Tag Archives: tsunami 2004

Tsunami 2004 Book for Free!

08 Friday May 2015

Posted by in Books, India, tsunami 2004

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

For a short time, I’m offering a FREE Kindle eBook: Tsunami 2004 – Still Wading Through Waves of Hope to those who sign up for my Author Newsletter – occasional brief news about new releases and sales.

Click Here to sign up http://eepurl.com/5vTLP

(The woman to my right is the girl on the cover. Her "then and now" story is one of many in the book.)

(The woman to my right is the girl on the cover. Her “then and now” story is one of many in the book.)

Here’s an excerpt from Tsunami 2004 – Still Wading Through Waves of Hope

Chapter 1
Send Us

January 2005, just after tsunami

“Send us to the most devastated, remote villages where no one else has gone.”

My husband’s zeal was admirable, but concern reared its head in me. I glanced at Vicky, our parish member who volunteered to join us on the mission. She leaned forward in her seat, eyes bright with anticipation.

Brave soul, even the lizard on the wall didn’t faze her. But this was her first trip to India. Lizards would be the least of our difficulties.

Chennai’s sea breeze wafted through Father Michael Vyakulam’s open office window at St. Bede’s Orphanage and School. My husband (Anglican priest) and Father Vyakulam (Roman Catholic priest) faced each other from across a desk.

Nearly three decades ago, the elder led a vocations camp for boys interested in Holy Orders. He recommended Leo Michael, a zealous thirteen-year-old, for the junior seminary. The two clerics remained dear friends, regardless of their divergent paths.

Father Vyakulam glanced heavenward. Was he consulting God in some silent prayer for wisdom or asking forgiveness for where he was about to send us?

I breathed in the tangy air and hushed my fears. God wouldn’t let us down. He’d guided us from the moment we received the news that a major tsunami roared onto the shores of South India.

Ten days earlier, in a frantic but familiar Indian accent, the news came to us through the phone like headlines.

“Thousands feared dead. Seaside villages wiped out.”

I bolted upright.

My husband of two years put his hand over the receiver. “It’s Decruz. Turn on the news. Something terrible has happened back home.”

I grabbed the remote off the nightstand, then checked the clock. We had collapsed in bed only an hour earlier, exhausted after the busy Christmas season ended with the last Mass at a nursing home, followed by Holy Communion offered to a homebound member.

At the same time—given a twelve-hour time zone difference, making it Christmas Day evening—those in India were waking up to a catastrophic nightmare.

TV headlines matched my brother-in-law’s report. An earthquake in the early hours of the morning, near the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, caused a tsunami that had slammed the southern peninsular coast of India on Sunday morning.

Due to no warning system, many were feared dead.

Some of my husband’s family lived in Bangalore, Karnataka; others lived in a Tamil Nadu hill station. Neither locale was coastal. Our relatives were safe. Thank God. We said good-bye to Decruz and planted ourselves before the TV.

Just a few years earlier, my husband had lived and served as a Catholic priest to schools and orphanages in the affected coastal region. His shoulders slumped with each rising death count. Fellow clergy, friends, and children he’d cared for likely would have been among the casualties.

The next day, a local Northwest Arkansas newspaper reporter phoned. “Father Leo, is your family okay?”

A few hours later, in the reporter’s office, my husband shared his knowledge of the tsunami-affected area in South India. “Houses made of mud walls and thatched coconut leaf roofs would be decimated.

“Men would have been out fishing. Wives would be waiting for their husbands’ return to take the fish to market. Children would have been sleeping or playing along the seashore.” He lowered his head. “So many would have been caught unawares.”

“How would you help the victims?”

I think the reporter meant, how would a person help? In general or hypothetically—like, how would you like to help? But my husband accepted the question as a challenge. He leaned forward.

“We will begin a fundraiser.” He patted my knee. “We will go to any length, do whatever it takes to raise money, then we will go to India and personally take money to those most affected.”

*****

TEN days later, trekking into impassable villages and decimated shorelines, my husband devised an amazing plan to help widows and orphans and those most affected by the tsunami. TEN years later, we returned to the same villages and encountered surprising changes and a life-threatening situation.

Sign up here and I will gift you a FREE Kindle e-copy of Tsunami 2004. To purchase a print version of TSUNAMI 2004 for $6.99 click here.

Thanks!!

My Amazing Connection to Author Jan Pierce: What I Wish all Parents Knew

05 Tuesday May 2015

Posted by in Books, Christianity, Guest Author, Guest Blogger, Inspiration

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Alone in a foreign country, with my husband in a third world ICU suffering multiple organ failure, God summoned his angels. They are the Pierces: Jan and Roger.

Homegrown Readers coverToday, Jan Pierce is a guest on my blog. She will share her secrets about inspiring children to love to read. Jan is a retired teacher and freelance writer who specializes in writing about education, parenting and family life topics. She is the author of the newly-released book, Homegrown Readers: Simple Ways to Help Your Child Learn to Read

Last November, when my husband contracted dengue fever from a mosquito bite, I’d only known Jan vaguely as an author friend on Facebook. During our crisis in India, my only means of communication was via a hospital computer. I got on Facebook and asked for prayers.

