Wednesday, August 31, 2011

The Survivor by Shelley Shepard Gray


This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
The Survivor
Avon Inspire; Original edition (August 30, 2011)
by
Shelley Shepard Gray


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Shelley Shepard Gray is the beloved author of the Sisters of the Heart series, including Hidden, Wanted, and Forgiven. Before writing, she was a teacher in both Texas and Colorado. She now writes full time and lives in southern Ohio with her husband and two children. When not writing, Shelley volunteers at church, reads, and enjoys walking her miniature dachshund on her town's scenic bike trail.

Check out Shelley's Facebook Fan page



ABOUT THE BOOK

One of today’s most beloved authors of inspirational Christian fiction, Shelley Shepard Gray completes her acclaimed Families of Honor series with The Survivor—a poignant and beautiful story of love and faith in a small Amish community. Delving once more into the lives of these devout and fascinating folk, as she did in her popular Sisters of the Heart and Seasons of Sugarcreek novels, Gray tells the story of a young Amish woman who has survived the ravages of cancer, but now longs for the love of the one man who can heal her lonely heart. Like Beverly Lewis, Wanda Brunstetter, and Cindy Woodsmall, Shelley Shepard Gray introduces readers to characters they will never forget as she masterfully depicts a world of simple living, abiding faith, and honest emotions.

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

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Thunder in the Morning Calm by Don Brown


This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Thunder in the Morning Calm
Zondervan (August 2, 2011)
by
Don Brown


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

DON BROWN, a former U.S. Navy JAG Officer, is the author of Zondervan’s riveting NAVY JUSTICE SERIES, a dynamic storyline chronicling the life and adventures of JAG officer ZACK BREWER. After TREASON, his first novel in the NAVY JUSTICE SERIES, was published to rave reviews in 2005, drawing comparisons to the writing style of John Grisham, Don Brown was named as co-chairman of national I LOVE TO WRITE DAY, an event recognized by the governors of nine states to promote writing throughout the nation, and especially among the nation’s schools.

Paying no homage to political correctness, Don's writing style is described as “gripping,” casting an entertaining and educational spin on a wide-range of current issues, from radical Islamic infiltration of the military, to the explosive issue of gays in the military, to the modern day issues of presidential politics in the early 21st Century.

Don graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1982, and after finishing law school, continued his post-graduate studies through the Naval War College, earning the Navy’s nonresident certificate in International Law.

During his five years on active duty in the Navy, Don served in the Pentagon, was published in the Naval Law Review, and was also a recipient of the Navy Achievement Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Lieutenant Commander 'Gunner' McCormick is assigned as an intelligence officer to Carrier Strike Force 10, being deployed to the Yellow Sea at the invitation of South Korea for joint exercises with the US Navy. During his pre-deployment briefing, he discovers a TOP-SECRET MEMO revealing rumors that the North Koreans may still be holding a handful of elderly Americans from the Korean War in secret prison camps.

As it happens, Gunner's grandfather, who was a young marine officer in the Korean War, disappeared at Chosin Reservoir over 60 years ago and is still listed as MIA in North Korea. Sworn to silence about what he has read, the top-secret memo eats at him. Gunner decides to spend all his inheritance and break every military regulation in the book to finance his own three-man commando squad on a suicide mission north of the DMZ to search for clues about the fate of his grandfather.
Risking his career, his fortune, and his life, Gunner will get his answers, or he will die trying.

Don Brown is building a loyal fan base by writing what he knows best: thrillers with heart. A former Navy JAG officer and action officer in the Pentagon, Brown pens action-packed plots and finely-drawn characters that are credible and compelling. Thunder in the Morning Calm is a novel of bravery, duty, and family love that will keep readers of all ages reading straight through to the last page.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Thunder in the Morning Calm , go HERE

Monday, August 15, 2011

Dancing on Glass by Pamela Ewen



This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Dancing on Glass
B&H Books (August 1, 2011)
by
Pamela Ewen


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Until recently retiring to write full time, Pamela Binnings Ewen was a partner in the Houston office of the international law firm of BakerBotts, L.L.P., specializing in corporate finance. She now lives just outside New Orleans, Louisiana, with her husband, James Lott.

She has served on the Board of Directors of Inprint, Inc., a non-profit organization supporting the literary arts in Houston, Texas, as well as the Advisory Board for The New Orleans Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Tennessee Williams Festival in New Orleans; Pamela is a co-founder of the Northshore Literary Society in the Greater New Orleans area. She is also a member of the National League of American Pen Women.

