About Christy Brunke

Welcome, friends! I’m blessed to be a mom, a pastor’s wife, and the bestselling author of the fictional book, Snow out of Season. But my greatest claim to fame comes from being a child of the King. Because of that, I’m passionate about my family, unborn children, and God-written love stories. Though I used to live in China, now I love serving in ministry here in Maryland. Praying you’ll be blessed as you read my blogs, my story, and my award-winning novel!

When I Decided to Become a Writer

Posted on June 17, 2016 by Christy Brunke

People often ask me when I decided to become a writer and how I came up with the idea for Snow Out of Season.

My Earliest Muses

When I was born, my parents named me Christy after the bestselling novel of the same name. You might say Catherine Marshall and her famous heroine were my first muses. (Tweet that!) But as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved reading, especially fiction.

As a little girl, I was always dreaming up stories. I remember going into a patch of woods near our house and pretending I was the queen of a small kingdom.

In sixth grade, I won a short story contest and started dreaming of penning novels and memoirs. But first the Lord led me on other adventures.

I completed a bachelor of arts in English and moved to China to study Mandarin and teach at a university.

Then I returned to the States to attend seminary, direct school musicales, and work at a church.

As a teen and young adult, I longed for a God-scripted love story.

I devoured books like Elisabeth Elliot’s Quest for Love and Passion & Purity. Realizing my Creator knew me better than anyone, and knew every man as well, I asked Him to choose my husband.

And He did.

Mark complements me perfectly and has been an incredible blessing to me and many others. But when my mother-in-law was pregnant with him, her circumstances would have led many women to have an abortion. I started wondering what my life would’ve been like if she’d made a different choice. That’s when I decided to become a writer.

Snow Out of Season

From that idea sprung Snow Out of Season, the dual stories of two women of two generations who struggle with the same questions.

Is the child each carries worthy of life?

What will it cost to keep the child?

What will happen if each decides not to?

Read the synopsis and the first chapter of this #1 Amazon bestseller here!

Double Header Novel Hits a Home Run

Posted on June 7, 2016 by Christy Brunke

Love contemporary fiction with a mystery, great dialogue, and relatable characters that will make you laugh out loud? Then don’t miss the novel Double Header, second-place winner of Jerry B. Jenkins’s Operation First Novel Contest.

Jerry B. Jenkins Clarice G. James Christy Brunke

Me and Clarice G. James with New York Times bestselling author Jerry B. Jenkins.

Double Header Synopsis

Four years have passed since Casey Gallagher’s father died, but she still polishes his state trooper boots every evening. Then she receives a letter that shatters her perfect image of him and her carefully scripted life. Is she willing to meet her half-brother?

As Casey struggles to forgive her dad for his affair, she continues writing a sports column with her brother, Griffin. They soon become friends with two Red Sox rookies and a cop Casey’s husband met at the gym. Could one of them be more than he seems?

My Thoughts:

Double Header is a compelling novel about faith, family, and forgiveness. (Tweet that!) The writing was so fantastic and the plot so deftly unfurled, I found it hard to believe this was James’s first published novel.

Her characters stormed off the page into my head. I got a kick out of the relationship between Casey and her fun brother and grinned at the antics of their overbearing agent, Roberta.

Some of My Favorite Excerpts

Here’s how James first introduces us to Casey’s boss:

“Gordy, alway the first one at work, shouted, ‘Is that you, Casey? I need a favor.’

Our whole division knew doing favors for Gordy was a no-brainer. We got theater tickets he didn’t want due to the ‘ungodly noise level’ and seats to sporting events he didn’t understand. The biggest favor I’d ever done for Gordy was to take the VP’s corner office off his hands because he ‘couldn’t stand the glare from all that glass.’”

James then describes Gordy’s appearance:

“When I entered his office, Gordy was rustling through a messy stack of papers on his desk. My nickname for him was Macarena man because, more often than not, he was patting his back pocket for his wallet, his front jacket pocket for his glasses, his belt for his phone, or his wrist for his watch.

