Larry Peterson's Blog, page 61

Tribute Books Mama - Review

Tribute Books Mama says The Priest and the Peaches is "very heartwarming."

To read the full review, click here.

Larry's Pick Six interview with Heidi Ruby Miller

Heidi Ruby Miller asks Larry who his favorite character is in The Priest and the Peaches.

To read the full interview, click here.

BlogCritics reviews THE PRIEST AND THE PEACHES

BlogCritics Regis Schilken says, "The Priest and the Peaches is one of the most delightful Christian books on today's market. It is a touching tale because it is so human."



To read the full review, click here.

SNEAK PEEK of Chapter Eighteen of the young adult ebook "The Priest and the Peaches" - NOW AVAILABLE

A sneak peek of chapter eighteen of The Priest and the Peaches - a young adult ebook release from Tribute Books by Larry Peterson

NOW AVAILABLE!
Holiday Special
Kindle version only 99 cents until January 2
buy link
Kindle - $0.99

other available buy links
Nook - $4.95
PDF - $4.95
Smashwords - $4.99

Coming soon:
iPad ($4.99)

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Running from the cops

"Don't do it, Dancer. Please don't leave us here alone."

"You wanna go home, don't you?"

"Yeah, but..."

"Then be quiet and take care of Joey."

Officer Joe was by the doorway with his back to the room talking to the nurse in the hallway. Dancer stepped quietly to the side of the unsuspecting policeman then bolted from the room. Officer Tommy, talking on the pay phone in the lobby, caught a glimpse of someone running. He turned to see Dancer headed for the exit. He dropped the phone as he ran after him but Dancer made it outside. He turned left and kept going—running faster than he ever had in his life.

Officer Tommy shouted, "Dancer, stop right now. You come back here!"

Dancer turned to see Officer Tommy gaining on him. He knew he was no match for the fleet-footed policeman. As he rounded the corner of the hospital he crashed into someone. The man instinctively raised his forearms to protect himself. He held onto Dancer preventing him from getting away. A second later, Officer Tommy grabbed Dancer by the arm. Dancer started hollering, "Leave me alone! I didn't do anything. Let me go!"

Surprisingly, Officer Tommy said, "I'm sorry. Are you all right, Father?"

Dancer turned and looked up at the man he almost knocked over. It was Father Sullivan.

www.ThePriestAndThePeaches.com

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

SNEAK PEEK of Chapter Seventeen of the young adult ebook "The Priest and the Peaches" - NOW AVAILABLE

A sneak peek of chapter seventeen of The Priest and the Peaches - a young adult ebook release from Tribute Books by Larry Peterson

NOW AVAILABLE!
Holiday Special
Kindle version only 99 cents until January 2
buy link
Kindle - $0.99

other available buy links
Nook - $4.95
PDF - $4.95
Smashwords - $4.99

Coming soon:
iPad ($4.99)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
"Batman & Robin" collapse a ceiling

"Hey, Beeker, let's play Batman and Robin. Watch this." And just like that, Joey bounced across the bed and rolled onto the floor triggering a new round of heavy coughing.

Downstairs, Beatrice was in her living room lying on the sofa. Wrapped in a bathrobe and covered with a blanket, she was quickly using up the box of tissues on the coffee table as she attempted to restrain her cough and keep her nose dry. She heard the thump caused by Joey's landing. Turning her head upward, she glared at the ceiling. "They'd better not start," she mumbled to herself.

Beeker started to laugh and decided to keep wearing his damp Batman pajamas. The shirt was stretched up passed his belly button and the legs on the bottoms barely covered his knees. "Okay, watch me." He climbed onto the dresser before jumping down on the bed. Rolling onto the floor, he said, "Oh, I forgot something."

He grabbed a dirty towel, tied it around his neck making a Batman cape. Back on top of the dresser, he flew with outstretched arms onto the bed again. The Batman and Robin show was in full swing. They both began taking turns leaping from the dresser to the bed before rolling onto the floor.

Maybe it was an adrenalin rush but the characters they were pretending to be took over their psyche. Beeker and Joey, coughing and sneezing, overcame their blazing fevers turning into superheroes. Time after time, they climbed up on the dresser and flew to the bed.

Beatrice was holding her pounding head in her hands. They have one more minute to stop or else.

The bed, supported by four wooden slats across the bed frame, held together as long as it could. Then Batman made an extra mighty leap and the bed collapsed, slamming to the floor. Not only did the box spring and mattress crash to the floor, the side rails ripped from the headboard causing it to fall forward. The combination of all the parts collapsing together made for a super loud crash.

Beatrice was so startled by the crash that she vaulted up from her prone position. She accidentally rolled off the sofa smashing her head on the edge of the coffee table.

