Cover Reveal, Secrets Kept, Book One of The Hidden Dagger Trilogy.by J.L. Mbewe

With a curse, she will build an army. 

With the dagger, she will undo the last sacrifice. 

But first the sorceress must find the secret keeper. 

Coming this fall.

Torn from her homeland and thrust into a betrothal against her wishes, Ayianna learns her family has a deadly secret that now has her on the run. She joins forces with Kael, an embittered half-elf, and Saeed, an elderly High Guardian, to seek answers to her father's death, the destruction of Dagmar, and the plains people's bizarre behavior. 

Ayianna discovers there is more at stake here than just her mother's disappearance and her familial duty to her betrothed. The sorceress has cursed the plains people, and it is a race against time to release them before the sorceress resurrects an ancient evil.

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Writing as J. L. Mbewe, Jennette is an author, artist, mother, wife, but not always in that order. Born and raised in Minnesota, she now braves the heat of Texas, but pines for the Northern Lights and the lakes of home every autumn. She loves trying to capture the abstract and make it concrete.

She is currently living her second childhood with a wonderful husband and two precious children who don't seem to mind her eclectic collections of rocks, shells, and books, among other things. While living life balanced between reality and dreams, she is creating worlds inhabited by all sorts of fantasy creatures and characters, all questing about and discovering true love amid lots of peril.

Her debut novel, Secrets Kept, is coming this fall, and in the meantime be on the lookout this summer for short stories set in the World of Nälu. For more information about her journey as a writer mama and all things creative please visit her at http://jlmbewe.com.

You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, & Pinterest

Zombies and Christians

Zombies are everywhere—books, TV, movies; even the Centers for Disease Control put out an article on preparing for the zombie apocalypse. The Walking Dead on AMC accounts for much of this interest. The third season’s finale broke a record for the most watched drama series on cable TV. And, yes, even children know all about zombies.

My grandsons had a conversation a few days ago. The four-year-old said, “My daddy loves zombies and I do too.” The seven-year-old responded, “You can’t love zombies. They’ll eat your brains.”

Yes, we’re all familiar with zombie shows. I’ve noticed the zombie apocalypse in the shows I’ve seen is a microcosm of our world. It’s our world intensified. What would that do to our faith? How would we, as Christians, react when we see the chaos and evil around us?

Zombies, as most know, are single-minded in their quest for brains. Nothing stops them. They move slowly, yet steadily, towards their goal. They can lose an arm and will use the limbs that remain to claw through solid boards. If they lose legs, they crawl through mud and filth. Their thirst for brains cannot be quenched.

And that’s the same kind of world we live in. The world is relentless in it’s pursuit of our souls, never stopping in its quest. How do we combat it? The same way survivors combat the zombies.

When fighting the undead, the combatants don’t worry about how fancy their homes are, if they’re wearing the latest fashions, if they’re driving the latest sports model—they have no concerns about the material world around them. They are focused on defeating the enemy.

They actively search for the best weapons, the sharpest swords to chop off zombie heads, the strongest homes to ward off attacks, the most trustworthy friends to help with the fight.

And that, my friends, is the same way we fight the world.

We learn God’s word for it is our sword: For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit…~Hebrews 4:12

We seek good companions to help us stay strong: A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. ~Proverbs 18:24

We remain righteous to fortify our homes: The LORD's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous. ~Proverbs 3:33

Good to know for the zombie apocalypse and good to know in the here and now.