Sharing Tuesday with Clarice G. James

I’m excited about today’s Sharing Tuesday with Clarice G. James. Although we’ve never met face-to-face, I’ve enjoyed her presence on social media. It’s my hope you’ll enjoy her as well.

Who is Clarice?

Clarice G. James writes smart, fun, relatable contemporary women’s fiction. Her stories are woven together with colorful threads of humor, faith, romance, and surprise. She’s written five novels and one non-fiction book titled Say Grace: A Scriptural Field Guide to Weight Loss. Widowed in 2021, Clarice is blessed to have family and friends nearby in southern New Hampshire. Best known for her signature sense of humor, Clarice enjoys making people smile.

The Story Behind the Story

For The Least of These (Elk Lake Publications, 2021), Clarice shares, “I set the story in the small town of Andover, Maine because my brother has a cabin there. Bonus, the town was filled with characters! As creatives are prone to do, I often make up lives for real people I meet. Though, I seldom guess right, this exercise became the kernel of truth behind the actions of my protagonist Carley Rae Jantsen.”

And the Story Is …

Nurse practitioner Carley Rae Jantzen blows the whistle on Philadelphia physician Dr. Harrison Nichols for Medicare fraud. While waiting for the FBI to complete its investigation, she must work side by side with Dr. Nichols—without letting on what she knows or what she’s done.

So, when Carley receives an invitation to become a live-in assistant for Geneva Kellerman—a great-aunt she didn’t even know she had—she jumps at the chance to run off and hide in Andover, Maine, population 826.

Great-aunt Geneva soon learns that receiving help is not as easy as giving it. And Carley discovers the “assistance” her great-aunt had in mind has nothing to do with nursing but all to do with passing down a legacy of caring for the least of these.

The moment I met Carley, I was intrigued. When Geneva made her entrance, I tossed my to-do list and wrapped myself up in a story that
captivated my heart and inspired me to be my best self—no matter what life throws my way.
~ Lori Releveled, blogger, speaker, coach, and author of The Art of Hard Conversations: Biblical Tools for the Tough Talks that Matter.

Amazon Readers have comments, too

The book started well, with an intriguing concept. Then it got better. And better. After approximately 140 pages, I didn’t want to put it down. With many books, you have to wait and wait for the ending. And then, authors rarely give readers like me enough time —and enough words— to soak in the satisfaction of a plot resolved.

Not so this book. Plots and subplots were revealed along the way, and well before the ending. I loved that. It was a relaxing read, and then at the end came something totally unexpected and amazing… an additional plot line I hadn’t realized existed, and one so wonderful, it has stayed with me for three days. It’s hard to imagine this author had the sheer discipline to under-promise on the book cover and info page. WOW. If you buy the book, read it to the end, and DO NOT skip to the end. You’ll get all the relaxation you seek, AND a powerful punch you were not expecting. Sweet satisfaction that will stay with you.
Enjoy. ~ Elizabeth B.

I’m ready …

Sharing Tuesday with Clarice G. James has me ready to grab a copy of The Least of These … how about you?

Want to learn more about Clarice? Check out her website or her Amazon library. Or you can follow her on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), BookBub, or Goodreads.  Happy reading.

Want to see how The Ladies Mystery series began?

Can a woman on the run find herself again?

Ladies of the Fire brought us to the late 1960s as we met the newly-widowed Lily-Rose Pembrick reeling as she fled Lincoln, Nebraska, with her children. Only taking the cash from the house safe and what she could get her hands on at the family bank, she left the recently-inherited and successful Pembrick Transportation company behind. Exhausted from driving all night, she stopped in Applegate, Ohio, and decided to start a new life on Norwood Street. There, she met Fiona Kasey, an African-American no-nonsense housekeeper/companion to an elderly white woman, and Sugar Bowersox, a Southern spitfire who has lost herself in motherhood.

Together, they enjoyed Lily-Rose’s backyard fire pit, where dreams were spoken and secrets revealed. As they embraced a kinship they never would have sought, Lily-Rose began thinking her past could finally be laid to rest—until someone ended up dead.