Archive for July, 2008

Romance and Suspense – a perfect reading combination

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008

If you’re looking for a good summer read that has both romance and enough suspense to keep those pages turning, why not check out Susan May Warren’s new book, Finding Stefanie?

Noble Legacy Series, Book 3
Finding Stefanie

ISBN 1-4143-1019-6

When she put her dreams on hold to help run the family ranch, she never imagined they would slip out of sight. Luckily for Stefanie, those dreams are about to come knocking at her door.

Lincoln Cash has gained fame and fortune on the big screen, but a crippling secret leaves him one last chance to make his mark on the movie industry. With dreams of hosting a new film festival, Lincoln intends to remodel a sprawling ranch in eastern Montana to make it the new Hollywood hot spot.

Unfortunately, a house fire threatens his plans. So does opposition from his new neighbor Stefanie Noble, who’s not thrilled about his Tinseltown changes. What Lincoln and Stefanie don’t know is that the fire won’t be the last disaster to threaten Lincoln or his future. Someone is out for revenge… but who? And who is the real target?

Read Chapter One >
Buy The Book >

Love Starts With Elle

Sunday, July 13th, 2008

Isn’t that the most darling name for a book you’ve ever heard? It makes me want to open the cover and dive right in. You?

About the book:

She’s the last of five sisters to find true love. So, when Elle Garvey’s wide receiver-turned-pastor boyfriend, Jeremiah Franklin, proposes, she answers an enthusiastic, “Yes.” Until…she discovers the engagement comes with unexpected sacrifices.

But every relationship requires compromise, and as Jeremiah takes on a large Dallas pastorate, Elle’s life purpose and calling is challenged. As she stays behind in Beaufort, South Carolina to plan the wedding and sell her beloved art gallery, doubt shadows her engagement decision.

Meanwhile, New York lawyer Heath McCord needs a change of scenery and moves with his young daughter to the low-country with dreams starting over and writing a novel.

As Heath renews his hope and heart, Elle’s life begins to unravel. Crushed when Jeremiah ends their engagement, she heals morning by morning, praying in a dilapidated chapel, searching for passion and purpose.

In the midst of crisis, God’s love ignites her heart, and as her friendship with Heath blooms into love, Elle understands beauty always rises from the ashes.

About Rachel:

Rachel Hauck is the author of ten, going on eleven novels, and has recently become “acclaimed.” (Yeah, funny how that happened. Some dude found her lottery stub stuck to the bottom of his shoe and tried to “acclaimed” her, but her husband refused to pay out.)

Living in central Florida with her hubby of sixteen years, two dogs and one ornery cat, Rachel is a graduate of Ohio State University and a huge Buckeye football fan. One day she hopes to stand on the sidelines next to Coach Tressel as a famed, acclaimed OSU alumni, beloved for her work in literature and letters. (She’s written at least a couple hundred letters in her lifetime.)

She is a worship and prayer leader in her city, a lover and disciple of Jesus.

Visit Rachel’s Blog and Website>
Book Link to Amazon >

Survivor: Mom Style

Saturday, July 12th, 2008

My friend Sherrie sent this to me and I thought it was laugh out loud funny! Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks.

Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.

There is no fast food.

Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, and complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list ‘pretend’ bills with not enough money. In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.

Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time — no emailing.

Each man must also take each child to a doctor’s appointment, a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment. He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care.

He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.

Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times.

The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.

The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn themselves with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed.

During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties.

They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.

They will need to read a book to the kids each night and in the morning, feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair by 7:00 am.

A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child’s birthday, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size and doctor’s name.

The kids vote them off the island based on performance.

The last man wins only if…he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment’s notice.

If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years eventually earning the right to be called Mother!

After you get done laughing, send this to as many females as you think will get a kick out of it and as many men as you think can handle it.

Just don’t send it back to me… I’m too busy.

From a Distance

Sunday, July 6th, 2008

This week I’d like to introduce you to my good friend, and a fabulous writer, Tamera Alexander. If you like historical romance novels this is the book for you. It’s sure to capture you from the first page and resonate in your heart long after you close the cover. Do you have secrets? Do you have dreams? Do you wonder where God is when things seem difficult? Read on…

TAMERA’S BIO:
Tamera Alexander is a bestselling novelist whose deeply drawn characters, thought-provoking plots and poignant prose resonate with readers. Tamera is a finalist for the 2008 Christy Award (Remembered), and has been awarded the coveted RITA® from Romance Writers of America (Revealed), along with Library Journal’s Top Christian Fiction of 2006 (Rekindled). Having lived in Colorado for seventeen years, she and her husband now make their home in the quaint town of historic Franklin, Tennessee, where they enjoy life with their two college-age children and a precious—and precocious—silky terrier named Jack.

