2011 Faith Hope Love Inspirational Readers Choice Award Winners Announced

Carla Stewart is a Fellow Okie, and an AWESOME Author. Her latest book "Broken Wings" was just released in early June. Her Debut novel Chasing Lilacs is one of the Winners choice awards! Congrats Carla and to all the others! I have read and reviewed quite a few of these titles here @ HeartofaBookWorm and am so happy to see them win !!

2011 Faith-Hope-Love Inspirational Reader's Choice Award Winners
Today at their annual meeting, the Faith-Hope-Love Chapter of RWA announced the 2011 Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award Winners.

Women’s Fiction
1) Plain Paradise by Beth Wiseman (Thomas Nelson)

2) Chasing Lilacs by Carla Stewart (FaithWords)

3) The House on Sugar Plum Lane by Judy Duarte (Kensington)

Long Contemporary
1) Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes (Tyndale)

2) Love Finds You in Sugarcreek, Ohio by Serena Miller (Summerside)

3) The Six-Liter Club by Harry Kraus (Howard)

Short Contemporary

1) White Roses by Shannon Taylor Vannatter (Barbour – Heartsong Presents)

2) Rodeo Redemption by Teri Wilson (White Rose)

3) Tender Mercies by Mary Manners (White Rose)

Long Historical
1) The Preacher’s Bride by Jody Hedlund (Bethany House)

2) A Memory Between Us by Sarah Sundin (Revell)

3) Abbie Ann by Sharlene MacLaren (Whitaker House)

Short Historical

1) A Matter of Character by Robin Lee Hatcher (Zondervan)

2) Walker’s Wedding by Lori Copeland (Harvest)

3) The Substitute Bride by Janet Dean (Steeple Hill)

Romantic Suspense

1) Too Close to Home by Lynette Eason (Revell)

2) Forget Me Not by Vicki Hinze (Waterbrook)

3) Nightshade by Ronie Kendig (Barbour)


Novella

1) Once Upon a Christmas Eve by Anita Higman (Summerside)

2) A Bodine Family Christmas by Marta Perry (Steeple Hill)

3) The Snowflake by Jamie Carie (Broadman and Holman)



Congrats to each one of you! Thank you for sharing your gift of writing with all of us!

What I'm Reading this week

Sheila from BookJourney hosts Monday's "What are you reading?" each week. It is a great way to see soo many great books! So if you would like to join in please do, or just go visit Sheila and you can check out all the books being read this week.

Here is what is on my list:

This is one I am soo looking forward to! Here is the book info:

Carrie's seaside cafe is populated with a motley crew of locals---but she only has eyes for widower Greg Barnes. Unfortunately, he keeps himself at a distance---until one of Carrie's employees is murdered and another disappears. Now Carrie and Greg are united in a race against time. Can they avert another tragedy?


This is my first time to read Michelle Stimpson but the storyline sounds excellent! Review will be July 13th



This is book 1 in the "Seasons of the Heart" series! I am excited to begin this one as well!



This book has been excellent so far! I will share my review on Tuesday. Based on the true events of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapsing in Florida in May of 1990. Carolyn Williford shares how 3 families deal with this tragic event. This book has proved hard to put down!



What about you? What are you reading this week?

Double Take ~ Review

Young Socialite Switches Places with Amish Girl to Escape Manhattan Scene!
“Why does everything have to be so complicated?” Madison shook her Blackberry at her mom…
“I’m sick of it…I can’t take it anymore…”
Anna Fisher was bored. But she knew better than to say that out loud – especially when everyone was busy with farming and fixing and all the additional chores that came with springtime.

