Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Nightshade by Ronie Kendig

Greetings Everyone!

I must say I am very impressed by this book! I'm a wee bit beind finishing it. This book has hit so close to home with me in so many areas that reading it has been addictive and painful at the same time.

Max is a war hero who has come home to try to live in the "real world" again. Like so many of the men I know who have fought for our country he isn't adjusting well at all. Max's anger is much like the anger I frequently face in my own husband, which is why I said this book is painful in some ways. Not bad mind you, just ouch because of the parellels of my own life.

Sydney is Max's wife. Like myself, she has had to file for divorce even though it is ripping her into pieces. She had to file a restraining order, and has a few other complications I don't have though. Sydney doesn't know how to handle Max's anger anymore, and it is about to cost Max everything he has ever worked for, or dreamed of. Anger tends to to that when it is unchecked, and unresolved, it destroys.

Unable to cope, Max is asked to join Nightshade. Nightshade is a completly secret, total deniyal, beyond black-ops team. It is Max's hope that this job will ease his anger, and help him care for Sydney from afar.
Max really does love Sydney. I like how I see him reaching out to her, even from a distance. He protects her as best he can and there is so much to be said for that!

I would recommend this book as important and good reading. I am off to finish the end of it now.
Carol :)




This week, the



Christian Fiction Blog Alliance



is introducing



Nightshade
Barbour Books (July 1, 2010)
by



Ronie Kendig

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ronie has been married since 1990 to a man who can easily be defined in classic terms as a hero. She has four beautiful children. Her eldest daughter is 16 this year, her second daughter will be 13, and her twin boys are 10. After having four children, she finally finished her degree in December 2006. She now has a B.S. in Psychology through Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. Getting her degree is a huge triumph for both her and her family--they survived!!
This degree has also given her a fabulous perspective on her characters and how to not only make them deeper, stronger, but to make them realistic and know how they'll respond to each situation. Her debut novel, Dead Reckoning released March 2010 from Abingdon Press. And her Discarded Heroes series begins in July from Barbour with the first book entitled Nightshade.

ABOUT THE BOOK

After a tour of duty in a war-torn country, embattled former Navy SEAL Max Jacobs finds himself discarded and alienated from those he loves as he struggles with war-related PTSD. His wife, Sydney, files a restraining order against him and a petition for divorce. Max is devastated.

Then a mysterious a man appears. He says he's organizing a group that recycles veterans like Max. It's a deep-six group known as Nightshade. With the chance to find purpose in life once again, Max is unable to resist the call of duty and signs on.

The team handles everything with precision and lethal skill...until they're called upon to rescue a missionary family from a rebel-infested jungle and avoid a reporter hunting their identities.

Will Max yield his anger and pride to a force greater than him...love?
If you would like to read the first chapter of Nightshade, go HERE.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/160260777X

Watch the trailer:

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Stars In The Night by Cara Putman

Hi All,

Aggg! This book came in my mail box TODAY! I have not had time to read it, so here is the regular information. Sorry about that. I will have to squeeze it in as a "catch up" as I can.

Carol :0


This week, the



Christian Fiction Blog Alliance



is introducing



Stars In The Night
Summerside Press (July 1, 2010)



by
Cara Putman






ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A Word From Cara:

I graduated from high school at sixteen, college at 20, and completed my law degree when I was 27.

My writing journey started in 2005 when I decided to write my first novel. Now I have eleven books published with more on the way.

People say I've accomplished a lot and that I must have life by the proverbial tail. Hardly! I grew up as a home schooled kid when home schoolers were misunderstood and oddities.

I struggle with balancing my writing and law career, plus being a good mom and wife.

I often fear people won't like my books.

I've walked through the deep pain of miscarriage.

Really, I'm just like you – I don't have it all together and have gone through tough times. But in His strength, I've discovered a strength I never knew I had. A strength I want you to discover, too.

In the end I'm just an ordinary mom who has seen God do some wonderful things as I've been obedient to step into the calling He's led me into.

Stars in the Night Background


Stars in the Night was an idea that had begun to percolate in my mind. I’d written two World War II series and was actively looking for my next setting. My husband, a huge World War II history buff, and I were kicking ideas around, and I’d decided Hollywood was probably the next place for me. I’d gone to the library and gotten a stack of research books when I got the call. An editor I knew but had never worked with wanted to know if I might be interested in a new line they were starting. As we talked, I got so excited. And then she emailed me their guidelines, which listed that Hollywood was a location they were interested in setting books.

Only God could have known ahead of time. But because I followed His prompting I was ready to run with an idea. Stars in the Night is the result.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Hollywood 1942. When attorney Audra Schaeffer's sister disappears, Audra flies to Hollywood to find her.

Any day Audra might have been flattered by the friendly overtures of Robert Garfield, a real-life movie star. But on the flight from Indianapolis to Hollywood, Audra can think of little else than finding her missing sister. When Audra arrives in the city of glitz and glamour, and stars, and learns her rising starlet sister has been murdered, all thoughts of romance fly away.

Determined to bring the killer to justice, Audra takes a job with the second Hollywood Victory Caravan.

Together with Robert Garfield and other stars, she crisscrosses the southern United States in a campaign to sell war bonds. When two other women are found dead on the train, Audra knows the deaths are tied to that of her sister.


Could the killer be the man with whom she's falling in love?

If you'd like to read an excerpt of Chapter 1 of Stars In The Night, go HERE.

Contest: Lots of opportunities to win and great prizes, and the grand prize contains some of Cara's favorite classic movies as well as all of her WWII novels: Launch Contest!

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1609360117 

Monday, July 19, 2010

Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

Hello All,

A really nice first book! I like to read the first books that authors write. They are often a great insight of things to come, and how much I will like that writer. Anne Elisabeth Stengl did "right well" as my Grandmother would say, with her first book, Heartless.

Heartless, is as I figured from the title, not with out heart. LOL! While being slow at the front, life is slow with most spoiled people, be they a Princess, or not. Anytime you have dragons I am interested.
About half way in the book you are likely to become riveted.

Princess Una reminds me of the mind set I grew up with in my family. It was passed down through several generations, but my Grandmother and Mother often talked of all their suitors. Una's stress remind me of them, and of my own struggles in some ways. Spoiled and misguided as Una can be, she is looking for love. She has given her heart away to someone who doesn't love her, and well I know how painful that can be. While this book stands on its own, it also leaves many questions that I hope to see answers to in the next book.

Carol :)



This week, the



Christian Fiction Blog Alliance



is introducing



Heartless
Bethany House (July 1, 2010)



by



Anne Elisabeth Stengl



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Anne Elisabeth Stengl makes her home in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she enjoys her profession as an art teacher, giving private lessons from her personal studio, and teaching group classes at the Apex Learning Center. She studied illustration at Grace College and English literature at Campbell University. Heartless is her debut novel.






ABOUT THE BOOK
Princess Una of Parumvir has come of age and will soon be married. She dreams of a handsome and charming prince, but when the first suitor arrives, she finds him stodgy and boring. Prince Aethelbald from the mysterious land of Farthestshore has traveled far to prove his love--and also to bring hushed warnings of danger. A dragon is rumored to be approaching Parumvir.

Una, smitten instead with a more dashing prince, refuses Aethelbald's offer--and ignores his warnings. Soon the Dragon King himself is in Parumvir, and Una, in giving her heart away unwisely, finds herself in grave danger. When Una makes the wrong choice, catastrophe ensues for the princess and her family, and love, courage, and trust are needed when darkness engulfs the kingdom.

Only those courageous enough to risk everything have a hope of fighting off this advancing evil.

There are some delightful things and scenes: the Twelve-Year Market that appears in its own good time and sells fairy goods; a clever blind cat who is invariably underfoot and has, of course, a secret!

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

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764207806 

Starlighter by Bryan Davis


Hello Readers!

Here is a book you will not wish to miss. Starlighter was a wonderful book to read. On a planet that isn't Earth are dragons. These dragons are intelligent, able to speak, and use humans as slaves! On another world a small group of humans are making plans to free those in captivity to the dragons. Thus you enter the world of Jason Masters, and Koren. Koren has a very special gift, and thus she is to guard and bond to an egg that is said will bring about the end of the world as Koren knows it. 

