An Open Heart by Harry Kraus

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
An Open Heart
by
Harry Kraus

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An Open Heart
by Harry Kraus
Christian Fiction / Contemporary
Available June 2013
David C. Cook Publishers
448 pages

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Read an excerpt
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About the Book
Their Messages—From Beyond the Grave—Might Destroy Him

They hover between life and death, their hearts stopped on the surgery table. And the messages Dr. Jace Rawlings’ open-heart surgery patients bring back from beyond the grave cannot be ignored. For they predict the deaths of people around him, and point a finger of suspicion straight at him.

It thrusts Jace into a firestorm of controversy and danger. A maeltsrom blown by the darker winds of political intrigue and spiritual warfare. And the forces working against him will do anything to stop him from uncovering a truth they will kill to hide. He’d come to Kenya to establish a heart-surgery program for the poor. But what he will find in that place where he grew up will put everything at risk–his marriage, his career . . . his life.

My Thoughts
To be honest, I haven't finished reading this book yet. I've been in a terrible "reading slump" for the past two weeks and sort of took a break altogether. However, I'm about 150 pages in and it's pretty interesting so far. Jace (the main character) is not the most likeable guy, but I'm definitely interested enough in the story to keep reading. I'm hoping that he's going to eventually come around!

I plan to pick this book back up in the next week or two and will update to let you know my thoughts!

I received a free copy of this book from David C. Cook Publishers via CFBA in exchange for my fair and honest review.

A Word from the Author
I started writing my first novel during my last year of surgery training at UK. I was a chief resident, and started writing Stainless Steal Hearts in a call room at the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Lexington. It was a crazy time to write! I had a very demanding schedule, often spending days and nights in the hospital. I had two sons at that time, and I recognized the wisdom in my wife's urging: "Now doesn't seem the right time for this dream."

My experience as a writer is far from typical. Having received my formal training in biology and chemistry and medicine, my only preparation for a writing career was a love for reading. The longest thing I'd written before my first novel was a term paper in undergraduate school. My first novel was accepted by Crossway Books and published in 1994, and it wasn't until after I had FOUR published novels that I even opened a book of instruction about the craft of writing fiction. This is not what I recommend to others! Yes, I was successful, but I was bending the "rules" without knowing it. I had a natural talent for plotting, but I realize my initial success may have stunted my growth as a writer. I'd have made faster progress if I'd have gone to the fiction teachers sooner.

I have three sons: Joel, Evan, and Samuel. Look closely in all of my books and you'll see them there. My lovely wife, Kris, provides the basic composition for all those beautiful, athletic, dedicated women in my novels.

Harry Kraus Online

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