Once In A Blue Moon by Leanna Ellis

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Once in a Blue Moon

B&H Books (March 1, 2010)

by

Leanna Ellis





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Leanna's sister recommended that she write, since she ‘wrote in her journal all the time.’ The idea took root and began to grow. So after five years of teaching, she quit and started writing, with no clue about the book business. Ignorance is bliss. If she’d known the odds against her, she might not have ever started writing.



For about three years, she wrote with a collaborator, but because she had so many ideas she began to write more stories on her own. She suffered numerous rejections. Deservedly so. But she was growing as a writer and learning. She went to as many conferences as she could manage. During that time, she met her future husband, fell in love and became engaged. She also began to final in contests and then actually began to win! The contests helped her get noticed by editors and agents. In March, the year Braveheart won the Best Picture Oscar, Victor/Victoria opened on Broadway, she sold her first book. It was her Cinderella year. She sold her book, got married and won RWA’s Golden Heart Award in Hawaii.



She wrote six books between her first baby’s birth and when the second baby turned one. Then she hit a wall. Not literally. But creatively. It’s not that she didn’t have any ideas, but her ideas didn’t fit the romance market. These new characters, random and weird as they were, began to take over the part of her brain that wasn’t domesticated. These stories were about all types of women, and so she began to let her writing grow in new and different ways.



Leanna Ellis sold more than 1.3 million romantic novels writing as Leanna Wilson, winning a Readers’ Choice award and the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart award for her work. Elvis Takes a Back Seat is the first book published under her married name, marking a new creative direction in her writing. Like Francine Rivers before her, Leanna has left behind a successful career as an author of secular romances to write novels of faith that glorify God. A former schoolteacher, Leanna is now a homeschool mom and lives with her husband and children in Keller, Texas.







ABOUT THE BOOK

Bryn Seymour was nine years old when her mother died under mysterious circumstances on the same day Apollo 11 made its historic lunar landing. Forty years later—divorced, working as an obituary writer, and duly cynical—she meets Howard, a conspiracy theorist who knew her mom and believes a small Texas town may hold clues to what really fueled her demise. Seeking closure, Bryn goes along for this men-in-black ride. But upon meeting Howard’s son Sam, an outspoken Christian, she can’t decide whose beliefs are more pie-in-the-sky.



The gravity of life has pulled Bryn down for decades. But a perfect love could be her first step to soaring. It only happens once in a blue moon.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Once in a Blue Moon, go HERE



Watch the book trailer:

Note: This book got to me late and I have not had time to read it yet.

Surely This Man

It is weird how you can have a CD for a long time and suddenly start loving a song that you previously didn't really notice. That is the case with this one. The CD came out in 2001 by the Ruppes, a Southern Gospel mother/daughters trio. The CD has 15 songs on it, and this was not one I listened to much, and did not have on my MP3 player. Suddenly, it is one I listen to a lot. Awesome song and words. Couldn't find a video for it, but thought I'd share the lyrics:

Surely This Man (Cindi Ballard & Belinda Smith)

Verse 1
She'd come to draw from Jacob's well so many times before
This day Someone met her there to offer something more
She felt such overflowing joy from this new life she'd found
She ran to spread the glorious news to everyone around

Chorus 1
No man has ever looked at me the way this man did
Such tenderness and mercy, though he knew all my sin
His loving eyes have pierced my heart and made my life stand still
If any man came to change the world, surely this man will

Verse 2
The day was dark as soldiers took a hammer to a cross
Voices mocked among the crowd, victorious in their cause
Then suddenly a soldier's tears were mingled with the rain
He met the gaze of sinless eyes, his words were filled with pain

Chorus 2
No man has ever lived His life the way that this man did
His loved ones say He's blameless, somehow I know He is
No day of has pierced my heart the way this moment does
If any man was the Son of God, surely this man was.

Bridge
Surely this man is the One we've waited for
Prophet and King
And surely so much more

Chorus 3
No man has ever conquered the way that this man did
Crucified and buried, and yet He lives again
His tender grace has saved my soul and called my heart to His
If any man is my risen Lord, surely this man is.

The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker

FBI Special agent Brad Raines is facing his toughest case yet. A Denver serial killer has killed four beautiful young women, leaving a bridal veil at each crime scene, and he's picking up his pace. Unable to crack the case, Raines appeals for help from a most unusual source: residents of the Center for Wellness and Intelligence, a private psychiatric institution for mentally ill individuals whose are extraordinarily gifted.

It's there that he meets Paradise, a young woman who witnessed her father murder her family and barely escaped his hand. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Paradise may also have an extrasensory gift: the ability to experience the final moments of a person's life when she touches the dead body.

In a desperate attempt to find the killer, Raines enlists Paradise's help. In an effort to win her trust, he befriends this strange young woman and begins to see in her qualities that most 'sane people' sorely lack. Gradually, he starts to question whether sanity resides outside the hospital walls...or inside.

As the Bride Collector picks up the pace-and volume-of his gruesome crucifixions, the case becomes even more personal to Raines when his friend and colleague, a beautiful young forensic psychologist, becomes the Bride Collector's next target.

The FBI believes that the killer plans to murder seven women. Can Paradise help before it's too late?

Though I wouldn't necessarily classify this book as Christian fiction, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Other than one use of "hell" as an expletive and one use of "pissed", I caught no other language issues in the book.

Dekker has some interesting characters in the book, from the tough FBI agent to the colorful and odd characters at a psychiatric institution, who end up being more help than he realized they would be.

There is a lot of suspense and action in the book, and it is not for the faint of heart, as there is a lot of violence also. I read the book in one evening, and was pulled into the story, which has a very surprising twist to it.

If you prefer solid Christian fiction, this book might not be for you, but most Dekker fans will enjoy his latest and great novel.

About the author:

Ted Dekker is a New York Times best-selling author best known for suspense and thriller novels, though he has also made a name for himself among fantasy fans. Early in his career he wrote a number of books with spiritual themes that would best be categorized as religious fiction. His later works are a mix of mainstream novels such as Adam, Thr3e, Skin, Obsessed and BoneMan’s Daughters; and fantasy thrillers that metaphorically explore faith. Best known among these are his Circle Series (Black, Red, White, Green), The Lost Books (Chosen, Infidel, Renegade, Chaos, Lunatic, Elyon), and The Paradise Books (Showdown, Saint, Sinner, House (with Frank Peretti), and Skin.

The Bride Collector will be available from Center Street in April.

Thanks to Center street for the review copy.

Are Christians too quiet?

I admit, a couple of replies I got to my "cursing post" got me thinking, and has led to this blog post. If you didn't read it, I was blogging about my frustration with Christian authors and publishers who are allowing a curse word here and there in their books. I complain to the author and publisher every time it happens, though not everyone agrees with me. But on to my question......

Are we too quiet? Too docile? Sure, we are to love everyone and be peacemakers, but have we Christians been cutting our own throats? Take this cursing in Christian books. If no one ever speaks up, will it stop? Nope. In fact, it could spread and get worse, although a few people speaking up may not make much of a difference. But lets go on to bigger things, and not so recent.

Abortion. No matter how you look at it, it is . of the most being that there is, a baby. A side note: my former pastor made a statement once that has stuck with me - if the of Abel cried from the ground when he was ed, how much more is the of the millions of babies America has ed crying out to God. But back to my point - when abortion was legalized, had every true follower of Jesus Christ stood up in protest, flooded their congressmen with phone calls, the White House, marched on Washington DC, who knows what might have happened. But we shrugged our shoulders and figured there was nothing we could do.

TV. Not as much of a biggie as abortion, although I firmly believe TV has made a lot of things acceptable and normal to people. If they see it enough on TV, it becomes ok, whether it be premarital , homosexuality, or cursing. And I go back to my premise - had Christians really stood up to the immorality and language on TV, we would most likely have a cleaner boob tube today.

Why don't we stand up more? Is it because we don't think it will do any good? Are we too lazy? Afraid?

I don't want to get too political here, but I want to use something as an example. Hopefully I will not offend anyone. This health care bill that has been being discussed. The majority of Americans are against it, conservative and liberal alike. Republican or Democrat. I have followed it a lot, and have read what is the bill. Besides the fact that I don't want the government in control of my health care and forced to buy it or pay a fine, there are other ugly things about it, too many to go into here. I said all that to say this: I have emailed and called my Senators and Congressman many times over this issue in the last few months. Unfortunately, they seem determined to vote for it anyway, but across America, people are speaking up, and it has made a difference. Instead of the easy and quick vote they thought they would have, it has become a long, bitter fight, with even many members of the majority party not going along with it. Why? Because people are speaking up. Imagine if Christians fought evil that hard.

I firmly believe Christians should be involved in politics, and vote. We have too many who do not. I could be wrong - I was one time - just kidding, have been a lot - but I believe if every true Christian voted, and voted conservatively, as close to Biblical values as possible, the men and women who made abortion legal would never have been nominated to the Supreme Court. That we would not be facing the battle for gay marriage and other effects of the gay agenda.

But all too often, we stay home on voting day. The candidate isn't quite what we wanted. Well, guess what, politicians are dirty. Some may be better than others, but none of them are pristine and lily white. I view it as voting for the lesser of two evils. I wouldn't necessarily call myself a one-issue voter, but I am pro-life, and that is a big issue. Sure, national security is a biggie, but if we could all view abortion as God does, I'm sure it would affect the way we vote, the way we live, forever.

So much for not getting political.

I don't consider myself majorly intelligent. In fact, some days I feel downright dumb. But I do think a lot about stuff like this, and wonder. I wonder what kind of world we would be living in if Christians had spoke up more. Prayed more. Been more involved in voting and the issues. When is the last time you prayed that God would stop the scourge of abortion? I have to admit, I can't remember the last time I did. Maybe that is part of the problem - we get used to it. Sin doesn't shock us anymore. Maybe the day will come that I read a Christian book and run onto a few curse words and not even notice them. I hope not, but it is happening to too many Christians - we are used to sin, and nothing shocks us anymore.

These are just some thoughts I had and tried to get across in my own clumsy way, but think about it. I know I will. What can I do to help fight against the evil that is all around us? What can you do?

Cursing... how much is ok? Input desired

I have addressed this issue before, but just read a book that has caused me to rant, as some of my friends call posts like this. :-)

The book I was reading had one curse word in it: "Damn." The author is one my sister's favorites and she has already emailed the author to complain. The reply she got was polite, but the author stated that she used it because it was something that character in the book would have said. Ok, so why could she not have said " David muttered a curse" or something similar as I have seen in other books.

This all too common practice of slipping curse words into Christian books frustrates me. I don't curse, and don't appreciate it when I run onto it in a Christian book. I also emailed this author, and politely told her how I felt about it, and also the publisher. Here is a bit of what I said. I pointed out that no curse words belong in a Christian book, and if she read a Christian book that had a curse word every other paragraph, she would probably be horrified. I then asked what the limit for allowable curse words would be to her in a book - if 500 is too many, then where is the limit?

I also asked her if she was given a glass of water with just one drop of in it, would she want to drink it. Of course not, it is impure, and also one curse word in a Christian book is out of place, and I don't want to run onto just one.

I would like some input here. I'd like to hear from you if you are bothered by curse words in a Christian book, and what do you think we should do - should we contact the author? The publisher? Both? Or just not do or say anything? Should Christian fiction hold a higher standard?

And if you aren't bothered by curse words in a Christian book, I'd like to hear from you also, but I'd like you to answer a question if you comment. How many curse words do you think crosses the line for a Christian book if one doesn't cross that line? How many are too many?

I of course don't like cursing anywhere, but I rarely read a secular fiction book, so I am talking about Christian fiction here.

Update - author's reply:

Hey Mark,

So sorry you were offended. I really debated, but I felt that the word was appropriate for the situation and feelings of David at that moment. I don’t liken that word to some of other vulgar words in our world, either, that might not be officially cursing, but are even more offensive. My goal was to write an authentic story about the deliverance of people who feel like they don’t deserve God’s love because of their actions. I appreciate your comments, however, and will consider them in the future.

Thank you for reading, and for writing!

Blessings,

By the way, I have changed the character's name, it was not David. So is she right? If the character is the type who would curse, is it ok to stick it in? And is "damn" a more acceptable curse word? What are your thoughts?

Note: if you disagree with me, I will publish your comment if you reply to my question:

How many curse words do you think crosses the line for a Christian book if one doesn't cross that line? How many are too many to be in a Christian book. Surely for anyone who is ok with it, there is a limit to what is ok - 10, 20, 50, 100? More than 100?

I did allow on comment by a lady that didn't reply to that question, but it was such an interesting comment, and I had no way to contact her or reply.

Update note: One more thing about the curse words - I had this thought before, but forgot to add it - my oldest niece is 14, an awesome sweet kid. She is starting to read Christian books. Her parents - and I also - would not want her running onto curse words in a Christian book, and kids that age shouldn't be reading curse words (not that any of us should) - I think it is a sad state of affairs that we would have to weed out some Christian books for her to read because they have language issues.

