from Houston Style Magazine
By Tasha Grant

Long after love, marriage and the greatly anticipated baby carriage, many couples find themselves on opposite sides of a divorce. There are books, support groups and even TV shows dedicated to the people who are experiencing the collapse of a marriage. But too often, the children who were created by the union are left alone in their own pain. When my parents divorced ten years ago, I coped by convincing myself that the split-up was simply for practical reasons. It’s laughable now, but I remember rationalizing that my dad moved away so that he could live closer to his corporate office building, or even that I would benefit by having two of everything i.e. two rooms. Looking back on that time, I realize that my overactive imagination saved me from what many young people continue to experience; the feelings of guilt, abandonment and self-pity that come along with the dissolution of their home.

“I’m Hurting, Can Anybody Hear Me?”, by Ms. Vickie Gunnels-Hodge, teaches divorced parents how to communicate in the wake of a split. The book is a how-to (of sorts) complete with a one-month journal that includes Scripture references. The guide shows parents how to deal with the situation by showing them how to support their child by supporting themselves first.

“I’m Hurting, Can Anybody Hear Me?” addresses issues such as the doubt and confusion experienced by a divorced family and succeeds in answering the ‘whys’ and ‘why nots,’ of the terse situation. Each segment also provides gentle, heart-felt instructions on how to protect and comfort one’s child. Gunnels-Hodge came up with the concept after an epiphany showed her the effect that this process has on youngsters. She started interviewing kids who were dealing with tough situations and the rest is history.

Simply put, this book is an essential tool for divorced or separated parents. According to Gunnels-Hodge, there is often a tug-of-war between parents that puts kids in a negative frame of mind. For example, the children often feel that they do not have “permission” to love both parents and this is directly caused by parents who are verbally abusive toward one other. The good-guy/bad-guy phenomenon is also a result of this, and the savvy author comments that parent should teach their child that it is ok to love both parents in spite of the discord.

She also says that it is important to not allow hurt feelings to direct what you say and adds, “Do not stay focused on the negative. Think, instead, on how God would want you to act. Say what you need to say without the anger.”

Gunnels-Hodge says, “The book allows parents to evaluate how they view their relationship, what went wrong as far as pain and ill feelings,” and most importantly, “you may not like each other, but you’re still Mom and Dad.” At the close of the book, parents are urged to exchange journals with their ex-spouse to promote healthy and constructive criticism. The book is undoubtedly, a great investment for families who will love each other despite the dissolution of their marriage.

“I’m Hurting, Can Anybody Hear Me?” will be released on August 21, 2007, and is published by Tate Publishing & Enterprises, LLC, a Christian based, family owned, main-line publishing organization; earning Christian Publisher of the Year Award in 2006.

Gunnels-Hodge is a proud mother and grandmother who, in addition to writing books, is founder and chairwoman of Love in Abundance, Inc. a non-profit that services single-parent families. Visit www.tatepublishing.com or www.liahouston.org for more information.

Learn more about “I’m Hurting, Can Anybody Hear Me?”

from The Amarillo Independent
By Marit Adams

After 8 years of writing, Kymber Lee Hughes was able to publish her first book, a Christian romance.

Born and raised in Amarillo, Hughes always loved writing.

Now she has her chance to show people her passion.

“Treasured Love,” her first success after four attempts, set in the 1800′s.
The story centers on the travails of a man manipulated by his grandfather — find a wife or be forced to forfeit his title and fortune.

“My grandmother and I both really loved historical romances, so I thought I’d give it a shot,” Hughes said., “This book is dedicated to her because if it hadn’t been for her, I wouldn’t have kept going. She always believed in me.”

All her books are set in the early 1800′s, Hughes said. “I tried contemporary writing, but I would always get in a corner after a few chapters. These books write themselves.”

Hughes tells of how tough it was to get her book published.

“Because there was no objectionable content, I could take it to Christian publishers, but it was hard to take to the secular market.”

Yet Hughes pulled through with determination.

“I put my book in the ‘slush pile’ which means the author sends their unsolicited material to publishing houses everywhere,” she said. “I got picked up going that route.”

Hughes has also had outside help, pulling her toward her dream career.

“Jodi Thomas is a terrific mentor,” Hughes said.

