Sunday, June 26, 2022

Stars In The Night by Cara Putman

About the Book

Book: Stars in the Night

Author: Cara Putman

Genre: WWII Romantic Suspense

Release date: February 1, 2022

Hollywood 1942. When attorney Audra Schaeffer’s sister disappears, Audra flies to Hollywood to find her but instead must identify her body. 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?

Click here to get your copy!

My Review:

The year was 1942. Rosemary, like so many other people, went to Hollywood during its boom time. The glamorous, glistening heyday of movies, beautiful actress and actors, was never all glistening gold. It was also war time. When Rosemary vanishes, her sister will not let that go. Audra is a lawyer. That part was a bit stretched because I'm not sure we can have female lawyers in that time frame, but it works so well for the story, so I just went with it.

Our country was hurting and our troops needed moral support. Thus this story dove into the traveling caravans that went about raising the moral of our fighting men by taking the "show on the road" for them. Hollywood was bringing the "silver screen" to the troops. To find out what happened to her sister, Audra joins the Hollywood Victory Caravan. Her main suspect is a B listing actor, Robert Garfield. He knew Rosemary, did the have a part in her disappearance and death?

As odd as this will sound to some, I do know a good bit about that time frame and for that reason I like the over all accuracy of the story. I love how Robert shows his faith, boldly. The tone and suspense of the story are bound to sweep you away and if you don't know about this era of history and Hollywood, then you are in for a treat and a good chunk of history.

4 Stars

About the Author

Since the time I could read Nancy Drew, I have wanted to write mysteries. In 2005 I attended a book signing at my local Christian bookstore. The rest, as they say, is history. There I met Colleen Coble. With prompting from my husband, I shared my dream with Colleen. Since those infamous words, I’ve been writing award-winning books with the count currently at 35 published and more in the works.

In addition to writing, I am a mom of four, attorney, clinical professor at a Big Ten university, active in women’s ministry, and all around crazy woman. Crazy about God, my husband, and my kids. I graduated with honors from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Go Huskers!), George Mason Law School, and Purdue University’s MBA program. You can learn more about my books at http://www.caraputman.com. And if you’d like a copy of my legal suspense novella, Dying for Love, simply connect with me here (http://www.caraputman.com/contact/), and I’ll send you the link.

More from Cara

One of the things I loved about writing Stars in the Night, set during World War II, is that I learned so many things. As a World War II history nut, that keeps the writing fresh and exciting. Here are a few of the things I learned while writing Stars in the Night:

1) There really was a Hollywood Victory Caravan. The Hollywood Victory Caravan traveled by train Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., then north through cities like Chicago and Minneapolis.

2) If something had happened to the train, Hollywood would have been ravaged. The real caravan was filled with stars like Abbott and Costello, Desi Arnez, Bing Crosby, and Groucho Marx. The papers at the time said the stars would have gone out in Hollywood if anything had happened.

3) The first train entertained the President and Mrs. Roosevelt at the White House. What a great way to launch the tour. And Mrs. Roosevelt had a staff member standing immediately behind her to help her “remember” everyone who came by so she could say something personal to them.

4) The Winecoff Hotel, where I have my stars stay while they’re in Atlanta, was the site of the worst hotel fire in American history and has recently been restored and renovated.

5) I initially considered having the tour appear at Ford’s Theater, but it was essentially abandoned during the World War Two era – and was used as storage. Hard to believe if you tour that beautifully restored theater today.

6) The National Theater has had continuous shows running since December 1835. Fortunately for my story, it had a hole the summer of 1942, which fit perfectly with when I wanted my caravan to have a show there.

7) The Hollywood Canteen didn’t open until later in 1942. Since my first book involved a canteen, I really wanted to include the Hollywood Canteen. Besides, what’s more romantic than movie stars mixing with and entertaining servicemen? Unfortunately, it was in the planning stages during Stars in the Night. Maybe in the next book…

As you can see, I love the details of history. I hope Stars in the Night sweeps you away to a time that was rich in service, glamour, and conflict.