Jan Pierce saw my message. Her husband Roger was in India, in Bengaluru, where we were. Deciphering my sporadic messages, the couple discovered our location.

A few days later, Roger stepped into the hospital room. With happy tears upon seeing my husband alive and well, he told us that God had prompted him to pray with fervency. He’d spent countless hours interceding before the Lord for us. Roger had never met us before, but we all held hands and prayed in that hospital room, so far from home. We were all overwhelmed at this amazing connection…

Because of God…

Because of prayers…

Because of…yes, Facebook…

…my husband recovered and I am able to introduce Jan Pierce to you, a wonderful talented compassionate author with a heart for India and a heart for helping kids learn to read.

I’m handing over my blog to Jan. And what’s really cool about her post today is that today March 5th, is UNESCO’s World Book Day. A celebration that encourages children to read. To celebrate, Here’s JAN!!!!!

Thanks, Holly. God is amazing and I am grateful for your husband’s recovery and for your welcoming me here today to talk about What I Wish All Parents Knew…

Jan-137acrop1

Today’s busy families are hard pressed to give their children everything they need. Schedules are packed. Kids join soccer and T-ball teams. Families enjoy the outdoors together camping and hiking. Parents take time to teach their children basic kindness and manners, but they often wait to get into that book learning, the reading and writing stuff, until their children enter school.

But here’s the thing. Reading is really important. Virtually all learning takes place through the written word. Children who haven’t been read to, who haven’t listened to fairy tales, poems, tales of curious monkeys and books about real animals, kids who aren’t familiar with books and what’s inside them–these kids are at a disadvantage when they go to school.

The solution is simple. Read to your children. Even if you had unhappy experiences in your own learning to read years, the price of entering school without lots of experience with books is too high. Kids soon learn that the other children know what’s going on. They don’t. They’ve just begun their school career and already feel like a failure.

Reading aloud to children is, ideally, a wonderful thing. It can be the ritual before naps and bedtimes. It can be what the family does on Saturday mornings while they eat their pancakes. Sharing favorite stories should be a positive experience for the whole family. If that isn’t the case, something needs to change. If reading isn’t enjoyable to you as the parent, suck it up and do it anyway. (You’ll change your mind.)

Regular read aloud times should be part of the family schedule. Let children choose some of the titles. Read a variety of fiction and non-fiction books and don’t forget that maps, comic books, the Sunday comic strips and even instruction manuals are all reading materials. It’s never too late to start because it’s just that important to success in school.

When your children enter kindergarten let them be the kids who have heard at least five hundred stories. Let them be the ones who understand that stories have characters and settings and plots. Let them know which way is up on a page and that writing goes from left to right. Teach them to love books and reading. Your reward? A happy, successful reader.

Holly: Thanks for that message Jan, could you share a little more about your background.

Sure, I’m a wife, mother and grandma to three terrific grandsons. I retired eight years ago from a long career in education. I taught all grades from kindergarten through fourth grade, but mainly taught first and second grade, so I had ample time to teach children to read. I earned a reading endorsement when I got my Master’s degree because I wanted to understand more about the nuts and bolts of reading. I spent the last two years of my career as a reading specialist.

When I retired, I determined to stay active and soon realized I had two new “jobs.” One involves Teams India, the NGO my husband and I founded to do missions work in India. The second is I became a freelance writer. I’d never published a thing before 2007, but soon found that I love the challenge and everything related to the writer’s life.

And getting involved in the writing life is what brought Jan and I together on Facebook. Isn’t this an amazing connection? And my blog is all about connections.

Holly: Before you go, Jan. I really want to stress the benefits a parent will get from reading your book? Can you tell us how it will help parents and their children?

Sure. Any parent who wants their child to gain reading skills in English will benefit from the information in this book. It’s important that parents understand English is not a highly phonetic language and because of that children need more than phonics to read well. They need to use thinking strategies to find the meaning in a text. If they read the words perfectly, but don’t understand the meaning, they haven’t really read. All the strategies they need to solve reading problems are found in Homegrown Readers.Homegrown Readers cover

And below are links to Jan’s site and to purchase her book: Homegrown Readers: Simple Ways to Help Your Child Learn to Read

CONNECT WITH JAN: Website: www.janpierce.net and www.onehandfulofrice.org / Facebook author page / Jan’s Amazon author page / Linked In / Pinterest

Amazon.com to buy Jan’s Book /  To purchase Jan’s Book from Barnes and Noble

Beautiful beach and seaHolly: If you’d like to hear more about our drama-filled visit to Tsunami-devastated Nagapattinam in our “then and now” book, Tsunami 2004 – Still Wading Through Waves of Hope, click here. The nonfiction book takes a look back at our visit ten years ago and our return trip this last November and the challenges and surprises we encountered. It also chronicles the lives of several orphans.

