Affordable Novel Critique Service has been updated — new services, new referral program.

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing
Sisterchick Go Brit

Multnomah Publishers (May 20, 2008)

by

Robin Jones Gunn

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robin grew up in Orange County, California and has lived in all kinds of interesting places, including Reno and Hawaii.

Robin’s first novel was published in 1988, and she has continued to write between two to five books a year. Her 63 published books include 47 novels, all of which are still in print. Sales of her popular Christy Miller Series, Glenbrooke Series and Sisterchicks Series, including Sisterchicks in Gondolas and the new Katie Weldon Series including Peculiar Treasures all of which are approaching four million copies sold, with translations in nine languages.

Robin’s passion for storytelling and travel are evident in all her books, especially the Sisterchicks novels, and she has received thousands of letters from readers around the world who have come to know Christ through her writing. She sees this as her dream come true. Her novels are traveling to foreign lands and her characters are doing what she always longed to do; telling people about God’s love.

She and her husband currently live near Portland, Oregon and have been married for 30 years. They spent their first 22 years of marriage working together in youth ministry, and enjoying life with their son and daughter who are now both grown.

As a frequent speaker at local and international events, one of Robin’s favorite topics is how God is the Relentless Lover and we are His first love. She delights in telling stories of how God uses fiction to change lives.

Robin is the recipient of the Christy Award, the Mt. Hermon Pacesetter Award, the Sherwood E. Wirt Award and is a Gold Medallion Finalist. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Media Associates International and the Board of Directors for Jerry Jenkins’ Christian Writers’ Guild.

ABOUT THE BOOK
SISTERCHICK® n: a friend who shares the deepest wonders of your heart, loves you like a sister, and provides a reality check when you’re being a brat.

Two midlife mamas hop over to jolly ole England and encounter so much more than the usual tourist stops. Liz does have a bit of a childhood crush on Big Ben, and she has hoped to “meet” him ever since her fifteenth birthday. Kellie dreams of starting an interior design business and figures Liz needs to be a part of that equation–a calculation that hasn’t added up for Liz yet.

Nothing on the excursion goes the way these two friends had envisioned. They start with a village pancake race and end up being held for questioning on The Underground. Kellie and Liz take a wild tour through the land of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien and then find themselves swept up, up, and away in a hot air balloon over the Cotswalds. London beckons with the Tower of London, Windsor Castle, shopping at Portabella Road in Knotting Hill, and of course, reservations at the Ritz for a posh high tea.

A few detours along the way and the possibility of being lost in a London fog of wonderment aren’t enough to stop these two Sisterchicks! Each step of their regal journey is lined with evidence of God’s gracious compassion, and both come to realize that God knows their every wish. He is the One who planted every dream in their hearts.

And, oh, what a surprise awaits them when they return home!

To read the first chapter, go HERE

“Robin has done it again! You and your Sisterchicks will love taking this new adventure together!”
- Karen Kingsbury, New York Times best-selling author of Between Sundays and Ever After

“My only complaint about Robin’s latest is that now I want to hop a plane to England! But combine a cup of Earl Grey tea and this charming story and you’re halfway there. Another delightful tale about women helping women to live their lives to the fullest.”
- Melody Carlson, author of These Boots Weren’t Made for Walking and A Mile in My Flip-Flops

“Sisterchicks in Gondolas is a true delight. The characters shine, and evocative language will make any reader want to visit Venice. Biblical truths are portrayed simply, yet will touch hearts and lives with their realistic application.”
- Romantic Times magazine

Sally Says: The first Sisterchick book I read was Sisterchicks Do the Hula, and when I finished it felt like I’d taken a relaxing trip to Hawaii. it was wonderful!

I decided to read the first one next, Sisterchicks on the Loose, and then read the one set in Mexico, but I missed the next few titles. So getting a chance to get back into the Sisterchicks book on their trip to England sounded fun.

And overall, the book was enjoyable. To me this book, especially the first half, read more like travel writing than a novel because the plot really didn’t seem to show up until late in the book and the characters didn’t seem well developed. But England has always appealed to me as a place to visit, so I enjoyed reading about the tourists sights and some of the unusual things the two characters discovered. If I were ever to go to England, I know I’d pull some of my stops right from this book.

This isn’t the best Sisterchicks book I’ve read, but I did enjoy it. If you’re a big fan of all things English and like travel writing, you’ll find Sisterchicks Go Brit to be a lot of fun.

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing
Wind River

(Bethany House July 1, 2008)

by

Tom Morrisey

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tom Morrisey is a mountaineer, aviator, shipwreck diver, and explorer, who holds a Full Cave certification from the National Speleological Society - Cave Diving Section.