Thomas, who lives in Amarillo and has 25 years experience in Christian fiction writing Hughes said. “She has won numerous awards including the Rita Award and has even endorsed the book. She has just been very helpful to me and given me a lot of advice.”

Hughes book was chosen by Tate Publishing, a small Christian publishing house that now has Hughes’ next book, “Lord Tristan’s True Love,” in the editing process with plans to be in stores this Spring.

Hughes books are a cross between fiction and history, and her newest book will be a used in a pilot program for freshman literature course at Tomball University in Houston.

Hughes will sign her book on Aug. 31 at Hastings at 2020 S. Georgia.

A schedule of book signings, and other information is at www.Kymberleebooks.com.

Learn more about “Treasured Love“

By Todd Luck
The Chronicle

Cheryl Jeffries is a busy woman.

She’s an English teacher at Glenn High School, an associate minister at her church, a wife and a mother of five children. And last week she added published author to her duties.

Her first book, “Tools of the Believer: Ten Ways to Beat the Devil at his Own Game,” was released July 3. It’s been five years since Jeffries first started the book, which she began when she was an associate minister at Greater Grace Community Baptist Church. She said her idea was to write something to help Christians use the tools offered to them in the Bible to combat life’s hardships.

“I think that a lot of Christians … are living defeated lives and I know that God has given us in His Word, everything in His Word, everything we need to be successful and that a lot of people simply aren’t using the tools God has given us as believers,” said Jeffries.

Her busy lifestyle forced her to put aside working on the book. After not writing for two years, she took another whack at it last summer. It was the first time she hadn’t taught summer school in 11 years. It paid off and when she finished the book in July.

She sent it off to two publishers; both were interested in the book. She choose Tate Publishing, a Christian, family-owned company in Oklahoma. She received an enthusiastic letter from Trinity Tate, the company’s author acquisition manager, telling her about how she thought “Tools” was useful and inspirational. Tate also offered to do an audio book of “Tools,” an idea Jeffries was excited about.

“Tools” is a small book with only 72 pages. It sells for $8.99. Jeffries said her book is meant to be a handbook or reference guide to be used whenever troubles come up in life. It’s not something people just read and put on the shelf, she said, it’s something that’s meant to be used repeatedly.

“People are aware of these strategies so you have books on prayer, books on fasting and books on tithing, but what this particular manual does is it puts them all together and gives you a resource, so it’s more of a resource. But it’s definitely intended to be a manual, something you use over and over again,” said Jeffries.

The book defines the “game,” equipping readers by first defining the players, rules, objectives and strategies. Then, with many biblical references, it concisely defines each of the “ten ways to the beat the devil,” which include preventive prayer, continual prayer, fasting, tithing, knowledge of the Bible and seeking the Kingdom of God. The book is available at most major retail web sites, such as Walmart.com, Target.com and Amazon.com. Jeffries plans to do signings for the book soon.

Tools” is dedicated to Joseph Butler Sanders Parks, the pastor of Greater Grace, who brought her into the ministry and helped her become an associate minister. She continues to minister at her current church, Word of Truth International Life Center.

Her advice for young writers is to experience life before they begin to write about it.

“When I was young I thought about writing, (but) I was not ready. I didn’t have enough experience. I didn’t know enough about life. I would say to people experience life, experience life a bit, and then just begin writing about it,” said Jeffries.

Jeffries is already planning sequels and wants to make “Tools” into a series with the next book bearing the title “Tools of the Believer: Ten Ways to Recognize the Enemy.” She said she’ll have to wait to start on that one though, since she is teaching summer school this year.

Learn more about “Tools of the Believer: Ten Ways to Beat the Devil at his Own Game“

from The Oklahoman

After a rock-climbing accident caused Charlotte Lankard to drop 125 feet to a canyon floor, her body was broken and awash in pain. A daring and difficult helicopter rescue took her to a hospital and started her on a journey of new understandings about life.

Lankard tells about the experience in a new book, “It’s Called Life: Living, Loving, Hurting, Changing.”

Published by Tate Publishing and Enterprises, the book is available at bookstores nationwide or can be ordered from the publisher at www.orders@, tatepublishing.com or through other online book sellers. An audio version of the book also is available from the publisher.

