Ten Thousand Charms

Allison K. Pittman

Mar 2009 · Crossroads of Grace Book 1 · Sold by Multnomah

About this ebook

Unfit for Love? Pregnant—by a man who will never know or care. Gloria, born into a life of prostitution, sees only one solution: get rid of the child. But then she meets John William MacGregan, a miner, left with a newborn daughter and no one to care for her when his wife died during childbirth. So John and Gloria strike a deal. Gloria will care for Kate, and John will eventually raise her son. There is no offer of, nor seeking for, a hand in marriage. When John leaves the mines to seek his fortune in the new Oregon Territory , Gloria, Kate, and baby Danny must go with him. Yanked away from a life of prostitution, Gloria must finally face the pain that has always plagued her, and her longings for a home, a family, and a life free from shame. Ten Thousand Charms is a beautiful tale of an empty heart floundering…and falling straight into the arms of Christ.

A woman with no future.
A man with no hope.
A God who knows the key to their deepest need lies in each other…

Wyoming Territories, 1860. Gloria is in trouble. A mining camp is a merciless place when you’re young, pregnant…and a prostitute. No matter. Life will not defeat her.

John William McGregan is in despair. His beloved wife died in childbirth. And while John is a resourceful man, raising an infant daughter on his own seems impossible.

Thrown together by a seemingly cruel fate, Gloria and John William make a pact: She will nurse his daughter; he will raise her son. Neither asks for marriage. They are joined by necessity, nothing more.

But after a move to the new Oregon territory, facing John William’s faith day after day, and receiving an older woman’s motherly mentoring, Gloria longs for something more. For the love she’s been denied all her life. If only that life hadn’t made her unfit, not only for John William…but for God.

Then tragedy strikes—making even the resolute John William question his faith. Terrified, Gloria turns to the One she has never been able to trust. But can even God save what now means more to Gloria than life itself: her newfound family?

Ratings and reviews

I mean what a great title. Whimsical, imaginative and promising. Yet the actual story proved to be lackluster, unengaging and dull. It's a long string of limbo - nothing happens and the story goes no where. If I don't know where the story is going in literally the first few pages then that book's not worth bothering with. And with this one the reader has no idea where the story is coming from, very much less what it intends or where it's going. Fail.

About the author

Allison K. Pittman teaches English at Judson High School in Converse, Texas. An avid writer’s group member for seven years, she and her peers celebrated her book contract with Multnomah not as a starting point, but a blessing along the way. Allison is also the director of drama ministry at First Baptist Church of Universal City, where she has written and directed the Christmas service for the past five years. She and her husband, Mike, have celebrated fifteen wedding anniversaries and enjoy three sons, Jack and Ryan, twin ten-year-olds, and six-year-old Charlie (voted “most entertaining” on his soccer team).