This is a novel based on a true story. The story is about Olivia. She was born as a result of a brutal rape of her mother at fifteen years of age. Olivia grew up in unbelievable poverty, surrounded by sexual, physical, and verbal abuse from her uncle and stepfather. But nothing stopped this little girl from dreaming big dreams and becoming exactly what she desired. This is her amazing journey, under the most difficult and unimaginable circumstances, and her resolve to overcome all. All the broken pieces of her shattered life came together when she met her Savior at the age of twenty-eight. Her life turned around and became an instrument to help others. Digna Gonzalez was born in a small village in Central America. After suffering most of her life through a series of disappointing events, she attempted suicide four times but was miraculously saved each time. She came to the United States with two small children and while pregnant with her third child. She continued to struggle until she became a Christian, and then things started to turn around. She married a music pastor, and together they became a team and have ministered to hundreds of men and women. Digna published her first book of poems in 1999, and in 2003, she released her first CD, Inspiraciones (Inspirations). Together with her husband, Digna started Inspiraciones.net, a website to inspire and motivate others to dream big and never give up. Digna has appeared on radio and television and has traveled to California, Texas, Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. She has ministered inner healing in family retreats and at other events. She now spends most of her time writing as well as sharing with her husband in churches and special events.

Thomas Steinbeck has been praised by Publishers Weekly for his stylistic brilliance and “accomplished voice.” Now, his enthralling novel In the Shadow of the Cypress blends history and suspense with literary mastery and brings vivid realism to California’s rich heritage. In 1906, the Chinese in California lived in the shadows. Their alien customs, traditions, and language hid what they valued from their neighbors . . . and left them open to scorn and prejudice. Their communities were ruled—and divided—by the necessity of survival among the many would-be masters surrounding them, by struggles between powerful tongs, and by duty to their ancestors. Then, in the wake of natural disaster, fate brought to light artifacts of incredible value along the Monterey coast: an ancient Chinese jade seal and a plaque inscribed in a trio of languages lost to all but scholars of antiquity. At first, chance placed control of those treasures in the hands of outsiders—the wayward Irishman who’d discovered them and a marine scholar who was determined to explore their secrets. The path to the truth, however, would prove to be as tangled as the roots of the ancient cypress that had guarded these treasures for so long, for there are some secrets the Chinese were not ready to share. Whether by fate, by subtle design, or by some intricate combination of the two, the artifacts disappeared again . . . before it could be proved that they must have come there ages before Europeans ever touched the wild and beautiful California coast. Nearly a century would pass before an unconventional young American scientist unearths evidence of this great discovery and its mysterious disappearance. Taking up the challenge, he begins to assemble a new generation of explorers to resume theperilous search into the ocean’s depth . . . and theshadows of history. Armed with cutting-edge, moderntechnology, and drawing on connections to powerful families at home and abroad, this time Americans and Chinese will follow together the path of secrets that have long proved as elusive as the ancient treasures that held them. This striking debut novel by a masterful writer weaves together two fascinating eras into one remarkable tale. In the Shadow of the Cypress is an evocative, dramatic story that depicts California in all its multicultural variety, with a suspense that draws the reader inexorably on until the very last page.

Long ago, a powerful Jinn sought the annihilation of man, but the great Saint Ithuria sealed him and his race behind a veil. In modern Sol, Lin and Ace are childhood friends, reunited after tragedy separated them for five long years. However, adversities await as she is the shunned orphan ward of the fire-wielding Kravens, and he is their Noble heir. When Ace learns that tragedy spells conspiracy, Lin must resist forbidden love while swept up in a quest to discover her purpose and save humanity from a Jinn once scorned.

J. R. O'Neill draws on his experience growing up in an alcoholic family and on his more recent journey through the dark valley of depression to create poetic portraits for psychospiritual growth and maturity. These sanctified memories--together with many other spirit-captivating encounters with God in biblical stories, nature, and community--make this a good read for anyone interested in feeding the soul, and especially for those lost in or emerging from the shadows of depression or addiction.