Sunday, December 11, 2016

Historical Christian Fiction: Evermark


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Roselyn thought she had it all – a beautiful family, a comfortable home, and a devoted husband.  But life as she knew it in the sleepy 17th century village of Avendale would come to a crushing halt when she discovers her husband’s criminal affair.  With her husband behind bars, her children to care for, and her reputation shattered, how could she go on? Suddenly alone in a harsh world, Roselyn must decide to flee or abide by the Sacred Writings of old.
With invaluable insights into the healing process following a spouse’s infidelity, Evermark shares a tale of the hope of redemption. Truly a “beauty from ashes” story, this novel is a must-read for both men and women alike.

What People Are Saying:

  • avatar
    "Evermark is a courageous story of God’s unrelenting love and grace, especially in the midst of hardship and grief. In the real world of betrayal and sorrow and anger, the majesty and power of sacrificial forgiveness is made all the more 
    beautiful."

    Mike Erre
    Pastor and Author

  • avatar
    “A captivating story of restoration and redemption, Evermark shares a woman’s courageous choice and journey to remain married following her husband’s infidelity.  Poignantly written, it clearly illustrates the message of what it means to follow God’s will regardless of circumstances. A beautiful story of marriage, family, faith, and unconditional love.”
    Doug Fields
    Author, Speaker, Consultant

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Evermark Chapter 5

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-Chapter 5-
March 6, 1609
-Liam-

Several times Liam lost his footing and hit the ground behind the horses’ trotting hooves. Guards were quick to strike him with the hilt of their swords, all the while hurling insult after insult upon him, forcing him back to his feet. He mustered what little strength he had left to pull himself off the ground as he was towed through the muck behind the moving horses. He knew he deserved every bit of it.
The verbal attacks of the guards were greater than the physical ones, for they played to his guilt and his shame. They mocked and scorned him, letting him know that he was scum, and he knew they were right. He was no better than the horse manure through which he walked. He had never craved death more fully than he did at this moment.
               Avendale’s dungeon was located a mere twenty minutes by foot from the docks on the outskirts of the town. The twenty-minute walk felt more like twenty hours to Liam. He looked up to catch a glimpse of the ghastly towering stone fortress standing menacingly before him—the Cirian Guard dungeon. Tears started to well up in his eyes as reality took hold. He knew enough to suppress the tears. Guards beat prisoners for showing evidence of weakness, and he had been beaten enough for now.
As they pulled to a stop, one of the cloaked guards dismounted and released the chain from behind the horses. Seizing the chain in his hands, he gave it a tight jerk to force Liam to scramble after him. The shackles around his wrists and ankles cut into his skin, causing blood to drip down his feet and hands. The guard gave a cruel chuckle.
“Get used to it,” he spat.
The guards marched him through the entrance of the dungeon and down the pathway that led to the cells below. They led him deeper and deeper into the underground labyrinth. Liam could feel it getting colder and darker with each step. He knew they’d reached the bottom when the pathway opened up into a large circular room. Torches lined the walls.
The guards wasted no time. Shoving him to the center of the room, they tore off his clothing piece by piece until he stood naked before them.
“You messed with the wrong young lady,” one sneered. “Lucius Shade’s stepdaughter? You’ll be lucky to see the dawn of day.”
They pulled him by the chains down an adjoining corridor. Soon they had reached the quarters where the prisoners were housed. Mockingly the guards paraded Liam before the rest of the prisoners, chanting before him, “Here before you walks the filth of the earth, the scum who molested our head guard’s stepdaughter.”
Yells and bellows of disgust rippled through the hall.
“Have your way with him,” a guard scorned as he shoved Liam to the stone floor.
Fear paralyzed him. In a flash he foresaw his life coming to an end. Is this how it’s to be? Beaten to death by an angry mob of inmates? But he was no molester. Nothing could be further from the truth. It had been consensual. And they had come to him and seduced him. He thought back to Opal’s pursuits and advances. He had tried to resist. Oh, how he had tried.
Then again, at this point, what did it matter, anyway? He had nothing left to live for. If this was how his life would end, then so be it.
He wouldn’t have to wait for long. To Liam’s surprise, a large man strode over and picked him up off the ground.
“Anyone who touches this man will answer to me,” was all the man said.
The prisoners shouted obscenities, but they knew better than to lay a hand on Liam.
“Thank you,” Liam whispered.
“I can help you,” the man murmured.
Liam nodded in gratitude.
The guards returned an hour later. To their disappointment, they found that Liam had no additional wounds other than the ones they themselves had inflicted upon him. Gruffly they dragged him away and put him in a cold, isolated cell of his own.
One flickering torch on a wall outside his cell shed light to his surroundings. Once his eyes had adjusted to the dimness, Liam pulled himself to his feet and strained his eyes to look around. Not that there was much to look at. He could reach out his hands and touch the opposing walls simultaneously. Looking down, he beheld a dirty, cold stone floor. The smell of human excrement filled his nostrils. With it came a new wave of nausea. He grabbed for his stomach, but the act of doing so caused a searing pain to shoot through his wrists. His wounds. He looked around to see what he could do to ease the pain, but as he had suspected, there was nothing in the dank cell but soiled straw. He sank to his knees.
This life had nothing left for him. His family was gone. His marriage was gone. His business was gone. All was gone.
Giving up, he curled up into a fetal position on the foul floor and wept. With not a soul around, the sobs came relentlessly, and his entire body shook.
“Please, Abba,” was all he could mutter.

