‘Make A Wish: Stories Written for Real People Where They Are the Star’ by Marlayne Giron – Book Review and Story Giveaway

One of the pleasures of having my blog is that I have gained some great friendships with many wonderful people. One of those precious people is Marlayne Giron, whose latest title is ‘Make A Wish: Stories Written for Real People Where They Are the Star.’

Here is the synopsis of this heartfelt book:

Make a Wish is a compilation of 35 short stories written as gifts for other people, casting them as the “star” of their own story where their deepest heartfelt wish is granted.

Some are deeply emotional, heartfelt and inspirational while others are just fun. Each story is preceded by a brief paragraph which gives a brief biography on the person for whom it was written, their wish and why. 

Here is the biography of this author:

Marlayne Giron is a wife to Michael and mother to Karina living in Orange County, California. She currently works as a part-time career secretary and enjoys cooking for her family every night, scrapbooking, making high teas, and entertaining.

At the age of 22 (In 1982) Marlayne was inspired to write ‘The Victor’ by a line in an Amy Grant song called: "Fairytale" (from her Father's Eyes album). The particular verse in the song which inspired the idea was: "two princes wage the battle for eternity but the victor has been known from the start". The verse made her imagine an evil "Baron" in black armor and knight in shining armor crossing swords over "maiden in distress". She wrote the story in her free time at work on an IBM Selectric typewriter and at home on a Smith Corona Portable.

Marlayne rewrote the story over the course of almost 30 years and made many attempts to get it published for several years but after a 4-year bout with ulcerative colitis that resulted in major surgery, then infertility then the adoption of her daughter and the demands of having to work full-time to pay the bills, she gave up on her dream of The Victor ever being published until April of 2008 when Tate Publishing called to offer her a contract.

‘The Victor’ was released on April 14th of 2009 and many doors have opened up for her to get the word out on her book. One of which being that as a direct result of her former employment with John Styll at CCM Magazine 28 years ago (who is now currently President of the Gospel Music Association), both he and Amy Grant now have copies of 'The Victor'and Marlayne's personal copy has been autographed by Amy Grant herself.

It was my joy to read ‘The Victor’ last year; you can read my review here.

Here is the book trailer for ‘Make A Wish,’ wonderfully made by the author herself:

It is not by accident that I am posting the review for this book on Valentine’s Day. One of the most loving gifts I received last year was my own Wish Fulfillment story, entitled ‘Sword of the Spirit’ (you can see my blog post here). The story is included in this book.

The stories range from heartwarming to laugh out loud funny. Marlayne has a real gift for writing; each of the stories is a pleasure to read.

‘Butterfly Kisses,’ about a young lady taken from this earth far too soon, is especially poignant. ‘No Ordinary Day at the Mall’ is Hannah, a Christian home-schooled blogger’s story about her future husband – featuring her favorite - lots of flowers! It started out at the mall – but did not end there! That is a fun one! ‘Wistful Wedding’ is amazing – a dream come true!

I especially liked the story in Chapter 35, entitled, “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes.” This is the real-life story of how Marlayne met her husband, Michael. What a sweet, sweet story! They have been married for 24 wonderful years!

Marlayne has an amazing writing style; I love to read her work! Some people just have that gift, and she is definitely one of them. And she takes the person’s original wish to whole new levels of tenderness and care. She is so creative and her writing is so descriptive; her imagination knows no bounds. Marlayne – take me away!  

I can’t think of any other book that is quite like this book. It is a combination of feel-good stories and tearjerkers that you don’t find every day. You can set the book on your nightstand and read it over and over again.

The great news is that some Christian publishing companies are interested in publishing this book, as well as future books from Marlayne’s computer. I just know this book would appeal to a mass audience, and I look forward to seeing where God takes Marlayne on her publishing journey, which is all to glorify her Lord!

You can order this book here.

The digital version of this book was generously provided to me by the author for review purposes.

_____________________________________

Marlayne has graciously offered to write a Wish Fulfillment story to one winner here on my blog; thanks so much, Marlayne! I highly recommend you try to win this story; it will be a blessing to you! And, who knows? Your story may appear in the second book of Wish Fulfillment stories!   

There are several ways to gain entry:           

1) Leave a comment here on the blog, giving me a brief description of a wish that you have long held. Please make sure to leave your email address in this format – sample[at]gmail[dot]com. 

2) Follow me on Twitter; if you are already a follower, that counts, too!  Please leave a separate comment to that effect.

3) Tweet the following on Twitter:

Enter to win a Wish Fulfillment story written by @thevictorbook from @andrealschultz. http://goo.gl/NzDrB #giveaway Please RT!

Please leave a comment with the link to your tweet. You can tweet up to once per day. Please add a new comment for each tweet.

4) Follow me as a Google Friend on this blog; if you are already a Friend, that counts, too! Please leave a separate comment to that effect.

5) Become my Facebook friend. Please leave a separate comment to that effect.

6) Follow this blog as a NetWorked Blog Follower after you’ve become my Facebook friend. Please leave a separate comment to that effect.

So there are numerous chances to enter and therefore win! Please limit one entry per option (except for the Twitter option), and don’t forget to include your email address, or, sad to say, the Random Number Generator will have to choose a different winner.

This giveaway is for U.S. residents only. The deadline for entry is Monday, February 28, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. EST. One winner will be chosen via the Random Number Generator on Tuesday, March 1, 2011 and will be contacted via email. The best to all of you!