Clash of the Titles, Where Authors Compete and Readers Judge
The literary website, Clash of the Titles, launched with a bang, and has increased in momentum ever since. They’ve had phenomenal authors, from historical romance writer, Lena Nelson Dooley to fantasy writer extraordinaire, Janalyn Voigt. Today Jennifer Slattery, Marketing Representative for Clash of the Titles, will highlight six COTT participants.
Shannon Taylor Vannatter was one of our first competitors and all of us at COTT applaud her support and courage. Her novel, White Doves, competed in the Best Opening Hook category on October 18th-22nd.
“I enjoyed being on COTT because I think it’s a unique way of introducing readers to new authors,” Shannon said. “And I love unique, focused blogs. I loved getting reader feedback and the experience made me pay even more attention to the opening of my books.”
Her opening was unique. “I had fun writing the opening of White Doves,” she said, “because it was a role reversal of the heroine checking out the hero for a change.”
Readers loved Shannon, and her competing novel, White Doves, as well! “I already want to see if anything develops between Laken and Hayden,” said one intrigued reader.
As did we! Laken Kroft, the heroine of White Doves, left home eight years ago and never looked back. Who knew when she applied for the promotion to postmaster that she’d end up in Romance, Arkansas, and move closer to her parents and the local gossip maven? But then she meets the dashing Hayden Winters who has his hands full raising his paraplegic nephew, Brady, and wrestling guilt over having caused the child’s injury. When the boy’s father, Laken’s brother, turns up, and starts talking custody, Laken’s influence is Hayden’s only hope. But who’s side is she really on? Will there mutual bond with the seven year old boy be enough to draw them closer or rip them apart?
I’m not telling! You’re going to have to read the book for yourself! Find out more about White Doves, Shannon, and read a few real life romance stories at http://www.shannonvannatter.com.
Lena Nelson Dooley, author of Love Finds You in Golden New Mexico competed in our Best Opening Hook Historical.
“I took part in the COTT because I felt it gave the author and readers another way to connect,” Lena said. “And it got our words in front of readers. I was pleased with the outcome and pray for its continued success. I was glad to have Love Finds You in Golden, New Mexico, featured. This Heroine-in-Peril, Mail-Order-Bride-gone-awry story was a good fit. Readers have fallen in love with the secondary characters as well as the main characters in this historical.”
In Love Finds You in Golden New Mexico, Lena takes us back to an 1890, Golden New Mexico, mining town where men far outnumber women. So when an old wealthy miner named Philip Smith finds himself in need of a nursemaid, he places an ad for a mail-order bride--despite the protests of his friend Jeremiah. Hoping to escape a perilous situation back East, young Madeleine Mercer answers the ad and arrives in town under a cloud of suspicion. But just as she begins to win over Philip--and Jeremiah himself--the secrets she left behind threaten to follow her to Golden...and tarnish her reputation beyond redemption.
You’re dying to know what happens next, aren’t you? Now you have two must have’s for your winter reading list! Visit Lena’s website and blog to find out more about her and her plethora of novels! www.lenanelsondooley.com
http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com
Gail Pallotta competed in our best Weather/Nature category with her sweet e-book, Love Turns the Tide. “I was thrilled to have my excerpt chosen for Clash of the Titles,” Gail said. “It offered exposure for Love Turns the Tide in such a unique way. Even though putting one’s work up for voting is difficult, I liked the idea of letting the readers decide.”
In Love Turns the Tide Cammie O’Shea suffers through a broken engagement and relocates to Destin, Florida to take a new job. Struggling to get over her heartache and loneliness, she tries to renew her faith in the midst of petty crimes committed at her condo. When Vic Deleona comes to her rescue, she grows fond of him. But she gets an offer to return home. Amid fear and confusion she must make difficult decisions.
Does her fear paralyze her? Cloud her judgment? Guess you’ve got another book to add to that rapidly growing list, don’t you? Find out more about Gail and her novel at her personal website, http://www.gailpallotta.com and her blog, http://www.gailpallotta.blogspot.com
Janalyn Voigt likely had one of the most unique entries with her fantasy novel, DawnSinger. She was excited to participate in COTT because she saw it as an excellent way to promote her upcoming release.
“With my book still awaiting its release date in Fall, 2011, participation in COTT helped me gear up for promotion,” Janalyn said. “I enjoyed having the COTT crew's help in getting the word out about Dawn Singer, my epic fantasy adventure. My website received a surge of traffic the week of my clash, and I still get visitors from Clash of the Titles.”
We, at COTT, were very pleased to learn about Janalyn’s positive experience, which led to a special friendship between her and her competitor.
“I enjoyed the friendly rivalry between JoAnn Durgin, my competitor, and myself,” Janalyn said. “We've kept in touch. I worried I'd stress about competing but participating in Clash of the Titles was fun. I appreciated that we both lived with our stories for more than a decade before writing and placing them for publication. I believe that together we modeled perseverance for the readers of COTT.”
That is a great story, and a great reminder to us all. Perseverance pays off. We enjoy celebrating the finished product with our authors, and have been very pleased with the family atmosphere our site has created.
DawnSinger is the story of Nalyn, a young maiden who answers a summons to Torindan, High Hold of her people. Her companion, Spreil, must choose whether to reign and rule in his homeland or serve in Torindan. Ancient Prophecy requires Nalyn to release the Dawn King, and salvation, into Elderland by an impossible task. But first she must overcome her own wayward heart. Will she learn in time that sometimes victory only comes through surrender?
Save your pennies, because it looks like DawnSinger is another one of those “must reads”! Find out more about Janalyn and this captivating story at http://janalynvoigt.com, http://authorhaven.blogspot.com/ and her blog, http://bookreaderscentral.blogspot.com/
Eleanor Gustafson, author of The Stones: A Novel of King David, had a unique COTT experience. (lol) She said, “The whole COTT concept is dull and dreary…NOT!! This was a fresh approach, and some of my friends who participated really enjoyed the process. Hey, it looked like fun—which for me is one of the essentials of life—air, water, and fun (not necessarily in that order).”
But what surprised her most? “The tie vote! Was this an historic first—two clashers actually clashing on the number of votes?”
She goes on to say, “Some found my weather selection good but challenging to read. I could blame it on the necessity of disguising character names, but the David story is complex. It deals with ugliness but yes, glows with grace. AND The Stones makes the Bible version of David’s life come alive for most readers. Try it, and let me know—thumbs up or down. If you don’t believe me, check out the Amazon comments—all five star.”
The Stones is a retelling of King David s life from his teenaged anointing to his death as seen through the eyes of Asaph, a Levite historian. Fictional in scope, yet with amazing scriptural accuracy, The Stones provides a revealing, behind-the-scenes glimpse into biblical history with all the twists, turns, thrills, and romance of the world s great drama.
As you can see, we’ve had a great fall at Clash of the Titles and we are looking forward to an even better winter. Come join the fun at Clash of the Titles, where authors compete and readers judge!
Jennifer Slattery is a freelance writer, columnist, novelist and the marketing representative for Clash of the Titles. In 2009 she won first place in the HAWCN writing contest, book category and in 2010 she placed second in the Dixie Kane and fourth in the Golden Pen, Inspirational category for both. She has a weekly marriage column on the Reflections in Hindsight website and has been published in numerous other publications. You can find out more about her and her writing at http://jenniferslatterylivesoutloud.com.
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Deep reads that Touch the Heart. Characters come alive on the page.
Amazon Best-selling Historical Romance
Escape to a romantic period where love endured, grew, and flourished despite a Civil War.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Friday, December 31, 2010
Happy New Years!
On this day of reflection with 2010 ending, may you have a wonderous, blessed, and safe New Years! Just a short post to pray for this for all my Facebook friends and family. I've added a few new pictures to my blog. One is of three of my children who are Saints fans, in more ways than one I might add. Another picture shows all four of my children one Easter when they were young, the way we were then, sweet, precious memories. Thank God for those days and memories.
As we ring in another year, I hope yours will be filled with such sweet, precious memories. Spend it making them and thanking God for them. For us writers in the group, life provides experiences. And, for the readers, more to read about.
I've had a few Facebook friends inquire and ask advice about writing. Thus, my shared posts and one on an article I wrote some time ago. Let God guide your hearts, minds, and writing.
May God bless us all and the new year!
Blessings,
Barb
As we ring in another year, I hope yours will be filled with such sweet, precious memories. Spend it making them and thanking God for them. For us writers in the group, life provides experiences. And, for the readers, more to read about.
I've had a few Facebook friends inquire and ask advice about writing. Thus, my shared posts and one on an article I wrote some time ago. Let God guide your hearts, minds, and writing.
May God bless us all and the new year!
Blessings,
Barb
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Introducing New Literary Website
Hightlights of a new literary website "Clash of the Titles" COTT, where authors submit short excerpts of their novels and readers vote on their favorites. Here’s a quick look back at Clash of the Title's first two months of life.
On October 18th, COTT launched it's first Clash featuring Susanne Lakin's Someone To Blame and Shannon Vannater's White Doves, with Susanne's excerpt taking the crown for Best Hook, Contemporary. And our first two drawing winners were Katie Johnson and Beth Farley.
Reader Quote of the Week: "Both are well written excerpts! I'd love to read both books. I can see that I'm going to be hitting Amazon a LOT because of COTT"
Queen of Hearts by K Dawn Byrd, and The Stones by Eleanor K. Gustafson sparred in round 2 of Best Weather Description during week 4. One for the memory books, COTT had it's first TIE with both books declared victorious! Our drawing winners were Mary T Williams and Joanne Sher.
November 15th ushered in a special double-feature week of Blurb Battles. Janalyn Voigt and JoAnn Durgin went head-to-head, with JoAnne's Awakening crowned the conqueror. Margaret Brownley and Jody Hedlund also climbed into the ring with Margaret's A Suitor For Jenny declared victorious. Readers Edwina Cowgill, Deb Haggerty, Jill Fortner, and Dan Smith all won free books!
Thanksgiving week gave us the chance to highlight a couple of honorable mentions. Erin Rainwater's The Arrow that Flieth by Day went up against Deb Kinnard's Seasons in the Mist and won. Ashley Mott was also a winner- she won the drawing for a copy of Deb's book.
December turned our thoughts toward the holidays and we went looking for the Most Touching Christmas/Winter Scene. Rachael Phillips' Ride Me into Christmas, and Shawna K. Williams' Orphaned Hearts gave us the warm fuzzies. Orphaned Hearts won the match, and Clare Revell and Linda won the drawing this week.
In all, we featured 20 authors and gave away 19 free books! Wow!
We’ll feature two Conversion Scenes that will touch your heart.
Don’t miss the opportunity to be a part of our exciting Clashes!
On October 18th, COTT launched it's first Clash featuring Susanne Lakin's Someone To Blame and Shannon Vannater's White Doves, with Susanne's excerpt taking the crown for Best Hook, Contemporary. And our first two drawing winners were Katie Johnson and Beth Farley.
Reader Quote of the Week: "Both are well written excerpts! I'd love to read both books. I can see that I'm going to be hitting Amazon a LOT because of COTT"
Queen of Hearts by K Dawn Byrd, and The Stones by Eleanor K. Gustafson sparred in round 2 of Best Weather Description during week 4. One for the memory books, COTT had it's first TIE with both books declared victorious! Our drawing winners were Mary T Williams and Joanne Sher.
November 15th ushered in a special double-feature week of Blurb Battles. Janalyn Voigt and JoAnn Durgin went head-to-head, with JoAnne's Awakening crowned the conqueror. Margaret Brownley and Jody Hedlund also climbed into the ring with Margaret's A Suitor For Jenny declared victorious. Readers Edwina Cowgill, Deb Haggerty, Jill Fortner, and Dan Smith all won free books!
Thanksgiving week gave us the chance to highlight a couple of honorable mentions. Erin Rainwater's The Arrow that Flieth by Day went up against Deb Kinnard's Seasons in the Mist and won. Ashley Mott was also a winner- she won the drawing for a copy of Deb's book.
December turned our thoughts toward the holidays and we went looking for the Most Touching Christmas/Winter Scene. Rachael Phillips' Ride Me into Christmas, and Shawna K. Williams' Orphaned Hearts gave us the warm fuzzies. Orphaned Hearts won the match, and Clare Revell and Linda won the drawing this week.
In all, we featured 20 authors and gave away 19 free books! Wow!
We’ll feature two Conversion Scenes that will touch your heart.
Don’t miss the opportunity to be a part of our exciting Clashes!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Win Two Free Books by Michelle Sutton!
http://continuousdelights.blogspot.com/2010/12/end-of-year-celebration-day-4.html
Go to the above link to enter a contest to win two free books by Michelle Sutton, but hurry the contest ends today!
Other authors are also giving away free books!
Read an article I wrote on Michelle Sutton's blog about healing hearts at:
http://healingheartsseries.blogspot.com/2010/12/barbara-johnson-talks-about-healing.html?spref=fb
Go to the above link to enter a contest to win two free books by Michelle Sutton, but hurry the contest ends today!
Other authors are also giving away free books!
Read an article I wrote on Michelle Sutton's blog about healing hearts at:
http://healingheartsseries.blogspot.com/2010/12/barbara-johnson-talks-about-healing.html?spref=fb
The Girl Who Could Fly: Can you fit the Mold?
The Girl Who Could Fly by Virginia Forester, copyright 2008, ISBN 1429986360, published by Feiwel and Friends features Piper McCloud, a girl who has the exceptional ability to fly. She is born to an old-fashioned country couple who believe in doing everything the traditional way, so she's flown by helicopter to a government facility where she is supposed to get the help she needs to become normal. Dr. Hellion, the beautiful and soft spoken administrator of the institute I.N.S.A. N. E., claims to be the only one who can help such exceptional children. And, this special place is supposed to be the only place these children can live in comfort. She tells them they have no place else to go. The best of food is lavished on them for ulterior motives. But, the worse punishment torments them when they don't follow code. There's even a machine to mold them when all else fails. It doesn't take Piper long to realize that punishment and consequences at the Institute are far worse than any she would have ever received back on the farm.
Piper and Conrad Harrington, another student at the facility Piper thinks is just a spoiled rich kid, team up to plan an escape when Piper discovers Dr. Hellion's true colors. Piper has a heart of gold and nearly loses her own life when she refuses to leave the others behind and fly away with Conrad.
The writing style is similar to my own regarding a particular book I wrote over a decade ago. Some of the phrases and language and the way Ma talks remind me of my own novel, and the way my mother spoke using certain phrases. One of the characters has the name of one of my main characters in my novel, but the story told here is its own.
I laughed and cried my way through the story that illustrates how we shouldn't judge the book by the cover, no pun intended. Dr. Hellion was beautiful and well dressed on the outside, but showed no true feelings or emotion. The reason why is discovered at the end of the tale. On the other hand, Piper wasn't what people expected her to be, and she was institutionalized to try to conform her and make her become what others thought she should be. But, Piper had feelings and emotions and others mattered to her. If you've ever felt out of place or had others not want to have anything to do with you because you were different, weird by their standards, you'll identify with Piper McCloud and root for her. If you feel God made us all as unique human beings and that we shouldn't be carbon copies of one another and be expected to be cookie-cutter models, you'll love this novel. Your heart will go out to each child with his or her own special God-given talent or gift, the ones they were not supposed to use.
It will rip your heart out when a cricket Piper helps saves his only song just for her. You know when an author can make you cry over a cricket, she can write. This book showcases the problem of conformity in society and illustrates the fact that if we were all carbon copies, it'd be a pretty dull, boring world. The ending has a surprise that makes sense and allows us to see how and why Dr. Hellion became a robot of a person.
I give the book 4 stars. It's available in ebook format for the Kindle or Nook at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com. It's also available in paperback and hardcover.
Piper and Conrad Harrington, another student at the facility Piper thinks is just a spoiled rich kid, team up to plan an escape when Piper discovers Dr. Hellion's true colors. Piper has a heart of gold and nearly loses her own life when she refuses to leave the others behind and fly away with Conrad.
The writing style is similar to my own regarding a particular book I wrote over a decade ago. Some of the phrases and language and the way Ma talks remind me of my own novel, and the way my mother spoke using certain phrases. One of the characters has the name of one of my main characters in my novel, but the story told here is its own.
I laughed and cried my way through the story that illustrates how we shouldn't judge the book by the cover, no pun intended. Dr. Hellion was beautiful and well dressed on the outside, but showed no true feelings or emotion. The reason why is discovered at the end of the tale. On the other hand, Piper wasn't what people expected her to be, and she was institutionalized to try to conform her and make her become what others thought she should be. But, Piper had feelings and emotions and others mattered to her. If you've ever felt out of place or had others not want to have anything to do with you because you were different, weird by their standards, you'll identify with Piper McCloud and root for her. If you feel God made us all as unique human beings and that we shouldn't be carbon copies of one another and be expected to be cookie-cutter models, you'll love this novel. Your heart will go out to each child with his or her own special God-given talent or gift, the ones they were not supposed to use.
It will rip your heart out when a cricket Piper helps saves his only song just for her. You know when an author can make you cry over a cricket, she can write. This book showcases the problem of conformity in society and illustrates the fact that if we were all carbon copies, it'd be a pretty dull, boring world. The ending has a surprise that makes sense and allows us to see how and why Dr. Hellion became a robot of a person.
I give the book 4 stars. It's available in ebook format for the Kindle or Nook at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com. It's also available in paperback and hardcover.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Heal Your Heart with In Plain Sight by Michelle Sutton
In Plain Sight by Michelle Sutton is a Christian inspirational suspense novel published by Desert Breeze Publishing. Twenty chapters lure you into a well-developed plot where the main character Jovana struggles to overcome her past. Abused and abandoned by a former boyfriend, who left her on the street to die, she loses her unborn child.
Jovana relocates to Arizona where she works in a diner and meets two handsome men. Roadblocks of learning the English language and being confused with idioms are minor setbacks compared to inner struggles with her faith as a new, "baby" Christian and learning to accept the love of a good man.
Will she choose Kurt, a flirting customer, or Randy, the diner's manager? She feels more comfortable with Kurt, because she doesn't feel she's worthy of Randy, her boss. When Laney and Bojan, her brother, (from previous novel Danger at the Door) go to Paris for their wedding, Jovana and Randy are thrown together. Bojan asks Randy to stay with Jovana while they're out of the country. Kurt keeps phoning her and has his own plans for Jovana. Will she ever see through him, or will she rebel against her brother's protection as she did as a teen?
This novel's characters come alive for the reader. Both outer and inner conflicts provide a light suspense, and the short book packs a powerful punch when Jovana's ultimate decision and choice of men determine her future on earth and in heaven. The author spins a tale that has the potential to be life-changing. It's powerful story unlocks keys as to why people act certain ways and can be an instrument to aid understanding that will enable others to reach out and lend that helping hand that is so desperately needed, or at least be able to understand.
