Paraclete Fiction

A deeply poignant, transcendent tale of life redeemed through death. For generations Aideen Callaghan's ancestors were miraculously cured of cancer through the power of a holy relic-the very relic that inspired the Celtic cross-until it vanished from history in 1866 and became Irish lore. Raised on faith but with an inheritance of death, Aideen has been at odds with religion since losing her daughter to a brain tumor. Now it is her orphaned grandson who lies dying. In desperation Aideen turns to popular American author and New Testament era scholar Fr. Kevin Schaeffer for help. Armed with a priceless family Bible and the sacred pendant worn by Aideen's beloved great-grandmother-the last to be cured-Kevin abandons his sabbatical research in Dublin and sets his sights on finding the relic in time to save the child. In their search for clues from Armagh, to Skellig Michael, to Rome, the historical trail from Golgotha to Gaul is slowly revealed as Kevin, his lifelong Vatican friend Marco, and a passionate would-be Irish seminarian uncover truths that ultimately reshape their lives.

Winner of the Christianity Today 2018 Fiction Book Award Can You See Anything Now?, a debut novel, follows a year in the small town of Trinity where the tragedy and humility of a few reveal the reality of people's motivations and desires. This is a story without veneer, and for readers who prefer reality to sanitized fiction-this book is unsentimental, and yet grace-filled. The characters here are complex and intriguing-the suicidal painter, Margie, who has been teaching her evangelical neighbor, Etta, how to paint nudes; her husband, the town therapist, who suspects his work helps no one; and their college-aged daughter Noel-whose roommate, Pixie, joins them at home for a winter holiday. Author Katherine James' memoir, Notes On Orion, will also be published in 2018.

"Sweet, romantic, and suspenseful, Manchester Christmas is an unexpected gift." -Richard Paul Evans, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of The Christmas Box and The Walk A young writer decides to take her dog Scooter and leave Seattle in search of meaning for her life. She is drawn to Manchester, a small New England town she had often admired through photographs. Soon, she encounters kindness, romance, and is pulled into a mystery centered on an old, abandoned church and the death of a special girl. Are the images that only she can see in the church's stained-glass windows a warning, or is someone trying to reach her, to help heal this broken community? Manchester Christmas illustrates how God often uses the most unlikely among us to spread grace and healing in a wounded world. Full of love, hope, and forgiveness, this debut novel from an Emmy-winning writer will touch your heart and have you longing for Christmas in Manchester.

Lady at the Window chronicles the last Holy Week in Julian of Norwich's life. In her secret journal (because women are forbidden to write in English) the great English mystic chronicles her inner life, including her relationship with the "courteous Lord," who when she was young was a constant presence in her life, but now in her old age feels to be more of a constant absence, Deus Absconditus. There are two windows in Lady Julian's anchorage: one looks upon the interior of St. Julian's Church with its high altar and tabernacle; the other opens onto the city of Norwich with its publicans, sinners, poor, people in the marketplace, and neighbors. Among these there are those in deep distress who find their way to Lady Julian, now famous for her wisdom and holy counsel. There is the young woman with a child outside of marriage. There is a wounded young soldier, jobless, homeless, and afraid. There is a man who has betrayed his betrothed. And others. No one leaves Julian's window without psychological and spiritual uplifting. But the underlying theme of this novella is Lady Julian's dark night of the soul. As with other mystics who came after her, e.g., St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Calcutta, Julian abides in a cloud of unknowing, praying daily that her darkness be dispelled by divine light.

Rachel Piers, a brilliant young conservatrice at a Manhattan art gallery, is given the dream assignment of restoring a mysterious medieval painting in a church in Rome. She seizes the opportunity to advance her career in one of the most inspiring and romantic cities in the world, leaves behind a bitter divorce and painful childhood incident. As Rachel meticulously restores the damaged artwork, she uncovers layers of her soul that she would rather be kept hidden. Written in descriptively sumptuous prose, Unveiling brings the ancient city of Rome vividly to life and reveals a courageous woman coming to terms with a tragic past. From the author of Confessions of X, this is a new, thoroughly revised edition of the author's debut novel which was first published to critical acclaim over 14 years ago. Readers of Suzanne M. Wolfe's fiction, prose, essays and blogposts will welcome the introduction to this work, now back in print.

Strong, resilient, and deeply loyal, Dottie Connell farms her family's three hundred acres in rural Ohio alone, having sacrificed love and family for land she does not own. A sudden, inexplicable event leaves the daughter of her childhood friend in her care. Pressured by her community to allow her former fiancé to raise the child, Dottie must face the past she has worked fifteen years to forget. Spanning a decade, This Heavy Silence explores the power of the vows we make to others, and, more binding, those we make to ourselves. Evoking the hardship, spring-fed beauty, and the complexities of community in the rural Midwest, this award-winning, beautifully observed novel leads us to question our ideas about motherhood, faith, and the debts we owe. "Like the land she inhabits and the people she attends, Nicole Mazzarella offers a subtle and enduring beauty, born of intense interiority, and vision both broad and deep." -Scott Cairns, author of Philokalia: New & Selected Poems