SACRIFICE - Dennis Jernigan - One Free Book

Dear Readers, we have Dennis Jernigan back with book two in the Bren Chronicles.

Welcome back, Dennis. Why do you write the kind of books you do?

There are several reasons I write the kind of books I do. I want to leave a legacy for my children and grandchildren and all who follow me. My hope is that they would see beyond the allegorical nature of the writings and see the qualities by which I tried to live my life and then apply those same principles for living to their own lives. In addition, my desire is that all who read the books be challenged to realize and discover the reason for their existence - their purpose - their destiny. Above all, I want the reader to feel that good has triumphed over evil and that the same is possible in their own lives.

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?

The happiest day of my life cannot be boiled down to one moment in time. My wedding day. The births of my nine children. The wonderful experience of getting to know my grandchildren and writing these books for them. The first time I realized people all over the world were singing my songs in worship to the Lord. Hearing from people who have read one of my books and how God used it to change their lives. Too many days to choose from!

How has being published changed your life?

Honestly, on one hand it hasn’t, as I try to live my life the same regardless of my success - or failure. Yet, it has changed in the fact that knowing others are watching my life from afar makes me want to be the best example of Jesus Christ I can be.

What are you reading right now?

I am currently reading through a novel I am working on, but the most recent books I have read are very different from one another. One is a book on leadership called Leading on Empty by Wayne Cordeiro. Another is the journey out of homosexuality by author Rosario Butterfield and is called Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert. One I am reading in segments is called Learning to Tell Yourself the Truth by William Backus.

They all sound interesting. What is your current work in progress?

Currently, I am working on the first novel in a series for my grandchildren. The new series is an offshoot of my series The Chronicles of Bren. The new series is called The Bairn of Bren. Bairn is a Scottish word for children. In theses stories, my grandchildren are taking up the matters of their parents before them, fighting for the freedom and peace of Bren. My grandchildren are the heroes in these stories! In addition, I am working on music for Book Three in the Bren series. Each book has its own collection of songs for the journey that can be heard and downloaded at www.thechroniclesofbren.com .

What would be your dream vacation?

I have two dream vacations. One would be to tour Iceland and the Norse countries of Europe. Another would be to tour Europe’s castles and the Rhine River region and wind up with a scuba dive somewhere near Greece.

I’m one-half Scandanavian, so I’d love to visit that part of the world, too. How do you choose your settings for each book?

In many ways, the settings of my stories are inspired by the place where I live. When people hear that I live in Oklahoma they think “flat and boring.” Not so. We live among tree-covered hills near a flowing river. I have a large forest on my property that informs the country settings of my stories. In my studio, I have a statue of a dragon and a cardboard castle that I will place in front of me when I write there! I feel like a kid again when I write these stories…and I want children of all ages to enjoy the journeys.

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

One of my hobbies involves creating a real land of Bren for my grandchildren. In one area of my forest I have cleared over 2 miles of trails. My plan is to fill the land with statues of fantasy creatures. I enjoy fishing for bass in my ponds and I thoroughly enjoy driving my grandchildren around the property on my John Deere Gator!

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

I have too many adventures and stories in my mind to ever write them all down. I believe our God is so massive that I will never lack for creativity. My goal? To try and see my life from God’s point of view - and I write accordingly.

What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Do not be afraid to color outside the lines…to take the reader on an adventure that has never been experienced before. Another would be this: the more you write, the better you will become at writing. Psalm 45:1 in the NASB says,

“My heart overflows with a good theme;

I address my verses to the King;

My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”

I believe that if I walk relationally with Father God and am ready at all times to write down the words He inspires in my mind that He is more than willing to pour that inspiration our upon me. Believe you can hear Him and be ready to write down what He says…and watch the creativity flow!

Tell us about the featured book.

Book two in my fantasy series is called The Chronicles of Bren, Sacrifice. Our protagonist, Lee Jennings, is a couple of years older when he finds himself transported back to the land of Bren in a most unusual way (though seen before in The Wizard of Oz, the story of transport is based on a real-life episode from my life on the farm. You’ll have to read the end of the book to find out that I was not merely paying homage to The Wizard of Oz!). Once in Bren, he discovers that he is now in his early 50s and that he is now the high king of Bren. Wondering aloud as to how he got to that age and position, King Leonolis/Lee is met by a presence - the Voice - who takes him on a journey of re-living his life…and the discovery of all the sacrifice involved in getting him to the place of prestige and power he now finds himself. In Sacrifice, the reader gets to experience Leonolis falling in love, the saga of the dragon wars, the loss of a dear friend, the birth of his own children, and many other adventures along the way! Taking the lessons learned from his adventures in book one, Leonolis learns many new and valuable lessons along the way. As always, he faces many dangers and encounters with many fantastic beings. The ending of this book is my favorite simply because it really happened!

