Blog Tour: Branko

 

Children's Book

Date Published: March 30, 2026

Publisher: Trela Mela Press

A brave little dragon. A forest in danger. A powerful story about friendship, courage, and protecting the world we share.

Little Branko lives high above Dragonville in Zmajograd, a city of dragons controlled by rules - the Dragons’ Code. Under this code, dragons cannot put out fires and dragons cannot be friends with humans. But Branko has never understood why. Unlike the other dragons, he does not want to start fires—he wants to put them out.

When Branko questions the Dragons’ Code in school, he is told to “learn” and not “think”. When he persists, he is banished from his community. Determined to follow his heart, he travels to the human town below and dreams of becoming a firefighter. But the humans are afraid of him, too. Caught between two worlds that refuse to accept him, Branko must decide whether to give up—or keep believing that kindness can change everything.

When a dangerous wildfire threatens the forest shared by humans and dragons, Branko finally gets his chance to prove that courage is not about following old rules. It is about doing what is right.

Branko: Smokejumper Extraordinaire is a heartwarming children’s picture book about friendship, bravery, community, environmental responsibility, and the importance of questioning division. With themes of inclusion, cooperation, wildfire awareness, and respect for firefighters, this inspiring story encourages young readers to look beyond fear, challenge unfair rules, and discover the extraordinary power of helping others.

Perfect for children who love stories about dragons, firefighters, friendship, nature, and unlikely heroes, this meaningful book is ideal for family reading, classrooms, libraries, and conversations about courage, compassion, and caring for our planet.

Great for readers interested in:

• Dragon picture books

• Firefighter books for kids

• Children’s books about friendship and acceptance

• Stories about courage, kindness, and standing up for what is right

• Environmental books for children

• Climate books for children

• Wildfire awareness and forest protection

• Social-emotional learning and community-building stories

A beautifully imaginative tale for young readers who believe even the smallest voice can spark big change.

 

About the Author

Alexandra Arneri is an author, attorney, producer, and human rights advocate whose stories explore courage, connection, and the power of questioning the rules that keep people apart.

Born in Belgrade, raised in Belgrade and Sydney, and shaped by formative years in New York City, Alexandra brings a global perspective to her work. Her writing often features unlikely characters—from mushrooms and fax machines to thunder, lightning, flowers, Beeps, Honks, and dragons—who discover that difference does not have to mean division.

Her debut children’s book, Branko: Smokejumper Extraordinaire, introduces young readers to a brave little dragon who challenges tradition, reaches across fear, and helps unite humans and dragons in the face of an unprecedented and fierce wildfire. Inspired by themes of friendship, environmental responsibility, community, and courage, the story reflects Alexandra’s belief in the importance of compassion, cooperation, and protecting the world we share.

Beyond children’s literature, Alexandra’s creative work spans genres and platforms, including Gravity FM, a deep dive podcast exploring planetary health and human rights, the satirical Degenerate Carrot cartoons, and impactful storytelling through Apocryphal Pictures. She is also a practicing attorney at Cittone Demers & Arneri LLP, where she maintains a robust human rights practice, and serves as President of the Global Witness Foundation.

Alexandra lives in San Francisco with her family. When she is not writing, practicing law, producing stories, or advocating for human rights, she enjoys painting, yoga, and creating imaginative tales about the courage it takes to reach across what divides us.

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PROMO: Because It's True

 

 

Gay Paranormal Romance

Date Published: October 9, 2026

 

Believing in love and in luck is something Gavin swore he’d never do again -- until he meets Ford.

 

After being left at the altar by his former fiancé, he’s a firm disbeliever in good fortune and love. Though there’s an immediate attraction between himself and Ford, they’re just too different to make a relationship work. The sex is explosive and despite himself Gavin even grows to like Ford’s quirky sense of humor and skewed view of life. Isn’t that good enough?

Not for Ford. A happy-go-lucky diviner of fortunes and omens, he’s sure from what he’s seen that Gavin is the love of his life and the man he’ll marry. He makes it his mission to overcome Gavin’s doubts and fears and teach him how to love again. Never giving up in his enthusiastic pursuit of the once-burned twice-shy secretary, he brings Gavin back to life and helps restore him to the man he used to be.

Ford makes Gavin want to believe in love again. But when Ford begins to lose his faith, it’s up to Gavin to save the magic they have between them and blaze the trail toward their happily ever after.

EXCERPT

 

“Something wonderful is going to happen today.”