He has launched, edited or contributed to numerous national publications and is an award-winning adventure-travel writer. A popular speaker, he is also active in both evangelism and the arts. Morrisey earned an MFA in creative writing from Bowling Green State University, and his fiction has been featured in numerous anthologies and magazines.

His first novel, Yucatan Deep (Zondervan, 2002) was a finalist for the Christy award, and he is the author of four other novels: In High Places (Bethany House Publishers, 2007), Dark Fathom (Zondervan, 2005), Deep Blue, (Zondervan 2004), and Turn Four (Zondervan 2004). In addition Tom has also written two nonfiction books: 20 American Peaks & Crags (Contemporary Books, 1978) and Wild by Nature (Baker Books, 2001). He and his family live in Orlando, Florida.

ABOUT THE BOOK

You Can’t Outrun the Sins of Your Past
Desperate to forget what happened to him in Iraq, Tyler Perkins flees to the emptiness of Wyoming. He’s here to escape and also to fulfill a long-ago promise by accompanying his 86-year-old friend Soren Andeman on a fly-fishing trip–once more for old time’s sake. But their trek to an idyllic trout lake soon becomes something more deeply harrowing–a journey that uncovers long-held lies, deadly crimes, and the buried secrets of the past. Ty barely has time to contemplate the question of what constitutes justice when nature unleashes her own revenge. Trapped in a race back to safety, he must face his own guilt-ridden past or risk being consumed.

Powerfully imagined by the acclaimed author of In High Places, Wind River is an engaging wilderness adventure that explores the power of confession, the beauty of forgiveness, and the freedom of truth unveiled.

If you would like to read the first chapter, go HERE

Sally Says: A couple years ago I read Tom Morrissey’s first book and enjoyed it enough that I remembered his name and said I needed to read his future books. So I did, this being the second of his that I’ve read.

But Wind River fell flat to me. Part of that may be due to the actual writing, but part of it may be due to the back cover copy. The back cover promised a suspense book, a story full of long-buried secrets, some danger perhaps, and a dramatic climax when nature gets involved.

The book had little of any of that.

The first 200 pages were a camping trip with very little conflict, very little action. Yes, Ty has his war issues and the way it’s affected his marriage, but that hardly takes up any space. Instead Ty and Soren take a camping trip, and the story is full of them fly-fishing and eating their catches, getting equipment packed up and then unpacked when they stop. I kept waiting for the story to start, but instead there were more details on types of lures used and brand names of various camping equipment that I couldn’t decipher even by their use in the novel. It wasn’t until the last 100 pages that what was promised on the back cover ever appeared in the book, and even then it wasn’t anywhere near as intense as what it was made to sound like.

So I can blame that part on whoever wrote the back cover copy — which probably wasn’t the author. Whenever a back cover copy only tells the climax of the book, the reader’s in for a disappointment because either they know everything that leads up to that climax from the back cover copy or (as in this case) there’s just not much happening.

But another problem with the book was the way the characters were so distant from the reader. The technical term, I believe, is called Deep Point of View, and this book was about as far from that as possible. Deep POV is getting the reader inside the character’s head, letting us hear his struggles, his thoughts, his reactions, etc. It makes US the character and makes us root for him.

There was very little to none of that in this book. And I kept seeing opportunities for it all over the place. Perhaps it was done on purpose to show how distanced Ty was keeping himself from people, but instead it made the book fall flat. Instead of a fishing scene that shows how much Ty’s struggling with someone, it was just a fishing scene. We were watching people camp without every getting inside their minds.

So for me, Wind River was not a good read. I won’t rule out any of Tom’s other books because I remember how much I enjoyed that first one, but I do hope they’re all different from this latest one.

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

I Heart Bloomberg

David C. Cook (April 1, 2008)

by

Melody Carlson

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Melody Carlson is the best-selling author of more than 100 books for adults, children, and teens, including three of her latest, These Boots Weren’t Made For Walking, A Mile In My Flip-Flops, and Mixed Bags. She and her husband, the parents of two grown sons, make their home near the Cascade Mountains in Central Oregon. Melody is a full-time writer as well as an avid gardener, biker, skier, and hiker.

Favorite Bible verse: John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” It’s the “whosoever” part that gets me. That’s who I write for – “whosoever” and to me that means everyone and anyone.

Carlson, author of more than 100 books, begins her 86 Bloomberg Place series with I Heart Bloomberg that functions mostly to set up future storylines. Three women rent rooms at 86Bloomberg Place:

ABOUT THE BOOK

Kendall’s managed to wrangle her grandmother’s house-free and clear-except for the rules. No male roommates. But that’s ok, with the right ad she’ll pull in some girls, their rent and if she’s lucky, she won’t have to go to work any time soon.

