Until I Found You by Victoria Bylin

Kate Darby is an advertising up- and- comer who works for a celebrity owned spa on the cusp of going national. When her grandmother, her only family, has a stroke, she knows she must take time off to help.

In spite of her grandmother's example of faith, Kate's loss of parents and grandfather, have left her with a big, empty, space in her heart. Not to mention the boyfriends who have come and gone as their own careers have ebbed and flowed.

Nick Sheridan has about a suitcase and a half of mistakes and regrets resulting from a life lived pleasing himself. With charm to spare, he has made a living writing about his adventures and conquests while  traveling all over the world. Nick was definitely "born to run", or sky dive, rock climb--you get the picture, but he's also a new Christian who is trying to get right with God. Under the tutelage of his brother, a minister, he has a new standard of what it is to be a man of God. Will it include this beautiful but lost woman?

Until I Found You is an example of one direction Christian romance is going. Issues of "waiting for marriage" previous live-in relationships, fertility problems (Kate's friend), and the consequences of irresponsible choices factor into the story line.

This is all part of our world, and one that children of baby boomers must navigate.
My prayer is that books like this will give hope to those who are recovering from broken hearts, that they will know that God has a plan, and that it is good. With or without the hunky guy! (Nothing wrong with hunky guys... who love Jesus.)

Please read on for more information from Bethany House and author Victoria Bylin!

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Until I Found You

Bethany House Publishers (May 6, 2014)

by

Victoria Bylin


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
A word from the Author:

This may sound crazy, but I was driven to write romance by giant bugs and killer rabbits. I just couldn't take it anymore. My husband and two sons would be camped in front of the television watching a movie about spiders the size of bowling balls, and I'd be wondering when the handsome scientist would get around to kissing the spunky woman with the bug spray. When it didn't happen, I decided to write my own happy endings--without the giant bugs...


Known for her realistic, likable characters and vivid writing, Victoria Bylin writes both western and contemporary inspirational romance. Her books have finaled in the ACFW Carol Awards, the Rita Awards and RT Magazine’s Reviewers’ Choice Awards. She and her husband currently live in Lexington, Kentucky and have two grown sons.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Finding each other was only the beginning . . .


When Kate Darby swerves off a mountain road to avoid hitting a California condor, she ends up trapped in her car, teetering on the edge of a cliff. Terrified, she breathes a prayer that changes her life.


It's Nick Sheridan who comes to Kate's rescue. Nick is handsome and confident, and he seems to develop a habit of rescuing her, but Kate is in town only until her grandmother recuperates from a stroke. She's not planning to get involved with one of the locals.


Nick is a reformed veteran of life in the fast lane, a new Christian, and a travel writer. When he sees a car dangling on the edge of a cliff, the daredevil in him jumps into action. He doesn't expect to be swept off his feet by the car's occupant. He's made a vow--no dating for a year--but keeping that vow is going to be a lot more difficult now that he's met Kate Darby. . . .


If you'd like to read the first chapter of Until I Found You, go HERE.

A Stitch and a Prayer by Eva Gibson

The year 1899 proved challenging for Florence Harms. She was recovering from an illness which affected her joints and tainted her life with worry.  She was newly married to Will, a hard working man, honest and kind, with a heart of gold, but little cash on hand. Now, pregnant with their first child, she wakes up to a note saying that he must leave for Seattle to settle a legal matter. She is blessed to have a loving and capable Aunt Amelia and a doting, fiercely loyal dog named Vaughn.

A Stitch and a Prayer reminded me of the Willa Cather book O! Pioneers, which I think is lovely. As in O! Pioneers, the land plays a big role in the story. The wind, storms, and wild life all vie for their voices to be heard. In a way it is the wild frontier versus the stubborn human need for a place to call home. Florence and her family's reliance on God and trust in His word to see them through warmed my heart, and the fact that this story was inspired by the author's grandparents made the Tree of Life quilt that Florence stitched even more meaningful.

This is another Quilts of Love winner!

Please read on for more from Abingdon Fiction about A Stitch and a Prayer!

