Rain Song (Heart of Carolina Book #1)

by Alice J. Wisler

Overview

Nicole Michelin avoids airplanes, motorcycles, and most of all, Japan, where her parents once were missionaries. Something happened in Japan...something that sent Nicole and her father back to America alone...something of which Nicole knows only bits and pieces. But she is content with life in little Mount Olive, North Carolina, with her quirky relatives, tank of lively fish, and plenty of homemade pineapple chutney. Through her online column for the Pretty Fishy Web site, she meets Harrison Michaels, who, much to her dismay, lives in Japan. She attempts to avoid him, but his e-mails tug at her heart. Then Harrison reveals that he knew her as a child in Japan. In fact, he knows more about her childhood than she does...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781441205681
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/01/2008
Series:	Heart of Carolina , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	423 KB

About the Author

Alice J. Wisler is an author, public speaker, advocate, and fundraiser. She has been a guest on several radio and TV programs to promote her self-published cookbooks, Slices of Sunlight and Down the Cereal Aisle. She graduated from Eastern Mennonite University and has traveled the country in jobs that minister to people. Alice was raised in Japan and currently resides in Durham, North Carolina.
Alice J. Wisler is an author, public speaker, advocate, and fundraiser. She has been a guest on several radio and TV programs to promote her self-published cookbooks, Slices of Sunlight and Down the Cereal Aisle . She graduated  from Eastern Mennonite University and has traveled the country in jobs that minister to people. Alice was raised in Japan and currently resides in Durham, North Carolina. Visit www.alicewisler.com
 

What People are Saying About This

Annabelle Robertson

"Alice J. Wisler has written an astonishing debut for a first-time author. The daughter of missionary parents, she grew up in Japan, so she is definitely following the writer's dictum to "write what you know." What is surprising, however, is that unlike most Christian novelists-who put the message far above the medium-Wisler writes with a tremendous amount of talent.

Her prose is good-beautiful, at times. Although it doesn't consist of heart-pounding action (it's not a thriller, after all), the story flows and engages the reader on many levels with numerous thought-provoking scenes and situations. Wisler's characters are also real-very real. Like all the other members of her family, Nicole is flawed. But she is lovable, and readers will enjoy her journey toward healing and love.... those who appreciate good writing, interesting characters and a love story set within a subtle Christian framework will definitely enjoy this book."--(Annabelle Robertson, Crosswalk.com)

Susan Miura

"After reading the first chapter, I wondered if Rain Song would have enough going on to hold my interest. I liked Nicole's endearing voice right off the bat, as well as the colorful characters of her aunt and grandmother Ducee as they sat around planning the family reunion.... Yet the book continued to draw me in. Like Nicole, I couldn't wait for Harrison's next email to see what he would reveal about her past. I loved the North Carolina imagery and Ducee's "Southern Truths." I even longed to try some pineapple chutney, which author Alice J. Wisler makes possible with the inclusion of the recipe at the end.
Rain Song, Wisler's debut novel, is a lovely story. It provides the kind of escape from the real world that every reader seeks and leaves one feeling good about God's limitless ability to provide strength, courage and answers to prayer."--(Susan Miura, FaithfulReader.com)

Kim Ford

"Alice Wisler tells this story of Rain Song in the slow, deliberate style of Southern tradition. Along the way, you will come to love Nicole's eclectic family and you will cheer her as she makes her very cautious discoveries. I look forward to more beautiful stories from this very talented writer!"--(Kim Ford, NovelReviews.blogspot.com)

Editorial Reviews

In Wisler's likable debut, a young woman is offered a chance to find romance and make peace with her past. After her missionary mother dies under mysterious circumstances in Japan, young Nicole Michelin returns to North Carolina to live with her depressed father and loving grandmother. Now 31, and a middle school English teacher, Nicole bears the scars of a time she can't remember. She sleeps with her cloth kimono doll and nurses phobias ranging from anxiety about flying to a fear of commitment. But when she "meets" an intriguing man through a Web site column, her yearning for love encourages her to risk getting to know him even though he lives in Japan. Wisler's cast of Southern women is lightly sketched but no less charming for this, and her development of the relationship between Nicole and her three-year-old autistic cousin strikes poignant notes throughout. Faith fiction fans will appreciate the strong faith of Nicole's influential grandmother, Ducee Dubois, who helps Nicole face her fears. (Oct.)

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Publishers Weekly

Nicole Micheli, the daughter of a missionary in Japan, is haunted by fears of secrets from her childhood. She writes an online column that brings an intriguing man into her life, but when she learns he lives in Japan, Nicole may not be able to face the past that prevents her from moving on, unless she can trust God to help her find the way. A worthy first novel with a Southern flair, this title addresses dealing with a painful childhood in a realistic way. Recommended for CF and women's fiction collections. The author lives in North Carolina.

—Tamara Butler

Library Journal