Facedown in filth, Liam wept until he could weep no more. Out of sheer exhaustion, he began to doze. Broken dreams came in the night—dreams of home and the life that he had ruined.

Christian Historical Fiction
Available Formats: Hardback, Paperback, Ebook
Written by:
Annie B. Carwyn
Published By: WestBow Press 
Based on true events in the life of Jill Sousa

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Evermark Chapter 4

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-Chapter 4-
Midday on March 6, 1609
-Liam-

They had arrived in the middle of a merchant transaction. He had seen the Cirian guards approaching on their black horses with their swords and knew it was over. It was finally over. An odd sense of relief rippled through his body.
As the guards approached, Liam submissively trudged out to meet them. Though he willingly surrendered, the guards wasted no time in taking him down. With swords drawn and clubs raised, they beat him into submission. The physical beating was nothing in comparison to the shame that overwhelmed him. He prayed for a swift end—or even better, death. Neither happened. The guards whipped him just enough for him to remain conscious of the beating’s agony. Once they’d had their fill, they forced him into shackles and chained him behind their horses, ordering him to keep up behind them.
Liam couldn’t see where he was going. His eyes were swollen shut from the beating and from the tears of shame. The only thought of consolation was, It’s over.
Trudging along, dragging one foot in front of the other, his mind wandered back to how he had arrived here. How did he, a respected businessman and trader who loved his wife and family, ever get here? Of all people, he had been convinced that he would not succumb to the temptation of the shipyard maidens. He knew what they were. He knew. He had even shared with Roselyn countless times what an evil influence they were and how he must keep his distance.
What happened?
Moments of weakness had happened. He shuddered at the memory of it all. He had thought he could resist their advances. He thought he was strong enough. But he wasn’t.
It had started out as innocent flirtation. Opal Shade, a young woman who frequented the shipyard often, enjoyed doting attention upon Liam. Her father had long worked beside Liam in the shipyard as a fellow merchant, Liam he knew Opal well. Slim with long, flowing blonde hair, she certainly caught the attention of many men. She was not blind to the effect she had on them.
Opal’s father often sent her on small errands to do business with Liam. He would send her to collect a fee here or gather a signature there. Opal never objected. She enjoyed Liam. He always had a kind word of encouragement for her. Soon what started out as innocent business dealings turned into subtle and then not-so-subtle flirtations. Young women such as Opal know how to get a man’s attention. And she began doing so with ease.
Knowing that it to be against the Cirian court law for an adult man to have relations with a young unmarried woman without parental consent, Liam was cautious. Then again, he considered himself safe, for there was no chance of a married man such as himself ever crossing that line. Looking back now, he shook his head with how wrong he had been.
It wasn’t long before Opal formed an unhealthy attachment to Liam. She began to see him as more than the absent father figure. Before long she was openly drawn to him, wanting him for her own. To secure him, she enlisted the help of another young woman from the shipyard. Power in numbers, Liam later supposed. Atilla was a fiery redhead whose behavior matched the color of her tresses. Opal’s parents had long since forbidden her from spending time with Atilla, but Opal paid them no heed. The more time the women spent together, the more influence Atilla had over Opal. It was Atilla’s idea to start with the sketches. They began sketching each other and delivering the sketches to Liam during their business dealings. At first the sketches were fairly innocent. That quickly changed. Soon Liam was receiving drawings of what the two women were doing with one another.
At first he was shocked by such behavior. He couldn’t believe that any young woman would contemplate doing what they were doing, let alone send him sketches of it. Unsure of what to do, he contemplated confiding in Opal’s parents about her behavior. His fear in their reaction prevented him from doing so. There was nothing he could do besides burn the drawings in the hope that they would soon end. The sketches, however, kept coming. Each day he received a new drawing deliberately tucked into his office desk. The shock soon dissipated, to be replaced with intrigue.
Day after day, month after month, the young women worked at breaking down Liam’s defenses. To them it was a fun diversion, nothing more than a flirtatious game.
It wasn’t long before they approached him in the cabin of his ship one weary evening. With his defenses down, they taunted and teased him until he relinquished. Thinking back on it now, he should have run. But he didn’t. There, in the cabin of the ship, the young women joined in performing illicit acts with one another. Yes, he should have run. But he didn’t. Their behavior, though appalling, awakened within him an inexorable urge.
Soon it was all over.
Or at least the act itself was over. It had left him feeling shallow and empty. Shame crept in. He looked on in disgust at the maidens as they giggled and dressed themselves.
“Leave now,” he gruffly commanded.
The girls looked at him and giggled, relishing in their new sense of conquest. They grabbed their belongings and traipsed up the cabin stairs. At the top they had the gall to call out, “Tomorrow, Liam! We’ll be back for more!”
Liam shook his head, wishing that it had all been a hellish nightmare from which he would shortly awaken. It wasn’t. The girls came back for more the next night, and the night after that, and the night after that. To them it was all a game. Liam wanted out, but his guilt and shame held him there. And his need.
What had started off as simple flirtation turned into a dark, ongoing relationship. In time Atilla became bored and moved on. But not Opal. Craving attention, Opal repeatedly came back to Liam. She used what her friend had taught her. And it worked.
Liam sank so low that he thought he was beyond restoration, beyond hope or repair. He knew he had to call it off for the sake of his marriage, for the sake of Roselyn. She could never find out the horror of his secret. It would destroy her. But each time Opal came back, he fell to her advances.
There were occasional times when he was strong enough to resist them. But Opal was persistent. She knew what she wanted and knew how to get it. More often than not, Liam caved to her desires.
He would cave no longer. Dragged in chains behind the guards’ horses, he couldn’t help but breathe a shallow breath of relief. He was finally free of the women and their advances.
 

