Faith in the Shadows by Sadie and Sophie Cuffe

Faith in the Shadows by Sadie and Sophie Cuffe, published November 2011 by Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc. the first book in The Wainwright Trilogy. It's seventeen touching chapters and an epilogue, a sweet, inspirational novel that will touch your heart. Alice Wainwright is a spinster, and she blames it on her purple-splotched birthmark that Joshua, a man who claims he wants to marry her, finds hideous. She feels branded and marked for life as a spinster no man in his right mine could love until a blind war veteran, Hawk deems her beautiful and appreciates her. Still, she worries if he regains his sight, he'll also find her hideous. Meanwhile, Joshua presses her to marry, but she sees through him, and Hawk warns her about him. Hawk is proud and doesn't want to burden Alice or his family. Through the unfolding of their story, your heart will melt, and you'll want Alice to end up with Hawk, but will she? Joshua doesn't seem to give up. There's a surprise before the end. Don't want t spoil it, but the authors did a great job with it, and I loved it. If you like a short, inspiring read, this one is for you. The Cuffe sisters do a grand job scheming this plot together. Discover for yourself. It's a five-star short novel in my book.

http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-225/The-Wainright-Trilogy-Book/Detail.bok

Sweetest Blog Award

Doesn't this strawberry chantilly pie look yummy? The Southern Christian Inspirational Fiction blog was nominated by author Stepanie Burkhart. Stephanie Burkhart's "The Count's Lair" is a 2011 Silver Award Winner in the Romance: Sci-Fi/Fantasy category from Reader's Favorites. Visit her blog, Desert Breeze Publishing Blog at http://desertbreezepublishing.blogspot.com/
Since the rules for this award say that I have to nominate at least ten other blogs, and tell you seven things you may not know about Southern Christian Inspirational Fiction. Here goes:

I nominate the following blogs:

RITA GARCIA, http://www.reflectionswithdrrita.com/ A beautiful inspirational blog.

NAN TRAMMELL JONES, http://www.thereigningjewels.com/2011/05/nancy-nan-trammell-jones-shines-a-little-light-.html Nan has more than one blog. I love her Morning Glory one, devotionals.

NAOMI MUSCH, http://www.naomimusch.com/empireinpineseries.htm, Read, loved, and reviewed THE GREEN VEIL AND THE RED FURY. You won't forget her characters, and I love her vivid description.

EVA MARIE EVERSON, http://evamarieeversonssouthernvoice.blogspot.com/ A Southern writer, and I love her novels. She's also my writing mentor from The Christian Writers Guild. Check out her Cedar Key series, THINGS LEFT UNSPOKEN, etc. One of her novels is being made into a movie!

LISA BUFFALOE, http://lisabuffaloe.blogspot.com/ Beautiful inspirations.

DOLORES AYOTTE, http://doloresayotte.wordpress.com/ She's a self-help author. Visit her blog and check out her books.

NIKE CHILLEMI, http://nikechillemi.wordpress.com/ READ, LOVED, AND REVIEWED BURNING HEARTS. LOVE THE BOOK COVER TO GOODBYE NOEL and looking forward to reading it, too.

SHAWNA K. WILLIAMS, http://shawnakwilliams.com/ She has a series of novels, and I love them all. NO OTHER, THE GOOD FIGHT, to name a couple.

DANIELLE THORNE, The Balanced Writer:http://thebalancedwriter.blogspot.com, Read loved and reviewed TURTLE SOUP AND BY HEART AND COMPASS.

ANNE PATRICK, http://suspensebyanne.blogspot.com/2012/01/angela-britnell-interview-giveaway.html, Read, loved, and reviewed FIRE AND ASH.

MELANIE ATKINS: http://melanieatkins.wordpress.com/ Love her novels.

The CUFFE SISTERS, Off the Cuffe, http://cuffesisters.com/off-the-cuffe/ I am presently reading FAITH IN THE SHADOWS, their latest novel, and loving it. Look for the review here on my blog soon!

I'm supposed to tell readers seven things about my blog they don't know, so here goes:

7 Things about Southern Christian Inspirational Fiction Blog:

1. I started this blog when I started writing LAST RESORT,my romantic suspense novel, when it was tentatively titled HIDDEN TREASURES, THEN TRUE HIDDEN TREASURES, and it became LAST RESORT after three years of work.

