Interview with Mackenzie Dare, author of Fire Storm!

Hello Readers! 
Today I am delighted to feature Mackenzie Dare in an interview! Mackenzie is the author of the riveting suspense novel Fire Storm. 
Jim, a fireman, and his wife Jess live in a small farming town, blessed and content with their new baby and their strong faith. Then things begin happening, attempts on Jessica's life, and the lives of people they love.
At first Jim dismisses it as pranks and accidents, but soon it is clear that there is a killer on the run. Jim thinks he knows who it is... but is he right? And if he is wrong...

You can read my full review of this book HERE, and I can't wait to dig deeper into the story with Mackenzie. 
So let's get started! 

1. First, how long have you loved writing? 

For as long as I can remember. I was that little kid who was always carrying around a pad of notebook paper. I was writing in a journal as soon as I learned to write, and I was one of the only kids in my class that would get excited about writing papers at school. I was always trying to learn and get better. It was my dream to someday write a book. 


2. For Fire Storm, which came to your mind first Plot or Characters? Or both at once? Which character came first? 

Both. I started out my by thinking about the plot of Jim and Jess then added the other characters and their plots. Some of both didn’t actually come about till I was already into the story.


3. Did any characters that you didn't expect come into the story? And did any characters do things that you were surprised by? Can you give us an example or two? 

Yes, all the time. Surprises are one part that made writing the story so much fun. One example would be Carlos and Melinda’s story. They weren’t even characters in the outline. Another would be Derrick’s story. I wasn’t completely aware of his secret myself till very near the page I wrote it.


4. Can you tell us if there were any scenes that were much easier or much harder to write.... any scenes that had to be rewritten over many more times than others? 

I’d say the Salvation message was the hardest to write, mainly because it carried the biggest responsibility, and also because I needed to keep it interesting without making it preachy. Mainly, I enjoyed writing every part of this story. I needed to always keep it fun and interesting so I wouldn’t lose interest.

5. I really enjoyed the camaraderie between the firemen. Those scenes made me laugh out loud! 
And I loved the rescue scenes with the paramedics and firemen. Are there paramedics or firemen in your family and friends? 

No, not really. I’ve just always been fascinated by the profession. I did quite a bit of research so I could keep them true to life.

6. One of my favorite interview questions.... Describe in five words:

Jim – Protector. Loyal. Stable. Good friend. 
Jess – Country girl. Homemaker. Loving. Sweet. 
Derrick – Mysterious. Quiet. Determined. Dark past. 

7. The theme of Fire Storm is trusting our Mighty God when we are weakest and circumstances are most frightening. I loved the way this theme was brought out through this story, and I loved the way Jim and many other characters would quote Scripture to strengthen their hearts when they were afraid. 
Would you like to give us a few verses that remind us that we can and must trust God in our trials? 

The Bible is so full of verses on trusting God and His promises to take care of us, I don’t think my knowledge of them can even scratch the surface, but here are some that have meant a great deal to me in my life.
Psalms 56:3 - What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
Psalms 56:11 - In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.
Joshua 1:9 - Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Psalms 27:1 - The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
1 Peter 5:7 - Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Isaiah 42:16 - And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.
Romans 8:28 - And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Psalms 4:8 - I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.
2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 - And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
Psalms 18

8. Now did I read it right when you said you are working on a sequel? :-) Can you tell us a little about your current writing projects? 

Yes, I am working on a sequel, and I’m having quite a bit of fun with it. 

Danger lurks in the shadows one night as the firefighters leave their shift. While walking home, one hears gunshots and instinctively responds. The victim, killed for an death-stained object within his possession, passes the torch to the fireman before drawing his final breath. Instantly aware of the awesome responsibility that comes attached to the object, the fireman becomes keenly aware of two things: the fate of justice is resting within his hands, and he has just been passed the curse of death.

You’ll also find the stories behind all the characters growing deeper and more complex.
How will Jim and Jess continue in their journey of love and dependence on God? 
How will the new baby affect Wade and Mellissa’s relationship?
Will Derrick’s reunion become one he cherishes or grows to regret?
Can Dr. Fredricks keep both his home-life and work-life together without one or the other ending in tragedy? 
Will Carlos’ romance grow deeper and more sincere or will it hit a roadblock?  

Mackenzie, you are killing me with all those hints about your next book! :-) Thank you so much for being here and for this great interview! 

Please click over to Mackenzie's blog Poems of Prayer and Praise and say Hi! You can read the first chapter for free while you are there, too! 

The Well

 

 

I took a trip to Sychar today, to The Well in the village center. There I met a young, half-starved girl who had eyes of jade and amber under her striped headcovering. The girl's name was Mara, which means bitter, and life had mirrored her name for far too long. She was the daughter of Nava, the infamous village scandal: the woman who has been married five times. 

