Sparkling Waters — Mark Henry Miller

The title of this novel, Sparkling Waters means nothing. Has no connection with any event in the novel. Truth is I love the title. Came from one of my dearest friends, Art Johnson in San Marcos, Texas. He read a blog in which I talked about fishing on the Sol Duc River out of Forks, Washington, even included the novel cover picture. Art, on his own, which is who he is, always learning and sharing, looked up SOL DUC and learned it means, SPARKLING WATERS. Wrap it.

The title though, has EVERYTHING to do with the tone and full measure of love in the novel. My hero, Tricia Gleason and her husband, Nathan Spark walk a sharp learning curve for their infant child, Caleb Yale Gleason Spark. The Yale is the last name of their mentor and dear, dear friend Creighton Yale, known for his wit and cynicism. At times, hes nasty. He asked if Nathan and Tricia would call their son, Yale. For after all, Creighton baptized this lovely and armless child. Tricia smiled and gave it her best Creighton jab, Why yes, we call him Yale when hes fussy and uncooperative! Creighton smiled, sort of.

The novel brims over with sparkle, the content has a tone and attitude that refuses to spell wine with an h. Sure, there are shadows and unanswered questions abounding. The main one is would Tamisha, godmother of Caleb, ever find her identical twin, Tanisha, whom she didnt know even existed. And would Nathan stay in ministry? The warmth and caring. almost each chapter, until the final three chapters, bring value and humor and up for almost everyone, even the reader. One reader who wanted to be the first to read, Sparkling Waters, said, Dont let anyone read the last three chapters first. When I finished this 8th Tricia Gleason novel, I laughed harder than I could measure. The ending? What a surprise. A yikes surprise.