The Lord Is My Shepherd by Debbie Viguie

This week, the



Christian Fiction Blog Alliance



is introducing



The Lord Is My Shepherd



Abingdon Press (March 2010)



by



Debbie Viguie





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Debbie Viguié has been writing for most of her life. She has experimented with poetry and nonfiction, but her true passion lies in writing novels. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing from UC Davis. While at Davis she met her husband, Scott, at auditions for a play.



Debbie's love for writing brought her from working as a church secretary to a successful career writing supernatural fiction. She is the author of Midnight Pearls, Scarlet Moon, and Charmed: Pied Piper, and the young Sweet Seasons series. She also is coauthor of the New York Times bestselling Wicked book series.



Debbie and Scott now live on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. When Debbie is not writing and Scott has time off they love to indulge their passion for theme parks.





ABOUT THE BOOK

Cindy’s church is getting ready to celebrate Easter, and Jeremiah’s Temple is preparing for Passover when Cindy literally stumbles over the body of an unknown man lying in the sanctuary. The church was locked, and a y cross necklace on the floor seems to be the only clue. The killer is likely a member of the congregation, but there are hints that similar s have happened in the past. Are Cindy and Jeremiah dealing with a serial killer? They have to unravel the clues before Easter Sunday arrives and more people die.



Cindy and Jeremiah come from two different worlds, even though they work right next door to each other. Cindy is a strong Christian who lives a normal but somewhat dull life, working as a church secretary. Jeremiah is a Reformed rabbi with a mysterious past full of danger and excitement. But one eventful Easter/Passover week, the two find themselves working together to solve a and stop a serial killer from striking again. Solving the mystery should put an end to their alliance, but the church secretary and the rabbi quickly find themselves enmeshed in another mystery. Soon the two form a friendly alliance and friendship, exploring personal history and faith and growing closer with each passing adventure. Despite their differences Cindy and Jeremiah find a lot of common ground.



If you would like to read the first chapter of The Lord Is My Shepherd, go HERE.
There is a new Christian suspense author on the block, and she is really good. This book was another "read-in-one-sitting" books. In other words, such a great read that I couldn't put it down until I finished it.
Viguie has two interesting, yet totally different main characters for this series. A church secretary of a Protestant church, and a Jewish Rabbi. Working together, they help the police solve the Passion Week . The killer is ing people and arranging them to portray the events of Jesus' last week on this earth.
I thought the plot was genius, and I really like the interaction between her characters. She brings out the differences between the Jewish and Protestant beliefs and practices, something I think she will focus on in the series.
There are increasingly too many authors who feel you can't have a good suspense or mystery without either having no strong Christian theme, or including language not suitable to a Christian book. This author proves them wrong. There is a strong Christian theme to the book, yet it is a great suspense/mystery at the same time.
If you enjoy the genre of suspense/mystery, check this series out. This is the first book in the Psalm 23 Mystery Series, but will soon be followed by the second, I Shall Not Want. If I gave stars to indicate how well I liked a book, this would receive 5, the highest.
Thanks to Abington Press for the review copy.

Muti-Church Road Trip by Surratt, Ligdon, and Bird

The multi-site church movement is reshaping the way we do church. But how does it actually work? And is it right for your church? Enjoy a guided tour of multi-site churches across America and see for yourself how churches are growing and reaching their communities. This companion to The Multi-Site Church Revolution gives you on-site pictures of the new and creative ways churches are expanding their impact through multiple locations.

Description:

Hop On for a Guided Tour of the Multi-Site Church Movement

From multiple locations to internet campuses, the multi-site church movement is changing the shape of the church. What is this rapidly expanding phenomenon all about? Experience the revolution for yourself and see why it has become the “new normal” for growing churches. A Multi-Site Church Roadtrip takes you on a tour of multi-site churches across America to see how they’re handling the opportunities and challenges raised by this dynamic organizational model.

Travel with tour guides Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon, and Warren Bird, authors of The Multi-Site Church Revolution, on their engaging and humorous journey that shows creative ways churches of all kinds are expanding their impact through multiple locations. Hear the inside stories and learn about the latest developments. Find out firsthand how the churches in this book are broadening their options for evangelism, service, and outreach—while making better use of their ministry funds.

This book was an interesting read. The authors not only discuss what they have seen with churches branching out into new locations, but they also give some helpful advice in how churches can do it, pitfalls to avoid, and the best way for your church to branch out into multiple locations.

The Multi-Church Road Trip is availble from Zondervan.