Her mother's sinful reputation and obvious emptiness left Mara torn to pieces... she wanted to shake her mother for ruining their family, and she wanted to find whatever her mother needed to heal and live again. 

Over the years, Mara swallowed her sorrow and buried her dreams, providing the best she could for her beloved brother and desperately trying to hide her mother's secret. Nava had been married five times, but she also had another man who was not her husband. No one else knew of this but Mara, and no one must ever know. If Nava's adultery were ever proved to be more than just gossip at the well, no pardon would be granted to her. 

Samaria was a harsh land, and judgements there were harsher, judgements unmixed with mercy or grace and tainted with pride and revenge.  

Mara lived with the hope that someday the Taheb (The Restorer) would come. Though of course He would not care to help outcasts such as Mara's mother, would he? 

After visiting with Mara at The Well, I will not read John Four the same way again. 

I had never imagined what this woman's children would have felt like, and I hadn't thought too deeply about Nava herself. Stephanie Landsem has made them real people. 

Stephanie has woven another story into Mara's, the story of Shem ben Ezra. 

Shem was a cultured young scholar, skilled in languages and laws, exiled to the olive groves of his Samaritan grandparents to escape Roman crucifixion. When Shem found Mara weeping in a moonlit olive grove, he was drawn to help her. 

Soon, Shem and all of the village must look into the Taheb's face and decide whether they will drink of the living water only He can give. Shem must come to terms with this question: If following Jesus meant denying something you desire, will you lay that desire aside and answer His call? 

Questions of Law, Mercy, and Love are raised in The Well, leaving you with much to think about.

The truth of the living water and its source flows through these pages, cool and cleansing, calling us to come and drink deeply. 

The ending may shock some people, but when I reflect on it I think it is the most beautiful, fitting ending any of our stories could hope to have. 

Thank you Stephanie Landsem for this worthy Biblical fiction, and thank you for sending me a copy to review. I hope to have the honor of reviewing your next books!  

You can follow Stephanie on Twitter to connect and get updates about her writing, 

and you can stop by and say Hi on her Facebook page! getting to talk to authors is the best part of blogging and reviewing, so please do visit!!! 

Stephanie says, 

I write historical fiction because I love adventure in far-off times and places. I’ve traveled since I was a teenager—backpacking through Germany and Eastern Europe, studying German in Salzburg, eating gelato in Italy, and riding camels in Morocco were some of the highlights. Travel kindles my imagination, fuels my love of history, and introduces me to one-of-a-kind characters. It’s the best kind of research.

When I can’t travel, I read. I love fiction, of course, but I’m often found behind a stack of history books or searching the web for historical tidbits. How people lived together, worked, and what they ate (I love food!) is usually what catches my imagination. No matter where or when we live, people are more alike than they are different. I love to find the similarities between our lives and those of the men and women of the ancient world.

I make my home in Minnesota with my husband of 22 years, four children, three fat cats, and a tortoise named Moe. When I’m not writing Biblical fiction, I’m feeding the ravenous horde of kids and their friends, volunteering at church and school, battling dandelions, and dreaming about my next adventure – whether it be in person or on the page.

I love to hear from readers. Feel free to start a conversation with me about Biblical fiction, history, travel, or dandelions.

The Chronicles of Dinosauria.

Monsters and Dragons and Serpents oh my! 

The Chronicles of Dinosauria is a treasure trove for the creationist students in your family, young and old! 

Bursting at the seams with sketches and photos, this book presents the very strong case for dinosaurs living at the same time as humans. When it comes time to defend Creation and how dinosaurs fit there 

There is nothing like having a beautiful hard-cover book that catalogs some of the most interesting evidence when you are defending Creation! I want to say you could have this book on your coffee table and let people flip through it and be surprised, but I think if you have curious folks around this book won't stay on the table for long...it will be in their hands and under children's beds.

Because, who doesn't like dinosaurs?! 

So let's feed the child's dinosaur fascination, but lets feed him with Biblical truth and scientific fact that is presented in an unforgettable way! Let's give him the Chronicles of Dinosauria! 

The Chronicles of Dinosauria lets us journey with the author to places far and near to research the involvement of dinosaurs with man in both the past and the present. For our study of the past, we view art and artifacts that depict dinosaurs, such as Chinese dragon vases or dinosaur petroglyphs in Utah. These accurate drawings and depictions testify that man observed, hunted, and admired these beasts. In other words, they suggest that man lived with dinosaurs! 

For the present, we read about sightings of The Loch Ness Monster, The Ogopogo, and the Mokele-Mbembe among other large critters. Are these creatures myths or are they dinosaurs waiting to be discovered? 

