The Book Club

Discussion with the Author

Listen in as Alice Murray talks with author and Pastor Andy Clapp about In the Eye of the Storm.

Meet The Author

Andy Clapp

Growing up in North Carolina, faith played a major role in Andy Clapp’s early life. Living in North Carolina, he learned early in life about the nature of hurricanes and storms. Seeing the storms hit and the ways lives were impacted, Andy began to look at the way the storms of life damaged those who were unprepared. 

Over the past twenty years of pastoral ministry, Andy has taught students and adults to grow in their faith and to understand the roots of their faith. As a pastor, Andy has witnessed firsthand individuals facing personal storms in their lives. The lack of preparation for financial, emotional, mental, and physical storms of life overwhelmed those Andy sought to help.

A weather enthusiast, Andy tracked storms beginning with Hurricane Hugo in 1989. The tornado in Tuscaloosa saw Andy lead his first relief mission to help those ravaged by a natural disaster. As Andy thought on these experiences, he longed to prepare people for the storms that may arise in their lives so they might be able to withstand the force of the storm. In the Eye of the Storm started as Hurricane Isaias approached North Carolina. Andy wrote while the sounds of the storm coverage filled the room. Seeing the despair of those struggling through the pandemic also pushed Andy to pursue this project immediately. His desire to help others who face desperation drove him to write these words. As he recently said in a sermon series on the topic, now is the time that the world is looking for peace in the middle of the storm.

Discussion with the Authors

Listen in as Alice Murray talks with author Lisa Loraine Baker and Pastor Marshall Brandon about Someplace to be Somebody which was written as a memoir on Brandon’s life. In this 20-minute interview, Murray dives in and asks questions that readers have been dying to know the answers to.

Meet The Authors

Lisa Loraine Baker/Marshall Brandon

Lisa Loraine Baker has been writing since she was in junior high school, but finally made the transition to full-time writer in the last few years (after a career in retail and direct sales, and as a pastor’s assistant). Always a lover of words and an avid reader, Lisa excelled in academic pursuits and also has a gift for languages. After becoming a Christian and immersing herself in Bible studies through her church body, Lisa entered Moody Bible Institute through online and extension studies. She has a heart for missions, and pours what the Lord shows her into her writing.

The call to write full-time came as Lisa shared through emails her late husband’s trials with cancer. Her priority was as his caregiver, yet throughout, she continued her writer’s training as a member of the Christian Writers Guild, gaining education and encouragement from a Guild mentor (Joyce K. Ellis). During her husband’s remissions, Lisa was able to attend two of their conferences and learn more about the business/craft, and met with agents/publishers.

The Lord called her husband home in 2014, and amid ongoing endurance of grief, Lisa’s passion for writing was renewed. For seven years (2004-2012), she assisted an African-American pastor (Marshall Brandon) at her former home church. He has an amazing and timely testimony, and they concurrently decided she should write his memoir. Lisa spent many hours interviewing Marshall and had a treasure-trove of material. She hired a writing coach (Ginger Moran) to help her get the story written in a tight and compelling form, and she and her coach have an ongoing professional relationship. She continued tightening the manuscript with help from editor, Janis Whipple, who works with Eva Marie Everson’s Pen in Hand Editing Service.

By the time Marshall Brandon was five he’d been beaten, abused, and abandoned. By eighteen he was addicted to drugs, dealing them, and living the life of a thug. By the time he finished his tour in Vietnam, all he wanted was to take the white man down.

 But God had other ideas.

 Ideas like Marshall becoming a pastor at a lily-white mega church. And speaking deep into the minds and hearts of his congregation.

 In his memoir, Someplace to be Somebody, that reads like an adrenaline-packed novel, you’ll delve deep inside the life of a man who should not have survived, let alone be ministering to men and women in a way few others can. A man freeing people from opioid addiction, and fighting the brutal racial rifts that are battering our country.

Discussion with the Authors

Listen in as Alice Murray talks with authors Victoria Duerstock and Paige Rien about Revived & Renovated. In this 20-minute interview, Murray dives in and asks questions that readers want to know answers to.

Meet The Authors

Victoria Duerstock

A multi-passionate creative fueled mostly by coffee, Victoria Duerstock relentlessly pursues her dreams. Writing, speaking, and helping creatives grow their platforms with DIY and done-for-you solutions keeps her busy! 

Victoria’s mission is to create beauty and cultivate community by leveraging resources, impacting others, and leaving a legacy.

Paige Rien

Paige Rien’s an author, designer, and HGTV alum whose mission to her readers is to put their whole selves into their homes. After a career on HGTV’s “Hidden Potential” for five seasons, Paige created a homeowner’s guide to explore and encourage the creative journey that is homemaking in her first book, Love the House You’re’ In 40 Ways to Improve Your Home & Change Your Life. (Roost Books, 2016)

Paige is passionate that work on the home is incredibly important - that our homes can be places of refuge, self-expression, and where we truly matter the most. Work on both her own home and the homes of others has been part of a 20+ year recovery journey for Paige.

Paige is also the founder of Paige Rien Interiors where she provides a wide range of design consulting services to clients around the world.