But, first, I urge you, parents, teachers, aunts, uncles grab Jan’s book from the links above. It’s a must for any one who cares about helping a child they love learn to read!

Looking Back…Looking Forward – Amazing Life

16 Monday Mar 2015

Posted by in Betsy Byrne, Books, Christianity, Crooked Lines, Diabetes, Family, First and Goal, Football, Jake Byrne, Nick Byrne, tsunami 2004

≈ 20 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hi Friends,

If you visited my blog about two years ago, you might have read the post about my son Jake, a type one diabetic entering into the NFL draft. At the same time, I was working toward my dream of becoming a novelist. (NFL Aspirations and novelists dreams: Follow the Fairytales as they come true.)

I’m reposting the text of the blog below and then giving an update because I’m simply amazed at how you can make life plans…then hope, dream, and pray, and then look back and smile, knowing that even if everything didn’t go exactly as planned, it went the way it was supposed to go. Life is amazing!

Here’s the blog post, then below that, an update and reflection:

I don’t remember the dream, only the worried face that popped into it. Jake. My four-year-old. Why was his face in my dream? Minutes later, a tap on my shoulder woke me.

“Had a bad dream, Mom,” Jake said.

I lifted the covers, pulled Jake close, and kissed the top of his head, amazed at this strange connection that allowed my son’s fears to travel from his dreams into mine.

Mom’s have connections like that with their children. Sometimes a prickle of worry regarding one of my kids will flash in my mind like a sudden rainstorm pocking up a calm lake. I stop, drop, and pray. Most times, I discover those feelings were on the mark, and my child needed prayers in that moment.

photoaJake had dreams of becoming an NFL player. What little boy doesn’t? Then as a sophomore in high school, he was diagnosed with type one diabetes. Jake refused to accept it as an obstacle. He wanted to play football on a college scholarship. He pushed himself hard: extra workouts, more discipline, never missing a practice. Jake gave his diabetes and his football dreams to God.

“Maybe God want’s me to have diabetes for a greater purpose,” Jake often expressed.

For the last last four years I’ve watched Jake start as a tight end for the Wisconsin Badgers. (Jake Byrne #82) Now, Jake has an agent and a good shot at the NFL.

Like my son, I proclaimed lofty dreams when I was a child. I wanted to be a novelist. I held onto that goal, learning and improving my writing skills in spite of rejection letters and self-doubt obstacles along my path toward publication. Now, an agent is reading my novel.

Jake and I aren’t sitting back, biting our nails as we wait for our dreams to happen. I’m working on my second book, blogging, and preparing to become a novelist. Jake’s preparing for the NFL draft.

If a boy with type I diabetes can work hard and become an NFL player, then his mom can be a novelist. Lofty goals? Fairytales? NFL player and Novelist. Sometimes we just know what we want and with God’s blessing, hard work, a little God-given talent, and support from others, it can happen.

Mother and child connections. Funny we’re both, at the same time, standing at the cusp of our dreams becoming reality, ready to wake up and be the people we were meant to be.

AND NOW, two years later, here are the updates:

20130925-153506.jpgJake: Type 1 diabetic since the age of fourteen, has since been proactive combating the disease and mentoring diabetic youth. After playing four years for the University of Wisconsin as a tight end, he went on to compete in the NFL. Originally an undrafted free agent who signed with the New Orleans Saints in 2012, he has also been a Houston Texan, Kansas City Chief, and San Diego Charger. And he got engaged at Christmas to a lovely, wonderful girl. I welcome Emma Erickson into the family with a great big hug and lots of love!

IMG_9471

Jake is moving forward with new goals and plans: Marriage plans and starting a foundation TYPE WON to help and encourage diabetic youth. He just moved to Dallas and is starting a new job with a PR/Marketing Firm.

hollyHolly: Indie published one novel, Crooked Lines, and have two more to be released this year. Also, after following up from a mission trip after the 2004 Tsunami, indie published a non-fiction book: Tsunami 2004: Still Wading through Waves of Hope.

As a hybrid author-traditional and indie published, I now write write fiction and nonfiction, on a slightly different path than I imagined two years ago. But loving my writing life (fiction and nonfiction) and looking forward to my 2015 book releases and 2016, too!

photo (79)Together: Our “mother-son connections” have brought us a book contract with Harvest House Publishers, due for a release date Early August: First and Goal – What football taught me about never giving up. We are so excited about this devotional and very grateful to Kim Moore, Senior Editor, who had faith in this project and who has been a joy to work with.

The rest of the family is doing great. My husband, Bishop Leo Michael, continues his work as an anglican pastor/bishop. (St. James Anglican Church, Kansas City)

Youngest son, Nick, plays football for the Ragin’ Cajuns at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. (Jake, above, supporting his team and wearing one of his shirts – holding our book contact).

1908477_10203058282048200_7841013063728876238_nAnd daughter Betsy is studying for her Masters and working as a teaching assistant at the University of Louisiana – Lafayette.  All three cuties to the left. Ahh…as a mom, I love that these three are best friends.

