Dangerous Mercy - A Book Review

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Dangerous Mercy David C. Cook (October 1, 2011) by Kathy Herman

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Suspense novelist Kathy Herman is very much at home in the Christian book industry, having worked five years on staff at the Christian Booksellers Association (CBA) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and eleven years at Better Books Christian Center in Tyler, Texas, as product buyer/manager for the children’s department, and eventually as director of human resources.

She has conducted numerous educational seminars on children’s books at CBA Conventions in the U.S. and Canada, served a preliminary judge for the Gold Medallion Book Awards of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association , and worked as an independent product/marketing consultant to the CBA market.

Since her first novel, Tested by Fire, debuted in 2001 as a CBA national bestseller, she's added sixteen more titles to her credit, including four bestsellers: All Things Hidden, The Real Enemy, The Last Word, and The Right Call.

Kathy's husband Paul is her manager and most ardent supporter, and the former manager of the LifeWay Christian Store in Tyler, Texas. They have three grown children, five almost-perfect grandchildren, a cat named Samantha. They enjoy cruising, deep sea fishing, and birdwatching—sometimes incorporating these hobbies into one big adventure.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. —Matthew 5:7

When eighty-five-year-old Adele Woodmore moves to Les Barbes to be near the Broussards—and her namesake, their daughter—she wants nothing more than a comfortable, quiet life. Employing men from Father Vince’s halfway house for the homeless to do odd jobs and landscaping, she delights in the casual conversation she has with them, the fledgling friendships, and the idea that she is helping them get back on their feet.

A series of murders in Les Barbes has cast a pall over the town and, in fact, one of Adele’s handymen becomes a person of interest to the police. But Adele cares for these young men, she knows them, and continues to show them kindness in spite of her friends’ concern. And then one day a murderer walks through Adele’s defenses, sits down at her kitchen table...and they begin to talk...

If you would like to read the first chapter of Dangerous Mercy, go HERE.

Naomi's Gift - A Book Review

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Naomi's Gift Zondervan (September 12, 2011) by Amy Clipston

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

From Amy:
A native of New Jersey, I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. I often joke that my fiction writing “career” began in elementary school as I wrote and shared silly stories with a close friend.

In 1991, I graduated from high school, and my parents and I moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia. My father retired, and my mother went to work full-time. I attended Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, and I graduated with a degree in communications. I met my husband, Joe, during my senior year in college, a few days after my father had a massive stroke. Joe and I clicked instantly, and after a couple of months we started dating. We married four years later.

After graduating from VWC, I took a summer job with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District, which turned into an eleven-year career. I worked in the Public Affairs Office for four years and then moved into Planning as a writer/editor.

One day while surfing the Internet for a professional editor’s group, I accidentally found a local fiction writing group, Chesapeake Romance Writers. I attended a meeting and I met writers in all stages of their careers. The group helped me realize that I did want to be an author, and it was my dream to see my name on the cover of one of my novels. Through Chesapeake Romance Writers, I learned how to plot, write, and edit a novel, and I also learned how to pursue an agent. I signed with Mary Sue Seymour at the Seymour Agency in 2006, shortly before Joe and I moved my parents and our sons to North Carolina.

My dream came true when I sold my first book in 2007. Holding my first book, A Gift of Grace, in my hands was exhilarating and surreal.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Take a trip to Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, where you'll meet the women of the Kauffman Amish Bakery in Lancaster County. As each woman's story unfolds, you will share in her heartaches, trials, joys, dreams ... and secrets. You'll discover how the simplicity of the Amish lifestyle can clash with the 'English' way of life---and the decisions and consequences that follow. Most importantly, you will be encouraged by the hope and faith of these women, and the importance they place on their families. Naomi's Gift re-introduces twenty-four-year-old Naomi King, who has been burned twice by love and has all but given up on marriage and children. As Christmas approaches---a time of family, faith, and hope for many others---Naomi is more certain than ever her life will be spent as an old maid, helping with the family's quilting business and taking care of her eight siblings. Then she meets Caleb, a young widower with a 7-year-old daughter, and her world is once again turned upside-down. Naomi's story of romantic trial and error and youthful insecurities has universal appeal. Author Amy Clipston artfully paints a panorama of simple lives full of complex relationships, and she carefully explores cultural differences and human similarities, with inspirational results. Naomi's Gift includes all the details of Amish life that Clipston's fans enjoy, while delivering the compelling stories and strong characters that continue to draw legions of new readers.

If you'd like to read the first chapter of Naomi's Gift, go HERE.

Why the Internet Drives Me Crazy

Note: This is a rant.  This is my blog so I have the right to rant.  You have been warned.


You want to know one of my biggest peeves about this thing we call the World Wide Web?  I thought so.  It's when I click on a webpage and have then click on subsequent webpages to read the whole article or list.  NEWSFLASH: That's why God allowed the invention of the bullet list.  Let's take a note of how beautiful this works.  Imagine the article title is "The First Five Books of the Bible."  You click over on the webpage and expect to see the following:

1. Genesis 
2. Exodus
3. Leviticus
4. Numbers
5. Deuteronomy

Isn't that nice?  A list of the books of the Bible in one place.  But no, that's not how the WWW works.  You have to click into the article for them to further describe what you'll be seeing.  It's a list of the first five books of the Bible in case you were confused and the title didn't accurately describe what was in the article.  Then you click and are taken to 1. Genesis.  Then you click next and it takes you to 2. Exodus.  Enough already!  Just put the list on one page.  It's the internet.  It's not like it's print and you need to save space.  Or if you're designing your webpages that way because of all the mobile devises accessing your side, give me the option to click one button to read it all in one place.  Some news sites do this, but rarely if ever the lists. Drives. Me. Nuts. 

Rant over.  I feel somewhat better now.

Here's to Friends - A Book Review

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Here’s to Friends David C. Cook (September 1, 2011) by Melody Carlson

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Over the years, Melody Carlson has worn many hats, from pre-school teacher to youth counselor to political activist to senior editor. But most of all, she loves to write! Currently she freelances from her home. In the past eight years, she has published over ninety books for children, teens, and adults--with sales totaling more than two million and many titles appearing on the ECPA Bestsellers List. Several of her books have been finalists for, and winners of, various writing awards. And her "Diary of a Teenage Girl" series has received great reviews and a large box of fan mail.

She has two grown sons and lives in Central Oregon with her husband and chocolate lab retriever. They enjoy skiing, hiking, gardening, camping and biking in the beautiful Cascade Mountains.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Once upon a time in a little town on the Oregon coast lived four Lindas—all in the same first-grade classroom. So they decided to go by their middle names. And form a club. And be friends forever.

Decades later, they're all back home in Clifden and reinventing their lives, but the holidays bring a whole new set of challenges. Abby’s new B&B is getting bad reviews and husband Paul is acting strange. Still grieving for her mom, Caroline is remodeling the family home, but boyfriend Mitch keeps pressuring her to go away with him. Artist Marley, distracted by a friend's family drama (and a touch of jealousy), can't find her creative groove. And Janie’s drug-addicted daughter has just appeared up on her doorstep! When a long-planned New Year's cruise turns into a bumpy ride, they learn once again that, in your fifties, friends aren’t just for fun—they're a necessity!

If you would like to read the first chapter of Here’s to Friends, go HERE.

The Doctor's Lady - A Book Review

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Doctor's Lady Bethany House (September 1, 2011) by Jody Hedlund

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jody has written novels for the last 18 years (with a hiatus when her children were young). After many years of writing and honing her skills, she finally garnered national attention with her double final in the Genesis Contest, a fiction-writing contest for unpublished writers through ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers).

Her first published book, The Preacher’s Bride (2010 Bethany House Publishers), hit the CBA Best Seller list on two different occasions and has won multiple awards.

Her second book, The Doctor’s Lady, released this September. She has completed a third book which will be released in 2012. She’s currently busy researching and writing another book!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Priscilla White knows she'll never be a wife or mother and feels God's call to the mission field in India. Dr. Eli Ernest is back from Oregon Country only long enough to raise awareness of missions to the natives before heading out West once more. But then Priscilla and Eli both receive news from the mission board: No longer will they send unmarried men and women into the field.

Left scrambling for options, the two realize the other might be the answer to their needs. Priscilla and Eli agree to a partnership, a marriage in name only that will allow them to follow God's leading into the mission field. But as they journey west, this decision will be tested by the hardships of the trip and by the unexpected turnings of their hearts.

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Doctor's Lady, go HERE.

A Whisper of Peace -- Book Review

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing A Whisper of Peace Bethany House (September 1, 2011) by Kim Vogel Sawyer

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kim Vogel Sawyer is the author of fifteen novels, including several CBA and ECPA bestsellers. Her books have won the ACFW Book of the Year Award, the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, and the Inspirational Readers Choice Award. Kim is active in her church, where she leads women's fellowship and participates in both voice and bell choirs. In her spare time, she enjoys drama, quilting, and calligraphy. Kim and her husband, Don, reside in central Kansas, and have three daughters and numerous grandchildren.





ABOUT THE BOOK

Ostracized by her tribe because of her white father, Lizzie Dawson lives alone in the mountains of Alaska, practicing the ways of her people even as she resides in the small cabin her father built for her mother. She dreams of reconciling with her grandparents to fulfill her mother's dying request, but she has not yet found a way to bridge the gap that separate her from her tribe.

