Mill Creek Junction Collection Series

Meet Max Blade, Gideon O'Donnell, Old Man Nugent, and Mayor Chet Goodall. Four people living through a global pandemic brought home to small-town America—and learning about life and faith along the way. Max Blade is having a no good very bad day. And Max fears something's not quite right in the world. What's going on? He's about to find out. Gideon O'Donnell is successful by most measures. Only problem is, he's alone on his 40th birthday, and during a pandemic.What he discovers is a good reminder for us all. Old Man Nugent is down to his last sixty dollars thanks to a nationwide lockdown. How will he eat, let alone pay rent and utilities and feed his fine furry friend? Sometimes the Lord works in mysterious ways…leading to a happily ever after ending that will warm the heart. The day's the day when Mayor Goodall reopens Mill Creek Junction for business after months of a state-mandated lockdown. Sometimes people need a reminder that morning by morning new mercies we see. Read the first collection of stories that launched the new Mill Creek Junction story world, filled with real people living life, exploring faith.

A Small Town Christmas to Remember   It's the most wonderful time of the year in Mill Creek Junction. The Christmas season roars into the small fictional Midwest town like it does into most of our lives, but in unexpected ways.   Max Blade believes in the good vibes of Saint Nick and what his legend invokes during the season. But when another legend competes with the Jolly Ol' Soul, things get interesting—for Max and the Junction!   Jamal Morgan is smart as a whip—and too smart for his own good during the Christmas season. He's in for what they call a 'life lesson.' Which sometimes is the best gift you could receive.   Johnny Pope, a former priest turned private investigator, stumbles into a caper at his favorite diner. What he discovers is a timely reminder about Christmastime.   For Gideon O'Donnell, love is in the Christmas air. But when he stumbled into the middle of a crime a few days before Christmas, he's reminded how life can turn on a dime.   Lastly, Pastor Peter Daniel Young is responsible for the town Christmas pageant, but it's not coming together quite right. After all his work, he's reminded of a simple lesson he needed to remember.   This collection of five stories will make you laugh and warm your heart—offering some entertainment and inspiration for the season. Joy to the Junction; joy to you and yours!

If money makes the world go 'round, then relationships are the currency of small towns. They're the ties that bind a community together, the grease that makes the pistons turn.   Mill Creek Junction is a small fictional Midwest town filled with relationships of all shapes and sizes—brought to you in a collection of five original, heartwarming short stories.   From a chance-encounter meet-cute between two people from opposite sides of the tracks on New Years Eve leading to a connection that leads to something more. To a night on the countryside between friends that leads to a rollicking adventure only conjured by small-town living.   Then there's the small-town law firm of three partners struggling to make ends meet, and a revelation about what matters most. The baton-passing between one pastor and another, one generation to another, and all the thoughts and feelings about that. Ending with a group of friends celebrating a holiday that reminds them they've got all they need: each other.   So, here's to relationships of all sorts. Here's to what brings us together and holds us together—in any number of ways.   Here's to the ties that bind.

Like all small towns, Mill Creek Junction is served by a small-town pastor. Not just any pastor. One who can help shepherd the good Junction folks through life's ups and downs. His name is Peter Daniel Young. He originally appeared in the spiritual coming of age series "Faith Reimagined." He's since grown from a young adult navigating all sorts of questions about faith, life, and everything in between. Now he's struggling to help others navigate the same path. The first two stories in this collection come from a few chapters in those books, giving you some face time with our friend Peter before he arrived in Mill Creek Junction. Story three is the transition point, where Peter looks to take over for the Rev, the Junction's long-time pastor who is retiring. It's a sweet story of generational transitions. The passing of a baton from the old to the new, with a lesson for us all. The fourth story is a deep one, where Pastor Peter has both the privilege and gut-wrenching experience of presiding over the funeral of a thirtysomething young husband and father. It's a personal experience, in more ways than one, which offers him a lesson on the power of paying forward what we ourselves gain through hardship. A hosting the Junction's Election Day polling station, Peter meets up with some new friends and ends up preaching to himself about what's important as a citizen of both heaven and earth. The Book of Proverbs has a pithy nugget of wisdom: "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths." The Lord is ready, willing, and able to direct our path—each step of the way. We're all on a journey, trying to figure out and navigate this thing called life, usually stumbling along the way. That's Peter's story, and what he discovers is what the proverb reminds us.

He Blessed Souls for a Living. Now He Fights Them. For decades, Johnny "Pope" Papadopoulos heard dark confessions, administered last rites, and sat with criminals before execution—weekly reminders the world ain't right. Finally, he'd had enough. He left the priesthood and put out a private-eye shingle to bring a little light into a very dark world—seeking justice for the very souls he used to shepherd behind the clerical collar. Johnny Pope's a P.I. for hire, but only taking the cases that put the world to rights. Sometimes the cases come for him, yanking him into the injustice of others but fighting just the same. Johnny's the guy you want when life comes at you with a left hook that lays out on your backside. He's a former priest turned private investigator coming for injustices of all shapes and sizes. Dive into five original private eye short story mysteries that will remind you there's at least one person trying to make things right in a very wrong world.