Christmas at Mimosa Lake: The Nativity

Title: Christmas at Mimosa Lake: The Nativity

By: K. S. Wuertz

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Publication Date: October 14, 2013

Paperback: 114 pages

ISBN-10: 1492946532

ISBN-13: 978-1492946533

Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.3 x 9 inches

Price: $11.99

 

Book Excerpt:

So many of River’s hopes had been fulfilled.  Beyond fulfilled, really.  It would be a year in January that Taylor Ivery had hit ice and slid his truck off the sixty-five-foot peak at Vulture’s Bluff.  Her nephew still used a wheelchair now and then, but he was alive and recovering.  That was the greatest gift of 2011.  Then there was Thadius Sandberg.  She smiled at the thought of him, he was so loving – and so handsome!

“I do wish, Father,” she sighed.  “I wish the homes that sit empty here would be filled.” She watched the Filmore’s old place as she spoke.  Nothing was stirring there – not even a mouse.  She laughed and shook her head.”Nothing, especially not at 7:00 in the morning.  Right, Sugar?” Unconsciously, she looked up the hill.  No matter how many times she looked at the Canopy ruins, the black stain always shocked her down to the pit of her stomach.  The rubble from the October fire was gone.  There was nothing but a blackened shell that cut into the hill where the lower level had been.

It saddened everyone at Mimosa Lake to lose the Canopy.  The building not only served as the central meeting place for the neighbors, it embodied the very spirit of Mimosa.  The lake, the neighbors, even the wildlife, were somehow all held together by what happened at the Canopy.  Under the Canopy’s red tin roof, memories were made and futures planned.  River’s thoughts drifted about like the tiny flakes in the air.  She began to feel like she was being watched.  Instinctively, she scanned the trees around the lake for the eagles, who often watched the mimosa Lake human population almost as closely as they did the fish population.  The two eagles that had circled the lake were long gone.  Her eyes were drawn to the lakeside at the end of the dam.  There was a clear view over the trees.

River’s thoughts drifted about like the tiny flakes in the air.  She began to feel like she was being watched.  Instinctively, she scanned the trees around the lake for the eagles, who often watched the mimosa Lake human population almost as closely as they did the fish population.  The two eagles that had circled the lake were long gone.  Her eyes were drawn to the lakeside at the end of the dam.  There was a clear view over the trees.

Her eyes were drawn to the lakeside at the end of the dam.  There was a clear view over the trees. “Sugar?” Her hand touched Sugar’s head.  Sugar growled in response to the tone in her voice.  River felt a chill run up her spine.  “It’s O.K. girl.” River pulled her sweater around her thin frame and stepped out on the deck.

“What is she doing?”  River couldn’t take her eyes off her.  At the end of the dam near Lucinda’s a young woman stood looking at River.  She was dressed in a long white coat and her blonde hair was almost…’shiny’.  River looked closer.  Her eyes fixated on the girl.  She seemed to sparkle – like sunlight on the water.  River felt strange and a little afraid.

River didn’t know her, but she felt like she did somehow.  The young woman looked out over the choppy water.  She looked around at all the houses.  Then, her eyes rested on River again.  The chill up River’s spine became ice cold.  River knew they were too far away to really see each other.  Still, she instinctively stepped back.  River raised her hand to call to the girl, then stopped.  The girl pulled a white hood over her head.  She was beautiful and Compelling.  The tree limb knocked against the studio roof.  And  River didn’t know her, but she felt like she did somehow.  The young woman looked out over the choppy water.  She looked around at all the houses.  Then, her eyes rested on River again.  The chill up River’s spine became ice cold.  River knew they were too far away to really see each other.  Still, she instinctively stepped back.  River raised her hand to call to the girl, then stopped.  The girl pulled a white hood over her head.  She was beautiful and Compelling.  The tree limb knocked against the studio roof.  And

The girl pulled a white hood over her head.  She was beautiful and Compelling.  The tree limb knocked against the studio roof.  And  River didn’t know her, but she felt like she did somehow.  The young woman looked out over the choppy water.  She looked around at all the houses.  Then, her eyes rested on River again.  The chill up River’s spine became ice cold.  River knew they were too far away to really see each other.  Still, she instinctively stepped back.  River raised her hand to call to the girl, then stopped.  The girl pulled a white hood over her head.  She was beautiful and Compelling.  The tree limb knocked against the studio roof.  And an eagle, ‘her eagle’, rose into the air and flew just above them.  River watched him fly down through the trees.  She was reminded of the first time she’d seen him.  River looked back towards the girl.  She’d vanished.

 

Author’s Bio:

Kim (K.S.) Wuertz started writing and was first nationally published at age 17.  In college, Stephen Spender (fellow author and best friend of T. S. Eliot), chose her work to critique above all other during his writing workshops.  He pronounced her work as “filled with a unique perspective that appeals to the everyman.”

When she was “downsized” from a marketing position in July 2009, Kim made a life-changing decision to become a freelance author and illustrator.  “I didn’t know what I was going to do when my job disappeared so I decided to try what would make me happy!  I was already working on It All Happened at the Old, Oak Tree as a  gift for my youngest niece.  Then there were all those stories in my head…”

In addition to writing, illustrating and creating a novel, a novella and one other book (children’s or devotional) each year, Kim wears many hats in the writing and publishing world.  She tutors writing students young and old.  Her workshops, “Your Manuscript to Masterpiece,” “Write, Edit, Publish” and “A Novel Idea,” teach adults the basics about how to write, then get their work edited and published.  Kim is a regular devotional writer for several national/international devotional publications.  And, she edits and publishes work for other writers through her publishing company: KSWuertz Publications.

“Part of my purpose is to share my experiences and encouraging others to step up to their dreams.  It takes courage, but I challenge my readers, writers, and people I meet when speaking to think about the alternative.  I am a practical person who is grounded by the reality of day to day living.  I’ve given up much to follow my calling, as we all must do.  But, I have come to believe that our spirits cannot survive unless we lay down our lives and pick up our God-inspired dreams.” Kim’s stories are about God, relationships, nature and most of all – hope.  She encourages others to define their hopes and dreams and to start living them – from this moment on!

“The world we live in moves so fast.  We all make decisions, often running at a fast pace just to survive.  I want my readers to have a place to come to where they can stop, rest their spirit, smile a bit and see with renewed vision the blessings God has giving them.  It is my hope, my prayer and my goal to leave my readers with a desire to seek the peace that passes all understanding,” Kim says.

Kim was one of the founding members of Missouri Writer, Ink and is  past-President  of the organization.  She is also a member of the Ozark Writers League and has just served as a judge for their 2016 writing contest.  “When I returned to writing in 2009, the entire publishing world had changed.  After all, it had been almost 30 years!  I was so lost! So, I began learning everything I could.  I decided that if I made it – published a book – I’d help other writers to get through the maze of writing and publishing in today’s market.  “There are so many opportunities for writers – right now – it’s our time!”

Purchase book at Amazon: 

Connect with Kim on her website: http://www.kswuertz.com/

 

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