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Jess Lederman

Goodreads Author

Born

in Tarrytown, The United States

Website

https://www.jesslederman.com

Genre

Historical Fiction, Religion

Influences

George MacDonald
C.S. Lewis

Member Since

October 2016

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After I graduated with a degree in music from Columbia University, a lust for expensive pianos drew me into an unexpected career in finance. It turned out that I had a knack for business; I gained much that the world had to offer and became a hedonist, a gambler who haunted the poker rooms of Las Vegas, and an arrogant atheist. I’ve written fiction for most of my life, and at one point I quit work to devote myself to writing a novel. During that time, my late first wife, Teri, and I lived in Paris, down the street from where Hemingway once lived, and later in the mountains of Idaho. But the novel was never published, for I was a man whose soul had not yet awakened, who did not yet have anything important to say. So I went back to the busine After I graduated with a degree in music from Columbia University, a lust for expensive pianos drew me into an unexpected career in finance. It turned out that I had a knack for business; I gained much that the world had to offer and became a hedonist, a gambler who haunted the poker rooms of Las Vegas, and an arrogant atheist. I’ve written fiction for most of my life, and at one point I quit work to devote myself to writing a novel. During that time, my late first wife, Teri, and I lived in Paris, down the street from where Hemingway once lived, and later in the mountains of Idaho. But the novel was never published, for I was a man whose soul had not yet awakened, who did not yet have anything important to say. So I went back to the business world.

One day, when we were living in Dallas, Teri heard a radio interview with Francis Collins, an eminent scientist who wrote The Language of God, which tells the story of his journey from atheism to becoming a disciple of Christ. Collins’ book led us to the writings of C.S. Lewis and George MacDonald*, who became the midwives of our rebirth from above.

There’s no hiding from the Hound of Heaven, once He’s on your trail!

Several years later, Teri was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and we left Dallas and the business world behind and moved to a small town in Alaska. There we looked out on the glory of God’s creation and read to our heart’s content during the last two years of her life. Faced with tragedy, we learned to trust utterly in Him, and He blessed us with the peace that surpasses all understanding.

It was after Teri’s death, while I was still living in the far north, that the idea for Hearts Set Free—which opens in the Alaska Territory in 1925—was born. People who know that the novel contains autobiographical elements (and several historical characters) sometimes ask me, “How much of the story is true?’ And I answer, “Perhaps twenty percent—and the rest is even more true!” What drives my writing is the desire to convey truths that transform lives. Truths of the heart.

In 2013, I met a wonderful woman—my current wife, Ling—and soon we began talking about having children. “Impossible!” said our doctors. “According to your test results, there’s no chance at all, even using the latest techniques.” Of course, within two months of that pronouncement, Ling was pregnant with little David, who just turned three, and we subsequently adopted Daniel, who’s now twelve.

After David’s birth, we moved to southwest Washington. I’m currently at work on a novel set in Las Vegas in 1955, and, when I’m not writing or chasing my sons around, can usually be found at the piano playing Chopin nocturnes for Ling. ...more

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Jess Lederman’s books

Average rating: 4.24 · 281 ratings · 50 reviews · 37 distinct works • Similar authors

	Hearts Set Free: An Epic Tale of Love, Faith, and the Glory of God's Grace 4.26 avg rating — 216 ratings — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Ballad of Midnight and McRae 4.89 avg rating — 9 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Mortgage Professional's Handbook: Succeeding in the New World of Mortgage Finance: Industry Overviews and Loan Production by Jess Lederman (Goodreads Author), mortgage banking 4.40 avg rating — 5 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Good Words for the Young: A Child's Devotional by Jess Lederman (Goodreads Author), Rebekah Choat (Editor) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Handbook of Mortgage-Banking: Trends, Opportunities and Strategies 3.40 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 1993	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hedge Funds: Investment and Portfolio Strategies for the Institutional Investor (Irwin Asset Allocation Series for Institutional Investors) by Jess Lederman (Goodreads Author), Robert Klein 2.80 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 1995	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Mortgage Professional's Handbook: Succeeding in the New World of Mortgage Finance: Operations, Technology, Servicing, and Compliance 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Mortgage Professional's Handbook: Succeeding in the New World of Mortgage Finance: Secondary Marketing and Financial Management by Jess Lederman (Goodreads Author), Tomasz Lasota really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Mortgage Professional's Handbook: Succeeding in the New World of Mortgage Finance: Secondary Marketing and Financial Management (Volume 3) by Jess Lederman, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Global Asset Allocation: Techniques for Optimizing Portfolio Management by Jess Lederman (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Robert A. Klein (Editor) 2.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 1994 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Jess Lederman…

Jess is Currently Reading

Jess Lederman is currently reading

"All You Zombies..."

by Robert A. Heinlein

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Aug 07, 2024 10:02PM

Jess Lederman is currently reading

Irving Berlin: New York Genius (Jewish Lives)

by James Kaplan

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Aug 02, 2024 08:49PM

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The Little Friend

by Donna Tartt

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Jul 01, 2024 06:23PM

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Jess Lederman is now friends with Emily Lo
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Jess Lederman rated a book it was amazing There There by Tommy Orange (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 05, 2024 10:21PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of There There by Tommy Orange. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — There There by Tommy Orange <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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