Clay Selby has always wanted to be like his father, a missionary who holds a great love for the native people and has brought many to God. Clay and his stepsister, Vivian, arrive in Alaska to set up a church and school among the Athbascan people. Clay is totally focused on this goal...until he meets a young, independent Indian woman with the most striking blue eyes he's ever seen.

But Lizzie is clearly not part of the tribe, and befriending her might have dire consequences for his mission. Will Clay be forced to choose between his desire to minister to the natives and the quiet nudging of his heart?

If you would like to read the first chapter of A Whisper of Peace, go HERE.

Grandparents are a Funny Relationship

I always find it interesting when I speak to others about grandparents.  Some people never knew theirs; some people saw theirs for major holidays and maybe a week or two in the Summer; and some people grew up with them in their backyards, almost (if not more) a part of their life as their parents are.  Thankfully I fall into the last group.

When I was born I had three grandparents who were still alive: my paternal grandfather and my maternal grandfather and grandmother. I said goodbye to my Grandaddy T in 1997 right before I graduated from high school.  Oh man, was he a character.  I always wish he could have lived forever only because he would have loved the Doodlebug so much.  If we thought she was rotten now, he would have ensured she was past the point of rottenness into unbearableness.  Last Summer I said goodbye to my Granny.  My cousins called their grandmother MomMom because they said she was like a 2nd mom to them.  That would have been my granny. She took care of us when we were sick, she took us shopping and to doctor's appointments when my mom couldn't.  She fed us and loved us and made sure we knew she'd always be there for us.

Last Thursday, I said goodbye to the last of the three.  My Papaw Neill finished his voyage on this Earth and has been made whole again.  It was a sort of second goodbye though.  You see, my maternal grandparents both had Alzheimer's Disease.  And if there is anything that I have reflected on in the past week it has been how this horrible disease makes us mourn the loss of a person twice.  First we go through the long process of mourning the loss of their mind, and the person we always knew them to be.  You see, my Papaw had not called me by my name in months.  I remember being here in the Spring and my mom asking him if he knew who I was.  He said "yes" but never said my name.  It was like you could see him looking at us knowing he knew but not being able to connect it all.  And then after you have lost the person they were, time eventually takes their living body.  Goodbyes are said again.  Such a cruel disease.  Such a wonderful man.

As I drove home on Wednesday I was thinking back on the 32 years I spent being the granddaughter of Neill C.  Until I was two he was a dairy farmer and upon retirement began raising beef cattle.  Guess what?  I am not much a fan of chicken.  Why would I be?  I grew up eating hamburger meat.  The good kind. When we were little he would lay us across his lap and "remove our meanness."  After supper was the time to watch Wheel of Fortune (he usually won), Jeopardy, and if it was a weekend Hee Haw.  He and my granny played cards on a regular basis with their friends.  We weren't allowed in the room due to the "adult language" used.  My papaw had two twin beds in his room... the second was where we slept.  He was an early riser due to years and years of waking up to farm, but he never complained.  I always remember watching Troy-Bilt commercials and thinking "that looks like my Papaw's garden."  (I didn't know at the time my granny had as much a part of it if not more than my Papaw.)  As I got older he was still there.  Who needs a babysitter when there's a Papaw to watch the kids.  And who else would go visit their friends in Middle Tennessee and meet their oldest granddaughter at a gas station in her small college town just to say "hi?"  My granny and papaw of course.

It's all these memories and so much more that I cherish and know that my Papaw had a great life here on Earth.  He was loved by his family, friends, and community.  And I know that when he got to Heaven he was greeted with a "Well done, good and faithful servant."  

The Survivor - A Book Review

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Survivor Avon Inspire; Original edition (August 30, 2011)

by Shelley Shepard Gray

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Shelley Shepard Gray is the beloved author of the Sisters of the Heart series, including Hidden, Wanted, and Forgiven. Before writing, she was a teacher in both Texas and Colorado. She now writes full time and lives in southern Ohio with her husband and two children. When not writing, Shelley volunteers at church, reads, and enjoys walking her miniature dachshund on her town's scenic bike trail.



Check out Shelley's Facebook Fan page


ABOUT THE BOOK

One of today’s most beloved authors of inspirational Christian fiction, Shelley Shepard Gray completes her acclaimed Families of Honor series with The Survivor—a poignant and beautiful story of love and faith in a small Amish community. Delving once more into the lives of these devout and fascinating folk, as she did in her popular Sisters of the Heart and Seasons of Sugarcreek novels, Gray tells the story of a young Amish woman who has survived the ravages of cancer, but now longs for the love of the one man who can heal her lonely heart. Like Beverly Lewis, Wanda Brunstetter, and Cindy Woodsmall, Shelley Shepard Gray introduces readers to characters they will never forget as she masterfully depicts a world of simple living, abiding faith, and honest emotions.

If you would like to read the first chapter excerpt of The Survivor, go HERE.