His words have unlocked a special place in her heart,
but he lives in the one place she vowed she'd never return...
Nicole Michelin avoids airplanes, motorcycles, and most of all, Japan, where her parents once were missionaries. Something happened in Japan. Something that sent Nicole and her father back to America alone. Something of which Nicole knows only bits and pieces. But she is content with life in little Mount Olive, North Carolina, with her quirky relatives, tank of lively fish, and plenty of homemade pineapple chutney.
Through her online column for the Pretty Fishy website, Nicole meets Harrison Michaels, who, much to her dismay, lives in Japan. She attempts to avoid him, but his e-mails tug at her heart.
Then Harrison reveals that he knew her as a child in Japan. In fact, he knows more about her childhood than she does! Will Nicole face her fears in order to discover her past and take a chance on love?
"In Wisler's likable debut, a young woman is offered a chance to find romance and make peace with her past. After her missionary mother dies under mysterious circumstances in Japan, young Nicole Michelin returns to North Carolina to live with her depressed father and loving grandmother. Now 31, and a middle school English teacher, Nicole bears the scars of a time she can't remember. She sleeps with her cloth kimono doll and nurses phobias ranging from anxiety about flying to a fear of commitment. But when she meets an intriguing man through a Web site column, her yearning for love encourages her to risk getting to know him even though he lives in Japan. Wisler's cast of Southern women is lightly sketched but no less charming for this, and her development of the relationship between Nicole and her three-year-old autistic cousin strikes poignant notes throughout. Faith fiction fans will appreciate the strong faith of Nicole's influential grandmother, Ducee Dubois, who helps Nicole face her fears." --Publishers Weekly Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
"Alice J. Wisler has written herself into the pages of my memory, and she will forever be a treasured friend.... Alice paints a vivid picture that slowly captivates the reader. That ache inside Nicole will awaken any ache you've had buried inside your heart. That sense of mystery that surrounds many of us--you'll find a kindred soul in Nicole.
And those fears that entangle us and hold us back? Alice's slow, Southern style, filled with Grandma Ducee's Southern Truths, will carefully unwind the burial clothes that enshroud us and set us free." --Deena Peterson, DeenasBooks.blogspot.com
"After reading the first chapter, I wondered if Rain Song would have enough going on to hold my interest. I liked Nicole's endearing voice right off the bat, as well as the colorful characters of her aunt and grandmother Ducee as they sat around planning the family reunion.... Yet the book continued to draw me in. Like Nicole, I couldn't wait for Harrison's next email to see what he would reveal about her past. I loved the North Carolina imagery and Ducee's 'Southern Truths.' I even longed to try some pineapple chutney, which author Alice J. Wisler makes possible with the inclusion of the recipe at the end. Rain Song, Wisler's debut novel, is a lovely story. It provides the kind of escape from the real world that every reader seeks and leaves one feeling good about God's limitless ability to provide strength, courage and answers to prayer." --Susan Miura, FaithfulReader.com
"Alice Wisler tells this story of Rain Song in the slow, deliberate style of Southern tradition. Along the way, you will come to love Nicole's eclectic family and you will cheer her as she makes her very cautious discoveries. I look forward to more beautiful stories from this very talented writer!" --Kim Ford, NovelReviews.blogspot.com
"Rain Song is a truly wondrous book, funny and wistful and wise and brave at the same time. It's full of tiny exquisite moments, marvelous descriptions and astute insights. It's a book about letting go, about taking flight and about facing your fears. It's a book about learning to trust yourself, forgiving the past hurts and letting yourself jump off the edge to get where you truly want to go. It's a book about ties that bind and traditions that truly make a family. It's a book about true beauty that sometimes lies deep within. It's a book about regrets, about betrayals and about friendship. More than anything, it's a book about love in its many incarnations." --Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson, ReaderViews.com
"Alice J. Wisler has written an astonishing debut for a first-time author. The daughter of missionary parents, she grew up in Japan, so she is definitely following the writer's dictum to 'write what you know.' What is surprising, however, is that unlike most Christian novelists--who put the message far above the medium--Wisler writes with a tremendous amount of talent.
Her prose is good--beautiful, at times. Although it doesn't consist of heart-pounding action (it's not a thriller, after all), the story flows and engages the reader on many levels with numerous thought-provoking scenes and situations. Wisler's characters are also real--very real. Like all the other members of her family, Nicole is flawed. But she is lovable, and readers will enjoy her journey toward healing and love.... those who appreciate good writing, interesting characters and a love story set within a subtle Christian framework will definitely enjoy this book." --Annabelle Robertson, Crosswalk.com
