About the Book
Book: Just a Piece of Stone
Author: Mary Ann Hake
Genre: Middle Grade Historical Adventure Novel
Release Date: April 29, 2025
A Special Stone—A Family Legacy
Suspense and a Hint of the Supernatural
Travel backward in time as the Goldberg family experiences moments of history—including the Holocaust, meeting Leonardo Da Vinci, castles, knights, battles, and thefts. They also face kidnapping, explore caves, flee as refugees, and live under various conquerors. Just a Piece of Stone begins in the United States and moves to Europe and Asia, with each chapter sharing a story about a different boy in a different time period. From grandfather to grandson for thousands of years, Just a Piece of Stone travels the world. Join the adventure!
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Mary Ann Hake has published hundreds of stories, articles, poems, puzzles, devotions, curricula, and more (for both children and adults) in periodicals and books plus hundreds of book reviews online. Just a Piece of Stone is her first published novel. The first two picture books in her series about a blind girl, The Smells of the Seasons, received the prestigious Mom’s Choice Award and were featured on the Arkansas PBS summer literacy program, Rise and Shine. She has worked in a bookstore and as a librarian and enjoyed reading to children at story times and conducting summer reading programs. She has also taught writing to children and at writers’ conferences. She continues to work as a freelance editor along with her writing. She and her husband live in beautiful Oregon.
More from Mary
About eight years ago I had an idea: What would happen if a boy found a stone during the time of Moses during the Israelites wandering in the desert and the stone was handed down from generation to generation? I’m not going to say exactly where the rock came from because that’s part of the suspense in the book as readers try to figure out its origin, which is revealed in the final chapter.
So I looked up the approximate date of the Israelites in the Wilderness after leaving Egypt and then figured out how many generations there might be to the present day and the ages of the boys and the grandfathers in each chapter. I decided the stone would be handed down from grandfather to grandson and they would be blessed with long lives so there wouldn’t be too many chapters in the book. It was like putting a puzzle together. I originally planned fifty chapters then realized in the midst of writing that this would be too long for the age group, so I changed to thirty-five, with Old Testament ancestors summarized in the chapter prior to the finale.
I also chose to start the story in the present day with a boy getting a mysterious stone in the mail then go backward in time all the way to the days of Moses. I came up with a list of character names, gleaned from the Bible and historical info, and looked at timelines to choose dates of interesting historical events and places for the chapters’ settings.
This took years researching time periods and culture, and I learned so much. I read, watched videos, and listened to an oral history by a Holocaust survivor, whose facts I used in the chapter set in Nazi Germany. I saved dozens of pages of notes and pictures. Since the original character who found the stone was a Hebrew, I kept the family Jewish throughout the novel. So, in addition to intriguing historical tidbits and accurate locations for Jewish settlements and refugee situations, I incorporated Jewish culture and customs. I also gave the characters appropriate occupations for the settings. A glossary at the back provides pronunciations and definitions of unfamiliar words.
From chapter 2 on each chapter features the boyhood of the grandfather from the previous chapter as we move continue to move backward through time. In the Kindle version, you can click to go to any chapter you wish. Each chapter offers a separate short story within the entire family saga about the prized stone. Throughout the historical tale, we witness God’s protection and care for His followers. I also tried to model people of diverse backgrounds getting along, except, of course, for the authentic historical incidents and battles included.
Last summer when we visited Oregon’s Painted Hills, I met three generations of a Jewish family on vacation. The son is a rabbi and a mohel from New York. I told them about my story and enjoyed visiting with them. He told me the stone should be sapphire, so I changed its color to blue.
A publisher expressed interest early on, but never followed through. An agent said my writing was beautiful but declined representation. The unpublished manuscript was a finalist in the Cascade Writers Contest in 2020. Children who read the chapters one by one begged for more and for the book to be published. Eventually, Elk Lake Publishing offered me a contract then came rewriting and polishing amid many family crises. It takes much time to write, rewrite, and prepare a book for publication. I love the cover Elk Lake created for Just a Piece of Stone.
The tale is great for homeschoolers and as a teachers’ resource, which could be a launch for students’ history projects. I am working on puzzles and activities to accompany the novel and will make these available on my website and to newsletter subscribers. I am also available for online visits with classes or to teach writing to children.
Interview with the Author
- How do you select the names of your characters?
I try to find names that fit the person and the time period and background. For Just a Piece of Stone, since it’s about Jewish characters in history, I looked at appropriate names and made sure not to repeat any or have any too similar in the same chapter. Since there are so many characters, I came up with quite a list to carry the story through the centuries. I chose to use familiar spellings rather than the Hebrew versions since most readers are English speakers.
- If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?
I wish I could have taken creative writing in high school, but I couldn’t fit it in my schedule. I loved to write as a child and wish I would have continued writing more diligently and worked to improve my craft from teen years on. I would have taken writing more seriously and studied more after I was out of school so I would be a better writer at a younger age. My first novel didn’t release until I was seventy years old, although I have had hundreds of pieces in periodicals over the years.
- What comes first, the plot or characters?
The story idea comes first for me—the basics of what might happen. But the main character is included in that vision because a story has to happen to someone. I think, though, the plot causes the character to act and to grow, so it emerges ahead.
- What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I love to read and usually have several books going at once—one novel in paperback, one on Kindle, and often nonfiction books interspersed too. I also edit for other writers, and I do enjoy using that gift to help polish their work. Besides writing-related activities, I love spending time with family—visiting, playing games, enjoying food. I also enjoy seeing the beauty of God’s creation in nature. And I cherish spending time with the Lord, with the Bible and listening to uplifting music.
- If you could invite one person to dinner, who would it be and what would you cook?
I would choose Jesus as a man to have the opportunity to speak face-to-face. I would probably cook something simple since I’m more of a Mary than a Martha. Maybe a crockpot meal with a a green salad.
Blog Stops
Inspired by Fiction, August 13
Blossoms and Blessings, August 14 (Author Interview)
Simple Harvest Reads, August 14 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)
By the Book, August 15
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 16
Artistic Nobody, August 17 (Author Interview)
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 18
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, August 19
Texas Book-aholic, August 20
Leslie’s Library Escape, August 21
Guild Master, August 22 (Author Interview)
Holly’s Book Corner, August 22
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, August 23
An Author’s Take, August 24
For Him and My Family, August 25
Fiction Book Lover, August 26 (Author Interview)
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Mary is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.