Pamela’s first novel, Walk Back The Cat (Broadman & Holman. May, 2006) is the story of an embittered and powerful clergyman who learns an ancient secret, confronting him with truth and a choice that may destroy him.

She is also the best-selling author of the acclaimed non-fiction book Faith On Trial, published by Broadman & Holman in 1999, currently in its third printing.

Although it was written for non-lawyers, Faith On Trial was also chosen as a text for a course on law and religion at Yale Law School in the Spring of 2000, along with The Case For Christ by Lee Stroble. Continuing the apologetics begun in Faith On Trial, Pamela also appears with Gary Habermas, Josh McDowell, Darrell Bock, Lee Stroble, and others in the film Jesus: Fact or Fiction, a Campus Crusade for Christ production.

Pamela is the latest writer to emerge from a Louisiana family recognized for its statistically improbable number of successful authors. A cousin, James Lee Burke, who won the Edgar Award, wrote about the common ancestral grandfathers in his Civil War novel White Dove At Morning.

Among other writers in the family are Andre Dubus (Best Picture Oscar nomination for The Bedroom; his son, Andre Dubus III, author of The House of Sand and Fog, a Best Picture Oscar nomination and an Oprah pick; Elizabeth Nell Dubus (the Cajun trilogy); and Alafair Burke, just starting out with the well received Samantha Kincaid mystery series.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In the steamy city of New Orleans in 1974, Amalise Catoir sees Phillip Sharp as a charming, magnetic artist, unlike any man she has known. A young lawyer herself, raised in a small town and on the brink of a career with a large firm, she is strong and successful, yet sometimes too trusting and whimsical. Ama's rash decision to marry Phillip proves to be a mistake as he becomes overly possessive, drawing his wife away from family, friends, and her faith. His insidious, dangerous behavior becomes her dark, inescapable secret.

In this lawyer's unraveling world, can grace survive Ama's fatal choice? What would you do when prayers seem to go unanswered, faith has slipped away, evil stalks, and you feel yourself forever dancing on shattered glass?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Dancing on Glass, go HERE.

Watch the book trailer:

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Georgia Romance Writers Maggie Awards Finalists

Congratulations to Georgia Romance Writers Maggie Awards Finalists!!!

Winners will be announced October 1, 2011
** denotes a member of GRW


Contemporary Series, Published
  • Kathy Lyons, Under His Spell
  • Trish Milburn, Elly: Cowgirl Bride**
  • Rita Herron, Unbreakable Bond**
  • Kathy Lyons, Taking Care of Business
  • Kimberly Lang, What Happens in Vegas
Historical, Published
  • Margaret Mallory, Knight of Passion
  • Vanessa Kelly, Sex and the Single Earl
  • Caroline Fyffe, Montana Dawn
Inspirational, Published
  • Deeanne Gist, Maid to Match
  • Anne Greene, Masquerade Marriage
  • Leanna Ellis, Facelift
  • Virginia Smith, Third Time’s a Charm
  • Trish Perry, The Perfect Blend
Paranormal, Published
  • Kalayna Price, Grave Witch
  • Helen Scott Taylor, The Phoenix Charm
  • Patti O’Shea, In the Darkest Night
  • Robin D. Owens, Heart Journey
  • D. Renee Bagby, Eris
Single Title, Published
  • Laura Moore, Remember Me
  • Lorelle Marinello, Salting Roses
  • Deeanne Gist & J. Mark Bertrand, Beguiled
  • Wendy Wax, Magnolia Wednesdays**
  • Karen White, On Folly Beach**
Young Adult, Published
  • Maureen Hardegree, Haint Misbehavin’**
  • Trish Mills, Winter Longing**
  • Traci Hall, Wiccan Cool
  • Gillian Summers, Shadows of the Redwood**
  • Melanie Dickerson, The Healer’s Apprentice
Contemporary Series, Unpublished
  • Ruth Homrighaus, Companion Wanted
  • Elaine Miller, Vanished
  • Terry Poca, Breaking the Rules**
  • Susan May, Doctor’s Newfound Family**
  • Rebecca Samson, A Future for Abby
Single Title, Unpublished
  • Sharon Wray, Juliet’s Rogue
  • Laura Templeton, The Waters and the Wild**
  • Sandra Tilley, Honeysuckle Wine
  • Heather Nickodem, Red Sky at Night
  • Gloria Richard, Color My World
  • Petria Aubol, Yeehaw Paisano
Historial, Unpublished
  • Jennifer McQuiston, A Private Affair**
  • Dora Mekauar w/as Diana Quincey, Tempting Bella
  • Meredith Simmons, Shadow Dancer
  • Meredith Simmons, Chameleon
  • Carol Hayes w/as Elise Hayes, Lady Unbound
Inspirational, Unpublished
  • Dianna Shuford, Charmed Deception**
  • Stacy Monson, Living Peace
  • Katy Lee, Baffled
  • Katy Lee, Real Virtue
  • Walt Mussell, The Samurai’s Heart**
Paranormal/Fantasy, Unpublished
  • Heather Molloy, Murphy’s Law
  • Rebecca Skrable, The Devil of Whitechapel
  • Wendy Anderson, A Pack of Two
  • Sherry McNabb, Homecoming
  • Pat Eckhoff, Prince of the Four Seas
Young Adults, Unpublished
  • Natasha Hacaga, Awaken
  • Terry Poca, Timeless Love**
  • Bonnie Staring, Camp Awakening
  • Daphne Gray, Out the Backdoor
  • Romily Bernard, Wired**
  • Romily Bernard, Ashes**

