Sunday, October 30, 2011

Maggie's Journey by Lena Nelson Dooley

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Maggie's Journey

(Realms - October 4, 2011)

by

Lena Nelson Dooley


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Award-winning author, Lena Nelson Dooley, has more than 675,000 books in print. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers http://www.acfw.com/ and president of the local chapter, DFW Ready Writers. She’s also a member of Christian Authors Network, CROWN Fiction Marketing, and Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas.

Lena loves James, her children, grandchildren, and great grandson. She loves chocolate, cherries, chocolate-covered cherries, and spending time with friends. Travel is always on her horizon. Cruising, Galveston, the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, Mexico. One day it will be Hawaii and Australia, but probably not the same year. Helping other authors become published really floats her boat, with fifteen signing their first book contract after her mentoring. Three of her books have been awarded the Carol Award silver pins from American Christian Fiction Writers and she has received the ACFW Mentor of the Year award at their national conference. The high point of her day is receiving feedback from her readers, especially people whose lives have been changed by her books. And she loves chocolate, especially dark chocolate.

Her last release is Love Finds You in Golden, New Mexico, from Summerside Press recently won the Will Rogers Medallion Award for excellence in publishing western fiction. Lena is currently under two 3-book contracts with Charisma House/Realms.

In addition to her writing, Lena is a frequent speaker at women’s groups, writers groups, and at both regional and national conferences. She has spoken in six states and internationally.

Lena has an active web presence on Shoutlife, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and with her internationally connected blog where she interviews other authors and promotes their books. You can check out her books and find out more about her on her blog.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Near her eighteenth birthday, Margaret Lenora Caine finds a chest hidden in the attic containing proof that she's adopted. The spoiled daughter of wealthy merchants in Seattle, she feels betrayed by her real parents and by the ones who raised her. But mystery surrounds her new discovery, and when Maggie uncovers another family secret, she loses all sense of identity. Leaving her home in Seattle, Washington, Maggie strikes out to find her destiny. Will Charles Stanton, who's been in love with her for years, be able to help her discover who she really is?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Maggie's Journey, go HERE.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Any Titanic buffs out there?

In six months the world will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. I know many loved the Titanic movie released in 1997 and this big anniversary is sure to bring an influx of new memorabilia, television shows, and other offerings to tickle the fancy of Titanic buffs everywhere. I've recently come across a few Christian Fiction titles that are centered around the Titanic and the events on that fateful day of April 15, 1912. If you're a Titanic buff, I'm sure you'll be pleased that CF writers won't be leaving you high and dry with the coming anniversary. Enjoy!

About By the Light of the Silvery Moon by Tricia Goyer:

To Amelia Gladstone, this ship means promise of seeing family again. To Quentin Walpole, the Titanic represents a new start in America…if he can get onboard. All seems lost until Amelia offers him a ticket, securing his passage—and bringing him face-to-face with his railroad tycoon father and older brother, Damian. As Amelia works to reconcile father and son, she finds herself the object of both brothers’ affection. Can she choose between two brothers? Or will she lose everything to the icy waters of the Atlantic?

Barbour Publishing - March 2012

About Echoes of Titanic by Mindy Starns Clark & John Campbell Clark:

Kelsey Tate comes from sturdy stock. Her great-grandmother Adele endured the sinking of Titanic and made it safely to America, where she not only survived but thrived. Generations later, Kelsey works for the firm Adele founded nearly 100 years ago.

Now facing a hostile takeover, the firm’s origins are challenged when new facts emerge about Adele’s actions on the night Titanic sank. Kelsey tries to defend the company and the great-grandmother she has long admired, but the stakes are raised when Kelsey’s boss is murdered and her own life threatened. Forced to seek help from Cole Thornton, a man Kelsey once loved—and lost, thanks to her success-at-all-costs mentality—she pursues mysteries both past and present. Aided by Cole and strengthened by the faith she’d all but forgotten in her climb up the corporate ladder, Kelsey races the clock to defend her family legacy, her livelihood, and ultimately her life.

Harvest House - March 2012

About Hearts that Survive by Yvonne Lehman:

On April 15, 1912, Lydia Beaumont is on her way to a new life with a boundless hope in love and faith. Her new friendship with Caroline Chadwick is bonded even more as they plan Lydia’s wedding on board the “grandest ship ever built.” Then both women suffer tragic losses when the “unsinkable” Titanic goes down. Can each survive the scars the disaster left on their lives?

Decades later, Alan Morris feels like a failure until he discovers he is the descendant of an acclaimed, successful, heroic novelist who went down with the Titanic. Will he find his identity with the past, or will he listen to Joanna Bettencourt, Caroline’s granddaughter, who says inner peace and success come only with a personal relationship with the Lord?

Will those who survived and their descendants be able to find a love more powerful than their pain?

Abingdon Press - March 2012

About Promise Me This by Cathy Gohlke:

Michael Dunnagan was never supposed to sail on the Titanic, nor would he have survived if not for the courage of Owen Allen. Determined to carry out his promise to care for Owen’s relatives in America and his younger sister, Annie, in England, Michael works hard to strengthen the family’s New Jersey garden and landscaping business.

