Sunday, February 14, 2021

Celebrate Lit Blog Tour: The Least of These by Kathleen Neely

Book: The Least of These

Author: Kathleen Neely

Genre: Christian Urban fiction

Release date: 2019

Journalist Scott Harrington sets out to write a documentary on the lives of three homeless men. He hopes to win a prestigious award and his father’s respect. In the process, he uncovers stories of heartbreak, trauma, and rejection, causing him to revisit his own tragic past and the guilty secret that he holds.

Claire Bassett has been searching for her husband who went missing a year ago. The attentions of another man cause her to question if she should continue to search or move on with her life. As Scott and Claire’s stories overlap, will there be restoration or rejection?

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Kathleen Neely is a wonderful author, I have read a couple of

her other books. I am always intrigued by her writing style.

The Least of These by Kathleen Neely has a very touching

storyline.

Scott Harrington is a journalist who is on a mission

to write a documentary. His hope is that his documentary

would be award winning and also make his Dad proud of him.

The topic of his documentary is the story of 3 Homeless men.

He takes a different Journalistic approach to his writing. He

doesn't just go out and interviewthe Homeless men, he decides

to live amongst the homeless and get to know them on a

personal level. He not only discovers the background of how

the men came to be homeless, but their stories have him

taking a look back at his past. Claire Bassett is having to

move in with her parents with her 2 children. Her husband

left a note about a year ago and has not been seen since.

She desperately wants him to return, but is struggling with

taking care of her family. She gets a part time job and is being

"hit upon" by a man. Scott and Claire's lives become intertwined

and it really is eye opening for both of them. Will Scott have a life

changing experience through his journalistic approach? Will Claire

find her husband or decide to move on with life? How does Will and

Claire come to know each other?

I was totally needing my box of tissue next to me when

reading this book. The book is very emotional and really tells the

story of Homelessness is a very touching way. I have worked with

the Homeless on a Volunteer basis for a couple of years, but

reading these stories really gives a new perspective. GREAT

writing style by Kathleen Neely. Though this book is Fiction,

it really reads a "True Story" book. FANTASTIC book!

Kathleen Neely is the author of The Street Singer, Beauty for Ashes, and The Least of These. Her fourth novel, True North, will be released in July, 2021. She is a former elementary teacher. Following her years in the classroom, she moved into administration, serving as an elementary principal at Eden Christian Academy in Pittsburgh, PA and at Shannon Forest Christian School in Greenville, SC. Kathleen is an alumnus of Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania and Regent University in Virginia.

Among her writing accomplishments, Kathleen won second place in a short story contest through ACFW-VA for her short story “The Missing Piece” and an honorable mention for her story “The Dance”. Both were published in a Christmas anthology. Her novel, The Least of These, was awarded first place in the 2015 Fresh Voices contest through Almost an Author. She has numerous devotions published through Christian Devotions. She continues to speak to students about writing. Kathleen is a member of Association of Christian Fiction Writers.

She resides in Greenville, SC with her husband, two cats, and one dog. She enjoys time with family, visiting her two grandsons, traveling, and reading.

More from Kathleen

I’ve always been an avid reader, but began writing at a period in my life when I didn’t have time to commit. While raising three sons, I also worked full time as a teacher, then later as an elementary principal. That left little time for writing. I’d plug away at my manuscript then neglect it for months. Those months became years. Every now and then, I would pull it out, re-read it, then add a little to it.

When nearing retirement, a local ministry hosted Michael Yankoski as a keynote speaker. It prompted me to read his true story titled Under the Overpass, an account of his intentional decision to live among the homeless to share their story. This so closely mirrored my fictional account of journalist Scott Harrington. I found myself inspired to pull out the abandoned manuscript and get serious. I joined a writing group, attended conferences, and met with two other writers weekly to critique and be critiqued. That manuscript, The Least of These, went on to win first place in the fiction category of a contest titled Fresh Voices.

Scott, the protagonist in The Least of These, has a complex personality. He has defied the path that his father planned for him, yet remains burdened by his father’s disappointment. He lives in the shadow of his deceased brother and carries a secret that weighs heavily on his conscience. If he could win a Pulitzer or another top journalism award, perhaps he’d earn his father’s respect. But his altruistic nature sidelines his goal. The homeless men he intends to write about become real people with real needs. Little did he know that their circumstances would brush up against his own guilt.

Here’s a brief excerpt of a scene between Scott and Stella:

“Scott. Look at me.” She touched my hands to move them from my face. “Look at me. You were fifteen years old. You were a child—a child placed in a terrible situation. You’d lost the intimacy with your brother, the only person you’d ever had a relationship with. You had a domineering father and an absent mother. Don’t carry this burden of guilt. It’s not yours. Put it where it belongs. Your brother made bad choices. Your parents didn’t parent well. A fifteen-year-old kid can’t be expected to handle the gravity of that situation.”

That’s a smidgeon of what’s ahead in the pages of The Least of These. I invite you to join me in the journey. Meet Claire, a wife whose husband has gone missing. Tyler, whose mother abandoned him; and Stella, a successful bistro owner whose unrequited love begins losing hope.

Happy reading!