2. I've posted some of my personal writing on this blog, but you'd have to scroll to locate it. I've been writing since the third grade when my teacher submitted my pet story to a local newspaper, and it was published. I still love dogs, and I still write about them. Sunflower, my golden cocker spaniel is a character in my novel LAST RESORT.

3. I have posted pictures on this blog from vacations, but you'd have to scroll to find them.

4. I have read, loved, and reviewed many great books by many great authors on this blog and will continue to do so. My latest novel SOUTHERN SUPERSTITONS was developed from my first-prize winning short story and if you click on the book cover of THE LORD HAS SOMETHING BETTER IN MIND, you can download it for free from my publisher, and it is the companion to my latest release SOUTHERN SUPERSTITIONS.

5. You can always find my latest novel news and book covers by visiting.

6. You can also win free novels by following. I draw and send books to readers several times each year.

7. You will find pictures of my children and pets if you scroll through the blog.

By Heart and Compass by Danielle Thorne

By Heart and Compass by Danielle Thorne is a sweet, contemporary novel published by Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc. in July 2010. If you love the sea, the ocean, nature, boats, hidden treasure, old homes, pirates, and their ships, this novel is the read for you! Did I mention diving and the beautiful turquoise water? Not to mention the dive bum, Max Bertrand, who has eyes as deep and turquoise as the water. Lacy Whitman lives in the past, loves history, and is picking up where her father left off, trying to discover a missing pirate ship. She restores an old Victorian home in Georgia and discovers an antique diary. Will it lead her back to the sea and the dive bum she once encountered and has tried to forget? Lacy is a determined character who follows her father's advice of letting her heart be her compass. I love the vivid description, and the ending was glorious and unexpected. What hidden treasure will Lacy Whitman ultimately discover? I love the title and how it fits perfectly with this story. Check out Danielle's TURTLE SOUP, a novel I read, loved, and reviewed on my blog some time ago. If you scroll down, you'll find the review. Available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com as well as from the publisher, Desert Breeze.

New Release Southern Superstitions by B. J. Robinson

Southern Superstitions began as a short story years ago when I was in college attending Southeastern Louisiana University. It won first prize in fiction-writing competition and years later I developed it into a full-length novel. The altered prize-winning short story is available as a free download at Desert Breeze, the companion to Southern Superstitions. Check out the two books on my publisher's homepage. Southern Superstitions and its companion are side-by-side, and you can get two books for one, since the companion book is free. http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/StoreFront.bokIt was necessary to make some changes in the process of expanding it into a novel, but June, Andy, and Myrtle are the same characters and the novel begins with the altered short story which was published in the university's literary magazine and ran as a three-part series on the front page of my hometown newspaper. Since then, the short story has been published in other local newspapers and an online magazine, as it was originally written. Read a free excerpt at http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-249/Southern-Superstition-BJ-Robinson/Detail.bok.

Prayer versus Southern superstitions when a woman's husband mysteriously disappears in the swamp on a deer-hunting trip. Reviewer Kathy Boswell says, "Very good! She never gives up hope that Andy will return to her someday. She puts it all in God's hands like she's done every crisis in her lie. She knows He will take care of this for her." As steamy as the hot, thick, sticky heat of Louisiana, this page-turner will keep readers in suspense, as the author spins a tale of love, loss, superstition, pain, heartache, and faith in God. God and the power of prayer versus Southern superstitions. Through belief, faith, hard work, the power of prayer, and God's help, this powerful, moving story is a thought-provoking Christian romantic suspense about a young couple who fall in love, but have to change her mother's mind in more ways than one, if their relationship is to survive. Can Andy convince June there's more to their relationship than friends? Will he win the approval of Myrtle, her mother, and can love survive strawberry season and an April flood? Will June be able to give Andy a child?

The weirdest superstition Mom ever told and one I've never heard elsewhere is if you plant a cedar tree, when it grows big enough to shade your grave you'll die. Will Andy die in Southern Superstitions? I'm sure you've heard the traditional superstitions about opening umbrellas inside a house and such, but Mom had a few more. Oh, and the one about black cats, let's just say that was a favorite. In Southern Superstitions, you'll encounter what Myrtle believes is bad luck caused by a black cat. Will the white cat Andy gives her counteract it?

Read the first two chapters free at http://www.amazon.com/Southern-Superstitions-ebook/dp/B006X8GAWA/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326620592&sr=1-6Southern Superstions. I found it interesting that a reader told me in England, black cats are considered good luck. Too bad my mother never heard that one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNoo962DbF0&feature=share View book trailer here.

Click on book cover to the side to read a free excerpt.

B. J. Robinson writes inspirational Christian fiction in the romantic suspense genre from Florida, where she lives with her husband, a cat named Frankie, a cocker spaniel named Sunflower, and a golden retriever named Honi. Her children are grown and have made her a grandmother multiple times. She promises to take her readers on a continuous journey to another world. Reading and writing are her passions, and Jesus is her best friend. Last Resort released July 15 and Whispering Cypress is next on the horizon and will release August 15. It's not about strawberries.

Southern Superstitions by B. J. Robinson

Author B. J. Robinson was reared on strawberries, God's Word, and southern superstitions. While you've probably heard traditional superstitions like walking under a ladder and opening an umbrella inside a house is bad luck, June's mother in this novel has some you've probably never heard of. I'm sure you've heard black cats are bad luck. Well, Myrtle, her mother thinks so. You'll encounter a black cat and a white one during the course of this story, and you'll discover some silly superstitions along the way. June believes in God's Word, not luck or superstitions, but her mother is a different story. Is there any changing her mind?

This novel was written over a decade ago, reworked, and rewritten to become a brand new story with an entirely different ending. Take a trip down South into the Louisiana swamps and bayous and decide for yourself. Do you believe in southern superstitions?

Prayer versus Southern superstitions when a woman's husband mysteriously disappears in the swamp on a deer-hunting trip. As steamy as the hot, thick, sticky heat of Louisiana, this page-turner will keep readers in suspense, as the author spins a tale of love, loss, superstition, pain, heartache, and faith in God. Reviewer Kathy Boswell says, "Very good! She never gives up hope that Andy will return to her someday. She puts it all in God's hands like she'd done every crisis in her life. She knows He will take care of this for her." God and the power of prayer versus Southern superstitions. Through belief, faith, hard work, the power of prayer, and God's help, this powerful, moving story is a thought-provoking Christian romantic suspense about a young couple who fall in love, but have to change her mother's mind in more ways than one, if their relationship is to survive. Can Andy convince June there's more to their relationship than friends? Will he win the approval of Myrtle, her mother, and can love survive strawberry season and an April flood? Will June be able to give Andy a child?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNoo962DbF0&feature=share View book trailer here.

Click on book cover to the side to read a free excerpt.


Better yet, read two free chapters at Amazon.com and order your copy today! Friday the 13'th is over and http://www.amazon.com/Southern-Superstitions-ebook/dp/B006X8GAWA/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326620592&sr=1-6Southern Superstions was released the Sunday after.

Bliss by Tracy Bowen (Can it be Found in South Florida?)

Bliss by Tracy Bowen is set in South Florida, published by Written World Communications, and released August 29, 2011. Indie Moore seeks her bliss in the ocean and sand of the Sunshine State after escaping Rabbit Hole, Kansas, and her mother. As they say like mother, like daughter, Indie takes parts of her mother with her. She has some of the same traits and there could be no denying she's her mother's daughter. With wit and humor Bowen spins a tale of women ruled by the stars, so addicted they each had to have the morning newspaper to read their horoscopes before they could plan their day. When Indie ends up living in a trailer park with wacky neighbors, working in a pottery shop, a restaurant, and scrubbing toilets, holding down three jobs in order to keep a roof over her head, Florida's bliss isn't all it's cracked up to be. Along comes a handsome man a dog that might make her change her mind until she discovers he's a Christian, and her mother says he'll ruin her life. Will she continue to consult the stars, or will she resort to an even higher power? While there were some formatting issues, and I was disappointed that there was no About the Author page at the end of the novel, the story itself is a delightful, light read. Forgiving the formatting, I'd rate it five stars. Available in paperback or eBook formats through Amazon, Barnes and Noble.com, or Written World Communications.

