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God's Instant: Rodeo, Revenge, and Redemption
Can a desire for revenge lead to redemption?
Salvation doesn't always take place in church. God’s Instant is the story of how two young people overcome the crippling effects of a missing parent and how a concrete connection with the recent past and exposure to a practical, bedrock faith in God brightens their future.
Set in the rugged deserts of southeastern Washington and the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon and against the exciting world of professional rodeo, God’s Instant is the story of Jill and Grady. Jill has been hiding from the world in plain sight, and Grady is a brooding loner subject to periodic bouts of nearly homicidal rage. They’re brought together by an enigmatic old couple possessing a determined and practical faith, and who despite their own tragic past, refuse to live completely in the present.
FIVE STAR reviews for God’s Instant:
A memorable and beautifully written story of a young cowboy and his search for himself and his past. Blizard's descriptions of the Washington countryside range from breathtaking to unusually haunting. As I read this book, I found myself immersed in the rodeo world and what it means to be a real cowboy. The story goes beyond the typical Western, tying in the struggles of adolescence and the theme of how to figure out where you're going, if you don't know where you come from. I highly recommend God's Instant to all readers.
- Jennifer Ciotta, author and editor, on Goodreads.com.
Barry Lopez, in CROW AND WEASEL, states, “Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive.” Bruce Blizard’s intriguing novel, GOD’S INSTANT, is just such a story of sustenance, drawing together everyday folks adrift in hidden secrets, brutal honesty, unrealized connections, and hope. Set in the modern northwest, similar to an earlier but no safer world, young and old, friends and strangers, live lives echoed in the landscape, rich with regret, vision, lies, forgiveness, brokenness, and perseverance.
Grady, the main character, is a bull rider, whose sense of the rhythm of the bull dictates his success or failure once the chute is opened. Similarly, opening these pages, the reader leans and lurches, spins, breathless, anticipating the worse while praying for the best. Like the characters herein, no reader ‘escapes’ this story unchanged, and luckily, throwing our hat to the crowd, we jog away, much better for this rich ride.
- Jim Deatherage, award winning literature teacher.
Salvation doesn't always take place in church. God’s Instant is the story of how two young people overcome the crippling effects of a missing parent and how a concrete connection with the recent past and exposure to a practical, bedrock faith in God brightens their future.
Set in the rugged deserts of southeastern Washington and the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon and against the exciting world of professional rodeo, God’s Instant is the story of Jill and Grady. Jill has been hiding from the world in plain sight, and Grady is a brooding loner subject to periodic bouts of nearly homicidal rage. They’re brought together by an enigmatic old couple possessing a determined and practical faith, and who despite their own tragic past, refuse to live completely in the present.
FIVE STAR reviews for God’s Instant:
A memorable and beautifully written story of a young cowboy and his search for himself and his past. Blizard's descriptions of the Washington countryside range from breathtaking to unusually haunting. As I read this book, I found myself immersed in the rodeo world and what it means to be a real cowboy. The story goes beyond the typical Western, tying in the struggles of adolescence and the theme of how to figure out where you're going, if you don't know where you come from. I highly recommend God's Instant to all readers.
- Jennifer Ciotta, author and editor, on Goodreads.com.
Barry Lopez, in CROW AND WEASEL, states, “Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive.” Bruce Blizard’s intriguing novel, GOD’S INSTANT, is just such a story of sustenance, drawing together everyday folks adrift in hidden secrets, brutal honesty, unrealized connections, and hope. Set in the modern northwest, similar to an earlier but no safer world, young and old, friends and strangers, live lives echoed in the landscape, rich with regret, vision, lies, forgiveness, brokenness, and perseverance.
Grady, the main character, is a bull rider, whose sense of the rhythm of the bull dictates his success or failure once the chute is opened. Similarly, opening these pages, the reader leans and lurches, spins, breathless, anticipating the worse while praying for the best. Like the characters herein, no reader ‘escapes’ this story unchanged, and luckily, throwing our hat to the crowd, we jog away, much better for this rich ride.
- Jim Deatherage, award winning literature teacher.