Please give us the first page of the book.

Chapter One

A Mighty Rushing Wind

Lee had gone out early that day to rake the hay his father had mowed the day before. As always, he tended to get lost in his own thoughts, daydreaming and daydreaming for hours on end. More often than not, his dreams ventured off into long forgotten memories of a land far, far away. His memories of the land of Bren, for all intents and purposes, were like quickly vanishing wisps of smoke that lingered briefly around his head throughout the day, never quite lighting for long in his mind’s eye. Such days spent trying to recall those memories was like trying to speak a well-known word but having a lapse of mental capacity to actually commit the words to speech. He never quite got there, but it wasn’t for lack of trying!

The days spent in search of those almost remembered adventures went by far too quickly for Lee. On one hand, the monotony of going round and round those hay fields was not monotonous at all, but on the other hand, he often came away mentally exhausted from trying to recall what could not be recalled.

Lee was a year older since returning from Bren. Everyone could see the change. No one could understand how such a formerly weak, fearful boy could suddenly be transformed, as if overnight, into a confident, strong-of-character young man. Respected by his peers for standing up to the bullies that day and equally respected by his elders because of his work ethic and strong, manly way he looked everyone in the eye, Lee was growing into his manhood. Growing into it well.

Still, if only people knew the inner turmoil he faced. Even though he had the respect of the other boys, the teasing continued. He just no longer gave the tormentors the satisfaction of a response other than to shrug his shoulders and walk away. Mostly his turmoil was a cacophony of messages bombarding his brain. His body was changing from that of a boy to a man—and when he had tried to talk with his dad about it, his dad had seemed more embarrassed than Lee, walking awkwardly away from the conversation. Lee had just assumed that this subject was off-limits—which made him feel ungrounded in his identity, even if he did carry himself more confidently on the outside.

Coupling those thoughts with the struggle to remember all he had experienced in Bren—at least he thought the land had been called Bren—left him mentally exhausted more often than not, but

even this served him well. He figured that he spent too much time trying to figure things out if it tuckered him out that much. Even as a young man, he attained the wisdom to enjoy the journey and to live his life as an adventure. Trying to figure things out, he rightly asserted to himself, would work out in the proper time. Crazy as it may sound, he felt like he had some special purpose in life—like a kingly calling he told himself. Funny, but that thought seemed right to him.

As his thoughts were once again drifting back to a horse he had once known somewhere in his dreams, his mind was suddenly jolted back into the present. He had been so enthralled in his daydreams that he hadn’t even felt the wind come up or sensed the dark clouds that had drifted over the farm. As the first drops of rain began to pour, Lee stopped the tractor and began to turn the handles that would lift the rake teeth high enough above the ground so as to not drag as he high-tailed it home. Disengaging the rake’s gears so the teeth would no longer rotate, he jumped back into the tractor seat and at that very moment, lightning struck so close to him that he froze in fear, his skin growing as pale as the light seemed to be growing around him.

Lightning. Bad news for anyone trapped in an open field. He knew what his dad had taught him. “At the first sign of lightning, get off the tractor and get inside.” This warning had been indelibly burned into his senses the day he saw that old milk cow get hit by a bolt from the blue. One moment the cow had been peacefully grazing and the next she laid dead where she stood only a second before.

And that day there had been no rain and no wind, just one single bolt from the clouds to the ground! But this was different! Lightning was now dancing all around him in the sky and, as if in some crazed choreography, stepping around the field amid deafening claps of thunder. Lee knew this was bad. How could he have been so foolish as to never see it coming?

That really draws my interest to find out what happens next. How can readers find you on the Internet?

www.dennisjernigan.com

www.thechroniclesofbren.com

https://m.facebook.com/official.dennisjernigan/

Other Books by Dennis Jernigan

A Mystery of Majesty (Angel Award Winner)

This Is My Destiny

Help Me To Remember

What Every Boy Should Know...What Every Man Wishes His Dad Had Told Him

Giant Killers

A Worshiper’s Guid to Creativity, Song Writing, and Ministry

Victim to Victor

A Worshiper’s Guide to the Holy Land

Daily Devotions For Kingdom Seekers - Vol. I

Sing Over Me - Autobiography

The Chronicles of Bren: Book One: Captured

The Chronicles of Bren: Book Two: Sacrifice

The Chronicles of Bren: Book Three: Generations

The Christmas Dream

Daddy’s Song

A Thread of Hope

How To Write A Book

The Bairn of Bren - under construction 

Thank you, Dennis, for sharing this book with us.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
The Chronicles of Bren: Sacrifice: Book Two - paperback
The Chronicles of Bren: Sacrifice: Book Two - Kindle

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com