With In Plain Sight, the author weaves a tale of romance and redemption. I loved Danger at the Door, the first book, but this novel was even better. I highly recommend both being read one after the other for the most impact. You get to know and love the characters from the first book and continue to read about them in the second for a powerful experience.
Both books are available on Kindle at Amazon.com or Nook at Barnes and Noble.com, where I purchased mine for only $4 something each, and they're well worth it. They may also be purchased through the publisher Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc. These novels are fast-paced, hook you within the first chapter, and make you want to finish the story. I found it hard to put them down once I started reading and wanted to continue straight through. Discover another world, another culture, and live other characters' lives through the pages of these excellent five-star novels.
Visit Michelle Sutton on Facebook or at http://www.michellesutton.net. She's an avid reader and writer and has a "Healing Hearts" book review blog at http://edgyinspirationalauthor.blogspot.com. Let her powerful books heal your heart!
Jovana relocates to Arizona where she works in a diner and meets two handsome men. Roadblocks of learning the English language and being confused with idioms are minor setbacks compared to inner struggles with her faith as a new, "baby" Christian and learning to accept the love of a good man.
Will she choose Kurt, a flirting customer, or Randy, the diner's manager? She feels more comfortable with Kurt, because she doesn't feel she's worthy of Randy, her boss. When Laney and Bojan, her brother, (from previous novel Danger at the Door) go to Paris for their wedding, Jovana and Randy are thrown together. Bojan asks Randy to stay with Jovana while they're out of the country. Kurt keeps phoning her and has his own plans for Jovana. Will she ever see through him, or will she rebel against her brother's protection as she did as a teen?
This novel's characters come alive for the reader. Both outer and inner conflicts provide a light suspense, and the short book packs a powerful punch when Jovana's ultimate decision and choice of men determine her future on earth and in heaven. The author spins a tale that has the potential to be life-changing. It's powerful story unlocks keys as to why people act certain ways and can be an instrument to aid understanding that will enable others to reach out and lend that helping hand that is so desperately needed, or at least be able to understand.
With In Plain Sight, the author weaves a tale of romance and redemption. I loved Danger at the Door, the first book, but this novel was even better. I highly recommend both being read one after the other for the most impact. You get to know and love the characters from the first book and continue to read about them in the second for a powerful experience.
Both books are available on Kindle at Amazon.com or Nook at Barnes and Noble.com, where I purchased mine for only $4 something each, and they're well worth it. They may also be purchased through the publisher Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc. These novels are fast-paced, hook you within the first chapter, and make you want to finish the story. I found it hard to put them down once I started reading and wanted to continue straight through. Discover another world, another culture, and live other characters' lives through the pages of these excellent five-star novels.
Visit Michelle Sutton on Facebook or at http://www.michellesutton.net. She's an avid reader and writer and has a "Healing Hearts" book review blog at http://edgyinspirationalauthor.blogspot.com. Let her powerful books heal your heart!
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Danger at the Door by Michelle Sutton
Danger at the Door by Michelle Sutton is a Christian inspirational suspense novel published by Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc. and released August 1, 2009. Laney Cooper captures your heart from the beginning. She's lost everyone she's ever loved in car accidents and fear has caused her to become a recluse. She's afraid of riding in a vehicle, driving one, and of loving and losing again.
Thirty-two chapters keep you turning the pages as you experience the healing of Laney's heart as she discovers a new interest in the least likely of places and jobs--Bojan, a pizza delivery man who turns out to be much more. Danger at Laney's door appears in more than one way. There's the danger of falling in love again as well as true physical danger when it comes knocking on her door multiple times.
Hooked early, I nearly read the novel straight through and didn't want to put it down. It's the first one I've read on my new Christmas present, a Nook, and I didn't want to put it or the Nook down until finished. I enjoyed the author's writing style and laughed out loud as well as shed a few tears. This book touched me emotionally, and I enjoyed reading about a different culture than my own. Laney and her new interest have a difficult time communicating, since he's learning the English language and idioms cause misunderstandings between them and afford the reader great laughs.
Bojan is an unusual hero--he's strong through Christ and says he could not love a woman who was not a Christian. Yet, he's compassionate and even sheds a few tears. He turns to prayers to seek God's help in times of need. The author weaves scripture, prayer, and romantic suspense to spin a tale that has the potential to be life-changing. I eagerly devoured the novel, because I truly loved it. This novel shares more than one Christian message, and I'd classify it as a Christian novel. It's a quick, easy, fast-paced read. A special touch is the use of Chihuahuas who add to the story in their own unique way.
The ISBN number is 978-1-936000-32-6, and you may purchase this riveting novel at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com, where I bought my copy, or through Desert Breeze. It's available on Kindle or Nook, and an inexpensive read. I've also purchased a sequel, In Plain Sight, so look for the review of it soon. Danger at the Door stands alone, but the next book picks up on another character's story. I rate this novel as a five-star review!
Thirty-two chapters keep you turning the pages as you experience the healing of Laney's heart as she discovers a new interest in the least likely of places and jobs--Bojan, a pizza delivery man who turns out to be much more. Danger at Laney's door appears in more than one way. There's the danger of falling in love again as well as true physical danger when it comes knocking on her door multiple times.
Hooked early, I nearly read the novel straight through and didn't want to put it down. It's the first one I've read on my new Christmas present, a Nook, and I didn't want to put it or the Nook down until finished. I enjoyed the author's writing style and laughed out loud as well as shed a few tears. This book touched me emotionally, and I enjoyed reading about a different culture than my own. Laney and her new interest have a difficult time communicating, since he's learning the English language and idioms cause misunderstandings between them and afford the reader great laughs.
Bojan is an unusual hero--he's strong through Christ and says he could not love a woman who was not a Christian. Yet, he's compassionate and even sheds a few tears. He turns to prayers to seek God's help in times of need. The author weaves scripture, prayer, and romantic suspense to spin a tale that has the potential to be life-changing. I eagerly devoured the novel, because I truly loved it. This novel shares more than one Christian message, and I'd classify it as a Christian novel. It's a quick, easy, fast-paced read. A special touch is the use of Chihuahuas who add to the story in their own unique way.
The ISBN number is 978-1-936000-32-6, and you may purchase this riveting novel at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com, where I bought my copy, or through Desert Breeze. It's available on Kindle or Nook, and an inexpensive read. I've also purchased a sequel, In Plain Sight, so look for the review of it soon. Danger at the Door stands alone, but the next book picks up on another character's story. I rate this novel as a five-star review!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Trials of Today: Treasures for Tomorrow by Janet Perz Eckles
Book Review
by Barbara Robinson
Trials of Today, Treasures for Tomorrow: Overcoming Adversities in Life
by Janet Perz Eckles
Truly amazing Janet Eckles, completely blind, but with more insight than most sighted people, has written a true jewel within the pages of Trials of Today, Treasures for Tomorrow: Overcoming Adversities in Life. With more personal crosses to bear than most, like the loss of her sight and her son, Janet’s book is inspiring, encouraging, and courageous, like her. She has taken her trials and turned them to treasures for the glory of the Lord. Janet is bubbly and full of joy, a spectacular speaker and gifted writer.
Her nonfiction book takes you on a journey of discovery, as she learns to put her faith and trust in God. When she put Jesus first, He blessed her and turned her life around. If you’ve ever lost a loved one, don’t miss how she deals with her loss. Discover the good news and blessings she has to share. Find out why good people suffer and discover how God uses the bad things that happen to good people for good. Though blind, you'd never know it to meet her. Her book describes how she puts on her own makeup and does her own nails without sight, but even more awe-inspiring is the fact that she never worked when she was sighted, but found the position she was meant to serve in once she lost her sight.
Just as she does in person, her book will evoke strong reader emotions and make you laugh and cry. While sad, it resounds with the joy that overflows from Janet upon meeting her and turns her cross into triumph to truly serve and glorify God while helping others. Don’t miss the journey of a lifetime, Janet’s lifetime, as you turn the pages of a book you won’t want to put down.
Her book makes a wonderful Bible study group guide and Part III of the book actually contains such a guide with thought-provoking questions designed to enhance the spiritual journey.
Published by Xulon Press in 2004, the book may be purchased through Amazon, Xulon, and other book stores. It is a beautiful paperback well worth the reasonable price of $12.47 at Amazon. ISBN number ISBN1-594674-36-1. Visit www.amazon.com and get your own copy while it’s on sale! This book will make a wonderful gift for people in your life who are dealing with the loss of loved ones or other obstacles in life.
by Barbara Robinson
Trials of Today, Treasures for Tomorrow: Overcoming Adversities in Life
by Janet Perz Eckles
Truly amazing Janet Eckles, completely blind, but with more insight than most sighted people, has written a true jewel within the pages of Trials of Today, Treasures for Tomorrow: Overcoming Adversities in Life. With more personal crosses to bear than most, like the loss of her sight and her son, Janet’s book is inspiring, encouraging, and courageous, like her. She has taken her trials and turned them to treasures for the glory of the Lord. Janet is bubbly and full of joy, a spectacular speaker and gifted writer.
Her nonfiction book takes you on a journey of discovery, as she learns to put her faith and trust in God. When she put Jesus first, He blessed her and turned her life around. If you’ve ever lost a loved one, don’t miss how she deals with her loss. Discover the good news and blessings she has to share. Find out why good people suffer and discover how God uses the bad things that happen to good people for good. Though blind, you'd never know it to meet her. Her book describes how she puts on her own makeup and does her own nails without sight, but even more awe-inspiring is the fact that she never worked when she was sighted, but found the position she was meant to serve in once she lost her sight.
Just as she does in person, her book will evoke strong reader emotions and make you laugh and cry. While sad, it resounds with the joy that overflows from Janet upon meeting her and turns her cross into triumph to truly serve and glorify God while helping others. Don’t miss the journey of a lifetime, Janet’s lifetime, as you turn the pages of a book you won’t want to put down.
Her book makes a wonderful Bible study group guide and Part III of the book actually contains such a guide with thought-provoking questions designed to enhance the spiritual journey.
Published by Xulon Press in 2004, the book may be purchased through Amazon, Xulon, and other book stores. It is a beautiful paperback well worth the reasonable price of $12.47 at Amazon. ISBN number ISBN1-594674-36-1. Visit www.amazon.com and get your own copy while it’s on sale! This book will make a wonderful gift for people in your life who are dealing with the loss of loved ones or other obstacles in life.
A Rag Doll Christmas
"Just what do you think you're doing? That doll was meant to be your Christmas present." Mom stood in the door, and her eyes shot sparks. It was a couple of days before Christmas. She'd been busy with company, and I'd decided I couldn't wait.
I was caught red-handed standing on a chair pulled up to the closet, but I quickly shoved the doll back into the bag and placed the blankets on the top shelf over her. "Sorry, Mom."
"And you should be. You know I can't afford anything else, and now you know what you're getting for Christmas." She turned and stalked from the room. I climbed down and placed the chair back by the bed. Disappointed, I'd planned to slip the doll back into the closet and not let Mom know I knew what I was getting. I hadn't meant to ruin her surprise. And, it was just like her to get some sort of doll. I should've known without even having to look.
Mom's voice rang from the adjoining room. "Now, it won't be a surprise."
"At least sissy will still have one." It was my turn to stand in the door and eye her "I love her. I'll still be happy on Christmas morning. I can't wait to get her."
Mom glared for a second. "Seems you can't wait for anything." Then, her face softened. "It's just that I wanted our first Christmas without your dad to be special." Dad died when I was only four years old on Christmas Day. It's only been a year. The way I looked at it, this one had to be better no matter what. It couldn't get any worse than the last one, could it?
"Curiosity kills the cat, you know."
"What?" I glanced at Mom, but she laughed. "Forget it."
"I guess it killed the Christmas surprise this year." I hung my head.
Christmas morn I found a stocking with fruit and candy, the rag doll stuck in the top. When I look back upon that morning, I call it my rag-doll Christmas, because that was all I got that year.
It wasn't until I grew up and had children of my own that it dawned on me just how much I'd spoiled the holiday for Mom. She only received a small social-security check once a month after my father's death. As I look back with an adult's eyes, I realize how hard it must have been for my mother who always tried her best to make ends meet and make our Christmas special. But, she had me for a daughter, a curious little tomboy of a girl who always managed to find some way to spoil every surprise she planned. I blame it on my love for mystery, of course, but I now realize how disappointed she had to have been. She wanted to watch her young daughter open her Christmas gift with wide-eyed surprise and wonder. I just never had the knack for being surprised, since I couldn't wait long enough to let anything be one.
Now, I realize I missed a lot of fun that way, and you really do remember surprises more, but that's one rag-doll Christmas I'll never forget. Like memories, good surprises are to be cherished, and they're so much more fun. But the greatest Christmas gift of all is sweet Jesus, and He's one surprise I didn't find too soon.
I was caught red-handed standing on a chair pulled up to the closet, but I quickly shoved the doll back into the bag and placed the blankets on the top shelf over her. "Sorry, Mom."
"And you should be. You know I can't afford anything else, and now you know what you're getting for Christmas." She turned and stalked from the room. I climbed down and placed the chair back by the bed. Disappointed, I'd planned to slip the doll back into the closet and not let Mom know I knew what I was getting. I hadn't meant to ruin her surprise. And, it was just like her to get some sort of doll. I should've known without even having to look.
Mom's voice rang from the adjoining room. "Now, it won't be a surprise."
"At least sissy will still have one." It was my turn to stand in the door and eye her "I love her. I'll still be happy on Christmas morning. I can't wait to get her."
Mom glared for a second. "Seems you can't wait for anything." Then, her face softened. "It's just that I wanted our first Christmas without your dad to be special." Dad died when I was only four years old on Christmas Day. It's only been a year. The way I looked at it, this one had to be better no matter what. It couldn't get any worse than the last one, could it?
"Curiosity kills the cat, you know."
"What?" I glanced at Mom, but she laughed. "Forget it."
"I guess it killed the Christmas surprise this year." I hung my head.
Christmas morn I found a stocking with fruit and candy, the rag doll stuck in the top. When I look back upon that morning, I call it my rag-doll Christmas, because that was all I got that year.
It wasn't until I grew up and had children of my own that it dawned on me just how much I'd spoiled the holiday for Mom. She only received a small social-security check once a month after my father's death. As I look back with an adult's eyes, I realize how hard it must have been for my mother who always tried her best to make ends meet and make our Christmas special. But, she had me for a daughter, a curious little tomboy of a girl who always managed to find some way to spoil every surprise she planned. I blame it on my love for mystery, of course, but I now realize how disappointed she had to have been. She wanted to watch her young daughter open her Christmas gift with wide-eyed surprise and wonder. I just never had the knack for being surprised, since I couldn't wait long enough to let anything be one.
Now, I realize I missed a lot of fun that way, and you really do remember surprises more, but that's one rag-doll Christmas I'll never forget. Like memories, good surprises are to be cherished, and they're so much more fun. But the greatest Christmas gift of all is sweet Jesus, and He's one surprise I didn't find too soon.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
The Perfect Life by Robin Lee Hatcher
The Perfect Life by Robin Lee Hatcher, copyright 2008, published by Thomas Nelson, is 298 pages of inspiration for couples whose daily lives are interrupted with roadblocks that threaten to derail a marriage right off the tracks. Katherine Clarkson is living her dream life, married to a well-respected handsome man with two grown daughters preparing to make her a grandmother. She has great friends, a good life, and a wonderful ministry. She has it all--until a reporter and a former coworker of her husband's spread rumors and gossip.
Her husband, Brad, has been a loving husband and great father and well respected in the church and community. He started as a construction worker and put his heart and soul into his own ministry to help people who couldn't afford to own their own homes. After selling his construction business, he poured his money and spirit into In Step until accusations of an affair with a former employee and financial impropriety shatter his world and his marriage.
Katherine has spent her life reassuring other women, but now her own words are of little comfort to her. Her perfect life has turned to chaos, and it consumes her until she takes a few days for herself in the mountains. She strives to survive her loss of what she thought was the perfect life and to regain her ability to trust her God and her husband again. One daughter thinks she should divorce her cheating husband; the other stands by her father and thinks he's innocent. What will Katherine decide? The thought runs through her head that if he cheated, the Bible gives her a pass. Her future seems to hinge on that little two-letter word IF, such a big word for one so small.
How can she rebuild her life? She been a homemaker and has no resume history to find a job.
Robin Lee Hatcher has authored over 50 novels and won awards including the Christy for Whispers from Yesterday, a novel I'd love to read. Library Journal named Catching Katie one of the best books of 2004.
I really enjoyed this novel and give it five stars. It reminded me of a time I went to the mountains in Tennesse, a rental cabin, and felt closer to God while I was there, after the death of my youngest sister. It's available at Amazon.com where I've also posted a review. The Perfect Life is available at Barnes and Noble.com as well, and it may be purchased in paperback or ebook format. I found my copy at a local Dollar Store and jumped on it.
Her husband, Brad, has been a loving husband and great father and well respected in the church and community. He started as a construction worker and put his heart and soul into his own ministry to help people who couldn't afford to own their own homes. After selling his construction business, he poured his money and spirit into In Step until accusations of an affair with a former employee and financial impropriety shatter his world and his marriage.
Katherine has spent her life reassuring other women, but now her own words are of little comfort to her. Her perfect life has turned to chaos, and it consumes her until she takes a few days for herself in the mountains. She strives to survive her loss of what she thought was the perfect life and to regain her ability to trust her God and her husband again. One daughter thinks she should divorce her cheating husband; the other stands by her father and thinks he's innocent. What will Katherine decide? The thought runs through her head that if he cheated, the Bible gives her a pass. Her future seems to hinge on that little two-letter word IF, such a big word for one so small.
How can she rebuild her life? She been a homemaker and has no resume history to find a job.
Robin Lee Hatcher has authored over 50 novels and won awards including the Christy for Whispers from Yesterday, a novel I'd love to read. Library Journal named Catching Katie one of the best books of 2004.
I really enjoyed this novel and give it five stars. It reminded me of a time I went to the mountains in Tennesse, a rental cabin, and felt closer to God while I was there, after the death of my youngest sister. It's available at Amazon.com where I've also posted a review. The Perfect Life is available at Barnes and Noble.com as well, and it may be purchased in paperback or ebook format. I found my copy at a local Dollar Store and jumped on it.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
The boy who came back from heaven: A remarkable account of miracles, angels, and life beyond this world
The boy who came back from heaven: A remarkable account of miracles, angels, and life beyond this world by Kevin and Alex Malarkey is a true story, nonfiction, published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, copyright 2010. A horrific automobile accident in 2004 impacted the lives of Kevin and his six-year old son, Alex, and changed their lives forever, both physically and spiritually. Alex's survival seemed impossible, and he was thought to be dead on the scene. By a God-given miracle, he survived, but remained locked in a coma for two months. Prayer warriors battled for him, and he awoke with an awe-inspiring story to tell.