Reflection: Looking back, I’m amazed at how far we all have come since that post, two years ago. There have been rough moments. Ups and downs. Times when we didn’t know what was next. Jake was cut and picked up, again and again…even brought back to the same team again. I’ve had my own moments of doubt and worry. But, through our moments of uncertainty, we commit our plans to the Lord. Looking back, we can see God’s Hand has been in our lives in amazing ways. He is good. He is faithful. Always.

god__s_direction___facebook_cover_by_attractivelynerdly-d5nv3a7

During moments of doubt and insecurity, pray. Ask the Creator to show us the way. We are His creation and He knows us best and what is best for us.

Looking back or forward, Psalms 31 says it all:

In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.

Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.

Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.

Into your hands I commit my spirit;
deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.

Who wouldn’t want to be led by a Greater Power, the Creator and Source of Life and Love. Looking forward, here’s some advice from Psalms 37:4-6:

Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:

He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.

Simple but profound bit of wisdom. We can never go wrong by committing our life and plans to God.

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Psalms 16:3

I may not blog too much in the next few months as I’m in the middle of several writing projects, including a few non-fiction book proposals and finishing three novels…committing it all to the LORD. Will see where He leads us all next. I’m not sure of anything, but only that life is an amazing and wonderful ride with Jesus at the wheel.

Would love if you’d click over and “like” Jake’s TYPE WON Facebook page. While there, would you please subscribe to his mailing list by clicking on the “subscribe” link.

Thanks a bunch!

Looking back, how has your life changed in the last two years? Hopefully, even through the rough times, you’ve moved forward on the path toward your plans, hopes, and dreams. Hopefully, you’ve seen the hand of God in your life. Need direction? Got worries? Let me know. I’d be happy to pray for you.

10999505_10155288525850635_6476870574761653437_nOh, and one more bit of news from me. My novel, CROOKED LINES, is on sale for .99 CENTS this week.

 

 

The Devil Marked Him for Death…

07 Saturday Feb 2015

Posted by in Books, Christianity, Family, Holly Michael's New Releases, Holy Catholic Church - Anglican Rite, Inspiration

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I haven’t yet blogged in detail about that one heart-wrenching experience during our return trip to the 2004 tsunami-ravaged villages in Nagapattinam, South India.

My husband and I encountered many difficult situations and joyous ones too, but I’m writing today about the one that still nearly buckles my knees when I continue to hear statements like…

“The devil marked him for death.”

Or when a doctor friend recently said, “It is a true miracle the he survived a multi-organ failure.”

Or the heart tugging statements, said in several different ways:

“I prayed fervently.”

“I shed so many tears.”

“The spirit led me to pray deeply, like I’d never prayed before.”

(statements by even those I hardly know)

It gives me goosebumps, even now, almost three months later, when I think about what happened…in the spiritual sense of it all.

So…going back to late November 2014

…after my husband got bit by an affected mosquito.

…after we finished our mission work in Nagapattinam (my husband growing weak and feverish toward the end.)

…after we rode a bus for 12 hours from the remote villages in Nagapattinam with my beloved nearly lethargic from a spiked fever.

…after we arrived in a Bangalore hospital, my husband dehydrated with 103 fever.

…after the diagnosis of Dengue Fever (my sister-in-law died from dengue fever two years earlier).

…after we were left alone in a room with very little care.

…after I continued my attempts to communicate with the hospital staff that I didn’t think it was normal that my husband had swung from extremely feverish to unresponsive and almost completely cold (and they insisted he was fine).

…after the admitting Hindu doctor woke up in the middle of the night from a dream worried about my husband (one of maybe 200 patients she’d admitted that day) and called the ICU doctor to check on him.

…after he was rushed to the ICU blood pressure dropping and multi-organ failure.

…after I was stopped at the double doors to the ICU by a guard.

….after I sat in the empty hospital room in South India, alone, unable to communicate properly with hospital staff and no phone or means of communicating with anyone but God.

….after I’d finally got onto a hospital computer and asked for prayers through Facebook.

Which leads me to what I believe…

I BELEIVE….

…the heavenly realm, which is all around us always, was busy that night.

…the Holy Spirit touched the hearts of many to pray fervently after hearing my plea on Facebook (as many have testified).

…the Devil had slated my husband (a Bishop in the Holy Catholic Church Anglican Rite) for death.

…the prayers of the saints and all of the faithful allow me now to praise God for his full healing.

…Facebook is awesome and faithful friends and family are amazing. (I love you all).

…God is great, all the time, always!

I chronicled this experience and so much more from our trip to South India in my book, TSUNAMI 2004 – Still Wading through Waves of Hope. I share about the people and villages we visited and those we helped after the  2004 Tsunami, and the experiences upon our return, ten years later.

Ten years ago, after a major fundraiser, we went to the most devastated impassable villages in South India. My husband had a fabulous idea of asking the village headmen (hubby speaks the native language) to bring the orphans to the local bank. We established Bank CD’s in their names, so that ten years later, they would have funds to begin their lives–marriage, college.

