Adam, By Ted Dekker (A must read!!!)

Hi Everyone!

If I was using a 1 to 5 scale star rating, this book would need a 5.5 or a 6! It would go off the rating charts. I hope that this book will become a movie like "Thr3e" did. Just for some background, I have only read one other Ted Dekker book, Obsession. And yes, I have seen the movie "Thr3e". Both of those just made me want to read more of Mr. Dekker's work. I am so glad that I got to read "Adam" because this was one wonderful book. It is the kind of book that you do not want to put down. The way this one is written you can see the whole movie/story played out in your mind. (Unless that is just me seeing it because of film-making photography degrees!) The theme and movement are non-stop and deeply compelling.

In the book "Adam" we find someone named Eve. Eve is a serial killer. That alone would be interesting enough for most people to read, but Ted Dekker digs into what is behind a killer. He takes his readers through what turned this person into this angry killer. Mr. Dekker uses several of the characters in this book to reach the truth of what made this particular person become someone who would, with out hesitation, kill another human being. And then procceed to kill another person, and kill again and again until it is a natural part of that persons life.

Daniel Clark, one of the main characters is determined to the point of being obsessed, with finding out what makes Eve tick. He will go to every single length, even if he doesn't know what that will do to him, even if means dieing over and over again to understand why Eve kills. How many times is Daniel willing to die? What truths does he expect to find? What understanding, what comfort, what will he learn from having his body repeatedly killed and resuscitated? At what point will he have gone too far?

Ted Dekker invites you to think, if you haven't before, about what role does God play in the life of a serial killer? What about the people who are around that killer? What about those who are obsessed with stopping the killer's string of murders? If Eve has a family, what are they like? What would a Priest or a Pastor do to handle this situation? Could someone you know turn into a cold blooded killer, and if so why??? Could you be turned into a killer yourself, and if not, what makes you safe that didn't make the other person safe from becoming a being with no respect for life?

Ted Dekker's thoughts, which happen to be very close to my own on this matter, are beautifully shown in this book. If you want and answer to any of the questions I wrote above, then you just have to read this book. I do highly recommend it! And to Mr. Dekker, one of these days I would *love* to do an online interview with you. I admire your work greatly!

Carol :)

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
ADAM
(Thomas Nelson April 1, 2008) byTed Dekker

Ted is the son of missionaries John and Helen Dekker, whose incredible story of life among headhunters in Indonesia has been told in several books. Surrounded by the vivid colors of the jungle and a myriad of cultures, each steeped in their own interpretation of life and faith, Dekker received a first-class education on human nature and behavior. This, he believes, is the foundation of his writing. After graduating from a multi-cultural high school, he took up permanent residence in the United States to study Religion and Philosophy. After earning his Bachelor's Degree, Dekker entered the corporate world in management for a large healthcare company in California. Dekker was quickly recognized as a talent in the field of marketing and was soon promoted to Director of Marketing. This experience gave him a background which enabled him to eventually form his own company and steadily climb the corporate ladder.Since 1997, Dekker has written full-time. He states that each time he writes, he finds his understanding of life and love just a little clearer and his expression of that understanding a little more vivid. Dekker's body of work encompassing seven mysteries, three thrillers and ten fantasies includes Heaven's Wager, When Heaven Weeps, Thunder of Heaven, Blessed Child, A Man Called Blessed, Blink, Thr3e, The Circle Trilogy (Black, Red, White), and Obsessed, with two more...Renegade, and Chaos to be released later this year.

About this Book:

He died once to stop the killer...now he's dying again to save his wife. FBI behavioral psychologist Daniel Clark has become famous for his well-articulated arguments that religion is one of society’s greatest antagonists. What Daniel doesn’t know is that his obsessive pursuit of a serial killer known only as “Eve” is about to end abruptly with an unexpected death-his own.Twenty minutes later Daniel is resuscitated, only to be haunted by the loss of memory of the events immediately preceding his death. Daniel becomes convinced that the only way to stop Eve is to recover those missing minutes during which he alone saw the killer’s face. And the only way to access them is to trigger his brain’s memory dump that occurs at the time of death by simulating his death again…and again. So begins a carefully researched psychological thriller which delves deep into the haunting realities of near-death experiences, demon possession, and the human psche."As always with a Ted Dekker thriller, the details of ADAM are stunning, pointing to meticulous research in a raft of areas: police and FBI methods, forensic medicine, psychological profiling-in short, all that accompanies a Federal hunt for a serial killer. But Dekker fully reveals his magic in the latter part of the book, when he subtly introduces his darker and more frightening theme. It's all too creepily convincing. We have to keep telling ourselves that this is fiction. At the same time, we can't help thinking that not only could it happen, but that it will happen if we're not careful."

