Excerpt from The Lick Skillet Coffee Club

...Possibility. She considered the word, and lingered on the hopefulness of its resonance. A normally optimistic sounding word that, in this instance, might denote the positive or the negative. Always a good journalist, she took it, and rolled it around in her mind. She decided that, as it was more to her nature to look on the pessimistic side of things, she would choose to have a positive attitude, and just dwell on that. It was true that no one knew what tomorrow would bring, and, as Andy had preached last Sunday, expecting the worst cuts us off from believing what our good prospects might be... 

(Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Ichthus Publications, Books-a-Million, and others)

Excerpt from The Lick Skillet Coffee Club

...Glenda Cleghorne slowly stirred the soup that had not yet been eaten. She had thrown out the cold greasy cheese sandwiches and was in the process of grilling two more. Her mind gave about as much attention to the task as it had two hours ago. Although concern for Jimmy was still prevalent, the joy she felt overshadowed it. His love was like a miracle to her...

Copyright 2017 Lynn Lacher

Excerpt from The Lick Skillet Coffee Club

...The word river sprang into his mind, and he remembered a devotional Oswald Chamber’s wife had penned from her husband’s wealth of faith. He reflected on it. John 7:38 talked about rivers of living water. A river might begin as a spring and flow to places that spring knows nothing about. If a person takes God into his life, out of his very being, God will flow. A person, when surrendered to God, actually becomes that river and has nothing to do with the route or power of the stream.  

A mighty work of God, Andy suddenly thought, is that we believe.

Silas had believed. He’d been such a river. His life had touched so many, and, now in death, whose life would be touched?...

Excerpt from The Lick Skillet Coffee Club

...Momentarily averting his vision from the road, he caught her smile. The rain suddenly did not matter nor the fact that the road was a sea of water. He wanted to ride for the rest of his life with her. For the present, he refused to think of anything else. The drug store, the Coffee Club, the briefcase no longer mattered...

Excerpt from The Lick Skillet Coffee Club

…It was a stifling hot summer day, and Silas’ back pond had changed from a fishing hole to one offering cool refreshment. In fact, the air was so muggy, clawing dampness pervaded the boys’ lungs, and at times left them struggling for breath. Not much easier to handle was the odor of damp manure drifting across the fence from the pasture.

Beatrice, who was all of ten and determined to be noticed, joined them that afternoon to go swimming. She watched their progress as they raced across the expanse of water. Danny thought she was kind of funny looking with her knobby knees turned in, each resting against the other as if trying to hold her erect…

Copright 2017 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com

Excerpt from The Lick Skillet Coffee Club

...Silas had peace. It had come from his faith. Clint always knew that. He knew he was experiencing a peace himself this morning. He couldn't explain it, but it was there. He couldn't prove it, but he believed with his whole being that it was the peace Silas had shared with him. He didn't want to put a name to it just yet, didn't want to question it. He just wanted to rest in it...

Copyright 2017 Lynn Lacher

Excerpt from the book

...The thought of his father again occupied him. For many years, Andy’s father hadn’t acknowledged the change that had taken place in Andy’s life, or recognized the fact that his son was also called into ministry. What a hard relationship they had! His father had been a stern task master, very strict in his expectations of Andy, and of himself. Affection was not something easily given. 

How I longed for it! Andy now thought, suddenly refusing to dwell on the harshness of his youth. He'd determined years ago not to become hardened like his father. He’d fought it, resolved not to allow bitterness to determine his attitudes. The two men, so different in their approach to life and ministry, yet filled with a longing for each other, were unable to bridge the gap that the years had inflicted. That was not until Silas committed himself to bringing the two men together... 


Copyright 2017 Lynn Lacher

Excerpt from The Lick Skillet Coffee Club

...Prayer was waiting for her like an old friend who had never tired of the delay. She now returned with the familiarity that only such a friendship could treasure through years of being apart. Within seconds, she had abandoned herself completely to it, her heart and mind focused on the lady with the mission...

Copyright 2017 Lynn Lacher

Excerpt from The Lick Skillet Coffee Club

...She was cherished, but it was so much more than that. She had the greatest need to love in return, to hold these people and this place in the deepest recesses of her heart. It had been years since she had considered good things in her life as gifts from God. But now, suddenly and unexpectedly, she was released from everything that had held her back from experiencing the wonder of those gifts again.  It was at that moment she realized what had happened. She'd forgiven her father...

