‘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.

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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!

'Sword of the Spirit' - My Wish Fullfillment Story as written by Marlayne Giron

In my adventures in the blogosphere and in social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc...),  I have met some wonderful people.  One of them is Marlayne Giron; I reviewed her debut novel, 'The Victor' here on my blog.  I thought 'The Victor' was wonderful; I recommend it highly!

Something very neat and sweet that she does for people is to write a wish fulfillment story for them.  I asked her if she'd write one for me, and she did so happily!  With her permission, I am publishing it here on my blog; you can see the original (and request your own!) here.  She also asked me to write a one paragraph biography as well, which is included.

I was so touched by her (or is it my?!) story.  She has a real gift!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Marlayne!

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I am a native Michigander; have lived in Michigan all of my life.  I grew up in a home headed by my mother and grandmother.  My parents were divorced before I was born, and I did not have a father figure of any kind.  I accepted Jesus as my Savior in 1987; subsequently turned my back and went back into the world.  I returned to Him in 2001 and will not be going back.  Returning to the Lord reminded me of the joy I had been missing. This time, I felt like Peter, who said, when Jesus asked His Twelve Disciples in John 6:67 "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."  I am married to the most gentle and wonderful man in the world, Fred, and am the ‘mother’ of two amazing English Cocker Spaniels, Toby (born in 1995) and Shelby (born in 2004, a year to the day before our wedding day!).  I enjoy reading, movies, music, marathons, traveling, serving on the Video Tech Team and as a Women’s Ministry Life Group Leader at church and blogging at Ponderings by Andrea.

My wish is to be able to put the past behind and live the rest of my life for His glory.

Here's my wish fulfillment story, 'Sword of the Spirit,' as conceived by Marlayne Giron:

                Andrea was dreaming...or so she assumed…for suddenly she found herself standing, in of all places, a blacksmith’s shop and an ancient one at that.  She stood and watched in fascination as he worked and slowly became aware that she was not standing there alone. She looked to her side and then up…up…up to find a ten foot tall, incredibly gorgeous angel standing next to her. He didn’t exactly look like an angel…he had no wings and no flowing white robes but someone she knew…he was definitely an angel. Her angel. Her guardian angel. He looked down upon her with eyes full of love and affection and then silently directed her attention back to the smithy.

                The large burly man was sweating profusely and hammering away with his hammer and tongs upon a long metal object.  Andrea could feel the heat from the furnace but when the Blacksmith plunged the metal shaft into the heart of it, she felt as though it was she. Tears sprung to her eyes and she found herself unable to breathe until once again he withdrew the metal and began pounding away on it again, flipping it over and over, tempering it relentlessly.  Now she could feel each stroke of the hammer, it didn’t exactly hurt but every time the hammer fell, she sensed it. She began to panic when she saw him readying to plunge the metal again into the white hot fire and the angel put his arm about her. This time she felt only warmth. Slowly she began to comprehend…she was the metal!

                At that instant, the blacksmith looked up and straight at her. While his exterior was large, burly and muscular (with rivulets of sweat pouring down him) there was no mistaking his eyes! A tingle rushed up her spine.

                Several more hours passed as he worked the metal, alternating between holding it to the fire, beating it down, plunging into the water and repeating the process over and over again. Finally it was done and when he had finished it was a thing of beauty. He had affixed a magnificent hilt bestudded with gemstones and gilded with gold to the end and upon the flat of the blade he had etched a glorious design. Then he carefully wrapped it in a cloth, picked up another shaft of metal about the same size and walked out of the smithy.  Andrea and her angel followed along afterwards, walking just behind him as he wove his way up a winding road to a magnificent castle upon a hill. No one seemed to take notice of any of them and he continued walking, crossing through the main entrance and finally into a glorious throne room that no words could describe.  Andrea felt herself begin to tremble.  Even the touch of her angel’s hand upon her shoulder couldn’t quiet her tremors.   Except for the King who sat upon the throne and two knights upon either side, the throne room was empty. The blacksmith knelt upon one knee before him and presented both the tempered sword and the unworked shaft of steel to the King.

                He lifted both in his hands then handed one to each of the knights upon either side of him. With a quick bow, they took up the sword and shaft and steel and began to circle each other, moving away from the throne, Andrea and her angel. It was over in seconds. The very first blow shattered the untempered steel into shards which flew in all directions. The pieces passed right through Andrea and  her angel as if they weren’t even there.

                The knight returned the gorgeous sword to the King with a bow, who held it aloft in his hands and admired its beauty. As he turned it this way and that, his smile broadened and with a nod to the worthy blacksmith, he laid it upon his knees.

                “The workmanship is exquisite!” said the King to the blacksmith approvingly.

                “But what of the other sword, your majesty?” asked the Blacksmith, acting as though the shards were not scattered about his feet.

                “Useless,” replied the King. “Did you not see how it could not bear up under pressure, how it shattered at the least insult? It was not tempered in the fire nor by the forge, therefore it is useless.”

Upon these words the King looked directly at Andrea and beckoned her forward. With her knees knocking, she stepped slowly forward, irresistibly drawn to Him despite her fear. She stood only inches before him and felt his arms go about her in a fatherly embrace.

