October always brings that sweet release from the heat of the long, hot, grueling summer. To me, Fall is time of year for replenishing ourselves, harvesting our gardens and snuggling in to read a good book. Might I suggest New Parish for those of you who haven’t gone on that journey yet. New Parish has it all, romance, adventure, humor, all four seasons, rain, sleet, snow, and heat… New Parish is also full of happily ever afters. It’s different, be warned… but like the Fall, it presents a sweet release from the long grueling drought in Sarah’s life. It’s not exactly what she expected, but exactly what she needed to achieve her happily ever after… It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, (Sarah didn’t think it was her’s either), but even if it’s not your cup of tea I still think you’ll enjoy Sarah’s journey.
If you’re curious about New Parish, I’m going to host a book club Q&A on Facebook next Saturday, October 20th at 1pm MST, on the Books by Julie Worthington page. I’ll be answering your questions and replying to your comments for an hour on that day. I’m very excited to chat with you all!
Until then here’s a bit of New Parish for you:
Excerpt from New Parish:
“The wind blew hard, pummeling them with rain that felt like it had slushy ice in it, Sarah shivered and gasped for air.
“I’m calling Dad,” Mary shouted.
“There’s no phone service up here,” Albert reminded her.
“No cell service but Dad gave me a satellite phone just in case of emergencies,” Mary said pulling off her backpack and rummaging through it.
“Awesome!” Sarah said through chattering teeth.
“Here it is,” Mary retrieved the phone and turned it on.
She pushed in some numbers and held the device to her ear. After a few seconds she said, “Dad, we’re stuck up here in the storm. What? What? Okay. No I think we lost the trail a while back. What? Okay.” She turned to Sarah and shouted, “He’s sending someone to help.”
Sarah nodded, she was shivering too much, again, to talk.
“Who’s he sending?” Albert asked, sounding annoyed.
“He didn’t say,” Mary replied sounding annoyed back at him.
Sarah would have laughed if she could have, instead she made a mental note to laugh about their exchange later, when she could feel her feet and hands again. Sarah tried to busy her mind with thoughts of soaking in a warm tub, with the room all steamed up from the warmth of the water she was soaking in. She imagined the smell of sweet honeysuckle and roses permeating the warm room… the wind blew hard again and disrupted her thoughts. In an instant, her self-imposed delusion vanished and she was back standing under the small rock overhang with rain stinging her skin and her body shivering uncontrollably.
Sarah looked at Mary, her lips were getting a bluish tint to them, she tried to smile but wasn’t sure it had worked. Mary nodded and said, “It shouldn’t be too long,” through chattering teeth.
Sarah nodded back, knowing that talking was still beyond her capacities. The rain slowed but the frigid wind continued to blow through her as if she didn’t have any clothes on at all. She looked at Albert, he was leaning back against the side of the mountain with his eyes closed and arms wrapped around him in a sort of self hug. Sarah started wondering how long they’d been waiting, it seemed like an eternity. The not being able to feel her hands and feet was spreading, she was sure now that she couldn’t feel her knees anymore. She couldn’t understand how it could’ve become so cold so very fast. Her mind was pondering the morning, it was a bit chilly but not too cold, she remembered thinking that she would probably have to take off her coat in a while, now she felt like she might never be warm again.”
New Parish Available Now!
New Parish by Julie Worthington on Amazon.com –
Also available at:
Barnesandnoble.com
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/new-parish-julie-worthington/1129421210?ean=9781732224001
Bee’s Grocery (in Centennial Park)
Changing Hands Bookstores in Phoenix and Tempe AZ
Coming soon to many new bookstores!