“FROM A DISTANCE” BACK COVER BLURB:
What happens when dreams aren’t what you imagined,
And secrets you’ve spent a lifetime guarding are finally laid bare?

Determined to become one of the country’s premier newspaper photographers, Elizabeth Westbrook travels to the Colorado Territory to capture the grandeur of the mountains surrounding the remote town of Timber Ridge. She hopes, too, that the cool, dry air of Colorado, and its renowned hot springs, will cure the mysterious illness that threatens her career, and her life.

Daniel Ranslett, a former Confederate sharpshooter, is a man shackled by his past, and he’ll do anything to protect his land and his solitude. When an outspoken Yankee photographer captures an image that appears key to solving a murder, putting herself in danger, Daniel is called upon to repay a debt. He’s a man of his word, but repaying that debt will bring secrets from his past to light.

Forced on a perilous journey together, Daniel and Elizabeth’s lives intertwine in ways neither could have imagined when first they met … from a distance.

“…a rich historical romance by possibly the best new writer in this subgenre.”
–Library Journal

“…a most amazing story. The characters are more than words on the page; they become real people.”
–Romantic Times

A NOTE FROM TAMERA:
Stories are journeys, and each story I write is a journey for me.

Rekindled began with a dream – the image of a man returning home on horseback. He came upon a freshly dug grave and when he knelt to read the name carved into the roughhewn wooden cross, he discovered the name was…his own. The inspiration for Revealed grew from two characters in Rekindled whose stories needed to be told. But even more, whose stories I needed to tell. Writing Revealed was a very personal journey for me, and a healing one. For Remembered, I met that story’s heroine (figuratively, of course) while strolling the ancient cobblestoned pathways of a three hundred-year-old cemetery in northern Paris, France. And From a Distance came from a question I was struggling with in my own life at the time, “What happens when the dream you asked God for isn’t what you thought it would be?”

For me, the greatest thrill of these writing journeys is when Christ reveals Himself in some new way, and I take a step closer to Him. And my deepest desire is that readers of my books will do that as well — take steps closer to Him as they read. After all, it’s all about Him.

In the Potter’s Hand,
Tamera

www.tameraalexander.com

Shadows at the Window – Stay Awake Tonight!

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008

It’s thunderstorming and lightning at my house right now – the perfect weather for a good mystery. No matter what the weather at your house, may I recommend a new, captivating read? It’s titled Shadows at the Window and was written by my friend Linda Hall. Read further to learn more about Linda and her terrific titles.

http://writerhall.com

SHADOWS AT THE WINDOW: In Her Own Words Shadows at the Window is the second in my ’shadows’ trilogy. The women in these series of books must deal with and work through the ‘shadows’ in their pasts before they can make peace and find love in the present. In the first of the series, Shadows at the Mirror, the main character doesn’t know anything about her past. It’s a mystery she must uncover. In this release,

Shadows at the Window, main character Lilly Johnson knows her past all too well, and it’s one she’d rather forget. Because it’s so abhorrent to her, she’s made up a series of lies that she tells her fiancé. But, the past has a way of catching up with the present, and when people in her past show up, her first inkling is to run. But, that would mean leaving everything behind, and that’s something she’s not willing to do now.

BIO:
Linda Hall is the award-winning author of fifteen mystery and romantic suspense novels and many short stories. Her latest release, Shadows at the Window (July ’08) is a Romantic Times Top Pick for the month, and the first in her shadows trilogy, Shadows in the Mirror is a winner in The Word Guild’s Canadian Christian Writing Awards. It is also a finalist in the Reader’s Choice Awards.

In addition, both Sadie’s Song and Steal Away were short listed for the Christy Award. Steal Away was a Daphne finalist, the Beacon Award winner for Best Inspirational Novel, the Winter Rose Award Winner for Best Inspirational Novel, and was given the Award of Excellence from the Colorado Romance Writers.

Linda is a member of the Romance Writers of America, the American Christian Fiction Writers, The Word Guild and the Crime Writers of Canada.