Copyright 2017 Lynn Lacher

Cassandra King, author of The Sunday Wife, says of The Lick Skillet Coffee Club...

“On the surface, The Lick Skillet Coffee Club is made up of a group of men who meet at the local drugstore for coffee, companionship, and gossip. But in this compelling debut novel by Lynn Lacher, much more lies beneath the surface. As events unfold around the death of one of its prominent members, the Coffee Club becomes the center of intrigue, unexplained losses, and unrequited love. Hidden passions arise, new loves are kindled, and old scores beg to be settled. Ultimately, bitterness, hostility, and deceit come up against love and forgiveness in the age-old struggle between sin and repentance. This faith-based story is one that will linger with you long after you close the final page!”

Cassandra King, author of The Sunday Wife

Excerpt from the book

...God hardly ever lets a person see how great a blessing he is in the lives of other people. Being blind to that fact made Silas potently effective in what he’d been able to give... 

Excerpt from The Lick Skillet Coffee Club

Sliding into his regular parking space, he jumped out and rushed toward the rear of the Explorer. The thought of Andy flooded him again. Picturing him opening his desk drawer, Mike halted, and considered what his theft might have done to their friendship. Andy would know that Mike was the one who had taken the papers from his drawer. Who else could have done it or would have done it? Would Andy ever be able to trust him again? Just as sure as anything, Mike had erected a wall between them today and created a breach that might never be healed.

Of all the stupid things you’ve ever done! He told himself. He must return the contents of the briefcase to Andy, and it must be done right away. Rushing to the rear, he peered through the glass. Dread stuck him in the pit of his stomach. Jerking open the rear door, he confirmed what his eyes had revealed to him. The case with its incriminating evidence had vanished.

Copyright 2017 Lynn Lacher

Excerpt from The Lick Skillet Coffee Club

GUYNELLE CRAWFORD SAT ON HER spreading porch, watching the sun go down. It was hard to believe that the days were already shortening. There was a certain crispness to the air now, and some leaves were already tinged a faint crimson. Her nostrils tingled from the spicy scent emerging from the Clark’s kitchen. Carrie must have baked her cinnamon rolls again.

Just across the street Alexander Park had emptied of its earlier walkers, and left the paths free of noise. Yet the tranquility was not quite complete. Her ears could just detect the splash of the fountain. Every once and awhile she could hear childish voices emanating from the Clark’s backyard. But mostly, it was quiet. She felt the rockers beneath her, going back and forth, back and forth, and slowly calming her.

Copyright 2017 Lynn Lacher

Excerpt from The Lick Skillet Coffee Club

Early morning had been clear and slightly crisp. A muggy heat had risen as the morning hours progressed, but now thickened gray clouds hung on the horizon cushioned in the distance by Alachua’s rising summit.    

The Abercrombie plot, surrounded by a low iron gothic rail and perched atop the highest hill in the old city cemetery, overlooked Briarsville. If one stood at the eastern corner of the plot and looked toward Main Street, the steeple of the church could just be seen, rising above the trees. If fact, that was about all that could be seen from this vantage point. Andy hadn’t taken note of this fact before, but now it gave a needed sense of finality to the hard morning.

 Copyright 2017 Lynn Lacher

Excerpt from The Lick Skillet Coffee Club

She sat before her bedroom mirror and considered her reflection. The pounds had not come off fast enough. Not one person had mentioned the change in her. Thirty pounds had been an incredible struggle. Hadn’t anyone noticed?  Not even Ora had mentioned it. Why should she even try to lose any more weight?

She jerked open a dresser drawer and removed a box of chocolate candy. She had left it there as a reminder that she had become master over its power to rule her life.  Dropping it on the bed, she regarded the carton. Millicent could just taste the buttery chocolate sweetness. She imagined it within her mouth, melting in the corners, and sliding down her throat. The thought momentarily relieved the waging battle and swung her to the side of least resistance.

What choice did she have? The weight had been a lifetime battle. She did not want to fight anymore. Sinking to the bed, she opened the box, and shoved a piece inside her mouth. Within minutes she had consumed the entire box. She stretched out on her bed, ready to fall asleep with the phone jarred her.

“Millie?”  Ora asked.

“Yes?”

“Let’s meet for lunch at the Tea Room. Around two. Is that okay?”

“I’ll be there,” she agreed.

Millicent, glad that Ora wanted a late lunch, pulled a chocolate bar from her sock drawer and proceeded to unwrap her consolation.

Copyright 2017 Lynn Lacher