He was just a kid, as he himself says in the book, an ordinary one, who went on an extraordinary journey. This book is inspiring, encouraging, thought-provoking and insightful. Alex says he's not amazing, God is. Kevin admitted, "My son couldn't function in the physical world, but it was difficult for me to function in the spiritual world. Who had the greater disability?" This is an eye-opening, insightful quote and my favorite in the book. Hope and faith see this family through their struggles when Alex ends up a quadriplegic and becomes the first child to receive the "Christopher Reeve Surgery." The license plate on their van reads "Wil Walk," as they continue to pray and hope for Alex's complete healing, but Kevin says his faith is not shaken. He understands it's God's choice to heal Alex completely on earth or in heaven.
We've all read stories we've been skeptical about, but one part of this book reminds me of a personal story I wrote years ago, as well as an experience I had, and I've shared with close relatives and friends. I've never been through the agony Alex has, but we do share a very similar experience, so I'm not skeptical, but intrigued, and I know exactly what he is talking about in one of his descriptions. For, I had a similar one in an emergency room years ago. As Alex advises, check skepticism against scripture. Alex and his father say they are not trying to force anyone to believe anything. That is not their job. He and his father are simply sharing their story, and it's your choice to embrace it or not. Don't miss this awesome, life-changing story that eternally impacted their lives in so many ways.
This book is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com in hardback and on ereaders. It's a New York Times Bestseller.
He was just a kid, as he himself says in the book, an ordinary one, who went on an extraordinary journey. This book is inspiring, encouraging, thought-provoking and insightful. Alex says he's not amazing, God is. Kevin admitted, "My son couldn't function in the physical world, but it was difficult for me to function in the spiritual world. Who had the greater disability?" This is an eye-opening, insightful quote and my favorite in the book. Hope and faith see this family through their struggles when Alex ends up a quadriplegic and becomes the first child to receive the "Christopher Reeve Surgery." The license plate on their van reads "Wil Walk," as they continue to pray and hope for Alex's complete healing, but Kevin says his faith is not shaken. He understands it's God's choice to heal Alex completely on earth or in heaven.
We've all read stories we've been skeptical about, but one part of this book reminds me of a personal story I wrote years ago, as well as an experience I had, and I've shared with close relatives and friends. I've never been through the agony Alex has, but we do share a very similar experience, so I'm not skeptical, but intrigued, and I know exactly what he is talking about in one of his descriptions. For, I had a similar one in an emergency room years ago. As Alex advises, check skepticism against scripture. Alex and his father say they are not trying to force anyone to believe anything. That is not their job. He and his father are simply sharing their story, and it's your choice to embrace it or not. Don't miss this awesome, life-changing story that eternally impacted their lives in so many ways.
This book is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com in hardback and on ereaders. It's a New York Times Bestseller.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Embracing Change by Debbie Roome
Embracing Change by Debbie Roome is the winner of the Rose & Crown New Novels Competition 2009, copyright 2010, 36 chapters and 234 pages clearly illustrating God's hand in our lives and how we can embrace change with His help. It's a beautifully written story of love and loss, regained hope and faith, the courage to not only accept change, but to also embrace it, and one woman's ability to do so when she discovers Jesus has been with her through it all.
Sarah, the main character, is engaged to Luke and looking forward to her wedding. They plan to move from South Africa to New Zealand. Luke wanted to make a home in New Zealand, so when she loses him, she brings his ashes and scatters them on the mountains and waterfalls he loved. As she descends the mountain, she meets Joel, a stranger she is afraid of at first. Biblical principles are applied in this moving story that demonstrates how Sarah finds the strength, hope, and courage to move on with her life without her beloved Luke and learns to love and trust again.
The author uses vivid description to allow the reader to travel through South Africa and New Zealand and visualize the landscapes and flowers. She demonstrates through the power of story how forgiveness is necessary to move forward with one's life and provides two sides of a perspective on violence when Sarah comes face to face with Luke's killer, his mother, and his brother. Sarah learns to open her eyes and heart, forgive, and find a future full of hope and promise. This novel is a quick read that evokes readers' emotions. Come learn how to embrace change with Debbie and Sarah, and ponder what you'd do if you had to move half a world away from all family and friends with nothing left of the love of your life but ashes in an urn.
About the Author: Debbie Roome spent 15 years in South Africa before moving to New Zealand in 2006 with her husband and five children. Her writing has won numerous awards, and you may visit her at www.debbieroome.com.
Sarah, the main character, is engaged to Luke and looking forward to her wedding. They plan to move from South Africa to New Zealand. Luke wanted to make a home in New Zealand, so when she loses him, she brings his ashes and scatters them on the mountains and waterfalls he loved. As she descends the mountain, she meets Joel, a stranger she is afraid of at first. Biblical principles are applied in this moving story that demonstrates how Sarah finds the strength, hope, and courage to move on with her life without her beloved Luke and learns to love and trust again.
The author uses vivid description to allow the reader to travel through South Africa and New Zealand and visualize the landscapes and flowers. She demonstrates through the power of story how forgiveness is necessary to move forward with one's life and provides two sides of a perspective on violence when Sarah comes face to face with Luke's killer, his mother, and his brother. Sarah learns to open her eyes and heart, forgive, and find a future full of hope and promise. This novel is a quick read that evokes readers' emotions. Come learn how to embrace change with Debbie and Sarah, and ponder what you'd do if you had to move half a world away from all family and friends with nothing left of the love of your life but ashes in an urn.
About the Author: Debbie Roome spent 15 years in South Africa before moving to New Zealand in 2006 with her husband and five children. Her writing has won numerous awards, and you may visit her at www.debbieroome.com.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
The Thanksgiving the Garbage Disposal Ate the Eggs
My sunny Florida kitchen looks out upon sunlight sparkling on the turquoise-blue water of our swimming pool. I watched a squirrel run up the palm tree that cornered the pool while I waited for boiled eggs to cool. A few minutes later, I went to peel the eggs, but they’d vanished.
“Where did my eggs go?” I yelled loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear.
My son, Rodney, grinned. “I don’t know.”
“I put them in the sink to cool.” I looked down the drain. “That thing ate my eggs.”
Rodney came up beside me and asked, “What thing?”
I pointed to the sink’s drain. “The new garbage disposal Scott insisted on.”
The family laughed like I was a comedian.
“When I first met her, she didn’t even know how to work a dishwasher," my husband said. "Now she doesn’t know how to use the new garbage disposal. Do I have to teach you everything?” His brown eyes twinkled. He patted my shoulder, and his grin lit up his face. Teaser that he was, it was easy for him to amuse the family and for them to enjoy the playfulness of his comments. “Reach your hand down there and get them.”
“I’m not putting my hand in that thing.”
The family’s laughter filled the kitchen. “I can’t make potato salad.
Those were my last three.”
“I’ll run to the store,” someone offered.
Rod said, “It’s a wonder you didn’t accuse me of eating them.”
“The garbage disposal did the job for you. I can’t believe I did that. It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without potato salad.”
“Don’t you mean without turkey?” Rod rubbed his stomach.
I smiled. “No, it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without the thanks and the giving. Having you visit makes it blessed. We can thank God for a good laugh and a joyful day. We’ll remember this for many Thanksgivings to come.”
“Yeah, Mom, Scott will never let you live that one down.”
"I’ll remember how I lost my eggs every year.” I diced the pickles and green onions. “When you were small, I cooked huge family meals. I’ve always enjoyed cooking and decorating for the holidays. Another Thanksgiving is etched in the pages of my memories. Unexpected guests arrived with the family, and the ten-foot wide trailer couldn’t hold them. The cramped kitchen only held a small table.”
Rod took a pickle from the jar. “What happened?”
"I had plenty of food cooked, so I borrowed silverware and plates from your grandmother.”
“Who would show up uninvited?”
“Your grandmother and aunts asked friends from church.” I dumped pickles and green onions into a bowl and continued. “By the time the turkey was served, the trailer burst with people trying to find plates and utensils for eating. People packed into it like sardines in a tin can. Since God smiled on us with beautiful Louisiana weather, most of them took their plates and sat outside to eat. The air was crisp, cool, and refreshing after baking in the hot kitchen. I took my plate and joined them on the steps of the tiny porch.”
Rod’s blue eyes twinkled as he listened to me reminiscing. “I can just see you
balancing a plate of turkey and cornbread dressing on your lap.”
“It tasted every bit as good outside.” I playfully tapped his chest. “I had one more chair than Henry David Thoreau, who wrote in his book Walden that he had only three chairs.”
“Thoreau thought houses were “extravagantly large”. My trailer was extravagantly small for all the Thanksgiving dinner guests. We enjoyed the brisk air and sunshine and thanked God for our family and friends, delicious food, and a lovely day. You know son, that Thanksgiving and this one will always be etched in my heart, mind, and soul.”
“When the guests left, they thanked me for a great home-cooked meal, not an impressive dinner. One man with electric blue eyes said, “It didn’t matter if the dinnerware didn’t match. We didn’t come here for you to impress us.”
A lot has changed over the years. My four children are grown and have made me a grandmother multiple times. I’ve lost family members. My first husband, mother, father, and youngest sister all live in their heavenly home. Though some of the most loved people in my life are not here to share the holidays, I still have a traditional turkey each Thanksgiving, celebrate, and thank God for our food. Some things never change. I know my lost loved ones are feasting in heaven and waiting for me.
I thank God for the family who now shares my holidays. Last year, I did not bake turkey. Rod fried a turkey for us the Christmas before, and it was so juicy it melted in our mouths. So, Scott bought a turkey fryer and experimented. Ever since he cooked his first fried turkey, he said we wouldn’t have another baked one. so I’ve been relieved of one of my Thanksgiving duties.
We are a close-knit family group. Fancy plates and utensils don’t matter, nor does a fancy setting. What makes holidays special has nothing to do with materialistic things. The warmth and friendliness of our family and friends make up for whatever trivial items are lacking.
Times change, people change, places change, but the heart of the family and thanking God for His blessings and your family remain the same. I thank God for the Thanksgiving the garbage disposal ate the eggs and the year uninvited guests overfilled my tiny trailer. Those blessed Thanksgiving days will be eternally etched in the pages of my family’s hearts and minds.
Bio
Barbara Robinson makes her home in Florida with her husband, a cat, and two dogs. She is a graduate of Christian Writers Guild’s, a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), and a graduate from the Long Ridge Writers Group. This story appeared in St. Cloud in the News last Thanksgiving. Many years ago a much simpler version appeared in The Ponchatoula Times, minus the Florida part of the story.
“Where did my eggs go?” I yelled loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear.
My son, Rodney, grinned. “I don’t know.”
“I put them in the sink to cool.” I looked down the drain. “That thing ate my eggs.”
Rodney came up beside me and asked, “What thing?”
I pointed to the sink’s drain. “The new garbage disposal Scott insisted on.”
The family laughed like I was a comedian.
“When I first met her, she didn’t even know how to work a dishwasher," my husband said. "Now she doesn’t know how to use the new garbage disposal. Do I have to teach you everything?” His brown eyes twinkled. He patted my shoulder, and his grin lit up his face. Teaser that he was, it was easy for him to amuse the family and for them to enjoy the playfulness of his comments. “Reach your hand down there and get them.”
“I’m not putting my hand in that thing.”
The family’s laughter filled the kitchen. “I can’t make potato salad.
Those were my last three.”
“I’ll run to the store,” someone offered.
Rod said, “It’s a wonder you didn’t accuse me of eating them.”
“The garbage disposal did the job for you. I can’t believe I did that. It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without potato salad.”
“Don’t you mean without turkey?” Rod rubbed his stomach.
I smiled. “No, it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without the thanks and the giving. Having you visit makes it blessed. We can thank God for a good laugh and a joyful day. We’ll remember this for many Thanksgivings to come.”
“Yeah, Mom, Scott will never let you live that one down.”
"I’ll remember how I lost my eggs every year.” I diced the pickles and green onions. “When you were small, I cooked huge family meals. I’ve always enjoyed cooking and decorating for the holidays. Another Thanksgiving is etched in the pages of my memories. Unexpected guests arrived with the family, and the ten-foot wide trailer couldn’t hold them. The cramped kitchen only held a small table.”
Rod took a pickle from the jar. “What happened?”
"I had plenty of food cooked, so I borrowed silverware and plates from your grandmother.”
“Who would show up uninvited?”
“Your grandmother and aunts asked friends from church.” I dumped pickles and green onions into a bowl and continued. “By the time the turkey was served, the trailer burst with people trying to find plates and utensils for eating. People packed into it like sardines in a tin can. Since God smiled on us with beautiful Louisiana weather, most of them took their plates and sat outside to eat. The air was crisp, cool, and refreshing after baking in the hot kitchen. I took my plate and joined them on the steps of the tiny porch.”
Rod’s blue eyes twinkled as he listened to me reminiscing. “I can just see you
balancing a plate of turkey and cornbread dressing on your lap.”
“It tasted every bit as good outside.” I playfully tapped his chest. “I had one more chair than Henry David Thoreau, who wrote in his book Walden that he had only three chairs.”
“Thoreau thought houses were “extravagantly large”. My trailer was extravagantly small for all the Thanksgiving dinner guests. We enjoyed the brisk air and sunshine and thanked God for our family and friends, delicious food, and a lovely day. You know son, that Thanksgiving and this one will always be etched in my heart, mind, and soul.”
“When the guests left, they thanked me for a great home-cooked meal, not an impressive dinner. One man with electric blue eyes said, “It didn’t matter if the dinnerware didn’t match. We didn’t come here for you to impress us.”
A lot has changed over the years. My four children are grown and have made me a grandmother multiple times. I’ve lost family members. My first husband, mother, father, and youngest sister all live in their heavenly home. Though some of the most loved people in my life are not here to share the holidays, I still have a traditional turkey each Thanksgiving, celebrate, and thank God for our food. Some things never change. I know my lost loved ones are feasting in heaven and waiting for me.
I thank God for the family who now shares my holidays. Last year, I did not bake turkey. Rod fried a turkey for us the Christmas before, and it was so juicy it melted in our mouths. So, Scott bought a turkey fryer and experimented. Ever since he cooked his first fried turkey, he said we wouldn’t have another baked one. so I’ve been relieved of one of my Thanksgiving duties.
We are a close-knit family group. Fancy plates and utensils don’t matter, nor does a fancy setting. What makes holidays special has nothing to do with materialistic things. The warmth and friendliness of our family and friends make up for whatever trivial items are lacking.
Times change, people change, places change, but the heart of the family and thanking God for His blessings and your family remain the same. I thank God for the Thanksgiving the garbage disposal ate the eggs and the year uninvited guests overfilled my tiny trailer. Those blessed Thanksgiving days will be eternally etched in the pages of my family’s hearts and minds.
Bio
Barbara Robinson makes her home in Florida with her husband, a cat, and two dogs. She is a graduate of Christian Writers Guild’s, a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), and a graduate from the Long Ridge Writers Group. This story appeared in St. Cloud in the News last Thanksgiving. Many years ago a much simpler version appeared in The Ponchatoula Times, minus the Florida part of the story.
Monday, November 22, 2010
The Brotherhood by Jerry B. Jenkins
The Brotherhood by Jerry B. Jenkins is a moving novel to say the least. It's 371 pages and 24 chapters with an epilogue, copyright 2011, published by Tyndale House Publishers. Jenkins is a New York Times best-selling author well known for The Left Behind series. His new book showcases his talent in a police thriller with Boone Drake as the main character, a young officer blessed with success in his career and personal life. He has a beautiful wife, Nikki, who taught school until they were blessed with Josh, his son.
Boone is living the American Dream and knows it when the unthinkable, unspeakable takes him by surprise and spirals him from a life of sunshine and happiness to a dreary world with storm clouds raging inside. In the blink of an eye his entire world is changed. He wanted a home for his young family with a yard ". . . with enough grass to mow." God provided his heart's desire, but little did he know the price he'd pay.
When tragedy strikes, Nikki's parents are miles away, and Boone must face reality immersed in bittersweet memories. He doesn't understand how a loving God can allow such good, sweet, innocent people like Nikki and Josh to come to such violent harm. His partner, Jack Keller, is a rock who stands beside him, and his pastor texts Bible quotes to comfort and keep him in God's Word.
If it isn't enough with his personal life demolished, his career is on the line, and it's all he has left until he meets Haeley, the new secretary that he's been warned about, and her young son, Max, who reminds him of his own loss, Josh. The most vicious Chicago gang leader in decades teaches him that God allows second chances. This is a book you won't want to put down until completed. It'll wrench your heart out early.
I could say so much more, but then I'd give too much away and ruin a great novel like ruining a wonderful movie. So, grab your copy and get ready for an impact you won't soon forget! It's available in hardcover or paperback at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com as well as through brick and mortar stores. Visit Jerry on Facebook and check out https://www.christianwritersguild.com.
Sign to follow this blog for an opportunity to win The Brotherhood. I will draw for a winner very soon, so don't hesitate!
Boone is living the American Dream and knows it when the unthinkable, unspeakable takes him by surprise and spirals him from a life of sunshine and happiness to a dreary world with storm clouds raging inside. In the blink of an eye his entire world is changed. He wanted a home for his young family with a yard ". . . with enough grass to mow." God provided his heart's desire, but little did he know the price he'd pay.
When tragedy strikes, Nikki's parents are miles away, and Boone must face reality immersed in bittersweet memories. He doesn't understand how a loving God can allow such good, sweet, innocent people like Nikki and Josh to come to such violent harm. His partner, Jack Keller, is a rock who stands beside him, and his pastor texts Bible quotes to comfort and keep him in God's Word.
If it isn't enough with his personal life demolished, his career is on the line, and it's all he has left until he meets Haeley, the new secretary that he's been warned about, and her young son, Max, who reminds him of his own loss, Josh. The most vicious Chicago gang leader in decades teaches him that God allows second chances. This is a book you won't want to put down until completed. It'll wrench your heart out early.
I could say so much more, but then I'd give too much away and ruin a great novel like ruining a wonderful movie. So, grab your copy and get ready for an impact you won't soon forget! It's available in hardcover or paperback at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com as well as through brick and mortar stores. Visit Jerry on Facebook and check out https://www.christianwritersguild.com.
