THE LONG JOURNEY TO JAKE PALMER - James L Rubart - One Free Book

Dear Readers, I always eagerly await the release of James L Rubart’s next book. He writing is awesome, as those of you who have read his works have seen. And the storylines take me to spiritual places I haven’t explored before. I love stories that stretch my belief in our awesome God.

Welcome back, James. As an author, I know it takes a lot of people to birth each book. Who were the people involved in the birthing of this book, and what were their contributions?

Although I had a great deal of help, the person most responsible is my wife Darci who came up with the idea for the novel. Every summer when our boys were young, we took them to the same lake. At the end was a wall of cattails and trees. One year we swam through the cattails and pushed through the trees to see what was on the other side. We found a wide, beautiful field. We all pretended we’d entered another land where anything could happen. When we were brainstorming Jake, my wife said, “Why don’t you write a story about the corridor? Where it’s a legend and no one can find it, but if they do, they’ll get what they want most in the world?” And the story was born.

I know I will love this book. My copy hasn’t arrived yet, and as always, it will go to the top of my to-be-read pile. If you teach or speak. What’s coming up on your calendar? 

This past year I spoke at ACFW, the Oregon Christian Writers conference, the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers conference, the Writer to Writer conference, and at the University of the Nations in Kona, Hawaii. So far for next year, I’m speaking at a one-day conference at OCW in February and at Realm Makers in July. More dates are likely coming. I love speaking almost as much as writing.

If you had to completely start over in another place, where would you move, and why?

Probably Australia. Darci and I went there in the early 90s and fell in love with the weather, the beaches, the atmosphere, and most of all the people.

If you could only tell aspiring novelists one thing, what would it be?

There’s room at the top. Writing novels is hard. It’s the hardest kind of writing to do well that there is. But that’s good news because most people give up. So if you can’t stop yourself from writing, keep going, you will improve while most other aspiring writers are falling away.

You’ve been asked to be in charge of a celebrity cruise. Who would you ask to take part, and why? (AS in what program, singers, etc. [it doesn’t have to be writing related])

I used to be a semi-pro magician so there has to be a magic show. Phil Keaggy and Jeff Johnson and Jack Johnson would take care of the music, Ellen DeGeneres would probably do stand up for us, my friend Paul Young would give talks on theology, and I’d have my friend Riley do all his amazing food stuff.

Tell us about the featured book.

From the back cover:

What if there was a place where everything wrong in your life could be fixed?

Corporate trainer Jake Palmer coaches people to see deeper into themselves—yet he barely knows himself anymore. Recently divorced and weary of the business life, Jake reluctantly agrees to a lake-house vacation with friends, hoping to escape for ten days.

When he arrives, Jake hears the legend of Willow Lake—about a lost corridor that leads to a place where one’s deepest longings will be fulfilled.

Jake scoffs at the idea, but can’t shake a sliver of hope that the corridor is real. And when he meets a man who mutters cryptic speculations about the corridor, Jake is determined to find the path, find himself, and fix his crumbling life.

But the journey will become more treacherous with each step Jake takes.

Jake was given 4.5 stars by RT Book Reviews and made a Top Pick for August. Publishers Weekly gave it a rare starred review as did Library Journal.

Please give us the first page of the book.

If Jake Palmer had only kept the mundane promise he’d made to himself, his life wouldn’t be headed down a dead-end road at the speed of light. He’d vowed there’d be no more late-night flights. No more trips stacked on top of each other. No more landings at Seattle’s Sea-Tac Airport after midnight, which pushed him to physical and emotional exhaustion. But there he’d been for the third time in eight days. His phone rang as he pulled out of the parking garage, and Jake glanced at the time before he picked up. Twelve thirty-five a.m. Sienna should be asleep.

“What are you still doing up?”

“I miss you. I’ve hardly seen you for the past three months.”

“I know. Not fun. But Italy will be here in six short weeks. Then fourteen days of cruising where you’ll have to put up with me 24/7.”

“Maybe I should get some rest.” Jake laughed.

“How far away are you, Adonis?” Sienna asked. He smiled at her pet name for him.

“Forty minutes.”

“Get here now. I’ll wait up.”

“And sacrifice your beauty rest?” Jake tapped on his steering wheel and grinned.

“Yes, even though it’ll make me look horrible tomorrow.”

“Impossible. You’d win every beauty contest known to man even if you stayed up for a month.”

“If I’m asleep when you get home, wake me up. Promise.”

“Absolutely.”

Sienna blew a kiss through the phone and hung up. Jake glanced at his gas gauge as he headed up I-5. The yellow warning light glared at him, red needle on the wrong side of the empty line. Problem. Wouldn’t be good to run out before getting back to Bothell. He glanced at the exits coming up. Probably not the greatest section of Seattle to get gas this late at night, but running out here would be worse. Why hadn’t he filled up before the trip? Because his schedule was insane and there hadn’t been time.

Jake pulled off I-5 at the next exit. Quick fill and he’d be back on the asphalt river, home to Sienna before one twenty. He pulled up to the outside gas island and snatched his wallet out of his coat at the same time. As he stepped outside into the October chill, odors of pot and gas filled his nose. As he stepped to the pump, a battered Honda Civic with peeling dark blue paint lurched into the station and stopped behind his Jeep. A young woman got out, her black hair streaked with red and purple, her denim coat marred with grime and amateur images of dragons drawn with blue and red Sharpies. She swiped a credit card and as she pumped her gas glanced furtively past Jake at the street to his back, then at the street in front of them. She jiggled her nozzle up and down as if to try to make the gas flow faster.

“You okay?”

And as usual when you’re on my blog, you leave us hanging at the end of your page, wanting to know what comes next. Where can my readers find you on the Internet?

Best place is my website: jamesLrubart.com That’s where folks can sign up for my newsletter which is the best way to find out what’s going on with me.

But I’m also on Twitter: @jamesLrubart and on Facebook: facebook.com/JamesLRubart/ e-mail is: james@jamesLrubart.com

Thanks so much for having me, Lena!

I always look forward to interviewing you, and maybe next year, I can see you again at ACFW, since it is very close to where I live.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.

The Long Journey to Jake Palmer - Christianbook.com
The Long Journey to Jake Palmer - Amazon Paperback
The Long Journey to Jake Palmer - Kindle
The Long Journey to Jake Palmer - mp3 audio

Comments conversation starter questions: Have you read any of James L Rubart's books? If So, which one is your favorite?

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