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

A Most Unsuitable Match by Stephanie Grace Whitson

This sounds like a really fun story..........



This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
A Most Unsuitable Match
Bethany House; Original edition (August 1, 2011)
by
Stephanie Grace Whitson


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A native of southern Illinois, Stephanie Grace Whitson has lived in Nebraska since 1975. She began what she calls "playing with imaginary friends" (writing fiction) when, as a result of teaching her four homeschooled children Nebraska history, she was personally encouraged and challenged by the lives of pioneer women in the West. Since her first book, Walks the Fire, was published in 1995, Stephanie's fiction titles have appeared on the ECPA bestseller list numerous times and been finalists for the Christy Award, the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award, and ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year.

Her first nonfiction work, How to Help a Grieving Friend, was released in 2005. In addition to serving in her local church and keeping up with two married children, two college students, and a high school senior, Stephanie enjoys motorcycle trips with her family and church friends. Her passionate interests in pioneer women's history, antique quilts, and French, Italian, and Hawaiian language and culture provide endless story-telling possibilities.

ABOUT THE BOOK

An unlikely attraction occurs between two passengers on a steamboat journey up the Missouri River to Montana...

She is a self-centered young woman from a privileged family who fears the outdoors and avoids anything rustic. He is a preacher living under a sense of duty and obligation to love the unlovable people in the world. She isn't letting anything deter her from solving a family mystery that surfaced after her mother's death. He is on a mission to reach the rejects of society in the remote wilderness regions of Montana. Miss Fannie Rousseau and Reverend Samuel Beck are opposites in every way... except in how they both keep wondering if their paths will ever cross again.

If you would like to read the first chapter of A Most Unsuitable Match, go HERE.

Monday, August 8, 2011

The Hardest Thing by Penelope Wilcock



This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
The Hardest Thing
Crossway Books (July 31, 2011)
by
Penelope Wilcock




ABOUT THE AUTHOR:







PENELOPE WILCOCK is a full-time author living in Hastings, Sussex, on the southeast coast of England. Her blog, Kindred of the Quiet Way, is about a simple and spiritual Christian lifestyle. Her other books in The Hawk and the Dove series are The Hawk and the Dove, The Wounds of God, and The Long Fall.









ABOUT THE BOOK



This latest in Wilcock’s The Hawk and the Dove series takes readers into the world of a fourteenth-century monastery struggling to forgive an old enemy seeking refuge.



The first of three sequels to the celebrated The Hawk and the Dove trilogy takes place one year after the end of the third book, in the early fourteenth century. A peaceful monastery is enjoying its new abbot, who is taking the place of Father Peregrine, when an old enemy arrives seeking refuge. Reluctantly taking in Prior William, the upended community must address old fears and bitterness while warily seeking reconciliation. But can they really trust Prior William?



In her fourth book in the series, Penelope Wilcock wrestles with the difficulties of forgiveness and the cautions of building trust. Taking the form of journal entries, her story will delight the imaginations of readers captivated by a time and place far distant from our current world. Her timeless themes, however, will challenge our prejudices today as we, along with her characters, are forced to ask ourselves, “What is the hardest thing to do?”



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

Saturday, August 6, 2011

I chopped it all off!

Showing the length of my hair in June @ Disney World's Boardwalk Resort
After my hair cut on Friday... I'm holding my donation to Locks of Love :)

Finalist!

I've always enjoyed reading historical novels. As a child I actually imagined living in the mid 1800s. My grandmother fed my imaginatio...