Author: marygracewriting

Mary Grace van der Kroef is a poet, writer, and artist from Ontario, Canada. She enjoys the simple things in life, like a good cup of coffee and heart-to-heart talks with friends. She uses her writing to highlight those simple things while encouraging others and exploring her own inner world. She is a follower of Jesus Christ and writes from a Christian worldview. She believes every person, regardless of circumstance, is a creative being whose stories are important. She cherishes people's differences, and believes diverse stories are imperative to understanding what it is to be human.

Book Sale!!

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Not just one book sale, but TWO!

I’m so excited to finally be releasing the second book in the ‘Hope Is Here Collection.’ In celebration of the release of the first book, ‘Our Road To Trust’ is on sale for the next two weeks!

Enjoy!

Share with friends!

Buy: Our Road to Trust
Buy: How We Love Them

These sales are for the ebook formats for each book, but the paperback options are also available if desired.

Tuesday is also my BIRTHDAY!

Every year, I celebrate with a sale. So here is my gift to you, my readers! You can enjoy the ebook version of each of my poetry collections for just 0.99 cents for the next week.

If you enjoy poetry of all kinds, these books are a must!

Buy: The Branch That I Am
Buy: Words of Weight
Buy: Branches in Bloom
Buy: Calculated Hesitation

How We Love Them, Releasing October 14th

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The second book in the Hope Is Here Collection is officially available for per-order!

Scroll to the end of the post for the pre-order links.

I’m so excited to be releasing this second book to you, my readers. It’s been a labour of love with the whole process of drafting, revising, and editing, taking much longer than I expected, but it’s finished and almost ready to be placed on shelves.

Are you ready to dive in to a continuation of Rose and Amy’s stories from the first book?

Back Blurb

A family is in tatters. Still, God is in control.

While his two daughters, Rachel and Amy, struggle for freedom from the expectations of a pastor’s family, Arthur Grill is forced to step down from his position as senior pastor at Hope Is Here Church. Then Rose, Arthur’s wife and the family’s pillar of support, is crushed when her health rapidly declines under the stress of so much upheaval. Each of the girls search for freedom in their own ways. Anxiety and fear, stalking them as they strain against their upbringing. When the family pushes against one another and the help from their friends, their lives are rocked by tragedy in the form of a missing daughter.

Will the Grills accept help from each other, friends, and God? Or will they break and lose hope of healing?

Haven’t read the first book yet?

No problem. The Hope Is Here Collection can all be read as stand alones!

Enjoying the story may be enhanced by reading ‘Our Road to Trust: Interlocking Short Stories of Faith’ first. But it’s not necessary to understand the story of ‘How We Love Them’.

The first book, or book 0.5 in the collection, is written in short story format and takes you through the viewpoints of ten different characters.

The characters are raw and written in first person point of view for the closeness that it brings to shorter formats.

Amy and Rose’s points of view are given in the fourth and fifth stories.

How We Love Them starts about a year and a half after Our Road to Trust.

Arthur, Rose’s husband is front and center in chapter one. As the story unfolds you will experience the points of view of all four members of their family.

Because of this, I chose to write the story in third person instead of first.

Each book in the Hope Is Here Collection features deep and sometimes heavy stories. They wont be everyone’s cup of tea, but for those looking for depth and realism in their Contemporary Christian Fiction, they might be the perfect fit.

Pre Order Today!

Do you have questions about ‘How We Love Them’ or the Hope is Here Collection? Don’t hesitate to ask. You can find more information about both books on the FICTION page of this website, or use the contact page to send an email.

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Release Day for Calculated Hesitation!

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HAPPY RELEASE DAY!

Calculated Hesitation is now available at Amazon, Kobo, Google Books, Barnes and Noble, OverDrive and more!

Order Today!

Back Blurb:
Calculated Hesitation is a collection of poems exploring the hesitation of a questioning soul, and the way life and art intertwine to birth defiance and strain for the resolution of that hesitation. In this collection, you will find a mix of poetic styles. Come and pause with the author, take part in the questions and explore their answers.

Early Reviews Excerpts:

“Calculated Hesitation (isn’t that a great title?) is a collection of poetry centered around themes of modernity, contentment, and art/creating.

Van der Kroef mostly uses everyday language and syntax to express her thoughts, so her poems are deceptively accessible while her themes are deep. She’s not afraid of rhymes, but her rhyme schemes are gentle and don’t take away from the joy of each poem as a whole. Because of her rhymes and use of alliteration, van der Kroef’s poems are fun to read out loud.” – From Priscilla’s Review on GoodReads –

“This is a lovely book of poems and really touching ones in it. It is hard to play favourites as some will touch you right when you need it most. These poems are often for the right occasion and touch in the most loving ways. I will be sharing this book with friends as they will be helpful in their ministries and also in general life.” – Tianne’s Review on GoodReads –

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Calculated Hesitation Releasing December 23rd

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Releasing December 23rd, 2024!