Given the arranging of marriages and that the value of women is based on their dowry, the idea paid off literally in dividends.

I share these “then and now” stories and our experience in greater detail in TSUNAMI 2004 – Still Wading Through Waves of Hope. A percentage of the proceeds from the sales will go to support our continuing mission work in India. 

Some of our “then and now” pictures (the book also has more picture)

2004 Nagapattinam Harbor

2004 Nagapattinam Harbor

harbor now

harbor now

Nambiar Nagar boatmen discouraged, not wanting to go back to the sea. Boats are all destroyed

We had given funds to a man who owned a boat repair business. He put 50 people to work after the tsunami. Above, then...and now.

We had given funds to the man above on the left of my husband (in the blue shirt/khakis). The man owned a boat repair business, decimated by the tsunami. With funds we gave, he put 50 people to work after the tsunami. Some, (above in boat), after losing loved ones to the sea, did not want to go out and fish again.

Two friends (orphans) we'd helped then, and below now...

Two friends (orphans) we’d helped then, and below now…

IMG_0158

IMG_0498

Some then photos….IMG_0975FH000002Long lines in Nambiar Nagar for foodIMG_0832Some now photos…

IMG_0111IMG_0142

Awestruck Sabeen looking at her picture then

Seeing herself in the photo from ten years ago

IMG_0615IMG_0203IMG_0580

Below, some of the orphans we helped then…Tsunami orphans 2004 who received CD Bank Accounts for approx. $230.And some of those faces now…
Tsunami orphans now

My deepest heartfelt thanks to all of you who helped with fundraising then and all of those who prayed for my husband and to those who also support my writing. Because of you all, we can continue to do the good works that the Lord has prepared for us to do and to go wherever and to whomever He leads us. 

*Special thanks to Roger Pierce, the husband of a Facebook friend, who happened to be in Bangalore, had been praying for my husband, and showed up at the hospital later and prayed with us. 

IMG_0668

To purchase Tsunami 2004 – Still Wading Through Waves of Hope (nonfiction)

Beautiful beach and sea

and

Crooked Lines (fiction), based on some tsunami experiences. (on sale for .99 Cents now)

Weekend Stuff: Good Advice, a Sale, an Award, and Book Updates

06 Friday Feb 2015

Posted by in Award, Books, Crooked Lines, Inspiration, Jake Byrne, tsunami 2004

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Image-1-1

Also, Crooked Lines is on sale through the weekend for only .99 Cents. (Voted as Pulpwood Queen’s February Bonus Book of the Month!)  

Crooked Lines Pulpwood

Fifty-five, Five Star Reviews. Here’s one from Donna: Wow!!! This book is a must read. Rebecca lives in America on the shores of Lake Michigan and blames herself for her younger sisters death. She searches for meaning and truth in her life. She yearns to go to India. Sagai lives across the world from her in South India and leaves his poor family to become a priest. He tries through every test to draw closer to God. Rebecca feels that God let her down from the time of her sisters death and many other times in her life. Her choices are made based on her failing her sister. She visits a church because she can find no way out of it. They have a priest,who serves in India,who is friends with Sagai as a guest speaker. She tells him about wanting to go to India. Rebecca and Sagai become pen pals with this priest and pray for each other for many years. It’s amazing to see God working through their lives, and some of the similarities in their struggles. When we look back at our lives as we try to follow the path that God has for us or we take a different path we will see the straight path that leads to God was there all along. The crooked lines are where we took detours and God led us back. I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Honestly this book was so engaging I couldn’t put it down and I felt like God was speaking to me through it. This author has allowed God to use her as she shares spiritual truths through her writing.

Beautiful beach and seaAnd Tsunami 2004 Still Wading Through Waves of Hope (nonfiction) is available FREE on Kindle Unlimited and $2.99 on Kindle, $6.99 Print Version (Amazing stories from survivors then and now and how we survived a near death experience on our return to Nagapattinam, ten years later.).

Here’s a review from Larry: K. P. Yohannan of Gospel For Asia asked on one of his videos, “What did you do when you heard about the thousands of people swept away by the tsunami?” To be honest, most of us just watched the tragedy on TV, shrugged our shoulders, and did little else, but that is not so for the author and her husband.

“Tsunami 2004: Still Wading through Waves of Hope” records what Bishop Leo Michael and his wife Holly did upon hearing the tsunami news. They raised thousands of dollars and traveled to India with a friend to see for themselves where their funds could best be used. The areas they chose to visit were the three hardest hit areas in India.

Holly Michael’s crisp writing style reveals the heart-breaking calamity they witnessed, the hardships they faced, and her own personal fears about being on the ground in the midst of total devastation. Her willingness to reveal her own heart throughout the book helps us see through her eyes.

In 2014, Holly and her husband returned to the same regions of India to check out what happened to the people they helped. Some of the testimonies told of great victories, but a few revealed the despair victims felt a decade later. And then there was Bishop Leo’s life-threatening bout with dengue fever.

