Gathering Shadows

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Gathering Shadows Bethany House Publishers (May 6, 2014) by Nancy Mehl

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nancy Mehl lives in Wichita, Kansas with her husband Norman and their dog, Watson. She’s authored thirteen books and is currently at work on her newest series for Bethany House Publishing.

All of Nancy’s novels have an added touch – something for your spirit as well as your soul. “I welcome the opportunity to share my faith through my writing,” Nancy says. “It’s a part of me and of everything I think or do. God is number one in my life. I wouldn’t be writing at all if I didn’t believe that this is what He’s called me to do. I hope everyone who reads my books will walk away with the most important message I can give them: God is good, and He loves you more than you can imagine. He has a good plan especially for your life, and there is nothing you can’t overcome with His help.”

She and her husband attend Believer’s Tabernacle in Wichita.

Nancy can be reached through the Contact link on her Website.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Wynter Evans is a promising young reporter for a television station in St. Louis, but even a bright future doesn't take away her pain over the disappearance of her brother nine years ago. So when she stumbles across a photograph of a boy with an eerie resemblance to him, she can't pass up the chance to track him down. With research for work as her cover, she sets out with one of the station's photogs for the place where the picture was taken: the town of Sanctuary. Almost as soon as she arrives, she meets the town's handsome young mayor, Rueben King, and together they begin to uncover long held secrets that could tear the small town apart and change everything Wynter thought she knew about her life. As the truth of her family's past hides in the shadows, it's clear someone will stop at nothing to keep the answers she's searching for hidden forever--even if the cost is Wynter's very life. If you'd like to read the first chapter of Gathering Shadows, go HERE.

My Thoughts:
Nancy's books are a joy to read.  Gathering Shadows did not disappoint!  Nancy writes with the perfect blend of suspense/mystery, faith and tender romance.  Wynter and Rueben were characters that were easy to identify with from the very start of the story.  Mehl's character development and description of the Mennonite culture draws her reader in a holds interest to the very last page.  This book is the first installment in her new series Finding Sanctuary.  The series will not be one to miss!

Happy Reading,
Jennifer

Take This Cup

Bodie and Brock Thoene (pronounced Tay-nee) have written over 45 works of historical fiction. That these best sellers have sold more than 10 million copies and won 8 ECPA Gold Medallion Awards affirms what millions of readers have already discovered—the Thoenes are not only master stylists but also experts at capturing readers' minds and hearts.

Bodie began her writing career as a teen journalist for her local newspaper. Eventually her byline appeared in prestigious periodicals such as U.S. News and World Report, The American West, and The Saturday Evening Post. She also worked for John Wayne's Batjac Productions (she's best known as author of The Fall Guy) and ABC Circle Films as a writer and researcher. John Wayne described her as "a writer with talent that captures the people and the times!" She has degrees in journalism and communications.

Brock has often been described by Bodie as "an essential half of this writing team." With degrees in both history and education, Brock has, in his role as researcher and story-line consultant, added the vital dimension of historical accuracy. Due to such careful research, The Zion Covenant and The Zion Chronicles series are recognized by the American Library Association, as well as Zionist libraries around the world, as classic historical novels and are used to teach history in college classrooms.

Bodie and Brock have four grown children—Rachel, Jake, Luke, and Ellie—and five grandchildren. Their sons, Jake and Luke, are carrying on the Thoene family talent as the next generation of writers, and Luke produces the Thoene's audiobooks.

Bodie and Brock divide their time between London and Nevada.

For more information about Bodie and Brock and their books, visit www.thoenebooks.com, and on Facebook.

Woven into the fabric of prophecy, a young boy named Nehemiah must choose to embrace his destiny as cupbearer to the King of Kings.

When Nehemiah, the child of Jewish exiles, begins hearing whispers and experiencing portentous visions, it quickly becomes clear to his father and his rabbi that the young cupbearer is meant for a higher purpose...but what?  Certain that the messiah is alive at that very moment, the family waits for the boy's destiny to be revealed.

From the ancient site of the Garden of Eden, nehemiah undertakes a perilous journey.  The caravan route is full of danger, hardship, and mystery - all of it linked to what Nehemiah has in his keeping.

In due time, his path becomes clear.  It leads to Jerusalem, to a wealthy pharisee named Joseph of Arimathea...and to Jesus of Nazareth.