And it leaves me wondering: Maybe all the dinosaurs are not reduced to fossils... maybe a few are alive, still swimming and walking this earth as they did in Noah and Job's day. 

History suggests that this is so... accounts of people encountering "dragons" and "monsters" have been found all over the globe. 

Who wouldn't want to read about animals like these roaming in our jungles and surfacing from our seas? 

Who could read this book and not hope to see a dinosaur someday? 

This book is the perfect eye opening companion to Don Landis' book The Genius of Ancient Man.   His book examines cave men and "ape men," this one deals with dinosaurs and "dragons." 

Richard D. Dobbs     

Richard D. Dobbs, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia and also grew up with Christian parents. He was a dinosaur fan for as long as he can remember and began drawing pictures of the great reptiles at an early age. Richard discovered he had gifts in art and music and desired to spend his life devoting these gifts to God’s glory. While still a young man Richard experienced God’s love and grace and, at the age of 13, was baptized to publicly confess his devotion to Christ.  After high school, Richard enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and was assigned to Camp Pendleton where he played in the Band. In 1989 he participated in Desert Storm as an M-60 Gunner, providing security detail. In 1991 he showed his personal art portfolio to the Camp Pendleton Art Department and was accepted into their graphics team despite his lack of formal training. After leaving the Marines, Richard earned an Associate’s Degree in Commercial Art from Johnston Community College in Smithfield, North Carolina.  Richard works as a freelance artist and graphic illustrator. He enjoys fine art projects like portraits, paintings, murals, and book illustrations. Richard lives near Raleigh, North Carolina with his wife Carrie and three daughters.

Dave Woetzel
“Dino Dave” Woetzel was privileged to grow up in a Christian home and, as a child, accepted Christ as his personal Savior. He was fascinated with dinosaurs at an early age and grew to love science. Dave graduated from Bob Jones University in 1987 with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree. He currently resides with his wife Gloria and two children in Concord, New Hampshire, where he is the president of CCR Data Systems, a technology firm.  Dave has had numerous opportunities to speak on the topic of Science and the Bible around the world. In 1999 Dave started the Genesis Park website which showcases evidence that men and dinosaurs coexisted, much of which is now included in this book.  He has also spearheaded some fascinating expeditions that have earned him the nickname “Dino Dave.” These include a trip into the unexplored African rainforest of Cameroon; travel to a remote volcanic island in Papua New Guinea; an expedition up the Amazon through the Madidi River in Bolivia; an investigation into the swamps of Lake Bangweulu, Zambia; research at Scotland’s Loch Ness; pursuit of swimming monsters in Lake Champlain and Lake Okanagan in North America; and research on Lake Nahuel Haupi in South America.

Take a Look Inside The Chronicles of Dinosauria

The Hidden Son by Dianna Benson, Book One in the Cayman Islands Trilogy.

The first pages of The Hidden Son take you 91 feet down to the ocean floor, into a paradise of soothing salt water, white sand, colored corals and flashing fish.
DEA Special Agent Lelisa Desmond is with her best friend Rick Eaton, diving off the coast of the Cayman Islands. Nothing could be further from her mind than Rick not surfacing alive.
But that is what happens. Rick Eaton, experienced diver, is brought back to the dive boat in Lelisa's arms, already dead.

His equipment was functioning, wasn't it? He had no health conditions. The only thing that was odd was that during the camaraderie of suiting up for the dive, Rick had accidentally used her dive tank instead of his own. That should have nothing to do with his collapse, except that someone had poisoned the breathable air in Lelisa's tank.
Someone who had intended her to use the tank, to breath the air underwater and to be brought to the surface unresponsive.
Someone wanted her dead...and Lelisa knows who. The evidence she needs to bring this powerful person down once and for all is in a Safe Deposit box in North Carolina, and she knows she needs to get their- safe and fast. Both goals will be very hard to accomplish over the next several days, as her life is threatened in ways she never imagined and only one person seems worthy of trust...A RCIPS Inspector with a story and grief of his own.

Royal Cayman Island's Police Service Inspector Alec Dyer knows that Lelisa needs to be on the suspect list for her best friend's death, yet he also feels that there is truth in her statement of innocence... and he is willing to risk it all to help her prove it.
He only asks that she be fully honest with him...something she resists until it is almost too late.

My review in two sentences?  I got this book at 11:00 and looked up three hours later, having hardly put the book down, stumped by the mystery and intrigued by the complicated characters.
My question: How on earth to authors take their character to the end of everything, box them in on all sides and then let us watch as these men and women rise from the ashes?

That is what The Hidden Son does. If you think you have it figured out, you are wrong, and you will never imagine the end. Along the way this is quite a read.
I am very eager to see what Dianna benson writes next, in this trilogy, and then her other books after that.