For their part, Anna, Lelani, and Megan all have their reasons for wanting to move in: Anna has got to get out from under her overprotective parents; Lelani can’t take another day in her aunt’s tiny crackerbox house overflowing with toddlers and Megan needs a place free of her current roommate from Hades.

Though they come with assorted extra baggage filled with broken hearts and dreams, they will discover they also have a vast array of hidden strengths. And they struggle to become the women they want to be, they’ll find new hope and maybe even Kendall will learn a thing or two about life, love and the true meaning of friendship.

If you would like to read the first chapter, go HERE

SALLY SAYS:

I may be showing my age here (which I didn’t think was that high), but here goes.

I Heart Bloomberg is a light summer read, and halfway through it–knowing I had to review it–I wasn’t sure what I was going to say.

On one hand, the characters, most fresh from college or in their mid-twenties, are dealing with scenarios that as a mom and mother of two and 2/3rds :) I felt way past. Granted, one was dealing with the loss of her dad, but even her character moved past that quickly, and her struggle throughout the book dealt with getting along with her roommate. And then there was the one character that annoyed me to no end with her shallowness. I kept wishing someone would shake her. And then shake her again.

I finally decided that my problem with the story was that I felt way too old for the book. Their problems with each other seemed petty, and I had a hard time being patient with them and identifying with them as a reader. I don’t say that arrogantly, but I’m in a different phase of my life than they are. And so what matters to them didn’t matter to me.

But on the other hand, I wanted to find out what happened. The farther along in the book I went, the more I read — in other words, I couldn’t put the thing down.

So hmm. What does this mean?

I Heart Bloomberg is a light, fun read. If you love light and fun (which I do) and stories about being footloose and fancy free and worrying about hair, makeup, and expensive clothes, you’ll enjoy the book. If you crave more serious, issue-driven fiction like I do, you may not care for this book as much.

But whatever you think of those characters three chapters in, I’d like to see you put the book down.

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Washington’s Lady

(Bethany House June 1, 2008)

by

Nancy Moser

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nancy Moser is the author of three inspirational humor books and eighteen novels, including Solemnly Swear, Just Jane, and Time Lottery, a Christy Award winner. She is an inspirational speaker, giving seminars around the country. She has earned a degree in architecture; run a business with her husband; traveled extensively in Europe; and has performed in various theaters, symphonies, and choirs. She and her husband have three grown children and make their home in the Midwest.
ABOUT THE BOOK

It has been said that without George Washington there would be no United States. But without Martha, there would be no George Washington. He called her “my other self.”

Who was this woman who captured the heart of our country’s founder? She dreams of a quiet life with her beloved George, but war looms…

Though still a young woman, Martha Dandridge Custis was a wealthy, attractive widow and the mother of two small children with no desire to remarry. But when a striking war hero steps into her life, she realizes that she is ready to love again. She is courted by, then marries the French and Indian War hero.

Yet she wonders whether this man, accustomed to courageous military exploits, can settle down to a simple life of farming and being a father to her children. Even as she longs for domestic bliss, Martha soon realizes she will have to risk everything dear to her and find the courage to get behind a dream much larger than her own.

Her new life as Martha Washington took her through blissful times at Mount Vernon, family tragedies, six years of her husband’s absence during the Revolutionary War, and her position as a reluctant First Lady.

Known for moving first-person novels of Nannerl Mozart and Jane Austen, in Washington’s Lady, Nancy Moser now brings to life the loves and trials of the First First Lady of the United States.

If you would like to read the first chapter, go HERE

SALLY SAYS:

With Memorial Day just past and the Fourth of July approaching, Washington’s Lady by Nancy Moser, is the perfect summer read. If you’re just the littlest bit patriotic, this book will leave you teary-eyed.

We all know that George Washington made many sacrifices as the leader of the American forces, but you’ll be surprised to learn all the sacrifices his wife Martha made. The book starts with the death of Martha’s first husband and moves quickly into her courtship with George Washington, which will make you smile more than once. From there, you get an eye-opening peak into the difficulty of life in the 1700’s. And from there you go knee-deep into the trials of the War and the stories of a nation who won but should have lost.

I think we often have a fantasy story-book ending of George and Martha’s life after the war, but the reality is so much different than expected. I have a much deeper respect for both George and Martha after reading all that they gave up — for us today.

Nancy Moser has written two previous historical fiction novels, but this one tops them both. Yes, the book is based on history and fact, but some sections had to be guessed at, and Nancy includes a section at the end that differentiates between what was fact and what was fiction.

Go buy this book and take it on your vacation. You won’t regret it.

. . . when the freecreditreport.com commercials come on, we can sit there and rewind them and play them over and over.

And over.