Clarice G. James

‘Put that to music, Gordy,’ I’d teased once, ‘and you’ve got a wedding dance.’”

I’m not a sports fan, but I enjoyed the baseball imagery James used throughout the story, and absolutely loved the ending. With her humor, great voice, and words that spring off the page, James has won a fan for life.

I recommend this book to baseball enthusiasts and readers who enjoy drama, mysteries, and realistic fiction.

Want to learn more about Clarice G. James and her award-winning novel? Read my interview with here!

The Calling of Ella McFarland Book Review

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Christy Brunke

For what good works did Christ create you? Are you completing them? In December, I posted interviews with Linda Brooks Davis and Clarice G. James, the other two winners of the 2014 Jerry B. Jenkins Operation First Novel contest. Today, I’m honored to review Davis’s award-winning story, The Calling of Ella McFarland.

Synopsis

Set in Oklahoma in 1905, The Calling of Ella McFarland centers around a spunky young woman who aspires to become a teacher at the esteemed Worthington School for Girls. Ella believes this position will satisfy her longing to educate and help provide for her parents and three siblings.

However, the scandal of her sister Viola’s illegitimate child might cost Ella her dream job and her family, their sustenance. But who is the father of Viola’s son and why won’t she reveal his name? Could he be the same man who almost stole Ella’s innocence so many nights before?

Despite the romance that went wrong and her claim that she’s “wedded to teaching,” Ella finds herself drawn to the youngest member of the school board, a handsome former missionary named Andrew Evans.

When Ella intervenes to save a neighbor from her abusive father, God plants a new desire in her heart, one that could empower women desperately in need of hope. But then tragedy strikes, causing Ella to question everything she believes in. Is God’s grace really sufficient?

My Impressions

From the first chapter, I liked Ella McFarland, and my admiration only grew as she made sacrifices, encountered obstacles, and found her faith put to the test.

Like the Proverbs 31 woman, she “sets about her work vigorously,” “is clothed with strength and dignity,” and “reaches out her hands to the needy.”

Yet, like all of us, she also struggles with sin. And, despite her determination, people and circumstances tempt her to abandon her calling and turn away from her Creator.

With surprising plot twists, a life-transforming mission, and a heroine worth rooting for, The Calling of Ella McFarland inspires believers to pursue God’s purpose for their lives. (Tweet that!)

The ending delighted me and left me anticipating a sequel about Adelaide, the auburn-haired heiress Ella grew up with: “Ella suspected there was a story behind her friend’s sudden return from Italy, but that could wait.”

The discussion questions would make a great Bible study for women and teens. Plus, Davis includes a recipe for Mama’s Egg Butter, aka Papa’s Nectar of Heaven. Why not make it together and enjoy it at your group?

I recommend this book to teachers, women of all ages, and fans of Christian fiction, historical fiction, and novels like Christy by Catherine Marshall.

Want to read about more Operation First Novel winners? Read my review of the second-place winner: “Double Header Novel Hits a Home Run!”

How My Mom Gave Me Away

Posted on May 1, 2016 by Christy Brunke

My mom on my wedding day. Photo credit: Bob Schueler

What’s our greatest hope for our sons and daughters? Is it to see them grow up to be happy, healthy, and wealthy, living close to us in a house with a white picket fence? Or can we imagine a higher purpose for their lives?

For as long as I can remember, my mom has had a magnet on her fridge that reads, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 1:4, ESV). But time would test that declaration.

Halfway Around the World to Halfway Across the Country

After my sophomore year of college, I spent a month in China and returned to tell Mom I was thinking of moving there. Though extended family members feared for my safety and tried to convince me to stay in the good ol’ USA, she encouraged me to go wherever God led, even if that was to the other side of the planet.

Christy Brunke in Nanchang, Jiangxi province in China

Photo credit: John Moser

After serving overseas for two years and then spending another year studying at a seminary in North Carolina, I returned to Maryland to reconnect with my family and teach drama and music.