Thank you so much to Dianna and to Ellechor Publishing House for sending me an autographed ARC to review! I am excited about the release of your next books!

After majoring in communications and a ten-year career as a travel agent, Dianna left the travel industry to earn her EMS degree.

An EMT and a Haz-Mat and FEMA Operative in EMS since 2005, sheloves the adrenaline rush of responding to medical emergencies and helping people in need, often in their darkest time in life. Her suspense novels about adventurous characters thrown into tremendous circumstances provide readers with a similar kind of rush.

Dianna is a lifelong athletic competitor and outdoor enthusiast in climbing, running, cycling and scuba diving and she loves to travel and read. Married to her best friend, she met her husband, Leo, as they walked down a church aisle in a wedding as a bridesmaid and groomsman when she was eleven and he was thirteen. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and their three athletic children.

In 2009, Dianna was offered a four-book publishing contract, but soon after that her husband was diagnosed with head and neck cancer. She turned down that contract to focus on their young family of five, and God carried them all through the surgeries and radiation treatments. 

"Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint." - Isaiah 40:31

Dianna's personal quote - "The grass isn't greener on the other side, it's just different." 

There is much more to read on Dianna's website, DiannaTBenson.com where this bio was taken from. You must stop by her Books page, HERE and read the plot summaries for her next series. They make me want to clear off my bookshelf now, for all nine books! 

An Interview with Dianna T. Benson

Hello Readers!

Today we are featuring an author interview with Dianna T. Benson, whose book The Hidden Son released from Ellechor Publishing House March 1, 2013. The Hidden Son is the first book in the Cayman Islands Trilogy, and my review of this intriguing book is HERE. 

Thank you for being with us today, Dianna! 

1) I want to start by saying that I have never read anything about the Cayman Islands, and I was captivated by the way you described this place. The islands sound exotic and beautiful...the perfect setting for a series of Suspense/Adventure books. You must really love this place. Do you visit the Cayman Islands often? 

I’ve spent several summers on Grand Cayman Island and I’ve traveled to the island for many week-long vacations as well as a destination port on several cruises.

2) I would love to ask what part of The Hidden Son's story came to your mind first: The setting, the plot or the characters? Or all three? 

All three. I’m a scuba diver, so the opening scene just came to me: A murder deep under the ocean surface, and a poisoned scuba cylinder meant to kill a female US DEA agent in order to silence her. 

3) After you realized that this story was begging to be written, did you put fingers to keyboard right away, or did you work on it in your imagination for a long time? 

Soon after the opening scene popped in my mind, I wrote it down. I’m a panster, not a plotter, so from there the story just flowed out of me.

4) Lelisa and Alec are characters I would call "complicated"- in a very good way, they surprised me and they delighted me. 

Can you describe Lelisa in five words? 

How about Alec? 

Lelisa: Compassionate, independent, dedicated, reserved and cautious

Alec: Spiritual, passionate, loyal, hard-working and trustworthy.

Good choices! That is how they came across to me!

 5) I see you have nine novel plots outlined on your website, to be published by Ellechor Publishing over the next few years. That is so cool!  Can you tell us a little about the journey to taking this book contract? 

For thirteen weeks I had a pending contract offer from one of the largest traditional publishing houses, but when their business team decided they couldn’t sign on another suspense author, Ellechor Publishing House contacted me and requested a submission of my 2011 Genesis Winner, Illusion of Safety. They offered me a nine-book contract, three trilogies.    

 6) I read the plot outlines for these novels and they are fascinating. I wanted to go make space on my shelf for all nine books. ;-) 

 You have a lot of stories in your head! What stage is your next novel in now? 

I’ve already delivered (turned in) Final Trimester to my publisher. This is the first book in my second trilogy and will release November 2014.

I’m more than half finished writing Persephone’s Fugitive, the second book in the Cayman Islands trilogy. This book will release July 2014.

I am really looking forward to reading those books!

Dianna, this was great to get to ask these questions about The Hidden Son and to hear about what you are working on now! Thank you so much for visiting! 

Noah Webster, Father of the Dictionary.

I have always learned history best through stories, and so when I was given Noah Webster: Father of the Dictionary, I realized that this biography-written-like-a-story would be a pleasant learning experience. 

Reprinted from an original edition in 1942, this book is written in that fashion that older books had, the fashion that makes you say "Words are used well here." The descriptions of the New England Spring that bursts upon the earth, unlocking the tree buds to spread into leaf and flower, and sending the warm breezes over the cool soil in Noah's boyhood farm field resonated with my heart. Spring truly does come in a unique way, and perceptive Noah would have noticed it. 

We meet him first on the New England farm, a book hungry boy tending to his chores, growing up right before the War of Independence. 

We follow him through his fight for education, his desire to access a library of books, his graduation from Yale as an articulate, bright young man. 