After a week with having to think of ketchup-less foods to cook, I can now say we are a ketchup-filled household again.

I think Bacon Cheeseburgers with lots of ketchup is on the menu for tonight.

Thank you to all who expressed their concern for me and my family’s welfare.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Athol Dickson’s university-level training in painting, sculpture, and architecture was followed by a long career as an architect then his decision several years ago to devote full time to writing.

Athol Dickson’s writing has been favorably compared to the work of Octavia Butler
(Publisher’s Weekly), Daphne du Maurier (Cindy Crosby, FaithfulReader.com) and FlanneryO’Connor (The New York Times).

His They Shall See God was a Christy Award finalist and his River Rising was a Christy Award winner, selected as one of the Booklist Top Ten Christian Novels of 2006 and a finalist for Christianity Today’s Best Novel of 2006.

He and his wife, Sue, live in Southern California. Visit AtholDickson.com for more information.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Boys who never age, giants lost in time, mist that never rises, questions never asked…on the most remote of islands off the coast of Maine, history haunts the present and Vera Gamble wrestles with a past that will not yield. Will she find refuge there, or will her ghosts prevail on…Winter Haven

Eleven years ago, Vera Gamble’s brother left their house never to be seen again. Until the day Vera gets a phone call that his body has been found…washed ashore in the tiny island town of Winter Haven, Maine. His only surviving kin, Vera travels north to claim the body…and finds herself tumbling into a tangled mystery. Her brother hasn’t aged a day since last she saw him.

Determined to uncover what happened in those lost years, Vera soon discovers there are other secrets lurking in this isolated town. But Winter Haven’s murky past now seems bound to come to light as one woman seeks the undeniable and flooding light of truth.

Sally Says:

Oh.

My.

Word.

This book blew me away, almost from the first page. Right away it had this rich, gothic feel to it, and I knew there was going to be some deep mystery I wouldn’t be able to solve.

Winter Haven is a fantastic read, whether you’re a writer or a bookworm. There’s so much to talk about in this book, so much that makes your head spin and piques your curiosity. It’s a prime example of a pageturner, yet it has the feel of a literary classic.

If you’re a writer, you need to read this book — it’s a study in so many things we writers should be doing. For example, writers are often told to make the setting another character, and Athol does that incredibly well. Without the island of Winter Haven, there is no story, no book. The plot and characters can’t exist without the richness of the setting.

Another thing writers shouldn’t do is dump loads of backstory. That’s a struggle for many of us. We think our readers need to know our characters’ pasts because that’s influencing the way they’re acting now.  Athol handles this perfectly. The characters’ pasts play heavily into the plot of this book, but he includes just the teensiest bit of back story in the perfect manner at the perfect time. What it does is create suspense, and we assume things to be one way when we find out so much later that they are the total opposite.

If there’s one flaw in the book, I felt it was in the ending. There was a part of the climax that I just didn’t buy. I can’t say what it was because it would give too much away, but I did wish the author had chosen a different twist on that one part of the ending. Either way, I still found Winter Haven a fantabulous read, one of the very best I’ve read this year. When I finished the book, I turned back to chapter one and started reading all over again.

Can’t remember the last time I’ve done that.

We are out of ketchup.

We have been out of ketchup for three days — three very long, very unred days.

Somehow I will survive.

It’s that wonderful time of year again, that personal national holiday of mine — opening day for my baseball team, the Chicago White Sox.

This year it feels a lot different. First of all, where’s spring? Second, we don’t live in Chi-town anymore. So I’ve heard almost zero about how good — or bad — my team is supposed to be. But we’ll have the DVR going tomorrow to tape the game. That’ll be a whole family thing in our house tonight.

Yesterday I caught Baseball Tonight on TV. That’s like the first robin for me, that night you happen to catch them doing one of their first shows, and you know winter’s almost over. Anyway, I soaked up the guys’ takes on who would win the divisions, and the baseball superfan in me just can’t resist giving you my predictions for the season.

Just remember you heard it here first.

AL — Red Sox, Indians, Angels; Wildcard — Tigers

NL — Mets, Scrubs (our pet name for the Cubs; my dad, who’s actually a Cubs fan, came up with that one), Diamondbacks; Wildcard — Braves

So there it is. May the White Sox prove me wrong.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

As the child of missionary parents, award-winning author and journalist Jeanette Windle grew up in the rural villages, jungles, and mountains of Colombia, now guerrilla hot zones. Her detailed research and writing is so realistic that it has prompted government agencies to question her to determine if she has received classified information. Currently based in Lancaster, PA, Jeanette has lived in six countries and traveled in more than twenty. She has more than a dozen books in print, including political/suspense best-seller CrossFire and the Parker Twins series.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Fires smolder endlessly below the dangerous surface of Guatemala City’s municipal dump.