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

A Stitch and A Prayer

Abingdon Press (May 20, 2014)


by

Eva Gibson


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


(No image available) Eva Gibson is the author of twenty books, including A Stitch and a Prayer, the latest release in the Quilts of Love series from Abingdon Fiction. She currently teaches Writing Your Life Story classes for Portland Community College and is an active member of Oregon Christian Writers. She has lived most of her life on the family farm in Wilsonville, Oregon, which is the setting for her novel.


ABOUT THE BOOK

After her fiancé returns from the Klondike gold rush in 1897, Florence Harms sets about building a new life in her new marriage—even though the lingering effects of illness have left her weak and vulnerable. She and her young husband, Will, work tirelessly to clear the land around their Northwest cabin, content with their modest life.
But then a stranger comes knocking and Florence suddenly senses a restlessness in Will’s spirit that she had never seen before. When he leaves her with only a note that tells her he will return before their baby’s birth, she is devastated, and the illness that stiffened her joints returns. Counting the days until Will walks back through her door, Florence busies herself with a Tree of Life quilt displaying a map of the farm they call home. Doubts claw at her heart as Florence struggles to believe Will’s promise to return to her. Will her labor of love—and faith in God—sustain her as she waits to see her beloved once again?


If you would like to read the first chapter of A Stitch and A Prayer, go HERE.

Rise and Shine by Sandra D. Bricker

I have always been a fan of Sandra Bricker, but she really hits her stride with Rise and Shine, A Contemporary Fairy Tale.

Rise and Shine is the retelling of Sleeping Beauty.  Bricker not only captures the spirit of this fairy tale, but a good deal of the letter also-- with a healthy dose of her signature wit, style, and movie and book references that all romance aficionados know and love.

Loved this book, you will too. So without further ado, I am going to turn this review over to the experts at River North fiction from Moody Publishers!!

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Rise and Shine

River North; New Edition edition (May 1, 2014)

by

Sandra D. Bricker


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

For more than a decade, Sandra D. Bricker lived in Los Angeles. While honing her chosen craft of screenwriting in every spare moment, she worked as a personal assistant and publicist to some of daytime television's hottest stars. When her mother became ill in Florida, she walked away from that segment of her life and moved across the country to take on a new role: Caregiver.

The author says that it was her 8th novel that opened the door to finding her way as a writer. "I'm a Christian woman, first and foremost," she says. "So it was a bit of a dream-come-true when Summerside Press chose me as one of two authors to launch the Love Finds You line."


Sandie's real-life role as cancer survivor has parlayed into her steadfast commitment to raising awareness and funds for ovarian cancer research. Spearheading a series of devotionals for Summerside Press (such as the popular His Grace is Sufficient...Decaf is Not), the author has stipulated that a portion of each contributor's proceeds will go to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.


"Being allowed to combine my faith and my humor with raising funds for my pet projects ... and still pursue my writing dream," says Bricker, "well, that's the best of all worlds, as far as I'm concerned!"


And one of the author's pet projects is animal rescue, evidenced by the special bond she has created with one particular formerly-abandoned puppy -- a red-haired collie with "killer brown eyes and the heart of the class clown."

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Shannon Malone thought she'd found her happy ending when she married Edmund Ridgeway, but a diving accident on their honeymoon left her in a coma. Waking
up to the news that she's thirty years old would have been daunting enough . . . but she also learns that Edmund has lost his interim battle with cancer and the
world has marched on without her. Her gorgeous doctor, Daniel Petros, seems to know everything about her and becomes Shannon's tour guide into a whole new world of
madness where reality television has taken over the planet and everyone's life appears to revolve around a tiny screen on their cell phones!
As Shannon struggles to navigate through the changes-both in the world and in her-she also must discern real memories from imagined ones. Did she really ever wear capris pants and entertain in her living room, or was that Laura Petrie from her favorite classic TV show? And where is her beloved dog, Freeway? Oh, wait! That was Jonathan and Jennifer Hart's dog, not hers. Shannon's three elderly aunts flit through her life in true Sleeping Beauty style with her well-being always a priority.
And Edmund's sister Millicent descends like the Evil Queen she is, trying to extract Shannon from any claim on the Ridgeway family fortune. When a tornado moves through town and Shannon is knocked unconscious, will Daniel's kiss awaken her once and for all?




If you would like to read the first chapter of Rise and Shine, go HERE.