We see his passion to give every boy and girl a chance to have the knowledge he had thirsted after. We watch him pen the humble yet revolutionary Blue Backed Speller... the book that opened the door for so many farm children to desire books and reading. 

We see Noah's intelligent mind concerned with his beloved America after she became her own nation...and we find that he was far more influential in government politics that I had ever imagined. Noah's writing with its "clear, beautiful logic" helped convince American's all over that we needed a constitution. 

We meet Noah's family, his wife who loved her scholar husband, his children who grew up surrounded by his wisdom and love of words. 

And we learn about how the love of words caused him to write our dictionary. Noah labored over this work for years, drawing on his own extensive knowledge of multiple languages and traveling overseas to benefit from foreign libraries to research throughly so that no word be ill defined. 

Noah completed this work at his 70th birthday, and his life ended fifteen years later when he was eighty-five. A life well lived, work well done, a legacy left, of faith and sound teaching. 

A Note: I do wish that Noah Webster's faith had been shown more clearly in this book, he is after all the man who wrote "Education is useless without the Bible," and "In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed...No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people."  Noah Webster. 

Because of that delightful combination of a fact and story, Isabel Proudfit's book is ideal for young children who will relate to young Noah, and filled with enough history for adults to benefit from. 

Pie, an Old Brown Horse who knows what he is doing.

Pie: An Old Brown Horse

by Kandy Kay Scaramuzzo

If you have ever loved a horse, if you have ever known a little herd of horses whose personalities delighted you daily, if you have ever experienced that lasting bond between a horse and their person, if you have ever watched a horse help a child to grow up strong and confident, then you need to read Pie's story and savor all of this once again.

If you haven't experienced any of those things, then I need to warn you. There are side effects to reading this book. As you read you will experience an increased desire to be best friends with an Old Brown Horse. You will want to be soul mates with a wise, sturdy cow horse who knows what he is doing, a horse like Pie.

Pie is taken, however. He already has a soul-mate, whom he calls little one, (even though little one is now all grown up!)
Pie already has a keeper who loves him and cares for him... (she might have even helped him publish this book... after he wrote it, of course.)

But we can have the next best thing to going to the barn and feeding Pie baby carrots and seeing him in his handsome blue blanket... we can read Pie's recollections of life and his thoughts about fellow horses, his people, the places he has been and the events he has lived through!

How would a tough, smart cow horse feel if he were injured by a raging bull and left alone with his wounds in a little pen for a long time... and then one day is taken to a stable where he is surrounded by other horses of all dispositions, loved by people, and given a lot of new purpose?
How would he feel to suddenly have his own person, little one?
What would he do if he were sharing his stable with some real fruitcake horses... horses that don't even speak proper horse! (Now that might even be more annoying than those young cow horses that he always had to put in their place...)
Will Pie the therapy horse be able to help the children who come to ride with him? Will they trust this big, gentle animal and will they be blessed by their time together?

We can find out by reading Pie. 
And I suggest you do. All the wisdom of an old brown horse is distilled in these pages, leaving us with lessons on life and a very enthralling story.

Written in a way that brings Pie's memories to life, through this book we are able to experience all the happenings at the stable: from Rebel the dainty horse who was allergic to fly bites to RC, the huge raccoon that visited each morning and ate cat food.
I am very glad that I had the chance to receive Pie from Kandy Scaramuzzo to review, and I am happy to add this book to my family's library.

Thank you, Kandy!

Pie with his Keeper.











This is Pie, running in the spring wind.

This is Pie with his soul-mate, his person.

Catch a Falling Star.... by Beth Vogt

Hints about how much I liked this book.... Halfway through, I wanted to tweet "This book is good for the soul!" and after I read the final paragraphs, I said "All Right!!" out-loud, prompting curious looks from family members who had heard about this story as I read. 

I was so delighted to be able to download this book from Netgalley to review it.

Beth Vogt has introduced me to characters who are vibrant, spunky and complex, and through them she has told a story that captures the goodness of life. Every page of this novel won me over again. 

I came to love these people so easily, too... Kendall, a 36 year old single doctor who harbors dreams of marriage and family, dreams linked to the ruby ring her grandmother gave her. Kendall is a woman with a passion for helping people through medicine, especially children with allergies and asthma. After all, her childhood was spent fighting asthma attacks, and then her father died when she was 18. Kendall understands sickness and grief, and because of that she is drawn to... 

Ian, a sixteen year old boy, whose adoptive parents died last year, and is now living with the much older brother he barely knew. Ian is mourning the loss of parents who loved him and feels out of place with his brother...  

Who is a 38 year old Air Force pilot, forced to fly a desk because of severe vertigo that keeps coming back every time he thinks he has lost it. Divorced once and now alone (and convinced that his aloneness is better for everyone concerned) Griffin is trying to get back in the cockpit of an A-10, trying to do right by his brother, and trying to figure out how to fix his Jeep for the umpteenth time.  

It is on Kendall's 36 birthday as a single girl, at a dinner with her (married and engaged) friends, that she responds to Ian, who is having an allergic reaction to avocado, and she steps into the Walker brother's lives for the first time. 

By the way, allergy specialist Kendall also drives a Jeep and knows Jeep mechanics inside out. O yes. Kendall is so obviously perfect to be a friend for Ian and Griffin. 

Now if only Griffin will let her be his friend! 

*Sigh* 

Catch a Falling Star is one good novel of restoration, of the longing for family, and of letting God write your love story- no matter how far away or improbable it seems. 

You can click this link below for a fabulous interview with Griffin Walker, 

Writing for Christ ~ The Audience of One: A Hero in the Making ~ Deep and Brooding As Told By Their Creator (Interviewed by Rel!)

And then you can hurry over here and read the first chapter.

First Chapter free HERE. Read it! Read it! Read it!

 Beth K. Vogt is a non-fiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an Air Force physician (now in solo practice) who said she’d never marry a doctor—or anyone in the military. She’s a mom of four who said she’d never have kids. Beth has discovered that God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” She writes contemporary romance because she believes there’s more to happily ever after than the fairy tales tell us.

What joy and gratitude... Live life without limits!

Nick Vujicic is one of my heroes. He has a spirit that shines with the light of Christ. He spreads joy and gratitude through the life he lives and the testimony he shares. God has gifted him for a certain ministry, a ministry of hope and encouragement. Although I have not been yet blessed to hear him speak, I have read two of his books, Unstoppable and now Limitless: Devotions for a Ridiculously Good Life. 

As I read, I could feel this book ministering to my heart. Nick shares Scripture and insights about life that overflow with God's wisdom and peace. Reading this book was a great comfort, especially because a rather hard day came right after I finished this book. {Nothing that a little Grace won't solve...just difficult!} 

Nick reminded me that God doesn't just have the answers, He is the Answer, yesterday today and forever. 

This book reminded me to look up to God's loving face when I am down in a dark valley and having a bad time...and this book reminded me to trust the loving arms that eternally hold us when we don't even have the strength to look up.   

Thank you Nick for writing this one, and thank you Waterbrook Multnomah  for sending me a copy to review! 

  

 Nick and his beloved wife Kanae have just celebrated there first child's birth... a son! 

This is Nick's third book, his first two being Life without Limits and Unstoppable. 

Wedded to War, Jocelyn Green's stunning debut novel.

 Wedded to War has succeeded in being everything Christian historical fiction should be: a well written story set in a real time and place that explores serious subjects through unforgettable characters. In short: a great novel.
That is what Jocelyn Green's Wedded to War is...and this is her first novel! "Stunning!" comes to mind if I were told to give a one word review.

When I read about this series, the Heroines Behind the Lines Series,  I though to myself "I bet these Civil War stories will really ring true because of the author's experiences as a military wife and because all her other books were for military families. After all, the thoughts and feelings, hopes and losses of those in the military and their families haven't really changed." It is so true... Mrs. Green has written about the Civil War with a depth that makes you love the characters and lets you experience their times.

Her writing is just plain beautiful, that is the best word I have for it. Whether she is writing a reflective scene that lets us see into Dr. Caleb Lansing's heart, or a hospital scene where Nurse Charlotte Waverly is tending the worst of the wounded, each scene is described so well that we are placed there in the moment. We are allowed to see everything fully, and the descriptions never weigh down the story.

 In Wedded to War, Jocelyn Green has spun several stories into one novel, and she writes in the exact tone needed for each character so we can get to know them. Whether it is Irish girl Ruby O'Flannery or young chaplain Edward Goodrich, the characters live and breathe on these pages. They live life with passion, and they have many dimensions to their stories.

I am actually glad that I waited to read Wedded To War for so long...because the next book, Widow of Gettysburg  has just released and I was able to begin the next volume right away. If you haven't read either, buy both together. They are worth every penny!

And then go connect with Jocelyn Green on her Facebook, Twitter, and websites: Heroines Behind the Lines and JocelynGreen.com so you can keep up with her writing news as she works on the next two books... Yankee of Atlanta and Spy of Richmond!

Thank you to Moody Press for my review copy of this book!

 Jocelyn Green is an award-winning author and freelance writer. A former military wife, she authored, along with contributing writers, Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives and Faith Deployed . . . Again: More Daily Encouragement for Military Wives. Jocelyn also co-authored ofStories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq & Afghanistan, which won the Gold Medal from the Military Writers Society of America in 2010, and Stories of Faith and Courage from the Home Front, which inspired her first novel: Wedded to War.

Jocelyn graduated from Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, with a B.A. in English, concentration in writing. She is an active member of the Evangelical Press Association, Christian Authors Network, the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, American Christian Fiction Writers, and the Military Writers Society of America.

She loves Mexican food, Broadway musicals, Toblerone chocolate bars, the color red, and reading on her patio. Jocelyn lives with her husband Rob and two small children in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Visit her at JocelynGreen.com.

Book Trailers I really liked....

Past Darkness by Laurel Woiwode

 Simply the experience of reading Past Darkness is a joy, the sort of joy that mingles bitter and sweet and sows the seeds of healing. The sort of joy that explores real life and human experience.

The powers of description that Laurel Woiwode has make this story come alive: Every sentence is sensitive and finely crafted. Hearing these words read aloud intensifies the setting, the emotion, and the characters, making this a book that should be shared with others.

I read this book, and then gave it to my mother, and then my sister. They agreed with me after reading Past Darkness... There is a sparseness and elegance to the writing, a depth and strength in Gabrielle's character, and a gentleness and honesty to the final scenes.

Laurel Woiwode is an author to watch, and Past Darkness is a book to add to your library.

 Laurel Woiwode graduated with honors from Jamestown College, earning a Bachelor of Arts in both English and History. She works with ESL students, writes movie reviews at reelquickie.areavoices.com, works on writing and editing projects, and is always ready for outdoor adventures. Laurel grew up in rural North Dakota, has had an avid interest in animals, nature, and literature since childhood, and she is the author of Past Darkness.

Bloody Point.

   Did you ever read a book and say "If this author has written anything else, I need to read it!"?

I did. Two weeks ago I received Seeds of Evidence, Linda J. White's superb mystery novel, from Pump up Your Book tours. I read it in one day {I began re-reading it again right away the next day} and made the above comment: "If this author has written anything else, I need to read it!"  So my reading journey through Linda White's mysteries continued with Bloody Point, the story of young FBI Agent Cassie McKenna, widow of Special Agent Mike McKenna who died in an "accident" five months before the story begins.

Cassie has run from the past and closed the door on everyone who was part of her life before the loss of Mike. She has retreated to the peace of the bay and tried to lose herself in restoring a once- damaged sailboat.
Working in the sunshine and the salt breeze, listening to halyards clank around her and watching swallows skim over the marina has helped her let go of her job at the Bureau and all the tension that came with it.

She vowed to put it behind her and move on- one stroke of sandpaper over the sailboat's teak at a time, one stroke of the varnish over the smooth wood.
Until she looks up and sees her former partner standing over her, calling her back into the life she had left.

By this point the book would have needed to be pried from my hands...and in just a few more pages I was reading aloud...which is what I do when I have found a story that I Just. Have. To. Share.

Over the next 200+ pages, we follow Cassie through the twists and turns of a mystery that is hard to guess, and we follow Jake on a journey of another sort.
I have learned not to post spoilers, so let me just say Jake's story was one of my favorite parts of Bloody Point. And once you start reading, you will know why.

My final thoughts? Remember in Lord of the Rings, when Pippin and Merry threaten to lock Frodo in a tower until he writes out the full account of their adventures? If I could, I would lock Linda White in the tower with Frodo and beg for a sequel to this book and one for Seeds. Please? :-)

Stories from the Deer Stand.

 

Lets start with the cover. Steve Chapman's book Stories from the Deer Stand is adorned with a beautiful buck that looks like a deer my brother in law shot that got him into the N.H Skull and Antler club for body weight over 200 pounds. His deer was a ten pointer whose rack was webbed like a moose. Sure, I'm still green with envy. 

This book was fun to read. Chapter ten, called Borrowed Sorrow points out that there is no grace in life for what did not happen. "Each day has enough trouble of its own. Don't waste your time and energy on borrowed sorrow. Save it for the real thing!" 

Borrowed Sorrow. I see where I have been guilty of this, among my other sins. Stay in that blanket of security that Jesus Christ can offer, don't imagine the worst.

This book goes up with my other deer hunting books for a review in the Fall to pump up for another deer hunting season. Steve Chapman survived a fall from a tree stand. We all need to be more careful, this book serves as a reminder of that as well as a look at the joys of hunting and a taste of Godly wisdom. 

Review by Kirk Farrell, who received Stories from the Deer Stand free from Harvest House to review. Thank you so very much! 

Steve Chapman and his wife Annie love God, their family, singing and the outdoors. These loves shine through in their books, in their speaking, and in their writing, which can be found here at their website SteveandAnnieChapman.com

  

One of the Chapman's many albums. 

Their tagline on their website is Harmony in the Home. How perfect is that for a ministry? 

