Paper Angels

Country singer Jimmy Wayne discusses his new book, Paper Angels, and his growing up years. Worth watching.

Valley of Dreams by Lauraine Snelling

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingValley of DreamsBethany House (November 1, 2011)byLauraine Snelling



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Award-winning and best selling author Lauraine Snelling began living her dream to be a writer with her first published book for young adult readers, Tragedy on the Toutle, in 1982. She has since continued writing more horse books for young girls, adding historical and contemporary fiction and nonfiction for adults and young readers to her repertoire. All told, she has up to sixty books published.



Shown in her contemporary romances and women’s fiction, a hallmark of Lauraine’s style is writing about real issues of forgiveness, loss, domestic violence, and cancer within a compelling story. Her work has been translated into Norwegian, Danish, and German, and she has won the Silver Angel Award for An Untamed Land and a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart for Song of Laughter.



As a most sought after speaker, Lauraine encourages others to find their gifts and live their lives with humor and joy. Her readers clamor for more books more often, and Lauraine would like to comply ... if only her paintbrushes and easel didn’t call quite so loudly.



Lauraine and her husband, Wayne, have two grown sons, and live in the Tehachapi Mountains with a cockatiel named Bidley, and a watchdog Basset named Winston. They love to travel, most especially in their forty-foot motor coach, which they affectionately deem “a work in progress”.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Addy Lockwood's mother died when she was little, so Addy traveled with her father's Wild West Show and became an amazingly skillful trick rider, likened by some to the famous Annie Oakley. When her father died, she continued to work with the show, having nowhere else to go.



Now Addy has discovered that "Uncle" Jason, the show's manager, has driven the show into debt, and he's absconded with what little money was left. Devastated, Addy decides to try to find the hidden valley where here father had dreamed of putting down roots. She has only one clue. She needs to find three huge stones that look like fingers raised in a giant hand. With Chief, a Sioux Indian who's been with the show for twenty years, and Micah, the head wrangler, she leaves both the show and a bundle of heartache behind and begins a wild and daring adventure.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Valley of Dreams, go HERE.

The Keeper by Suzanne Woods Fisher

If Halloween were Christmas

I am not a big fan of Halloween, but I am also not one to make a big deal about not liking it. Imagine for a moment though, if the stores and media treated Halloween as we do Christmas....

We would have "holiday" costumes

Trick or treating is a Halloween word, so it would be called "nocturnal door knockers" or something ridiculous like that.

No more Jack O Lanterns. Squash with an atttiude would be in. Orange and black would be outlawed at schools

No more witches. Evil women with items to sweep the floor

No ghosts. Visitors from another world.

No more Halloween candy. "Holiday candy"

No more Haunted House, hayrides, etc. It would be a "scary place"

I wonder how far they would take it. Sounds stupid doesn't it, but they already do it with Christmas.

The Guardian by Robbie Cheuvront and Erik Reed

Plunge into the world of seen and unseen forces in The Guardian. Anna Riley has just come into possession of a two-thousand-year old scroll that God gave to John the Disciple. Her mission—to guard the scroll and unlock its secret. Jason Lang, her protector, has his work cut out for him as they begin their journey around the world, facing corruption and dodging bullets—all the while trying to keep his attraction to Anna at bay. Will he succeed in defending the woman he’s vowed to protect? Will Anna, forced to trust other people to stay alive, fulfill the challenge that she’s accepted?

My review:
Just within a period of a few days, I received three different books to review all having to do with a scroll. This was one of the three, and the most riveting and interesting of the three.

It starts out with the idea that in the book of Revelation when John is commanded to eat a book, that he regurgitates that book, or scroll, and his descendants have been charged with the safekeeping of that scroll down through the ages.

Enter Anna Riley. Upon the death of a grandfather she didn't even know was alive, she has the responsibility of the scroll's safe keeping thrust upon her.

I really loved and enjoyed this book. It had non-stop action and suspense, something that I love in a book, and the plot was terrific. There was a lot of globe-trotting from the Vatican to London and places in between.

The conclusion of the book was something totally unexpected, but was a great ending. This story is truly a masterpiece of fiction. I thoroughly enjoyed it and could not put it down until I had finished it. This was the first book from this writing duo, and I am eagerly anticipating their second book, and definitely plan on reading it.

About the authors:

Robbie Cheuvront

Robbie is the worship pastor of The Journey Church in Lebanon, Tennessee, and cofounder of C&R Ministries with Erik. He is also a songwriter and formerly toured with BNA recording artists, Lonestar. Robbie is married to Tiffany and has two children, Cason and Hadyn, and is  currently pursuing a theology degree.

Erik Reed

Erik is the lead pastor and an elder of The Journey Church in Lebanon, Tennessee. He graduate from Western Kentucky University with a B.A. in Religious Studies. He also graduated with his MDiv from Southern Seminary. Erik is married to Katrina, with two children, Kaleb and Kaleigh.


Check out their website.

Read the first chapter of The Guardian here.


Book trailer:



Author interview:


The Guardian is available from Barbour Publishing.

Thanks to Barbour for the review copy.

The Baker's Wife by Erin Healy

Before Audrey was the baker's wife, she was the pastor's wife.


Then a scandalous lie cost her husband a pastoral career. Now the two work side-by-side running a bakery, serving coffee, and baking fresh bread. But the hurt still pulls at Audrey.