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Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Scotty's Jeans
This story was written about my oldest son, Scotty Edbert, who gave me the roses in the picture for Mother's Day. He was named after the song "Watching Scotty Grow," by Bobby Goldsboro and my father, Edbert Russell, who died when I was four years old on Christmas Day.
I jumped out of bed early every morning with the spirit, energy, and vitality of youth, cleaned house, and took care of the family duties. Far too busy to treasure the day with a son in the first grade, I took pride in the fact that I kept a spotless home and had dinner on the table when my husband returned from work.
I hung Scotty's small jeans outside in the sunshine and fresh air. I can still see them blowing in the wind, hung neatly, all in a row, jeans of every color: brown, black, green, navy, maroon, and blue. I took pride in the fact that he had a pair of jeans in each color for school.
Before I knew it, my son grew, left home, married, had children of his own, and made me a grandmother multiple times. Those precious family days were a treasure that didn't last. All too soon, spring turned to summer, summer to fall, and fall is turning to winter. What I wouldn't give to hang those precious little jeans on the line and watch them blow.
I no longer clean house like it's the most important thing in my life. What I once took pride in is dull, boring, and humdrum--just another ordinary, routine day. Now, there are no small jeans blowing in the wind. No first grader rushes home to excitedly tell me about his school day. Those are all things of the past, things that didn't last.
Now, my little grandson's mother throws his jeans in the dryer as she rushes to get ready for work. The hands of time slip by like a silent thief in the night, as precious days fly with the speed of lightning. Off to work. Off to school. Years fly. Days of the past, treasured days, just don't last.
First printed in USADeepSouth.com as Colored Jeans on the Clothesline: Such Precious Days Don't Last. Permission given to reprint revised edition. B. J. Russell-Robinson lives in Florida with her husband, cocker spaniel, Sunflower, and an adopted shelter cat named Frankie.
I jumped out of bed early every morning with the spirit, energy, and vitality of youth, cleaned house, and took care of the family duties. Far too busy to treasure the day with a son in the first grade, I took pride in the fact that I kept a spotless home and had dinner on the table when my husband returned from work.
I hung Scotty's small jeans outside in the sunshine and fresh air. I can still see them blowing in the wind, hung neatly, all in a row, jeans of every color: brown, black, green, navy, maroon, and blue. I took pride in the fact that he had a pair of jeans in each color for school.
Before I knew it, my son grew, left home, married, had children of his own, and made me a grandmother multiple times. Those precious family days were a treasure that didn't last. All too soon, spring turned to summer, summer to fall, and fall is turning to winter. What I wouldn't give to hang those precious little jeans on the line and watch them blow.
I no longer clean house like it's the most important thing in my life. What I once took pride in is dull, boring, and humdrum--just another ordinary, routine day. Now, there are no small jeans blowing in the wind. No first grader rushes home to excitedly tell me about his school day. Those are all things of the past, things that didn't last.
Now, my little grandson's mother throws his jeans in the dryer as she rushes to get ready for work. The hands of time slip by like a silent thief in the night, as precious days fly with the speed of lightning. Off to work. Off to school. Years fly. Days of the past, treasured days, just don't last.
First printed in USADeepSouth.com as Colored Jeans on the Clothesline: Such Precious Days Don't Last. Permission given to reprint revised edition. B. J. Russell-Robinson lives in Florida with her husband, cocker spaniel, Sunflower, and an adopted shelter cat named Frankie.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Hot Glazed Donuts
The following is written in loving memory of my mother. It was published in an earlier version, but I've revised it, and it was published again online yesterday in a second printing in A Woman's Voice published by Dolores Ayotte at http://networkedblogs.com/ahAlQ I hope you enjoy!
Hot glazed donuts . . .
I was a young girl in elementary school when I learned how to make Mom happy. She sent me down the street to Gene’s Bakery for orders of toast and butter for breakfast, to the drugstore on Main Street for ice cream, or to the local donut shop for hot glazed donuts.
Funny thing, we never owned a toaster, and Mom loved toast with her morning coffee. She loved hot glazed donuts on a cold winter morning with a steaming cup of Community coffee, or perhaps I should say some coffee with her sugar and cream. Hot summer evenings, it was ice cream.
We lived in a small town, and Mom could trust me to run errands. She used to brag, “Why, I could send Jane across the main highway with a $20 bill at five years old, and she’d bring back my correct change.
I was Mom’s little errand runner and lady. There wasn’t much time for being a little girl. I was the oldest of three girls, and it was up to me to set the example. I set some, that’s for sure. I made good grades in school, never got into trouble, and was Mom’s little lady, but I was also a curious tomboy of a girl. That part didn’t always set so well with Mom.
When I played in the Mississippi red clay at my Grandmother Russell’s with doodle bugs Mom would say, “You should stay neat and clean like your sister. Girls should be girls. She plays with dolls and tea sets like a little lady.”
I held out my palm and showed her my find. “I love playing with these bugs because they look like Volkswagen cars. Just look how they roll up their tiny bodies.”
Of course, Mom didn’t care to look at bugs, so she’d just shake her head and walk away, and I went on happily playing with the doodle bugs or making mud pies. I wasn’t always the little lady Mom wanted me to be. I loved dirt and mud like a boy, and just like a boy, I usually splashed right through puddles instead of skirting them.
Over the years, I made many footsteps to the bakery, donut shop, or drugstore buying Mom all her favorites. She even taught me how to go to the drugstore and find her favorite hair color in just the right shade. She made me memorize the hair color number. Her hair was supposed to be dark brown after she applied it, at least that’s what the box said, but it was totally black on Mom. She had pale white skin and hazel eyes and dyed her reddish-brown hair coal black because she hated the red highlights girls go for today. The reddish tint kept shining through the brown. She had to have jet black hair, red, red lips, and pearly white teeth like the song Daddy loved. She always kept up her hair and wore it long, hanging straight down her back, or with the ends curved at her shoulders. In her earlier days, as a young mother, she had it permed, but in later years, she’d complain that the perms always frizzed her hair, so she wore it long and straight, like the young girl she always was at heart.
Mom quit school in the 11th grade to stay home and help her father with the younger children when her mother passed. Grandpa had a strawberry farm in Louisiana, and Mom took over the housework and cooking chores, tending to her smaller brothers and sisters and her older sister’s children. She had a large family, four girls and three boys. Mom was next to the youngest.
Mom always talked about growing up on Grandpa’s Louisiana strawberry farm in Springfield. She loved berries, sunshine, and fresh air. She didn’t like packing them though. She was a picker, the fastest one around. She picked two or three handcarriers to my one and had me picking strawberries at dawn when I was five years old before school. And, I picked again, after school in the evenings.
Mom worked for a local schoolteacher who picked us up and took us to her farm, took me to school with her, took us back to the farm after school, and drove us home at dark. So, I’m a product of Louisiana strawberry fields and packing sheds. When I grew up, I decided I liked packing better than picking, and I was a faster packer than I was a picker. I left the picking to Mom, who could outpick anyone around.
Remember, I told you how Mom loved toast and butter with her morning coffee. Well, I happened to get a two-slice pop-up toaster for a wedding gift. I’d drive to Mom’s early in the morning and bring the toaster with me, so she could have her toast and butter with coffee. I wasn’t there to walk to the bakery for her anymore. Besides, the bakery she loved so much had gone out of business.
Years later, I wondered why Mom never broke down and bought herself a toaster. Maybe it was because she was the only one in the family who was toast crazy. Mom was like that. She wouldn’t have spent the money to buy herself a toaster. She figured the family needed it for other things. Now, I wonder if she didn’t buy a toaster because she liked our mother/daughter visits with coffee and toast. She brewed coffee so strong it’d curl your toes and knock off your socks, but I’d manage to weaken it as much as possible with plenty of sugar and cream and sip it with her. Her coffee was always too strong for me.
How I wish I could bring Mom toast and butter or a hot glazed donut for her morning coffee. On her deathbed, she asked, “Did you freeze those glazed donuts?”
How I wish I could bring her ice cream on a hot summer day. I miss her so much. Growing up, I shared candy and love notes with her. We talked about boys and puppy love. I miss those Mom-and-daughter talks. You see, she left years ago. She had cancer, and God called her home. Oh what I wouldn’t give just to be able to bring Mom an order of toast and butter, an ice cream . . . or a hot glazed donut. But, I count my blessings that I had this mother’s love. I’m who I am today because of God and her.
Bio
Barbara Russell-Robinson lives in Florida with her husband, a cocker spaniel named Sunflower, and an adopted shelter cat. She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the Christian Writers Guild (CWG), and a graduate of Long Ridge Writers Group and the CWG's Apprentice and Journeyman level courses. She’s completed a novel, True Hidden Treasures.
Hot glazed donuts . . .
I was a young girl in elementary school when I learned how to make Mom happy. She sent me down the street to Gene’s Bakery for orders of toast and butter for breakfast, to the drugstore on Main Street for ice cream, or to the local donut shop for hot glazed donuts.
Funny thing, we never owned a toaster, and Mom loved toast with her morning coffee. She loved hot glazed donuts on a cold winter morning with a steaming cup of Community coffee, or perhaps I should say some coffee with her sugar and cream. Hot summer evenings, it was ice cream.
We lived in a small town, and Mom could trust me to run errands. She used to brag, “Why, I could send Jane across the main highway with a $20 bill at five years old, and she’d bring back my correct change.
I was Mom’s little errand runner and lady. There wasn’t much time for being a little girl. I was the oldest of three girls, and it was up to me to set the example. I set some, that’s for sure. I made good grades in school, never got into trouble, and was Mom’s little lady, but I was also a curious tomboy of a girl. That part didn’t always set so well with Mom.
When I played in the Mississippi red clay at my Grandmother Russell’s with doodle bugs Mom would say, “You should stay neat and clean like your sister. Girls should be girls. She plays with dolls and tea sets like a little lady.”
I held out my palm and showed her my find. “I love playing with these bugs because they look like Volkswagen cars. Just look how they roll up their tiny bodies.”
Of course, Mom didn’t care to look at bugs, so she’d just shake her head and walk away, and I went on happily playing with the doodle bugs or making mud pies. I wasn’t always the little lady Mom wanted me to be. I loved dirt and mud like a boy, and just like a boy, I usually splashed right through puddles instead of skirting them.
Over the years, I made many footsteps to the bakery, donut shop, or drugstore buying Mom all her favorites. She even taught me how to go to the drugstore and find her favorite hair color in just the right shade. She made me memorize the hair color number. Her hair was supposed to be dark brown after she applied it, at least that’s what the box said, but it was totally black on Mom. She had pale white skin and hazel eyes and dyed her reddish-brown hair coal black because she hated the red highlights girls go for today. The reddish tint kept shining through the brown. She had to have jet black hair, red, red lips, and pearly white teeth like the song Daddy loved. She always kept up her hair and wore it long, hanging straight down her back, or with the ends curved at her shoulders. In her earlier days, as a young mother, she had it permed, but in later years, she’d complain that the perms always frizzed her hair, so she wore it long and straight, like the young girl she always was at heart.
Mom quit school in the 11th grade to stay home and help her father with the younger children when her mother passed. Grandpa had a strawberry farm in Louisiana, and Mom took over the housework and cooking chores, tending to her smaller brothers and sisters and her older sister’s children. She had a large family, four girls and three boys. Mom was next to the youngest.
Mom always talked about growing up on Grandpa’s Louisiana strawberry farm in Springfield. She loved berries, sunshine, and fresh air. She didn’t like packing them though. She was a picker, the fastest one around. She picked two or three handcarriers to my one and had me picking strawberries at dawn when I was five years old before school. And, I picked again, after school in the evenings.
Mom worked for a local schoolteacher who picked us up and took us to her farm, took me to school with her, took us back to the farm after school, and drove us home at dark. So, I’m a product of Louisiana strawberry fields and packing sheds. When I grew up, I decided I liked packing better than picking, and I was a faster packer than I was a picker. I left the picking to Mom, who could outpick anyone around.
Remember, I told you how Mom loved toast and butter with her morning coffee. Well, I happened to get a two-slice pop-up toaster for a wedding gift. I’d drive to Mom’s early in the morning and bring the toaster with me, so she could have her toast and butter with coffee. I wasn’t there to walk to the bakery for her anymore. Besides, the bakery she loved so much had gone out of business.
Years later, I wondered why Mom never broke down and bought herself a toaster. Maybe it was because she was the only one in the family who was toast crazy. Mom was like that. She wouldn’t have spent the money to buy herself a toaster. She figured the family needed it for other things. Now, I wonder if she didn’t buy a toaster because she liked our mother/daughter visits with coffee and toast. She brewed coffee so strong it’d curl your toes and knock off your socks, but I’d manage to weaken it as much as possible with plenty of sugar and cream and sip it with her. Her coffee was always too strong for me.
How I wish I could bring Mom toast and butter or a hot glazed donut for her morning coffee. On her deathbed, she asked, “Did you freeze those glazed donuts?”
How I wish I could bring her ice cream on a hot summer day. I miss her so much. Growing up, I shared candy and love notes with her. We talked about boys and puppy love. I miss those Mom-and-daughter talks. You see, she left years ago. She had cancer, and God called her home. Oh what I wouldn’t give just to be able to bring Mom an order of toast and butter, an ice cream . . . or a hot glazed donut. But, I count my blessings that I had this mother’s love. I’m who I am today because of God and her.
Bio
Barbara Russell-Robinson lives in Florida with her husband, a cocker spaniel named Sunflower, and an adopted shelter cat. She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the Christian Writers Guild (CWG), and a graduate of Long Ridge Writers Group and the CWG's Apprentice and Journeyman level courses. She’s completed a novel, True Hidden Treasures.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury
Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury
Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury is a touching, beautifully written story published by Zondervan, copyright 2010. It's 320 pages with discussion questions that make it possible to use the novel for a study group. I smiled, laughed, and cried my way through it and didn't want to put it down.
Holden Harris is eighteen years old and locked away in a prison of autism. Ella Reynolds is a popular cheerleader who seems to live the ideal life and have everything a girl could want down to the football hero, until she catches him bullying and breaks up with him.
She's drawn to Holden, and his love of music and drama makes her decide to reach out to him. She discovers they're old friends while spending time with the family photo albums. The same music they shared as young children bring them together again, after a decade of being torn apart by their families. Ella and Holden's mothers were best friends until his autism drove their friendship apart. Ella and Holden's dads were friends until the same wedge planted itself between their relationship. Ella's mother and father grow apart. Holden's father finds escape on a shrimp boat in dangerous seas and risks his life to avoid a son he's unable to reach. Holden lost his Ella, but their relationship wasn't the only one lost.
Ella reaches out to a special-needs student at her school and finds the childhood friend who left her a decade earlier. He's never forgotten her, and music and drama bring them together again. Can Holden break the chains that hold him in his own private prison? Will Ella and the music he loves be the keys to unlock Holden Harris for the world?
This novel will rip your heart in two as Holden Harris transforms from the beast of autism into a prince. Bullying, suicide, and marriages falling apart are handled in such a way to make this a truly life-changing novel, and it's Holden Harris who changes lives and becomes an inspiration to so many. It didn't take Ella long to realize who the true prince of Fulton High was.
Though the disability in this book is autism, anyone who loves a child with special needs will enjoy this novel. It's a great adult and teen read. Ella wonders what happened to her family and discovers they all lost with Holden's loss, but God works a miracle and Holden is the instrument He uses to renew hope and bring these families together again. Their lives are unlocked with music, drama, Holden, and love, the type of love that despite all odds never goes away. Even when one mother pushes them all apart, the hearts carry that love locked away inside for over a decade, and Ella realizes Holden wasn't the only one who needed unlocking.
Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury is a touching, beautifully written story published by Zondervan, copyright 2010. It's 320 pages with discussion questions that make it possible to use the novel for a study group. I smiled, laughed, and cried my way through it and didn't want to put it down.
Holden Harris is eighteen years old and locked away in a prison of autism. Ella Reynolds is a popular cheerleader who seems to live the ideal life and have everything a girl could want down to the football hero, until she catches him bullying and breaks up with him.
She's drawn to Holden, and his love of music and drama makes her decide to reach out to him. She discovers they're old friends while spending time with the family photo albums. The same music they shared as young children bring them together again, after a decade of being torn apart by their families. Ella and Holden's mothers were best friends until his autism drove their friendship apart. Ella and Holden's dads were friends until the same wedge planted itself between their relationship. Ella's mother and father grow apart. Holden's father finds escape on a shrimp boat in dangerous seas and risks his life to avoid a son he's unable to reach. Holden lost his Ella, but their relationship wasn't the only one lost.
Ella reaches out to a special-needs student at her school and finds the childhood friend who left her a decade earlier. He's never forgotten her, and music and drama bring them together again. Can Holden break the chains that hold him in his own private prison? Will Ella and the music he loves be the keys to unlock Holden Harris for the world?
This novel will rip your heart in two as Holden Harris transforms from the beast of autism into a prince. Bullying, suicide, and marriages falling apart are handled in such a way to make this a truly life-changing novel, and it's Holden Harris who changes lives and becomes an inspiration to so many. It didn't take Ella long to realize who the true prince of Fulton High was.
Though the disability in this book is autism, anyone who loves a child with special needs will enjoy this novel. It's a great adult and teen read. Ella wonders what happened to her family and discovers they all lost with Holden's loss, but God works a miracle and Holden is the instrument He uses to renew hope and bring these families together again. Their lives are unlocked with music, drama, Holden, and love, the type of love that despite all odds never goes away. Even when one mother pushes them all apart, the hearts carry that love locked away inside for over a decade, and Ella realizes Holden wasn't the only one who needed unlocking.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
A World of Chocolate: The Sweetest Place on Earth
A World of Chocolate: The Sweetest Place on Earth
by Barbara Russell-Robinson
Discover the sweetest place on earth. Visit Hershey’s Chocolate World Visitor Center, Hershey Park, and Zoo America and take a simulated tour of the Chocolate Factory on the Chocolate Ride. Stroll through a tropical jungle where cocoa beans are harvested. View the chocolate-making process during the ride and receive a free sample at the end. Explore the gift shops and restaurants and have ice cream Hershey style.
View the Really Big 3D Show and get a glimpse of the history of Hershey’s chocolate. The show is designed and produced by Landmark Entertainment, the group who designed Universal Studios “Terminator 2/3D," and free candy samples make the show even sweeter.
Take in 11 acres of wildlife, included with park admission, of Zoo America. The most amazing adventure for some will be Storm Runner in Hershey Park. It's the first hydraulic launch coaster with inversions and speeds off at 72 miles per hour. Discover the thrills of Great Bear, an inverted coaster with four inversions--vertical loop, camelback twist, and wing over that gives the sensation of flying through the air as your feet dangle.
Take lots of great pictures, even some of Hershey Kiss traffic lights. The streets are named after Hershey candy. Jolly Rancher candy is also a Hershey product, though it's not chocolate. White chocolate Hershey bars with almonds and white Kit Kat bars, which are so hard to find, are all available. Like they say, Hershey, Pennsylvania, is the sweetest place on earth; it's a world of chocolate right down to the traffic lights.
The above-captioned piece was written after a summer vacation a few years ago. A slightly different version was published in a local newspaper.
by Barbara Russell-Robinson
Discover the sweetest place on earth. Visit Hershey’s Chocolate World Visitor Center, Hershey Park, and Zoo America and take a simulated tour of the Chocolate Factory on the Chocolate Ride. Stroll through a tropical jungle where cocoa beans are harvested. View the chocolate-making process during the ride and receive a free sample at the end. Explore the gift shops and restaurants and have ice cream Hershey style.
View the Really Big 3D Show and get a glimpse of the history of Hershey’s chocolate. The show is designed and produced by Landmark Entertainment, the group who designed Universal Studios “Terminator 2/3D," and free candy samples make the show even sweeter.
Take in 11 acres of wildlife, included with park admission, of Zoo America. The most amazing adventure for some will be Storm Runner in Hershey Park. It's the first hydraulic launch coaster with inversions and speeds off at 72 miles per hour. Discover the thrills of Great Bear, an inverted coaster with four inversions--vertical loop, camelback twist, and wing over that gives the sensation of flying through the air as your feet dangle.
Take lots of great pictures, even some of Hershey Kiss traffic lights. The streets are named after Hershey candy. Jolly Rancher candy is also a Hershey product, though it's not chocolate. White chocolate Hershey bars with almonds and white Kit Kat bars, which are so hard to find, are all available. Like they say, Hershey, Pennsylvania, is the sweetest place on earth; it's a world of chocolate right down to the traffic lights.
The above-captioned piece was written after a summer vacation a few years ago. A slightly different version was published in a local newspaper.
Friday, August 13, 2010
The Last Operative by Jerry B. Jenkins
The Last Operative by Jerry B. Jenkins is 23 chapters and 371 pages of riveting suspense published by Tyndale, copyright 2010 in hardcover. Jordan Kirkwood's top-notch career as an NSA intelligence operative cost him quality family time causing a rift between him and son until it cost him his wife's life. His daughter is more understanding, but will his son ever forgive him, so hearts can mend, and they can enjoy their time left together? He helplessly watches as he losses the love of his life, his wife, just when she was meeting him for some well-deserved quality time, and he faces a retirement decision. But, as much as he would like to just quit the job that has cost him his family in more ways than one, a larger threat rears its ugly head. He has two grown children and a country to protect, so he's not able to call it quits just yet.
A threat worse than 9/11 and someone at a top level in the NSA might be to blame. On his most dangerous mission, Jordan's deepest secret is revealed and his past confronts him head on, a secret he, himself, knew nothing about. The fate of his country hangs in the balance as he fights to discover who he can trust and depend upon, and his own life is at stake. The risks are high for homeland and family. He wants to be sure his son and daughter are protected and do not follow the same fate as his wife. He loses a best friend. His family home, where he raised his children, is blown to bits, and his uncle takes him in, only to have his own home bombed.
An old love returns during the worse time of his life with a surprise from the past. The book ends like a serial, so I hope we find out what happens to Jordan, Cydya--his former love, and Katrina--someone from the past, as well as his two grown children, Christa and Ken. But, the book is a retelling of his first standalone novel. I felt the ending was too abrupt unless he plans a serial, since it left me with a hunger for more. And, I think it has potential for a great serial. His readers will want to know what happens to these characters as a family, perhaps a family saga. When a reader becomes involved with the characters, they can't help but want to know what happens to them.
The Last Operative is available through Christian Writers Guild, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, and many bookstores.
A threat worse than 9/11 and someone at a top level in the NSA might be to blame. On his most dangerous mission, Jordan's deepest secret is revealed and his past confronts him head on, a secret he, himself, knew nothing about. The fate of his country hangs in the balance as he fights to discover who he can trust and depend upon, and his own life is at stake. The risks are high for homeland and family. He wants to be sure his son and daughter are protected and do not follow the same fate as his wife. He loses a best friend. His family home, where he raised his children, is blown to bits, and his uncle takes him in, only to have his own home bombed.
An old love returns during the worse time of his life with a surprise from the past. The book ends like a serial, so I hope we find out what happens to Jordan, Cydya--his former love, and Katrina--someone from the past, as well as his two grown children, Christa and Ken. But, the book is a retelling of his first standalone novel. I felt the ending was too abrupt unless he plans a serial, since it left me with a hunger for more. And, I think it has potential for a great serial. His readers will want to know what happens to these characters as a family, perhaps a family saga. When a reader becomes involved with the characters, they can't help but want to know what happens to them.
The Last Operative is available through Christian Writers Guild, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, and many bookstores.
Friday, July 30, 2010
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT WRITING
What do I love about writing? Though there are many things, what I love the most is the opportunity it presents to reach out and help others. When you've written a story others can identify with, you have the opportunity to touch their lives, their hearts, and their souls. Writing also allows people to get to know each other, who otherwise never would. It allows you to really get to know yourself, because it becomes a process of self-discovery.
Through writing, I have met and shared stories with people from all over the United States and Canada. My family has learned more about me and who I really am as a person. I have even learned more about them. It allows me to share my heart and soul and my life with others. When I find out something I have written has touched another human being, or has helped them in some way, that is the greatest reward of all. I may never be a famous author, but I am a published one, who knows the feeling, the joy, and the reward of receiving this gift from God.
Writing is what I do because it's a part of me, and I thank God for the gift, the ability, and the benefits it brings every day, not monetary benefits, but people benefits. It is my way of reaching out to others and sharing my life experiences with them. If I only wrote for the money, I wouldn’t be writing. I love the feeling of knowing that somewhere someone may pick up something I wrote and learn about the personal relationship I share with God. Perhaps, they, too, will find the missing link in their lives and come to share that same productive relationship. For me, that is what writing is all about, and it brings joy to my soul.
I want to write to bring joy, hope, peace, faith, love, and life to others. The masses of people who really need to learn more about Jesus and the gift of eternal life may never be reached through a Sunday sermon. Just as Jesus used the art of storytelling, writers may reach lost sheep by following His example. If I can help just one discover Jesus, I will have made a big difference with my writing for another human being.
Through writing, I have met and shared stories with people from all over the United States and Canada. My family has learned more about me and who I really am as a person. I have even learned more about them. It allows me to share my heart and soul and my life with others. When I find out something I have written has touched another human being, or has helped them in some way, that is the greatest reward of all. I may never be a famous author, but I am a published one, who knows the feeling, the joy, and the reward of receiving this gift from God.
Writing is what I do because it's a part of me, and I thank God for the gift, the ability, and the benefits it brings every day, not monetary benefits, but people benefits. It is my way of reaching out to others and sharing my life experiences with them. If I only wrote for the money, I wouldn’t be writing. I love the feeling of knowing that somewhere someone may pick up something I wrote and learn about the personal relationship I share with God. Perhaps, they, too, will find the missing link in their lives and come to share that same productive relationship. For me, that is what writing is all about, and it brings joy to my soul.
I want to write to bring joy, hope, peace, faith, love, and life to others. The masses of people who really need to learn more about Jesus and the gift of eternal life may never be reached through a Sunday sermon. Just as Jesus used the art of storytelling, writers may reach lost sheep by following His example. If I can help just one discover Jesus, I will have made a big difference with my writing for another human being.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
The Great Wide Sea by M. H. Herlong
The Great Wide Sea by M. H. Herlong is 42 chapters and 283 pages of an ocean tale that will deplete the wind from your sails, as the reader holds his breath like being on the edge of a seat at the movie theater. Published by Puffin, an imprint of Penguin Group, the novel teaches life lessons about love, heartache, and pain, as well as science lessons about the ocean and stars.
The New Orleans authors weaves a tale of a family torn apart by an accident that leaves a father and three sons on their own. Trying to escape the pain of loss, the father uproots them by selling the family home and purchases a boat, but no matter how far they explore, the pain and heartache sails and docks with them.
Ben, the oldest brother is the narrator. Dylan, the middle one is wise about the stars, and his knowledge assists them in ocean navigation. Gerry, the youngest rides out the storms of the ocean and life still clinging to his blankie. Ben and his brothers love sailing on the smooth lake close to home, but an ocean is no smooth sail. When Dad disappears somewhere between the Bahamas and Bermuda, they are left to fend for themselves, not knowing what happened to their father. Ben thinks he committed suicide, but Dylan believes his dad fell from the boat by accident. Which brother is correct?
A treacherous storm forces both Ben and Dylan to take turns manning the tiller, but the storms of life they face force them both to become men while they're still mere boys. This tale of survival portrays relationships and family connections during crisis and is an equal match for other survival stories like Hatchet and My Side of the Mountain. If you like survival tales, this novel is a must read. Set in Florida, it's a Sunshine State book you'll long remember after the last page. It might make you want to stare at a star-studded night sky and quietly reflect on your own, when you picture Ben leaving young Gerry on an isolated island with Dylan dying.
The New Orleans authors weaves a tale of a family torn apart by an accident that leaves a father and three sons on their own. Trying to escape the pain of loss, the father uproots them by selling the family home and purchases a boat, but no matter how far they explore, the pain and heartache sails and docks with them.
Ben, the oldest brother is the narrator. Dylan, the middle one is wise about the stars, and his knowledge assists them in ocean navigation. Gerry, the youngest rides out the storms of the ocean and life still clinging to his blankie. Ben and his brothers love sailing on the smooth lake close to home, but an ocean is no smooth sail. When Dad disappears somewhere between the Bahamas and Bermuda, they are left to fend for themselves, not knowing what happened to their father. Ben thinks he committed suicide, but Dylan believes his dad fell from the boat by accident. Which brother is correct?
A treacherous storm forces both Ben and Dylan to take turns manning the tiller, but the storms of life they face force them both to become men while they're still mere boys. This tale of survival portrays relationships and family connections during crisis and is an equal match for other survival stories like Hatchet and My Side of the Mountain. If you like survival tales, this novel is a must read. Set in Florida, it's a Sunshine State book you'll long remember after the last page. It might make you want to stare at a star-studded night sky and quietly reflect on your own, when you picture Ben leaving young Gerry on an isolated island with Dylan dying.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
The Mailbox by Audrey Shafer
The Mailbox by Audrey Shafer, a first-time novelist, is 21 chapters and 178 pages that will touch your heart about a Vietnam vet, Vernon Culligan, who fought three times for his country and came home to live the remainder of his life as a recluse, dead to his community before he passed. It's a Sunshine State book. The main character, Gabe Culligan Pace, lost his mother at a tender age and after a series of foster homes that never worked, ended up living with his Uncle Vernon. This is a middle-school novel published by Yearling, an imprint of Random House. English, language arts, or reading teachers can teach figurative language, the flashback technique, and connections using the novel. Social studies or history teachers can teach about the Vietnam War's aftermath to vets and connections as well. It's a rich story for teaching caring and compassion for the elderly as well as those who gave their lives for our country.
How would you feel if you returned from school to find your uncle's body? Gabe loses his Uncle Vernon to a heart attack, and a secret stranger becomes a friend through mailbox notes. His uncle's body disappears, and a dog named Guppy is left. He comes home from school one day to find his uncle's body. The next day, the body is gone. Another day, he comes home and finds a large black dog that befriends him.
He has a special English teacher, and a best friend named Webber, whose mother bakes the best pies. He and Webber would love to be brothers. Gabe does his best living alone and writes an essay about his beloved uncle. The situations he encounters along his journey and the ending of this novel will melt hearts and make people think twice about how the men who fight for our freedom are treated upon their return. Smitty, Gabe's mailbox friend, has good reason to hide from the world. He served in Vietnam with Vernon, and though Gabe never meets him in person until the end of the book, he comes to care about him through note correspondence and realizes he's a true, valued friend.
Will Gabe have to return to a foster home when the police and child services discover he's living alone? His social worker Maria Rodriguez visits. What's going to happen to Gabe since his only living relative is gone? He's too young to live on his own, though he's been keeping the place tidy, paying bills, and taking care of Guppy, his treasured companion. ISBN: 978-0-440-42134-4, paperback, $6.50 US, $7.99 CAN.
How would you feel if you returned from school to find your uncle's body? Gabe loses his Uncle Vernon to a heart attack, and a secret stranger becomes a friend through mailbox notes. His uncle's body disappears, and a dog named Guppy is left. He comes home from school one day to find his uncle's body. The next day, the body is gone. Another day, he comes home and finds a large black dog that befriends him.
He has a special English teacher, and a best friend named Webber, whose mother bakes the best pies. He and Webber would love to be brothers. Gabe does his best living alone and writes an essay about his beloved uncle. The situations he encounters along his journey and the ending of this novel will melt hearts and make people think twice about how the men who fight for our freedom are treated upon their return. Smitty, Gabe's mailbox friend, has good reason to hide from the world. He served in Vietnam with Vernon, and though Gabe never meets him in person until the end of the book, he comes to care about him through note correspondence and realizes he's a true, valued friend.
Will Gabe have to return to a foster home when the police and child services discover he's living alone? His social worker Maria Rodriguez visits. What's going to happen to Gabe since his only living relative is gone? He's too young to live on his own, though he's been keeping the place tidy, paying bills, and taking care of Guppy, his treasured companion. ISBN: 978-0-440-42134-4, paperback, $6.50 US, $7.99 CAN.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Deceit by Brandilyn Collins
Deceit by Brandilyn Collins is 62 chapters and 314 pages of riveting suspense. I didn't want to put this novel down. Published by Zondervan, copyright 2010, skip tracer Joanne Weeks is determined to make Baxter Jackson pay for her best friend's death, especially when his second wife is killed, and he collects a huge insurance policy. Linda, his first wife was Joanne's best friend, and she trusted her with a secret she shouldn't have kept, when she showed Joanne the bruises of abuse.
Linda and Baxter adopt a sixteen year old foster daughter, Melissa, and Linda thinks her presence will help, that her husband won't abuse her with a daughter in the house. But, it only gets worse, not better. The girl plays a game that ruins their lives when Linda decides to find out if her suspicions are right. And, they are.
With excellent visualization and characterization, this full-length novel will keep you on the edge of your seats and as Brandilyn says, it's a "Seatbelt Suspense", well written and well structured. It's a tale that vividly demonstrates just how much appearances can be deceiving as Linda hides her abuse and bruises to protect the man she loves and his reputation, while Melissa thinks her a wimp.
Baxter flings his life away when he forgets how much of a saint his wife is and turns elsewhere. He's a fine, church-going man, or so his friends think, since he sits in church each Sunday morning and Amens the preacher's sermon. And his best friend is the police chief. His personality proves just how deceiving appearances can be, as he drips graciousness until he's behind closed doors with his wife. Then, he's an entirely different character, one you wouldn't want to meet. His words don't gush out smooth and buttery with honey at home. Instead, they are cold and uncaring, and he allows the control freak he is to come out in all his glory, as he uses his wife for a punching bag to feed his ego.
When a hooded man warns Joanne that Melissa saw Baxter kill Linda, the wheels start spinning, so seatbelt yourself down for an exhilarating ride and find out just how important self control and loyalty really are. Melissa, a greedy teen, disappears, and Joanne's life depends on finding her. Will she locate her in time? This story ends with an unexpected twist and layers your mind. Baxter had deceit on his, but Joanne has Linda on hers. It's thought-provoking, to say the least. Look for Brandilyn's Deceit at online bookstores such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble, or check out Zondervan. ISBN: 978-0-310-32879-7.
Linda and Baxter adopt a sixteen year old foster daughter, Melissa, and Linda thinks her presence will help, that her husband won't abuse her with a daughter in the house. But, it only gets worse, not better. The girl plays a game that ruins their lives when Linda decides to find out if her suspicions are right. And, they are.
With excellent visualization and characterization, this full-length novel will keep you on the edge of your seats and as Brandilyn says, it's a "Seatbelt Suspense", well written and well structured. It's a tale that vividly demonstrates just how much appearances can be deceiving as Linda hides her abuse and bruises to protect the man she loves and his reputation, while Melissa thinks her a wimp.
Baxter flings his life away when he forgets how much of a saint his wife is and turns elsewhere. He's a fine, church-going man, or so his friends think, since he sits in church each Sunday morning and Amens the preacher's sermon. And his best friend is the police chief. His personality proves just how deceiving appearances can be, as he drips graciousness until he's behind closed doors with his wife. Then, he's an entirely different character, one you wouldn't want to meet. His words don't gush out smooth and buttery with honey at home. Instead, they are cold and uncaring, and he allows the control freak he is to come out in all his glory, as he uses his wife for a punching bag to feed his ego.
When a hooded man warns Joanne that Melissa saw Baxter kill Linda, the wheels start spinning, so seatbelt yourself down for an exhilarating ride and find out just how important self control and loyalty really are. Melissa, a greedy teen, disappears, and Joanne's life depends on finding her. Will she locate her in time? This story ends with an unexpected twist and layers your mind. Baxter had deceit on his, but Joanne has Linda on hers. It's thought-provoking, to say the least. Look for Brandilyn's Deceit at online bookstores such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble, or check out Zondervan. ISBN: 978-0-310-32879-7.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
not a sparrow falls by Linda Nichols
Will Birdie fall?
not a sparrow falls by Linda Nichols is a 350 page awesome read published by Bethany House. From an empty shell of a life living with a drugged-out boyfriend, Mary Bridget Washburn becomes Birdie, takes on her mother's identity, and escapes to a small town.On the bus, the money she took from Jonas, so she could begin a new drug-free life, is stolen, and she's left to find work in a small-town grocery.
In a decades old church as she seeks sanctuary, a young girl's plea captures her heart and connects her to the local reverend. With a tainted past that opens her eyes, Birdie has insight and wisdom that she uses to help the pastor's family. His first wife died and left many unanswered questions, but journals discovered in the attic allow the young daughter she left behind to understand and know her mother. When Birdie discovers the hidden journals while looking for Christmas decorations, the teen takes them and asks her to read them with her. Behind the girl's behind door in privacy, Birdie helps her discover her mother as she reads entry after entry, and they devour every single journal, pictures, scrapes of material, and all.
Meanwhile, Birdie keeps an eye on her ex by checking a site on the computer to be sure he's still imprisoned, but her once empty life becomes so full that she carelessly stops. He is released from prison and tracks her down. He wants his money and his brain back.
