About the Book

Book: Every Window Filled with Light

Author: Shelia Stovall

Genre: Contemporary Women’s Christian Fiction

Release date: April 2, 2021

Welcome to Weldon, Kentucky, where the only things the locals love more than fried pies are gossip and match-making.

Librarian Emma Baker, a young and childless widow, believes her dream to build a family is over. It’s been two years since a student accidentally stabbed Emma’s husband to death, and her grief has stifled any interest in romance—until she meets Pastor Luke Davis. But when Emma learns Luke is counseling her husband’s killer fresh out of jail, her temper gets in the way.

Meanwhile, Emma discovers twelve-year-old Harley, abandoned by her drug-addict mother, hiding in the library, and takes the girl in as her foster mom. Then a young mother is made homeless by an apartment fire, and Emma opens her home again. One person and one prayer at a time, Emma begins to discover hope.

If Emma can yield and offer forgiveness to her husband’s killer, perhaps she’ll be able to piece together the broken parts of her heart…and the broken people who enter her life…to form a new family and maybe even have a second chance at love.

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About the Author

Shelia Stovall is the director of a small-town library in southern Kentucky, where only strangers mention her last name, and the children call her Miss Shelia.

Shelia and her husband Michael live on a farm, and she enjoys taking daily rambles with their three dogs to the creek. Spending time with family, especially her grandchildren, is her all-time favorite thing. The only hobby Shelia loves more than reading uplifting stories of hope is writing them.

More from Shelia

When I was younger, I daydreamed about becoming an author, but it wasn’t something I pursued. I wrote a few short stories for fun, but I poured my time and energy into my children and career.

In the summer of 2011, I participated in a Bible study called Jonah by Priscilla Shirer. One evening, our facilitator asked us to meditate on the question, What does God want you to do that you don’t want to do. I sat feeling smug as the others prayed. I’d already signed up for a short-term mission trip to Africa, which I hadn’t wanted to do. But as I sat in the quiet, God spoke to me. Write a book for me. My heartbeat quickened as God gave me the opening and the ending of the story. I envisioned a large two-story yellow Victorian home with every Window filled with light.

God’s request filled me with panic, and the workbook page remained blank. The thought of someone reading God’s request made my face hot. Who was I to think I could be an author? Finally, I made a feeble attempt, but it was too hard.

My Ninevah was Africa. I turned my thoughts and efforts to preparing to go to Niger in December 2011. After the trip, all I could think about was returning to Africa. Our translators were visiting the US. It thrilled me when they accepted my invitation to stay overnight in my home. While preparing for their visit, I discovered my laptop under the bed covered in dust. I gulped as I remembered God asking me to write a book. With trepidation, I opened the computer and read the first few pages of the story I’d started. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great. I whined to God. I don’t have the skills or the talent. I don’t know how to write a book.

Then, I received an email in my work email account promoting a Christian writers’ conference. To this day, it is still the only email I’ve received at work advertising a writers’ conference. I could hardly breathe as I read the email promoting the writers’ workshop to be held at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, TX—a long way from Kentucky. I shared everything with my husband, and he encouraged me to go even though we didn’t have the money. He reminded me we had a travel credit in our airline account because of connection problems during our first trip to Africa, and so, I packed my bags.

When I attended the conference, two instructors, New York Times best-selling author Lisa Wingate and Judy Christie, changed my life when they encouraged me to finish the story. Judy asked me to commit to writing one hour a day, and she predicted I’d finish the first draft by Thanksgiving if I’d stick with it. The conference was held in October, and I thought her expectations impossible. I didn’t meet her goal, but I finished the first draft on 12/12/12. I’ll never forget that morning. It’s a good thing I had no idea of the work ahead of me.

Judy was kind enough to give me the email address of her award-winning editor Jamie Clarke Chavez. I sent the first three chapters to Jamie, and my mouth dropped open when she agreed to work with me. Today, she is someone I consider a dear friend. Writers have asked me, How did you get Jamie Chavez to work with you. She must have taken pity on me. I cringe as I remember those first chapters. I consider Jamie a gift from God.

Through the years of hard work, God has been faithful to provide me with encouragement and help along the road to publication. If there is anything good in Every Window Filled with Light, it is from Him and the people he sent to aid me. The best blessings of the writing journey are the friendships I’ve made along the way.

I hope you’ll read Every Window Filled with Light or give it to someone who needs an uplifting story of hope. If there’s a person you know who doesn’t know Christ and doesn’t want to listen to a witness, this is a book you can share. I hope the reader will be so drawn into the story they won’t realize they are being exposed to God’s salvation plan until it’s too late.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about why I wrote Every Window Filled with Light. Has God ever asked you to do something you didn’t want to do? I’d love to hear your story.

Warm regards,

Shelia

My Thoughts

Every Window Filled with Light by Sheila Stovall is the debut of The Weldon Novels. This is a charming story about library director, Emma Baker who is a widow. She is just starting to emerge from her grief, but sadness still plagues her at the idea of her home not being filled with light and laughter. Emma then finds Harley camping out in the library. Emma becomes a foster mother to the prickly teen. Emma and Harley are in for a bumpy road. After a beginning that had me cringing (I am not a fan of slimy creatures), I became immersed into the story. It contains good writing with developed characters and steady pacing. I liked seeing the main characters grow as the story progressed. I enjoyed the charming setting of Weldon, Kentucky. It is a sweet Southern town with friendly residents who look out for each other. We get to see true Southern hospitality. Emma belongs to a wonderful church family. I like how they help each other out. Faith is prominently featured in Every Window Filled with Light. Trusting God, forgiveness, and prayer are a couple of the topics addressed. Except for a mild swear word in the story (repeated at least twice), this is a clean Christian story. Every Window Filled with Light is a heartwarming story about forgiveness, having hope, finding family, good friends, and relying on God. Every Window Filled with Light is a touching tale with flavorsome fried pies, a troubled teen, a marvelous Victorian, a bouncy baby, a sweet Schnauzer, scrumptious cookies, and absorbing books.

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Shelia is giving away the grand prize package of a themed gift basket from Habegger’s Amish Market. Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click here to enter. Good Luck!

Every Window Filled with Light is available from Amazon*. You can borrow it for free if you are a Kindle Unlimited member. Thank you for joining me today. Do not forget to leave a comment for extra entries in the giveaway. I will be back tomorrow to share my thoughts on Reserved for Murder by Victoria Gilbert. It is the 2nd novel in A Book Lover's B&B Mystery. I hope everyone has an uplifting day. Take care, be kind, and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader