A Distant Music

“For this Kentucky woman, reading A Distant Music was like driving through the eastern hills and hollers on a perfect autumn day, with the scent of wood smoke in the air and the trees ablaze with color. B.J. Hoff’s lyrical prose brings to life this gentle, moving story of a beloved teacher and his students, who learn far more than the three Rs. I brushed away tears at several tender points in the story and held my breath when it seemed all might be lost. Yet, even in the darkest moments, hope shines on every page. A lovely novel by one of historical fiction’s finest wordsmiths.”
—Liz Curtis Higgs, best–selling author of Thorn in My Heart

“As always when I open B.J.’s books I am drawn into a place that is both distant and at home. The metaphor of music, of lost music especially, so resonates with those of us who at times feel our voices are lost and long to know that we will be found. I know I’ll love this series as I love your others and secretly, as I tell my husband, I wish I could create the kinds of characters B.J. does because I fall in love with them and want them always as my friends.”
—Jane Kirkpatrick, author of Look for a Clearing in the Wild, Book One of the Change and Cherish Series

“I read The Penny Whistle years ago and never forgot it. I was delighted to see that it had become a full–length novel. A Distant Music contains all the elements—compelling characters, fascinating setting and stellar writing—that I’ve come to expect from a book with B.J. Hoff’s name on the cover.”
—Deborah Raney, author of Over the Waters and A Vow to Cherish

“B.J. Hoff is a master story teller. With impeccable research, vibrant characters and historical accuracy, Ms. Hoff weaves a story that’s impossible to put down.”
—Lori Copeland, author of The Plainsman

“B.J. Hoff weaves an engrossing, heart tugging story of hope and light in the unlikely setting of a bleak, poverty stricken 1800’s mining town. Hoff captures how faith can triumph in even the most hopeless of circumstances, all the while making you care deeply about the trials and joys of her characters from the spirited young Maggie MacAuley to the wise and compassionate teacher, Jonathan Stuart. Another captivating tale from a master storyteller!”
—Cindy Swanson, radio host of A Weekend Rockford

“A Distant Music is another captivating book by author B.J. Hoff. Ms. Hoff has the ability to create such believable characters that you feel like you know them as friends when you close the book’s final page...A Distant Music holds such wonderful prose and such realistic descriptions that I felt I was there.”
—Jill Eileen Smith

“Picking up a B.J. Hoff novel guarantees that you will be transported into another time filled with captivating characters. Book #1 of the new Mountain Song Legacy series, A Distant Music, is no exception. Ever since the publication of her novella, The Penny Whistle, readers have asked B.J. for more of the story. With A Distant Music, B.J. delivers the first installment, and it’s a novel that will tug at your heart and fill you with hope. B.J. Hoff’s gift of bringing characters to life shines in A Distant Music. I found myself drawn into Maggie MacAuley’s troubles and shed more than a tear or two with her. A Distant Music is an enchanting read that touches the heart. Once more B.J. proves that when it comes to the historical voice, she is the master. B.J. tells us that this is just the beginning, with more to come. I, for one, am eagerly awaiting the rest of the Mountain Song Legacy series.”
—Vennessa Ng, book reviewer

“In the lyrical pages of B.J. Hoff’s A Distant Music, we discover that God is present even in the darkness of despair...and where God is, hope overflows. A warm and satisfying tale of characters who will live in your memory for years to come.”
—Angela Hunt, author of The Novelist