ABOUT THE BOOK: The abrupt disappearance of young Daisy Chance from a small Texas town in 1973 spins three lives out of control—Jed, whose guilt over not protecting his friend Daisy strangles him; Emory Chance, who blames her own choices for her daughter’s demise; and Ouisie Pepper, who is plagued by headaches while pierced by the shattered pieces of a family in crisis. In this first book in the Defiance, Texas Trilogy, fourteen-year-old Jed Pepper has a sickening secret: He’s convinced it’s his fault his best friend Daisy went missing. Jed’s pain sends him on a quest for answers to mysteries woven through the fabric of his own life and the lives of the families of Defiance, Texas. When he finally confronts the terrible truths he’s been denying all his life, Jed must choose between rebellion and love, anger and freedom. Daisy Chain is an achingly beautiful southern coming-of-age story crafted by a bright new literary talent. It offers a haunting yet hopeful backdrop for human depravity and beauty, for terrible secrets and God’s surprising redemption. If you would like to read the first chapter of Daisy Chain, go HERE
My Review: I promise that if you read the first chapter of Daisy Chain by Mary DeMuth you will be compelled to head for the nearest bookstore or Amazon.com to order this book. It will grab you and keep you feeling and aching with these characters from start to finish. The writing is exquisite and each voice true and clear.
Daisy, Jed and the rest of the gang in this novel have left footprints all over my heart, and I am left with the wonderful feeling that I am like Frodo about to cross the river, headed for the unknown but still hopeful for what awaits me in the coming two books in this series.
This book is close to perfection and you will not be disappointed.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Stepping into Sunlight by Sharon Hinck
"Little deeds of kindness, little words of love, make our earth an Eden like the heaven above."-from a hymn by Julia Carney
Sharon Hinck's book Stepping into Sunlight is about a young mom named Penny whose husband is a Navy Chaplain who must leave for a tour of duty right after Penny witnesses a convenience store robbery gone wrong, ending in murder.
Penny is traumatized and her life starts to fall apart. Since they are new to the Navy life and the Chesapeake area where they are stationed,she doesn't have the church and family support that she enjoyed back home. She must somehow hold it together for her little boy and manage without regular contact with her husband.
Sharon manages to assemble a cast of characters that are lovable-a trauma support group worthy of a sit-com had me rooting for everyone to find healing and celebrating those little steps toward freedom, and a tiny store-front church offering a safe haven combined with prayer and doses of common sense, helped me to see God's provision in unfamiliar territory.
Part of Penny's healing comes from her resolve to keep a notebook of kindness in which she records one good deed per day for someone different. Sharon actually created a special blog where people can check in and share their experiences of "paying it forward". A support blog for those of us who need affirmation and kind words. It's called Penny's Project.
Sharon Hinck has written six other books ranging from mom lit to fantasy- all have Sharon's trademark sense of humor, faith, and hope.
Sharon Hinck's book Stepping into Sunlight is about a young mom named Penny whose husband is a Navy Chaplain who must leave for a tour of duty right after Penny witnesses a convenience store robbery gone wrong, ending in murder.
Penny is traumatized and her life starts to fall apart. Since they are new to the Navy life and the Chesapeake area where they are stationed,she doesn't have the church and family support that she enjoyed back home. She must somehow hold it together for her little boy and manage without regular contact with her husband.
Sharon manages to assemble a cast of characters that are lovable-a trauma support group worthy of a sit-com had me rooting for everyone to find healing and celebrating those little steps toward freedom, and a tiny store-front church offering a safe haven combined with prayer and doses of common sense, helped me to see God's provision in unfamiliar territory.
Part of Penny's healing comes from her resolve to keep a notebook of kindness in which she records one good deed per day for someone different. Sharon actually created a special blog where people can check in and share their experiences of "paying it forward". A support blog for those of us who need affirmation and kind words. It's called Penny's Project.
Sharon Hinck has written six other books ranging from mom lit to fantasy- all have Sharon's trademark sense of humor, faith, and hope.
Friday, February 13, 2009
CFBA Tour: A Cry in the Night
This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Cry In The Night
Thomas Nelson (February 3, 2009)
by
Colleen CobleABOUT THE AUTHOR:Author Colleen Coble's thirty novels and novellas have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Romance Writers of America prestigious RITA award, the Holt Medallion, the ACFW Book of the Year, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers' Choice, and the Booksellers Best awards. She writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail and love begin with a happy ending. AWARDS:2004 More Than Magic winner for Best Inspirational RomanceWithout a Trace, Thomas Nelson2004 American Christian Fiction Writers Mentor of the Year ABOUT THE BOOKThe highly anticipated novel that delivers what romantic suspense fans have long awaited-the return to Rock Harbor.Bree Nichols gets the shock of her life when her husband-presumed dead-reappears.Bree Nichols and her search and rescue dog Samson discover a crying infant in the densely forested woods outside of Rock Harbor, Michigan. Against objections from her husband, Kade, who knows she'll become attached, Bree takes the baby in. Quickly she begins a search for the mother-presumably the woman reported missing just days earlier.While teams scour the forests, Bree ferrets out clues about the missing woman. But she soon discovers something more shocking: Bree's former husband-long presumed dead in a plane crash-resurfaces. Is he really who he says he is? And should she trust him again after all these years?An engaging, romantic suspense novel from critically-acclaimed author Colleen Coble.If you would like to read the first chapter of , go HERE
This was my first Colleen Coble book and I really wanted to love it. But I had a hard time really liking and respecting the characters. This is a Rock Harbor Mystery so I imagine that these characters have had other adventures together but I didn't feel that they learned much from previous trials. The girls all felt whiney and I didn't get a clear sense of principled choices being made. I liked the rescue dog Samson but wasn't sure what breed he was. All kinds of bad things were happening in the town but no news reporters were snooping around and the townspeople didn't seem concerned about missing babies and murdered people...