“Were you talking to me?” A fun-sized blonde deliverywoman, no one Ford had met before, juggled her armload of Flowers Fast! boxes to pop out her iPod earbuds.

Ford grinned up at her from where he’d crouched to study the sidewalk perpendicular to the museum service elevator he, and presumably she, was waiting on. “Sorry, no. I wasn’t talking to you. Not that I wouldn’t. Everyone I’ve ever known swears you can’t shut me up for love or money. They’re usually right.”

The deliverywoman looked like she couldn’t decide between aww, cute and running. “You’re a little crazy, aren’t you?”

“So I’m often told.” He’d bet this woman was one heck of a character herself. She’d made some, er, interesting fashion choices involving calf-length striped tights and patchouli hair wax. “I’m Ford.” He offered her a hand from below. “Come down here and check this out.”

“This isn’t some kind of cheesy pick-up line, is it? I’d be flattered, but… okay, wow. From the look on your face, I can answer that one myself. So not a pick-up line. If you were any less into women, you’d be a gastropod.”

Ford laughed. “That’s a new one on me.”

“If the shoe fits. I’m Kayla.”

“Ford.”

“Like the truck?” The deliverywoman crouched beside him. Good. Ford liked her, and her coming along for the ride was an excellent sign. Something wonderful and something unexpected were set to happen today. “You deliver for Rush Plus, right?”

“Packages where you want them to go as fast as you want ‘em to get there. Or as fast as I can pedal.” Ford patted his heavy messenger bag.

“Pleased to meet you. I could use a pick-me-up. Delivering flowers is surprisingly thankless work. What’s this good thing that’s going to happen today?”

“I don’t know yet.” Ford waved up from their spot on the sidewalk at the weird door to the external service elevator and the five floors of refurbished mill-cum-museum it had to sledge its way down at the speed of thick molasses. “It’s complicated. If you’re up for it, there’s time for me to explain.”

“God, tell me about it.” Kayla scowled at the stubborn doors.

Ford had started to feel the burn of his crouch, the solid weight of his body not really best designed for sitting this way, but he could take it a little longer, and he had a good example right in front of him. A penny, less than a foot away on the sidewalk. “Do you believe in magic?”

“Wait, what? Do you mean stage magic? Illusions and that kind of thing?”

“Not exactly.” Ford nudged the penny with the tip of his finger and waggled his eyebrows at her. He liked playing over the top. Made people less nervous of the giant with his crazy talk.

“Ohh, I get it. See a penny, pick it up, and all day long you’ll have good luck?”

“Exactly.” Ford levered the penny off the sidewalk.

“Ugh!”

“Hey, don’t knock it just because it needs a little TLC.” Ford balanced the penny in his palm, where it looked lost and tiny in the breadth and width of his hand. Or, depending on your point of view, safe. Protected. “It’s heads up, even. Extra good luck.”

“Yeah, but where’s the proof?”

“You don’t need proof if you believe. And I do. Because it’s true. This penny means it’s my lucky day.” Ford shifted and winced. His knees had had enough of bearing all his weight. Time to stand. “I need to stand up. Don’t freak out, okay?”

“Why would that tweak me?”

“You’ll see.” Ford stood slowly to give her time to adjust to his size. At six feet nine with a proportionate build that could only be described as solid, he liked to make sure people knew in advance he wasn’t a threat.

Kayla’s eyes widened. She took a step back, then forward, her chin up. “Holy cow. Sorry, just… wow, man. You’re huge.”

“And you’re itty-bitty. I won’t hurt you.”

“A gentle giant, huh?” Kayla studied him with her head tilted to one side. “Okay. I believe you.”

“You’d be surprised how many don’t. Thank you. May I?” Ford took her hand to kiss the back of it.

“Touché, Mister.” Kayla fiddled with a strand of her spiky hair. “So you really, really believe in luck? What about omens and good signs and that kind of thing?”

“Yes, yes, yes, and all of the above, yes. And you don’t, right?”

When Kayla shook her head, a ladder of silver rings running along the outer shells of her ears jingled. All positive signs that pointed toward good fortune. Better and better. “Don’t shun me or anything. I’ve just never seen any proof that all those old wives’ tales are more than just stories.”

Ford grinned broadly at her. He loved it when someone was willing to be convinced. “If it’s proof you want, I can do proof. Prepare to be amazed.”