My Thoughts:

Take This Cup is the second installment in the Thoene's Jerusalem Chronicles.  The first book was When Jesus Wept.  The Thoene's write solid Christian Historical fiction with unprecedented depth. The research is evident in the way they capture the culture through vivid descriptions and rich characterization.  In the story, the Thoene's take the reader to another world.  The book is historical Christian "fiction" and artistic liberties are taken; however, the Thoene's stay true to the Scriptural storyline and the overall redemptive story of the Bible is not compromised.

When a story stays with me long after I've turned the last page and I go to my book shelf periodically and pick that book up and think about its contents then I know I've read an excellent book.  Take This Cup is and excellent book!

I received a complimentary copy of the book for the purpose of this review.

Happy Reading,

Jennifer

Fly a Little Higher

Laura Sobiech was born and raised in Minnesota. She has been married to her husband, Rob, for twenty-four years, and they are the proud parents of four awesome children: one married, one in college, one in heaven, and one in high school. Laura has spent the past couple of years crossing things off her I-Never-Want-To-Do List, now having done most everything that was on it, including: globe trekking, public speaking, fund-raising, Skype-ing on live television, and supporting a child with cancer. In her free time she volunteers as an EMT/firefighter at her local fire department and can knit a wicked awesome pair of socks.

About the Book

“Okay, Lord, you can have him. But if he must die, I want it to be for something big. I want someone’s life to be changed forever.”

This is what Laura Sobiech prayed when she found out her seventeen-year-old son had only one year to live. With this desperate prayer, she released her son to God’s will.

At that point, Zach Sobiech was just another teenager battling cancer. When his mother told him to think about writing good-bye letters to family and friends, he decided instead to write songs. One of them, “Clouds,” captured hearts and changed not one life but millions, making him an international sensation.

But Zach’s story is not just about music. It’s a testament to what can happen when you live as if each day might be your last. It’s a story about the human spirit. It’s about how God used a dying boy from a small town in Minnesota to touch the hearts of millions—including top executives in the music industry, major music artists, news anchors, talk show hosts, actors, priests and pastors, and school children across the globe.

Zach once said, “I want to be known as the kid who went down fighting, and didn’t really lose.” Fly a Little Higher is about how God used Zach to do something big.

My Thoughts:
This book isn't so much a story about a boy who died of cancer as it is a book about how a young man lived...how he lived with grace and touched the hearts of more than most ever will with many more years to do so.  
Fly A Little Higher is written by Zach's mom, Laura Sobiech.  She is very transparent in sharing her family's experience.  As a mother of three blessings of my own, the thing I found most touching about the book was reading about a mom's most tender memories of her son. Ms Sobiech, rather than become bitter with her circumstances, has chosen to share with us the amazing journey that she and her family traveled through Zach's battle with osteosarcoma.
And maybe a battle it was, but this family won the war; not in the physical realm but certainly in the spiritual.  
Read this book and be changed!  And most importantly, you will be reminded that the wars of our lives are won only by leaning on and trusting in a God of amazing grace...the Sobiech family and Zach in particular are shining examples of what God is able to do through a life surrendered to Him. 

The Song "Clouds"


My Last Days:  Meet Zach


This post is part of the Fly a Little Higher Blog Tour which I am delighted to be a part of along with hundreds of bloggers raising awareness and giving hope to those with cancer. To learn more and join us, CLICK HERE!

Blessings,
Jennifer

Critical Condition

About the Author: A retired physician, Dr. Richard Mabry is the author of four critically acclaimed novels of medical suspense. His previous works have been finalists for the Carol Award and Romantic Times Reader's Choice Award, and have won the Selah Award. He is a past Vice-President of American Christian Fiction Writers and a member of the International Thriller Writers. He and his wife live in North Texas.

Connect with Richard at: http://rmabry.com

About the book: Dr. Frasier couldn't save the gunshot victim on her front lawn. Now she's fighting for her own life.

It began as a quiet dinner party honoring Dr. Shannon Frasier's colleague, but became a nightmare when a man was shot on her lawn, reviving emotions from a similar episode a decade ago. Then a midnight call from her sister, Megan, causes Shannon to fear that her sister is on drugs again.

Her "almost-fiancé" Dr. Mark Gilbert's support only adds to Shannon's feelings of guilt, since she can't bring herself to fully commit to him. She turns for help to her pastor-father, only to learn that he's just been diagnosed with leukemia. Shannon thought it couldn't get any worse. Then the late-night, threatening phone calls begin, the rough voice asking, "What did he say before he died?"

 

With everything around her in a critical state, simply staying alive will require all the resources and focus Shannon has.