It was just okay for me but I am so in the minority- most people loved it.
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Cry In The Night
Thomas Nelson (February 3, 2009)
by
Colleen CobleABOUT THE AUTHOR:Author Colleen Coble's thirty novels and novellas have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Romance Writers of America prestigious RITA award, the Holt Medallion, the ACFW Book of the Year, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers' Choice, and the Booksellers Best awards. She writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail and love begin with a happy ending. AWARDS:2004 More Than Magic winner for Best Inspirational RomanceWithout a Trace, Thomas Nelson2004 American Christian Fiction Writers Mentor of the Year ABOUT THE BOOKThe highly anticipated novel that delivers what romantic suspense fans have long awaited-the return to Rock Harbor.Bree Nichols gets the shock of her life when her husband-presumed dead-reappears.Bree Nichols and her search and rescue dog Samson discover a crying infant in the densely forested woods outside of Rock Harbor, Michigan. Against objections from her husband, Kade, who knows she'll become attached, Bree takes the baby in. Quickly she begins a search for the mother-presumably the woman reported missing just days earlier.While teams scour the forests, Bree ferrets out clues about the missing woman. But she soon discovers something more shocking: Bree's former husband-long presumed dead in a plane crash-resurfaces. Is he really who he says he is? And should she trust him again after all these years?An engaging, romantic suspense novel from critically-acclaimed author Colleen Coble.If you would like to read the first chapter of , go HERE
This was my first Colleen Coble book and I really wanted to love it. But I had a hard time really liking and respecting the characters. This is a Rock Harbor Mystery so I imagine that these characters have had other adventures together but I didn't feel that they learned much from previous trials. The girls all felt whiney and I didn't get a clear sense of principled choices being made. I liked the rescue dog Samson but wasn't sure what breed he was. All kinds of bad things were happening in the town but no news reporters were snooping around and the townspeople didn't seem concerned about missing babies and murdered people...
It was just okay for me but I am so in the minority- most people loved it.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Blog Tour: Word Gets Around
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Lisa Wingate lives in central Texas where she is a popular inspirational speaker, magazine columnist, and national bestselling author of several books. Her novel, Tending Roses, received dozens of five-star reviews, sold out ten printings for New York publisher, Penguin Putnam, and went on to become a national bestselling book. Tending Roses was a selection of the Readers Club of America, and is currently in its tenth printing. The Tending Roses series continued with Good Hope Road, The Language of Sycamores, Drenched In Light, and A Thousand Voices. In 2003, Lisa’s Texas Hill Country series began with Texas Cooking, and continued with Lone Star Café, which was awarded a gold medal by RT BOOKCLUB magazine and was hailed by Publisher’s Weekly as “A charmingly nostalgic treat.” The series concluded with Over the Moon at the Big Lizard Diner.
Lisa is now working on a new set of small-town Texas novels for Bethany House Publishers. The series debuted with Talk of The Town and continued with Word Gets Around. A new series is also underway for Penguin Group NAL, beginning with A Month of Summer (July 2008), and continuing with The Summer Kitchen in July, 2009. Lisa’s works have been featured by the National Reader’s Club of America, AOL Book Picks, Doubleday Book Club, The Literary Guild, American Profiles, and have been chosen for the LORIES best Published Fiction Award.
ABOUT THE BOOK
When Romance Is In the Air, Word Gets Around Lauren Eldridge thought she'd wiped the dust of Daily, Texas, off her boots forever. Screenwriter Nate Heath thought he was out of second chances. Life's never that predictable, though. Cajoled by her father, Lauren is back in town helping train a skittish race horse set to star in a Hollywood film. But the handsome screenwriter gives her more trouble than the horse. And Nate is realizing there's a spark of magic in the project--and in the eyes of the girl who is so good with horses. Daily, Texas, has a way of offering hope, healing, and a little romance just when folks need it most. If you would like to read the first chapter of Word Gets Around, go HERE
What people are saying:
"Lisa Wingate writes engaging stories that strike the heart. God has gifted her with a marvelous talent and I, for one, am most grateful."
—Debbie Macomber, New York Times #1 bestselling author
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