Guest Blog: Tamelia Aday and The Filbert Ridge Miracle *Prize of Free E-book to Chosen Commenter

Dear Readers, good morning! I hope you all are well.

In her introduction of her book (below), Tamelia calls herself a catastrophic looper. I had to figure out what that meant--and then recognized myself. Oops!

I've always assumed myself to be a planner, so that's what I do--my husband's late getting home? What is he's been in an accident, do I know the password to his computer, what about the wills, do I know where those are?

All I can say is, I have to work at trusting the Lord. Jesus knew what he was doing when he spoke about those sparrows--he knew I needed to hear those words all these years later. How about you?

Introduce yourself—name, where you’re from, and something people notice when they meet you.

I’m Tamelia Aday, also known as Tammy. I’m from St. Helens, Oregon, and when someone meets me, they may notice that I am carrying a bag of multiple books. If we are in a coffee shop, I may order the unpopular Decaf.

Tell us about your book—title and back cover blurb.

The Filbert Ridge Miracle was inspired by the five minutes my son went missing. As a catastrophic looper, I was able to make an entire novel from the event.

The story begins when Alex McMillan raises the grumpiest man in church, Winston Brooks, from the dead. With that, a ten-year-old mystery comes back to life. The congregation’s opinions divide, some not appreciating the act of God performed in the church parking lot, especially when it means Mr. Brooks is still with them—the man who every Sunday yells at his wife and clomps out the door before church is over.

Headlines announce the resurrection, along with past articles about the McMillans ’ son Stephen, who vanished a decade ago. Rose holds onto hope; Patrick desires closure. Winston’s son, Joe, doesn’t want them to have either.

Patrick wants to find the truth about his missing son and wishes Rose would be realistic. He wants to preach the way God has called him to, but finds himself being a people-pleaser to keep the church from falling apart. As years without answers go by, Rose’s sanity is at stake. Can Patrick continue to hold up his family and keep his marriage together while pastoring a church that disagrees about the power of God?

The back cover blurb:

It was October 7, 1967.

The festival in Filbert Ridge, Oregon, came early, and many wondered if they had followed the usual tradition of celebrating the hazelnut harvest on the second Saturday of October, perhaps things would have gone in a different direction. Instead, town history and the lives of its citizens changed forever.

Share one thing that you found difficult or challenging about writing this book?

I found it hard to connect the resurrection in the church parking lot with the missing boy. When I started to write the book, it was about a mother, Rose, who would secretly escape to help others in order to fill the void inside of her after her son went missing. One day, I got stuck, and I did a silly trick, which rarely works. I opened the dictionary and pointed to a random word. It was resurrection, which was convenient since I had Rose’s husband as a pastor. He hadn’t played a part until that instance, and Patrick’s voice was so clear and easy for me, much easier than Rose’s. The first two chapters flowed, and then came the hard part—putting those two things together.

Ask the blog reader a quirky question or two?

Have you witnessed any miracles?

What was one of your favorite places to play as a child?

Any funny church stories?

Share your social media links:

https://www.instagram.com/tameliaaday/

https://www.facebook.com/tammy.aday.9

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091125939443

https://www.pinterest.com/Bookgirlcafe

https://tameliaaday.blogspot.com/

Thank you, Tammy, for being a guest on my blog! I can totally relate to jumping ahead to a negative future--bless us all!