Redemption

[close] Tom Walker answers your questions about the stories in SIGNED CONFESSIONS: STORIES and invites your further comments and criticisms. Also, look for Tom Walker's Giveaway.

[close] Return To Sender is a literary thriller about a Korean War vet and wounded POW who returns home to Manzanita Oregon to find his love has married another, and so he surrenders to a family promise to become a Catholic Priest. However, when trouble hits his coastal village, he soon finds he's more soldier than priest. "In Return to Sender, Mindy Halleck writes about family and neighborhoods and the ways our roots define our lives with the assured vividness of Dennis Lehane and the unflinching edge of Gillian Flynn. An old school, can't-put-it-down read." Larry Brooks, critically-acclaimed bestselling author of four psychological thrillers, in addition to his work as a freelance writer and writing instructor. www.StoryFix.com “Mindy Halleck’s Return to Sender is a deeply evocative novel wherein the protagonist, Theo Riley is a Roman Catholic Priest who carries a dark cross and earns redemption through blood and tears. This is a novel that explores what it means to have faith in a world torn by conflict.” Bill Johnson, Author of A Story is a Promise & The Spirit of Storytelling, www.storyispromise.com. “The vivid imagination of a born story-teller comes to life in Mindy Halleck’s new novel, Return to Sender, starring a warrior-priest as reluctant hero—he waits for death, he prays for mercy, he hopes for the miraculous return of his fighting skills—as he faces a stone killer, the ruthless dragon-antagonist rising up from the mists with vengeance in his heart. Set against a backdrop on the picturesque—and often quixotic—Oregon seacoast, Return to Sender blooms with a sterling cast and some peachy plot-twists.” Robert J. Ray, The Weekend Novelist www.RobertJRay.com If you loved Snow Falling On Cedars, or Fried Green Tomatoes with a touch of Cape Fear (weird combo, I know) But if you like those stories, you'll love Return To Sender.

[close] NOBLEBRIGHT "Noblebright fantasy has at least one important character with noble, idealistic motives who does the right thing out of principle. The character is flawed, but his or her actions are generally defined by honesty, integrity, sacrifice, love, and kindness. The story upholds the goodness of the character; the character’s good qualities are not held up as naiveté, cluelessness, or stupidity, but rather shown to be worthwhile. Good characters can make a difference. Noblebright characters can learn and grow. They can deliberately choose to be kind when tempted to be unkind, they can choose generosity when it hurts, and they can influence their world and other characters for the better. In a noblebright story, even villains are not without hope; their stories may have a redemptive ending, or they may have some kind of conversion experience (religious or not). It’s not guaranteed, of course, but in a noblebright story, it’s a possibility. Noblebright fantasy is not utopian fiction. The world of a noblebright story is not perfect, and indeed can sometimes be quite dark. Actions have consequences, and even good characters can make terrible mistakes. But a noblebright story is generally hopeful in tone, even if there are plenty of bad, grim, dark things going on in the world." *found on noblebright.org*

[close] Heaven. Hell. The war between them isn’t symbolic—it’s active. This group is dedicated to stories that explore angelic conflict, spiritual warfare, and the unseen battle between divine and demonic forces. From ancient scriptural inspiration to modern supernatural thrillers, we spotlight books where the stakes are eternal and the fight is real. If you’re drawn to narratives in the vein of This Present Darkness or Piercing the Darkness—where angels contend, demons strategize, and human choices carry spiritual consequence—you’re in the right place.