Orphaned Hearts by Shawna K. Williams

Orphaned Hearts by Shawna K. Williams is a touching story of what real love truly is and means, published December 1, 2010, through Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc. Though it wasn't a 2011 book, I included it on my list of Top Picks of 2011, since I just finished reading it New Year's Eve. Pastor David Langley grew up in an orphanage and never had a real childhood. Severely burned and disfigured in the fire that claimed the lives of the rest of his family, he gives up on finding a woman who can look past his physical appearance and see the man within until he figures out he's met her in Sadie Miller, the town spinster. Sadie was once engaged, but devoted her life to taking care of her father after her mother's death and the disappearance of her betrothed.

Pastor Langley serves in orphanages to help other children and discovers six-year old Caleb Holsheyer who reminds him of the pain of his own boyhood, ridiculed and shunned, since Caleb is missing an arm. He knows this boy will be hard to place. Families want what they deem a "normal" child who can earn his keep. Many are looking for help on their farms and while they're willing to take in an orphan, they want a "whole" one, not one who isn't "normal". Sadie falls in love with Caleb and he brings her empty house to life and turns it into a home, but she's single, and the board won't allow her to adopt Caleb. She could also go for Pastor David Langley if he gave her a chance. Williams is an excellent storyteller and allows the reader to visualize not only the descriptive scenery, but also feel the depth of emotions this story provokes. David and Sadie work together to find Caleb a home with another family to no avail. She can't let him return to the orphanage and promises him he won't have to. Can she keep that promise? Something isn't right with the orphanage, and she vows Caleb won't return.

Will Pastor Langley continue to hide behind his suit and tie, or reveal himself to a woman who might see him for the man he really is? What else can possibly go wrong when the only help they had through the orphanage, besides Mr. Murray, Caleb's case manager, loses an arm and has to take off work temporarily. The man who replaces him doesn't see Caleb's plight and goes strictly by the books. What will become of a six-year old who calls Sadie mother, has a cat she's gifted him for a pet, and has found a grandmother in Mrs. Pritchard? David and Sadie haven't told him she can't keep him. The first family who planned to adopt him bailed out, and they haven't the heart to tell him he has to return to a place where he hides under the bed. Williams weaves a story that will change your perspective about what's normal and what true love really means. Orphaned Hearts is written with depth and emotion, five stars in my book. Available at Desert Breeze Publishing and wherever fine books are sold.

B. J. Robinson's Top Books of 2011

I've read many great authors and novels this year, but the ones listed below are my top picks and the ones that stayed with me:

TOP PICKS: THE GREEN VEIL and THE RED FURY by NAOMI MUSCH, Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc.
3. No Other Shawna K. Williams
4. In All Things Shawna K. Williams
5. The Good Fight Shawna K. Williams
6. Orphaned Hearts Shawna K. Williams, Desert Breeze
7. Burning Hearts, Nike Chillemi, Desert Breeze
8. Sterling Lakes Book One Light of the Heart, Regina Andrews
9. Fire and Ash, Anne Patrick, Desert Breeze
10. Delivery, Diana Pursik
11. Night of the Cossack, Tom Blubaugh

Nike Chillemi also published Goodby Noel with Desert Breeze, but I haven't had time to read it yet. Prettiest cover I've seen all year, and I'll know the book will be as lovely as the cover.

Naomi, Shawna, Nike, and Ann are author's I'll always read,favorite ones I discovered through Desert Breeze Publishing Inc. Discover yours.

There were many other great novels I read, but having to narrow the list, these are the ones that stayed with me after I finished the book.

Some favorite authors from the past, books I remember from reading several years ago that have still stayed with me include:

Dogwood by Chris Fabry
All She Ever Wanted by Lynn Austin (my favorite)
Eva Marie Everson's novels Things Left Unspoken, This Fine Life, and her Cedar Key series

Check out my publisher's storefront http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/StoreFront.bok and find some new favorite authors of your own. If you received an eReader or iPad, iPod, or Smartphone for Christmas take advantage of wonderful books and authors at less expensive prices. The covers are beautiful. Desert Breeze covers can't be beat. Travel to other worlds through great books and go places you may never get to experience in real life. Meet new characters and escape to their worlds when you want to escape your own for a while. Relax, kick back, and enjoy a great read. Blessings for a New Year of great, enjoyable reading. Let this be the year you read more than ever and make your own favorite list at the end of 2012.