Born of Persuasion

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Born of Persuasion

Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (September 1, 2013)

by

Jessica Dotta


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Born in the wrong century–except for the fact that she really likes epidurals and washing machines–Jessica Dotta writes British Historicals with the humor like an Austen, yet the drama of a Bronte.


She resides lives in the greater Nashville area—where she imagines her small Southern town into the foggy streets of 19th century London. She oversees her daughter to school, which they pretend is an English boarding school, and then she goes home to write and work on PR. Jessica has tried to cast her dachshund as their butler–but the dog insists it’s a Time Lord and their home a Tardis. Miss Marple, her cat, says its no mystery to her as to why the dog won’t cooperate. When asked about it, Jessica sighs and says that you can’t win them all, and at least her dog has picked something British to emulate.




ABOUT THE BOOK

The year is 1838, and seventeen-year-old Julia Elliston’s position has never been more fragile. Orphaned and unmarried in a time when women are legal property of their fathers, husbands, and guardians, she finds herself at the mercy of an anonymous guardian who plans to establish her as a servant in far-off Scotland.


With two months to devise a better plan, Julia’s first choice to marry her childhood sweetheart is denied. But when a titled dowager offers to introduce Julia into society, a realm of possibilities opens. However, treachery and deception are as much a part of Victorian society as titles and decorum, and Julia quickly discovers her present is deeply entangled with her mother’s mysterious past. Before she knows what’s happening, Julia finds herself a pawn in a deadly game between two of the country’s most powerful men. With no laws to protect her, she must unravel the secrets on her own. But sometimes truth is elusive and knowledge is deadly.




If you would like to read the first chapter of Born of Persuasion, go HERE.

Shades of Mercy

MY THOUGHTS'

Shades of Mercy is such an incredible story! The story is set in Maine in the 1950's and let me just tell you...times were not easy and the relationships weren't either! But that is what makes this book so wonderful, because when people are having a difficult time, they look to God and rely on HIM! Shades of Mercy reveals Gods grace and HIS Mercy throughout the story in such beautiful ways!! 

This is a story you will not want to miss!! Read more in the info below! :) ENJOY

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Shades of Mercy

River North; New Edition edition (September 1, 2013)

by

Anita Lustrea
and
Caryn Rivendara


ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Authentic. That’s the word heard over and over when women describe Anita Lustrea. She is a popular speaker at women’s conferences and retreats, and an amazing communicator as co-host of the award winning Midday Connection radio broadcast. Her deep desire is to communicate freedom to women and help them nurture and care for their soul.

Anita is the co-author of “Come to Our Table: A Midday Connection Cookbook” and “Daily Seeds from Women Who Walk in Faith”, a Devotional for women.  Her first solo venture as an author releases in November, 2010, “What Women Tell Me: finding freedom from the secrets we keep.”

Anita and her husband, Mike Murphy, a pastor, along with her teenage son John live in the Chicago suburbs. When she’s not traveling or speaking, you can find her reading and drinking a venti hot tea at her local Starbucks.


*******

Caryn is a sought-after writer and speaker. She’s the author of four books—Shades of Mercy: A Maine Chronicle (River North, September 2013), Known & Loved: 52 Devotions from the Psalms (Revell, April 2013), Grumble Hallelujah (Tyndale House, September 2011), and Mama’s Got a Fake I.D. (WaterBrook Press, March 2009)–and a regular contributor to Christianity Today’s Her.Meneutics as well as columnist for Re:Frame Media’s ThinkChristian blog. She has written dozens of magazine article. Her work has appeared in such publications as Christianity Today, Relevant, FamilyLife, and Engineering and Mining Journal (you read that right).

Caryn leads workshops and speaks at conferences and church groups across the country. She’s also a regular guest on Moody Radio’s Midday Connection with Anita Lustrea and Melinda Schmidt and has been featured on such radio shows as The John and Kathy Show, Changing Worldviews/WOMANTalk with Sharon Hughes, I Thought She Said with Faith Daly, The Paul Edwards Program with Paul Edwards, and Talk from the Heart with Rich Buhler, among many others. Caryn also appeared on The Harvest Show.

Caryn earned a B.A. in English from Calvin College and attended the University of Chicago’s publishing program. She lives in the western suburbs of Chicago with her husband, Rafael, her three kids, a rescued pit bull terrier, two hermit crabs, and several tank fulls of who-knows-what-kind-of fish. Caryn and her family are members of Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church in Elmhurst, Illinois, where Caryn recently joined the worship staff.



