Pine Mountain Estates Series by Emily Josephine

What if the one secret you were holding was the one thing holding you back from a life of complete freedom? Arianna, a sixteen-year-old from Uganda, is on the run. Who and what she is running from, she doesn't want to tell. She's learned, over the past eight years, not to trust Americans. But when an injury forces her onto the mercy of Allison Whitlock, who finds Arianna in her shed one cold, southeast Oklahoma winter morning, she begins to see that some people are worth her trust... moreWhat if the one secret you were holding was the one thing holding you back from a life of complete freedom? Arianna, a sixteen-year-old from Uganda, is on the run. Who and what she is running from, she doesn't want to tell. She's learned, over the past eight years, not to trust Americans. But when an injury forces her onto the mercy of Allison Whitlock, who finds Arianna in her shed one cold, southeast Oklahoma winter morning, she begins to see that some people are worth her trust. Until Allie's best friend comes along, pushing Arianna to make a decision that could not only destroy her only hope at freedom, but that could take her life. Allie has her own secret, a secret that is slowly eating away at her conscience. What the authorities believe about the car accident that killed her husband and one of her sons five years ago may not be the complete truth. But the one person who knows the truth, her older son Jared, ran away four and a half years ago and has not been heard from since. The secret begins to burn even hotter when Jeb Mitchell, the man accused of causing the accident, returns from his time in prison and shows up at Allie's door. Allie wants to make things right with her neighbor and former friend, whose wife was also killed in the accident. But she doesn't believe it's her place, since she wasn't at the scene. And so, the secret continues taking its toll. A girl and a woman, each holding tightly to a secret that binds them. Forgiveness and trust are the first steps toward freedom, but they need a miracle to push them all the way. ********** At once heart-warming and suspenseful, this first book in the "Pine Mountain Estates" series by Emily Josephine is a full-length Christian women's fiction novel. less

What if your emotionally abusive ex-husband, whom you haven't seen in years and whom you hoped never to see again, became the hero for the family God was leading you to help? Fourteen-year-old Ryan Pierce is determined to prove his independence to the world – or, at least to his mother. When Leslie Pierce suspects her son has begun sneaking off in the middle of the night to do drugs in the small southeast Oklahoma town where they live, she is at a loss... moreWhat if your emotionally abusive ex-husband, whom you haven't seen in years and whom you hoped never to see again, became the hero for the family God was leading you to help? Fourteen-year-old Ryan Pierce is determined to prove his independence to the world – or, at least to his mother. When Leslie Pierce suspects her son has begun sneaking off in the middle of the night to do drugs in the small southeast Oklahoma town where they live, she is at a loss. Confronting her son only makes things worse, but saying and doing nothing does nothing to quell his bad behavior. When Liz Richardson, who lives ten minutes away up on a mountain, feels God drawing her to help Leslie, the thirty-nine-year-old freelance writer is reluctant to obey. But when she does, she realizes that this family is as deserving as grace as she is. Her belief about who is worthy of God's free gift falls short, however. When she finds out that her emotionally abusive ex-husband is looking to purchase the property next to hers, her prayers and attitude are anything but graceful. At first, Peter Tanner is willing to give up his desire for the property if he could only get Liz's forgiveness. A changed man, he now knows what a monster he was during their short marriage. But the more he encounters Liz, the more he realizes that he still loves her. And he begins to hope for a second chance with her. For her part, Liz is wondering if she'll have to move to avoid seeing Peter on a regular basis. But when Ryan gets in over his head with his new "friends" and Peter ends up rescuing him, she begins to wonder whether her bitter feelings toward her ex-husband are justified for this man who seems to exude compassion. She begins to long for what they had at the beginning of their marriage. Leslie is fighting bitterness of her own, a bitterness that ultimately puts her family's well-being in peril. But as she opens her eyes and her heart to those around her who are willing to help her despite her imperfection, grace has a fighting chance to seep into her soul and change her life forever. ********** This full-length Christian women's fiction novel is the second book in the "Pine Mountain Estates" series by Emily Josephine. Part contemporary Christian romance, and part suspense, this story is all about finding freedom in God's grace. less

A heart-wrenching nightmare.A frustrating recurring dream.A dim hope that seems impossible...*********Jen has avoided romantic relationships for twenty years, knowing that getting into one would be a constant reminder of her shattered dreams.Tommy is Jen's secret admirer...but the ghosts from his past tell him he could never be good enough for her... moreA heart-wrenching nightmare.A frustrating recurring dream.A dim hope that seems impossible...*********Jen has avoided romantic relationships for twenty years, knowing that getting into one would be a constant reminder of her shattered dreams.Tommy is Jen's secret admirer...but the ghosts from his past tell him he could never be good enough for her. However, when an incident at the Phoenix business conference where Jen is teaching drives them together, they soon become entangled in a journey full of mystery and suspense as Jen realizes she's being stalked.The harassment continues and escalates once they are back at their respective homes in southeast Oklahoma.In the meantime, Arianna, one of Tommy's neighbors and a former child slave, nurtures her own dream of one day being able to find her lost brother again. She'd been forced to leave him behind when she was kidnapped from the Ugandan orphanage where they'd been living nine years ago. When she decides to do her part to find him, she inadvertently finds more than she bargained the key to help her friends realize their own dreams.Romance and suspense weave this faith-filled story together, bringing the characters ever closer to solving the mysteries of their pasts...and possibly, to experiencing impossible dreams coming true. This full-length novel is the third book in Emily Josephine's "Pine Mountain Estates" series.PLEASE NOTE : The hardcover edition of this novel is printed with font size 18, perfect for those with presbyopia. However, it has NOT been formatted according to the print standards for people with low vision as set forth by the various organizations which advocate for such individuals. less

