Press Releases

From ChristianNewsWire.com [Jan. 16, 2012]

Contact: Anthony Horvath, 202-280-7971; Shirley Tucker, shirley@diamondsinthedust.net

MPUMALANGA, South Africa, Jan. 16, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ — AIDS and poverty are serious issues on the African continent, but award winning author Shirley Mowat Tucker believes that caring Christians can make a difference.

Tucker’s book, “Diamonds in the Dust”, tells the tale of Ida Morgan. After her husband was murdered, she was plunged into a suffocating grief. There she would have remained if she had not responded to a cry for help. She soon learns about the plight of orphaned children in her area. They are easy prey, and if they are to receive any help, Ida realizes it will have to come from her.

Tucker explains that opportunities for Christian compassion are everywhere, not just South Africa.

She says, “It takes a horrible event to open Ida’s eyes to the plight of those around her. God will show us opportunities to help them, if we will just open our eyes.”

“Diamonds in the Dust” isn’t written to be a call to action. The book is simply the story that Tucker felt compelled to write. Nonetheless, she knows that the situation she describes in her book is very real. She and her husband, Mark, have taken action, forming a micro-lending charity in South Africa that has since loaned two million dollars to individuals looking to start businesses and improve their situations. The charity, called The Phakamani Foundation, is on the front lines in the war against poverty.

Mark and Shirley travel widely, inviting others to help them help others start their own businesses and achieve financial independence.

The traveling is likely to increase now that Shirley’s book has been released. It won first prize in Athanatos Christian Ministry’s Christian Novel Contest in 2011. Kirkus Reviews said that “Diamonds in the Dust” has “An addictive storyline that pulls at the reader’s social conscience and sense of justice, delivered in an honest, humane manner.”

One of the most recent honors that Shirley’s book has received is the award of “Five Doves” by The Dove Foundation, a Christian organization that reviews books and movies and evaluates them. It declares the book a “must read’ and notes how it shows God at work- by working through His people.

Shirley Tucker is available for interviews at shirley@diamondsinthedust.net. Her website is www.diamondsinthedust.net. To learn more about the Phakamani Foundation, visit www.phakamanifoundation.org

From ChristianNewsWire.com [June 1st, 2011]

Award Winning Novel Set Against Backdrop of South African- And Spiritual- Turmoil

Contact: Anthony Horvath, Executive Director, Athanatos Christian Ministries, 202-280-7971, director@athanatosministries.org

LA CROSSE, Wisc., June 1, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ — Most Americans know very little about South Africa besides the fact that it has suffered through tremendous racial tensions. This is not true of South African native Shirley Mowat Tucker, who won Athanatos Christian Ministry’s first annual Christian novel contest with her story, “Diamonds in the Dust.”

Tucker’s story has South Africa as its backdrop but Americans will find they can relate to the themes, problems, and issues that surface in the story. America, for example, has had its share of racial problems. AIDS is a serious problem. Poverty is rampant, as well. However, the central theme of the book is an issue that runs even deeper than these important problems. The main character, Ida Morgan, has a spiritual problem. Tragedy has fallen upon her household and her grief is all-consuming. Her anger and bitterness with God permeates her existence. The path to healing and reconciliation is paved with “diamonds in the dust.”

Anthony Horvath, Executive Director of Athanatos Christian Ministries, the host of the novel contest states, “What I liked so much about Shirley’s story is that it clearly is not born only of her imagination. She and her husband are engaged in ‘hand to hand’ combat with poverty. In 2007 they founded the Phakamani Foundation which administers ‘microloans’ to poor, but enterprising South Africans. They know about ‘diamonds in the dust’!”

ACM’s 2012 Christian novel contest is in its second year and will be distributing $2,500 in awards and, as in the case of the 2011 grand prize winner, Mrs. Tucker, may extend an offer to publish, as well. The contest is accepting submissions through September 1st, 2011. More details are available at the web page: www.christianwritingcontest.com

“Diamonds in the Dust” is due to be released by ACM in the fall of 2011.

More information can be found, including an excerpt, on the book’s website, www.diamondsinthedust.net. Pre-orders are also being accepted and a limited number of review copies are available, as well. Mrs. Tucker is available for interviews and can be reached through the website or by email at: shirley@diamondsinthedust.net.

Athanatos Christian Ministries is an apologetics ministry that seeks to defend the faith through the arts, hosting writing contests and conferences to encourage writers to adopt ACM’s vision. Executive Director Anthony Horvath is available for interviews at director@athanatosministries.org or 202-280-7971. ACM’s website is www.athanatosministries.org.