Terri Blackstock

Seaside: a Novella Terri Blackstock

Life is a gift too precious to be unwrapped in haste. Neither of Maggie Rivers? adult daughters realizes how their frantic drive for achievement is speeding them headlong past the things that matter most in life. So when Maggie purchases plane tickets for them to join her in a vacation on the Gulf of Mexico, they almost decline the offer. Circumstances force the issue, and the sisters find themselves first thrown together, then ultimately drawn together, in one memorable week in a cabin called Seaside. As Maggie sets out to photograph the faces and moods of her overachieving daughters, more than photos develop. A picture emerges of possibilities that come only by slowing down and savoring the simple treasures of the moment. It takes a mother's love and honesty to teach hers daughters a wiser, uncluttered way of life---one that can bring peace to their hearts and healing to their relationships. And though the lesson comes on wings of grief, the sadness is tempered with faith, restoration, and a joy that comes from the hand of God. ?Blackstock, queen of the Christian suspense novel (Presumption of Guilt, Evidence of Mercy, etc.), departs from the thrills-and-chills genre to pen this agreeable, but never syrupy, story of a family reunion ? the dialogue is wonderfully natural and the strong female characters surprisingly well-developed for a novel this brief. The novella's themes of forgiveness and eternal life undergird the plot and characters, but in an unobtrusive, nondidactic way? Christian readers who enjoy believable women characters will be drawn to this story, particularly as thoughtful vacation reading, relishing Maggie's message that "time wasted is not always a waste of time."?Publisher?s Weekly