This is a five-star book and I believe everyone should read it.

*****

If you’ve read either of my books, I’d love a review!! CLICK HERE TO REVIEW CROOKED LINES. CLICK HERE TO REVIEW TSUNAMI 2004 – STILL WADING THROUGH WAVES OF HOPE

IMG_1197

If I don’t blog much in the next month, it’s because I’m busy finishing the sequel to Crooked Lines.

Several new releases in 2015! Yippee! And one to be published by Harvest House that this cutie (son, Jake Byrne) and I wrote together. Will be released in early August! Exciting stuff! I’ll update as we come closer to the date.IMG_1002

It’s My Birthday…

08 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by in Books, Crooked Lines, Family

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

…so, I put CROOKED LINES, A Novel for sale  @ .99 cents. http://amzn.to/1r4gTrT AND its #1 in Inspirational, Fiction, Family on AMAZON.COM

book

Happy because…had a great time with the kiddos. Congrats to Jake on his engagement to Emma, on his right. (Just love her). Daughter Betsy (WTG 4.0 in Grad School) to the left of Jake. My husband, Bishop Leo Michael, to my right and Nick (WTG Winning the New Orleans Bowl! Go Ragin Cajuns). Nick is the bookend wearing the hat.

FullSizeRender

Counting my blessings at the beginning of 2015. There are so many. Started it out with a newly published book after our return from India. Tsunami 2004 Still Wading Through Waves of Hope: http://amzn.to/1AbgKXD

Beautiful beach and seaFeeling grateful to God that my husband survived dengue fever which resulted in a multi-organ failure situation. Truly, only prayers turned that around. We were at the tail end of a ten-year follow-up with the orphan children we helped after the 2004 tsunami. (thanks to those who gave during major fundraising effort back in 2004)

In the end, got the nonfiction book wrote and published. Tsunami 2004 – Wading through Waves of Hope is filled with inspirational then and now stories as we revisited the places and people in Nagapattinam, South India. $2.99 Kindle, $6.99 print.  http://amzn.to/1AbgKXD

Hope to get back to more blogging this year where I focus on connecting with others. Thanks for following my blog.

Holly

DEC 26th NEW RELEASE: TSUNAMI 2004 – Still Wading Through Waves of Hope

25 Thursday Dec 2014

Posted by in Books, Holly Michael's New Releases, Holy Catholic Church - Anglican Rite, India

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Beautiful beach and sea“Send us to the most devastated remote villages where no one else has gone.”

My husband’s request diverted my attention from the lizards on the wall. Those creepy-crawlies and India’s lack of toilet paper would be the least of my worries during this trip to India, just ten days after the 2004 Tsunami.

When the 2004 Tsunami roared onto the shores of the Bay of Bengal, my husband Bishop Leo Michael, spearheaded a very successful national fundraising event. He promised to take 100% of the contributions to the most affected tsunami victims in the worst decimated areas around Nagapattinam, South India.

photo by Holly Michael

photo by Holly Michael

Children of Akkarapettai photo by Holly Michael

Children of Akkarapettai photo by Holly Michael

A pastor and native of South India, he had worked around the affected coastal region for more than twenty years. He understood the living conditions of the fisherfolk and could well imagine the horrible aftermath of the monster wave that took the lives of tens of thousands.

Being a former journalist, and current freelance magazine writer on assignment, I geared up to trek into impassable villages with my husband where the dead still washed up on the shoreline and massive cremation fires still burned.

photo by Holly Michael

photo by Holly Michael

Surveying each village and coordinating with the local headmen, priests, and one amazing school headmaster, my husband devised unique plans to help each community.

Giving bank certificate of deposits to the orphans of each community was one part of our help that paid back in greater dividends later.

photo by Bishop Leo Michael

photo by Bishop Leo Michael

Prior to the anniversary of the tsunami, in December 2014, we returned to the same villages and met the same orphans who would cash in their CD’s days later.

We encountered surprising changes, gleaned  deeper insight into the lives of the fisherfolk and tsunami survivors, and got slammed with an unexpected life-threatening situation.

Follow our journey in my THEN and NOW nonfiction book, TSUNAMI 2004 – Still Wading Through Waves of Hope published today on the tsunami anniversary, December 26, 2014 and available on Kindle. CLICK HERE $2.99 LINK Available in paperback soon!

Like Fiction?

bookMy debut novel, CROOKED LINES, inspired by both my husband and my experiences in India, is now on sale at Amazon for a limited time at $2.99.

Back cover blurb: On the shores of Lake Michigan, Rebecca Meyer seeks escape. Guilt-ridden over her little sister’s death, she sets her heart on India, a symbol of peace. Across the ocean in South India, Sagai Raj leaves his tranquil hill station home and impoverished family to answer a higher calling. Pushing through diverse cultural and religious milieus, he labors toward his goals, while wrong turns and bad choices block Rebecca from hers. Traveling similar paths and bridged across oceans through a priest, the two desire peace and their divine destiny. But vows and blind obedience at all costs must be weighed…and buried memories, unearthed.

