THE GOOD NEWS SERIES STUDY GUIDE
Two Shoes Publishing House
The Good News Series Study Guide
Copyright © 2011 by Audrey McKay
The characters listed in this guide are based on the following works of fiction produced from the author’s imagination. Any similarites to living persons or actual events is coincidental:
Enough Good News
No Weapon
Blind Justice
Long Night
Even Me
Third Watch
Kingdom Force
And any future books included in the series
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews.
Cover art: modified from Original by Gary Hathaway © – License purchased at dreamstime.com
The Good News Series Study Guide – A companion to the Good News Series Books, Enough Good News, No Weapon, Blind Justice and Long Night.
This study guide was done at the request of one of my girlfriends. A couple of others chimed in with subjects they weren’t clear on, so I’ve listed those terms, along with some other terms I thought needed a more in-depth explanation. (Thanks Jen, Sandy and LaVette)
I’ve included a few terms that some Americans will consider unnecessary, but I want the readers outside the U.S. to be on the same page with us. I’ve also added a list of characters and given background on them in case you need to refer back to it.
I wrote this series specifically for a Christian audience. I was actually aiming at those who have matured in their Christian walk and were looking for a form of entertainment that coincided with their lifestyle. But, I certainly was not trying to exclude anyone either, so, everyone is welcome. Whether you’re of a different faith, a mature Christian, new in your Christian walk or you’re not sure what you are, I’d love to hear what you thought about the books. You can comment on the guestbook on my website. (link below)
I plan to update this guide after each book in the series is released, so if you have any questions, see something missing or are unclear about anything you read in the books, please contact me on my website, https://audreymckay.net. I will do my best to accommodate any requests.
Finally, I should probably warn you that reading the entire guide may result in spoilers for you, so if you like to be surprised, but haven’t read the novels yet, you may want to skip to the “TERMS” section and read the “CHARACTERS” section after reading the books.
Book #1, Enough Good News (EGN) Dec 2009
Book #2, No Weapon (NW) Dec 2010
Book #3, Blind Justice (BJ) Jun 2011
Book #4, Long Night (LN) Dec 2011
Book #5, Even Me (EM) Aug 2012
Book #6, Third Watch (TW) *Winter 2012
Book #7, Kingdom Force (KF) *TBA
GOOD NEWS SERIES CHARACTERS
SIDRA
Sidra Lyons is an attorney living in the Washington D.C. area. She attended Emory Law School in Atlanta but has resided in and around D.C. for most of her life. She’s an alpha female who takes no crap from anyone. Now that she’s older, she’s learned to control her temper, but she occasionally still has trouble with her tongue. It has a mind of its own. She is the daughter and eldest child of Sidero and Eliza, divorced since Sidra and her brother Michael were children. By the end of Book #1, EGN, her last name becomes West. We get updates on Sidra in most of the books following EGN.
LIZ
Liz is Sidra’s best friend since childhood – they went to grade school and high school together. She is the (single) mother of Jayden, Sidra’s godson. Although she’s a little excitable, she has a heart of gold. And will tell Sidra the truth all the time, even the unwelcome truth. In EGN, it is Liz who reminds Sidra of an incident when they were teenagers that points to the possibility that Sidra may have more than one sibling. We also learn that Liz has come out of an abusive marriage. She is mentioned in NW and featured prominently in LN.
JAYDEN
Jayden is the son of Liz and Robert. He makes an appearance in EGN and LN.
JENSEN
Jensen West is a lawyer and the boss of Sidra Lyons in EGN. He’s strong but has a sensitive side. Jensen also has an issue that he must face, in EGN, before he makes the next move toward his destiny. It was an issue he had dealt with before, and thought that he’d conquered it. But just like in real life, sometimes we have to face things again that we thought had been completely dealt with. Jensen appears in the most of the books of the series but is featured in EGN.
MIKE
Mike is the brother of Sidra and youngest child of Sidero and Eliza. His full name is Sidero Michael Lyons. When EGN opens, we find that Mike is marrying Amanda, a woman he met in college. Mike is much more laid back than his sister. He tends to go with the flow and not stress out much. He’s very supportive of his sister and family in general. He’s an engineer who works in Washington, D.C. Mike is seen in EGN and NW. He’s mentioned briefly in LN.
AMANDA
Amanda is the wife of Mike Lyons. They are married in the opening of EGN. Amanda has four, very over protective brothers. She also grew up with Justice and Jensen West in Washington, D.C. By the end of EGN, her immediate family has grown to include a child.
ELIZA
Eliza is the mother of Sidra and Mike and the former wife of Sidero. She divorced him after he confessed that he’d been having affairs while they were married. Sidra and Mike were very young when she spilt with Sidero. She basically raised them in a single parent home. She is the voice of reason in their lives.
