Battle between Darkness and Light: author Katy Huth Jones

Note from Bird Face Wendy: I’ve read two of this author’s books (including the one featured below) and recommend them for teens and adults. Now for Katy …

 

Since I was a young girl, I’ve been aware of the great battle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. In the 1960s, Communism embodied the darkness in my mind, because that’s what my parents talked about. They had met while working at the CIA and saw current events filtered through what they’d learned, things that the average citizen did not know. Other turmoil of the sixties added to my realization that all was not right in the world.

 

Later I came to realize that the physical battles were but a reflection of the great spiritual battle taking place all around us. I discovered books about real people standing valiantly against the forces of darkness, even when they often lost their lives doing so. The Diary of Anne Frank and The Hiding Place were two stories that made a profound impact on me at a young age, and I wanted to emulate the heroism demonstrated by Anne Frank and the ten Boom sisters.

 

One historical person came to embody this great spiritual battle in a personal way for me. The story of Saint Wenceslas (Good King Wenceslas, as you may know him) touched me so much I had to know everything that was knowable about his life of faith. Even as a very young man, his fervor for light and truth shone in the midst of a dark and evil time (the early 10th century, the Dark Ages). Wenceslas stands as a beacon of hope not only to the people of his time, but to those of us living today. I wrote his story as Treachery and Truth: A Story of Sinners, Servants, and Saints.

My two YA fantasy series have similar themes of finding hope and light in the midst of darkness, though one is more overtly Christian than the other.

In all my books, I show through my characters how young people can demonstrate courage and faith while struggling to make sense of the turmoil of our current times, just as I did in the sixties.

Katy Huth Jones in costume similar to a 10th century woman’s in Bohemia

Katy Huth Jones grew up in a family where creative juices overflowed and made puddles to splash in. When not writing or sewing or drawing or taking photos, Katy plays piccolo and flute in The Symphony of the Hills. She lives with her husband Keith in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. Their two sons, whom she homeschooled, have flown the nest and live creative lives of their own. Best of all, she is a cancer survivor.

Visit Katy’s blog at http://www.katyhuthjones.blogspot.com or contact her on twitter @KatyHuthJones

A Christmas Sampling of Good Books

Over the past several months, I’ve probably read the largest variety of books for children and young adults ever for me. It was hard to narrow down a selection of only a few to include in this post. Out of fairness, I chose works from authors I’ve never before featured on this blog. And they happen to include books for audiences ranging from young children to college-age. I hope you enjoy learning about them and consider them for Christmas gifts this year!

FINDING PATIENCE (Adventures of Faith, Hope, and Charity)

The author, Virginia Lieto, describes her illustrated book: For children, waiting for anything seems endless! Faith Livingstone, age eight, would agree, having just moved to a new town and about to enter a new school. Faith wants so badly to make new friends and feel like she belongs in her new surroundings. It all can’t happen fast enough for Faith! Journey with Faith as she struggles to make new friends and learns an important lesson in the value of the virtue of patience.

The author’s website: http://virginialieto.com

My reaction to this book: This story is so sweet, I almost cried! It can help children understand that their needs won’t (and shouldn’t) always be met immediately. Some things they want and need are worth waiting (and praying) for. The ending is perfect and took me by surprise, which is not easy to do. I recommend this book as a gift any time of year, and if you purchase it well before Christmas, it may help a child practice patience before receiving other gifts.

PALACE OF THE TWELVE PILLARS (Book one of the series by the same name)

The author, Christina Weigand, describes this novel:

The Peace Summit was in shambles, the prince kidnapped.

When the rival king realizes he kidnapped the wrong prince, hostilities escalate. Loyalties to each other and country are tested for the twin princes of Crato, Joachim and Brandan.

Joachim, captive of King Waldrom, faces deception and betrayal as he struggles to find his way home. Brandan, at home with a father focused on rescuing Joachim, wrestles with his own demons as he searches for his place in the world and the favor of his father.

Torn from the safety and peace of their childhood, they are thrust into a world where bonds of family, brotherhood and roles as heirs to Crato are tested. Through war, spiritual journeys, death and marriage, will they choose the path of good or evil? Who can be trusted, as the world they know slips into a whirlpool of chaos?

The author’s website: www.weigandchris.com

My reaction to this book: I like a number of things about this novel to make me recommend it. And bear in mind that I seldom read fantasy. 🙂

This author uses character and place names that I can pronounce in my head and remember. Many times I’ve tossed aside a fantasy novel because the names were too odd, complex, or similar to one another.

I enjoyed the plot. It holds just enough action and romance for my tastes.

I appreciate that the language and writing style are simple and straight-forward, and the novel is shorter than some in length. I’m always on the lookout for books that teen boys might be interested in reading and would stick with, and this is one I think they’d like. And so would girls who enjoy reading about princes.

A SHEPHERD’S SONG: A Christmas Romance

The author, Janice Lane Palko, says this about her story:

Tom Shepherd is anything but a hero. A senior physics major at Three Rivers University in Pittsburgh, he just wants to make some easy cash. On the last Sunday in November, he arrives to sell the Christmas season’s hottest toy, So Big Sammy, for three times its retail price to a buyer, but a snafu lands him in the middle of a bone marrow drive benefitting four-year-old Christo Davidson, who has leukemia. When everyone there—including the media covering the event–assumes that Tom has come to give the toy to the sick boy, Tom has no choice but to give it away.

Lauded by the media as a hero and bestowed with the nickname The Good Shepherd, Tom finds himself an overnight celebrity. As a toy scalper and liar, he knows he’s unworthy of the honor. When Gloria Davidson, a fellow student and Christo’s relative, seeks out Tom to thank him for being so kind to her little cousin, Tom, bewitched by her beauty, embellishes his character and lies to further impress Gloria, portraying himself as a big-hearted philanthropist. Tom asks Gloria out, beginning a relationship that will lead him to examine everything he believes or doesn’t believe. On Christmas Eve, Tom finds himself facing choices that will affect not only himself but also Gloria and Christo. Tom must choose between sacrifice and honor, love and loneliness, life and death.

The author’s website: http://www.janicelanepalko.com

My reaction to this book: Although this is a Christmas story, it could simply be a great story that takes place any time of year. The Christmas setting and Christian/Catholic elements make it more special if you are a Christian or enjoy Christmas-theme fiction. I love that Ms. Palko tells this tale from a male point of view only. I get right into the main character’s head and stay there. She makes college student Tom Shepherd believable, and she has him grow from a character the reader might at first dislike, but then pity, and finally find endearing. This novel is more than a Christmas romance, and I recommend it for older teens/young adults and new adults in particular.

Release Day! First Scene Preview: 6 Dates to Disaster

My publisher featured 6 Dates to Disaster today on the Write Integrity Press blog with the first scene for your convenience. I hope you enjoy reading it!

This is the third book of the Bird Face series, and Jennifer is back in Wendy’s life, although not shown in the first scene. The story addresses honesty and how dishonesty can damage a teen’s relationships and future.

Be sure to check out all three of the books so far in the series on my Amazon author page! (The original Bird Face book, which is out-of-print, is still listed there, too. That story became 8 Notes to a Nobody.)

Thank you for reading.

Cynthia