                “You resent and wish to forget the years of your tempering, do you not, my daughter?” He said, his eyes kind and understanding. Andrea nodded, her emotions welling up. Her chin fell upon her chest and her shoulders began to heave. Pent up years of hurt, embarrassment and pain welled up inside of her and bubbled over like a gushing fountain. The King’s other arm went about here and he held her close as she sobbed and wailed until she felt cleansed inside and out. His hands then went up to cup her cheeks and his wonderful, penetrating eyes searched her own deeply.

                “I know every pain,” He whispered softly. “I have experienced every sorrow right beside you,” Andrea looked at him and suddenly it was the King and it wasn’t. It was the blacksmith and the King and upon his body were the bruises that he had shared with her and also taken for her.

                “Only the finely tempered steel is worthy to serve in the army of the King.” He whispered, bending forward and placing a tender kiss between her eyebrows. “Go in peace, my daughter, and never resent nor regret the tempering of thy spirit.”

                With those words Andrea suddenly found herself sitting up in her bed staring at the nightstand clock which read 3:00am. Had it really all been only a dream? Suddenly she got the distinct impression someone was grinning at her. She turned her head and practically screamed aloud; almost waking Fred up. Next to her bedside stood her angel and this time he had his wings on and his glowing white robes.

                He started dissolving like so much sugar in a cup of hot tea.

                “Wait!” hissed Andrea, reaching for him. “At least tell me your name!”

                “Rupert!” he responded, solidifying just a bit. “And, yes, I have always been by your side, since the moment you were born.”

                “Always?” breathed Andrea feeling both blessed and disappointed at the same time. “Then…why…?”  The unspoken insinuation hung in the air, despite everything she had just experienced. Rupert bent down and cupped her cheek in his hand, reminding her again of the King/Blacksmith.

                “There are many things I did protect you from, my little one,” he whispered, his eyes full of love and compassion for her, “but you will never know of them and that is as it should be. Let it be sufficient to know that all you have gone through has made you the child of God you are today, a finely tempered sword in the hand of the eternal King!”

                Finally it sunk in and Andrea bowed her head in submission. Before he faded away from her eyesight, she felt his kiss upon her bowed head.       

                                                                                                                                                 

                “We are with you always,” came his faint voice like a sign upon the wind and with that, Andrea sunk back into a peaceful sleep; her heart much more at peace than it had been in many years.

THE END

'The Victor' by Marlayne Giron - Book Review

The author of this book, Marlayne Giron, is a Messianic Jewish believer.  I am always so excited to learn about Jewish people who realize Jesus the Messiah has already come – and will come again!

Here is the book trailer for ‘The Victor’:

The idea for ‘The Victor’ came to Marlayne almost thirty years ago when she heard a song by Amy Grant called ‘Fairytale.’ Here is that song:

Marlayne was particularly inspired by this line in the song:

“Two princes wage the battle for eternity but The Victor has been known from the start…”

It took me a little while to get the ‘feel’ for the book - in the middle of Chapter Two.  It is not every day I read a medieval tale!  But once it grabbed me, I had a hard time putting it down!  Marlayne really captures the essence and the language of the time period.  I felt as though I was actually there with the characters!

The main characters in this book are Eloth, the king of Ellioth, Lucius, and Eloth’s son, crown prince Joshua.  These characters can be equated to God, satan, and Jesus.  There is also Ardon, Eloth’s foster son and the steward of Shiloh, a kingdom of Eloth, and his daughter, Llyonesse.  An important inanimate character is Eloth’s sword, named Ephlal (the word is ‘judgment’ in Hebrew). 

‘The Victor’ is a wonderful allegorical novel.  Similarly to how Lucifer and his angels were cast out of heaven, Lucius and his men were cast out of the Kingdom of Ellioth for treachery and dishonesty.  And, like Lucifer did and does, Lucius used deceit and lies to weasel his way back into the kingdom and to exact revenge on the King.     

It is interesting how Lucius, who returns to Shiloh in disguise and using the alias Lucan, is able to lie and deceive in order to gain what he wants.  This is very instructive in the way the enemy of our souls, satan, tricks believers into doing his bidding.  It is well that we remember those tricks.  Both Lucius/Lucan and the biblical Lucifer (aka satan) can be charming and cunning, but their self-interest is preeminent in their actions.  Lucius/Lucan is very expert at raising doubts about the sovereignty and judgment of the king and fostering a bitter heart – just as the snake did with Eve in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:5.  They come to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).

Mrs. Giron is a gifted writer.  Here’s an example:

It needn’t have been like this, he thought to himself.  Their lives needn’t have come to this end: devoid of hope and empty; existing from one miserable day to the next.  Had they been watchful, had they not succumbed to Lucius’ lies, it could have been so different.  They were living in a hell of their own choosing. (p. 241)

Marlayne’s attention to detail is keen.  She is wonderful at creating an amazing portrait of the novel’s settings.  And her knowledge of that era of history is amazing; she clearly spent a lot of time in researching the time period.

I highly recommend this book; it is truly a masterful piece of literature.  It is wonderful as a biblical allegory, but it also stands alone as an amazing piece of fiction.  Marlayne weaves scripture references into the story, without referencing it exactly, but the essence is there.  And the ending is very happy!  I applaud Mrs. Giron’s first novel, and hope to see more emanating from her mind – and her computer - in the future!

Marlayne lives in Orange County, California with her husband Michael and her teenage daughter, Karina.

You can order a copy of the book here.

This book was generously provided to me by Tate Publishing and the author for review purposes.