New York Times best-selling author Ted Dekker unleashes his most riveting novel yet...an elusive serial killer whose victims die of unknown causes and the psychologist obsessed with catching him.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1595540075

Chris Walley’s The Shadow and Night

Hi Everyone!
What a week I have been having! Both good and bad things. I hope yours is well. Mine was definatly made more fascinating and relaxing by this wonderful book! I honestly can't wait to read the other books!

Chris Walley's The Shadow and Night was two books prior to this release. I can tell you this much, I have the rest of this trilogy on my *must have* list! :D This book has made me think, and escape, and ponder. Mr. Walley sent a wonderful letter with this book saying that he didn't try to be compared to C.S. Lewis. However, he did that!!! I definatly am seeing a wonderful fascinating work that is every bit as fascinating to read as C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy. The letter Mr. Walley sent also said that he wasn't working on any major theology in this book, but I loved was I was reading!!!

The whole setting from the start reminds me of reading about the 1,000 year reign of Peace after Christ returns, in which our Bible tells us that Satan will be able to come back and try to deceive many. When I was young I asked my Mother how could that be possible? How could *anyone* not see what evil is? How could they not know what sin and a fallen world is like? She told me that it would be because all those people born and living in that time frame would have been living much like it was in the Garden of Eden. They would be able to be pray to sin and Satan because they would have never known that before. While that wasn't what had caused the great peace in this book, so many things in this work, including a lasting peace the point that no one remembers what things were like prior, was wonderfully written. It has my mind thinking a great deal, and I really like that.

I even liked the name of this trilogy, The Lamb Among The Stars. Even the title carries power, and thought, and a promise of some really good reading. Chris Walley's work does just that too!
Oh, and before I go, I am thankful that Mr. Walley is British from Wales. I have a good bit of English/British blood in me, as well as Scottish/Irish. While I haven't gone overseas to England or other places I want to go in my life time, I have found over the years that my bloodlines do affect me. I love hot tea, of almost anykind for one example. In this case, my blood does tell, and I adored this book even more for the background of the author. ;)

I totally agree with one more thing that Mr. Walley put in his letter. Yes, for all Celts, and maybe even those of us who are farther removed from our ancestral home lands, the lines between the "real" world and the "Spirit" world are very thin, and often we see through it and work to understand or act upon what we have seen.

I can't wait to read more of this series, or anything else I can find that Chris Walley has written! He has been added to my Favorite Authors list. I hope that in the future, when I get to book #3, that I can interview him simply because it would be a great deal of fun, and an honor.

Carol :)

Featured author, Chris Walley Web site - http://www.chriswalley.net/
Author blog - http://chriswalley.blogspot.com/

Featured book, The Shadow and Night - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414313276

Participants’ Links:
Brandon Barr Jim Black Justin Boyer Grace Bridges Jackie Castle Carol Bruce Collett
Valerie Comer CSFF Blog Tour Gene Curtis D. G. D. Davidson Chris Deanne Janey DeMeo
Jeff Draper April Erwin Marcus Goodyear Rebecca Grabill Jill Hart Katie Hart Michael Heald Timothy Hicks Christopher Hopper Heather R. Hunt Jason Joyner Kait Carol Keen
Mike Lynch Margaret Rachel Marks Shannon McNear Melissa Meeks Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika or Mir's Here Pamela Morrisson Eve Nielsen John W. Otte John Ottinger
Deena Peterson Rachelle Steve Rice Ashley Rutherford Chawna Schroeder James Somers
Rachelle Sperling Donna Swanson Steve Trower Speculative Faith Robert Treskillard
Jason Waguespac Laura Williams Timothy Wise

My Name Is Russell Fink by Michael Snyder

Greetings and Happy Valentines Day!

This book had lots of twists and turns. The writing style was different, which I don't mind one bit. At first I was afraid that the story line was not going to go anywhere. However, it started moving along and as it did so I was more and more interested! This book is like a movie that starts off slow and you aren't sure that you didn't pick up a B or C grade movie. Your not sure if you want to stop watching/reading, but being someone who can't stand not know the ending you keep watching/reading. And as you keep going it gets more and more interesting and in the end you figure out it was a great movie, or in this case, a great book! This one is just hidden under the cover of a plain "ordinary" life, which none of us really have. I really loved the interview questions at the back of the book, that was a really nice touch.
I was really sorry about Sonny, so someone should tell Russell that in spite of being named Fink, that he needs to get a new dog for his next book. He is going to need one when something good that happened in the ending of this book happens in the next book.