My Thoughts:

Mabry has become one of my favorite medical thriller authors!  I love his characters...they are genuine and believable.  He writes not from sensation, but about "real" people who find themselves in somewhat unbelievable situations.  He never fails to infuse a crisis of faith into the story.  While in this particular story there were ideas/thoughts repeated too often (from the main character, Shannon Fraisier), the suspense both in Shannon's love relationship and in the murders kept me turning the pages.  The best part of the experience reading this book is that I couldn't figure it out...until the last page was turned!

To see what others are saying about the book, you can visit HERE!

*I received a complimentary copy of the book from LitFuse Publicity for the purpose of this review.

Kindle HDX Giveaway!
 

Happy Reading,

Jennifer 

The Amish Groom

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Amish Groom Harvest House Publishers (April 1, 2014) by Mindy Starns Clark
and
Susan Meissner

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Mindy Starns Clark Mindy Starns Clark is the bestselling author of the inspirational Million Dollar Mysteries, the Smart Chick Mysteries, and three standalone mysteries, as well as the nonfiction books The House That Cleans Itself and A Pocket Guide to Amish Life. Her novels include A Penny for Your Thoughts, Don't Take Any Wooden Nickels, A Dime a Dozen, A Quarter for a Kiss, The Buck Stops Here, The Trouble with Tulip, Blind Dates Can Be Murder, Elementary, My Dear Watkins, Whispers of the Bayou, Shadows of Lancaster County, and Under the Cajun Moon, plus other books!

Mindy is also the author of numerous plays and musicals which have been performed all over the United States. She has written textbooks, articles, short stories, and more than 75 computer software manuals. A former singer and stand-up comedian, Mindy lives with her husband and two teenage daughters near Valley Forge, PA. She enjoys speaking to churches, civic groups, and libraries across the country. Her unique blend of humor and insight make her an audience favorite.

Susan Meissner is a multi-published author, speaker, and writing workshop leader with a background in community journalism. Her novels include The Shape of Mercy, named by Publishers Weekly as one of the 100 Best Novels of 2008 and a Carol Award winner. She is a pastor’s wife and the mother of four young adults. When she's not writing, Susan writes small group curriculum for her San Diego church. Visit Susan at her website: www.susanmeissner.com, on Twitter at @SusanMeissner, or at www.facebook.com/susan.meissner.

ABOUT THE BOOK

New from bestselling authors Mindy Starns Clark and Susan Meissner, The Amish Groom (Book 1 in The Men of Lancaster County series) explores the men of an Amish community in Lancaster County, how their Amish beliefs play out in their unique roles, and the women who change their lives.

Born to an ex-Amish mother and an Englisch father, 23-year-old Tyler Anderson was raised as a military kid until the age of 6, when his mom passed away. His dad, shipping off to yet another overseas post, placed Tyler in the care of his Amish grandparents, an arrangement that was supposed to be temporary. It lasted a lifetime.

Rachel Hoeck is the young woman waiting for Tyler’s proposal. She senses that though he loves her and wishes to make a commitment to her and his Amish beliefs, part of him still wonders whether an Amish lifestyle is truly for him. When an opportunity to connect with his father unexpectedly arises, a visit to California causes Tyler to question everything, including a future with Rachel. Will the new girl in his life, Lark, cause him to remain in the Englisch world? Or will he choose to be an Amish groom after all?

A poignant novel of hoping for romance and searching for identity, set in a beloved Amish community.


If you would like to read the first chapter of The Amish Groom, go HERE.

Happy Reading,
Jennifer

A Promise In Pieces

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing A Promise in Pieces Abingdon Press (April 15, 2014) by Emily T. Wierenga

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A Word from the Author:

I’m Emily, and I’m honored and humbled to meet you, friend. We’re all stumbling along on this journey and you can approach me about anything okay? I’m an open book, with dog-eared pages and a worn cover.

I’m mama to two boys, ages two and four, and married to a farm-boy-turned-math-teacher. We live in a small Dutch hamlet with three churches, one Co-Op and no stop lights. There are a lot of fields out here, there’s a lot of space and sky for breathing and running and writing.

We foster two boys in addition to our own two, and before I had kids, I took care of my Mum who had brain cancer. She fought back and has recovered, all glory to God, and my pastor-father still holds her hand while they go for daily walks.

I battled anorexia nervosa as a child, and then again as a newly married woman, and I write a lot about body image now and have a passion for women to learn to love themselves.