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Evermark Chapter 3

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 March 7, 1609
- Roselyn -



Except for the excited chatter of the two girls, the walk for Roselyn was a silent one. The girls seemed worlds away to her as she kept to her own thoughts and the turmoil within.  Nothing would ever be the same.  The safety and security of her life had been shattered. Feeling a new sense of numbness wash over her, she just had to make it to her parent’s home and beg for assistance.  It was all she had left.  
               They walked on.  Beautiful trees lined the dirt path, their leaves stretching out in a lacy canopy overhead, allowing bits of sunlight to shine down on their path.  Their beauty was lost on Roselyn this day.
               “Mama! I found a tiny green frog hopping on the rocks over there!  Can I catch it?? Can I?  Can I catch the froggy, Mama?” Emmy squealed.
               “Hmmm.”
               “Awe! He’s gone.  He’s too fast for me. Look! Look at the bluebird, Mama!”
               “Hmmm.”
               “Mama, can we chase each other along the path?” Belle asked.
               “Hmmm.”
               Roselyn could feel herself ignoring the girls out of sheer survival, but she seemed numb to do anything about it. She wanted to be there for her daughters who were at the moment completely unaware of the nightmare that was unfolding… but her current pain and shock was more than she could bear.  Her husband had betrayed her.  He had given his body to a younger, prettier woman.  Thoughts echoed once again through her mind. 
               “You’re ugly.  You’re flabby.  Just look at you.  You obviously repulse him or he wouldn’t have wandered.  He went in search of something greater… and he deserved it.”
               The tears came again.  She tried to suppress them, not wanting Belle or Emmy to see them lest they grow concerned.  Turning her face towards the bordering forest, she let the tears fall.
She hadn’t been good enough.  That was the bottom line. Her husband didn’t want her.  Looking down at her work-worn hands, she reached up to touch her tear-stained face.  She knew she wasn’t the prettiest woman in the village.  She had tried to compensate for it with loyalty and obedience, but it wasn’t enough.  Now she was on her own. 
“Abba, oh, Abba, why???”   There was no controlling the flood of tears now. 
               “Mama, what is it?  What’s wrong?”  Belle insisted.
               “Oh, sweetheart…  Don’t you worry about Mama right now.  Mama is all right.  I simply thought of something sad, is all.  Everything is fine.”
The girls continued the journey in silence.  Within the hour, they saw the tree-lined walkway leading to the entrance of Nana and Papa’s.  Both young girls took off at a sprint down the lane.  Roselyn was glad of the few minutes to collect her thoughts. The news she brought would be far from easy to share.
As soon as the sound of the running footsteps could be heard upon the gravel, a team of servants had come out to greet the visitors.  Roselyn smiled affectionately at them as the girls raced past and into the cottage.
“Nana!!! Papa!!” The girls called.
“Hello, my loves!!! Hello!!! Come on in!!! It’s so good to see you! To what do we have the pleasure of this fine visit?”