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, June 13

Rachael’s Inkwell, June 13

Texas Book-aholic, June 14

Labor Not in Vain, June 14

Splashes of Joy, June 15

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, June 15

For Him and My Family, June 16

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, June 16 (Author Interview)

Inklings and notions, June 17

CarpeDiem, June 17

Betti Mace, June 18

deb’s Book Review, June 18

Locks, Hooks and Books, June 19

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, June 19

Book Looks by Lisa, June 20

Connie’s History Classroom, June 20

All-of-a-kind Mom, June 21

The Sacred Line, June 21

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, June 22

Simple Harvest Reads, June 22 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)

By the Book, June 23

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, June 23

Bigreadersite, June 24

The Christian Fiction Girl, June 24

Blossoms and Blessings, June 25

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, June 25

Blogging With Carol, June 26

Rebecca Tews, June 26

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Cara is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and a copy of Stars in the Night!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/1eb7a/stars-in-the-night-celebration-tour-giveaway

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Flame of the Rockies by Angela Breidenbach (Queen of the Rockies Book 6)

About the Book

Book: Flame of the Rockies

Author: Angela Breidenbach

Genre: Historical Fiction

Release date: February 1, 2022

The fiery pain at her new husband’s murder might equal the disaster blazing across the Pacific Northwest. Stranded in the treacherous railroad camp, baking bread for survival to avoid the life of a bordello canary, Juliana Hayes has no desire to marry a railroad ruffian like Lukas Filips, or anyone else. Her scrimping and saving will pay off soon. She’ll be free of the camps, the rails, and the men who destroyed her life. But she can’t earn her living constantly besieged by desperate bachelors where few women cause chaos in the male ranks.

Juliana reluctantly accepts his protection, but when Lukas reveals the secret of his Montenegrin nobility, the old fears flare as hot as the fire storm eating up the forest at their heels. Can she release her prejudice to love again? Or will either one of them survive The Big Blowup to find out?

Flame of the Rockies, Book 6 in the Queen of the Rockies series, is based on true history when three million acres burned out of control on the border of Montana and Idaho darkening the skies all the way to the East Coast during August of 1910. It’s a wonder anyone survived! Read this heart-pounding romance full of adventure, honoring true history and the heroes that made it. Be sure to follow this 6-book historical romance adventure series, Queen of the Rockies, set in the Gilded Age through the turn-of-the-century. Written by bestselling author and professional genealogist, Angela Breidenbach.

Click here to get your copy!

My Review:

WOW! This is the jam up ending to this very good series. The Montana Floral Emblem Society, from the 1890's is so much fun. Juliana wants her past to stop following her, but we know how hard that can be. The fire that happened, was terrifying and fascinated at the same time. I didn't know about it and so I learned more history as well as these amazing story. It's a perfect closing to this series, which is well worth read and I really enjoyed this book!

5 Stars

About the Author

Angela Breidenbach is a professional genealogist, the director and president of The National Institute for Genealogical Studies (GenealogicalStudies.com), conference speaker, bestselling author of eighteen books. Angela lives in Montana with her hubby and Muse, a trained fe-lion, who shakes hands, rolls over, and jumps through a hoop. Surprisingly, Angela can also. Catch her show and podcast, Genealogy Publishing Coach!

https://AngelaBreidenbach.com

More from Angela

Research is both a joy and a nemesis for an author and/or genealogist. We’re easily distracted with one more fascinating discovery! The entire series, Queen of the Rockies, came from research rabbit trails when I thought there’d be one book. Now there are six ending with Flame of the Rockies!

Flame of the Rockies happens on the factual Trail of the Hiawatha. At first, this trail was a mining area deep in the mountains on the Idaho-Montana border. So deep that fourteen feet of snow blocking the railroad was common during the winter. Quite the contrast to the hot, dry summers with countless lightning strikes and regular forest fires.

After the Big BlowUp that occurred in August of 1910 burning over 3,000,000 acres, the area gradually became a gorgeous upscale train ride through the mountains. People rode the Hiawatha for leisure, upscale dining, and tourism. Then rails died out. The Trail of the Hiawatha rose from the ashes of forgotten history to become the incredible 16.5 mile bike path it is today. The trail winds down the valley from on top of the Continental Divide with incredible views for miles as you ride and experience the awe of God’s creative grandeur.

Understanding the history and evolution of this special trail isn’t hard. So much work in historical preservation has been done, and continues to be done, for those who come. Be sure to read the travel article in the back of this book so you can be one of those holding your breath as mountain after mountain after mountain roll outward from the trestles. You’ll see mountain tops go on for miles and miles. Those vistas truly feel as if you’re standing on the clouds with the Heavenly Hosts. Then you’ll understand why Montana is called the Big Sky Country!

I hope you enjoy Flame of the Rockies and meeting many of the real people who lived and worked in those extreme conditions. Yes, a few of the characters are fictitious. But remember you’re also going to meet a true hero whose heroism and name still rings through the Hiawatha and the world today!