JUSTICE
Justice West is the brother of Jensen. He is briefly seen in EGN and has more time in NW. He is featured prominently in BJ. In NW, we discover that Justice is an FBI agent living in the state of Texas. In BJ, Justice is following up on a case that started in NW. He has never really been into religion, but has a change of heart in BJ. He also meets someone special in BJ.
MOCHA
Mocha is a music artist and producer living in Atlanta, when EGN opens. He briefly dated Sidney, but the relationship didn’t end well. He is selfish and self-centered. He uses money to buy everyone and everything until he comes face to face with his own demons. Though he is not mentioned in NW, BJ or LN, it is likely that we will see Mocha in a future book.
KYRA
Kyra West is the daughter of Jensen West. Jensen had Kyra with a woman named Leslie before he met Sidra. When EGN opens, Kyra is six years old. We see her in NW, a couple of years older. She is mentioned again in LN. She is precocious and adorable.
LESLIE
Leslie is the mother of Kyra and former lover of Jensen. She started seeing another man, Don, when she was with Jensen. This duplicity caused her to be unsure of the identity of her baby’s father. Although a DNA test confirmed that Jensen was the father, she still left him to be with Don. She and Jensen share custody of Kyra up until NW.
SIDERO
Sidero is the ex-husband of Eliza, and the father of Sidra, Mike, Sidney and Sidonna. He wasted a lot of his youth chasing women but eventually grew up and started making things right with his grown children. He is featured prominently in EGN and mentioned briefly in NW and BJ.
SIDNEY
Sidney is the half sister of Sidra and Mike. She found her father, Sidero, as an adult, and only because her aunt mentioned his name after her mother passed away. Sidney was always a bit of a wild child but after she meets her family, she begins to settle down. It is through the influence and love of her family that she is born again. She makes one huge mistake at the end of EGN that almost costs her everything. Sidney is featured in E
GN, featured prominently in NW and mentioned in BJ and LN.
ROBERT
Robert is the abusive ex-husband of Liz and father of Jayden. He is mentioned in EGN and LN. He used to be a minister but never dealt with his childhood issues. When the issues resurfaced, he let them take over. His refusal to deal with the imbalances in his life cost him his family. He is mentioned briefly in EGN and seen in LN.
ADAM
Adam Hill is a photographer that Sidney met before she started college. He had her and other girls pose for nude shots when Sidney was still a teenager. Adam begins stalking Sidney several years later and follows her up to the D.C. area, where she was preparing her defense for trial. While there, he begins stalking Sidra as well. He has been walking the line between light and dark for so long that he no longer has control over his actions. By the end of EGN, he is living in the dark and completely overrun by demonic forces. Adam is featured in EGN and briefly mentioned in NW.
ANITA/ALISA
Anita and Alisa are first cousins of Sidney, on her mother’s side. They are also the daughters of Wilameena Campbell. They both joined the armed forces, shortly after graduating high school. One sister is recently divorced and the other was never married. They have three children between them. We meet the sisters in EGN and see them again in NW.
WILAMEENA CAMPBELL
Meena is Sidney’s aunt. She has never liked Sidney, even as a child. She extends that dislike to Sidra when they finally meet. Meena is cantankerous and belligerent with almost everyone. The root of her anger stems from the bitterness she refuses to let go of. People she should have been able to trust hurt her, and she never got over it. Consequently, she alienated everyone except her daughters and grandchildren. Meena is introduced in EGN and featured in NW.
PASTOR ESTHER CYRUS
Pastor Cyrus attends the church Sidra grew up in. She, like Sidney has prophetic giftings and suffered at the hands of men because of that. When Sidra comes to her with a dream of Sidney’s, Pastor Cyrus helps them both. Eventually she begins to mentor Sidney and help her through hard times with wise counsel. Pastor Cyrus is mentioned in EGN and again in NW.
SIDONNA
We first read about Sidonna at the end of EGN, when we learn that Sidero may have produced another child besides Sidney. She is mentioned briefly in EGN and again in BJ and LN, but is featured prominently in EM. She also goes by Donna.
BISHOP MONTGOMERY
Bishop Montgomery is the first person we meet in NW. He is a guest speaker at Rev. Styles’ church and notices something different about Sidney. He is sincere in his walk with the Lord and wants to advance the kingdom of God. The only book Rev. Montgomery is mentioned is NW.
REV. CANAAN STYLES
What to say about Rev. Styles… He was a very interesting character to write about. He started out wanting to do the right things, and actually had for several decades. His walk with the Lord, however, became a matter of performance and power instead of a relationship with the Living God. Later, the problems he never addressed in his life (the abuse at the hands of his father and his resulting low self esteem) come back to bite him. I’ve heard it once said that the things we refuse to forgive others of tend to show up in our own lives. Canaan Styles never really forgave his father for abusing the power he had over him as a child. Consequently, Canaan goes on to perpetrate abuse of power against Sidney. It’s interesting to see how the enemy will take a small opening and come through someone’s life in a big way. Canaan is seen in NW and again in LN.
CONNER/LOGAN STYLES
Conner and Logan are the sons of Rev. and Mrs. Styles. Their father, Canaan, was so busy building his ministry that he left them to his wife to raise. They didn’t receive the discipline they needed from their father. Add that to the fact that their last name afforded them privileges offered to a select few, and you are left with two young terrorists. They went about destroying others with no regard for anything but themselves. So far, they are only mentioned in NW.
EPHRAIM WALKER
Ephraim is the person who unwittingly gets the ball rolling in NW. He is a police officer who attends Rev. Styles’ church. When the good reverend lies to the officer, the wheels of our story are set in motion. He ends up introducing his young co-worker Dirk into the situation and all hell breaks loose in Sidney’s life. Officer Walker is only mentioned in NW.
JENNA/LEO
Jenna and Leo are the twin children of Sidra and Jensen. They are alluded to in EGN and we meet them in NW as babies. They are briefly mentioned in LN.
DAMARIS
Damaris starts out being friendly with Sidney, but quickly becomes an enemy (or frienemy) after Rev. Styles hires her for some covert work. She, like Rev. Styles, starts out doing the right thing, but doesn’t deal with her own issues. In this case, Damaris needed to deal with whom she wanted to please more, herself or God. When she chooses her desires for money and a man over God, things start to move downhill quickly. She is only seen in NW.
MRS. STYLES
Mrs. Styles is the wife of Rev. Canaan Styles and the mother of Conner and Logan Styles. She is a very supportive wife and loving mother. For most of her married life, she’s been very happy. She has no idea what’s really happening with her husband when he starts acting strangely. Unfortunately, his actions cause her to suffer and lose the life to which she had become accustomed. She is only seen in NW.
REV. FITZHUGH
Rev, Fitzhugh is an old seminary professor of Canaan’s. He’s never had much use for the Spirit of God or His gifts. He is the one who spurs Canaan further down the road of destruction. He is only seen in NW.
DIRK WINSTON
Dirk is a young police officer that we meet in NW. He’s hungry to see some action on the force, but hasn’t because his superiors don’t believe he’s ready. When Officer Walker innocently asks him to run a background check, he falls into a trap. The situation is compounded and made worse when he meets Rev. Canaan Styles. Rev. Styles is willing to use the young man to satisfy his own carnal desires without any thought of the young man’s salvation. Dirk only appears in NW.
TERRENCE JOHNSON
Terrence quickly turned into one of my favorite characters. He’s an FBI agent and friend of Justice West. He was raised in the Washington, D.C. foster care system, and continues to reside in D.C. He had a rough childhood and doesn’t trust easily, but he’s accepted Justice and Aric, two of his fellow agents as brothers. He’s also gotten very close to Jensen and Sidra because of Justice. When Justice calls and asks him to keep an eye on Sidney, he gladly does it. He just didn’t expect to fall in love in her. Terrence appears in NW and BJ. He is featured in LN.
CHASE SIMMONS
Chase is an actor living in L.A. He works on a television crime drama, where Justice is a consultant. He learns of Sidney after the news story about her stalking broke, and asks Justice to meet her. We meet Chase in NW and get a little more background about him in BJ. He also makes an appearance in LN.
HAMILTON GILL
Hamilton or Ham is the boss (Unit Chief) of Justice at the FBI field office in Houston, Texas. He’s worked with Justice for several years and Justice considers him a friend. Someone with less than pure intentions befriends Ham, and because of this friendship, Ham ends up passing on information that puts Justice and Terrence in danger. Ham is only seen in BJ.
TONY
Tony is one of the first characters we meet in BJ. He is a friend of the woman being stalked in the book. He is initially part of the group targeting her, but has a change of heart and decides to turn against the group in order to save her. Tony is only seen in BJ.
JESSIAH NEWMAN VII
Jessiah is the leader of an organization called the Lumenaria. It’s a secret society bent on having a hand in virtually everything going on in the world. They literally have members everywhere spying on everyone and everything. He is also a tenured professor at a well-known university. So far, Jessiah is only seen in BJ.
CADENCE MILLER
Cadence
is an engineer living in the Houston, TX area. Her mother dies when she’s very young and she has a tenuous relationship with her sister and stepfather. When BJ opens, we see that she is the victim of an out of balance minister. Much like Sidney, she is being targeted because of her spiritual gift. Justice is the agent assigned to protect her and they end up getting along very well. We meet Cadence is BJ and see more of her in LN.