"I love using the great outdoors to teach others about our loving Creator," says Steve. 

And Annie says, As a Mother and Grandmother, "I know I have an incredible opportunity to influence the next generation in a way no one else can do." They are right. Go on over and visit them now! 

Frank Viola's New Book!

God's Favorite Place on Earth is a small, beautifully written book that tells the story of Jesus from the perspective of Lazarus.

Lazarus and his family, Mary, Martha and their father Simon the leper* lived in Bethany, a humble, quiet village whose name means the House of Figs. It was this village that Jesus went to again and again, and it was this family who opened their home to Him.
Scripture says He loved this family.
Jesus healed Simon of leprosy, and raised Lazarus from the dead.
He accepted Mary as a worshipper and encouraged her heart of adoration, and He gently chided Martha to come and rest in His presence.
It was in Bethany that Jesus ate with His disciples six days before the crucifixion, and it was at that supper that Mary broke the alabaster jar and poured her spikenard perfume over Him.
The scent of her love-gift filled the house, and lingered around the Lord as He hung on the Cross.
And it was Bethany that He returned to before He ascended.
The Mountain of Olives in Bethany was the spot Jesus ascended from, the last place His feet touched the ground before He went up into Heaven.
Truly, we have reasons to believe this village was God's Favorite Place on Earth.

Frank Viola's book tells this story with freshness and detail, pulling you into the life of Lazarus, his family, and their time with Jesus. The writing is reverent and lovely, perfect for devotional reading leading up to Easter. This book allows you to come close to the family in Bethany, and listen to the Teacher whom they loved.
Drawing the story from Scripture and weaving in quotes from Christian writers like Nouwen and Spurgeon, God's Favorite Place on Earth adds richly to our understanding of Jesus' life.

I highly recommend God's Favorite Place on Earth. I was given this book by David C Cook Publishing for my honest review.

*Frank Viola has come to the conclusion that Simon the Leper was most likely the father of Mary, Lazarus and Martha. I agree that this is reasonable. I will think of this from now on whenever I read the story about the family of Bethany.

God's Favorite Place on Earth.   

Darkness Before Dawn.

I just finished Darkness Before Dawn by Ace Collins. It is Powerful. It is Sad. And then--Light breaks through the Dark. It is Dawn.
What a book this is. Ace Collins has a new fan.

So what is this book, Darkness Before Dawn?
It is a story that takes people you and I know....husbands driving home late at night, young wives waiting for them with joyful news to share, the carload of boys and girls drunk on beer and scotch after a lake bonfire party. This book lets us follow their lives, lives just like ours or someone we know, and lets us see inside their minds as these lives intersect, and one of them ends.

This story begins in the darkness of night when Meg Richard's answers her phone to find a state trooper making the call no one ever wants to make or receive. He said "I am sorry to have to inform you that there has been an accident."

What he doesn't say is what she hears. "Your husband is dead. Your world is torn apart."
Steve Richards died upon impact with the drunken teen's vehicle, and his car went up in flames with his body trapped inside. This 2 AM phone call ushered the Dark Music into her bright life, Dark Music that would not stop playing for a long time.

Meg drove to the hospital to identify the body, knowing her husband by the ring on his hand. The ring that was engraved "Til death do us part."
They had been parted, at the hands of James Thomas, underage drunk who drove into the wrong lane and hit Steve head on.

There is no way on earth to bring Steve back. Meg knows this, but she also knows she can punish his killer, and make him understand the pain he caused. Darkness Before Dawn brings us down with Meg, down to the thirst for revenge, to the place where causing James Thomas harm becomes her purpose at her own expense and the expense of her baby.
As I read, I felt Meg's desire for justice. I knew why she wanted it. I hated the selfishness, the carelessness of this young man who snuffed out life in a horrible way and showed no remorse. This book pulled me into Meg's battles.
This book would not let me put it down.

Allow me to tell a little story at this point... and you will better understand why I say this is a book we all should read.

This morning I stood on the bank of a drainage ditch at the end of my local dirt road. There was a beer bottle lying in the grass near the slimy run-off water. As I picked up the sun-warmed bottle and held it in my hand, I looked down at the marks where the cars parked there had spun dirt as they pulled out. The drivers were probably young--this is one of our county's favorite hangouts for the highschoolers.  If past history and the weight of the bottle in my hand meant anything, they were drinking again.
And I wished that they would stop, that the hands that had tossed this bottle would soon fold in prayer.
I wish that we could raise our young men so that they would never have to have memories of drinking. I wish we could teach them to run from the bottle. I wish we could help those who are drinking, those who have been James Thomases, to be redeemed.

Thank you Ace Collins, Abingdon Press and  Litfuse for sending me Darkness Before Dawn. I will not be forgetting this one.