Crooked Lines, a beautifully crafted debut novel, threads the lives of two determined souls from different continents and cultures. Compelling characters struggle with spirituality through despair and deceptions in search of truth. Crooked Lines has already reached #1 in Inspirational Fiction Category on Amazon.

Coming up by Holly Michael:

CROSSED LINES, a sequel to Crooked Lines, is slated for a June release. (Fiction)

FIRST AND GOAL: What Football Taught Me About Never Giving UP. My son (NFL player with type one diabetes) and I co-authored this devotional, published by Harvest House Publishers, and scheduled to be released in the fall of 2015.

One Day Deal: Be Inspired For a Cause!

17 Friday Oct 2014

Posted by in Crooked Lines, India, Inspiration

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Super “one day” deal for a cause. Just for today, Saturday, October 18th, CROOKED LINES is on sale (kindle version) for only $2.99!

Crooked3 (1)

And guess what? For just $2.99 you support our Nagapattinam Mission Project and get a deal on a great book. (Crooked Lines reached #1 in inspirational fiction category and is getting awesome five star reviews).

About the Nagapattinam Project: Nearly ten years ago, Christmas Day evening, the phone rang. My husband’s brother DeCruze, calling from India. A Tsunami struck the coastline. Thousands were feared dead (Thank God, our family living inland were all okay).

The next day, a local newspaper reporter who knew my husband was from India called for an interview.

“What would you like to do?” the reporter asked.

“Raise funds, go to India, and help. Every penny given will go directly to the victims.”

My husband has a heart for the Lord, but sometimes his zeal means that I need to gear up for what might come next. Walking out of the newspaper office, I questioned my husband, “Do you know what you just committed to?”

He did and meant every word. The church flew into fundraising-mode. The community and beyond opened their hearts and purses. More than seventy thousand dollars was raised.

Ten days after the tsunami we were in Nagapatinnam, Tamil Nadu, South India. My husband said to our contact, “Send us to the worst affected areas, the poorest, most remote villages, where there’s been no help.”

Weary from nearly thirty hours of travel, again, I mentally geared up for what would come next. My husband, having lived and worked in the affected region for many years, explained that the poor fishing villages—huts with thatched coconut leaf roofs—would be wiped out. Many lives would be lost. The survivors would need a lot of help. Helping, doing some good, always makes the challenges easier.

Photo by Holly Michael

Bishop Leo Michael counsels Photo by Holly Michael

My husband’s predictions rang true and I had no idea how difficult, yet fulfilling, this experience would be.

As a freelancer for a Guideposts magazine, I had an assignment to cover the story of a teenage survivor, Tamalarisa, below.

Photo by Holly Michael, Tamilarisa in the remains of her home

Photo by Holly Michael, Tamilarisa in the remains of her home

We provided immediate assistance and helped many tsunami orphans. We arranged for the village headman to bring the children to the local bank where we identified them and put funds in CD’s to be collected ten years later (2014). This would give them money to begin their lives as adults. We also provided a couple of fishing boats for the villages, as their boats were destroyed, and fishing was their only livelihood.

Photo by Holly Michael

Photo by Holly Michael

Orphaned by the 2004 Tsunami, photo by Holly Michael

Orphaned by the 2004 Tsunami, photo by Holly Michael

We returned a year later and offered more help.

Nearly ten years later, we are preparing to return to Nagapattinam for a follow-up visit. On the ten-year anniversary, December 26th, 2014, I’ll publish, Tsunami 2004: Then and Now. Devastation from the Sea. Help from Beyond. (Working Title).

I’m excited to return and see how the children–now adults–are doing and discover their future plans. I’m also curious to see how the once decimated villages have recovered. We want to show them we still care.

This past July, I released Crooked Lines, my debut novel. It threads the lives of two determined souls from different continents and cultures. They struggle with spirituality through despair and deceptions in search of truth.

Here’s my back cover blurb: On the shores of Lake Michigan, Rebecca Meyer seeks escape. Guilt-ridden over her little sister’s death, she sets her heart on India, a symbol of peace. Across the ocean in South India, Sagai Raj leaves his tranquil hill station home and impoverished family to answer a higher calling. Pushing through diverse cultural and religious milieus, he labors toward his goals, while wrong turns and bad choices block Rebecca from hers. Traveling similar paths and bridged across oceans through a priest, the two desire peace and their divine destiny. But vows and blind obedience at all costs must be weighed…and buried memories, unearthed.

Please take advantage of today’s sale and purchase Crooked Lines for $2.99 to support our Nagapattinam Project and help us on this Mission Trip. If you don’t have a Kindle, consider purchasing a print version of the book. Or you can download a Kindle app for free for your smart phone, tablet, or PC. Gift a copy to a friend. It all helps, and I hope to show this results of this help in the book to be published on the anniversary of the tsunami.

