Hearts Aglow by Tracie Peterson

In the past week I was blessed to read not one, but two awesome books, written by authors who happen to be great FRIENDS!  The first was Judith Millers' A Bond Never Broken, and now, I'm delighted to share my thoughts about Hearts Aglow by Tracie Peterson.

Hearts Aglow is book two in Tracie's Striking a Match series.  Set in Texas in 1886, Hearts Aglow chronicles the lives of a Philadelphia family, the Vandermarks', who are trying to survive the intense Texas weather, a difficult industry (logging), the aftermath of the Civil War and its horrible residue of prejudice, villains who want to put them out of business, vendettas of all kinds, and some nosey townspeople.  Not to mention the desires of their own hearts- to find true and lasting love.  This family has lots of love to give; and the forces that rise up against them are great.

This is mainly Deborah's story.  Her desire is to become a doctor.  In a time when women professionals, especially young and single ones, were rare-to non-existent, obstacles abound.  But does that stop her? Absolutely not!  In fact, she is apprenticing with the handsome Dr. Christopher Clayton, who clearly has a thing for her, but is he worthy enough to be her man?  Well, he is very humble, and God fearing; but unfortunately he has a secret, which leads to complications.

Tracie Peterson writes great Christian fiction.  The Christian theme expressed in this book seemed to be"hearing from God".  How can a person know God's will?  Wonderful question, and Ms.Peterson didn't shy away from using scripture to back up her characters' faith journey.  I found myself talking to God right along with the Vandermarks as they tried to view their lives in the light of God's Word.

This book was well researched and beautifully crafted.  It was easy for me to see why Tracie has been so successful in her writing journey! (80 books published so far!!!)

For more about Tracie and Hearts Aglow- read on.

Blessings!!

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingHearts AglowBethany House (March 1, 2011)byTracie Peterson





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 85 novels.


She received her first book contract in November, 1992 and saw A Place To Belong published in February 1993 with Barbour Publishings' Heartsong Presents. She wrote exclusively with Heartsong for the next two years, receiving their readership's vote for Favorite Author of the Year for three years in a row.



In December, 1995 she signed a contract with Bethany House Publishers to co-write a series with author Judith Pella. Tracie now writes exclusively for Bethany House Publishers.



She teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research.



Tracie was awarded the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for 2007 Inspirational Fiction and her books have won numerous awards for favorite books in a variety of contests.



Making her home in Montana, this Kansas native enjoys spending time with family--especially her three grandchildren--Rainy, Fox and Max. She's active in her church as the Director of Women's Ministries, coordinates a yearly writer's retreat for published authors, and travels, as time permits, to research her books





ABOUT THE BOOK

The future should be bright for Deborah Vandermark, who is now pursuing her interest in medicine alongside Dr. Christopher Clayton, who is courting her. But the lumber town is resistant to the idea of a woman physician, and she feels thwarted at every turn.




A more devastating blow occurs, however, when Christopher breaks off their relationship to return home to his troubled family. Despite her own love life going awry, Deborah is still intent to be a matchmaker for both her widowed mother and her brother, who has caught the eye of the spit-fire daughter of the local pastor.



But what will Deborah do when faced with the truth about Christopher's family? Is there hope for the two of them...or will Jake Wyeth's attentions finally catch Deborah's eye instead?



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