The novelist: if a son no longer listens, can a story reach his heart?

From the author who taught you to expect the unexpected...an intriguing tale about families, fiction, and what to do when life veers wildly off script. It begins...when a smug college student challenges a best–selling novelist to write something "more personal." It begins...when a mother finds her troubled son slumped unconscious outside her house. It begins...when fiction and reality blur, and the novelist finds herself caught somewhere in the middle of it all. Where does it end? That all depends on who is telling the story... "What happens when a writer's story begins to change the story of her life? To the world she's Jordan Casey, creator of the wildly popular series of novels featuring international spy Rex Tower. To her family she's Jordan Casey Kerrigan, a loving wife and mom with an almost-empty nest, and an unexpectedly successful midlife career." "To the diverse class of community college students she's agreed to take on for a fiction-writing course, she's a complex teacher determined to prove that with a plan and some dedication, any one of them can do what she does." "To show what she means - and to respond to a challenge from an egotistical student - she decides to actually write a novel for the class. But not a Rex Tower novel. Not a spy blockbuster. Something more personal, something closer to home. Something that touches her faith and might even speak to her deeply troubled younger son, Zack." "But something strange is happening in the midst of it all. As she struggles to keep the novel on track, Jordan starts to realize it holds a deeper mystery than she could ever plot. And she and Zack are part of it." "The outcome is something the novelist could never anticipate ... or dare to dream. And the truth is stranger than any fiction."--Jacket A moving tale about a mother finding her voice and speaking her truth as she tries to save her son, from a Christy Award–winning author. When novelist Jordan Casey is confronted by a writing student to compose something from her heart instead of her usual bestselling claptrap, she decides to accept the challenge. Departing from her usual adventure novels, Jordan begins to work on a story that allows her to explore and express her faith for the first time—something she had always been reluctant to pursue. As she writes, she hopes to be able to teach her students—but she is also motivated by something else: a desire to reconnect with her son, Zachary. But stories have lives of their own and soon Jordan finds her real life intermingling with fiction, especially as Zachary's suicidal desires come to life. Will Jordan learn how to save her son, while also saving herself? This is a powerful novel that Publishers Weekly states is “guaranteed to wring tears from even the hardest-hearted reader.” From the author who taught you to expect the unexpected--an intriguing tale about famlies, fiction, and what to do when life veers wildly off script. It begins when a smug college student challenges a best-selling novelist to write something "more personal." It begins when a mother finds her troubled son slumped unconscious outside her house. It begins when fiction and reality blur, and the novelist finds herself caught somewhere in the middle of it all. Where does it end? That all depends on who is telling the story . . . A tale about families, fiction, and what to do when life veers wildly off script. It begins--when a smug college student challenges a best-selling novelist to write something "more personal." It begins--when a mother finds her troubled son slumped unconscious outside her house. It begins--when fiction and reality blur, and the novelist finds herself caught somewhere in the middle of it all. Where does it end? That all depends on who is telling the story.--From publisher description. Jordan Casey, creator of a wildly popular series of novels featuring international spy Rex Tower, decides to write a novel for her writing class that doesn't feature her famous character, and finds herself reflecting on her personal life, spirituality, and family