Her new life becomes unraveled when he finds her, ranting about how she stole his brain. In the end, he realizes it was his heart, she took, not his brain. His drug-crazed frenzy takes Birdie home, but not in the way she hoped. With a gun to her head, she's forced to bring this demon into the house with her beloved grandma, who's a force to be reckoned with.
She provides Jonas with a story about who he's named after, Jonah in the Bible, and brings him out of his drug-induced stupor long enough to claim his attention. She says, "The Lord called Jonah, but instead of obeying, he run off from the presence of the Lord. Just like you're doing."
Birdie can hardly believe her ears, when Jonas blinks and responds, "Yes, ma'am." Grandma brings a memory of Vacation Bible School back to him, and he hangs his head.
"Don't you fall asleep while I'm talking to you," Granny rebukes. She tells him it's not too late to call upon the Lord, and he almost knocks over his chair, tells Birdie she's killing him, bolts out the door to his Plymouth and drives out of their lives.
Will he return to demand Birdie find the money she took once his drugged mind settles? Will the pastor and his family welcome Birdie back into their lives like a lost sheep, or will she remain the black sheep of the family she thought of herself as being? Can there be a future with the reverend and his family? Will his church be taken from him? Can he find the strength to start over? This novel holds the answers to these questions as well as many life-altering ones and would be a good read for young women, since it showcases how Birdie was pulled down in life with a drug addict boyfriend and how hard escaping that life was. It also conveys the problems of ministry when the flock wants a new preacher. What truly happened to the pastor's first wife? The deadly secret is revealed in her journals.
Don't miss not a sparrow falls. Look for it at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com as well as many online bookstores. It's forty-two chapters that'll keep you on the edge of your seat and open doors to other worlds.
not a sparrow falls by Linda Nichols is a 350 page awesome read published by Bethany House. From an empty shell of a life living with a drugged-out boyfriend, Mary Bridget Washburn becomes Birdie, takes on her mother's identity, and escapes to a small town.On the bus, the money she took from Jonas, so she could begin a new drug-free life, is stolen, and she's left to find work in a small-town grocery.
In a decades old church as she seeks sanctuary, a young girl's plea captures her heart and connects her to the local reverend. With a tainted past that opens her eyes, Birdie has insight and wisdom that she uses to help the pastor's family. His first wife died and left many unanswered questions, but journals discovered in the attic allow the young daughter she left behind to understand and know her mother. When Birdie discovers the hidden journals while looking for Christmas decorations, the teen takes them and asks her to read them with her. Behind the girl's behind door in privacy, Birdie helps her discover her mother as she reads entry after entry, and they devour every single journal, pictures, scrapes of material, and all.
Meanwhile, Birdie keeps an eye on her ex by checking a site on the computer to be sure he's still imprisoned, but her once empty life becomes so full that she carelessly stops. He is released from prison and tracks her down. He wants his money and his brain back.
Her new life becomes unraveled when he finds her, ranting about how she stole his brain. In the end, he realizes it was his heart, she took, not his brain. His drug-crazed frenzy takes Birdie home, but not in the way she hoped. With a gun to her head, she's forced to bring this demon into the house with her beloved grandma, who's a force to be reckoned with.
She provides Jonas with a story about who he's named after, Jonah in the Bible, and brings him out of his drug-induced stupor long enough to claim his attention. She says, "The Lord called Jonah, but instead of obeying, he run off from the presence of the Lord. Just like you're doing."
Birdie can hardly believe her ears, when Jonas blinks and responds, "Yes, ma'am." Grandma brings a memory of Vacation Bible School back to him, and he hangs his head.
"Don't you fall asleep while I'm talking to you," Granny rebukes. She tells him it's not too late to call upon the Lord, and he almost knocks over his chair, tells Birdie she's killing him, bolts out the door to his Plymouth and drives out of their lives.
Will he return to demand Birdie find the money she took once his drugged mind settles? Will the pastor and his family welcome Birdie back into their lives like a lost sheep, or will she remain the black sheep of the family she thought of herself as being? Can there be a future with the reverend and his family? Will his church be taken from him? Can he find the strength to start over? This novel holds the answers to these questions as well as many life-altering ones and would be a good read for young women, since it showcases how Birdie was pulled down in life with a drug addict boyfriend and how hard escaping that life was. It also conveys the problems of ministry when the flock wants a new preacher. What truly happened to the pastor's first wife? The deadly secret is revealed in her journals.
Don't miss not a sparrow falls. Look for it at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com as well as many online bookstores. It's forty-two chapters that'll keep you on the edge of your seat and open doors to other worlds.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Sunrise: Will the sun rise for Dayne, Cody, and John?
Sunrise by Karen Kingsbury is 301 pages and 27 chapters of living life and having faith published by Tyndale House in 2007. Dayne Matthews, a Hollywood movie star, rebuilds faith and relationships after a critical injury while being chased by the paparazzi. He finds the love of his life in Katy Har. This novel is an excellent read for teens and adults alike.
As it weaves a beautiful love story, it also teaches life lessons about drinking and watching out for boys who are players. I was hooked from the first chapter when a teen house guest of the Flanigans, Cody Coleman, is found nearly dead by alcohol poisoning. The ramifications of teen drinking impact the family, and Cody must make a choice--alcohol or the supportive Flanigan family.
Dayne and Katy must fight for a private life of their own as they plan their wedding without Hollywood, an outdoor wedding. Dayne makes it known he believes in God and credits him with his accomplishments in both acting and surviving the fast-paced rollercoaster world of Hollywood, and healing from his accident. He longs for a simpler life style and a home and family.
John Baxter deals with the death of his wife Elizabeth and must learn how to blend the past and present when his friendship with Elaine becomes important to him. Will his children accept her? Can he love again?
There's also a chapter on the importance of not pushing kids too hard in sports and allowing them to enjoy the fun and sportsmanship of the game. Flawed characters face difficult circumstances and find that God sees them through. I truly enjoyed Sunrise. Find it at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com. Discussion questions at the end of the book provide the possibility of using the book as a study group. Connect with Karen Kingsbury over Facebook
As it weaves a beautiful love story, it also teaches life lessons about drinking and watching out for boys who are players. I was hooked from the first chapter when a teen house guest of the Flanigans, Cody Coleman, is found nearly dead by alcohol poisoning. The ramifications of teen drinking impact the family, and Cody must make a choice--alcohol or the supportive Flanigan family.
Dayne and Katy must fight for a private life of their own as they plan their wedding without Hollywood, an outdoor wedding. Dayne makes it known he believes in God and credits him with his accomplishments in both acting and surviving the fast-paced rollercoaster world of Hollywood, and healing from his accident. He longs for a simpler life style and a home and family.
John Baxter deals with the death of his wife Elizabeth and must learn how to blend the past and present when his friendship with Elaine becomes important to him. Will his children accept her? Can he love again?
There's also a chapter on the importance of not pushing kids too hard in sports and allowing them to enjoy the fun and sportsmanship of the game. Flawed characters face difficult circumstances and find that God sees them through. I truly enjoyed Sunrise. Find it at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com. Discussion questions at the end of the book provide the possibility of using the book as a study group. Connect with Karen Kingsbury over Facebook
Sunday, May 9, 2010
This Fine Life--Which Life is the True Fine Life?
This Fine Life by Eva Marie Everson, published by Revell, copyright 2010, is a top-notch, five-star novel comparable to Lynn Austin's All She Ever Wanted. It's my favorite novel by the author. Last year's Things Left Unspoken was a great Southern novel, but this one outshines it.
Mariette Puttnam graduates boarding school in 1959 used to a privileged life, unsure of plans for her future. She figures she'll enjoy her summer and decide if she should opt for a career and more schooling to please her father, or marry into the right social family to make her mother happy. None of those options feel right. Something's missing, and she finds him, Thayne Scott, working as a mail clerk in her father's factory. They fall in love and can't bear to be apart, though her mother and father forbid the relationship.
Though she's attended church all her life, Mariette lacks a personal relationship with God, but Thayne talks to Him in his church in the woods and decides to go into ministry. Mariette always feels she's "on the outside looking in" and doesn't really belong. She can't bake pies and fry chicken, which seem to be main requirements for a preacher's wife. She can't answer Thayne's question about where she stands with God; yet, she's supposed to be a preacher's wife.
Through the hardships of his first ministry, Thayne promises her he'll be able to provide her a fine life one day. But, she must endure snobby busybodies in the small town where he receives his first assignment, and they can't even have a husband and wife disagreement in private.
Journey with a young woman destined to become a preacher's wife, as she endures the loss of her firstborn, a daughter they name Rachel, and her second birth of a son named Gabe, when she learns how to talk to God in earnest. Discover the joys of a simple life with her. When she moves into their first real home, a guest cottage for the small-town preacher, Mariette throws herself into making the place a home and redecorates until she depletes the bank account. She moves to Logan's Creek and hates the place, where she has no friends or family, and no television or phone until her mother sends someone to install one and gifts them with a color set for Christmas. Still, they can't enjoy the present because they can't afford an antenna.
This is the story of a young woman who grows, develops a personal relatonship with God through her struggles, and matures during her small-town journey as she finds ways to keep herself busy in a town so tiny it doesn't even have a library. She devours books and must depend on her mother to keep her stocked. When her husband is offered his second assignment, they have an opportunity to have the fine life he promised her in the form of a two-story brick home with five bedrooms and three baths, and she can finally escape Logan's Creek. Which life will they choose? Will it be the true fine life? Can Mariette ever really make a preacher's wife, or will she remain one in name only?
If you love Southern novels, you'll find this one awesome. I didn't want to put it down. Eva Marie Everson evokes feelings as she tugs at a reader's heart and mind. I laughed, and I cried, both requirements of a five-star novel. If the book doesn't make me feel for the characters, it hasn't accomplished its goal, and it's not for me. I love character-driven Southern novels like this one. Grab it today at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com. You'll be glad you did. Sip sweet tea and taste this novel. Don't think I've told you everything; I saved the best twists and surprises for your own journey. This novel is realistic because the characters are so real-to-life.
About the Author: Eva Marie Everson is an award-winning author, writing mentor for the Christian Writers Guild, and a popular and gifted speaker and radio personality.
Visit Eva at her beautiful, inspiring Website http://www.evamarieeverson.com/ or her blog at http://evamarieeverson.blogspot.com/.
Mariette Puttnam graduates boarding school in 1959 used to a privileged life, unsure of plans for her future. She figures she'll enjoy her summer and decide if she should opt for a career and more schooling to please her father, or marry into the right social family to make her mother happy. None of those options feel right. Something's missing, and she finds him, Thayne Scott, working as a mail clerk in her father's factory. They fall in love and can't bear to be apart, though her mother and father forbid the relationship.
Though she's attended church all her life, Mariette lacks a personal relationship with God, but Thayne talks to Him in his church in the woods and decides to go into ministry. Mariette always feels she's "on the outside looking in" and doesn't really belong. She can't bake pies and fry chicken, which seem to be main requirements for a preacher's wife. She can't answer Thayne's question about where she stands with God; yet, she's supposed to be a preacher's wife.
Through the hardships of his first ministry, Thayne promises her he'll be able to provide her a fine life one day. But, she must endure snobby busybodies in the small town where he receives his first assignment, and they can't even have a husband and wife disagreement in private.
Journey with a young woman destined to become a preacher's wife, as she endures the loss of her firstborn, a daughter they name Rachel, and her second birth of a son named Gabe, when she learns how to talk to God in earnest. Discover the joys of a simple life with her. When she moves into their first real home, a guest cottage for the small-town preacher, Mariette throws herself into making the place a home and redecorates until she depletes the bank account. She moves to Logan's Creek and hates the place, where she has no friends or family, and no television or phone until her mother sends someone to install one and gifts them with a color set for Christmas. Still, they can't enjoy the present because they can't afford an antenna.
This is the story of a young woman who grows, develops a personal relatonship with God through her struggles, and matures during her small-town journey as she finds ways to keep herself busy in a town so tiny it doesn't even have a library. She devours books and must depend on her mother to keep her stocked. When her husband is offered his second assignment, they have an opportunity to have the fine life he promised her in the form of a two-story brick home with five bedrooms and three baths, and she can finally escape Logan's Creek. Which life will they choose? Will it be the true fine life? Can Mariette ever really make a preacher's wife, or will she remain one in name only?
If you love Southern novels, you'll find this one awesome. I didn't want to put it down. Eva Marie Everson evokes feelings as she tugs at a reader's heart and mind. I laughed, and I cried, both requirements of a five-star novel. If the book doesn't make me feel for the characters, it hasn't accomplished its goal, and it's not for me. I love character-driven Southern novels like this one. Grab it today at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com. You'll be glad you did. Sip sweet tea and taste this novel. Don't think I've told you everything; I saved the best twists and surprises for your own journey. This novel is realistic because the characters are so real-to-life.
About the Author: Eva Marie Everson is an award-winning author, writing mentor for the Christian Writers Guild, and a popular and gifted speaker and radio personality.
Visit Eva at her beautiful, inspiring Website http://www.evamarieeverson.com/ or her blog at http://evamarieeverson.blogspot.com/.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
The Walk by Richard Paul Evans
The Walk by Richard Paul Evans, published by Simon & Schuster, copyright 2010 is a beautiful hardbound book of 289 pages and 37 chapters, along with a prologue and epilogue. It's the first novel in a series, and I guarantee you don't want to miss it. I started reading The Walk Monday and completed it on Wednesday evening. I didn't want to put it down. The novel is spun in first person and hooked me. I cried. I felt. I identified. And, I was touched. A nature lover myself, I enjoyed the descriptions of woods and mountains the main character, Alan, travels through on his walkabout to Key West, Florida. The book is vivid with descriptions and offers a well-told story of true love, loss, pain, and heartache.
Alan goes from having everything a man could want, expensive cars, luxury home, beautiful furniture, his own successful business, and a beautiful love-of-his-life wife, McKale to a widower and a jobless, homeless wanderer in a short period of time. When he loses his beloved, Alan doesn't want to live and feels there's nothing left, but she made him promise to live. His heart is stabbed with grief and guilt because she asked him to call in sick and stay home with her the day of her accident, but he had an important business deal he couldn't miss. She'd planned a surprise weekend and promised he'd never forget it. Instead, he got a shocking surprise he'd never forget, and he learned the dearest lesson in life--people are more important than things. Without his best friend and wife to share them, material objects mean nothing.
Heartsick, Alan strikes out to walk to Key West, Florida, and encounters people along his journey of life. He discovers that none of those expensive "things" he worked so hard to earn mean anything without McKale. They'd been young and in a hurry to possess it all. She'd wanted children, but he'd talked her into waiting until they were secure. Another twinge of guilt pricks his heart. Now, she's gone, and he'll never father the children she wanted.
This is an inspirational, spiritual story with an out-of-body experience a wise old woman shares with Alan at a bed and breakfast. He crosses the path of a lady in distress and helps her, but turns down the ride she offers. He faces a gang, and on the brink of death, realizes he wants to live. Will the lady in distress turn out to be an angel? This novel illustrates how suddenly life can change, in the blink of an eye, by careless choices and decisions. It teaches not to rely on the assumption of tomorrow; there may not be one.
I felt as though I walked the journey with Alan, in his shoes. If I hadn't had to work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I'd have completed this book in one day. I hated to put it aside to leave for work in the morning, and I grabbed it to complete it when I returned home. It will touch your heart and grip your soul. Get your copy from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com. Visit the author on Facebook and follow his fan page to keep abreast of this series. Personally, I can't wait for the next one. This novel has hit the New York Times bestseller list for three weeks in a row! I give it 5 stars. I cried with Alan through his journey of betrayal and loss, enjoyed woods and mountains with him, and found renewed hope through his walk. He is the author of The Christmas Box and all 14 of his novels have made the bestseller list!
Alan goes from having everything a man could want, expensive cars, luxury home, beautiful furniture, his own successful business, and a beautiful love-of-his-life wife, McKale to a widower and a jobless, homeless wanderer in a short period of time. When he loses his beloved, Alan doesn't want to live and feels there's nothing left, but she made him promise to live. His heart is stabbed with grief and guilt because she asked him to call in sick and stay home with her the day of her accident, but he had an important business deal he couldn't miss. She'd planned a surprise weekend and promised he'd never forget it. Instead, he got a shocking surprise he'd never forget, and he learned the dearest lesson in life--people are more important than things. Without his best friend and wife to share them, material objects mean nothing.
Heartsick, Alan strikes out to walk to Key West, Florida, and encounters people along his journey of life. He discovers that none of those expensive "things" he worked so hard to earn mean anything without McKale. They'd been young and in a hurry to possess it all. She'd wanted children, but he'd talked her into waiting until they were secure. Another twinge of guilt pricks his heart. Now, she's gone, and he'll never father the children she wanted.
This is an inspirational, spiritual story with an out-of-body experience a wise old woman shares with Alan at a bed and breakfast. He crosses the path of a lady in distress and helps her, but turns down the ride she offers. He faces a gang, and on the brink of death, realizes he wants to live. Will the lady in distress turn out to be an angel? This novel illustrates how suddenly life can change, in the blink of an eye, by careless choices and decisions. It teaches not to rely on the assumption of tomorrow; there may not be one.
I felt as though I walked the journey with Alan, in his shoes. If I hadn't had to work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I'd have completed this book in one day. I hated to put it aside to leave for work in the morning, and I grabbed it to complete it when I returned home. It will touch your heart and grip your soul. Get your copy from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com. Visit the author on Facebook and follow his fan page to keep abreast of this series. Personally, I can't wait for the next one. This novel has hit the New York Times bestseller list for three weeks in a row! I give it 5 stars. I cried with Alan through his journey of betrayal and loss, enjoyed woods and mountains with him, and found renewed hope through his walk. He is the author of The Christmas Box and all 14 of his novels have made the bestseller list!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Mighty Inspiration: Love Letters From God by Barbara Bernard Miller
Mighty Inspiration: Love Letters From God by Barbara Bernard Miller, a beautiful, hardcover book, is a powerful 15 chapters and 115 pages published by Eloquent Books of New York, copyright 2009. I could actually feel God's presence as I read this amazing book, written as though God is speaking to you, and He is through the words He instructed Barbara to write.
Chapter 3 on Gifts is an encouraging, thought-provoking one. The first lesson is to choose your gifts correctly--for the good of mankind, see God in everything you do, and send Him your cares and worries, so He will send you peace and joy.