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
My Name is Russell Fink
Zondervan (March 1, 2008)
by
Michael Snyder

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Michael Snyder has spent the bulk of his professional career in sales, has fallen in love, and continues to struggle with the balance between art and vocation. He's never investigated a murder, much less that of an allegedly clairvoyant dog.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Russell Fink is twenty-six years old and determined to salvage a job he hates so he can finally move out of his parents house for good. He's convinced he gave his twin sister cancer when they were nine years old. And his crazy fiancée refuses to accept the fact that their engagement really is over.Then Sonny, his allegedly clairvoyant basset hound, is found murdered.The ensuing amateur investigation forces Russell to confront several things at once-the enormity of his family's dysfunction, the guy stalking his family, and his long-buried feelings for a most peculiar love interest.At its heart, My Name is Russell Fink is a comedy, with sharp dialogue, characters steeped in authenticity, romance, suspense, and fresh humor. With a postmodern style similar to Nick Hornby and Douglas Coupland, the author explores reconciliation, forgiveness, and faith in the midst of tragedy. No amount of neurosis or dysfunction can derail God's redemptive purposes.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310277272

Healing Stones by

Wow Everyone!!!
This book was aptly named with the healing part! Wow! The authors created an impressive book in this one. I was thrilled to see real life issues, with hope and HEALING included. Though our lives, and those in this book are not perfect, God's grace, love and forgiveness will lead us to healing. I wish I could visit with Sullivan Crisp, that is how fantastic that character is already. If it isn't his story that you are relating to, then there are many other story lines happening that you will be able to relate to. Demitria and her agony of her affair, why she had it and how she can deal with it is another huge main character.

Jayne, Christopher, Ethan, Audrey, or even Mickey are characters that I would think most people know someone like, or have known people much like them. Healing Stones was a very God inspired book, and I am thankful I read it. We all have areas that need healing, and I think this book will be bringing it to many, including myself.

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Healing Stones
(Thomas Nelson January 1, 2008)
by
Stephen Arterburn & Nancy Rue

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Stephen Arterburn is the founder and chairman of New Life Ministries—the nation’s largest faith-based broadcast, counseling and treatment ministry—and is the host of the nationally syndicated “New Life Live!” daily radio...

By 1996 Nancy was a full-time writer. The Christian Heritage Series made that possible. She was writing those books from the early 1990's until 2000.And then a new opportunity came along--the Lily series. If she ever doubted that she was going to make it as a writer, man, that little red-head put those fears to rest! And, of course, Sophie followed Lily, with some teen and grown-up books in between -- plus the non-fiction books designed just for you.Nancy and her husband live in Tennessee now, overlooking a beautiful lake, lots of sycamore trees, and the rocky Tennessee hills. They have a bright yellow power boat named BANANA SPLIT which you can find us on no matter what the weather. Marijean and her husband live nearby with my three grand-dogs and three grand-cats (and two grand-snakes . . .)













ABOUT THE BOOK

With one flash of a camera, Demi's private life becomes public news. She doesn't know it yet, but her healing has just begun.Christian college professor Demitria Costanas had vowed to end her affair with a colleague. But she gives into temptation one last time...and a lurking photographer captures her weakness for all to see. Quite literally, she's the woman caught in adultery. And almost everyone--herself included--has a stone to throw.Enter Sullivan Crisp, a decidedly unorthodox psychologist with his own baggage. He's well-known for his quirky sense of humor and incorporation of "game show" theology into his counseling sessions. And yet there's something more he offers...hope for a fresh start.Reluctantly the two of them begin an uplifting, uneven journey filled with healing and grace. By turns funny and touching, this story explores the ways humans hurt each other and deceive themselves. And it shows the endlessly creative means God uses to turn stones of accusation and shame into works of beauty that lead us onto the path of healing.An auspicious debut for a candid yet tender series about pain, healing, and God's invitation for second chances.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0849918901

Sister's Ink by Rebeca Seitz

Hey Everyone!!!

This was a super cute and sweet book! I liked it, and loved the fast moving pace. I don't have a sister, but my Mother does. So in this book I did see the dynamics that I have seen before between my Mother and her sister! I enjoyed that immensely. While my Mother and I don't do scrapbooking, she dose a great deal of Parmagomo. I am just starting in that, but well I know the fun of choosing many colored pieces of paper for a project. It is great artistic fun!

The scrapbooking reminds me of all the wonderful times my Mother and I have worked in a darkroom together developing photos. It was a good feeling to read that sort of thing in a book. I liked the small town of Stars Hill as a setting in the book. I guess I have lived near too many of those small towns, and I am in one now as a matter of fact. I appreciated that it was in Tennessee. Being an Alabama born and raised gal myself, we weren't too far from the TN. state line and enjoyed many trips there over the years.