Starlighter is good to read, and leaves you happily waiting for the next book in the series. Many aspects of human frailties and strengths were shown where they were easy to understand, and compared nicely to the traits of the dragons. 

I look forward to the next book! 

Carol :) 

Starlighter

(The first book in the Dragons of Starlight series)


A novel by

Bryan Davis




About the Book:
Dragons are enslaving humankind and a black egg signals the end of the world. Jason Masters must journey to another realm and join forces with a slave girl named Koren to rescue the captives and save two worlds from destruction. What if the Legends Are True? Jason Masters doubted the myths: people taken through a portal to another realm and enslaved by dragons. But when his brother is taken, he must uncover the truth and find the portal before it's too late. Once he's through the portal, he meets Koren, a slave in the dragons realm, who struggles to destroy a black egg prophesied to doom all mankind. Jason and Koren must work together to save their two worlds before the dragons learn that their secrets have been discovered. In Starlighter, bestselling author Bryan Davis masterfully weaves fantasy and inspiration into a captivating novel for young adults.


YouTube Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVE8IQcx7-M
Starlighter: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310718368/
Author blog - http://dragonsinourmidst.blogspot.com/
Author Web site - http://www.dragonsinourmidst.com/

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. :) 


Participants’ links:
Brandon Barr
Beckie Burnham
Jeff Chapman
R. L. Copple
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Nikole Hahn
Ryan Heart
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Leighton
Jane Maritz
Rebecca LuElla Miller
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Crista Richey
SarahFlan
Chawna Schroeder
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson
KM Wilsher



Monday, July 12, 2010

Back On Murder by J. Mark Bertrand

Greetings Readers!

When Back On Murder opened, I wasn't sure I liked the tone of the book. It felt a bit like I a fell into another open ended episode of Law and Order. What I found though is that Mr. Bertrand is writing in a bit more of the old style that I like in black and white detective movies. With that in mind I settled down into reading the trail of a missing teen-age girl, daughter of a famous evangelists, and the man who is working to find her.  That man is a homicide detective named Roland March.  All March has to do is find her, find the truth, and not get killed in the process.

Very nice read, with a good going pace that sucks you in and keeps you going happily.

Carol



This week, the




Christian Fiction Blog Alliance




is introducing




Back On Murder
Bethany House (July 1, 2010)




by
J. Mark Betrand



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



J. Mark Bertrand has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. After one hurricane too many, he left Houston and relocated with his wife Laurie to the plains of South Dakota.
Mark has been arrested for a crime he didn't commit, was the foreman of a hung jury in Houston, and after relocating served on the jury that acquitted Vinnie Jones of assault. In 1972, he won an honorable mention in a child modeling contest, but pursued writing instead. Besides his personal website, visit his Crime Genre website at http://www.crimegenre.com/.

The next book in this series, Pattern Of Wounds will come out in the summer of 2011.


ABOUT THE BOOK
Det. Roland March is a homicide cop on his way out.

A missing girl. A corrupt investigation. They thought they could get away with it, but they forgot one thing:


Roland March is BACK ON MURDER...


Houston homicide detective Roland March was once one of the best. Now he's disillusioned, cynical, and on his way out. His superiors farm him out on a variety of punishment details. But when he's the only one at a crime scene to find evidence of a missing female victim, he's given one last chance to prove himself. Before he can crack the case, he's transferred to a new one that has grabbed the spotlight--the disappearance of a famous Houston evangelist's teen daughter.

All he has to do? Find the missing teenage daughter of a Houston evangelist that every cop in town is already looking for. But March has an inside track, a multiple murder nobody else thinks is connected. With the help of a youth pastor with a guilty conscience who navigates the world of church and faith, March is determined to find the missing girls while proving he's still one of Houston's best detectives.

Battling a new partner, an old nemesis, and the demons of his past, getting to the truth could cost March everything. Even his life.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Back On Murder, go HERE.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764206370

Friday, July 9, 2010

Tomorrow We Die by Shawn Grady

Hey Everyone,
This is a gripping one! I not really much of an ER or General Hopsital type fan. Oh, don't get me wrong, in a crisis I tend to be a first responder type. I just have watched enough people pass with out being a paramedic, but I tend to draw to other kinds of books. I am very glad I was drawn to Tomorrow We Die though!
Shawn Grady brought his real life background into this book and started it out on the ground going full tilt.

