The Book I Could Not Review
August 26, 2009
This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Revell (September 1, 2009)
by
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
I was born and raised in Kentucky and my love of history goes deep – way back to the 18th-century when my family first came into the Bluegrass State. It will always be home to me, even though I now live with my husband, Randy, and my sons, Wyatt and Paul, in the misty woods of northwest Washington. I go back as often as I can to visit family and all the old haunts that I love.
I grew up playing on the original site of Fort Boonesborough and swimming in the Kentucky River and climbing the Pinnacle near Berea and watching the great outdoor dramas of the early settlers. Often my cousins and brother and I would play in my Granny’s attic and dress up in the pioneer costumes she made us and pretend to be Daniel Boone, Rebecca, Jemima, or the Shawnee.
As I grew up I began to write stories and they were always historical, filled with the lore I had heard or read about. It’s no accident that my first book (which is actually my fifth book – the others were practice!) is about those first Kentucky pioneers.
I feel blessed beyond measure to write books. My prayer is that you are doubly blessed reading them.
Note: Laura Frantz credits her 100-year-old grandmother as being the catalyst for her fascination with Kentucky history. Frantz’s family followed Daniel Boone into Kentucky in 1792 and settled in Madison County where her family still resides. Frantz is a former schoolteacher and social worker who currently lives in the misty woods of Washington state with her husband and two sons, whom she homeschools.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Lovely but tough as nails, Lael Click is the daughter of a celebrated frontiersman. Haunted by her father’s former captivity with the Shawnee Indians, as well as the secret sins of her family’s past, Lael comes of age in the fragile Kentucky settlement her father founded.
Though she faces the loss of a childhood love, a dangerous family feud, and the affection of a Shawnee warrior, Lael draws strength from the rugged land she calls home, and from Ma Horn, a distant relative who shows her the healing ways of herbs and roots found in the hills.
But the arrival of an outlander doctor threatens her view of the world, God, and herself–and the power of grace and redemption. This epic novel gives readers a glimpse into the simple yet daring lives of the pioneers who first crossed the Appalachians, all through the courageous eyes of a determined young woman.
Laura Frantz’s debut novel offers a feast for readers of historical fiction and romance lovers alike.
If you would like to read the first chapter of The Frontiersman’s Daughter, go HERE
Sally Says: Two weeks ago our car caught on fire — as we were driving home from vacation. We are all fine; there were no injuries. As we stood by the road watching our car burn (something I’ll never forget), two people stopped with fire extinguishers and kept the fire from spreading beyond the engine until the fire department arrived and put the fire out. Twice.
We had a ton of stuff in the trunk — suitcases, clothes, bottles, diapers, my daughter’s birthday gifts from her grandparents, pillows, a stroller — and none of that was damaged. Thank goodness.
But this book was. Bummer. I had it under my seat to read on the way home, and it was ruined by the water when the fire was put out. The whole inside of our car was saturated with water by the time it was all done.
So I can’t review the story. But I will tell you why I picked it to read.
Stories about the American frontier are almost always stories of westward expansion, all west of the Mississippi and filled with covered wagons. But I’ve never read (or even heard of) a story that took place in the Tennessee/Kentucky area when the states were still considered the wild frontier. And that was the hook that made me want to read this book.
I do plan to read the book; I’ll get my hands on it somewhere. 
I’m just bummed that it died a soggy death with my toasted car.
Surrender the Wind, Reviewed
August 24, 2009
This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Abingdon Press (August 2009)
by
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Rita Gerlach has published three historical novels plus articles in Writers Gazette, Write to Inspire, Will Write 4 Food, and The Christian Communicator.
She also is the editor of Stepping Stones Magazine, an online website focused on writing, marketing, and promotion for writers. She is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and The Western Maryland Writers Guild.
She currently lives in Frederick, Maryland. You can also visit her at her Blog
ABOUT THE BOOK
Seth Braxton, a patriot of the American Revolution, unexpectedly inherits his loyalist grandfather’s estate in England. Seth is torn between the land he fought for and the prospect of reuniting with his sister Caroline, who was a motherless child taken to England at the onset of the war.