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, June 18

Texas Book-aholic, June 19

Rebecca Tews, June 19

Inklings and notions, June 20

For Him and My Family, June 21

Blogging With Carol, June 21

deb’s Book Review, June 22

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, June 23

Locks, Hooks and Books, June 23

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, June 24

Bizwings Blog, June 25

Sylvan Musings, June 25

Pause for Tales, June 26

Betti Mace, June 27

Connie’s History Classroom, June 27

Mary Hake, June 28

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, June 29

Blossoms and Blessings, June 29

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, June 30

Tell Tale Book Reviews, July 1

Spoken from the Heart, July 1

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Angela is giving away the prize a free genealogy course to three winners!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/1eff7/flame-of-the-rockies-celebration-tour-giveaway

Saturday, June 18, 2022

Undercover Assignment by Dana Mentink (Rocky Mountain K-9 Unit Book 4)

About the Book

Book: Undercover Assignment

Author: Dana Mentink

Genre: Suspense

Release date: June 28, 2022

This K-9 will stop at nothing to keep a child safe.

When a little boy is threatened, Officer Daniella Vargas and K-9 partner, Zara, are assigned to pose as his nanny to uncover the culprit’s identity. Suspecting one of the guests in his inn, widower Sam Kavanaugh’s only option is to begrudgingly trust Daniella and Zara to help. But can they solve the case and its mysterious connection to Sam’s late wife before it’s too late?

Click here to get your copy!

My Review:

Daniella and her K-9 are amazing. I loved this team. Zara was so good and so well written! Things jump into motion when Sam needs help. His lodge is under attack and it seems someone is after something in the lodge, but what and why? As I have come to love with Mentink's books, they are just good fun reads with plenty of action, suspense, faith, and the right amount of romance.

5 Stars

About the Author

Dana Mentink is a USA TODAY and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author. She’s written more than forty mystery and suspense novels for Love Inspired Suspense, Harvest House, and Poisoned Pen Press. She is honored to have received two ACFW Carol Awards, a Holt Medallion Award, and a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award. Please visit her on the web at www.danamentink.com to sign up for her newsletter, or find her on Twitter, Facebook and Bookbub.

More from Dana

What a joy to participate in a series with seven other talented authors! A continuity series is a set of books, each written by a different author, and each with its own suspense plot along with an overarching series plot and characters. It’s a very complicated project to complete, but the fantastic part is chatting, collaborating, and sometimes commiserating with other writers. What a rare treat, since most of our work is done alone in dark rooms with computer screens and bottomless cups of coffee! This series was especially fun to write because of the whole wilderness lodge setting which is my favorite type of story. Picture it! Ancient cliff dwellings, a freak electrical storm, twenty-four hours with no power and a killer on the loose! That’s my kind of suspense novel. I hope you will enjoy this multi author series as much as we enjoyed creating it!

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, June 15

Inklings and notions, June 15

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, June 16

EmpowerMoms, June 16

Vicky Sluiter, June 17

For Him and My Family, June 17

An Author’s Take, June 18

Blogging With Carol, June 18

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, June 19

Betti Mace, June 20

Texas Book-aholic, June 20

Locks, Hooks and Books, June 21

Blossoms and Blessings, June 21

She Lives To Read, June 22

Through the Fire Blogs, June 23

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, June 23

Labor Not in Vain, June 24

deb’s Book Review, June 25

Pause for Tales, June 25

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, June 26

For the Love of Literature, June 26

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, June 27

A Good Book and Cup of Tea, June 27

Genesis 5020, June 28

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, June 28

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Dana is giving away the grand prize package of a $75 Amazon gift card and a signed book!!

(If the winner is outside the U.S., then he or she will receive an eBook.)

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/1eff2/undercover-assignment-celebration-tour-giveaway

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Wonders in the Deep by Chuck Carr (A Tale of Healing)

Wonders in the Deep

About the Book

Book: Wonders in the Deep

Author: Chuck Carr

Genre: Christian Fiction, Inspirational

Release date: April 29, 2021

Wonders of the Deep Coveer Love. Loss. Hope. Heroism. Is there safe passage through the torrents and storms of life?

Wonders In the Deep is a dramatic illustration, an emotionally charged depiction of the elements that keep us human, fuel our spirit, and give us the courage to continue.

The life of eighteen-year-old Brandon Lawrence is one riddled with questions. Pained sore inside, he seeks answers that have been swallowed deeply by his own grandfather, whom he lovingly calls Pap. How did his parents and grandmother die? Why does his grandfather resent Natalie, Brandon’s best friend since childhood? Why is he forbidden to step foot on a boat, to ride the waves of the sea? Will he ever find answers?

Pap’s journals. Could they hold the secrets?