Bestselling author Melody Carlson takes readers into the worlds of a socialite and an Amish girl struggling with who they are in Double Take (ISBN: 978-0-8007-1964-7, June 2011, $9.99). Have you ever wondered what would happen if you could switch your life with someone else for just one day? Readers will live the one-week experiences of a bored Amish girl and stressed out socialite when they decide to switch places in Double Take.
Spring break has arrived. It’s her senior year, and Madison VanBuren is fed up with her surroundings and the pressures of life. Stressed out over choosing an Ivy League school that will please her parents, their marital problems, and her boyfriend's pressure, Madison gets in her car and drives west.
Meanwhile, eighteen-year-old Anna Fisher wants to escape the so-called simple life--which for her consists of caring for younger siblings, sewing, cooking, and gardening--and she's well aware that her future will simply be more of the same with a man she doesn't love.
Madison and Anna stumble into each other in a small town. Realizing their looks are uncannily similar, they both think their lives are boring. Thinking the grass is greener on the other side, they make a decision that will transform them forever and switch lives for one week.
Readers will love this funny and provocative tale of switching places from bestselling author Melody Carlson. As they get a glimpse and understanding of these two very different worlds. They may find themselves happy to be just who they are, and where they are.

Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books, several of them Christmas novellas from Revell, including her much-loved and bestselling books, Christmas at Harrington’s and The Christmas Bus. She also writes many teen books, including Just Another Girl, Anything but Normal, the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, the TrueColors series, and the Carter House Girls series. Melody was nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series and several books which are being considered for TV movies. She and her husband serve on the Young Life adult committee in central Oregon.

Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, offers practical books that bring the Christian faith to everyday life.  They publish resources from a variety of well-known brands and authors, including their partnership with MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and Hungry Planet.

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My Review:

What a cute book "Double Take" is!!! It's for the Young Adult group and would be great for those around 12-16 yrs. of age. The message is awesome especially in todays age. How many times have we looked at someone's life and think they have it all together? Madison and Anna meet and make a decision to "switch" their lives. As the girls spend time living the life of one another, they both realize it isn't all they thought it would be.

Melody Carlson does an excellent job with this story. Great lessons scattered in along the way and most definitely will have you thinking! This is a quick and fun read and one I would recommend for sure!

Thank you Revell, a Division of Baker Publishing for allowing me this opportunity in exchange for my honest review!

Happy Reading!

She Makes it Look Easy ~

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing She Makes It Look Easy David C. Cook (June 1, 2011) by Marybeth Whalen



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Marybeth Whalen is the wife of Curt and mom of six children. The family lives outside Charlotte, NC. Marybeth is a member of the Proverbs 31 Ministries writing team and a regular contributor to their daily devotions. Her first novel,The Mailbox was released in June 2010. Her next novel, She Makes It Look Easy, will be released in June 2011. Additionally, she serves as director of She Reads, Proverbs 31 Ministries' fiction division.





ABOUT THE BOOK

Ariel Baxter has just moved into the neighborhood of her dreams. The chaos of domestic life and the loneliness of motherhood, however, moved with her. Then she meets her neighbor, Justine Miller. Justine ushers Ariel into a world of clutter-free houses, fresh-baked bread, homemade crafts, neighborhood play dates, and organization techniques designed to make marriage better and parenting manageable.



Soon Ariel realizes there is hope for peace, friendship, and clean kitchen counters. But when rumors start to circulate about Justine’s real home life, Ariel must choose whether to believe the best about the friend she admires or consider the possibility that “perfection” isn’t always what it seems to be.



If you would like to read an excerpt of She Makes It Look Easy, go HERE.

My Review:

How many times have we found ourselves admiring the life of those that we "THINK" has it all! Only to find out, it is not at all what it seems! In "She makes it look easy" author MaryBeth Whalen, does a phenomenal job of sharing the story of Ariel and Justine and the mistake it is to allow envy into your heart and mind.

I give "She Makes it Look Easy" 4 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥'s

Thankyou CFBA for allowing me this complimentary book in exchange for my honest review.


Happy Reading!

Winning Him Without Words ~ Review

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Winning Him Without Words Regal (February 15, 2011) by Lynn Donovan & Dineen Miller



ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Lynn Donovan

Verse: John 15:5 Apart from Me you can do nothing.

Tagline: Challenging Women to Live in Truth



A passionate writer and speaker, Lynn is a woman who presents a compelling message to encourage women to thrive in their marriage. She speaks at events nationwide where she challenges the myths women believe about love, pointing them to life-changing freedom through a relationship with Jesus. She reveals the zany yet meaningful stories of marriage challenges, truths, and triumphs in her life and invites women to share her view from her front row seat to an amazing journey; life lived for Christ.



Married since 1992 to her best friend and biggest enthusiast, Mike, she lives in Temecula, California. They have a son and a daughter and a wacky dog named Peanut. She loves to laugh, enjoys a strong cup of coffee and Fantasy Football and not necessarily in that order.



She lives each day in awe of the grace of God in her ordinary life.

Dineen Miller

Verse: Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Tagline: Igniting the Soul



Dineen readily admits that one of the greatest lessons she’s learning about life is that there’s purpose in our trials. And it’s all about trusting God and putting our hope in Him. Her favorite stories will always be of the miracles God has wrought in the lives of her family.



Through this lens she also believes her years as a youth counselor, a Stephen Minister, a women’s ministry leader, and a small group leader have prepared her for God’s calling on her life—to write for and speak to those in mismatched marriages like hers.



In addition to writing for Spiritually Unequal Marriage, Dineen writes for Laced with Grace and various other fiction online magazines and newsletters. She’s also won several prestigious awards for her fiction, and her devotional writing has been featured in Our Journey and Christian Women Online Magazine.



Married for 23 years to a guy who keeps her young, she lives in the Bay Area with her husband, two precious daughters, and their dog Shasta, who no doubt is an angel in disguise.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Week after week, they sit in church . . . alone. They are the spiritually mismatched, those who are committed to a spouse who does not share their faith. Feeling abandoned by their spouse and forgotten by their church, they live out their faith in survival mode, guarding the spiritual flame yet never feeling free to share it. But God wants them to thrive—not just survive.



Winning Him Without Words presents 10 Christ centered keys to thriving in a spiritual mismatch. Readers are encouraged to commit to Christian community, to release their spouse to God’s capable hands, to find peace in their relationships with Christ and with their spouse, to continue their pursuit of a growing faith and to love their spouse with fresh enthusiasm. God wants every marriage to exude peace and love, and Winning Him Without Words empowers readers to create that environment in their homes and thrive as God works.



Watch their book video:







If you would like to read a sample chapter of Winning Him Without Words, go HERE.


My Review:

Having followed their blog for quite some time, I knew their book would be as anointed as their daily posts. I have a huge heart for marriages, and especially those who want to work to keep them strong. Even though my marriage is equally yoked, In reading "Winning Him Without Words" I gleaned such wisdom and insight. In our Christian walk, I think we all continue to grow in our relaitonship with Christ and in that growth, our relationships with others also change.

Lynn Donovan and Dineen Miller share 10 Keys to thriving in your spiritually mismatched marriage. So many times women are guilty of thinking we can "change" the men into something we want them to be. I know in my early years of marriage, I was VERY GUILTY of being a "Junior Holy Spirit" to my husband. I LOVED their chapter titled "Don't save your husband, save yourself"
These words are soooo true and very powerful when lived out!! I know so many times I have seen countless women coming to church alone, or sadly, been in Bible Study after Bible Study with prayer requests for spouses to come to know the Lord and accept HIM as their Savior. Can you even imagine going through life with your spouse and not being able to share your Faith and all that God has done? So many women experience this very thing.

Winning Him Without Words is an excellent book. Lynn and Dineen are quick to share they are real women,struggling with real issues, who don't claim to have all the answers. They do, however, claim to know the One who does. Despite years or praying for their husband's salvation, both Lynn and Dineen found certain principles to help their marriage thrive instead of wither and die. No matter if you are in a spiritually mismatched marriage or a marriage that is doing well, this book is a must read!

I know the wisdom shared in this book has amazing potential to help countless marriages and touch so many lives for sure! This is one that you will want for yourself as well as having others on hand to give away!