ABOUT THE BOOK

It's 1954 and the world-even the far Northwoods of Maine-is about to change. But that change can't happen soon enough for fourteen-year-old Mercy Millar. Long tired of being the "son" her father never had, Mercy's ready for the world to embrace her as the young woman she is-as well as embrace the forbidden love she feels.
 When childhood playmates grow up and fall in love, the whole community celebrates. But in the case of Mercy and Mick, there would be no celebration. Instead their relationship must stay hidden. Good girls do not date young men from the Maliseet tribe. At least, not in Watsonville, Maine. When racial tensions escalate and Mick is thrown in jail under suspicion of murder, Mercy nearly loses all hope-in love, in her father, and in God himself.



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

The Promise by Gary Smalley and Dan Walsh ~ Review

ABOUT THE BOOK:

For the last five months, Tom Anderson has been without a job, a fact he's been hiding from his wife Jean-and everyone else. He leaves each morning, pretending nothing has changed, and spends his disheartening day rotating through two coffee shops and the library, using their wi-fi to search for a job on the internet. The stress of keeping this secret is beginning to put serious strain on his marriage and it looks like the legacy that began with his father is still at work, slowly destroying the bond between Tom and Jean. Can their mutual trust-and love-be restored?

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Dan Walsh is the bestselling author of several books, including The Dance, The Discovery, and The Reunion. He has won three Carol Awards, and two of his novels were finalists for RT Book Reviews Inspirational Book of the Year for 2011 and 2012. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Dan served as a pastor for 25 years. He lives with his wife in the Daytona Beach area, where he's busy researching and writing his next novel.

Gary Smalley is one of the country's best-known authors and speakers on family relationships and has appeared on national television programs such as Oprah, Larry King Live, and TODAY, as well as numerous national radio programs. He is the bestselling and award-winning author or coauthor of many books, including The Dance with Dan Walsh and the Baxter Family Redemption series with Karen Kingsbury. Gary and his wife, Norma, have been married for 49 years and live in Missouri.

MY THOUGHTS:

Book 2 in the Restoration Series is every bit as good as the first book ("The Dance") in this series! If you want to read this as a stand alone book, you certainly can! No matter what ...this is just a must read book! 

I truly appreciate how "The Promise" deals with such true to life situations and shares such an incredible teaching on how to deal with circumstances that arise in marriage. Also, showing how God will bring you through those hard times when you seek HIM! Tom & Jean both are hiding things from one another and their marriage is hanging by a thread, per se',  but the road to forgiveness and restoration can be long and winding but once you've arrived, you know it was worth every bit of it!!

Thank you Lanette and Revell, a Division of  Baker Publishing, for allowing me this complimentary issue in exchange for my honest review! a true 5 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ hearts;'s for sure!

Grace and Daisies

About the Book:

On Grace Barney's fifteenth birthday, her mother announces she's divorcing her sixth husband. In order to get Grace out of her way, she sends her across the country to stay with a sister Grace hasn't seen in nine painful years. Grace feels confused and hurt as she struggles to forgive and understand the sister she barely knows anymore. But when Grace experiences a tragedy that summer that will haunt her the rest of her life, she delves deeper into a darkness from which it seems there is no coming back. 

After fifteen-year-old Daisy Price's mother is killed in a car accident, she moves across the country to live with an aunt she can only vaguely remember from her childhood--an aunt, Daisy soon learns, being tormented by painful secrets. Daisy comes to rely on her faith more than ever as she deals with the loss of her mother and the difficulty of living with a troubled woman being torn apart by her past.

Grace and Daisies is most appropriate for ages fifteen and up.

My thoughts:

I have to begin by thanking Author Dusti Bowling for contacting me & asking if I might read &  review "Grace and Daisies!" I was blessed to have read her debut novel "The Day we Met"  and absolutely could not say enough good about it! Suffice to say that having the opportunity to read 
her latest novel, I was THRILLED!! 

Grace and Daisies is an EXCELLENT READ. The storyline is so real and so current and I just felt for both Grace and Daisy. What I love about Dusti's writing is that she is not afraid to share the good, the bad, and the sometimes very ugly!!  I found myself heartbroken for Grace so many times throughout her story but as it is in life, we all have a past, and carry burdens that aren't ours to carry. Grace's journey is certainly a tough one!

Daisy is a precious young woman and I just loved her and her willingness to do Gods Will no matter what the circumstance!  Her Faith will inspire you and her sweet Spirit was soo precious to see even in times when she could have done just the opposite !!

Grace and Daisies is a story of hope! Even in the worst of circumstances God can come and heal your heart, and allow forgiveness to set you free. 

Thank you again Dusti for allowing me this opportunity! I shed tears, and laughed out loud too, and THAT, is when you know you've read a BEAUTIFUL STORY!

Dolled Up to Die

ABOUT THE BOOK:
When Cate Kinkaid receives a frantic call about a triple homicide, she drives to the scene against her better judgement-aren't triple homicides more up the police department's alley?-only to find that the victims are not quite who she expects. Now she has a new rule to add to those she's learned in her short stint as an assistant private investigator: always find out if the victims actually have human DNA. Because these three do not.