The crash was so loud—it even woke Dancer. Robin, not concerned in the least about the collapsed bed, was about to make another leap when Dancer came bursting in. Seeing the mess he hollered, "What, are the two of you crazy? Look what you did. Oh man, Teddy is gonna freak. We gotta get this fixed. Dang, I gotta go to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

Dancer hurried to the bathroom. As he reached the living room, he felt cold water squishing between his toes and under his feet. "What the heck is going on?" He sloshed into the bathroom. The big afghan was floating in water that was spilling over the sides of the tub. "Holy crap...oh, man."

He ran back to the bedroom yelling, "What did you do? The tub is overflowing and there's water all over the place."

"Uh oh, Joey, we forgot to turn the water off."

www.ThePriestAndThePeaches.com

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

SNEAK PEEK of Chapter Sixteen of the young adult ebook "The Priest and the Peaches" - NOW AVAILABLE

A sneak peek of chapter sixteen of The Priest and the Peaches - a young adult ebook release from Tribute Books by Larry Peterson

NOW AVAILABLE!
Holiday Special
Kindle version only 99 cents until January 2
buy link
Kindle - $0.99

other available buy links
Nook - $4.95
PDF - $4.95
Smashwords - $4.99

Coming soon:
iPad ($4.99)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Going to see Aunt Vera

"Okay, so I'm not allowed to call your house? Is this a joke? Are you kidding me? What's going on, Sarah? What, have I turned into a demon or something?"

"Stop it, Teddy. I asked you to trust me. Do you think you can do that? I'll explain everything when I see you."

He knew it was best to leave it alone. "Okay, Sarah. Talk to you tomorrow. I love you."

"Yeah, Teddy, I know you do." Click.

He stood there, holding the silent receiver, suddenly feeling lost and alone. He did not know what to think. Sarah was his refuge—she listened to him, she understood him. They were in love. They were going to get married. And she didn't say, "I love you" back. It was as if she had turned on him. He had tried his best to be a man for his family and show them that everything was under control and everything would be all right. Taking the grief, the embarrassments and the fears that bombarded him over the previous six days, he tried to stuff everything inside. But the simple click of the phone became his coup de grace. Alone in Celia's back room, he started bawling.

www.ThePriestAndThePeaches.com

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

SNEAK PEEK of Chapter Fifteen of the young adult ebook "The Priest and the Peaches" - NOW AVAILABLE

A sneak peek of chapter fifteen of The Priest and the Peaches - a young adult ebook release from Tribute Books by Larry Peterson

NOW AVAILABLE!
Holiday Special
Kindle version only 99 cents until January 2
buy link
Kindle - $0.99

other available buy links
Nook - $4.95
PDF - $4.95
Smashwords - $4.99

Coming soon:
iPad ($4.99)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
"I have five orphans living above me"

Joanie came hurrying to the front door and as she got there, Dancer exited the bathroom. Joanie, seeing Miss Amon standing there, quickly put her arm around Joey's shoulder saying, "Teddy's not here Miss Amon. Can I help you with something?"

"Yes, I saw him on his way out. He ran right into me causing me to smash my head into the wall. He almost knocked me down. I was fortunate I didn't have to be hospitalized. Thank God, Mr. Zimmerman came along. He saw the whole thing. In fact, it was he who helped me back to my apartment. Anyway enough about me, Joey told me that your lights and phone are...as he put it...broken. Is that correct?"

Dancer stepped in front of his sister. "None of your business. You just wait until my brother gets back if you want to talk to us. Right, Joanie?"

Miss Amon became angry. "That is no way to speak to a lady, young man. Where are your manners?"

"Yeah well, who said you're a lady anyway?"

Joanie was aghast. She was still trying to process the incident with Teddy and Miss Amon and now Dancer told the woman that she was not a lady and to mind her own business. "Oh my God, Dancer. What's wrong with you? I'm so sorry, Miss Amon. Dancer, you apologize to Miss Amon right now."

"You apologize, Joanie. I don't care. She doesn't like us. She's trying to make trouble for us. I'm not apologizing to nobody. C'mon Joey, let's go see what Beeker is doing."

Joanie was stunned and embarrassed by Dancer's behavior. No matter how right he was about the woman's motives, at 14, his behavior made him look like an ill-tempered juvenile delinquent. Joanie was frightened. Miss Amon never came to their door. Now in less than a week, she was there a second time. Teddy had slammed the door in her face ending her first visit. Now Dancer had insulted her. She was wishing that Teddy or Scratch would come walking up the stairs but that was not happening. Like it or not, she was in charge.

www.ThePriestAndThePeaches.com

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

SNEAK PEEK of Chapter Fourteen of the young adult ebook "The Priest and the Peaches" - NOW AVAILABLE

A sneak peek of chapter fourteen of The Priest and the Peaches - a young adult ebook release from Tribute Books by Larry Peterson

NOW AVAILABLE!
Holiday Special
Kindle version only 99 cents until January 2
buy link
Kindle - $0.99

other available buy links
PDF - $4.95
Smashwords - $4.99

Coming soon:
Nook ($4.95)
iPad ($4.99)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
"The keys are in Pops' leg"

Teddy headed to the back room to begin searching for the keys. His brief altercation with his brother made him momentarily forget about the box on the kitchen table. Teddy was surprised to see Joey sitting on the bed, legs crossed, hands folded, just doing nothing. "Oh hey, Joey. What's going on? You okay? Why are you back here all by
yourself?"

