THE BEST PRESENT EVER: A SINNER'S GUIDE TO THE HOLY LAND
Clear Faith Publishing.
Order here.
Book Reviews
Catholic Mom
Excellent online source of Catholic-themed articles and information.
New Zealand Catholic
The major Catholic newspaper in New Zealand (scroll to page 15).
The Irish Echo
The oldest Irish newspaper in the U.S.
THE BEST PRESENT EVER transports readers to one of the most fascinating places in the world and reveals some of the most cherished shrines in all of Christianity, not through the eyes of a scripture-quoting pastor or history-gushing travel writer, but an everyman Catholic struggling to stop being so judgmental and be more like Jesus. Laced with humor, purposefully non-preachy (the epigraphs that introduce each chapter have been chosen for their literary quality, not to proselytize the Catholic faith), and infused with admiration for the inner beauty and strength of women, readers feel the narrator’s restlessness, share in his struggles and joys, relax in his poetic sensibility, and walk in his shoes, as he slowly becomes part of the group.
Over 11 days in late-February/early-March, readers experience the unexpected beauty of Israel, the ubiquitous hawkers and noise, a pre-dawn reenactment of the Way of the Cross, a night-time lovers tiptoe across the rooftops of Old Jerusalem, an authentic Catholic confession, and the narrator’s impromptu afternoon odyssey through the poverty-stricken Arab district of Jerusalem, where, searching for a way to move beyond the anger he still feels about 9/11, he receives a gift he could never have imagined.
Written for believers and non-believers, Americans and non-Americans, men and women, young and old, this unique spiritual quest story is not just for Catholics, it’s for anyone searching for a more loving heart.
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OH, YOU'RE AMERICAN
Spanning London, Seal Beach, Paris, and Lyon, OH, YOU’RE AMERICAN (81,300 words, plus 28 pages of letters) evokes the mood of Notting Hill and will appeal to readers who enjoy comedic American girl-British boy love stories where music and belief are balm for distant lovers’ aching souls. Imagine an asthmatic Mexican-American version of Rosie from the hilarious Australian novel The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. Free-spirited, yet shy, Reggie Muñoz is a bookish, 20-year-old college DJ with a cartoonish voice, a love of soul music, and no direction in life. On vacation in London in 1986, she meets a 24-year-old, local London-Irish boy fresh from the pages of a Nick Hornby novel. When she returns to California they exchange letters. You know the restrained and proper letters found in Helene Hanff’s 84 Charing Cross Road (which she’s read but he hasn’t)? Well, they’re nothing like that.
They stomp through the minefield of cultural differences as if they don’t exist, make negative first impressions on each other’s parents, and grapple with the increasing angst of having fallen in love with someone more than 5,000 miles away. There’s family, money, lust, the prospect of having to emigrate, and the sudden death of a younger brother problems. Will they ever find a way to be together or are they stuck in a black and white French movie about to implode? One thing’s for sure. Clinging to the hope that it will all work out is getting old and leading to something big. Will she tell her parents about Paris? Will her spirals of melancholy scare him away? Will he take the kind of risk he’s never taken in his life? Throughout the story, the characters reveal in their own handwriting how cultural differences impact the way they respond to the age-old questions: What would you do for love? How far would you go?
OH, YOU'RE AMERICAN
Spanning London, Seal Beach, Paris, and Lyon, OH, YOU’RE AMERICAN (81,300 words, plus 28 pages of letters) evokes the mood of Notting Hill and will appeal to readers who enjoy comedic American girl-British boy love stories where music and belief are balm for distant lovers’ aching souls. Imagine an asthmatic Mexican-American version of Rosie from the hilarious Australian novel The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. Free-spirited, yet shy, Reggie Muñoz is a bookish, 20-year-old college DJ with a cartoonish voice, a love of soul music, and no direction in life. On vacation in London in 1986, she meets a 24-year-old, local London-Irish boy fresh from the pages of a Nick Hornby novel. When she returns to California they exchange letters. You know the restrained and proper letters found in Helene Hanff’s 84 Charing Cross Road (which she’s read but he hasn’t)? Well, they’re nothing like that.
They stomp through the minefield of cultural differences as if they don’t exist, make negative first impressions on each other’s parents, and grapple with the increasing angst of having fallen in love with someone more than 5,000 miles away. There’s family, money, lust, the prospect of having to emigrate, and the sudden death of a younger brother problems. Will they ever find a way to be together or are they stuck in a black and white French movie about to implode? One thing’s for sure. Clinging to the hope that it will all work out is getting old and leading to something big. Will she tell her parents about Paris? Will her spirals of melancholy scare him away? Will he take the kind of risk he’s never taken in his life? Throughout the story, the characters reveal in their own handwriting how cultural differences impact the way they respond to the age-old questions: What would you do for love? How far would you go?
