Welcome, my friends! What a special, special day this is. Why? You may ask. Well, because last week my twin sister (*finally*) released the sequel to her first novel! Her new novel is titled, "Out of the Dark." Cue the cheering and excited squealing. I'm thrilled and what I'm even more thrilled about is the opportunity for you to hear from my twin sister today yourself. Kenzie is taking over the blog today and sharing a guest post with you and more about, "Out of the Dark." Please, check out her book and purchase it (because you won't regret it) and leave her some love through your comments below. *passes out the cupcakes* Now let's get this party started... I’m so excited to be featured on my twin sister’s blog today! Bella has such a beautiful and inspirational blog here, it feels like I’m “star-struck” to be able to write a post here ;) Thank you for participating in the “Out of the Dark” blog tour, Bella! This new novel is book two in the Mission for Freedom series, and deals with the difficult topic of human trafficking. As I thought about what to write today, I struggled with finding the right words. How do I share in a short post about the purpose behind this book, and how it’s so much more than just mere entertainment? I’d like to start with this. I’d like you to close your eyes and think about things you’re thankful for. Little blessings or luxuries that you have in life that you are blessed with. Maybe you’ll think about your own car, or your family, or the home you live in. Or maybe smaller things, like fall flavors returning to Starbucks, a pretty pink sunset, or listening to your favorite song to cheer you up. Okay, are you starting to think of your own now? Now I want you to do this in only thirty seconds and try to list as many as possible in your head. You can comment below and let me know how many you were able to think of if you’d like. Remember, you only have thirty seconds! Are you finished? Thirty seconds isn’t a lot of time, is it? But I’m sure you were able to come up with a great list in that time. So while you’re thinking about all those little blessings, I want you to think of something else. I want you to take another thirty seconds, remember all the blessings you just listed, and then imagine having each one ripped away. Taken from your hands. These next thirty seconds I want you to imagine losing everything. Everything that made your heart smile so big when you just brought it to mind. It’s heartbreaking and even devastating to imagine losing some of these things we hold so dear. But in reality, in those thirty seconds, there’s really someone out there who did just lose everything. Their life, their freedom, their happiness was snatched away in less than a minute. And in another thirty seconds it will happen all over again. Because every thirty seconds, someone becomes a victim of human trafficking. I don’t tell you this to make you feel guilty for the blessings you have. This activity was to educate you about this crisis happening all over the world. To help you see it and feel it in your mind. To realize that this crime is taking place in our cities, in our towns. In our own backyards. It’s happening to lives just like you and me. And it’s happening far too much, to far too many innocent lives. There is an estimated 27 million in slavery around the world today. Only one percent of these victims are ever rescued. The passion in my heart to end this first grew when I listened to a radio interview with a human trafficking survivor. I heard her share about the things in life she never got to experience because she was living in bondage. Things that every person should be able to experience, like going to school or spending weekends hanging out with friends. That was the moment when I went from, “Wow, something needs to be done about this”, to “Wow, I need to do something about this”. But what can one person possibly do to make a difference in a crisis with numbers this staggering? God showed me that we all have the ability to do something. It doesn’t have to be huge. Even small things can make a big impact. For me, it was writing. Writing has always been a God-given ability for me, and that’s what became my something. I could use writing to bring awareness to this topic. “Not Abandoned”, my debut novel, shares a story of four different girls whose lives are forever affected by this tragedy of human trafficking. Some may find it odd that I chose to use a fiction story, what is usually just used for entertainment, to share such a deep topic. But for me, this novel was never just about entertainment. It was about sparking a revolution. About creating change. Educating young people so that they can protect themselves. Inspiring a generation to get involved and find their something that they can do to end it. My prayer is the same for “Out of the Dark”. That God will take this story and use it to ignite a passion in your hearts to get involved and save these lives being affected by the modern-day slave trade. For me, all it took was one moment when I heard that radio interview to make me realize that I was going to do something to fight human trafficking. Maybe you’ll find your moment in the pages of my books. Thirty seconds can change so many lives. They can become the heartbreaking seconds that a life is horribly taken by this evil. Or the next thirty seconds can become your moment. The moment you choose to find your something that will make a difference in this fight. The moment you rise up and take a stand. This can be the thirty seconds that not only change your life…but also save someone else’s. It’s not over yet… It’s been three years since Haley Hampton rescued her sister, Avery, from a human trafficking ring. They are still struggling through the aftermath as both women desperately long for healing to come. But the emotional wounds are not easily forgotten. And the past is quickly catching up to them. A string of death threats leaves Haley on the hunt for a potential killer. As tensions run high, a single mistake could jeopardize Avery’s life. Then Haley encounters Elaine, a young teen trapped by human trafficking. Could she be their missing link in the case? Is there anyone they can trust? Haley must rely on God now more than ever if they intend to make it out alive. Will they find a way out of the darkness closing in? Because evil is lurking closer…and determined to win this time. MacKenzie Morganthal is the author of the Mission for Freedom series. Book one, “Not Abandoned”, was her debut novel. She lives in Pennsylvania where she is a monthly e-magazine columnist, Creative Artist, and musician. She loves Jesus most, sweet tea, singing along to the radio, and spending too much time at Starbucks. To purchase "Out of the Dark," click here:
16 Comments
MacKenzie Morganthal
11/2/2017 08:58:21 am
Yay!! Thank you for having me, Bella!!😀❤️ I love your blog and you’re like the best writer ever.
Reply
Bella Morganthal
11/4/2017 09:00:54 pm
Aww, YOU are the best ever, love <3 <3 Thank you for joining me and so happy for you!
Reply
Anna P.
11/2/2017 12:25:09 pm
This was a great post, MacKenzie!! Your books sound awesome!!!
Reply
MacKenzie Morganthal
11/2/2017 08:08:01 pm
Thank you, Anna!
Reply
MacKenzie Morganthal
11/2/2017 08:08:45 pm
Thanks, Chloe! :)
Reply
MacKenzie Morganthal
11/2/2017 08:09:49 pm
If you get the chance to read it, I hope you'll enjoy it!
Reply
Olivia Bell (aka Livy)
11/2/2017 06:18:01 pm
This was so powerful and inspiring, Kenzie! How very true, the experiment you had really opens your eyes to the reality of that horrible crime. Thank you so much for this post!
Reply
MacKenzie Morganthal
11/2/2017 08:10:55 pm
Thank you, Livy! I'm glad you enjoyed the post! <3
Reply
Brianna
11/2/2017 08:01:23 pm
Great blog post! Thank you, Kenzie!
Reply
MacKenzie Morganthal
11/2/2017 08:11:48 pm
Thank you! I look forward to hearing your thoughts whenever you get the chance to read them :)
Reply
11/4/2017 05:30:11 pm
Yay, Kenzie!! Congratulations!! You and Bella are so inspiring. So very, very thankful I got to meet you two at BB Locals 2015. :)
Reply
Bella Morganthal
11/4/2017 09:01:33 pm
I'm thankful for that too, dear girl!! <3
Reply
Grace F.
11/8/2017 03:47:18 pm
Congratulations, Kenzie!! (And by the way, your book cover is beautiful!)
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
October 2019
Categories |