Driving early one morning to the bakery, Audrey's car strikes something—or someone—at a fog-shrouded intersection. She finds a motor scooter belonging to a local teacher. Blood is everywhere, but there's no trace of a body.

Both the scooter and the blood belong to detective Jack Mansfield's wife, and he's certain that Audrey is behind Julie's disappearance.

But the case dead-ends and the detective spirals into madness. When he takes her family and some patrons hostage at the bakery, Audrey is left with a soul-damaged ex-con and a cynical teen to solve the mystery. And she'll never manage that unless she taps into something she would rather leave behind—her excruciating ability to feel other's pain.

My review:
This was a very enjoyable read. It was one of those "read in one sitting books" that I refer to.

There are mentions early on about the scandal that caused the pastor and his wife to become the baker and his wife, but the details are held out until more of the story develops, which made sense as this was kind of a cause and effect story. The events in the story wouldn't have happened without the scandal.

The suspense factor is great, complete with a hostage situation, but the message of the book comes through that there are always ripple effects to our actions, and God is sovereign through it all and has a purpose. The further I got into the book, the more the story made sense, and the more I enjoyed it. Definitely recommended.

About the author:

Erin Healy is the best-selling co-author of Burn and Kiss (with Ted Dekker) and an award-winning editor for numerous best-selling authors. She has received wide acclaim for her debut solo novels, Never Let You Go and The Promises She Keeps. She and her family live in Colorado. Erin can be contacted through her website erinhealy.com or through Facebook at erinhealybooks.



Let the flour fly! Beginning October 24th, Erin's celebrating the release of her latest page turner, The Baker's Wife, with an outstanding KitchenAid baking prize package giveaway that includes a brand new KitchenAid Mixer, cook books, and all you need to whip up some fabulous bread or sweets! Then and on November 10th she'll be wrapping up the release of The Baker's Wife with an Author Book Chat Party on Facebook! Don't miss a minute of the fun!

One grand prize winner will receive:

• Empire Red 4.5 QT Ultra Power KitchenAid Stand Mixer
• Black & White Kitschy Apron
• Black Silicone Oven Mitt
• Black OXO Rolling Pin
• Wilton 9X5 loaf pan
• At My Grandmother's Knee Cookbook by Faye Porter
• Second Helpings with Johnnie Gabriel Cookbook
• The Baker's Wife by Erin Healy

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on November 9th. Winner will be announced at The Baker's Wife Author Book Chat Facebok Party. Erin will be wrapping up the The Baker's Wife celebration with a book club chat and giving away a bunch of "sweet treats"! So grab your copy of The Baker's Wife (it's okay if you don't have one yet- you might win one!) and join Erin on the evening of November 10th for a book chat, some "baking" trivia and lots of "sweet" giveaways (books, and Amazon, iTunes & Starbucks gift certificates)!

Don't miss a moment of the fun. RSVP today and tell your friends. Hope to see you on the 10th!

Thanks to Litfuse and Thomas Nelson for the review copy.

 

Attracted to Fire by DiAnn Mills

(I double-booked this one by accident, so I am posting two reviews of it)

Special Agent Meghan Connors’ dream of one day protecting the president of the United States is about to come true. Only one assignment stands in her way. After the vice president’s rebellious daughter is threatened, Meghan is assigned to her protective detail on a secluded ranch in West Texas. Unfortunately, working with Special Agent in Charge Ash Zinders may be as tough as controlling her charge. Ash has a reputation for being critical and exacting, and he’s also after the same promotion as Meghan. But when the threats escalate and security on the ranch is breached, it becomes clear this isn’t the work of a single suspect—it’s part of a sophisticated plan that reaches deeper and higher than anyone imagined. And only Ash and Meghan can put the pieces together before it’s too late.

My review:

This is only the second book I have read by this author, and I really enjoyed it. It made me want to read more of her books.




There is a lot of suspense in the book, which is right up my alley, and some romance - which is ok. The plot is a great plot. I have not read many, if any books, that centered around Secret Service agents, and it made an interesting story line. It is evident that the author did a lot of research on the Secret Service and how they operate. I loved the characters. Mills did an excellent job on coming up with likable and believeable ones.

There was a good Christian message in the book and God was presented as the solution to problems faced by the characters.


One negative: I am a stickler for language issues in Christian books. I don't think any objectional words/curse words belong in one. This book used the word substituted for donkey. Much to my disappointment, Tyndale has started to allow a few words like this to slip into their novels. Other than that one instance in this book, this is an excellent read and I highly recommend it.

About the author:
DiAnn Mills believes her readers should “Expect an Adventure.” She is a fiction writer who combines an adventuresome spirit with unforgettable characters to create action-packed novels. Her books have won many awards through American Christian Fiction Writers, and she is the recipient of the Inspirational Reader’s Choice award for 2005, 2007, and 2010. She was a Christy Award finalist in 2008 and a Christy winner in 2010. DiAnn is a founding board member for American Christian Fiction Writers, a member of Inspirational Writers Alive, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, and is the Craftsman Mentor for the Christian Writer’s Guild. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops. DiAnn and her husband live in Houston, Texas. Visit her website at: http://www.diannmills.com/ or find her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/diannmills.
 
Attracted To Fire is available from Tyndale House Publishing.
 
Thanks to Tyndale for the review copy.