Deadlier fires seethe beneath the tenuous calm of a nation recovering from brutal civil war. Anthropologist Vicki Andrews is researching Guatemala’s “garbage people” when she stumbles across a human body. Curiosity turns to horror as she uncovers no stranger, but an American environmentalist—Vicki’s only sister, Holly.

With authorities dismissing the death as another street crime, Vicki begins tracing Holly’s last steps, a pilgrimage leading from slum squalor to the breathtaking and endangered cloud forests of the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere. But every unraveled thread raises more questions. What betrayal connects Holly’s murder, the recent massacre of a Mayan village, and the long-ago deaths of Vicki’s own parents?

Nor is Vicki the only one demanding answers. Before her search reaches its startling end, the conflagration has spilled across international borders to threaten an American administration and the current war on terror. With no one turning out to be who they’d seemed, who can Vicki trust and who should she fear?

A politically relevant tale of international intrigue and God’s redemptive beauty and hope.

Sally Says:

I just finished this book today. It’s one of those nice thick books, and I’ll say that if you buy it, you’ll get your money’s worth.

Jeanette does a good job of helping the reader see a country that he’s probably never been to. And she brought out the culture, the problems, and the history in a way that related to the story rather than as a history lesson. The middle of the story did lag a bit for me, but the beginning of the story was good enough to keep me going, and the book gave a satisfactory ending that hints at a sequel. (Is there one, Jeanette?)

Betrayed is a complex story and quite a ride. Like I said, I loved the ending, the adventure in the story, and the spiritual thread — very believable, very real. Will I read another book by Jeanette Windle?

You bet.

I’m coming out of hibernation (for reasons to be explained soon, I hope) for Camy Tang’s newest release Only Uni. I’ll get to the review in a minute, but first Camy was kind enough to answer some questions for me. It’s always fun to see how much (or little) you have in common with someone else so here goes.

Question 1: What was your best vacation?

Camy — Mine was a trip up north to Mendocino county for our first anniversary–we stayed at this delectable bed and breakfast with an oceanside view and a terrific restaurant, and we went wine tasting.

Sally — My husband and I took a trip to Denver about 6 months before our first child was born. We toured the whole area from Estes Park in the north down to the Royal Gorge and everything in between. I went horseback riding through the Garden of the Gods, took the train to the top of Pikes Peak (amazing), and freaked out at signs that read, “Beware of rattlers” at the Flying W Ranch. There were no rattler sightings so it was a good trip.

Question 2: What’s your favorite childhood book?

Camy — Mine was A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Something about Sara Crewe’s troubles and how she overcame them always made me feel so good.

Sally — I still love Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books, and I’m slowly reading them now to my daughter. My favorite one is The Longest Winter. I think I’d read it a couple times before I realized how serious their situation was. Yikes.

Question 3: What was the last movie you watched?

Camy — I saw Northanger Abbey (the Masterpiece movie that aired a few weeks ago, I saw it again on Tivo),but the last movie I saw with my husband was Zodiac, about the San Francisco Bay Area serial killer WHO WAS NEVER CAUGHT. Woooooooo

Sally — Good thing you don’t live anywhere near San — oh. Hmm.

The last movie I saw was Pride and Prejudice. Ironically, the movie I watched before that was also Pride & Prejudice, the 1995 version. I had to compare the two to see which one was better, and I shocked myself by preferring the 1995 BBC A&E version. Wonderfully done, much truer to the book, and allowed character emotions to fully develop.

Question 4: If you could eat only one more candy bar, what would it be?

Camy — I’d eat a Twix bar.

Sally — I so should not eat another candy bar. Ever. Really. Chocolate and I — not good.

Question 5: What are you reading right now?

Camy — I just finished PETTICOAT RANCH by Mary Connealy and I just started MISS MATCH by Erynn Mangum.

Sally — I’m working on BETRAYED by Jeanette Windle. It’s a big thick book, but it’s been good so far. In fact, I’ll be reviewing it before the week’s out.

And now for the book.

Flirty biologist Trish Sakai has alienated her best friends and her family because of her wild behavior with her artist ex-boyfriend, Kazuo. Then she finds her father kissing another woman, and her mom suffers a heart attack. Convinced God is punishing her for her sexual promiscuity, Trish comes up with three rules from First and Second Corinthians: 1) Stop looking at guys, 2) Only date Christians, and 3) Persevere in hardship by relying on God. If she follows them, God will restore her life to the way it was before her mistakes. If she can somehow regain her chastity, she won’t feel as dirty and unworthy as she does now. They’re only three rules. How hard can it be?