Set in the rocky and rugged coastline of Maine, the story uncovers Brandon’s world in the summer of 1998. The 1930s and 40s of his grandfather’s world are now over, along with the flat plains of a corn-belted Illinois town he had decided to leave as a young man. What had happened to cause a man to run from a life he couldn’t handle? What had turned Pap into a man withdrawn from life? A man holding tight to the secrets of his life.

Sitting alone on the same weathered dock Brandon had come to with Pap every Thursday growing up, he tries to piece together the puzzle of an unspoken life. Face to face with the only solution he knows, he must choose between honor and answers; an act of thievery plagues him hard, haunting and jolting his conscience. If his grandfather is too brokenhearted to speak of such things, could Brandon steal the answers he needs from the journals?

Wonders In the Deep is a soothing balm, medicine to a hurting and wounded soul. Faced with the harsh realities of grief and loss, two men embark on a great journey to find healing in the deep and uncertain oceans of life. As you journey with Brandon and Pap, you may identify with their struggles.

Is there true triumph over adversity? How far will one go for answers? How far will you go?

Click here to get your copy!

My Review:

If you ever pick up a book unsure of what you will find, and then find something that impacts you more than you anticipated, this would be one of those books. It's healing, and uplifting, this story. It's heartfelt, real and raw as well. Brandon and Pap show that throughout the entire tale, all woven into the depths of the ocean, of how God cares for us. Grief and loss defy logic, and as such we struggle with them. This book, helps. It's full of hope, faith and God's love.

5 Stars

About the Author

Chuck Carr Photo Inspired by life events, Chuck Carr takes lessons learned over his years and forms them into words and phrases meant to lift others from the same hardships he has faced himself. He wraps and weaves the essence of what life is all about into this, his fourth book, a novel. Filled with his own energy, blood, and tears, Chuck combines this powerfully lifting message with one of his greatest passions in life¾his passion for the sea. As a former youth pastor, Chuck Carr has influenced hundreds of people throughout his life. He desires to help others live effectively despite hardships, as his testimony proves that sufferings can be changed into blessings. Losing a spouse in 2008, he strives to help those hurting from the same pain. A life altering accident in 2018 left him with a traumatic brain injury, and his vision and life goals have been refocused to help others heal from devastating traumas. He is a writer of both fiction and nonfiction, publishing The Convergence, Navigating Grief, and All That the Locusts Have Eaten, which carry the message that one can live the abundant life God desires for us regardless of hardships and shortcomings we face. His audience at www.Chuck-Carr.com has been blessed by inspirations about topics such as Christian faith, overcoming loss and grief, and achieving purpose in life. Now remarried to a woman of shared life goals, Faerie, he has chosen to live with purpose despite his injuries, being an inspiration to others, residing in New Alexandria, Pennsylvania.

More from Chuck

There was never a time in my life so confusing, so emotionally raw and puzzling as when my first spouse passed away in her twenties in 2008. She had to say goodbye to our two boys ages 5 and 3. The event changed everything about me in one way or another. The things I was forced to face since that day are things that unfortunately so many other people are also forced to face as well. It isn’t fun. Thus, the birth of my desire to help those who know what I’m talking about.

Initially, I was attacked with the obvious¾the daunting question of “why.” It never fails. We all ask it. Sooner or later, that single question begs our attention, and how we answer it will determine our outlook on everything else in life. It is an unavoidable roadblock that cannot be dodged or taken lightly. If not properly handled, that monster will bite you from behind and consume you¾it is a foe one cannot play around with. But not all things are black and white. Another thing I learned out real fast, was that some things don’t have a right or wrong answer in life. Yes, I avoided it like the plague. Almost a certainty, those who meant no harm would bring it up and shove it in my face unknowingly. It came with incredible pressure, the prod or question no survivor ever wants to look at. “You’ll find love again.” Maybe. But should I love again? The prompt comes in various forms, yet none look pleasant to the one who has tasted loss.

These two insurmountable difficulties are what prompted me to write the novel Wonders In The Deep: A Tale of Healing. I wanted others to learn that the “why” is a tremendous opportunity for us if we allow ourselves to go on the journey God promises to walk beside with us. Only there¾in this incredibly intimate and personal space¾can we understand the richness of a God whose heart is broken right along with ours. I also wanted to show readers that some may choose to honor those they have survived¾and that is ok. Some, choose to love again. It is a deeply personal choice that is extremely hard to navigate. This book illustrates it well, a way to sort out feelings one might not be able to do alone.

Wonders In The Deep. A place where one can cross the great divide of heartache to healing. A journey of a lifetime. One I hope you will cross with me.