All that aside, I loved Cooper. I was pleased to see a dog prominently featured in this book. I happen to raise and train dogs, and they have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. While I love all animals, having a dog, cat or another animal featured in a book makes it even more real to me than it would be with out it. I would like to read the next book in this series, and I loved the recipe at the back of the book. I am going to have to make that one and see how it turns out!

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Sister's Ink
Broadman & Holman Books (February 1, 2008)
by
Rebeca Seitz

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rebeca Seitz is Founder and President of Glass Road Public Relations. An author for several years, PRINTS CHARMING was her first novel.Rebeca cut her publicity teeth as the first dedicated publicist for the fiction division of Thomas Nelson Publishers. In 2005, Rebeca resigned from WestBow and opened the doors of GRPR, the only publicity firm of its kind in the country dedicated solely to representing novelists writing from a Christian worldview. Rebeca makes her home in Kentucky with her husband, Charles, and their son, Anderson.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Sisters, Ink marks the first in a series of novels written by, for, and about scrapbookers. At the center of the creativity and humor are four unlikely young adult sisters, each separately adopted during early childhood into the loving home of Marilyn and Jack Sinclair.Ten years after their mother Marilyn has died, the multi-racial Sinclair sisters (Meg, Kendra, Tandy, and Joy) still return to her converted attic scrapping studio in the small town of Stars Hill, Tennessee, to encourage each other through life’s highs and lows.Book one spotlights headstrong Tandy, a successful yet haunted attorney now living back in Orlando where she spent the first eight years of her life on the streets as a junkie’s kid. When a suddenly enforced leave of absence at work leads her to an extended visit with her sisters in Stars Hill, a business oppor­tunity, rekindled romance, and fresh understanding of God’s will soon follow.

Endorsements:
"What more can any woman want? Sisters, Ink weaves the love of sisters, the fun of scrapbooking, and a romance as sugary and tingling as Sweet Home Alabama. A must read for those who love southern fiction."--DiAnn Mills, author of Leather and Lace and When the Nile Runs Red

"Fun . . . funny . . . fantastic! Rebeca Seitz has brought together scrapbooking and sisterhood in a lively romp, with a love for going home again."--Eva Marie Everson, coauthor of The Potluck Club series.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805446907

A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman

Hello ALL!

After reading this book I understood the title, but not the book. I was confused at the setting to start with. If Faith was from Boston, then her standing didn't make sense to me. She wasn't upper class because she was working and several other things, but she wasn't in the lower class either. That was the first thing that threw me. If Faith was upper class, then she would have had an escort or a chaperone. I couldn't figure out if I was lost in the wrong genera, or time frame or what happened here. So pushing that all aside, I found myself pondering why she didn't go to finishing school if she were in the Boston Upper-Crust, I decided she must be in some lost middle class that I never heard of before in this era.

I was highly bothered by the lost of Faith's sister Hope. Just on words alone, Charity and Faith live when Hope is dead. Wow. That messed with my mind. I would have loved to have seen the ending being much different. I don't want to give anything away for anyone who wants to read this book, but let me just say that if you kill one main character, you can bring that character back as say, a baby of one of the other sisters perhaps? I haven't read the other books in this series, and I don't plan on reading them. This one was hard to get through, and parts of it were just flat out hard to make myself read and not just skim over until something became interesting. Since that is not the kind of reader I am, so that worried me. Over all it was an o.k. book, but not one I would recommend or care to re-read.


This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
A Passion Most Pure
(Revell January 1, 2008)
by
Julie Lessman

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Julie Lessman is a debut author who has already garnered writing acclaim, including ten Romance Writers of America awards. She is a commercial writer for Maritz Travel, a published poet and a Golden Heart Finalist. Julie has a heart to write “Mainstream Inspirational,” reaching the 21st-century woman with compelling love stories laced with God’s precepts. She resides in Missouri with her husband and their golden retriever, and has two grown children and a daughter-in-law. A Passion Most Pure is her first novel.

ABOUT THE BOOK


She's found the love of her life. Unfortunately, he loves her sister ...

As World War I rages across the Atlantic in 1916, a smaller war is brewing in Boston. Faith O’Connor finds herself drawn to an Irish rogue who is anything but right for her. Collin McGuire is brash, cocky, and from the wrong side of the tracks, not to mention forbidden by her father. And then there’s the small matter that he is secretly courting her younger sister. But when Collin’s affections suddenly shift her way, it threatens to tear Faith's proper Boston family apart.

Refusing to settle for anything less than a romantic relationship that pleases God, Faith O'Connor steels her heart against her desire for the roguish Collin McGuire. Collin is trying to win her sister Charity's hand, and Faith isn't sure she can handle the jealousy she feels. Full of passion, romance, rivalry, and betrayal, A Passion Most Pure is Book 1 of the Daughters of Boston series.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0800732111