Handsome Spenser finds himself attracted to his coworker Trish, but his dinner invitation gets slammed down with a lame excuse about Corinthians and rules. That cools his ardor pretty quick. But then Spenser discover that his old enemy Kazuo needs Trish as the “muse” for his unfinished masterpiece painting due in a few months for a gallery show. Kazuo pursues Trish with everything he’s got, but Spenser decides to throw a wrench in Kazuo’s plans by pretending to pursue Trish himself.

Trish is going nuts trying to stand firm against two hunky guys. Her three simple rules aren’t so simple anymore . . .

Sally Says: Again, Camy Tang pulls out a fun yet surprising book. Her first book, Sushi for One?, started out with comedy, and so does Only Uni. Yes, there’s seriousness to Trish’s problems, but there’s a good deal included that makes you laugh.

And then suddenly you find yourself facing ginormously major decisions, problems, and issues that make you think and feel for the characters. Camy really has a way of taking what at first glance appears to be light, escapist fiction and turning it into some pretty deep thinking.

Only Uni is a fun story that has a satisfying ending. And don’t you all just love that cover? It’s amazing.

You can find Camy daily on her blog Camy’s Loft. If you’d like more information about the book, check out all the reviews listed here.

Thanks for stopping by, Camy. And lock those doors and windows tonight, okay?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Robin Lee Hatcher discovered her vocation as a novelist after many years of reading everything she could put her hands on, including the backs of cereal boxes and ketchup bottles. The winner of the Christy Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction (Whispers from Yesterday), the RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance (Patterns of Love and The Shepherd’s Voice), two RT Career Achievement Awards (Americana Romance and Inspirational Fiction), and the RWA Lifetime Achievement Award, Robin is the author of over 50 novels, including Catching Katie, named one of the Best Books of 2004 by the Library Journal.

Robin enjoys being with her family, spending time in the beautiful Idaho outdoors, reading books that make her cry, and watching romantic movies. She is passionate about the theater, and several nights every summer, she can be found at the outdoor amphitheater of the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, enjoying Shakespeare under the stars. She makes her home outside of Boise, sharing it with Poppet the high-maintenance Papillon.

She also likes to blog. Go leave her a comment at Write Thinking!

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Katherine Clarkson has the perfect life. Married to Brad, a loving and handsome husband, respected in their church and the community. Two grown daughters on the verge of starting families of their own. A thriving ministry. Good friends. A comfortable life.

She has it all–until the day a reporter appears with shocking allegations. Splashed across the local news are accusations of Brad’s financial impropriety at his foundation and worse, an affair with a former employee. Without warning, Katherine’s marriage is shattered and her family torn apart. The reassuring words she’s spoken to many brokenhearted women over the years offer little comfort now.

Her world spinning, Katherine wonders if she can find the truth in the chaos that consumes her. How can she survive the loss of what she thought was the perfect life?

Sally Says: Ack! I’m reviewing about 4 books this month, and I got the order wrong. So I’m partway into The Perfect Life. So far I’ve felt it to be a little slow, but the story is starting to pick up, and I’m really curious to see how the story plays out.

If you haven’t read anything by Robin Lee Hatcher, you really should. Her books run the gamut between light and fun to serious tear jerkers that make you think. My favorite book of hers (so far) is Beyond the Shadows. The book is about a woman married to an alcoholic, but there’s so much in that story that speaks to so many different areas of a woman’s life. I loved it.

I’ll try to finish this one in the next day or two and give my final thoughts on The Perfect Life.

Death of a Six Foot Teddy Bear, by Sharon Dunn

Another murder mystery for the Bargain Hunters Network–only this time, one of them is a suspect!

Ginger and her husband, Earl, are in for a wild ride in Calamity, Nevada, along with the other BHN ladies–college student Kindra, mother-of-four Suzanne, and sassy senior Arleta. They came to town for the Invention Expo and some outlet shopping, but instead they endure lost luggage, broken air conditioning, and a long line of people angry at hotel owner Dustin Clydell. With the Invention Expo and the Squirrel Lovers’ convention both in town, the Wind-Up Hotel has somehow overbooked.

Before the night is over, a man has been found dead in a teddy bear costume, the Invention Expo has been canceled, Binky the water-skiing squirrel has gone missing…and the authorities want to talk to one of the BHN ladies! What else could possibly go wrong?

Once again, the Bargain Hunters Network swings into sleuth mode to solve the murder–and this time, clear one of their own. Along the way, Ginger discovers something even better than a bargain.

Sally Says: If you love a good whodunit, you’ll enjoy Sharon Dunn’s newest book and series. As I read, I found clues everywhere, but of course I couldn’t figure out who’d done it or why.