In Tomorrow We Die, Johnathan Trestle is an emergancy paramedic. His charactor is the kind of people I knew in college, and still know some like today. Johnathan and his friend Bones answer a down the on side walk call which manages to save a man's lfie. Then what could have so easily been a last dying request winds up with Johnathan being given a note to give to "Martin". He has no idea who Martin is, or exactly where to find him, but Johnathan feels compeled to complete this task even though the man was still living when they got him to the hospital.

Johanthan gets there to find the *same man* but this time, he has been murdered! Thus starts The Angel Of Death tracking Johanathan! I refuse to tell you too much, but I will say that this starts a life and death race for Johanathan as he is driven to find the Truth of how he got into this mess, while not having his "number called".

I really enjoyed the work that Shawn Grady put into this book. I love how he poured his real life training, and probably some experiences he can't name by name, into this story for us to read.

Carol


This week, the



Christian Fiction Blog Alliance



is introducing



Tomorrow We Die
Bethany House (July 1, 2010)



by
Shawn Grady


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Shawn Grady signed with Bethany House Publishers in 2008. He was named “Most Promising New Writer” at the 39th Annual Mount Hermon Writers Conference. He is the author of the novels Through the Fire & Tomorrow We Die.

Shawn has served for over a decade as a firefighter and paramedic in northern Nevada. From fire engines and ambulances to tillered ladder trucks and helicopters, Shawn’s work environment has always been dynamic. The line of duty has carried him to a variety of locale, from high-rise fires in the city to the burning heavy timber of the eastern Sierras.

Shawn attended Point Loma Nazarene University as a Theology undergrad before shifting direction to acquire an Associate of Science degree in Fire Science Technology as well as Paramedic licensure through Truckee Meadows Community College.

Shawn currently lives in Reno, Nevada, just outside of Lake Tahoe. He enjoys spending time in the outdoors with his wife, three children and yellow Labrador.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Chase the Angel of Death and You Might Catch Him

Jonathan Trestle is a paramedic who's spent the week a few steps behind the angel of death. When he responds to a call about a man sprawled on a downtown sidewalk, Trestle isn't about to lose another victim. CPR revives the man long enough for him to hand Trestle a crumpled piece of paper and say, "Give this to Martin," before being taken to the hospital.

The note is a series of dashes and haphazard scribbles. Trestle tries to follow up with the patient later, but at the ICU he learns the man awoke, pulled out his IVs, and vanished, leaving only a single key behind. With the simple decision to honor a dying man's last wish, Jonathan tracks the key to a nearby motel where he finds the man again--this time not just dead but murdered. Unwilling to just let it drop, Jonathan is plunged into a mystery that soon threatens not only his dreams for the future but maybe even his life. He must race for the truth before the Angel of Death comes calling for him.
If you would like to read the first chapter of Tomorrow We Die, go to HERE.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/076420596X

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Nightmare by Robin Parrish

Hi All,

From the same author that brought us Offworld, comes Nightmare! I am really exited to be reading this book. I can't give you a full review just yet. I have had some horrid headaches that are hindering my reading. But be assured, so far this is as good as Offworld! Nightmare has the same catching intruiging pace as I had been looking foward to. I belive that haunted houses are either fake, or have resident demons. That said, we are all haunted by something or someone unless we give that over to God. I am odd, I have been through so many "wild" things in my life that what scares others doesn't scare me always. The "Oh wow, that was a scary movie wasn't it?" is often a "No." from me. The things that are truly scary to me are knowing that I know people who are able to say "Lord Lord" but are not doing the will of the Father and are probably not going to make it to Heaven. How many of these demons of our past and daily lives will keep them from the reality of Jesus?

But back to Nightmare, the opening is just wonderful. Encouterning real demons is  never fun. If you do scare easily, read Nightmare with the lights on, in the sunshine.

Carol


This week, the



Christian Fiction Blog Alliance



is introducing



Nightmare
Bethany House (July 1, 2010)



by
Robin Parrish



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Robin Parrish is a journalist who's written about the intersection of faith and pop culture for more than a decade. Currently he serves as Senior Editor at XZOOSIA.com, a community portal that fuses social networking with magazine-style features about entertainment and culture.