Barbara writes with such intensity that you become lost in the words and feel God's presence. At least, I did as I read. Chapter 4 on Joy reveals how all things, even tragic and sad events, provide an opportunity to become closer to God. She never uses the word God in the book and uses only capitalized pronouns like He I, or Me, so I substitute God or Jesus as I read. The book explains why God doesn't prevent all things from happening, because if He did so, He'd take away CHOICE. Choice provides growth and development. This chapter says that learning is lifelong and knowledge is the cornerstone for development. As the book says, "Teach as you learn, and you will be doubly blessed. Seek Me."
Chapter 5 is about passion and reminds me of my passions of reading, writing, and teaching. It says, "Your passion for your gifts will give them power and sustain them in your life." It goes on to explain how we've been given passion for some things and not for others, so our gifts will grow, develop, and be used. According to this chapter, the mind is for imagination and reasoning, and the heart is for passion and belief. Ideas sprout in the mind, but they must be planted in the heart and can only blossom there. God gave us so much power when He gave us the power of CHOICE, but many times we do not realize how powerful choice can be. We do not have the power to change others, but we have the freedom of choice to change ourselves by changing how we think, act, and react. We need our quiet time for reflection. I know this personally, and I value those quiet moments with God and time to pause and reflect. "I weave My messages into the hearts and minds of those who will reach out to Me. They pass the message along throughout the world in those momentary touches with other lives." In this way, we all have the power to make a true difference in the world.
As I read about God's message being woven into minds and hearts, I was reminded of using a weaving loom as a young girl and how carefully I had to weave the brightly-colored yarn to make a product, to make a difference, to make something that would benefit and withstand. As a farmer tills the soil and adds fertilizer to make the ground fertile, we must till our minds and fertilize them with God's Word. Only then, will we experience real, true peace and joy. Only then, can we truly make a real difference.
Won't you let this powerful book speak to you, so you can feel God's love and mercy? It's available at online bookstores, such as Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com, and it has the power between the covers to make a difference in your life, which can ripple through other lives and make a true difference in our world. Check out the reviews. I feel blessed for having read this riveting book, and I pray it will bless many others as it has me. It is also available at www.mightyinspiration.com. Barbara is on Facebook, so you can connect with her there.
About the Author:
Barbara Bernard Miller is a writer and Human Resource Manager for a large corporation. She lives with her two children in Cincinnati, Ohio. This is her first book, and her personal wish for blessings to all who read it and take its message to heart.
Chapter 3 on Gifts is an encouraging, thought-provoking one. The first lesson is to choose your gifts correctly--for the good of mankind, see God in everything you do, and send Him your cares and worries, so He will send you peace and joy.
Barbara writes with such intensity that you become lost in the words and feel God's presence. At least, I did as I read. Chapter 4 on Joy reveals how all things, even tragic and sad events, provide an opportunity to become closer to God. She never uses the word God in the book and uses only capitalized pronouns like He I, or Me, so I substitute God or Jesus as I read. The book explains why God doesn't prevent all things from happening, because if He did so, He'd take away CHOICE. Choice provides growth and development. This chapter says that learning is lifelong and knowledge is the cornerstone for development. As the book says, "Teach as you learn, and you will be doubly blessed. Seek Me."
Chapter 5 is about passion and reminds me of my passions of reading, writing, and teaching. It says, "Your passion for your gifts will give them power and sustain them in your life." It goes on to explain how we've been given passion for some things and not for others, so our gifts will grow, develop, and be used. According to this chapter, the mind is for imagination and reasoning, and the heart is for passion and belief. Ideas sprout in the mind, but they must be planted in the heart and can only blossom there. God gave us so much power when He gave us the power of CHOICE, but many times we do not realize how powerful choice can be. We do not have the power to change others, but we have the freedom of choice to change ourselves by changing how we think, act, and react. We need our quiet time for reflection. I know this personally, and I value those quiet moments with God and time to pause and reflect. "I weave My messages into the hearts and minds of those who will reach out to Me. They pass the message along throughout the world in those momentary touches with other lives." In this way, we all have the power to make a true difference in the world.
As I read about God's message being woven into minds and hearts, I was reminded of using a weaving loom as a young girl and how carefully I had to weave the brightly-colored yarn to make a product, to make a difference, to make something that would benefit and withstand. As a farmer tills the soil and adds fertilizer to make the ground fertile, we must till our minds and fertilize them with God's Word. Only then, will we experience real, true peace and joy. Only then, can we truly make a real difference.
Won't you let this powerful book speak to you, so you can feel God's love and mercy? It's available at online bookstores, such as Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com, and it has the power between the covers to make a difference in your life, which can ripple through other lives and make a true difference in our world. Check out the reviews. I feel blessed for having read this riveting book, and I pray it will bless many others as it has me. It is also available at www.mightyinspiration.com. Barbara is on Facebook, so you can connect with her there.
About the Author:
Barbara Bernard Miller is a writer and Human Resource Manager for a large corporation. She lives with her two children in Cincinnati, Ohio. This is her first book, and her personal wish for blessings to all who read it and take its message to heart.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Things Left Unspoken by Eva Marie Everson
Eva Marie Everson served as my writing mentor for three years when I was a student in the Christian Writers Guild. She mentored me through both the Apprentice and the Journeyman levels of the courses. I am proud to call her my writing mentor, and I can truly say I learned much from her as well as from my American Christian Fiction Writer (ACFW) critique group members, Karen O'Connor, also a writing instructor, and Tracy Ruckman, an edtior. I also took a dialogue course with Eva through Tracy's company. I feel God placed all these people in my life to help me on my writing journey, and I am eternally grateful to each and every single one of them. Cynthia Hickey was a most active ACFW critique partner. And, I don't want to forget Janet Eckles, a dear friend, who though blind, still critiques for friends and has more insight than many sighted people. I hope you enjoy the review, but more importantly, I hope you enjoy THINGS LEFT UNSPOKEN and watch for Eva Marie Everson's upcoming Cedar Key series of three novels. There is an entry about Cedar Key, if you scroll down. Also, there's a detailed review of a newly released novel by Michael J. Sullivan, Necessary Heartbreak, and you don't want to miss that one either!
Things Left Unspoken
Author: Eva Marie Everson
Reviewer: Barbara J. Robinson
http://barbarajrobinson.blogspot.com/
Five Stars
To Purchase: Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble (See reviews there also)
Things Left Unspoken by Eva Marie Everson is three hundred and eighty-one pages of pure Southern delight. The novel allows the reader to adventure through life, romance, true love, wisdom gained with age and life experiences, dealing with life’s curve balls, conflicts of love and life, heartaches that make us stronger, and God’s fingerprints on our lives to make us the people He wants us to become. If you enjoy Southern fiction, you’ll love this novel. I devoured it in a couple of days.
Jo Lynn Hunter and her Aunt Stella make it women’s fiction. Jo Lynn deals with current marriage problems and feels she’s not at home in the life her husband has chosen for them. Something is missing and leaves her feeling empty inside. At life’s crossroads, she takes on a project to rebuild an old Southern family home and finds herself restored in the process. Family secrets reveal their ugly challenges and place Jo Lynn in extreme danger. She rises to the challenge and refuses to be chased from her project of love.
Aunt Stella illustrates true love and the wisdom of ripe old age. Valentine, her teenage love, grows into a wise elderly man, who declares if the foundation is strong, anything can be rebuilt. Jo Lynn learns the secrets of the past and the treasures for a happy future, even as she learns some things are best left unspoken.
Things Left Unspoken
Author: Eva Marie Everson
Reviewer: Barbara J. Robinson
http://barbarajrobinson.blogspot.com/
Five Stars
To Purchase: Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble (See reviews there also)
Things Left Unspoken by Eva Marie Everson is three hundred and eighty-one pages of pure Southern delight. The novel allows the reader to adventure through life, romance, true love, wisdom gained with age and life experiences, dealing with life’s curve balls, conflicts of love and life, heartaches that make us stronger, and God’s fingerprints on our lives to make us the people He wants us to become. If you enjoy Southern fiction, you’ll love this novel. I devoured it in a couple of days.
Jo Lynn Hunter and her Aunt Stella make it women’s fiction. Jo Lynn deals with current marriage problems and feels she’s not at home in the life her husband has chosen for them. Something is missing and leaves her feeling empty inside. At life’s crossroads, she takes on a project to rebuild an old Southern family home and finds herself restored in the process. Family secrets reveal their ugly challenges and place Jo Lynn in extreme danger. She rises to the challenge and refuses to be chased from her project of love.
Aunt Stella illustrates true love and the wisdom of ripe old age. Valentine, her teenage love, grows into a wise elderly man, who declares if the foundation is strong, anything can be rebuilt. Jo Lynn learns the secrets of the past and the treasures for a happy future, even as she learns some things are best left unspoken.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
How Does Your Writing Flow?
I long to write with a perfect view and sweet peace and quite in an unrushed space of time, so I can get my thoughts and feelings down on paper and later refine them. I notice POV shifts as I read now, so I realize I’ve made progress as a writer. God gave me a season of growth, and I used it to learn.
With the spring renewal, I feel ready to burst forth and rise on the writing scene, like a new green shoot sprouts from the cold, barren earth. Lord willing, my writing time has come. Lord willing, I’ll soon be able to tie together the three great passions of my life, reading, writing, and teaching.
Once so motivated, I put my thoughts and feelings in storage, on hold, for quite some time, but I feel it’s time I unlock them and let them do the work God intended. He gave me these three passions and heart’s desires for a reason, and I want to glorify Him with them. I pray for God’s guidance and direction and for Him to show me how to burst forth on the writing scene in the right way to glorify Him in all His glory and lead others to come to know, believe in, and trust Him as I do. God, please show me how to reach and touch the hearts and minds of readers.
Lord, I long for days of writing that will make a true difference. Lord, please lift me as a person, a human being, a writer, and a reader, so I may glorify You through my work and all I do. In Jesus’s name, I pray. AMEN.
How do I write? With Jesus as my sweet companion. I must have time for deep thought and silence for reflection, for I hear him whisper to me in the quietness of an early morning. I’m a morning person and do my best writing in the wee hours. I need to be isolated with nothing but God as my companion and sweet peace and quiet when I write fiction. I can write timed writings in any place and any time, but for deep thought processing, I need my quiet time. However, I'm not spinning my wheels, or rather spinning my blue pen when I time write, because I always find some nuggets of gold to pull out and refine. In fact, some of my best writing has come from quick writes, when I'm focusing on getting my thoughts and ideas down on paper and just letting the writing flow and come what may. This is a technique I learned from author Natalie Goldberg.
My writing space is an L-shaped oak desk with a large picture window overlooking a large back yard with a canal and trees. Sometimes my feathered friends pay me a visit. I can watch squirrels play and listen to the sweetest natural music in the world, the prettiest choir, birds singing their happy tunes. In spring, it sounds like they’re singing, “Easter, Easter, Easter.” Perhaps, they know Jesus has risen, and they’re celebrating.
How do I write–with sweet peace of mind in Jesus, at least for quality writing. How do you write? Describe your writing space and what works best for you.
With the spring renewal, I feel ready to burst forth and rise on the writing scene, like a new green shoot sprouts from the cold, barren earth. Lord willing, my writing time has come. Lord willing, I’ll soon be able to tie together the three great passions of my life, reading, writing, and teaching.
Once so motivated, I put my thoughts and feelings in storage, on hold, for quite some time, but I feel it’s time I unlock them and let them do the work God intended. He gave me these three passions and heart’s desires for a reason, and I want to glorify Him with them. I pray for God’s guidance and direction and for Him to show me how to burst forth on the writing scene in the right way to glorify Him in all His glory and lead others to come to know, believe in, and trust Him as I do. God, please show me how to reach and touch the hearts and minds of readers.
Lord, I long for days of writing that will make a true difference. Lord, please lift me as a person, a human being, a writer, and a reader, so I may glorify You through my work and all I do. In Jesus’s name, I pray. AMEN.
How do I write? With Jesus as my sweet companion. I must have time for deep thought and silence for reflection, for I hear him whisper to me in the quietness of an early morning. I’m a morning person and do my best writing in the wee hours. I need to be isolated with nothing but God as my companion and sweet peace and quiet when I write fiction. I can write timed writings in any place and any time, but for deep thought processing, I need my quiet time. However, I'm not spinning my wheels, or rather spinning my blue pen when I time write, because I always find some nuggets of gold to pull out and refine. In fact, some of my best writing has come from quick writes, when I'm focusing on getting my thoughts and ideas down on paper and just letting the writing flow and come what may. This is a technique I learned from author Natalie Goldberg.
My writing space is an L-shaped oak desk with a large picture window overlooking a large back yard with a canal and trees. Sometimes my feathered friends pay me a visit. I can watch squirrels play and listen to the sweetest natural music in the world, the prettiest choir, birds singing their happy tunes. In spring, it sounds like they’re singing, “Easter, Easter, Easter.” Perhaps, they know Jesus has risen, and they’re celebrating.
How do I write–with sweet peace of mind in Jesus, at least for quality writing. How do you write? Describe your writing space and what works best for you.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
True Hidden Treasures--Finally Completed
I've completed my novel True Hidden Treasures and have an idea for a generational family saga, a series of three. I plan to begin work on a new novel and come back to this one after receiving some additonal feedback. This is not a first draft. I've had the first ten pages professionally critiqued by Christian Writers Guild, and I've had bits and pieces discussed with my writing mentor, Eva Marie Everson, during lessons with the Christian Writers Guild. I've also had Tracy Ruckman edit the first ten or twelve chapters. Perhaps beginning a new novel will provide me with layers for this one when I let it rest and return to it later. Happy writing :)
Thank you, God, for inspiring me to write.
Lord, I long for days of writing that will make a true difference. Lord, please lift me as a person, a human being, a writer, and a reader, so I may glorify You through my work and all I do.
Thank you, God, for inspiring me to write.
Lord, I long for days of writing that will make a true difference. Lord, please lift me as a person, a human being, a writer, and a reader, so I may glorify You through my work and all I do.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Cedar Key, FL
I get off work March 26, 2010, and my husband, Scott, drives us to Cedar Key, Florida, where he rents a cottage at Pirate's Cove for the weekend. He surpised me by phoning and making reversations. I brought along a good read for the trip, Mike J. Sullivan's Necessary Heartbreak, newly released. The review is below this entry. It is the book you see me holding in the picture, and a yellow highlighter is my marker. We stop at Mickey D's on the way, and I try the Mac-rib. Delicious. On the ride, I tell him about my writing mentor, Eva Marie Everson, and how she's writing a series of novels set in Cedar Key.
Our blue cottage greets us with a sliding-glass door view of the bay, beautiful at high tide. An orange tabby cat with a stub tail welcomes us and proves to be a friendly kitty, but Sunflower, my cocker spaniel, scares it until they finally make friends. Sunflower enjoys the sliding-door view like her mother, and she keeps an eye out for the cat who visits the back deck.
Saturday morning, I sip French Vanilla Dunkin Donut coffee and feast on donuts, as I watch a flock of birds fly over from my window-to-the-world glass doors. A small deck juts out from the patio doors and a table invites one to sit and enjoy the view, but I like the swing and the green, green grass underfoot. The wooden frame swing faces the bay. Sweet peace and quiet. Beautiful. A gentle breeze blows the leaves of bushes lining the bank. A large tree overhangs the deck offering shade when it's green, but it sleeps a long winter's nap, and bare arms and stark, skinny fingers loom over the deck. The sun rises in an orange glow as a V of birds fly across the bay. Then, a long line of birds follow and others join in and break the V-formation. The tide's out, and Sunflower enjoys watching the outside view, as she keeps her eyes out for the orange tabby cat pictured on the Internet.
I long to write with a perfect view and sweet peace and quite in an unrushed space of time, so I can get my thoughts and feelings down on paper and later refine them. I notice POV shifts as I read now, so I realize I've made progress as a writer. God gave me a season of growth, and I used it to learn.
With the spring renewal, I feel ready to burst forth and rise on the writing scene, like a new green shoot sprouts from the cold, barren earth. Lord willing, my writing time has come. Lord willing, I'll soon be able to tie together the three great passions of my life, reading, writing, and teaching.
Once so motivated, I put my thoughts and feelings in storage, on hold, for quite some time, but I feel it's time I unlock them and let them do the work God intended. He gave me these three passions and heart's desires for a reason, and I want to glorify Him with them. I pray for God's guidance and direction and for Him to show me how to burst forth on the writing scene in the right way to glorify Him in all His glory and lead others to come to know, believe in, and trust Him as I do. God, please show me how to reach and touch the hearts and minds of readers.
Lord, I long for days of writing that will make a true difference. Lord, please lift me as a person, a human being, a writer, and a reader, so I may glorify You through my work and all I do. In Jesus's name, I pray. AMEN.
Written March 27, 2010, as I watch the outside world and sip coffee.
After coffee and donuts, my husband and I go to the pier, and he fishes while I enjoy the pelicans and Michael J. Sullivan's new release, Necessary Heartbreak. Read the detailed review below. I've had many compliments on it. I began reading it as we drove to Cedar Key Friday evening and completed it as we drove home on Sunday.
Hubby catches fish left and right, and we fish on the pier until 8:00 P.M. The pelicans wait for fish, but don't want catfish. They seem to know when he catches one and keep their distance. But, when he hooks the other fish, they swarm and become beggars. I watch him toss a small fish into one's large beak, and the pelican swallows it whole.
My writing mentor, Eva Marie Everson, is writing a series of three novels set in Cedar Key, and I can't wait to read them. Cedar Key became writing bait for her, and I hope you're hooked on her writing as I am. Visit her at http://evamarieeverson.blogspot.com.
Our blue cottage greets us with a sliding-glass door view of the bay, beautiful at high tide. An orange tabby cat with a stub tail welcomes us and proves to be a friendly kitty, but Sunflower, my cocker spaniel, scares it until they finally make friends. Sunflower enjoys the sliding-door view like her mother, and she keeps an eye out for the cat who visits the back deck.
Saturday morning, I sip French Vanilla Dunkin Donut coffee and feast on donuts, as I watch a flock of birds fly over from my window-to-the-world glass doors. A small deck juts out from the patio doors and a table invites one to sit and enjoy the view, but I like the swing and the green, green grass underfoot. The wooden frame swing faces the bay. Sweet peace and quiet. Beautiful. A gentle breeze blows the leaves of bushes lining the bank. A large tree overhangs the deck offering shade when it's green, but it sleeps a long winter's nap, and bare arms and stark, skinny fingers loom over the deck. The sun rises in an orange glow as a V of birds fly across the bay. Then, a long line of birds follow and others join in and break the V-formation. The tide's out, and Sunflower enjoys watching the outside view, as she keeps her eyes out for the orange tabby cat pictured on the Internet.
I long to write with a perfect view and sweet peace and quite in an unrushed space of time, so I can get my thoughts and feelings down on paper and later refine them. I notice POV shifts as I read now, so I realize I've made progress as a writer. God gave me a season of growth, and I used it to learn.