A young lady who has known nothing but slavery since the age of nine. A young man who wants to be her hero. And the dark powers that will do anything to keep that from happening... What if you'd been a slave since childhood, and were suddenly thrown out into the streets without a clue about how the world works? This is exactly what happens to eighteen-year-old Dalia... moreA young lady who has known nothing but slavery since the age of nine. A young man who wants to be her hero. And the dark powers that will do anything to keep that from happening... What if you'd been a slave since childhood, and were suddenly thrown out into the streets without a clue about how the world works? This is exactly what happens to eighteen-year-old Dalia. First forced to be a choir member from ages nine to sixteen by a white man claiming to be her adoptive father, then sold off to another white man who kept her chained in a bedroom to do computer work, she dreams of one day escaping to find her freedom. She doesn't have to. One day, Ted, her owner, insists that a "voice" told him to set her free. But despite gifting her with a backpack full of items to help her survive, Ted doesn't give her what she really needs to claim her freedom: knowledge about how the outside world really works. Just when she starts to figure out a plan to get back to her homeland of Kenya so she can avoid white people – especially white men – forever, she discovers that complete strangers know her name. Frightened that she'll be sent back to Ted, she runs...into a stranger who not only knows her name, but also claims to be the foster brother of two of her other fellow slaves. She can't believe a thing he says, because he's white. Unfortunately, by this time she's lost all the money Ted had given her, and finds herself at the mercy of this young man. Jared Whitlock, a twenty-year-old who has traveled to Phoenix for a missionary conference, does his best to convince Dalia that he's telling her the truth about who he is. But she's skittish, and if she's not giving him the cold shoulder, she's running away from him. At first, all Jared wants is to reunite Dalia with her African friends, his foster sisters who live in Oklahoma. But it doesn't take long for his desires to get more selfish. He is attracted to her, and feels an odd compulsion to be her protector. Dalia works hard to deny and resist the attraction she feels toward Jared, believing that she'll never be happy unless she's completely independent. She doesn't want a protector, especially a white one. What she doesn't realize is that she needs a protector. The voices talking to Ted, the ones he's heard for years, are demanding that he recapture Dalia and bring her back into his home. If he doesn't obey, the voices will drive him completely mad. Dalia and Ted must both learn that there is always a price to pay for freedom...and it doesn't always look the way you think it should. less

A fifteen-year-old boy, hiding a dark secret that haunts him day and night, and which has ripped his faith in God – and his father – to pieces... ...a fourteen-year-old victim of modern slavery, feeling all alone in the world, and wanting nothing more this Christmas than to be part of a family... ...and a middle-aged mother who fears her family coming apart by the seams if God doesn't show His face soon.. moreA fifteen-year-old boy, hiding a dark secret that haunts him day and night, and which has ripped his faith in God – and his father – to pieces... ...a fourteen-year-old victim of modern slavery, feeling all alone in the world, and wanting nothing more this Christmas than to be part of a family... ...and a middle-aged mother who fears her family coming apart by the seams if God doesn't show His face soon... ********** Nine years ago, Sam Johnson experienced a traumatic incident that to this day, his family knows nothing about. Between that and the school bully who began tormenting him a year ago, Sam's faith in God has all but been destroyed. In the meantime, his mother, Sheila, is experiencing a growing frustration with her life. For starters, she never wanted to take her current teaching job at the nearby private school in the mid-cities area of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. She also knows that her husband has become increasingly dissatisfied with his position at their church fellowship as the children's pastor. At the same time, she knows her son Sam is hiding a deep pain, but can't draw the truth out of him. All of this has sapped her enthusiasm for the Christmas holiday. God seems to have fallen silent...except for the stirring she feels deep inside that something about her life, her family's life, needs to change. The one thing she does know is that the change isn't to return to the mission field that she and her husband left nine years ago when their middle child began experiencing psychological distress. Her mother's heart knows that returning back to the mission field would disrupt the tenuous strands bonding her family together. Unfortunately, her husband, Hank, is convinced of the opposite. Sheila's only hope is that spending Christmas in southeast Oklahoma to visit Dalia, the human trafficking victim that her family met a few months ago, and Dalia's friends, will at least serve as a distraction from the family troubles. And maybe, just maybe, God will use the getaway to bring clarity to her family's life. Fourteen-year-old Benesha, on the other hand, is not happy when she finds out that the Johnson family will be "crashing" her Christmas celebration on Pine Mountain. For years, she has dreamed of experiencing a real Christmas, with her former slave friends Dalia and Arianna and the family she vaguely remembers she has back in Kenya. Christmas in the United States was not supposed to happen. By now, the courts were to have discovered her relatives and flown her back across the ocean. But that hasn't happened, and now she is not only still stuck in her foster home, but she also is going to be forced to celebrate her first real Christmas with strangers. Her frustration with the Johnson family turns to curiosity, however, when God begins speaking to her to pray for Sam. The closer to Christmas they all come, the higher tensions rise, challenging each person's faith, as well as each person's view of family, in ways they've never been challenged before. ********** This fifth novel in Emily Josephine's "Pine Mountain Estates" series is a heartwarming – and, at times, heart-searing – Christian Christmas novel about faith, friends, and family. You can read it as a stand-alone. However, you will understand the nuances of the characters and the plot better if you've read the first four books in the series. And reading The Envelope, which plot occurred twenty years before the current story, provides a solid understanding of who Sheila and Hank Johnson are, and where they've come from. less