The Sweetest Thing by Elizabeth Musser ~ Review

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Sweetest Thing • Bethany House (June 1, 2011) by Elizabeth Musser



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Elizabeth Musser, an Atlanta native, studied English and French literature at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. While at Vanderbilt, I had the opportunity to spend a semester in Aix-en-Provence,



France. During her Senior year at Vanderbilt, she attended a five-day missions conference for students and discovered an amazing thing: God had missionaries in France, and she felt God calling her there. After graduation, she spent eight months training for the mission field in Chicago, Illinois and then two years serving in a tiny Protestant church in Eastern France where she met her future husband.



Elizabeth lives in southern France with her husband and their two sons. She find her work as a mother, wife, author and missionary filled with challenges and chances to see God’s hand at work daily in her life. Inspiration for her novels come both from her experiences growing up in Atlanta as well as through the people she meets in her work in France. Many conversations within her novels are inspired from real-life conversations with skeptics and seekers alike.



Her acclaimed novel, The Swan House, was a Book Sense bestseller list in the Southeast and was selected as one of the top Christian books for 2001 by Amazon's editors. Searching for Eternity is her sixth novel.





ABOUT THE BOOK

Compelling Southern Novel Explores Atlanta Society in the 1930s.



The Singleton family’s fortunes seem unaffected by the Great Depression, and Perri—along with the other girls at Atlanta’s elite Washington Seminary—lives a life of tea dances with college boys and matinees at the cinema. When tragedy strikes, Perri is confronted with a world far different from the one she has always known.



At the insistence of her parents, Mary ‘Dobbs’ Dillard, the daughter of an itinerant preacher, is sent from inner-city Chicago to live with her aunt and attend Washington Seminary. Dobbs, passionate, fiercely individualistic and deeply religious, enters Washington Seminary as a bull in a china shop and shocks the girls with her frank talk about poverty and her stories of revival on the road. Her arrival intersects at the point of Perri’s ultimate crisis, and the tragedy forges an unlikely friendship.



The Sweetest Thing tells the story of two remarkable young women—opposites in every way—fighting for the same goal: surviving tumultuous change. Just as the Great Depression collides disastrously with Perri's well-ordered life, friendship blossoms--a friendship that will be tested by jealousy, betrayal, and family secrets...



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

MY REVIEW:

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK! From the first chapter to the very last page, I couldn't put it down! The friendship between Perri and Dobbs is so precious. Back in the days of the Great Depression, Perri is an upper-class young lady who lives a life with the elite. She is a member of all the "right clubs", has a group of girlfriends that are all elite as well. One day, Mary "Dobbs" Dillard arrives to stay with her Aunt in her "Potato sack" full of life, enthusiasm, and hope for a brighter tomorrow. These girls are thrown together in the midst of horrible circumstances that affect Perri's family. Together, they walk beside one another, helping each other adjust to their new way of life. As they carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, or at the very least, the responsibility of "saving" their families, the girls encourage one another in their daily lives.

The Sweetest Thing is a beautiful story and one that I would Highly Recommend. The Sweetest Thing would be a Sweet Summer Read for sure! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Fashion With A Purpose

How many times have you gone out to dinner with your husband or to lunch with your girlfriends and JUST WISH there was a way to keep your purse from all the germs on the floor?? Or even worse, when you excuse yourself to the ladies room and the hook on the door is broken and you are forced to hang on to your purse???

Surely there is better way! Well, guess what! THERE. IS. Introducing, The
FUMI Bracelet...This isn't JUST a bracelet...no. no. no. It transforms into a HOOK to hold your purse on the table OR on the door ~ NO MORE DIRTY FLOORS AND GERMS!!! If you're like me and have a large purse, no worries, it holds up to 25lbs!







FUMI (Fashion with a Purpose) has some other really GREAT items! Like this one~ the Keep Safe A ring holder. Instead of you removing your rings and placing them on the counter, just slip your ring(s)onto the Keep Safe and Gone is the chance of them falling into the sink and down the drain! Peace of mind AND it is soo affordable!!


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Thanks so much to Broadcast Bloggers for introducing me to FUMI

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DISCLAIMER: My personal story and all text links has been sponsored by "FUMI"