The characters in the book, an unlikely assortment of four women, are die-hard bargain shoppers who’ve formed the Bargain Hunters Network. The story focuses more on plot than character, but there are a few character story lines that are picked up from the previous book, Death of a Garage Sale Newbie. You don’t need to have read the first book to enjoy this one, but I’m sure you’ll want to read all of Sharon’s mysteries when you’re done.

Here’s what others are saying about Sharon’s book:

“A quirky ‘who done it,’ Death of a Six-Foot Teddy Bear is the perfect mystery for women who love bargains and surprise endings.”
- Melanie Dobson, author of Together for Good and Going for Broke

“If you enjoy whimsy, humor, and fun characters with your mystery, Death of a Six-Foot Teddy Bear is for you! But beware! Under the laughs are buried strong spiritual truths. A delightful, thoughtful read.”
- Gayle Roper, award-winning author of Fatal Deduction

“The bargain hunter gals are at it again! Dunn’s riotous romp seamlessly tucks in truth and light and leaves us in stitches. A must-read for those who think living by faith is boring.”
- Lois Richer, author of Healing Tides

It’s only February, and so far it’s been a rather interesting year. God has made His plans, totally different from my own, very clear in such a short time.

What do we do when God says no? What do we do when He takes our well-laid plans, plans that to all appearances would benefit our family, plans that are not wrong, and destroys them? Do we keep a stiff upper lip? Do we throw a fit? Do we say, “Oh, well” and give up?

How do we handle a “no” that we can’t get around? It’s a hard place to be in, isn’t it? Years down the road, it’s different. It’s easy then to spout phrases about trusting God and realizing that He knew best, all of which is true. But for the person who’s stuck in what feels like quicksand, the no’s can be scary.

So what action do we take when God says no? What do we do and what should we do in the middle of a no?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rebeca Seitz is Founder and President of Glass Road Public Relations. An author for several years, PRINTS CHARMING was her first novel.

Rebeca cut her publicity teeth as the first dedicated publicist for the fiction division of Thomas Nelson Publishers. In 2005, Rebeca resigned from WestBow and opened the doors of GRPR, the only publicity firm of its kind in the country dedicated solely to representing novelists writing from a Christian worldview.

Rebeca makes her home in Kentucky with her husband, Charles, and their son, Anderson.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Sisters, Ink marks the first in a series of novels written by, for, and about scrapbookers. At the center of the creativity and humor are four unlikely young adult sisters, each separately adopted during early childhood into the loving home of Marilyn and Jack Sinclair.

Ten years after their mother Marilyn has died, the multi-racial Sinclair sisters (Meg, Kendra, Tandy, and Joy) still return to her converted attic scrapping studio in the small town of Stars Hill, Tennessee, to encourage each other through life’s highs and lows.

Book one spotlights headstrong Tandy, a successful yet haunted attorney now living back in Orlando where she spent the first eight years of her life on the streets as a junkie’s kid. When a suddenly enforced leave of absence at work leads her to an extended visit with her sisters in Stars Hill, a business oppor­tunity, rekindled romance, and fresh understanding of God’s will soon follow.

Endorsements:

“What more can any woman want? Sisters, Ink weaves the love of sisters, the fun of scrapbooking, and a romance as sugary and tingling as Sweet Home Alabama. A must read for those who love southern fiction.”–DiAnn Mills, author of Leather and Lace and When the Nile Runs Red

“Fun . . . funny . . . fantastic! Rebeca Seitz has brought together scrapbooking and sisterhood in a lively romp, with a love for going home again.”–Eva Marie Everson, coauthor of The Potluck Club series.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Julie Lessman is a debut author who has already garnered writing acclaim, including ten Romance Writers of America awards. She is a commercial writer for Maritz Travel, a published poet and a Golden Heart Finalist. Julie has a heart to write “Mainstream Inspirational,” reaching the 21st-century woman with compelling love stories laced with God’s precepts. She resides in Missouri with her husband and their golden retriever, and has two grown children and a daughter-in-law. A Passion Most Pure is her first novel.

ABOUT THE BOOK

She’s found the love of her life. Unfortunately, he loves her sister …

As World War I rages across the Atlantic in 1916, a smaller war is brewing in Boston. Faith O’Connor finds herself drawn to an Irish rogue who is anything but right for her. Collin McGuire is brash, cocky, and from the wrong side of the tracks, not to mention forbidden by her father. And then there’s the small matter that he is secretly courting her younger sister. But when Collin’s affections suddenly shift her way, it threatens to tear Faith’s proper Boston family apart.

