’ve read it already, what did you love about it?
3 author’s in one book.
I love Christmas books and a take on the Christmas Carol from a Christian perspective would be great! Thank you for this opportunity!
Love all the authors
Sounds so good. Would love to read it!
I love Christmas books and would enjoy reading her book.
Sounds really great
The story blurb already had me interested, but after reading the excerpt I MUST read the rest of the story.
I’ve only heard good things about Amanda’s books and hope one of these days I can check one out for myself! 🙂
This sounds like a fabulous book. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
Great authors and Christmas equals a winner.
This looks like a wonderful read for sure.
Because she’s a new author to me and I love Regency Christmas Stories!!
It sounds like a really interesting book. Thank you for sharing.
Christmas is my favorite holiday and I really like historical fiction. That’s two good reasons to want to read this book.
I LOVE reading Regency and Christmas stories, so this collection is a win/win! Plus the three authors are awesome! Thank you for the chance to win a copy of this book!!!
Love Christmas stories.