242 pages, Paperback
First published May 21, 2013
7 people are currently reading
212 people want to read
About the author
Bruce Blizard
8 books15 followersI am a recently retired English and history teacher and track and field coach living in the Inland Pacific Northwest. My wife of 37 years, Tina, and I live on 25 acres in the southeastern section of Washington state with various dogs, cats, and horses. Before I became a teacher, I worked as a newspaper reporter and editor for 14 years.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 16, 2016
I am not usually one to be nervous before reading a book, but reading a book written by your high school English teacher is like watching your kid's first baseball game -- you just hope it's not embarrassing. I had the pleasure of learning literature and writing from some outstanding teachers, including Bruce Blizard, back at Richland High School some twenty years ago. Mr. Blizard remains one of the most influential teachers I've had in my life, so I was nervous reading this, his first published book. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed God's Instant, and could hear Mr. Blizard leading a discussion on the subtleties of the book in a classroom of impressionable high school students. The book, in many ways, took me home to Eastern Washington. I enjoyed reading about the place I knew well growing up, and will always call home despite not having lived there for twenty years. While sad to hear Mr. Blizard is no longer teaching, it is wonderful to hear that he is writing. I look forward to reading his future works.
June 21, 2013
A memorable and beautifully written story of a young cowboy and his search for himself and his past. Blizard's descriptions of the Washington countryside range from breathtaking to unusually haunting. As I read this book, I found myself immersed in the rodeo world and what it means to be a real cowboy. The story goes beyond the typical Western, tying in the struggles of adolescence and the theme of how to figure out where you're going, if you don't know where you come from. I highly recommend God's Instant to all readers.
August 12, 2013
"God's Instant" which I won from Goodreads Giveaways is the poignant story of tragic loss, revenge and deliverance set against the rugged and exciting backdrop of the rodeo circuit. As the story unfolds eighteen year old Grady Cross, a resilient young bull rider with a quick temper is returning to his home in Richland after a losing at the Ellensburg Bull-O-Rama and is offered a ride by an old man driving a flatbed truck loaded with hay. Unaware that he and the driver share a history linked to the death of John Carpenter's son Charlie, Grady accepts the ride, and so begins a journey neither the boy nor the old man expected; one which will bring friendship and healing.
In Richland, young seventeen year old Jill and her mother Anne have been struggling to come to terms with the death of her father. Each have been suffering the pain of loss which has had dire consequences; Anne's unresponsive and continually sleeps, Jill with an unsuccessful suicide attempt. Only a letter from Anne's mother's aunt Adah and a trip to the Carpenter ranch will change their destructive course. As the stories of the two emotionally tormented young people converge their elderly benefactors having weathered through their own adversities will offer them the healing balm of their understanding and wisdom.
This well-written novel looks at the transformation of three families connected by tragic loss; from a hot bed of anger, hatred and revenge, and the coldness of apathy and depression to forgiveness, reconciliation and hope for the future. The plot progresses smoothly as the characters interact with one another naturally, their personalities growing with each hurtle they face. Grady Cross is a strong-willed and determined young man baffled by his father's abandonment at age twelve. Harbouring resentment he's developed a quick temper and is quick to fight when challenged. Jill's an unobtrusive seventeen year old, a loner struggling not only with insecurity and low self-esteem, but with a loss that's left her devastated. John Carpenter the ranch owner crippled by the death of his youngest son sought solace in a bottle to assuage his rage, but after contending with the indomitable will and faith of the blunt , good-natured Adah finds a new purpose in life. Rich already in the strength of its main characters, the writer has woven in strong and unforgettable minor ones; Beth Cross emotionally shutdown fights to open herself to new possibilities while Grady Senior worn-down by a grievous past seeks forgiveness and the eldest Carpenter, Frank, haunted by his own demons struggles to find closure.
I was captured by the emotional intensity of a novel that grips you from the first page to the last. The only criticism I have is that the ending was a little abrupt, but perhaps there will be a sequel to this fascinating look at the transforming change wrought by forgiveness, faith and love. I highly recommend it.
In Richland, young seventeen year old Jill and her mother Anne have been struggling to come to terms with the death of her father. Each have been suffering the pain of loss which has had dire consequences; Anne's unresponsive and continually sleeps, Jill with an unsuccessful suicide attempt. Only a letter from Anne's mother's aunt Adah and a trip to the Carpenter ranch will change their destructive course. As the stories of the two emotionally tormented young people converge their elderly benefactors having weathered through their own adversities will offer them the healing balm of their understanding and wisdom.