Joey looked sheepishly at his big brother. It was if he had done something wrong, but he hadn't. Teddy simply said, "Can you help me look for Pops' keys. They're around here somewhere. We have to get the mail."

Without hesitating, Joey said, "They're in Pops' leg."

Teddy froze right where he was. He looked at little Joey wondering if he really heard what he thought he heard. "What? What did you say, Joey?"

"The keys are in Pops' leg. He put them in there when he went to the hospital."

"Joanie, get back here. Hurry up."

Joanie ran back to the room. "What? What's wrong?"

"Okay, get this. Joey just told me that the keys are in Pops' leg. This is getting weird. First the insurance, now this."

"C'mon Teddy, how could they be in his leg? That's crazy."

Joey got up on his knees and yelled at his sister, "It's not crazy. Pops told me, and Pops isn't crazy. You shouldn't say that Joanie. That's a bad thing to say." Then he started crying.

"Oh my God, Joey, I didn't mean...okay, okay, stop crying. Just tell us when you talked to Pops?"

www.ThePriestAndThePeaches.com

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

SNEAK PEEK of Chapter Thirteen of the young adult ebook "The Priest and the Peaches" - NOW AVAILABLE

A sneak peek of chapter thirteen of The Priest and the Peaches - a young adult ebook release from Tribute Books by Larry Peterson

NOW AVAILABLE!
Holiday Special
Kindle version only 99 cents until January 2
buy link
Kindle - $0.99

other available buy links
PDF - $4.95
Smashwords - $4.99

Coming soon:
Nook ($4.95)
iPad ($4.99)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
"Pops' grand finale"

At nine thirty Mr. Kelly told the kids they should begin to say their goodbyes. The four of them walked up with Scratch. Beeker and Dancer went up to Pops together. Dancer's arm was around his brother's shoulder and they were both crying. Beeker reached into the casket touching Pops' hand while Dancer laid his free hand on Pops' chest. They stood together crying, their hands both seemingly frozen in place on their father. Their broken hearts were visible.

Teddy stepped up to them and guided them away placing his arms around each of them. Joanie, with Scratch at her side, went up to Pops kissing him on the forehead. She and Scratch stepped away and it was Teddy's turn. He was dreading this moment. He remembered kissing Mom on the forehead when he said goodbye to her and how cold and hard her forehead felt. He was so unnerved that he never forgot it. Nevertheless, he leaned forward, closed his eyes and kissed Pops on the forehead. Once again, that same cold, hardness greeted his lips. He stood, looked at his father's dead face and whispered, "Love you, Pops. I'm sorry about the other night. Say hi to Mom for me."

www.ThePriestAndThePeaches.com

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Teaser Tuesday - SNEAK PEEK of Chapter Twelve of the young adult ebook "The Priest and the Peaches" - NOW AVAILABLE

A sneak peek of chapter twelve of The Priest and the Peaches - a young adult ebook release from Tribute Books by Larry Peterson

NOW AVAILABLE!
Holiday Special
Kindle version only 99 cents until January 2
buy link
Kindle - $0.99

other available buy links
PDF - $4.95
Smashwords - $4.99

Coming soon:
Nook ($4.95)
iPad ($4.99)

CHAPTER TWELVE
"I don't have any money"

Did you find any insurance papers?"

"This, here. But it says redeemed on it. What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure. Let me see."

Joanie handed Teddy a clear plastic envelope filled with neatly folded papers. He removed the paperwork and unfolded it. There were six sheets and he slowly began to flip them over as he read through them. "Oh boy, Joanie. He cashed it in last September."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean this policy was worth $7,500, but he cashed it in. He redeemed it. I guess these things are worth some money before you die. He only got $156 for it. So, this policy is worthless. I don't even know why he kept it."

"He must have needed the money pretty bad. That's sad. So, now what do we do?"

"Geez, Joanie, I don't know. This is all new to me. The one thing I do know is that I have to tell Mrs. Kelly. Dang, I have no idea what a funeral costs. And we're supposed to pay for it. I think I'm getting a knot in my stomach."

www.ThePriestAndThePeaches.com

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.