With no intention of staying permanently, Seth arrives to find his sister grieving over the death of her young son. In the midst of such tragedy, Seth meets Juleah, the daughter of an eccentric landed gentleman. Her independent spirit and gentle soul steal Seth’s heart. After a brief courtship, they marry and she takes her place as the lady of Ten Width Manor, enraging the man who once sought her hand and schemed to make Ten Width his own. From the Virginia wilderness to the dark halls of an isolated English estate, Seth and his beloved Juleah inherit more than an ancestral home. They uncover a sinister plot that leads to murder, abduction, and betrayal–an ominous threat to their new life, love, and faith.
If you would like to reas the Prologue of Surrender The Wind, go HERE
Sally Says: Surrender the Wind takes classic historical Christian fiction across the ocean to England.
I won’t recap the story since you can read about it above, but what’s unique about this book is that an American, a veteran of the Revolutionary War no less, inherits an estate in England and returns to take over the home and check on his sister whom he hasn’t seen in years. Novels set during the Revolutionary War have been done, but I’m not sure I’ve read one set shortly after in England. On top of that is the suspense subplot, something you don’t often find in historical fiction.
While this wasn’t one of my favorite reads this year, it was still a clean, entertaining read; and for that reason, I think fans of historical fiction will enjoy Gerlach’s story of Seth and Juleah and the evil that threatens them.
Through The Fire
August 10, 2009
If you’ve ever wanted to be a firefighter or wondered what that life was like, you need to read Through the Fire.
Written by a veteran fireman, Through the Fire takes you into the firehouse, onto the truck, and through the smoke and beaucracy. I wasn’t quite sure what type of story to expect, but what I found was a refreshing change — a suspense novel that the characters didn’t know was a suspense. They were just going through their lives without ever realizing the danger that was circling them, getting closer and more threatening every day.
Shawn Grady is a talented writer. His word pictures were so unusual yet fit the story and Aiden, the main character. I’m looking forward to more stories by Grady, whether they be fire-related or not.
Review of The Sacred Cipher
August 6, 2009
This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Kregel Publications (July 31, 2009)
by
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Over the past 35 years, Terry Brennan has accumulated a broad range of experience in both the profit and non-profit business sectors.
His 22-year, award winning journalism career included:
• Seven years as a sportswriter and editor with The Philadelphia Bulletin, at the time the largest-circulation afternoon newspaper in the nation;
• Leading The Mercury of Pottstown (PA), as its editor, to a Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Writing;
• Serving as Executive Editor of a multi-national newspaper firm – Ingersoll Publications – with papers in the USA, England and Ireland.
In 1996 Brennan transferred his successful management career to the non-profit sector and served for 12 years as Vice President of Operations for the Christian Herald Association, Inc., the parent organization of four New York City ministries, including The Bowery Mission.
Now Chief Operating Officer of the National Organization on Disability, Brennan also won the Valley Forge Award for editorial writing from the Freedoms Foundation. His two adult sons and their families live in Pennsylvania. Terry, his wife Andrea and their two adult children live in New York City. The Sacred Cipher is his first novel.
ABOUT THE BOOK
History’s greatest secret could be tomorrow’s greatest threat More historically and biblically accurate than The DaVinci Code and just as adventurous as an Indiana Jones movie, The Sacred Cipher combines action and mystery to draw readers into a world of ancient secrets and international escapades.
When an ancient scroll appears in a secret room of the Bowery Mission in New York City, Tom Bohannon is both stunned and intrigued. The enigma of the scroll’s contents will send Bohannon and his team ricocheting around the world, drawing the heat of both Jewish and Muslim militaries, and bringing the Middle East to the brink of nuclear war in this heart-pounding adventure of historical proportions. The Sacred Cipher is a riveting, fact-based tale of mystery and suspense.
If you want to read the Prologue of The Sacred Cipher, go HERE
Sally Says: History buffs will enjoy Terry Brennan’s The Sacred Cipher from the moment the secret room and ancient language is discovered to the moment the secret of the scroll is revealed.
The book has been called a Christian version of The DaVinci Code, and I think the comparison holds true. Especially in the first half of the book, there’s a lot of historical information given as the characters work to decipher the scroll’s message. I’ll admit there were times where the history lessons went on a bit too long, but once I moved to the second half of the book — the part where the characters have cracked the message and search for the scroll’s secret — I found the story much more fastpaced and intriguing.
Overall the story raises a very interesting “What if?” and lets us look at world events from an almost alternate reality. If you enjoy combining little known bits of history with your fiction, pick up The Sacred Cipher. You’ll enjoy it.