CANDESS MILLER
Candess is the half-sister of Cadence. She was raised by her father, who spoiled her terribly. She is what the bible calls a silly woman. She is jealous of her sister but would never say so. She and her father are content to open Cadence up to the illegal scrutiny of their pastor. Candess is only mentioned in BJ.
KARINA
Karina is a struggling single mother and friend of Cadence. Cadence prayed for her crippled son one night and they remained in contact. Because of her association with Cadence, and by default the men targeting her, Karina becomes a victim. She faces a tough time, but things work out in the end. Karina is featured in BJ and mentioned briefly in LN.
MIGUEL
Miguel is the son of Karina. He first met Cadence when his mom brought him to church for prayer. Miguel had been born with several birth defects and was completely crippled. Cadence prayed for him one night and one year later he was completely healed. Miguel is featured in BJ and mentioned briefly in LN.
REV. ERIC EVANSTON
Pastor Evanston is the pastor of the Holy Rock Community Church, and has been for several decades. After Cadence prays for the young boy who gets healed, Rev. Evanston wants to use her to increase his own reputation. When Cadence does not comply with his plan, he begins to stalk her. Rev. Evanston is only mentioned in BJ.
AARON/ BRANDON
Aaron and Brandon are computer analysts for the FBI and work with Justice. They provide help to him, and end up being a key component in how the third book ends. They are only mentioned in BJ.
ARIC
Aric is an FBI agent and friend of Terrence and Justice. He also provides help for Justice when he needs it in BJ. Aric is Jewish and unsure what to think when Justice tells him what’s going on, but because of their friendship, he does everything he can to help Justice and Terrence. So far, Aric is only seen in BJ, but it is likely he will make another appearance before the series ends.
SAM/SCHMOOLIE
Schoomlie is a doctor and cousin to Aric. When one of his friends is in trouble, Aric calls in Schmoolie to save the day. He is only seen in BJ.
MERCUTIO
Mercutio is a cousin of Aaron and Brandon. The real Mercutio is a mystery. He is only mentioned in BJ.
SHARON JOHNSON
Sharon Johnson was the caseworker assigned to Terrence when he was born. His mother left the hospital without naming him so Sharon offered her father’s name for the newborn. She kept tabs on him until he aged out of the system. Terrence still remains close with her.
BRUCE
Bruce is a Christian Counselor that helps Terrence work through some of his issues. He is a great listener, as a good counselor should be, and offers advice straight out of the bible. Bruce is only seen in LN. Bruce’s character is based on a friend of mine, Sandy Chaplin. She did NOT pay me to say this, but if you’re interested in finding out more about what a Christian Counselor does, check out her website: https://chaplincounseling.com
MEI LIN
Terrence is unexpectedly given this name in LN and it starts him on a new journey. He begins a search for her and finds something he does not expect. He finds a whole family. His mother, Mei; grandmother, Mao; and three siblings all become a part of his life. He even finds out information about his birth father. She is alluded to in EM.
WALTER
Walter is a cousin of Robert, Liz’s ex-husband. He’s been in and out of the penal system and seems to have a hard time letting go of his old ways. Walter is only mentioned in LN.
RONDA
Ronda is one of my biggest (REAL LIFE) supporters and as such, won my first contest to be a character in my new book, LN. (Please click the contest link on my website for details on how she did it) She provided the background and particulars, and I created her character from there. The contest for the next book is now open.
https://audreymckay.net.
NERIAH & AZRIEL
These are two angelic beings sent to watch over Donna.
Psalm 91:11. They are mentioned in EM.
GILCHRIST MITCHELL
Gil is the love interest of Donna in the book EM. He normally shies away from serious relationships, but he can’t seem to help himself with Donna. He attempts to help Donna move forward from her past but discovers he has his own issues he needs to deal with. He is featured in EM.
PHAREZ & JOACHIM
These are two angelic beings sent to watch over Gil.
Psalm 91:11. They are mentioned in EM.
BROCK
Brock is the brother of Gil. They had a stormy relationship growing up and didn’t speak for two decades. He is mentioned in EM.
WENDY
Wendy is Gil’s mother. Her husband tried to oppress Gil when he was younger. As a result, Gil left the family and didn’t contact them for several years. She is mentioned in EM.
MEEKA
Meeka is one of my biggest (REAL LIFE) supporters and as such, won the second contest to be a character in my new book, EM. (Please click the contest link on my website for details on how she did it) She provided the background and particulars, and I created her character from there. The contest for the next book is now open. She is mentioned in EM.
https://audreymckay.net
DANIEL CORONA
Daniel is a young pastor trying to recover from serious mistakes in his past. He reaches out to Canaan Styles and the two work in ministry together. He is mentioned in EM.