Click here to purchase Crooked Lines

Other ways you can help:

1. Please click to share below, twitter, Facebook, etc.

2. Sign up for my newsletter for further news on my books: releases, news, etc. Click Here

3.  Visit my Facebook page and share from there: Click Here

Thanks for your support! Gotta go pack now!! Please keep us in your prayers!

First newsletter…and guess what? Some BIG news!

13 Monday Oct 2014

Posted by in Books, Crooked Lines, India, Journeys: In Writing and Life, Travel

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Just published my very first Mail Chimp newsletter. Huge challenge for my non-techy-hate-learning-new-stuff-brain, but I got ‘er done! Still trying to figure out how to add a sign-up form on my blog and website, but, for now and for those who haven’t signed up for my newsletter, here’s my exciting news in old school cut and paste method from the newsletter (and a link below to get future issues of the real thing).

First, the banner of the newsletter. It doesn’t have a fancy newsletter name, but oh well.

Hollybanner (1) Ok…here’s the news:

Nagapattinam: Ten Years after the Tsunami

“Send us to the worst affected areas, the poorest, most remote villages, where there’s been no help.” ~ Bishop Leo Michael

My husband spoke those words nearly ten years ago when we landed in South India, just days after the 2004 tsunami. He had once lived and worked in the region and knew of the fisher-folk’s living conditions and the havoc a gigantic wave could wreak on a village with homes built of sticks and coconut-thatched roofs.

I mentally geared up for mission work, but had no idea how difficult, yet fulfilling, the experience would prove to be.

Holly2

Now, ten years later, we are preparing to leave for South India for a follow-up visit to the places and people helped from the generosity of America, after a 2004 major fundraising event. (I gotta pack soon).

Funds were used to help rebuild the villages and to provide many orphans with local bank CD’s (to mature in ten years).

Now, the children are ready to collect their money and begin their adult lives. I’m so excited to go back and meet these young people and write their stories. I’ll compile a “then and now” short book (with photos) and release it on the anniversary of the tsunami: December 26, 2014. (Tsunami 2004: Then and Now. Devastation from the Sea. Help from Beyond. – Working Title).

10388652_10154343931780635_7186550705922152135_n

Though both Crooked Lines and the sequel include experiences in the Nagapattinam seaside villages and some life experiences of mine and my husbands, both are works of fiction. Release date for the sequel is planned for February 2015, hopefully Valentines Day.

Here’s the first paragraph of the sequel to Crooked Lines. (Crossed Lines-working title…do you like that title? Let me know in the comments.): Like swirls of smoke from incense, smoldering heaps sent the remains of the dead up to God. I turned away from the distant piles of burning bodies. Nagapattinam, two weeks after the tsunami, wasn’t the India I’d been imagining for the past twenty years. Yet, every storm that swept into my life since I was a teenager had prepared me for this time and place. 

photo by Holly Michael

And in case you haven’t gotten Crooked Lines (reached #1 spot in inspirational fiction on Amazon) here’s the back-cover blurb: On the shores of Lake Michigan, Rebecca Meyer seeks escape. Guilt-ridden over her little sister’s death, she sets her heart on India, a symbol of peace. Across the ocean in South India, Sagai Raj leaves his tranquil hill station home and impoverished family to answer a higher calling. Pushing through diverse cultural and religious milieus, he labors toward his goals, while wrong turns and bad choices block Rebecca from hers. Traveling similar paths and bridged across oceans through a priest, the two desire peace and their divine destiny. But vows and blind obedience at all costs must be weighed…and buried memories, unearthed.

Crooked3 (1)So…for occasional brief and newsy updates about book release dates, sales, etc., here’s the link to sign up for my newsletter: CLICK HERE. Why not?

Thanks! AND, HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP: PURCHASE CROOKED LINES NOW AND PROCEEDS FROM SALES FOR THE REST OF OCTOBER AND ALL OF NOVEMBER WILL HELP FUND THE ONGOING PROJECT. THE NEED FOR HELP IS ALWAYS GREAT IN THE POOR FISHING VILLAGES IN NAGAPATTINAM. Click HERE to purchase Crooked Lines

The Crooked Lines of Life

04 Saturday Oct 2014

Posted by in India

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

A great look at the past, what’s new, and what’s to come in my life. Amazingly, they all tie in together. Going to be a great rest of 2014 and an amazing 2015! So excited! Thanks for the interview, Sylvia!

Silvia Writes

Holly1

After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Holly Michael of Wisconsin traveled to South India with her husband and joined hands with the army of volunteers to help in the recovery efforts. Holly’s husband is Bishop Leo Michael, a native of India, whom Holly met when asked to do an interview on the success of a small parish.

Two people from two different cultures, raised on two opposite ends of the world, found they are not so different when linked in the common goal of helping others. We need more like them in the world.

This is the story of Holly Michael, journalist, author, and to me: cherished critique partner. If ever there were a book that embodied love and compassion, a story written in such luminous, deeply personal prose, Crooked Lines is it.

Here is Holly sharing the inspiration behind her story — a short narrative complemented by photos.

Holly4 From…

View original post 465 more words