Are you ready for Mary’s fourth poetry collection?

“Calculated Hesitation is a collection of poems exploring the hesitation of a questioning soul, and the way life and art intertwine to birth defiance and strain for the resolution of that hesitation. In this collection, you will find a mix of poetic styles. Come and pause with the author, take part in the questions and explore their answers.”

Pre-Order at Amazon
Pre-Order at Google Books

The paper pack edition will be available to purchase a few days before official release, but there will be no pre-order do to time constraints.

Please don’t forget to review on goodreads or our favorite retailer after enjoying this new collection from Mary Grace van der Kroef!

Birthday Sale!

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Are you ready? Sunday, October 13 – Monday October 15th the e-versions of all my books will be on sale!

Choose from three Poetry titles or one Christian Fiction title. Available at most online retailers.

Buy Now!

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Sequel/Our Road to Trust

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Thank you to the reader who asked this question.

Do YOU have any questions about my new release ‘Our Road to Trust’? Don’t hesitate to ask and I will do my best to answer.

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Family Story/Thank you

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Thank you to everyone who helped with the launch of this book, and to all my readers. I can’t do this writing/publishing thing without you!

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Release Day/Our Road to Trust

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It’s here! ‘Our Road to Trust’ was officially released this morning across all online retailers.

I am so grateful for the support of my friends and family, as well as those of you who have followed my blog from the beginning, and joined my newsletter as well as those who follow me on social media. Indie Authors do not succeed without you. I do not succeed without you.

Thank you for celebrating with me!

Genre: Contemporary Christian Fiction, Women’s Fiction

Book Description:
Ten women struggle to find connection in their home church as they walk through personal suffering. Can they learn to trust God and each other, or will they choose to remain in their brokenness?

Words That Pierce:
Can Mary trust God and find the courage to confront a church friend about hurtful words?

The Letter:
While Tina’s whole world begins to crumble, will a letter harden or soften her heart?

Power Off:
Will Harmony trust her mother after committing an act of deception?

Apology:
Can Amy learn to see past her anger and pain to apologize and find peace?

Broken China:
Can Rose overcome the pressure to appear as the perfect pastor’s wife, face her own failings, and find help for her troubled daughter before they both fall apart?

Just Forget It:
Beth’s long expected battle with forgetfulness has arrived; can she trust others for help as well as hold on to joy?

The Pill Cabinet:
Hillary’s world has become a cloud of pain. Can she walk past her pride and reach out for help, or will she begin down a dark path?

Her Choice:
Will Debora’s battle with depression and grief push her to a breaking point?

Scary Things:
At only four years old, Gloria faces one of life’s deepest losses, and when the shadows that once followed her mother notice her, can she defeat the darkness?

Prayers and Pencil Crayons:
Will Abigail step out of the shadows and into the new leadership role God has opened for her?

Order Now

Early Reader Reviews: from goodreads.com

For anyone who’s ever suffered from church hurt, this one’s for you. Ms. Van der Kroef has excellently woven several stories of women who love Jesus but have a hard time loving each other. She’s gracious and gentle when exploring their lives but still convicting in assessing the areas they need to “let go and let God” in order to commune as the Church.
A wonderful read and thought-provoking for sure. I can guarantee you’ll see yourself in this book, prompting a request for God to lovingly search your own heart.

– Ericka Clay –

This story was really fascinating and it got under my skin. What I found special was that the plot is gradually narrated by all protagonists- women who live their lives within one church community. Their stories follow and evolve with each conversation and interaction they have. It was quite playful and exciting for me to guess and realize who the narrator was and how connected she was to the previous narrator.
The climax of the book is the deadly sin of one of the women.
I got Goosebumps when reading the story.
The final scene is prodigious. It is an absolute act of humility and may be the symbol of a new start in the community.
I did not purchase the book and I read it as an early reader.

– Katarina Celkova –

Our Road To Trust by Mary Grace Van der Kroef, Mary Grace. I extend thanks to the author and publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy that was gifted to me.

This is a wonderful book full of inspiring faith based stories. The author did a good job of covering many different aspects and providing a little something for each and every reader. They were bite size nuggets of information all captured together between the covers. I highly recommend this book.

– Lisa –

I received this as an ARC reader. My opinions are my own.
This book got me from the very start. I understand ‘words that pierce’ and I’m sure I’ve said them many times. Each woman’s story wove within the others in a way that shows how completely the author understands the inner workings of how we as women think, feel, struggle, hope.
The depth in the book is amazing. Deep and complex, beautifully but sincerely written. It shows and teaches what true trust can be.

– Jen Dodrill –

Thank you to my ARC Team for your support! You can find all of their reviews on Goodreads.

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