But who would shoot this nice lady's dolls? What possible reason could the shooter have? And then there's the startling discovery of another victim, who definitely does have human DNA . . .

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Lorena McCourtney is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of dozens of novels, including Invisible(which won the Daphne du Maurier Award from Romance Writers of America) and Dying to Read. She resides in Oregon.

MY THOUGHTS:

What a fun author Lorena McCourtney is and what a great book Dolled Up to Die is!

If you want a great read or one of those books that you can just sit down and forget everything, Dolled up to Die is JUST WHAT YOU NEED!  You can laugh, you can wonder who done it, and in the end you will just plain LOVE IT!!

Thanks Revell, a Division of Baker Publishing for allowing me this complimentary book in exchange for my honest review

In Golden Splendor

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

In Golden Splendor

• B&H Books (July 15, 2013)


by

Michael Reynolds


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Michael K. Reynolds is the writer and producer of Emmy and Telly Award-winning film campaigns and has more than two decades of experience in fiction, journalism, copywriting, and documentary production. He owns Global Studio, a marketing agency, and is also an active leader in church and business, speaking in both ministry and corporate settings. Michael lives with his wife and three children in Reno, Nevada.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Irish immigrant Seamus Hanley is a lost soul, haunted by his past as a U.S. Army deserter and living alone in the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains in 1849. But after witnessing a deadly stage coach crash, he finds purpose in the scattered wreckage -- a letter with a picture of a beautiful and captivating woman named Ashlyn living in San Francisco at the height of the Gold Rush.
Moved by her written plea for help, he abandons all and sets out on an epic journey across the wild and picturesque American frontier. While being pursued by those who want to hang him, Seamus encounters fascinating characters including a young Pauite Indian who makes the ultimate sacrifice in helping Seamus to cross the snowy Yosemite Valley.
Battered but changed for the better, Seamus reaches San Francisco on Christmas Eve as the city burns in the tragic fire of 1849. But there is little time for rest, as an even greater, more harrowing adventure involving Ashlyn is about to begin.


If you would like to read the first chapter of In Golden Splendor, go HERE

Grounded

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Grounded

Worthy Publishing (May 7, 2013)


by

Neta and Dave Jackson


ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

As a husband/wife writing team, we are enthusiastic about books, kids, walking with God, gospel music, and each other! Together we are the authors or coauthors of over 120 books. (You can see our Publication Record by clicking HERE.) In addition to writing several books about Christian community, we have been privileged to coauthor numerous books with expert resource people on a variety of topics from racial reconciliation to medical ethics to ministry to kids in gangs.


But over the years the we have especially enjoyed writing for children and young people! This includes our award-winning TRAILBLAZER series, historical fiction about great Christian heroes and heroines for young people ages 8-12, and the four-volume HERO TALES: A Family Treasury of True Stories from the Lives of Great Christians, and the companion book, Heroes in Black History.


Somewhere along the way, our own children grew up! Son Julian is Director of Experience Design for the Alder Planetarium in Chicago where he “provides the experience of exploring space” for visitors. He has two sons, Liam Isaac and Elijah David. Daughter Rachel graduated from Eastern Mennonite University and after working in the field of rape-crisis prevention went on to earn a Masters Degree in counseling from the University of Illinois. She is now a counselor at “Uni High School” in Champaign, Illinois. She is the loving mother of Havah Noelle (our first grandchild!) and Noah Zion, our youngest grandchild. The Jackson family also includes a Cambodian foster daughter, Samen Sang, who has four children.


We live in Evanston, Illinois, where for twenty-seven years we were part of Reba Place Church, a Christian church community. We are now members of a multi-racial congregation in the Chicago area.


ABOUT THE BOOK

...But Hope May Be Just Across the Street


Grace Meredith is a beloved contemporary Christian recording artist whose career--and personal life--hits unexpected turbulence. She feels grounded--in more ways than one.
Grace s fiancé, bothered by her outspoken stance on purity and her near-constant travel, has broken off their relationship. Exhausted and unable to continue her current concert schedule, Grace returns home to Chicago, where she is soon stranded in a major snowstorm. Facing new questions about her future and her faith, Grace finds herself connecting for the first time with the residents of her neighborhood. What she discovers in these unexpected relationships could change everything.


Welcome to the Neighborhood
The first in the Windy City Neighbors series, Grounded is an uplifting, contemporary story about ordinary people wrestling with the spiritual and practical issues of real life. The series employs the innovative storytelling technique of parallel novels, each with its own drama and story arc, but whose characters lives become intertwined and affect one another. Grounded welcomes you to Beecham Street--a typical, isolated American neighborhood that might just be a place of hope.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Grounded, go Here.