Category Archives: Book Reviews

Who is Marion Ueckermann?

Not only is Marion the author of A Time to Laugh, she is a personal friend, and is quite the most prolific writer I know. I have totally lost track of how many books she has written, or how many stunning book covers she has designed, both for her own books and for other authors.

So why am I writing about her today? Because we have an exciting adventure coming up in a few months, and she is helping me head it up. As writers in Southern Africa, we have a number of problems.

Some of our issues:

• Many readers across the globe know very little about life in Africa, apart from what they read or watch on the media which can vary from a little-bit-accurate to wildly out of touch.
• Authors of Africa seem to live under a sort of radar, with readers either not knowing about them, or not realizing they are from Africa.
• Most American publishers require their book stories to be based in America, or if they are located overseas, to at least have American heroes and heroines.

Several of us are banding together in the near future to tell you a bit about ourselves, our writing, and in particular, to promote one book written about Africa. There will also be a number of freebies on offer, so don’t lose out! A Time to Laugh takes place in a beautiful seaside town in Africa, called Ballito Bay. It will not, however,  be the one covered in the event, but you’ll hear more about that later . . .

Watch this blog, and sign up for my newsletter for up to date information.

Here is one of Marion’s books which I absolutely love . . .

About the Book, A Time to Laugh:

For thirty years, Brian and Elizabeth Dunham have served on the mission field. Unable to have children of their own, they’ve been a father and mother to countless orphans in six African countries. When an unexpected beach-house inheritance and a lung disease diagnosis coincide, they realize that perhaps God is telling them it’s time to retire.

At sixty, Elizabeth is past child-bearing age. She’d long ago given up wondering whether this would be the month she would conceive. But when her best friend and neighbor jokes that Elizabeth’s sudden fatigue and nausea are symptoms of pregnancy, Elizabeth finds herself walking that familiar and unwanted road again, wondering if God is pulling an Abraham and Sarah on her and Brian.

The mere notion has questions flooding Elizabeth’s mind. If she were miraculously pregnant, would they have the stamina to raise a child in their golden years? Especially with Brian’s health issues. And the child? Would it be healthy, or would it go through life struggling with some kind of disability? What of her own health? Could she survive giving birth?

Will what Brian and Elizabeth have dreamed of their entire married life be an old-age blessing or a curse?

MY COMMENT:

A Time to Laugh is a delightful novella written by Marion Ueckermann.

There are a number of references and similarities to the story of Sarah in the Old Testament, yet this story line is fun while at the same time serious. Brian and Elizabeth Dunham have just returned from the African mission field where they cared for orphan children. They experience more than a little trepidation when Elizabeth develops symptoms indicating pregnancy. She is in her sixties. Is it possible? And if she is, will the baby be normal?

A beautiful story, well thought out. Well done, Marion!

Read More:

Read more about Marion and her amazing selection of ever-publishing books here.

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