While there, a friend who pastored a church near Chicago dropped by. Mom had raved about the multi-site community church where he ministered ever since she’d attended his wedding.

But when she suggested I visit one weekend, Pastor John said they needed help in their office and with their youth ministry. Would I consider working and volunteering there for six months?

After two weekend trips to the Windy City, I sensed my Shepherd calling me away from home once more to be a part of this dynamic ministry. And, once again, Mom encouraged me to go.

But six months turned into six years.

A Man Called Mark

During that time, I met and married my wonderful husband, Mark. A year after we said, “I do,” he graduated from Moody Bible Institute and applied for pastoral positions in Illinois and Maryland. The Lord led us to a Chinese church in Oak Park, so we served in Chicagoland for another six years.

By 2015, almost a dozen years had passed since I’d moved to the Midwest, and I now had little ones of my own. Mom continued to support us, but she longed to have her only daughter and grandchildren living nearby.

Surrender’s Reward

Last year, our Savior called us back to Maryland.

Denise Litzau, Michaela Brunke, Christy Brunke, Angelina Brunke

Photo credit: Ben Stafford

Mark became the youth and young adult pastor at Greenridge Baptist Church in Montgomery County, and Mom was overjoyed. (Read the story in “Open Doors” and “Somewhere That’s Green.” )

Now Mom supports us another way: she babysits her grandkids while Mark and I minister at youth and young adult events and retreats.

Following Mom’s example, I aspire to give my children back to God. (Tweet that!) Then I can watch them impact eternity, whether that’s next door or halfway around the world.

A Message to America’s Christians

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Christy Brunke

My dad, Mike Litzau, posted this message to America’s Christians on Facebook last month. Because I thought it was so thought-provoking, I decided to repost it on my blog. Enjoy!

A Message to America’s Christians and People of Conscience

Photo courtesy of: rainingtruthprayer.wordpress.com

There’s a story in the Bible about a young man who faced an important choice. He had just become the king of the tiny nation of Israel.

At this critical time in his life we are told that God appeared to him in a dream and made him a very unusual offer: “Ask whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.”

Although he could’ve asked for more power, greater riches, or long life, he asked for none of these things. Instead, he asked for the wisdom to do the right thing by his people.

French Tocqueville: a message to America's Christians

Photo courtesy of: biografiasyvidas.com

His request was granted and, because God was pleased with Solomon’s choice, he also received the fame, wealth, and long life he didn’t seek. Under his reign, Israel reached its pinnacle of prosperity and greatness.

In the 1830’s, the French statesman and historian Alexis de Tocqueville traveled to America to discover the secrets of her greatness.

He made many profound observations, but the most succinct and memorable is this: “America is great because America is good, [tweet that!] and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

The Choice

We have a profound choice to make in the primary election that is before us. Of the two candidates that are still viable on the Republican side, one is a famous billionaire who promises prosperity and greatness but who has been all over the map on many issues—including the life issue.

Photo courtesy of: nationalvanguard.org

His numerous flip-flops and the “fruits of his life,” as Ben Carson would say,”—both past and present—create little confidence that he would place a high priority, if any, on the moral and social issues that will determine the character of our country as we move into the future.

Photo courtesy of beforeitsnews.com

The other candidate is a brilliant senator who has worked all his life to protect religious liberty, defend the Constitution, and fight for the sanctity of human life—defending and promoting what is good about America and doing the right thing!

I know that many people are hurting financially in this economy. And I know how it feels—I’ve been there.

Photo courtesy of: yourhealth.asiaone.com

But if we trade away—or even put at serious risk—our religious liberty, our constitutional rights, and the lives of future unborn children for the dubious promise of a better job or income, what kind of a choice is that?

Solomon chose wisdom and righteousness over wealth and eventually received both. If we make the opposite choice, I wonder, what will we receive?