“Mama has some business or something that she needs to talk to you about,” came Belle’s honest reply.
Kathleen Laudvis looked up from her grandchildren to study the frail figure of her daughter shuffling up the path.  She looked haggard and worn.  Concern broke over Kathleen’s face. 
“Girls, go run and find Papa.  He’s in his tool shed working on a new project and I’m sure he’d love your help.”
“Papa! Papa!! We want to help!!” the girls called as they ran to find their grandfather.
“Roselyn! What’s wrong?? What is it, child??” Kathleen reached out to grab her daughter as she stumbled through the doorway.
Roselyn opened her mouth, but instead of the words she had rehearsed, sobs poured forth.  They shook her weak body and she trembled in her mother’s arms.
“Shhhh. Shhhhh…. There now,” came the comforting words of her mother as she stroked her daughter’s hair.  “It will all be all right.  Take a few deep breaths.  Shhh… Breathe in, breathe out.”
“No, mother, it won’t,” Roselyn managed to squeak out between sobs. “It will never be all right.”
“Tell me, child. What has happened?”
“Liam… Liam… he-he he’s been arrested.”
“WHAT?”
“He-he’s in the st-stocks, Mother. He-he… he may as well be dead.”
“What?? No… No… surely you are mistaken.”
“It is no mistake, mother.  I can assure you that it is no mistake,” Roselyn declared, regaining her composure.
“Oh sweetheart, you must tell me… what has happened?”
“The messenger of the guard with the Cirian soldiers came to my house last night to deliver a message. It was awful, Mother. He said that Liam had been arrested… for… for having a prohibited affair with the daughter of the chief guard!  He even went as far as to insinuate that I should have known as much or that I had some role to play in the whole matter… Oh, Mother… I can scarce believe it.  It’s over, Mother. It’s all over.  The girls, Mother… Oh, the girls…. what do I do??? They’ll no longer have a father… and I no longer have a husband. It’s all over.”
The tears overcame her and once again her body shook in the arms of her consoling mother. Both women silently clung to each other for a while trying to digest the horror of the news.  Before long, Kathleen pushed Roselyn gently away and held her at arms length.
“Come with me… We go to your father.  He’ll know what to do.”
 “I can’t, Mother.  I can’t tell him,” stammered Roselyn.

“Then I will,” said Kathleen resolutely.  “Here, come lie down.  You look exhausted.  I’m sure you haven’t slept a bit since last night.  Let me get you some tea and a blanket.  You need rest.”
Kathleen disappeared into the kitchen to fetch a cup of tea, some biscuits, and a warm blanket for her daughter.  She instructed her to lie down on the sofa bed while she spoke with Thomas Laudvis.
Thomas Laudvis was a brilliant man.  As mayor of the town of Avendale, he was known by all and respected by many. He would surely know how to handle this…  of that, Roselyn was certain.  What she feared, however, was how this unfortunate turn of events would reflect on her.  For as long as she could remember, she had craved her father’s approval.  She wanted him to be proud of her.  This development would surely make no father proud.
The tears welled up in her eyes once more.  Roselyn curled up on the straw bed.  Grabbing her knees to her chest, she prayed for sleep… and for the chance for it all to be gone when she awoke.