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The Three Travelers by Nicole Pickens

Three travelers journey on life’s road of love, justice and redemption.

A young man stumbled upon a haunted tree on a wayside rural road whose tormented ghosts plea

for his assistance.

A little girl invited a traveler to her home to meet her family with some unusual results.

A soul accepted the gift to move among the living from sunset to sunrise. He tries to alter the

circumstance of his loved ones but time is never enough.

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My Review

Blood Tree

Duane is on the way to visit his great-aunt Cindy when his beat up old truck decides to die on him.

On the hot and dusty walk, he spies a huge oak tree and settles in its shade to cool off.

He awakens to  several people peering down at him. They part to make way for an old man, his face wrinkled with time.

The old man wants something from Duanne and shows him a vision. One of murder and suicide.

Could he be dreaming?

The author did a good job with this one. It felt surreal. I felt like I had stepped out of this world and into one with spirits, ghosts from long past.

What do the spirits want? Why do they stay?

~~~

Dinner at Marguerite’s

Mason and Rochelle are struggling just to put food on the table. Not an easy thing with three young children and very little money.

Rochelle’s morning begins as usual. Get everyone fed and out the door. Then it’s just her and Marguerite, her 5-year-old daughter.

Marguerite runs in from outside bursting with her announcement, Jesus is coming to dinner!

Okay, Rochelle is thinking. Who could this be?

The afternoon is busy and Rochelle puts the thought aside.

While Rochelle is trying to scrape together dinner, there is a knock at the door and a tall, slender man is standing there holding a bag.

He introduces himself as Yeshua, and deciding he isn’t dangerous, Mason invites him in.

In the bag is some bread and wine, but then, the bag gets heavier, and now there’s some fish.

This is where it gets amazing. Strange things happen with Rochelle in the kitchen and Mason is deep in conversation with Yeshua about faith and family.

You may wonder why they let a perfect stranger in their house, but you will understand when you get to know this family.

~~~

Visiting, the third story,

It reminded me of Scrooge. Hank came back to see what his mean, bitter self, had reaped on his family.

He visits different family members, trying to mend the fences.

I was confused at times until I got all of the characters straight in my head.

With only the one night, I didn’t see how Hank could redeem himself and be forgiven. There were so many bad memories, so much pain.

~~~

It took me a bit to realize these were going to be stories of faith. I don’t normally read books with a religious element.

Each story is almost like a test. Which road will you travel?

My favorite was Dinner at Marguerite’s. The family is happy, loving, and strong. despite much hardship.

I was as surprised as Rochelle at what’s cooking in the kitchen.

With Blood Tree, the author took a darker, turn. This is a sad, disquieting tale of tragedy.

What I liked most was when Duanne finally figured out what was wanted of him. What he needed to do.

I wasn’t as fond of Visiting.

I felt like I was missing something, like I had missed an important part of the story.

The idea was good, but I never connected to Hank.

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I usually read horror and supernatural stories, so The Three Travelers was me reading outside the box.

I’m glad I did. These stories got me thinking, wondering what road I’m on and if it’s the right one.

4 Stars for The Three Travelers

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I wanted to share this from the book:

“Hope is the seed,

Faith is the water,

and Love is the sunshine needed for growth and harvest.”

~~~

About Nicole Pickens

Nicole was born in Los Angeles, California. Her father was a jazz musician and her mother was a waitress. She has lived in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and currently resides in North Georgia. She enjoys movies, art, music, and cooking. She is the mother of one child.

Nicole holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and English from Piedmont College in Demorest, Georgia. She is currently working on her first novel in the genre of family/fantasy. Her current published work is The Three Travelers. It is a collection of supernatural short stories, published by Silver Tongue Press.

You can find her books HERE.

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 Nicole’s book is currently being promoted by Celestial Book Promotions.  They offer ebook tours and other services for promoting new authors.  If you are interested in having a book promoted or hosting a book on your blog, please visit their website here.  Www.celestialbookpromotions.com.

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