 

About the Author

A storyteller and a sewist, Will Okati has lived through a few Interesting Times but come out the other side ready to roll. Looking for them? Look for a keyboard or a vintage Singer. They'll be there. They're most often accompanied by their beloved pair of orange-flavored felines: Hobbit (toothless, sweet) and Onion (spicy, known to bounce off the literal ceiling in pursuit of a ladybug).

Will likes to say still waters run deeper than anyone knows, and life -- like storytelling -- is always a work in progress.

 

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PROMO: Two Minds, One Rhythm

 

 

A Story for a Fractured Nation, Healing America’s Divide Through the Redemptive Power of Shared Purpose

 

Nonfiction

Date Published: Coming OCT 6, 2026

Publisher: Elite Online Publishing

 

The day after Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, a New York Times reporter called trial attorney Edward Blackmon, Jr. with one question:

What should the rest of America expect?

This book is their answer.

Mississippi gave Edward and Barbara Blackmon—and the generations before them—a vantage the rest of the nation is only now beginning to feel. What Americans are living through today is not a new reality improvised in real time. It is the same ancient machinery that has always been here.

They spent their lives inside a system built to contain them: segregated schools and courthouses, voting maps drawn to dilute Black power, courtrooms that treated justice as a privilege. Locked as a teenager in a Canton jail during the civil-rights struggle, Edward decided then to become a lawyer so the law could serve as a shield rather than a weapon. He served more than four decades in the Mississippi House of Representatives and helped redraw the state’s political maps, more than doubling Black representation. The National Law Journal twice named him one of the nation’s top ten litigators.

Barbara Blackmon broke barriers of her own. She earned her degree from Jackson State University at nineteen, an MBA from the University of Alabama, a law degree from the University of Mississippi, and an LL.M. in taxation from New York University. She became the first Black woman to represent Madison, Yazoo, and Holmes counties in the Mississippi Senate from a majority-white district, later won the Democratic nomination to run for lieutenant governor, and, with her husband, built a statewide law practice in Canton that took the fight from the Capitol floor to the courtroom.

Two Minds, One Rhythm is the story of how two formidable minds learned to move together toward goals that serve humanity—and why we must unite now to heal a fractured nation before it is too late. This book does not stop at diagnosis. It offers a path forward: work, faith, education, and shared purpose. See the other side without surrendering yours. Rebuild trust. Choose courage over fear. The fractures can still be closed—not if we wait until the rest of the world finishes watching us come apart.

 

 

About the Author

 

EDWARD BLACKMON, JR.

Edward Blackmon, Jr. is a nationally recognized trial attorney, former Mississippi State Representative, and longtime advocate for voting rights and equal representation. A graduate of Tougaloo College and The George Washington University Law School, he co-founded Blackmon & Blackmon, PLLC, with his wife and law partner, Barbara, in Canton, Mississippi.

During four decades in the Mississippi House of Representatives, Edward helped lead legislative and judicial redistricting efforts that dramatically increased Black representation in the state legislature and judiciary. He broke at-large elections, drew maps that more than doubled Black representation, and created Mississippi’s first majority-Black judicial subdistricts. He won landmark verdicts—$177 million—and fifty criminal trials without a loss. Twice named one of the Nation's Top Ten Litigators by The National Law Journal, he has received numerous honors for his legal and public service, including the J. William Fulbright Distinguished Public Service Award and the National Black Caucus of State Legislators State Nation Builder Award.

Edward and Barbara married in 1986 and raised four children, two of whom now serve in the Mississippi Legislature.

 

 

BARBARA BLACKMON

Barbara Blackmon is a trailblazing attorney, former Mississippi State Senator, and Managing Partner of Blackmon & Blackmon, PLLC, the law firm she built with her husband, Edward. She holds degrees from Jackson State University, the University of Alabama, the University of Mississippi School of Law, and New York University, where she earned an LL.M. in Taxation.

In 1992, she became the first Black woman elected to represent Madison, Yazoo, and Holmes counties in the Mississippi State Senate—a majority-white district. She broke barriers as the first woman named Vice Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, the first woman and first Black senator to chair an Appropriations subcommittee, and the first woman from the Senate appointed to the Legislative Budget Committee. In 2003, she made history as the first Black Mississippian to win the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.

An attorney, mentor, philanthropist, and lifelong advocate for education, Barbara has received numerous honors for her public service. Together, she and Edward have contributed more than $1.7 million to Tougaloo College and Jackson State University and supported scholarships for dozens of students.