Lankard, an Oklahoma City resident, is a weekly columnist for The Oklahoman. She’s a licensed marriage and family therapist and director of the James Hall Jr. Center for Mind, Body and Spirit at Integris. Lankard is also founder of Calm Waters support groups for grieving children.

Learn more about “It’s Called Life“

From News Chief
By Meredith Jean Morton

During her 36 years as an elementary school teacher, Jeanne Icenhour never imagined herself writing a book.

“I always enjoyed writing, through junior high, high school and college,” said Icenhour, who has lived in Winter Haven for the past 30 years. “But I didn’t think I’d write a book.”

Additionally, Icenhour never anticipated she would write a story so personal, but her book, “At First You Cry, Our Faith Journey Through Cancer” is one of the most personal stories she could tell. In fact, the writings she included in her book were never intended for publication.

The writings were e-mail correspondence between Icenhour and her family and friends during the difficult months Larry, her husband of 33 years, was being treated for a rare form of cancer. The e-mails were the primary way Icenhour stayed in contact with those supporting her during the months of her husband’s treatment and subsequent death in June 2006.

E-mails of inspiration

“It wasn’t until my friends started telling me how the e-mails touched them and that they thought they should be published that I started to think about it,” Icenhour said. “I just couldn’t imagine someone wanting to read it.”

However, after her friends continued to tell her she should send some samples of the e-mails to a publisher, Icenhour said she relented after some research.

“I did some research online to find some Christian publishing companies,” she said. “After I found one that I agreed with their beliefs, I sent a few of my e-mails and a cover letter to the publisher. I didn’t really expect anything to come of it.”

Because she was in the midst of moving on with her life after her husband’s death, getting settled back into teaching kindergarten at Garden Grove Elementary School and re-establishing her routine of attending church at St. John’s United Methodist Church, Icenhour said she practically forgot about her letter to the book publisher.

“One day about a month later, I was at school, and I got a call on my cell phone,” she said. “It was the president of the company. My first thought was, ‘Oh, how nice, they called me personally to reject me.’ But instead, he told me he wanted to publish my book.”

The reason the publisher thought the book was publishable was because of its inspirational content. Although Icenhour never intended her e-mails to be anything more than informational to their recipients, reflecting on that difficult time in her life, she believes her trials were intended to serve a deeper purpose.

“People said that what we were going through was a witness for the Lord,” Icenhour said. “But that wasn’t something we wanted. We just wanted to be normal and to continue to live our lives, but I think with the way everything worked out, God wanted it to be something different. He wanted what we experienced to show others that faith can get you through situations you would have never thought you would handle.”

Blessings along the way

Larry Icenhour’s journey with cancer began in November 2004. First diagnosed with colon cancer, he was pronounced cancer-free after surgery. However, in December 2005, he was again diagnosed with cancer. This time, it was peritoneal cancer.

“Peritoneal cancer is a very rare form of cancer,” Jeanne Icenhour said. “Basically, the lining of his abdomen was covered with tumors.”

Because the type of cancer is rare, there are only two cancer centers in the United States that are equipped to treat peritoneal cancer, one in Boston and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York City.

“When we found out about the center in New York, I knew God had prepared a way for us,” Jeanne Icenhour said. “Our daughter, LoraMarie, had been working at (MSKCC) as a nurse. She worked in the cardiology department, and when she told the doctor she worked with about Larry, he set us up with an oncology friend in the hospital.”

Icenhour said her husband was able to get an appointment to see the oncologist a few days before Christmas.

“It was such a blessing the way everything worked out for us to go up there,” she said. “God just worked it out every step of the way. Because it was just a few days before Christmas, it would have been difficult to find a place to stay, but since LoraMarie and Carter, our son-in-law, lived up there, we were able to stay with them.”

Ways to keep in touch

While in New York, Icenhour needed an efficient way to keep in touch with family and friends back home, so she sent e-mails periodically.

“I started out sending e-mails to probably 25 or 30 friends and family members,” she said. “It was therapeutic for me, and it was easier for me to process all the medical information when I had to explain it to other people in an e-mail.”

Additionally, Icenhour said writing the e-mails helped her work through her emotions during her husband’s treatment. She shared her thoughts, her faith and her struggles.