With the spring renewal, I feel ready to burst forth and rise on the writing scene, like a new green shoot sprouts from the cold, barren earth. Lord willing, my writing time has come. Lord willing, I'll soon be able to tie together the three great passions of my life, reading, writing, and teaching.
Once so motivated, I put my thoughts and feelings in storage, on hold, for quite some time, but I feel it's time I unlock them and let them do the work God intended. He gave me these three passions and heart's desires for a reason, and I want to glorify Him with them. I pray for God's guidance and direction and for Him to show me how to burst forth on the writing scene in the right way to glorify Him in all His glory and lead others to come to know, believe in, and trust Him as I do. God, please show me how to reach and touch the hearts and minds of readers.
Lord, I long for days of writing that will make a true difference. Lord, please lift me as a person, a human being, a writer, and a reader, so I may glorify You through my work and all I do. In Jesus's name, I pray. AMEN.
Written March 27, 2010, as I watch the outside world and sip coffee.
After coffee and donuts, my husband and I go to the pier, and he fishes while I enjoy the pelicans and Michael J. Sullivan's new release, Necessary Heartbreak. Read the detailed review below. I've had many compliments on it. I began reading it as we drove to Cedar Key Friday evening and completed it as we drove home on Sunday.
Hubby catches fish left and right, and we fish on the pier until 8:00 P.M. The pelicans wait for fish, but don't want catfish. They seem to know when he catches one and keep their distance. But, when he hooks the other fish, they swarm and become beggars. I watch him toss a small fish into one's large beak, and the pelican swallows it whole.
My writing mentor, Eva Marie Everson, is writing a series of three novels set in Cedar Key, and I can't wait to read them. Cedar Key became writing bait for her, and I hope you're hooked on her writing as I am. Visit her at http://evamarieeverson.blogspot.com.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Is Heartbreak Necessary?
Necessary Heartbreak by Michael J. Sullivan published by Gallery Books, copyright 2010 is a novel you can't miss. I couldn't put it down once I started reading, since I was hooked from the first chapter. The main characters are a single dad and his daughter, Michael and Elizabeth. Journey with them through life's obstacle course in the world, as we know it today, as well as through first-century Jerusalem. Michael losses two important women in his life, loves of his life, his mother and his wife. Left with his daughter to raise, he strives to do the best he can and vows never to leave her or allow anyone to hurt her. But, in Jerusalem, Roman soldiers threaten to overpower him, and one wants Elizabeth for his wife. She's only 14, not even allowed to kiss, so Michael is determined not to let this solider have his way with his daughter, but can he save her?
While helping the local church with food pantry items, Elizabeth finds a trap door and explores while Michael goes back upstairs for more items. He returns and follows his daughter through the hole in the basement floor to a world that's only existed in the pages of the Bible. After the loss of his mother and living on New York streets homeless, his faith is shaken, but he soon discovers Jesus is real when Jesus looks at him and says, "Heartbreak is necessary for one to understand how great God's gift of time truly is." He asks Michael if he's there to lift his burden, or to help Jesus with his. Then, Jesus informs him that he shouldn't look too far, since his daughter can lift his burden.
Without the help of a beautiful green-eyed lady in Jerusalem, Leah, Michael and his daughter would have been easy prey for the Roman soldiers, but will her help be enough to save Elizabeth from marrying an unknown Roman soldier, or will she be forced to become his wife to save herself and her father?
A novel that truly mixes life's problems of today and blends them with history, this book will enrich your life and soul. It's a pleasurable read I started late on a Friday evening and completed on the following Sunday. And, it deciphers today's teens well, always in a hurry with earbuds tucked in their ears. Parents of today compete with Ipods, cell phones, and electronics for attention. But, Michael and Elizabeth are whisked back in time and history where no electronic gadgets can aid their rescue, and Liz, as she's called by her friends, has to learn to deal with life on a very humble level without her cell phone. She's grateful for her father and never wants him to leave her side. Will their world ever return to normal? If it does, will Leah be a part of it, or will they be forced to leave her to the Roman soldiers? Will heartbreak be necessary for all of them to survive?
Back Cover Material: An extraordinary journey back in time shows a struggling single dad that the faith he's lost is still alive--and stronger than ever . . . . Michael Stewart has weathered his share of hardships: a troubled childhood, the loss of his mother, even the degradation of living on the city streets. Now, he's raising his teenaged daughter, Elizabeth, on his own and doing the best he can at work and at home. But he's turned his back on his faith--that is, until the morning Michael and Elizabeth volunteer for a food pantry at their local church. While storing boxes in the basement, they step through a mysterious door. . . and find themselves in first-century Jerusalem during the tumultuous last week of Jesus Christ's life. It is a dangerous and violent place, where doing what your heart tells you is right can get you imprisoned--or worse--and they are thankful to take refuge with a kind widow. But when they come face-to-face with Judas Iscariot and the condemned Christ himself, Michael realizes that before they can escape Jerusalem, he must experience history's most necessary and shattering heartbreak--and that pain and loss must happen if Michael is to be set free: to live, love, and reclaim the blessings he has in the present day.
About the Author, Michael J. Sullivan: Michael, a sports journalist and author of sports-themed books for children, started the novel decades ago and some of the flashbacks came from that time period. In May 2007, he began to earnestly work to complete Necessary Heartbreak. After the first draft was completed, he acquired an editor. He says he believes there are people who walk the earth who step into your life for reasons, and he had the help of such people in completing his novel, which is based upon his life experiences.
While on vacation in Orlando, Florida, he received a phone call from Simon & Schuster. Their interest was in publishing a revised edition. He found the perfect fit and the support he needed for the trilogy, was placed in the hands of a capable editor, and took a year to write, re-write, revise, and re-write the novel. He thanks his wife for her help and support as well as all others who played a hand in the outcome of its publication. The appendix contains a Reading Group Guide.
Michael lives in New York City and hosts several sports radio shows. He's worked with ESPN and Sporting News. He's a graduate of St. John's University. Visit him at www.whentimeforgets.com. There's also an ebook edition available.
In my humble and honest opinion, this is one of the best books I've read since last summer when I read Lynn Austin's All She Ever Wanted and Chris Fabry's Dogwood. I urge you to grab Necessary Heartbreak for a read you won't soon forget. It's available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.com and hit local bookstores last March 31! If you haven't read it yet, don't miss it on its anniversary!
While helping the local church with food pantry items, Elizabeth finds a trap door and explores while Michael goes back upstairs for more items. He returns and follows his daughter through the hole in the basement floor to a world that's only existed in the pages of the Bible. After the loss of his mother and living on New York streets homeless, his faith is shaken, but he soon discovers Jesus is real when Jesus looks at him and says, "Heartbreak is necessary for one to understand how great God's gift of time truly is." He asks Michael if he's there to lift his burden, or to help Jesus with his. Then, Jesus informs him that he shouldn't look too far, since his daughter can lift his burden.
Without the help of a beautiful green-eyed lady in Jerusalem, Leah, Michael and his daughter would have been easy prey for the Roman soldiers, but will her help be enough to save Elizabeth from marrying an unknown Roman soldier, or will she be forced to become his wife to save herself and her father?
A novel that truly mixes life's problems of today and blends them with history, this book will enrich your life and soul. It's a pleasurable read I started late on a Friday evening and completed on the following Sunday. And, it deciphers today's teens well, always in a hurry with earbuds tucked in their ears. Parents of today compete with Ipods, cell phones, and electronics for attention. But, Michael and Elizabeth are whisked back in time and history where no electronic gadgets can aid their rescue, and Liz, as she's called by her friends, has to learn to deal with life on a very humble level without her cell phone. She's grateful for her father and never wants him to leave her side. Will their world ever return to normal? If it does, will Leah be a part of it, or will they be forced to leave her to the Roman soldiers? Will heartbreak be necessary for all of them to survive?
Back Cover Material: An extraordinary journey back in time shows a struggling single dad that the faith he's lost is still alive--and stronger than ever . . . . Michael Stewart has weathered his share of hardships: a troubled childhood, the loss of his mother, even the degradation of living on the city streets. Now, he's raising his teenaged daughter, Elizabeth, on his own and doing the best he can at work and at home. But he's turned his back on his faith--that is, until the morning Michael and Elizabeth volunteer for a food pantry at their local church. While storing boxes in the basement, they step through a mysterious door. . . and find themselves in first-century Jerusalem during the tumultuous last week of Jesus Christ's life. It is a dangerous and violent place, where doing what your heart tells you is right can get you imprisoned--or worse--and they are thankful to take refuge with a kind widow. But when they come face-to-face with Judas Iscariot and the condemned Christ himself, Michael realizes that before they can escape Jerusalem, he must experience history's most necessary and shattering heartbreak--and that pain and loss must happen if Michael is to be set free: to live, love, and reclaim the blessings he has in the present day.
About the Author, Michael J. Sullivan: Michael, a sports journalist and author of sports-themed books for children, started the novel decades ago and some of the flashbacks came from that time period. In May 2007, he began to earnestly work to complete Necessary Heartbreak. After the first draft was completed, he acquired an editor. He says he believes there are people who walk the earth who step into your life for reasons, and he had the help of such people in completing his novel, which is based upon his life experiences.
While on vacation in Orlando, Florida, he received a phone call from Simon & Schuster. Their interest was in publishing a revised edition. He found the perfect fit and the support he needed for the trilogy, was placed in the hands of a capable editor, and took a year to write, re-write, revise, and re-write the novel. He thanks his wife for her help and support as well as all others who played a hand in the outcome of its publication. The appendix contains a Reading Group Guide.
Michael lives in New York City and hosts several sports radio shows. He's worked with ESPN and Sporting News. He's a graduate of St. John's University. Visit him at www.whentimeforgets.com. There's also an ebook edition available.
In my humble and honest opinion, this is one of the best books I've read since last summer when I read Lynn Austin's All She Ever Wanted and Chris Fabry's Dogwood. I urge you to grab Necessary Heartbreak for a read you won't soon forget. It's available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.com and hit local bookstores last March 31! If you haven't read it yet, don't miss it on its anniversary!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Free Books-Sign to Follow my Blog and Participate
Thank you for following my blog. I will post new book reviews on some of the latest books being published through Bethany House and other well-known publishers. To be eligible to win them, please post comments and respond to the reader's survey below. This week's free book is the one reviewed below: The Rewards of Simplicity. I will notify the winner and post the winner's name on my blog. Just leave a comment beneath to answer the short questions to be eligible.
Reader's Survey:
1) What type of book is your favorite read?
2) Do you have a favorite author? If so, why is this person your favorite author?
3) What makes you pick up a book and buy it?
4) What makes a book a keeper?
Thanks for participating. I look forward to reading your responses!
Barb
Reader's Survey:
1) What type of book is your favorite read?
2) Do you have a favorite author? If so, why is this person your favorite author?
3) What makes you pick up a book and buy it?
4) What makes a book a keeper?
Thanks for participating. I look forward to reading your responses!
Barb
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Choose the Simple Life
The Rewards of simplicity: A Practical and Spiritual Approach by Pam and Chuck D. Pierce is 194 pages devoted to helping you clear the clutter from your life. It's published by Chosen, a division of the Baker Publishing Group, copyrighted 2010. Pam and Chuck are ordained ministers who've been married for 36 years. The book contains a notes section in the back. If you've ever felt your life was chaos and been under pressure and stress, let this spiritual guide help you. In Part I, Pam writes on practical and spiritual simplicity in seven chapters. In Part II, Chuck writes on how to simplify life by overcoming anxiety in five chapters.
Jan says, "Walking humbly with our God, . . .provides us with opportunities to experience simplicity in the midst of our busy, often chaotic lives." Personally, I find the simple pleasures in life refreshing and peaceful, like flowers blooming, birds singing, and the earth turning green once again after winter. God speaks to me through these simple life expressions and eases my tired mind.
Chuck says we all go through trials, and it's the fodder for our faith. He says the problem is allowing the stress to overtake us because we don't co-labor with the Holy Spirit through the hard moments of our lives. He says the key question we must ask in order to leave a life of anxiety and cross over to one of faith is how we can escape a trauma-filled past and restore our childlike faith? Chuck provides biblical examples and discusses how Jesus was different.
From the back cover: "We've all wished for that extra hour or two in our day. . . . Yet the simple days we long for are within our reach." This book is interwoven with biblical teaching, personal experience, and practical tips and you are gently guided to simplify your life, your house, and your soul. As the back cover says, "You don't have to be stressed out. You can experience peace and rest. Start today to reap the rewards of living simply."
God is in control, but we have the freedom of choice. So, will you choose God and peace, or a life of stressed-out chaos? This spiritual guide book is available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com for approximately $13.99, depending upon the store you select. This book is for a Christian living audience or those who wish to discover the peace through crossing over.
Jan says, "Walking humbly with our God, . . .provides us with opportunities to experience simplicity in the midst of our busy, often chaotic lives." Personally, I find the simple pleasures in life refreshing and peaceful, like flowers blooming, birds singing, and the earth turning green once again after winter. God speaks to me through these simple life expressions and eases my tired mind.
Chuck says we all go through trials, and it's the fodder for our faith. He says the problem is allowing the stress to overtake us because we don't co-labor with the Holy Spirit through the hard moments of our lives. He says the key question we must ask in order to leave a life of anxiety and cross over to one of faith is how we can escape a trauma-filled past and restore our childlike faith? Chuck provides biblical examples and discusses how Jesus was different.
From the back cover: "We've all wished for that extra hour or two in our day. . . . Yet the simple days we long for are within our reach." This book is interwoven with biblical teaching, personal experience, and practical tips and you are gently guided to simplify your life, your house, and your soul. As the back cover says, "You don't have to be stressed out. You can experience peace and rest. Start today to reap the rewards of living simply."
God is in control, but we have the freedom of choice. So, will you choose God and peace, or a life of stressed-out chaos? This spiritual guide book is available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com for approximately $13.99, depending upon the store you select. This book is for a Christian living audience or those who wish to discover the peace through crossing over.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Forever, Until we Meet
Forever Means How Long - Forever, Until We Meet
Author: Vicki M. Taylor
A Review by Barbara J. Robinson of Forever Until We Meet by Vicki M. Taylor
From the mountains of Wyoming to the sunshine of Florida, Taylor spins a web of excitement through the journey of James and Patricia, who meet via the Internet. This book is a must read for women who seek love and companionship over electronic lines, a tale of a woman who didn't give up on love, though each time she laid her heart on the line, it meant more pain and heartbreak.
Refusing to give up on love and knowing that she was a better person than the shallow James who would spend his life looking for a woman who didn't exist, "the perfect woman," existing only in his mind, Patricia finds true love just when she vows to be herself and enjoy life to its fullest. Ironically, she meets true love head on when her heart takes wings back to Wyoming. On the same day she was supposed to have met James for the first time, she realizes he’s the one who is losing and will never have a full, complete life, or a real true love because he is unable to get past "the perfect woman" his mind has created, who is nothing more than a shallow fairy tale.
James is the true loser in this tale because he is destined to a life of disappointment while he plays out his fun and games of chasing his illusion over the Internet, a game of chase he will never win. Patricia prefers a man of depth and reality to a shallow fairy-tale version of the man she thought was the man of her dreams. Giving up her fairy tale, she discovers a man of solid depth with whom she is truly compatible, while James is right back on the Internet searching for a woman who doesn't even exist, except in his mind. Patricia sees that he wastes no time in chasing his next illusion at an even faster pace. Time will run out for James as his Internet fantasy and games catch up with him, while time marches on for Patricia, time worth living in the real world where strong women such as Patricia never give up on making their dreams come true.
Taylor has captured the Internet Romeo in James and the many lonely women seeking true love and companionship in Patricia. This book could be the book that makes a difference for you, if you are one of those lonely women, so don't miss life's lessons on love so cleverly woven in this tale of romantic suspense which has the reader on the edge, wondering if this romance will make it. This is a book the reader won't want to put down until the end.
For you men out there, if you are an Internet Romeo, you might not want to pass this book up because you might find yourselves learning some lessons from dear old James which could prove valuable tools during your Internet fantasies of fairy tales. Ironically, James offers to bring Patricia to Disneyland, a place where fairy tales are supposed to come true, but Patricia's shoe didn't fit. Forever Until we Meet is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com. It’s a must-have educational tool for being Internet savy.
Author: Vicki M. Taylor
A Review by Barbara J. Robinson of Forever Until We Meet by Vicki M. Taylor
From the mountains of Wyoming to the sunshine of Florida, Taylor spins a web of excitement through the journey of James and Patricia, who meet via the Internet. This book is a must read for women who seek love and companionship over electronic lines, a tale of a woman who didn't give up on love, though each time she laid her heart on the line, it meant more pain and heartbreak.
Refusing to give up on love and knowing that she was a better person than the shallow James who would spend his life looking for a woman who didn't exist, "the perfect woman," existing only in his mind, Patricia finds true love just when she vows to be herself and enjoy life to its fullest. Ironically, she meets true love head on when her heart takes wings back to Wyoming. On the same day she was supposed to have met James for the first time, she realizes he’s the one who is losing and will never have a full, complete life, or a real true love because he is unable to get past "the perfect woman" his mind has created, who is nothing more than a shallow fairy tale.
James is the true loser in this tale because he is destined to a life of disappointment while he plays out his fun and games of chasing his illusion over the Internet, a game of chase he will never win. Patricia prefers a man of depth and reality to a shallow fairy-tale version of the man she thought was the man of her dreams. Giving up her fairy tale, she discovers a man of solid depth with whom she is truly compatible, while James is right back on the Internet searching for a woman who doesn't even exist, except in his mind. Patricia sees that he wastes no time in chasing his next illusion at an even faster pace. Time will run out for James as his Internet fantasy and games catch up with him, while time marches on for Patricia, time worth living in the real world where strong women such as Patricia never give up on making their dreams come true.
Taylor has captured the Internet Romeo in James and the many lonely women seeking true love and companionship in Patricia. This book could be the book that makes a difference for you, if you are one of those lonely women, so don't miss life's lessons on love so cleverly woven in this tale of romantic suspense which has the reader on the edge, wondering if this romance will make it. This is a book the reader won't want to put down until the end.
For you men out there, if you are an Internet Romeo, you might not want to pass this book up because you might find yourselves learning some lessons from dear old James which could prove valuable tools during your Internet fantasies of fairy tales. Ironically, James offers to bring Patricia to Disneyland, a place where fairy tales are supposed to come true, but Patricia's shoe didn't fit. Forever Until we Meet is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com. It’s a must-have educational tool for being Internet savy.
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