Blackmon & Blackmon, PLLC

 

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PROMO: Dies Irae

 

 

Gay Vampire Romantic Suspense

Date Published: October 9, 2026

Makoto and Will must accept their bond in order to stop a madman’s killing spree.

 

London, 1816. Someone is killing vampires and their Hosts, leaving brutalized bodies on display in the heart of London. Makoto Morinaga, minore and lead hunter for the Baron of Colbourne, must find and stop the madman. Yet the mission is in peril almost from the moment it starts. In despair over loving his master’s Host, he breaks his oath and finds himself bound through Compulsion to the last person he would choose as his Host -- the flamboyant young man who has spent years pining over their master. Makoto can ill afford this appalling distraction while he hunts for a monstrous killer.

Will Carter is an experienced Host who has offered up body and blood to vampires since reaching his majority. He spent years learning the duties of the Colbourne Host, only to have his dreams crumble when his master finds a man more perfect than Will. In his frustration, he taunts Colbourne’s lead hunter into committing a forbidden act. His punishment? Being bound to the last person he would ever wish to hold his contract -- Makoto Morinaga, a man whose body he knows well, but whose heart is a dark mystery and whose stoicism grates on Will’s every nerve.

An unexpected emotional connection heats their hearts even as their Host bond heats their bodies. Just as they begin to find common ground, the madman strikes again. Finding the madman’s lair might end the violence, but the price might destroy them both.

 

WARNING: Adult content, including references to physical violence and torture which may be triggers for some readers.

 

EXCERPT

 

Blood. Thickening blood, smoking and bubbling to a slow boil. The fire above it flickered in the shadows of the darkened alley. Postnato watched as the demon and its unholy servant writhed on the cobbles in purifying flame. Glee and eager satisfaction suffused him as he and his brother awaited the lethal culmination of their night’s work for the Inquisitio Sanguinis.

The demon’s mouth had pulled back from those inhuman fangs in a satisfying rictus of pain. The foul beast still struggled to free itself, despite sharpened stakes piercing shoulder and thigh, pinning it against the bloodied earth. The agonized contortions of the monster’s corrupt human slave had ceased, becoming the involuntary spasms of approaching death.

“Revertere ad inferos, Daemon,” Postnato whispered, condemning the beast to hell with a sneer. “Ad dominum tuum infernalis!”

Yes, back to Hell with you, back to your infernal master, he thought savagely.

The creature’s demonic struggles strengthened at the words, the frantic actions accompanied by a harsh croak of anguish. The renewal of its futile struggles only served to drive the stakes deeper into its flesh, and to fan the flames consuming it.

Postnato resumed his silence as Antenato raised a cautioning finger to his lips. He subsided with difficulty, impatient for the inhuman beast to surrender its last breath.

After another quarter hour, during which the human half of their quarry had become nothing but a flickering corpse-light, the demon gave a final shudder, slackening in approaching death at last.

With a grunt of satisfaction, Postnato bent for one of the buckets at his feet, waiting to douse the remaining flames after his brother had completed one more task, tearing a final, hoarse screech of pain along with the fangs from the dying beast. Antenato held his prize aloft, eyes aglow as their quarry expired. At this sign, Postnato heaved the contents of both pails over the corpses, smothering the fires with rotting offal gleaned from the butcher’s slop midden. The smoldering ruins sent up an instant reek, and he smiled in unison with his brother. This had not been their sacred mission, but chance had given them a demon and now there was one less to walk the earth.

Now to find the leader of these abominations.

* * *

About the Author

Autumn grew up loving history, mythology, and all things Japanese, not necessarily in that order. This eclectic love affair has bled over into her writing, and her stories are always well spiced with the taste of Japan, strange mythological beasties, or the lords and ladies of the ton. Sometimes all three, leading to dark desires and forbidden loves.

And after all, dangerous passions should lead to uninhibited love.

 

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PROMO: Truthful Lies & Bent Realities

 

A Truly Believed Love Story

 

Mystery, Thriller, Crime

Date Published: April 30, 2026

 

In a time when mythology as propaganda shapes the systems of society and government, two unlikely souls come together to question the reality of it all—what’s going wrong in the world, whether anything’s right, and their own perceptions of honesty, dishonesty, and who they are.