Refusing to settle for anything less than a romantic relationship that pleases God, Faith O’Connor steels her heart against her desire for the roguish Collin McGuire. Collin is trying to win her sister Charity’s hand, and Faith isn’t sure she can handle the jealousy she feels. Full of passion, romance, rivalry, and betrayal, A Passion Most Pure is Book 1 of the Daughters of Boston series.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Award-winning author, DiAnn Mills, launched her career in 1998 with the publication of her first book. She is the author of numerous titles including novels, novellas, and a nonfiction. In addition, she’s written several short stories, articles, devotions, and has contributed to several nonfiction compilations.

DiAnn believes her readers should “Expect an Adventure.” Her desire is to show characters solving real problems of today from a Christian perspective through a compelling story.

Several of her anthologies have appeared on the CBA Best Seller List. Three of her books have won the distinction of Best Historical of the Year by Heartsong Presents, and she remains a favorite author by Heartsong Present’s readers. Two of her books have won short historical of the year by American Christian Fiction Writers both in 2003 and 2004. She was named Writer of the Year for 2004 at the 35th Annual Mount Hermon Christian Writer’s Conference and is the recipient of Inspirational Reader’s Choice Awards for 2005 in the long contemporary and novella categories.

DiAnn is a founding board member for American Christian Fiction Writers, a member of Inspirational Writers Alive, ChiLibris, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association and a mentor for the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops. DiAnn also belongs to Cy Fair Women’s Networking, an exclusive professional women’s networking organization.

She lives in sunny Houston, Texas, the home of heat, humidity, and Harleys. In fact she’d own one, but her legs are too short. DiAnn and her husband have four adult sons and are active members of Metropolitan Baptist Church.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

1803, the colony of Texas

Awaken My Heart is set in 19th century Texas and tells the story of 18 year old Marianne Phillips, the daughter of a wealthy rancher, Weston Phillips. Weston is involved in a hostile struggle with Armando Garcia, the infamous rebel leader of the ‘mestizos’ who claim to own the land that Phillips has settled.

Marianne Phillips, the daughter of a wealthy rancher, has never agreed with her father’s harsh treatment of the poor mestizos who first inhabited the colony of Texas. When rebels kidnap Marianne, in hopes her father will trade back their land for her freedom, she realizes her loyalty lies with her abductors, not her father, who plans to marry her off to the don of a nearby estate.

Armando Garcia is the locals’ reluctant leader, but his people revere and depend on him. Knowing that without his leadership they’d be forced from their land, Armando accepts his role, but does not approve of the latest attempt to manipulate their enemy. When he learns that Marianne actually speaks his language, of her loyalty to his people, and of the faith that keeps her strong, Armando is faced with a difficult decision. Will his newfound love keep him from letting her go? Or will he set her free and risk losing their land forever?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Matthew Raley is senior pastor of the Orland Evangelical Free Church in northern California, where he lives with his wife and two young children. For fun, he enjoys playing chamber music with friends, giving occasional solo recitals, and playing first violin in the North State Symphony. This is his first book.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Jim was at work when his eyes drifted to the coffee shop visible from his office window. An attractive woman driving a Mercedes pulled up to the curb . . . and Jim’s married pastor emerged from the car. When Jim delves deeper into his pastor’s world, will he be able to handle what he discovers? Is he right to suspect that Dave is having an affair? In the behind-the-scenes church battle that ensues, Jim is torn between duty to his church and a desire to show grace. A ripped-from-the-headlines drama of suspense that keeps you engaged to the last page.

Fallen is the story about Jim’s relationship with Dave—how Jim tries to do the right thing to keep Dave accountable, but finds the situation getting worse and worse. It’s also about Jim’s other relationships. Just as he discovers hypocrisy in Dave, Jim discovers his own sins against his wife and daughter.

I recently had the privilege to read Cheryl Wyatt’s first book A Soldier’s Promise.

Back Cover:

“My name’s Bradley. I’m eight and have cancer. I want to meet a Special Forces soldier more than anything. Well, almost anything. Having a family would be nice.”

U.S. Air Force pararescue jumper Joel Montgomery promised to make a sick child’s wish come true. Well, not the family part — not with Joel’s past. And so despite vowing never to set foot back in Refuge, Illinois, Joel parachuted onto the boy’s school lawn to a huge smile. But another smile unexpectedly stole Joel’s heart: that of Bradley’s beautiful teacher, Amber Stanton, who was trying to adopt the boy. And trying to show Joel it was time for new vows.

A Soldier’s Promise deals with romance and forgiveness, of being free of the pain one’s past can cause. The book has the feel of Dee Henderson’s military romance series minus the suspense element. There’s a man loyal to his country who must sometimes put his duty ahead of his personal life, and there’s the struggle that that brings about in a relationship.

I did feel that early on the story dragged a bit, but it did pick up and kept me reading to see how the book ended. If you’re a romance reader or enjoy stories about the military, you’ll enjoy A Soldier’s Promise.