The Priest and The Peaches blog tour and guest post by Larry Peterson

Welcome to The Priest and The Peaches blog tour. Before I turn the blog over to author Larry Peterson, here's a little about the book:

Historical fiction novel set in the Bronx in the mid-1960s

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral. 

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

The book's official site is:
http://www.ThePriestandthePeaches.com

One of the things I found interesting as I was researching a little about Larry Peterson and his books, is that he seems to focus on children facing adversity and their ability to persevere in the face of huge obstacles. I've asked Larry to comment on this in his post. So, without further ado ... Heeeeeere's Larry!!

Your post request asked me to write about why I write about children dealing with adversity and attitudes and perseverance etc. Well, guess what? I was never asked that before nor have I ever even thought about it. The answer was quickly clear to me. Since we are the sum total of our life's experience (at least I think so) and my experiences are chock-full of exposure to this type of "theme," I guess that's why I do it.

Let me start with my book, "The Priest and The Peaches." It revolves around five newly orphaned kids. Those five kids are based on my brothers, sister and myself. Trust me---there was some serious adversity going on there. Reading the book (which is fictionalized) will give one the idea.

Moving right along, my wife, Loretta, and I were foster parents when we lived in New Jersey. We were considered a "short term placement home." Consequently, many kids aged anywhere from two to 16 spent time with us. Each and everyone of them had serious issues and all were dealing with adversity, especially the ones who believed that their parent(s) had given them away. (Can you imagine thinking that as a child?) Yet some were up-beat and some were "mad at the world." Even kids deal with adversity differently and can handle it differently depending on attitude.

For me, personally, I came down with Multiple Sclerosis 30 years ago and could barely walk. I was told that I would be blind, incontinent and live my life in a wheelchair. Nice prognosis when you are a 35-year-old construction worker and have three small kids. My attitude helped. I told them that they "were full of crap." The most important thing that reinforced my attitude was faith in God. I have absolutely no doubt about that. So, armed with faith in God and using the weapons of prayer which buttressed my contrary attitude I forged through intense therapy and now, 30 years later, I can sing that little jingle, "Look at me I'm walking. Look at me I'm talking." Oh yeah, I am also a cancer survivor, five years out from prostate cancer. In addition, my wife, Loretta, died of cancer (Melanoma) nine years ago and my new wife, Marty (we married five years ago) spent most of 2011 undergoing chemo treatments for lymphoma. Right now she is in remission and has maintained a GREAT attitude throughout the entire process.

I'm sorry, I might be getting a bit wordy, but I would like to share one last thing. I have been a member of the St. Vincent De Paul Society for almost 20 years. Our mission---to help local folks in need. Okay, about 12 years ago my wife and I went out to visit a single mom and her two kids. Their electricity and water had been shut off. We took care of that and it was turned back on within a few hours. To the point--our parish was having its annual Fall Festival that week. Rides, food and lots of FUN. As president of the SVDP Society I would always secure ride and food tickets for families who could not afford them. One of these families was Jake's. Jake, age 7,  suffered from "Brittle Bone Disease" (Osteogenesis Imperfecta) and many low-energy impacts would cause one of his bones to break. On Sunday afternoon the family met me in the parish center. I had wrist bands put on the kids so they could ride all day long and I gave mom a bunch of food tickets. She asked me if I could just watch Jake while she took her daughter, Nancy, to the bathroom. I walked out side with Jake and there was a small step down, maybe four inches, like a street curb. Jake stepped down and groaned. His leg had broken. All the kid wanted to do was go on the merry-go-round. I sat down with him and he was crying and then I was crying and my arm was around his shoulder and all sorts of people were walking this way and that and he says to me, "Don't worry, Larry. It's okay. This happens all the time. I just wish mommy did not have to go to the hospital today." He was worried about her.

Talk about attitude and perseverance. I'll never forget Jake, ever.

WOW. Thanks so much for sharing that. I'll just wipe my tears so I can see the keyboard now. What an amazing story. I totally agree that people, and for some reason children especially, have an amazing resilience and ability to deal with hard times. 

If you are interested in buying the book (and it sounds like a winner to me) here are the places you can find it:

Kindle buy link
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006P0EYI8/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tributebooks-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B006P0EYI8

Nook buy link
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=dcSBhG3Rj8w&subid=&offerid=239662.1&type=10&tmpid=8432&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.barnesandnoble.com%252Fw%252Fthe-priest-and-the-peaches-larry-peterson%252F1108051518%253Fean%253D2940013858190%2526itm%253D1%2526usri%253Dthe%252Bpriest%252Band%252Bthe%252Bpeaches

iBookstore buy link
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=dcSBhG3Rj8w&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Fbook%252Fthe-priest-and-the-peaches%252Fid491711271%253Fmt%253D11%2526uo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30

Smashwords buy link
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/116166?ref=tributebooks

PDF buy link
https://www.payloadz.com/go/sip?id=1538819