Chillee and Gordie meet in Big Town, where their connection flourishes despite the recognition that they could each be fatal to the identities they’ve created for themselves. Chillee is a realistic idealist, a problem solver who puts her faith in the truth. Gordie, too, is an idealist, but he thrives on uncertainty, posing as a criminal to bring justice to white-collar crimes. They vow to hold one another accountable, to push each other through the steps to being a better person—the best person they’re capable of being.

In Chillee’s neighboring hometown, a county commissioner’s election will determine the fate of the rural community—and unknowingly put relationships to the test. When her best friend Willi asks Chillee to help her run against her ex-husband, she returns to Colton Center with Gordie…who has his own motives in mind.

As the couple continues to work with and against each other, Chillee and Gordie begin to see the deepening cracks in the perceived rights and wrongs of their world. No matter the outcome of the election, life as they knew it may not be the life they continue to lead.

Truthful Lies and Bent Realities is a thought-provoking ride into learning to understand the self and challenge the mind to keep asking the existential questions: Who are we? Who do we think we are? Who do we want to be? And do those identities intersect in the right places?

About the Author

Stephen Foehr, author of 14 fiction and nonfiction books, began his career as a police reporter in Chicago. His nonfiction books examines the relationship between music and culture, autobiography of the blues Taj Mahal, and travel. His fiction deals with submission and how to resist.

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PROMO: The Hawk's Lady

 

Historical Romance

Date Published: July 4, 2026

A blond Barbary pirate captain of a xebec. . . Sinan Reis.

Who is he? Why did he desert his country?

His latest capture: a fine yacht. And its owner. . . Lady Victoria Grenville.

Who is she? Can an heiress to a fortune conform to harem life?

Amidst sea battles, kidnappings, and political menace from the Dey of Algiers, Sinan and Tory start as captor and captive. But their fierce battle of wills will transform them both.

Most importantly, if Tory can’t submit to him will he sell her at auction? Or can she escape before he does?

Kismet has other plans.

In 1799, Lady Victoria "Tory" Grenville, a willful English heiress, is captured at sea by Sinan Reis, a blond Barbary pirate captain secretly working for a cause he can't reveal. Aboard his xebec and within the walls of an Algiers harem, captor and captive wage a battle of wills that becomes a battle for the heart, set against real political intrigue between the new United States, the Dey of Algiers, and the warring Federalists and Democratic-Republicans of post-Revolutionary Philadelphia. Sweeping sea battles, kidnappings, and court machinations build to a richly satisfying historical romance grounded in meticulously researched 18th-century detail.

 

* New, expanded edition with a newly written epilogue extending the story into the events of 1814, bridging to the author's upcoming Regency-era trilogy.

* Bonus material: author's historical notes, a detailed bibliography/source list documenting the book's research, and a preview/teaser of Shannon's forthcoming "Fire, Wind and Earth" trilogy (Ashes, Burning Bright; Whirlwind, Burning Bright; Tiger, Burning Bright).

* Author Colleen Shannon was nominated by Romantic Times as Best New Historical Romance Author and has won/been nominated for multiple industry awards (including a Kiss Award) across an 18-novel career with over a million copies in print.

* Limited deluxe hardback printing released to mark the U.S. 250th anniversary with patriotic design features available on Colleen Shannon's author website.

The Hawk's Lady: a Deluxe 250th Anniversary Edition of Colleen Shannon's beloved 1989 Barbary Wars romance, now fully revised with new original content.

 

About the Author

Colleen Shannon grew up in Midland, Texas where the skies are as limitless as the tales told by its many colorful residents, dreamers and entrepreneurs all, with some scoundrels sprinkled in. Colleen grew up reading and writing stories of every kind. She wrote her first short story at eight, began a novel at 14 and read authors like Ayn Rand and Clive Cussler at 13. After college when she married and expected her first child, she used a scrap computer assembled by her engineer husband, to write her first novel, Wild Heart Tamed (not posted digitally because she considers it a learning experience).

She sold it herself to Berkley in less than a year, and at the age of 26 began a new career and never looked back. The strength of her first book led to her nomination by Romantic Times as Best New Historical Author. She went on to win and/or be nominated for many other awards, including a Kiss Award for all three heroes of her Fairy Tale trilogy written for Dorchester Books. One of her six completed scripts is a modern, very different version to her Georgian England set beauty and the beast novel The Gentle Beast. It has not been shown as it needs heavy revisions but she moves easily between scripts and novels, including original screenplays like Full Circle, currently revised after two Blacklist evaluations. In the last two years, she has become one of Film Freeways’ top winning screenwriters internationally, per Film Freeway management.