My husband and I have battled infertility and are currently trying to adopt our third child through the local Alberta government.

I hurt for the church, and believe in it, and pray for it, as I’ve grown up inside its walls and have heard its groanings.

I have a heart for Africa, particularly Uganda, and went there in January on a bloggers’ trip with World Help.

My favorite things to do are read literary novels, play guitar, snowboard, paint with oil and acrylics and hug my babies.

I am the author of two books on eating disorders, a novel releasing this spring, and a memoir coming out this summer.

I hope you’ll connect with me on FB: https://www.facebook.com/emilytwierenga, or if you prefer, Twitter: @emily_wierenga. I’d love to have a virtual glass of wine, or cup of coffee, with you.

Peace to you friends,



ABOUT THE BOOK

After the end of World War II, Clara Kirkpatrick returns from the Women’s Army Corp to deliver a dying soldier’s last wishes: convey his love to his young widow, Mattie, with apologies for the missed life they had planned to share.

Struggling with her own post-war trauma, Clara thinks she’s not prepared to handle the grief of this broken family. Yet upon meeting Mattie, and receiving a baby quilt that will never cuddle the soldier’s baby, Clara vows to honor the sacrifices that family made.

Now a labor and delivery nurse in her rural hometown, Clara wraps each new babe in the gifted quilt and later stitches the child’s name into the cloth. As each new child is welcomed by the quilt, Clara begins to wonder whatever happened to Mattie—and if her own life would ever experience the love of a newborn. Little does she know that she will have the opportunity to re-gift the special quilt—years later and carrying even greater significance than when it was first bestowed.

If you would like to read the first chapter of A Promise in Pieces, go HERE.

Happy Reading,
Jennifer

What Follows After

Dan Walsh is the bestselling author of several books, including The Unfinished Gift, The Discovery and The Reunion, as well as The Dance and The Promise with Gary Smalley.  He has won three Carol Awards, ad three of his novels were finalists for RT Book Reviews Inspirational Book of the Year (2011-2013).  Dan lives with his wife in the Daytona Beach area, where he's busy researching and writing his next novel.

You can learn more about Dan and his writing at www.danwalshbooks.com.

In 1962, life was simple, the world made sense, and all families were happy.  And when they weren't, everyone knew you were supposed to pretend.

For the past year, Scott and Gina Harrison have been living a lie.  While they show up at family get-togethers in the same car, they've actually been separated fr over a year.  To keep up the charade, they've even instructed their sons, Colt and Timmy, to lie - to their grandparents, their teachers, and their friends.

Colt for one has had enough, so he hatches a plan. he and his little brother will run away from their Florida home head for their aunt's house in Georgia, and refuse to come home until their parents get back together.  But when things go terribly, terribly wrong, Scot and Gina must come to grips with years of neglect and mistrust in order to recover their beloved sons, their love for one another, and their marriage.

In this emotional story, bestselling author Dan Walsh takes you on a journey to rediscover the things that matter most in life - love, truth, and family.  With profound insight into the heart of a hurting child, he reminds us that a time will come to look back on hard times and smile, because we'll know that what follows after...is not what we expected at all.

My Thoughts:
This was my first novel by Dan Walsh to read.  I've stated many times here on the blog that I love discovering new authors and their gift and it was a joy to discover Walsh!  Thank you Lanette Haskins and Revell (a division of Baker Publishing Group) for sending the complimentary copy for the purpose of this review.
Walsh captures the atmosphere and culture of early 60's America well.  He is right on target with his character development and descriptions.  The scenarios are believable and well though out by the author. Walsh's plot development takes the reader on a roller coaster of emotions.  As a mother, I hurt for Colt and Timmy.  When a story makes me feel like I felt reading this one, I know I have just added its author to my "favorites" list and know that those books will be added to my keeper shelf.
Consider this statement from the "Author's Note" at the end of the book:

"I think a more honest assessment would suggest that many Americans' church experiences in the fifties and sixties had more to do with the religion of Christianity than a clear understanding of the gospel.  Part of the reason I decided to set What Follows After in the early sixties was to explore how the timeless truths of the gospel could have applied in an average American family during the Leave it To Beaver years.  The things that cause relationships to succeed or fail are not dependent on the society or culture we live in."

Walsh writes a story that will make you feel and will make you think.  When an author writes in such a way that forces me to take an honest assessment of my ideas about a certain era or of my own life...that author has written a 5+ star novel.  Dan Walsh has done that!  Don't miss this one!

Happy Reading,
Jennifer