Inspirational Fiction

Divine Encounters is a collection of inspirational short stories with the full intention of drawing you closer to God, as you discover life and some of its solutions through the characters as their stories unfold before you. Feelings of joy, heartache, amusement, fear, forgiveness and grace are but a few of the emotions captured in the stories.

Based on the NPR series of the same name, This I Believe features 80 Americans—from the famous to the unknown—completing the thought that begins with the book's title. The pieces that make up the program compel listeners to re-think not only what and how they have arrived at their own personal beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

Barbara Greenfield needs a new life. Having grown up surrounded by luxury and status, Barbara has known the benefits that come with wealth. But now that her family is gone and she is left alone in the world, all she truly wants is to start over somewhere new. And so, her dream leads her to Daisy Creek, where Barbara hopes to build a new life. One that is peaceful, quiet, and all her own.

When everything you know and believe is telling you "no", do you have the strength to listen to the true voice of your heart? Far away in Iron Creek, stagecoach driver Nelson Gustavson is fighting his own loneliness and places an advert for a bride. As replies flood in, he begins to fear that he’ll have to settle for someone, or search hard to make a connection. That is, until he finds Bronwen’s letter, a blunt and honest reply that he feels compelled to respond to. As Bronwen and Nelson connect through their letters, she feels his warmth radiate through his honesty.

Veronica Matthews is on a mission to get the Catholic Church to accept its share of blame for Father Paul Peña’s rape of her son. While Peña himself is remorseless, it’s salt on the wound that the Church she’s always loved won’t admit that institutional failures enabled repeated abuse of its flock. Instead, it acts like every other litigious corporation: offering carefully worded statements of sympathy while refuting any responsibility.

Likhate hue durgaa, ridhmaa, siddhi aur firadaus in saare kiradaaron men maan kee viraaṭataa ke darshan hue hain. Maan ke lie raameshvar kee tadap kaheen n kaheen meree apanee hee hai. Iishvar ke pratiroop raameshvar kaa us aashram kee chaaradeevaaree men dam ghuṭataa hai. Visheṣ paridhaan aur karmakaanḍa raameshvar kee soch ke darshan kee viraaṭataa ko kam naheen kar paate hain.

When Bahar uprooted her world to move overseas and start a family, she left behind her friends, loved ones, and a promising legal career in Iran. Over a 20-year marriage, she and her husband, Omid, raised two precious boys and built the life they had always dreamed of. But their happiness is shattered the day Omid receives a devastating diagnosis. Emotionally and financially broken, Bahar chooses to keep the truth from her sons for as long as possible. Little does she know that more hardships loom on the horizon.

Lauded poet Sarah Kay brings us her long-awaited second full-length collection, a decade after her acclaimed debut No Matter the Wreckage. In A Little Daylight Left, Kay explores life’s most vulnerable moments of transition with courage, curiosity, joy & humor. Each poem invites listeners to consider what it might look like to boldly face the hard things we so often run from—a heartbreak, an ailing loved one, the fear that comes with new beginnings & uncertain futures—& to celebrate what we hold dear.

Khadija draws inspiration from various sources, including her own personal experiences, the works of great spiritual leaders, and the natural world around her. Her poems are imbued with a sense of wonder and awe, as she delves into the deepest questions of existence and offers insights into the ultimate nature of reality.

Returning with her newest poetry book, beloved poet Courtney Peppernell combines storytelling, poetry, and prose in a uniquely inspirational way. Filled with heartfelt anecdotes and insightful messages, The Way Back Home is a tribute to rebuilding our lives after loss. Divided into sections that draw on themes of courage, resilience, purpose, and hope, the collection has Peppernell once again walking us through a redemptive journey of the heart, mind, and soul.

In the deepest, most enchanting part of the forest, a creature hands you a seed. Within the seed is your soul, ready to be grown again. From internationally bestselling author Courtney Peppernell comes her new book of poetry and prose, Watering the Soul. In true Peppernell style, the book is divided into sections, this time following a step-by-step recipe, to heal your soul.

Original spiritual poetry. The words dance while your heart draws near to God. Do you have questions? There are answers. The printed book shows the poetry in elegant shapes. Most are wine glasses. The place where the piece comes together—where the listener can grasp hold of the message—is there a person picks up the glass to drink from. Contemplative complex poetry meant to feed the mind and soul with spiritual food.

Laura Hurwitz, author of Disappear Home, says, "In her brilliant collection Because the Sky Is a Thousand Soft Hurts, Elizabeth Kirschner fearlessly blends poetry, prose, memoir, and master storytelling into an amalgam that lands like a gut-punch to the soul".

Mayson has a secret. A secret that some know, and others choose not to. A secret that, once exposed, changes the everyday norm for him, his family and his best friend Reanna. During his young adulthood in the early 1980s in the small town of Benton, his secret brings him to a crossroad that merges a choice between his sexuality and his religious community. In his adventuresome quest for an answer, he hears the voice of many well-meaning people who believe they have the solution he needs.

Bossy bank executive Senalda breaks down men from business to bed no holds barred. Hip hop PR guru Jarena praises the Lord and pursues married men with equal persistence. Famous and infamous radio personality Mimi fights with her fans and for the love of her on-and-off-again boyfriend. But when an ABC News Nightline report, "Single, Black, Female - and Plenty of Company" asks why can't a successful Black woman find a man, the friends are suddenly hyper-aware of their inclusion in the sad statistic: 42 percent of Black women who have never been married.

And We Came Outside and Saw the Stars Again takes its title from the last line of Dante's Inferno, when the poet and his guide emerge from hell to once again behold the beauty of the heavens. In that spirit, the stories, essays, and poems in this collection - from beloved authors including Jhumpa Lahiri, Mario Vargas Llosa, Eavan Boland, Daniel Alarcón, Jon Lee Anderson, Claire Messud, Ariel Dorfman, and many more - detail the harrowing experiences of life in the pandemic, while pointing toward a less isolated future.

Mel, a faith-filled Pentecostal, has the chance to escape Slow Rapids, Indiana, by attending academic summer camp. The only catch? She has to read forbidden tomes like The Origin of Species. So she forges the permission slip, promising God she’ll bring him a lost soul in exchange. Mel conscientiously uses her Biblical expertise to argue Darwin’s theories, but meanwhile begins to realize that her parents, her pastor, and her church aren’t what she thought.

In What Lies Within by CBA best-selling author Karen Ball, something is missing from the life of the successful owner of Justice Construction Co. But Kyla Justice doesn’t realize what it is until she begins building a center for inner-city kids. She’s now undeterred by supply problems or gang opposition. She won’t be stopped by her boyfriend’s suggestion to sell her businessand marry him. And she certainly won’t be sidetracked by that disagreeable Rafael Murphy.

It appears that everyone in Skary, Indiana, is having an identity crisis of epic proportions, including the town itself. Once known as the haunt of the world's most popular horror writer, Wolfe "Boo" Boone, Skary started losing tourist business after Boo abruptly abandoned his career. Now the little town with the big marketing hook is up a creek...and on the brink of bankruptcy.

The biggest thing to happen to Skary, Indiana, is renowned horror novelist Wolfe Boone, or "Boo" as the locals fondly call him. For the past 16 years, the reclusive writer has been the town's greatest attraction, having unintentionally turned the once struggling Skary into a thriving tourist trap for the dark side.

But when a newly reformed Wolfe suddenly quits the genre and subsequently starts to pursue Skary's favorite girl-next-door, Ainsley Parker, the little town becomes truly horrified.