Her 18 single title releases have appeared on many bestseller lists; she has well over a million books in print. Colleen’s recent works include thrillers and screenplays that combine her favorite novel story elements: romance, suspense, history and action. Most recently, she published three Kensington Lyrical Press romantic suspense. The first in the series, Foster Justice, was released in December 2014 and ranked #1 on Amazon’s Western Romance list. Colleen converted the story to a novel from the original script version she wrote at UCLA’s Advanced Professional Screenwriting program.

Colleen Shannon graduated cum laude from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in Archaeology and more recently earned her Master’s in Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California. She currently lives in Austin, Texas.

 

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Blog Tour: Winning the Wrong Game

 

When the Life You’ve Built Still Isn’t Enough and How to Restore What Actually Matters

 

Christian Living / Religion / Nonfiction

Date Published: August 4, 2026

Publisher: Lucid Books Publishing

 

You’ve worked hard, built a good life, and achieved what you set out to accomplish. So why does something still feel off?

On the surface, everything looks right. But underneath, something is beginning to crack—and no amount of success, performance, or achievement seems to fix it.

Josh Wintermute knows that feeling well. After walking through physical, mental, financial, and spiritual struggles, he came to a life-changing realization: the problem wasn’t just the circumstances—it was the foundation.

In this honest and practical book, Josh walks you through the three foundational areas every life is built on—your heart, your home, and your culture. He helps you uncover what’s broken beneath the surface, do the hard work of restoration, and rebuild on what truly matters.

You are not as stuck as you think.

You are not as alone as you feel.

And you are going to make it.

Excerpt

I still remember the look on my son’s face when he told me he scored his first soccer goal. He was so excited as he told me what happened and how happy his coach and teammates were. My wife was beaming as he shared the excitement with me. I was so happy for him, but the feeling was short-lived as regret replaced joy. Why? I had missed the entire game because I chose to work that evening.

I knew I should have been there at his game, but I wasn’t, and not because I couldn’t have been. I could have told my manager about the game and would have been allowed to cut out early or not attend the work event at all. I had options, yet I chose to work rather than go to my son’s game. My heart broke as I realized the trade I’d made. Missing this moment in my son’s life was heartbreaking, and I look back on this moment with so much shame and regret.

I was in the early stages of my career as a pastor at a large church. The church was growing, and there always seemed to be a new initiative, vision, and event to engage people and reach the community. At the time I led the student ministry, working with sixth through twelfth grade students. There were other obligations that came with the job, including attending services and events scheduled almost every week. I worked six days a week and took Fridays off.

As the ministry grew, the church staff focused on working hard and doing more while we had momentum, and the results started rolling in. We had more and more middle school and high school students attending our Wednesday night service, and the excitement was palpable. There was something in me that kept wanting the group to get bigger and better, which meant I had to do more and more. I needed more leaders, more ideas, more help, and more time. I thought I knew what it would take, but I knew if I put my head down and got to work, I could do it. What I didn’t know was what it would take from me.

During this season, our sons were between five and ten years old. I wanted to be involved in their activities, yet there was always something to do at work, and I couldn’t be at everything.

Missing my son’s first goal was such a bummer, but it wasn’t the first or only thing I missed. I rarely went to school plays or attended meet-the-teacher events, and cheering them on at their soccer games was a luxury I often couldn’t afford. Because I chose work, that put almost all the weight of the boys on Rachael.

I justified missing these things because of what I was providing for my family. Food, clothes, and a mortgage all have a price tag. I felt like the sacrifices I was making would all pay off one day and that one day I would be more present. After all, everything I was doing was for my family, right?

Most days, I came home from work, sat down for dinner, and caught up on everyone’s day. After we ate, it was time to get ready for the next day, and the boys would get cleaned up and head to bed. Rachael and I prayed with the boys each night and told them good night. After they were asleep, Rachael and I were supposed to have time for each other, but I often found myself checking emails and replying to texts in the evenings instead of being present with her. The next day I headed off to work, and Rachael got the boys ready for school, only to do it all over again.

About the Author

Author Josh Wintermute is a life builder and founder of Quiet Winters, helping leaders build their lives on a solid foundation. With over 20 years of pastoral ministry, Josh has walked with hundreds of people through life’s ups and downs and has a deep desire to see people heal and grow through the challenges we face in life. Josh has been married for over 25 years, has three sons, and lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

 

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