He had two great ambitions in his life: to have a family, and to be a published novelist. In March of 2005, he proposed to his future wife the same week he signed his first book contract with Bethany House Publishers. They contracted him for the rights to The Dominion Trilogy: Relentless (2006), Fearless (2007), and Merciless (2008). His science fiction thriller, Offworld came out in 2009. This summer debuts Nightmare, and he's working on another for 2011. Robin and his wife and children live in North Carolina.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
The Nightmare is Coming...
Ghost Town is the hottest amusement park in the country, offering state-of-the-art chills and thrills involving the paranormal. The park's main ride is a haunted house that promises an encounter with a real ghost.

When Maia Peters visits during her senior year of college, she's not expecting to be impressed. Maia grew up as the only child of a pair of world-renowned "ghost hunters," so the paranormal is nothing new and to her most of the park is just Hollywood special effects. In fact, the ride feels pretty boring until the very end. There, a face appears from the mist. The face of Jordin Cole, a girl Maia knows who disappeared from campus a few months ago.

Convinced what she saw wasn't a hoax and desperate to find answers to Jordin's disappearance, Maia launches into a quest for answers. Joined by Jordin's boyfriend--a pastor's kid with very different ideas about paranormal and the spirit realm--Maia finds herself in a struggle against dangerous forces she never expected to confront on the edge of the spirit realm that try to keep the truth from emerging.

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

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764206079

Friday, July 2, 2010

Refuge On Crescent Hill by Melaine Dobson

Greetings Readers,

This was a book I didn't want to put down. Of course I had to read it since the main character is a photographer, and a female. Camden's adventure was a really good one, and Melaine Dobson did a really nice job a rich history of one old manor, Crescent Hill. Refuge On Crescent Hill is classic in the way a small old town is brought to life. I rather expected a full color photo of it at the end of the book it was so real! A wonderfully entertaining read that you will not want to miss!

Carol


This week, the



Christian Fiction Blog Alliance



is introducing



Refuge on Crescent Hill



Kregel Publications (March 11, 2010)



by



Melanie Dobson




ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Melanie Dobson is the award-winning author of The Black Cloister; Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana; and Together for Good.
Prior to launching Dobson Media Group in 1999, Melanie was the corporate publicity manager at Focus on the Family where she was responsible for the publicity of events, products, films, and TV specials. Melanie received her undergraduate degree in journalism from Liberty University and her master's degree in communication from Regent University. She has worked in the fields of publicity and journalism for fifteen years including two years as a publicist for The Family Channel.


Melanie and her husband, Jon, met in Colorado Springs in 1997 at Vanguard Church. Jon works in the field of computer animation. Since they've been married, the Dobsons have relocated numerous times including stints in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Colorado, Berlin, and Southern California. These days they are enjoying their new home in the Pacific Northwest.
Jon and Melanie have adopted their two daughters —Karly (6) and Kinzel (5). When Melanie isn't writing or entertaining their girls, she enjoys exploring ghost towns and dusty back roads, traveling, hiking, line dancing, and reading inspirational fiction.

ABOUT THE BOOK
THE HOMECOMING WASN’T WHAT SHE EXPECTED…
Jobless, homeless, and broke, Camden Bristow decides to visit the grandmother she hasn’t seen in years. But when Camden arrives in Etherton, Ohio, she discovers that her grandmother has passed away, leaving her the 150-year-old mansion on Crescent Hill. The site of her happiest summers as a child, the run-down mansion is now her only refuge.
When Camden finds evidence that she may not be the mansion’s only occupant, memories of Grandma Rosalie’s bedtime stories about secret passageways and runaway slaves fuel her imagination. What really happened at Crescent Hill? Who can she turn to for answers in this town full of strangers? And what motivates the handsome local Alex Yates to offer his help? As she works to uncover the past and present mysteries harbored in her home, Camdem uncovers deep family secrets within the mansion’s walls that could change her life─and the entire town─forever.
If you would like to read the first chapter of Refuge on Crescent Hill, go HERE.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0825425905