“Since we were spending so much time those months living in New York City, I would also send e-mails about some of the sights we were seeing, and I’d send pictures, too,” she said. “I added the pictures to show how even though we were in such an awful situation, life was moving on regardless of what we were dealing with. I think that was an important message.”

As Icenhour wrote, she began to receive responses to her e-mails. The responses were initially just from friends, but as time progressed, she would receive responses from people she didn’t know.

“My friends would pass the e-mails to their friends at church, asking them to pray for us,” Icenhour said. “Those people would pass them along. It was really uplifting to see how many people my e-mails were touching. I got responses from pastors who said they had used our situation in a sermon.”

Blessings in the hardships

As Larry Icenhour’s health deteriorated from the cancer, his wife would share the e-mail responses with him. In spite of his suffering, she said they were blessings.

“We didn’t dwell on the illness,” she said. “There were blessings along the way in the midst of the hardships. What started as an e-mail list of about 25 people became nearly 300 people.”

Icenhour said her e-mails were sent to people throughout the United States, Canada, India and Africa.

“It was such a difficult time, but knowing people far beyond our circle of family and friends were praying for us was so uplifting,” she said. “It was gratifying to know people were lifting up Larry’s name (in prayer). It was just comforting.”

Searching for realism

Even though Icenhour and her husband were comforted by others throughout Larry Icenhour’s cancer treatment, she said she searched for books about cancer journeys.

“I’m very book oriented, so when Larry was first diagnosed, my first instinct was to find a book about someone else who had been through this,” she said. “I found a lot of books about cancer survivors and uplifting Ôultimate healing’ books, but nothing truly comforting for someone facing terminal cancer or just a really difficult struggle. When you go through something, you search for stories about people going through the same things.”

Icenhour said she was looking for realism in a book. And that’s what she gave others through her e-mails.

“Jeanne’s story has been so uplifting,” said Monya Garnett of Winter Haven. “My family has been through trials and valleys, but knowing what she’s been through has helped me. Through tragedy will be uplifting.”

Garnett, whose daughter was one of Icenhour’s kindergarten students during Larry Icenhour’s terminal cancer journey, said the e-mails blessed her.

“Through the e-mails she wrote, as you read them, you were filled with peace and joy,” Garnett said. “I feel blessed to know her.”

Sharing her story

Icenhour said she didn’t truly understand the impact of her story until after her husband’s death.

“I had the e-mails I had written saved on my computer,” she said. “But I didn’t go back through them. Just after the funeral, a friend gave me a notebook of all the e-mails together. Looking back through them, I realized they really were a story.”

Although Icenhour had pitched her idea for the story to a book publisher, she still wasn’t sure it was something she wanted to share with the public.

“Even though I still doubted whether it was something I should do, I continued the steps of publication,” she said. “I worked with the editor, the cover designers and the layout team, and every step along the way, I just got affirmation that this was where I was supposed to be with this journey. God was with me along the way.”

Affirmation for publication

As her book was being compiled, Icenhour said her affirmation came from several places.

“I got e-mails from people working on the book,” she said. “They told me how it had touched their lives.”

Also, Icenhour said milestones in getting the book published always seemed to occur on the ninth day of the month.

“Larry died on June 9, and it seemed things kept happening on the ninth,” she said. “That’s when my book was sent to the publisher, it’s when I found out it would be published on October 9. That just seemed to be a special day.”

Icenhour said she is looking forward to seeing her book in local stores. “At First You Cry, Our Faith Journey Through Cancer” will be available for $10.99 in Lighthouse Christian Bookstore, Wal-mart, Barnes and Noble and online at Amazon.com.

“I’m very pleased with the finished product, and I think Larry would have liked it,” said Icenhour, who retired from teaching in May.

She now spends her time speaking about her faith through her husband’s cancer journey. She also visits her daughter, son and their families.

“I didn’t see this having a chance of being published, but God wanted it done. After reading (the book) I see the blessings my friends saw. It’s not a story about Larry having cancer and dying. It’s about hope and faith,” Icenhour said. “I’m excited by the possibility of this book being a blessing to someone else. Our story was cancer, but everyone goes through stuff. It just has different names.”