Above the Stars [Paperback]

Keith Clemons (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 8, 2004

Called home from the mission-field to pay last respects to his estranged brother, missionary Lonnie Striker finds he’s inherited a film company on the verge of collapse. A company that is the sole source of funding for his ministry. Now, he has just two weeks to stave off a mutiny, keep his nephew from executing a company takeover, hold his creditors at bay, curb his feelings for his widowed sister-in-law, and deliver a movie to market, while protecting a secret that could destroy them all. And there’s one other problem: Lonnie has discovered the movie is rated “R” for sex and violence. There’s no time or money to remake the film-it must go out as is. The film’s release will bring the company financial security—while standing on principle could cost him everything he holds dear, including his ministry. It sounds like an easy decision, but...

Editorial Reviews

Review

Winner - 2005 Word Guild Christian Writing Awards - Contemporary Fiction

Honorable Mention - 2005 IPPY Awards - Religious Fiction

About the Author

Keith Clemons has authored four novels. His first three, If I Should Die, Above the Stars, and These Little Ones, won The Word Guild Christian Writing Awards Best Contemporary Novel in 2004, 2005 and 2007 respectively. Having also earned an IPPY award for Religious Fiction (Above the Stars - 2005) and the TWG independent Publisher Award (These Little Ones - 2007) the total number of awards accumulated by Clemons now stands at five.

Of If I Should Die Host of 100 Huntley Street, David Mainse, said: “It was so gripping I could not put it down. It's well written. It's an amazing book. There's talent here. You've got to pick up this book.” Author and TV host, Michael Coren, called it: “Clever, brave, insightful and compelling…one of those novels that demands to be read and demands to be discussed.” A reviewer for Aspiring Retailer, the American booksellers' magazine, calls his award winning 2006 release, These Little Ones, “well written” and says it’s “Recommended for all lovers of adventure, courage and compassion." His fourth novel, Angel in the Alley, was released in July, ’07.

A graduate of California State University, Fullerton, Keith earned degrees in English Literature and Mass Communications. In addition to writing, Keith frequently appears on radio and television where he expounds trends that affect the Church and society at large. His passion for communication has resulted in the publication of more than a hundred articles. He resides with his wife at their home in Caledon, Ontario.

Product Details

• Paperback: 275 pages
• Publisher: George Colton (June 8, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0973104813
• ISBN-13: 978-0973104813
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,387,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating moral dilemma, January 3, 2005

By 

Denyse O'Leary "design or chance?" (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Above the Stars (Paperback)

Above the Stars presents a fascinating moral dilemma. Lonnie, a low-key missionary type with a painful past is building a hospital in a poor Mexican town. For funds, he is using his share of the proceeds of a film business run by his dynamic brother Harlan. Harlan doesn't think much of Lonnie. But when he dies suddenly, he leaves a controlling interest in the company to him. That's not as big a gift as it sounds; when Lonnie arrives in Hollywood, he discovers that the company is on the verge of receivership. So the failure to rescue it will be Lonnie's fault, not Harlan's. Worse, the film that might provide the needed funds is a nihilistic go-kill-yourself flick aimed at young people that Lonnie feels morally obligated to refuse to release.

Lonnie has done his homework and knows that the public would line up enthusiastically for high-value entertainment, but he can't get time or credit to change the film. Or can he? He must act quickly because a big-time loan shark plans to gobble the company like a fish stick.

I really enjoyed this story about a man who decided to do what was right and accept the consequences. The actual consequences turn out to be quite different from what anyone would have predicted. Author Clemons has a great way with description of weather and environment. It would be fun to read a sequel.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Danger! Sleep Deprivation, August 3, 2005

By 

Brian Austin "Brian C. Austin" (Durham, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Above the Stars (Paperback)

Rich in plots, sub-plots, intrigue and surprising twists, this book should carry a warning: "Danger! Sleep Deprivation!

Lonnie, a career missionary, loves the simple live, but carries baggage from broken relationships. Long-festering wounds of never quite measuring up to his money-hungry father, and the deep animosity between his brother and himself hints that his "Call" to the mission field is at least in part, running away.

Coming home too late for reconciliation with his estranged brother, the will, read the day after the funeral, thrusts Lonnie into the leadership of a movie empire. It is one step from bankruptcy with an XXX rated film about to release. Lacking background knowledge of the film industry, distrusted by the employees he has suddenly inherited, and despised by his brother's son, Lonnie also battles a hostile takeover bid with inside corruption working against him.

This is a tightly written story showing deep insights into the very human struggles of a man following a high calling. Lonnie is a fascinating and very "real" character, with all his hopes and dreams on the line, including the financial backing for his mission work. An unforgiving calendar with impossible deadlines looms. Financial pressures he has never imagined, with not just his own welfare, but other family members and his mission work under the gun push intensely toward compromise. And in the midst of it all, a relationship he thought long dead begins to grow again from deeply buried roots.

Drawing on the writing strengths that made "If I Should Die" a wonderful and rewarding read, this book shows the author's greater grasp of his craft. A work that demands a fully engaged intellect, this is also richly entertaining and exceptionally difficult to put down. It holds fascinating questions to the very last page. Even the ending, far from a "they lived happily ever after" windup, is somehow rewarding and deeply satisfying.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read!, August 10, 2004

By 

Judi Meadows (CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Above the Stars (Paperback)

Keith Clemons has written a compelling novel with complex characters. I found it hard to put down. His use of descriptive words takes you into the scene and brings you into the emotional turmoil of the moment. This novel deals with the Hollywood hype of our day that is pitted against the God of heaven.

Lonnie, a missionary in Posada, Mexico, a place he loves, has received a letter that he needs to come home. Home? For him, that is Posada. He and his brother have been estranged for years. But out of Christian duty he fly's back, leaving a hospital he started, and nearing completion, behind, to return to memories he'd rather forget and temptations he finds hard to resist...

Flung into finishing the production of a movie, Lonnie finds himself dealing with the demons of deceit and destruction. And secrets, those kept from him, those he has been forced to keep and the one's he doesn't want to resurface, as well as one he has yet to find out, keep this story moving.

You'll love this book!