Rosa Marima is confused, distraught…and running away. Convinced she’s wasted the past twenty years of not only her life, but that of her husband, the nearing-sixty-year-old woman announces that she needs time away from the struggling motel that she and her husband, George, run together. He believes she’s angry that he withheld the truth about the financial situation of the business... moreRosa Marima is confused, distraught…and running away. Convinced she’s wasted the past twenty years of not only her life, but that of her husband, the nearing-sixty-year-old woman announces that she needs time away from the struggling motel that she and her husband, George, run together. He believes she’s angry that he withheld the truth about the financial situation of the business. But her angst runs much deeper, to a painful time in her past she thought she’d finally released, but which has come back to haunt her.While at her retreat in a cabin in the mountains over four hours away, she meets a young woman who, by all appearances, is slowly starving herself to death. Not too long after, Rosa begins to wonder if she might not have been sent to this quiet place in order to help Dalia wake up to what she is doing to herself.Dalia stubbornly insists that she knows what she’s doing. What she doesn’t tell Rosa – or any of her family or friends – is why she’s doing it.It’s an act of love.Dalia is terrified that if she doesn’t do something to make her ex-boyfriend recoil from her, she will eventually give in to his attempts to bring them back together, thereby eventually ruining his life because of all the garbage trailing behind her.Rosa fears that Dalia is days away from landing in the hospital. But how can she help someone with such strong walls around her heart, when she is in despair over having destroyed God’s will and purpose for her own life over thirty years ago?This heartwrenching Christian women’s fiction novel is the sixth in Emily Josephine’s series, “Pine Mountain Estates.” It can be read as a stand-alone, but will be better understood in the context of the first five books in the series. less

She thinks she’s in love, but is afraid of mistaking attraction for the real thing.He can’t let himself fall in love, because he has no idea what he wants to do with his life, beyond his impossible dream.His mother would do anything to get her husband to notice her again…at least she thinks so, until the unthinkable happens…**********Bethany Mitchell has a thing for Shane Patterson. The problem is, he lives over a thousand miles away... moreShe thinks she’s in love, but is afraid of mistaking attraction for the real thing.He can’t let himself fall in love, because he has no idea what he wants to do with his life, beyond his impossible dream.His mother would do anything to get her husband to notice her again…at least she thinks so, until the unthinkable happens…**********Bethany Mitchell has a thing for Shane Patterson. The problem is, he lives over a thousand miles away. A bigger problem is, her feelings for him don’t seem to be mutual. The biggest problem of all?She has no idea how to know if a particular person is the one she’s supposed to commit her life to.Shane likes Bethany. A lot. More than he’s liked any other woman. But he can go no further than that, because he has no clue what to do with his life. His father expects him to take over his Hearty T ranch in Montana somebody, but ranching is the last way that Shane wants to spend the rest of his life. And the one thing he feels called to do seems like a pipe dream.Then his mother, Marge, is injured in a fall from the ladder. Shane’s best friend, Jared, who is also Bethany’s friend and neighbor where he lives in southeast Oklahoma, suggests that Bethany fly up to help run the household while his mother is recuperating.Bethany ends up doing just that, to Shane’s mother delight, who is starving for companionship. Shane, however, quickly decides that this might not have been the best idea. So does Bethany……when she realizes that she’s landed in the middle of a family drama. Because not only does Don, Shane’s father, seem to be prejudiced against her disabilities, but he also seems to be distant and unloving toward his family.So distant and unloving, Marge is about to make one of the most difficult decisions of her life.Finally, there’s T.J., the movie-star handsome cowboy who works at the ranch…and whom Bethany instinctively dislikes. He looks nothing like trouble, but looks can be deceiving…A Christian women’s fiction novel, Unfailing is the seventh book in Emily Josephine’s “Pine Mountain Estates” series. It is sure to encourage the believer to seek after true love, the agape love that never fails. less