Annie Allen doesn’t care what Michael promised Owen. She only knows that her brother is gone—like their mother and father—and the grief is enough to swallow her whole. As Annie struggles to navigate life without Owen, Michael reaches out to her through letters. In time, as Annie begins to lay aside her anger that Michael lived when Owen did not, a tentative friendship takes root and blossoms into something neither expected. Just as Michael saves enough money to bring Annie to America, WWI erupts in Europe. When Annie’s letters mysteriously stop, Michael risks everything to fulfill his promise—and find the woman he’s grown to love—before she’s lost forever.

Tyndale House - February 2012

Find out more on the web:
Tricia Goyer
Mindy Starns Clark
John Campbell Clark
Yvonne Lehman
Cathy Gohlke

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event spotlighting upcoming releases and is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine. Feel free to join in and let us know what you're waiting on.

This week, the book I'm 'waiting on' is Smitten, an anthology by a foursome of fabulous romance writers: Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, and Denise Hunter. Smitten is published by Thomas Nelson and releases in December 2011.

About Smitten:

When a failed logging company threatens their town's survival, four friends devise a plan to turn Smitten, Vermont, into the country's premier romantic getaway.

With Smitten Lumber closing, residents wonder if their town can stay afloat. Then four friends and local business owners decide the town is worth saving: they'll turn it into a honeymoon destination. Little do they know that love is already on the way. As each woman finds her own true love, a little child reminds the whole town what it means to have real faith in the God who is the always and forever Love.

"Natalie" by Colleen Coble: Natalie Mansfield must convince town leader Joe Smitten to get onboard with the plan to save the town, but they butt heads from the start. Then she meets his daughter and discovers there's more to Joe than she initially sees.

"Julia" by Kristin Billerbeck: Julia Bourne has dreams to romanticize her hometown of Smitten, but grill owner Jake Grant aims to send her plans up in smoke.

"Shelby" by Diann Hunt: When Shelby Evans, aka Ms. Manners, meets Nick Major, aka Mr. Mountain Man, both have trouble seeing the forest for the high teas.

"Reese" by Denise Hunter: She's fallen for her best friend Griffen Parker, so Reese MacKenzie hatches a plan to get his attention at a high profile wedding. At the wedding, she's surprised to find that "speak now" takes on a new meaning.

Find out more on the web:
Colleen Coble
Kristin Billerbeck
Diann Hunt
Denise Hunter
Girls Write Out Blog
Thomas Nelson Publishers

The Mercy by Beverly Lewis


This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

The Mercy

(Bethany House - September 6, 2011)

by

Beverly Lewis


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Beverly's first venture into adult fiction is the best-selling trilogy, The Heritage of Lancaster County, including The Shunning, a suspenseful saga of Katie Lapp, a young Amish woman drawn to the modern world by secrets from her past. The book is loosely based on the author's maternal grandmother, Ada Ranck Buchwalter, who left her Old Order Mennonite upbringing to marry a Bible College student. One Amish-country newspaper claimed Beverly's work to be "a primer on Lancaster County folklore" and offers "an insider's view of Amish life."

Booksellers across the country, and around the world, have spread the word of Beverly's tender tales of Plain country life. A clerk in a Virginia bookstore wrote, "Beverly's books have a compelling freshness and spark. You just don't run across writing like that every day. I hope she'll keep writing stories about the Plain people for a long, long time."

A member of the National League of American Pen Women, as well as a Distinguished Alumnus of Evangel University, Lewis has written over 80 books for children, youth, and adults, many of them award-winning. She and her husband, David, make their home in Colorado, where they enjoy hiking, biking, and spending time with their family. They are also avid musicians and fiction "book worms."

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Rose Kauffman pines for prodigal Nick Franco, the Bishop's foster son who left the Amish under a cloud of suspicion after his foster brother's death. His rebellion led to the "silencing" of their beloved Bishop. But is Nick really the rebel he appears to be? Rose's lingering feelings for her wayward friend refuse to fade, but she is frustrated that Nick won't return and make things right with the People. Nick avowed his love for Rose--but will he ever be willing to sacrifice modern life for her?

Meanwhile, Rose's older sister, Hen, is living in her parents' Dawdi Haus. Her estranged "English" husband, injured and helpless after a car accident, has reluctantly come to live with her and their young daughter during his recovery. Can their marriage recover, as well? Is there any possible middle ground between a woman reclaiming her old-fashioned Amish lifestyle and thoroughly modern man?

MY THOUGHTS:

I have read all of Beverly's books, and found this series to be among one of my favorites. This series was full of characters that I fell in love with...Rose, Mattie Sue, the Petersheims, Beth, just to name a few...and I almost hate to see the series end. The only consolation is that even the most minute of the threads in the story were neatly tied up into a very satisfying end.

I also love how Beverly writes...so smooth and with a natural flow, without a lot of disjointedness and awkwardness in her words. I read this story and another Amish story back to back, and I had a bit of a time getting into the next story as the writer had a whole different writing style, and while the story was written well, it just didn't have the lyrical quality that Beverly's did.

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Mercy, go HERE.




Watch the book trailer: