Welcome to the new home of Author & Professional Speaker, L. Diane Wolfe (AKA "Spunk on a Stick") and The Circle of Friends!

The Circle of Friends series follows a group of young adults as they face different challenges and learn to overcome. The emotionally gripping stories focus on love, friendships and the pursuit of dreams. Aimed at adults/young adults, these books defy the growing trend of salacious titles, especially for teenagers. Positive and uplifting, this series will leave readers determined to overcome their obstacles and achieve their goals.

This blog is now the home of the original The Circle of Friends website.


Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Release the Barn Cats!

I’m excited to bring to the world a captivating tale about loss, healing, barn cats.

Follow her blog tour through MC Book Tours for your chance to win a free copy.

HE GAVE ME BARN CATS

By Maria Santomasso-Hyde

Inspired by true events...

Losses send a woman’s soul into its darkest winter...

Maria has cared for her very ill mother for many years. Her burdens are heavy, causing a sadness bordering on darkness. When she discovers her historic barn is now home to a mother cat and kittens, she feels lighter than she has in years. As the kittens grow, they teach her as only animals can do.

Then tragedy strikes. As Maria loses her family, the darkness envelopes her like the heavy fog that blankets her Blue Ridge Mountain home each morning. She creates a scorecard: God: 9, Maria: 0. Her questions turn into anger at God. She searches to find answers as to why her loving God would take away so much in such a short time.

How will she learn to trust again? Can the kittens in her barn help her heal?

Christian Fiction / Christian Life-Death, Grief, Bereavement
$10.95 Print ISBN 978-1-939844-21-7,$3.99 eBook ISBN 978-1-939844-22-4
From Dancing Lemur Press

“...accessible, compelling and deeply infused with the heartbreaking and heart-lifting realities of life.” - Kurt Rheinheimer, Editor in Chief, Blue Ridge County magazine.

“A gracious, gentle tale of faith, told with refreshingly unexpected perspectives.” - Cathy Pickens, award-winning author of the Southern Fried mystery series

“Maria Santomasso-Hyde spins a yarn exquisitely told — a raw and truthful journey that travels from the depth of despair to the edge of salvation.” - Tom Mayer, executive editor, Mountain Times Publications

Formerly a newspaper reporter, Maria Santomasso-Hyde now owns Alta Vista Fine Art Gallery. She lives in Valle Crucis, North Carolina, with her husband, Lee, and The Queen of the Universe (Roma, their Black Cat)… and other Black Cats who decide to move in.
Website / Alta Vista Gallery

Purchase at Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / iTunes / Kobo / Nook / Foyles / Indigo / Dancing Lemur Press / Everything Cats
Add on Goodreads


2 comments:

Maurice Mitchell said...

What a powerful theme for a book and I love how the kittens are just an entry point for the story. I hope the kitten can help her heal. Thanks for the sweet article Maria.

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

I cared for my mother then my mother-in-law. I used to kid that at least it wasn't at the same time. Honestly, I still can't think about that part of my life without getting teary. Maria's book is of course on my list. How could I resist?