This well-written novel looks at the transformation of three families connected by tragic loss; from a hot bed of anger, hatred and revenge, and the coldness of apathy and depression to forgiveness, reconciliation and hope for the future. The plot progresses smoothly as the characters interact with one another naturally, their personalities growing with each hurtle they face. Grady Cross is a strong-willed and determined young man baffled by his father's abandonment at age twelve. Harbouring resentment he's developed a quick temper and is quick to fight when challenged. Jill's an unobtrusive seventeen year old, a loner struggling not only with insecurity and low self-esteem, but with a loss that's left her devastated. John Carpenter the ranch owner crippled by the death of his youngest son sought solace in a bottle to assuage his rage, but after contending with the indomitable will and faith of the blunt , good-natured Adah finds a new purpose in life. Rich already in the strength of its main characters, the writer has woven in strong and unforgettable minor ones; Beth Cross emotionally shutdown fights to open herself to new possibilities while Grady Senior worn-down by a grievous past seeks forgiveness and the eldest Carpenter, Frank, haunted by his own demons struggles to find closure.
I was captured by the emotional intensity of a novel that grips you from the first page to the last. The only criticism I have is that the ending was a little abrupt, but perhaps there will be a sequel to this fascinating look at the transforming change wrought by forgiveness, faith and love. I highly recommend it.
July 13, 2024
It was a nice story. A nice book if you’re looking for something that’s not too complicated to follow; not too deep. Just a good book. 👍🏻
July 10, 2013
Barry Lopez, in CROW AND WEASEL, states, “Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive.” Bruce Blizard’s intriguing novel, GOD’S INSTANT, is just such a story of sustenance, drawing together everyday folks adrift in hidden secrets, brutal honesty, unrealized connections, and hope. Set in the modern northwest, similar to an earlier but no safer world, young and old, friends and strangers, live lives echoed in the landscape, rich with regret, vision, lies, forgiveness, brokenness, and perseverance. Grady, the main character, is a bull rider, whose sense of the rhythm of the bull dictates his success or failure once the chute is opened. Similarly, opening these pages, the reader leans and lurches, spins, breathless, anticipating the worse while praying for the best. Like the characters herein, no reader ‘escapes’ this story unchanged, and luckily, throwing our hat to the crowd, we jog away, much better for this rich ride.
August 17, 2013
I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. It was an interesting book, but I did have a few times where I was wondering what was going on. The characters, especially Adah, seemed to talk in riddles and it was difficult to see where she was going with what she said. The book did not seem to completely get to the root of Jill's problem either. Grady just had the start to his anger problem: so there needs to be either more to the ending or more details added within the story to clear things up. It was a great storyline, and I did enjoy the ending very much, where they all got together and some answers were given. But how does Frank forgive himself? What becomes of the relationship between Grady and his dad? Anne seems to be just a fill-in character, and has no substance. She and Jill need to work on issues. I wish I could see more of what all their endings could be like.
September 23, 2013
I love the cross between rodeo, western, hurt, and forgiveness. This story follows three families who have had to deal with loss and heartbreak. I truly enjoyed the descriptiveness of the beautiful landscape of Washington and the introduction of each character and the trials each faced along with the way each grew personally. I could close my eyes and feel as if I were transformed into the time and place while the story took place.
Great description, easy to read and follow a.... *****5 STAR***** READ!
***Thank you for your generous donation to Wee Care Community Outreach's Literary Program. your book will be enjoyed for years to come!***
Great description, easy to read and follow a.... *****5 STAR***** READ!
***Thank you for your generous donation to Wee Care Community Outreach's Literary Program. your book will be enjoyed for years to come!***
August 18, 2013
I really enjoyed this book. A modern day Western set in the state of Washington. Mr. Blizard did a great job in describing the landscape and settings. I could see the river, the mountains, the bulls, the rodeo, the truck, the riding gear, etc.
Bruce Blizard has done a great job in writing a good clean Christian novel that deals with several difficult topics.
I won this book through the Goodreads giveaway program. What a great giveaway program and I thank Bruce Blizard for making his book available through it.
Bruce Blizard has done a great job in writing a good clean Christian novel that deals with several difficult topics.
I won this book through the Goodreads giveaway program. What a great giveaway program and I thank Bruce Blizard for making his book available through it.
December 1, 2013
Enjoyed reading God's Instant. Young people & their families dealing with loss & everyday life with rodeos & south central Washington as the backdrop. The writer made me feel like I was actually there.
Want to read
June 18, 2013I would like to read this book because it's a Christian book as I love those more than anything. The author is very polite while doing it and it's just like you are there inside the book.
June 26, 2013
stil to be read
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews