Friday, February 23, 2007

Wedgewood Grey by John Aubrey Anderson

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing


(Faith Words, February 2007) by John Aubrey Anderson.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

John Aubrey Anderson
John was born five miles north of the setting for Abiding Darkness, a cotton country town within a rifle shot of two rivers, a bayou, a double handful of lakes, and endless acres of woods.

After graduating from Mississippi State, he flew six years in the Air Force then twenty-nine years for a major airline. And now he gets to write.

He and his wife have been married for forty some-odd years and live in Texas—about twenty miles south of the Red River. He spends the biggest part of his time writing; she’s immersed in leading a comprehensive, women’s Bible study.


They like greasy hamburgers and Dr. Peppers, most species of warm-blooded creatures (the kind that don’t normally bite), and spending July in the mountains.

ABOUT THE BOOK:


Wedgewood Grey is the second book in the Black and White Chronicles. The first was Abiding Darkness (August, 2006).

Mississippi cotton country . . . in the spring of 1960.

The War At Cat Lake is fifteen years in the fading past . . . but the demonic beings who launched that first battle, are alive and well at Cat Lake. Waiting.
Late on a Friday night, on a muddy little road a mile east of Cat Lake, a ten-year-old black child is forced to watch while a gang of white men beat his mother to death. Aided by Mose Washington, an old black man, the boy exacts a measure of his own revenge. When the sun comes up on Saturday morning, Mose and the boy are fugitives.

Missy Parker Patterson, who as a child stood at the epicenter of the first war, is married and living in Texas. In the aftermath that follows Mose Washington’s disappearance, she goes back to Cat Lake to discover that the demonic beings have been anticipating her return . . . and so begins the second battle of The War At Cat Lake.

In 1962, an old black man and his grandson move into the country near Pilot Hill, Texas. The people in the local area are told that the old gentleman’s name is Mose Mann—his grandson introduces himself as Bill.

However, the lives of the new arrivals are not as peaceful as they seem. The unassuming old black man and his grandson are being pursued by a triad of formidable and unrelenting adversaries . . . a ruthless political leader, an enduring lie, and an invisible army allied beneath the banner of a hatred for God.

Wedgewood Grey is a story about the impact of choices that real people—people like you and me—are sometimes forced to make.


The story is very well put together, with just enough background of angels and demons to keep the people interested that like supernatural, spiritual warfare books. This is an excellent book from a great new author! I think he ranks well with the likes of Ted Dekker, Frank Peretti and Eric Wilson. I look forward to reading more books from him.


The Author's Website: http://www.johnaubreyanderson.com/

Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446579505

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Sally Stuart's Christian Writers' Market Guide

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing


by




WaterBrook Press; Pap/CDR edition (January 16, 2007)


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Sally E. Stuart is the author of thirty-four books and has sold more than one thousand articles and columns. Her long-term involvement with the Christian Writers' Market Guide as well as her marketing columns for the Christian Communicator, Oregon Christian Writers, and The Advanced Christian Writer, make her a sought-after speaker and a leading authority on Christian markets and the business of writing. Stuart is the mother of three and grandmother of eight.

ABOUT THE BOOK


For more than twenty years, the Christian Writers’ Market Guide has offered indispensable help to Christian writers. This year, for the first time, this valuable resource comes with a CD-ROM of the full text, so you can search with ease for topics, publishers, and other specific names.


The 2007 edition also includes up-to-date listings of more than 1,200 markets for books, articles, stories, poetry, and greeting cards, including information on forty new book publishers, eighty-three new periodicals, and thirty-four new literary agents. Perfect for writers in every phase, this is the resource to get noticed–and get published.


It contains listings for: 695 periodicals, 228 poetry markets, 355 book publishers, 133 online publications, 29 print-on-demand publishers, 1185 markets for the written word, 321 photography markets, 31 e-book publishers, 122 foriegn markets, 112 literary agents,and 59 newspapers.


It also gives you comprehensive lists of contests, writers groups and conferences, search engines, pay rates and submission guidelines, editorial services and websites.


Christian Writers’ Market Guide is a "must have' for any serious Christian writer that is looking to get published!



The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400071259


Sally's website is: http://www.stuartmarket.com/

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

The Longing Season by Christine Schaub


This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducting The Longing Season (Bethany House July, 2006) by Christine Schaub.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Christine Schaub is the author of the MUSIC OF THE HEART series, including Finding Anna, the “rest of the story” behind the writing of the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” (October 2005) and The Longing Season, the story behind “Amazing Grace” (July 2006) with Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Books.
In 2003, Christine won the “On the Page” screenwriting contest at Screenwriting Expo 2 in Los Angeles. Her one-page story, written on-site in 24 hours for Jacqueline Bisset, was selected by the actress as the best Oscar Wilde-type comedy for her persona.

While working in freelance corporate communications, Christine completed three feature-length screenplays, including a drama/comedy, romantic comedy, and sci-fi action/drama; developed four biopic teleplays for the stories behind the hymns; and published an online column for the MethodX website (Upper Room Ministries).

Christine honed her writing skills after more than 15 years in corporate communications for healthcare, pharmaceutical, and entertainment companies. She has also been a featured conference speaker on working with at-risk youth and changed lives in the classrooms with her creative presentation style.

Christine's love for the arts and creativity have taken her from church platforms to civic and professional stages, performing classics and dramas from her own pen.

Christine graduated from Anderson University with a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications. She has served on numerous boards and committees, usually as Communications Chair, and has received both regional and national awards in writing and design.

ABOUT THE BOOK

All of the books in the MUSIC OF THE HEART series are based on a hymns and their histories. The Longing Season is about one of the greatest redemption stories of all time: John Newton and his song, Amazing Grace.
Nature conspires against him, tossing the ship like a toy. Directionless--just like his
life.
It seems his odyssey will end here, in the
cold Atlantic.
Grief and terror grip his heart, but he will
not surrender...not yet.
She reads the sentence again and again.
The first day I saw you I began to
love you.
He'd written the words, sealed and posted them, then vanished.
She has a choice--turn toward the future, or wait, wating and hoping.
And so begins her season of longing.
Christine's website link is: http://www.christineschaub.typepad.com/

Friday, February 02, 2007

Germ by Robert Liparulo


This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducting GERM(WestBow Nov 1, 2006) by Robert Liparulo

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robert's novel paints a scenario so frighteningly real that six Hollywood producers were bidding on movie rights before the novel was completed. His acclaimed debut novel, Comes A Horseman, is being made into a major motion picture by producer Mace Neufeld and his short story "Kill Zone" was featured in the anthology Thriller, edited by James Patterson.


Robert is an award-winning author of over a thousand published articles and short stories. He is currently a contributing editor for New Man magazine. His work has appeared in Reader's Digest, Travel & Leisure, Modern Bride, Consumers Digest, Chief Executive, and The Arizona Daily Star, among other publications. In addition, he previously worked as a celebrity journalist, interviewing Stephen King, Tom Clancy, Charlton Heston, and others for magazines such as Rocky Road, Preview, and L.A. Weekly. He has sold or optioned three screenplays.


Robert is an avid scuba diver, swimmer, reader, traveler, and a law enforcement and military enthusiast. He lives in Colorado with his wife and four children.


He is currently working on his third novel.
ABOUT THE BOOK


If you breathe, it will find you...

The list of 10,000 names was created for maximum devastation. On it are business leaders, housewives, politicians, celebrities, janitors, children. None know what is about to happen...but all will be part of the most frightening brand of warfare the world has ever known.

The GERM...a more advanced form of the Ebola virus...has been genetically engineered to infect only those people whose DNA matches the codes embedded within it. If your DNA is not a match, you simply catch a cold. But if your DNA is a match, within days your internal organs liquefy and you die a most painful death. There is no cure.

The release of the virus would usher in a new era of power...one in which countries are left without any form of defense, where one person or millions could be killed with 100% accuracy yet result in no collateral damage to property or those not targeted.

That time isn't coming...It is now!

GERM is coming. Pray the assassins get you first.

Bob's website link is: http://www.robertliparulo.com

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0785261788


Friday, January 26, 2007

If the Shoe Fits by Marilynn Griffith

No, you aren't seeing double. This month we are reviewing not one, but two books by Marilynn Griffith! This prolific writer has TWO books coming out this month! This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is posting about If the Shoe Fits (Steeple Hill Cafe', 2007) by Marilynn Griffith (fellow CFBA member, blogger, writer, and mother of seven)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Marilynn Griffith is wife to a deacon, mom to a tribe and proof that God gives second chances. Her novels include Made of Honor (Steeple Hill, Jan. 2006), Pink (Revell, Feb. 2006), Jade (Revell, June 2006), and Tangerine (Revell, January 2007). Her other credits include Chicken Soup for the Christian Woman’s Soul, Cup of Comfort Devotionals and her Shades of Style series (Revell, 2006). She lives in Florida with her husband and children. To book speaking engagements or just say hello, email: marilynngriffith@gmail.com.




ABOUT THE BOOK:

Have Glass Slipper, Need Prince...
If the Shoe Fits is the second book in the Sassy Sistahood Novels. The first in the series was Made of Honor (Steeple Hill, Jan. 2006).
In all my thirty-five years, I, shoe designer Rochelle Gardner, have never had so many men interested in me! My teen son's dad, Jordan is back in my life after suffering from amnesia (yes, really). The church deacon, Tad has had his eye on me for years (and never said a word). And the young waiter, Shan (from the restaurant I've visited for singles' events) is trying to steal my heart. I've been struggling with my faith, trying to figure out which man God has chosen for me and wondering if I have the courage to step forward, on my not-so-pretty feet, to accept love. It's almost too much for the Sassy Sistahood to handle, but my girlfriends always have my back!

Friday, January 19, 2007

Arms of Deliverance by Tricia Goyer

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is posting about Arms of Deliverance (Moody Publishers, 2006) by Tricia Goyer (fellow CFBA member, blogger, writer, and homeschooling mom!)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Tricia Goyer is one the members of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance (Tricia's Blog, "It's Real Life" Tricia's Parenting Blog, "Generation NeXt") and we are pleased to be able to review her exciting historical fiction book, Arms of Deliverance. She was named Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference "Writer of the Year" in 2003. Tricia was also a finalist for the Gold Medallion Book Award and won ACFW's "Book of the Year" for Long Historial Romance in 2005 AND in 2006. She has written hundreds of articles, Bible Study notes, and both fiction (three other WWII novels, From Dust to Ashes, Night Song and Dawn of a Thousand Nights. Night Song, the second title in Tricia’s World War II series, won ACFW's Book of the Year for Best Long Historical Romance.) She's and non-fiction books. married to John, and they have three great kids whom she homeschools: Cory (17), Leslie (14), and Nathan (12). They make their home in Northwest Montana with their dog, Lilly.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The fourth and final novel in this exhilarating series capturing the tales of men and women swept into World War II.

EUROPE, 1944
Katrine, a Czech Jew, is so successful in her attempt to pass as an Aryan that she finds herself dating and getting pregnant by a Nazi officer. Having convinced him of her genetic purity, the officer sends her to stay at a Lebensborn home--a Nazi breeding program in which children are raised and indoctrinated by the state. She eventually confesses that she's a Jew, he beats her, and she goes into labor. He wanted to keep the baby all for himself, but another series of events are set in motion.
Meanwhile, Mary and Lee, one a socialite, the other a working class girl, land similar reporting jobs at the New York Tribune on the eve of the war’s outbreak. Rivals with assignments on the frontlines of war-torn Europe, Lee joins troops sailing for Normandy, while Mary's destiny lies in the cramped quarters of a B-17 bearing down on Berlin. Before the presses roll, their lives will be indelibly marked by a caring American navigator, brave French resistors, and a maniacal Nazi officer. Arms of Deliverance is a story of unexpected redemption.
Lee didn't care much about getting dirty and wearing grubby clothes before this assingment. She was all about fashion and knowing the right people to get her the good stories. Then she gets into the frontlines, and really learns to care for the hurt and dying, and doesn't care about getting dirty. She learns that's what a good story is all about.
Mary finally gets to go in the B-17 over Berlin, she had been waiting all her life for this. She wanted to get to the front lines and get the big story. They have to bail out over Belgium and she gets paired up with Eddie. They get help along the way, and get chased by the Nazi's. Their airplane was named Destiny's Child. They even get a special duty to fulfill, which gives the true meaning to Arms of Deliverance. She and Eddie also fall in love along the way. So Mary does get her big story, and a family too!

Friday, January 12, 2007

A Pagan's Nightmare


This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducting A Pagan's Nightmare.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ray Blackston of Greenville, South Carolina, worked as a buyer and a broker for eleven years before cashing in his modest 401k and leaving his corporate cubicle in 2000 to write full time. He is a graduate of the University of south Carolina, with a degree in Finance and Economics.



He serves on the drama team at his church, participates in a weekly men's accountability group, serves on the missions committee of his church, has traveled to rural Ecuador on a summer missions program, and coaches his seven-year-old nephew, Action Jackson, in T-Ball.

When he is not crafting a new novel, is exploring south Carolina beaches with friends and family. He competes in golf tournaments, leads a writers' critique group, and relives his youth through a large collection of eighties music!


His first novel Flabbergasted was one of three finalists for the Christy Award for best first novel, and was chosen as Inspirational Novel of the Year by the Dallas Morning News.

ABOUT THE BOOK:



A Pagan's Nightmare

Christians can buy gas for twelve cents a gallon, while everyone else (the pagans, that is) have to pay $6.66. The radio stations alter all song lyrics to conform to "Christian" standard--the Beatles belt out "I Wanna Hold Your Tithe"; ABBA's "Dancing Queen" becomes "Dancing's Wrong". Even French fries, newly labeled "McScriptures", are tools for evangelism.

Larry's novel is a big hit with his agent, Ned. But Ned's wife..a committed Southern Baptist...is less than amused. And Larry has yet to show the manuscript to his new girlfriend, Miranda, even though he's made her the unsuspecting heroine. It will take deft handling from both men to keep their lives and their relationships intact when the world witnesses A Pagan's Nightmare.


My review: But what is this world really? The leader the "christians" follow and seem to worship as their "god" is Martin. He changed passages in the Bible into his own messages. The beginning of the book mentions a "reverse rapture". Is that really what this is? But not even a reverse rapture, the real rapture, the true Christians have all disappeared, and the people who were just following along by their good deeds thinking they would get into Heaven are left behind, along with the non-christians. Those are the zealouts who are following Martin the Antichrist. This book is only in reverse because it is looking through the eyes of the pagan's the ones who won't accept any religion, not Christianty, and certainly not the false one set up. And of course if this was the real rapture, there would be people converting to Jesus like in the Bible and they would be chased and persecuted by Martin also for not converting to him, along with the pagans.



Ray's website link is : http://www.rayblackston.com/The book link is :


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446579599



The book link is : http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446579599


Saturday, January 06, 2007

Thr3e the movie by Ted Dekker

So I saw Thr3e already at the very first showing January 5th at 2:15PM. It was excellent I thought!!! Sure there were some things different from the book, but it was a very good movie. Most of it did coincide with the book. I think it was very well made compared to some other Christian movies such as the Visitation. I think the acting was good. The only thing that annoyed me is that Kevin didn't have a cell phone at all. The cell phone (from Slater) just appears and disappears, and Kevin doesn't have one at all, that made absolutely NO sense why they did that???
I think everyone should see this movie!!
And it included a preview of House coming October 2007!!


Go to http://www.foxfaithmovies.com/thr3e/ for more information and theater locations.


Also visit www.myspace.com/teddekker and www.teddekker.com.


This review is mine alone, Michelle Kralicek, it done not express the views of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Tangerine by Marilynn Griffith

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is posting about Tangerine (Revell, January 2007) by Marilynn Griffith (fellow CFBA member, blogger, writer, and mother of *GULP* seven!)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Marilynn Griffith is wife to a deacon, mom to a tribe and proof that God gives second chances. Her novels include Made of Honor (Steeple Hill, Jan. 2006), Pink (Revell, Feb. 2006), Jade (Revell, June 2006), and If the Shoe Fits (Steeple Hill Cafe', 2007). Her other credits include Chicken Soup for the Christian Woman’s Soul, Cup of Comfort Devotionals and her Shades of Style series (Revell, 2006). She lives in Florida with her husband and children. To book speaking engagements or just say hello, email: marilynngriffith@gmail.com.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Tangerine is the third book in the Shades of Style novels.
Fans of Pink and Jade will thoroughly enjoy Tangerine, the third book in the cutting-edge Shades of Style series. Jean Guerra who is a designer at Garments of Praise, unexpectedly ends up working with her husband whom she left behind 15 years ago. Jean had given up on God once, and re-encountered Him and returned to church a year ago. As thoughts of her husband-the one she vowed to divorce and gave up on long ago continue to occur with increasing frequency, so do her God-encounters. She made the decision to give up on her husband who was in prison to concentrate on taking care of her 15 year old daughter who became pregnant unexpectedly. Jean is now raising her granddaughter Elena mainly by herself because her daughter Monica has her own problems and is unable to care for her. As Jean and her estranged husband Nigel are put to work together on a men's clothing line for Reebok they are drawn to each other. But there is also the issue of Carmen, Nigel's girlfriend, who insists on chasing him around everywhere, even though he tries to ignore her advances. Elena gets into some trouble and she realizes she can't raise her on her own, and needs to make decisions on whether to put her family back together. Also she needs to decide whether to stay at Garments of praise or move to a new job. Can her bruised heart become whole enough to love again? Or will she remain in the trenches of loneliness forever?

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Never Ceese by Sue Dent

This week the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is doing a tour for Never Ceese by Sue Dent. It is notable that Sue is one of our CFBA members!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sue Dent was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi and currently resides in Ridgeland. When not writing, Sue designs websites and works with digital photograpy.


Sue loves to hear from her fans through her Website in fact, the push from eager readers has already set the ball rolling, and she's hard at work on Forever Richard, the sequel.


In Never Ceese, Sue sets out to prove that faith and fun can live happily in the same story, and that vampire/werewolf fantasy can have a spiritual message too.


ABOUT THE BOOK:

Never Ceese is a new kind of Christian fantasy; a vampire/werewolf fantasy that does not glorify the evil elements of it. But instead brings light into the darkness.
Like it says in John 1:5 "And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it]."


The story starts with the classic tale of an English manor, a gothic castle owned by Richard, the vampire who is always getting on the nerves of his neighbor Peter because of the goats of his that are being killed.

Cecelia, better known as Ceese, who is the young woman who is also a werewolf, arrives at the castle via invitation of Richard's aging companion, Penelope. And this isn't any ordinary invitation, it is by telepathy and it took Ceese 50 years to get there!
Ceese and Richard extremely dislike each other from the start, and would literally tear each other to shreds if not for their mutual love for Penny. She is the only one drawing them together. She is dying and her only request is for the two of them to learn to like each other and get along. She believes that for them to be cured, they must find the cure together.
This theme runs throughout Dent's interesting tale of two who were wronged but learn to work together. Meanwhile they are threatened by an evil stem cell researcher Dr. Clayton Henderson who wants the immortality and power that he thinks their blood will bring him! He uses Cassie, his research assistant to bring Ceese and Richard to the city. He also uses her roomate and his friends to kidnap them and bring them to him.

Dent's characters are not mindless, brutal killers. They are bloodthirsty, yes, but they are constantly resisting the urge to kill, and, thus, curse another human. Feeding on virtually any warm-blooded animal helps to satiate the never ending thirst for blood, but will they forever be able to resist that most delicious morsel man?

There is a chance that their curses can actually be lifted if they can find the strength within to resist their selfish natures and act selflessly toward another. Will they succeed? This is a same basic choice that we all have to make every day..."Can two who were wronged make it right? One selfless act--by their faith."
A vampire and a werewolf, one determined to, once again, be able to say God's name and speak of holy things without it hurting her, and gain her rightful place in Heaven that she once had chosen, and had taken away from her. The other, not so sure he wants to change anymore, he doesn't care to speak of God, he seems to be more settled into his life. Can she help him find the faith he once had? A spiritual fantasy designed to spark the imagination, to speak to the heart as well as entertain.
Sue Dent website: http://www.neverceese.com/

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Landon Snow and the Island of Arcanum


Christian parents are finally offered a true Potter alternative...All the adventure of Harry Potter...None of the sorcery!

This week the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is doing a blog tour for Landon Snow and The Island of Arcanum by R.K.Mortenson, published by Barbour Publishing (October 2006).

About the AUTHOR:

R.K.Mortenson is an ordained minister with the Church of the Lutheran Brethren. He has been writing devotional and inspirational articles since 1995. He currently serves as a navy chaplain in Florida and lives with his wife, daughter and son in Jacksonville.

This page at Barbour's site provides a few good links, two as recent as last week: http://www.barbourbooks.com/author/detail/r-k-mortenson/ The top link there goes to a story about Randy's adoption experiences, the second link goes to the Landon Snow short at Clubhouse magazine.

Randy got the idea for this series one late night, when flute music woke him from a sound sleep. As he stood at his window, trying to locate the source of the sound, he spied a library across the lawn. Suddenly, he envisioned an eleven-year-old sneaking out of his bed and stealing to the library in the dead of night...And thus Landon Snow was born.


The BOOK:

In the latest adventure of Landon Snow And the Island of Arcanum, Landon, once again visits his grandparents in Button Up, Minnesota. If your familiar with the first two books, Landon Snow and the Auctor's Riddle, and Landon Snow and The Shadows of Malus Quidam, you'll know that Landon's adventures always start at the Library in Button Up.

This time, Landon's most dangerous journey yet, begins in a rowboat-shaped tombstone that floats. And it's lucky for him that it floats because a few drips from the library ceiling turns into a powerful waterfall.

The stone turns into wood. The stone book propped up in the prow of the boat turns to paper. The left page says "ANCHOR". The right page says "AWEIGH".

"Anchor aweigh?" said Landon.

Holly whispered, "Did you hear that?"

No one has time to respond, however. The next instant saw the water before them dropping away as the water behind them grew into a giant swell, pitching them headlong into the abyss.

Landon will have to protect his two younger sisters, Holly and Bridget, who wind up in the boat with him headed towards The Island of Arcanum. On the Island, the animals of Wonderwood are imprisoned and the evil shadows of Landon's nemesis, Malus Quidam lurk!

With the help of some old friends, a horse named Melech, an odd fellow named Hardy, a girl named Ditty, and the poet/prophet Vates--Landon seeks to unlock the island's dark secrets and escape with the animals intact.

But first, he must navigate his way through unchartered waters and battle the villainous Archans...Can Landon and his friends rescue the animals from deep within the island's stronghold?


R.K.Mortenson's website: http://www.landonsnow.com/


Book link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1597893587



Monday, November 20, 2006

Calm, Cool, and Adjusted by Kristin Billerbeck


This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is posting about Calm, Cool, and Adjusted by Kristin Billerbeck


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kristin Billerbeck was born in Redwood City, California. She went to San Jose State University and majored in Advertising, then worked at the Fairmont Hotel in PR, a small ad agency as an account exec, and then,
she was thrust into the exciting world of shopping mall marketing. She got married, had four kids, and started writing romance novels until she found her passion: Chick Lit.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Calm, Cool, and Adjusted is the third book in the Spa Girls Novels.

Billerbeck did a great job with the characterization of Poppy, a quirky Christian chiropractor who is a health nut. I'm talking real NUT. She is so obsessed with health that she forgets about living. When she finally realizes that she is over the edge obsessed, she doesn't know how to stop herself.

"Best friends since Johnny Depp wore scissors for hands, "The Spa Girls" live very separate lives, but stay in touch with routine visits to California's Spa Del Mar."

The third novel in the Spa Girls Series focuses on Silicon Valley chiropractor Poppy Clayton, who is as calm, cool and adjusted as they come. Or is she? Known for her bad fashion sense, a love for all things natural and the inability to get a second date, Poppy is beginning to wonder if she might be misaligned herself. Her route to self discovery will be an unnatural one - a plastic surgeon, a dilapidated house in Santa Cruz, a flirtatious client, and a blind date from the dark side.

It's all enough to send a girl - and her gal pals - running for the comfort zone of their spa.

The book link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1591453305

Kristin's website link: http://www.kristinbillerbeck.com/

Friday, November 17, 2006

Scoop by Rene Gutteridge


This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is posting about Scoop by Rene Gutteridge


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rene Gutteridge is the author of several novels, including Ghost Writer (Bethany House Publishers) The Boo Series (WaterBrook Press) and the Storm Series, (Tyndale House Publishers. She will release three novels in 2006: Storm Surge (Tyndale) My Life as a Doormat (WestBow Press, Women of Faith)Occupational Hazards Book #1: Scoop (WaterBrook Press).


She has also been published over thirty times as a playwright, best known for her Christian comedy sketches. She studied screenwriting under a Mass Communications degree, graduating Magna Cum Laude from Oklahoma City University, and earned the "Excellence in Mass Communication" award. She served as the full-time Director of Drama for First United Methodist Church for five years before leaving to stay home and write. She enjoys instructing at writer's conferences and in college classrooms. She lives with her husband, Sean, a musician, and their children in Oklahoma City.


ABOUT THE BOOK:

The Occupational Hazards Books are a series of books about seven homeschooled siblings whose last name is Hazard. The parents died in a freak accident leaving the kids ages 16-26 with a lucrative clown business but the kids realize that God has other plans which doesn't include being a family of clowns for the rest of their lives.


Scoop, is the first of the series and centers around Hayden, who was age 20 when her parents died. If you haven't yet guessed by the series title, this book is packed with many laugh out loud moments and great one liners.

Hayden is a strong Christian who, having been homeschooled, lacks some of the politically correct social norms...like not praying in front of everyone during a crisis. She finds herself in an internship at a television news station with a boss that takes stress pills, an aging news anchor that everyone wishes Botox on, a weatherman who wants to predict love for himself and Hayden, and a reporter struggling with his own politically correctness of being a good reporter and being a Christian.


Old School meets New School meets Homeschool. A smart and funny read.


The book link for Scoop:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400071577

The author's website:

http://www.renegutteridge.com/splash.html

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

The Cubicle Next Door by Siri Mitchell





This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is posting about The Cubicle Next Door by Siri L. Mitchell.
If you like blogging...which you must if you are reading this...you will think this book is blogarific. After each chapter, there is a blog entry. The book is written in first person and contains some hilarious blog antics.




Imagine that you are an anonymous blogger, one who uses a silly name instead of
your own, then imagine blogging about your work. Now imagine blogging about your
cubicle mate of the opposite sex and calling him by an anonymous name.

I know some who have done just that.

But now imagine that your cubicle mate
has discovered your blog and begins to read it out loud to you. EVERY MORNING.

The Cubicle Next Door is set in a civilian's view of working on a military post. That in itself is funny enough...then add that the main character is a tree hugging, anti-SUV lover, with a thing for Bollywood movies. (Her favorite it Bride & Prejudice.) Suddenly this civilian hippie is thrown into a cubicle next to an Air Force Pilot/Teacher who drives...yep...an SUV. Can't you feel the love?

Also, The Cubicle Next Door has some wonderful moments of self discovery.

A delightful read...here is an excerpt for you:


by Siri L. Mitchell Released Aug 06
Excerpt from Chapter 1:
“So what do you think, Jackie?”
What do I think? Funny Joe should ask me that. He’s just finished reading my blog. He’s just quoted me to myself. Or is it myself to me? Do I sound surreal, as if I’m living in parallel universes?
I am!
The blog—my blog—is all about Joe. And other topics that make me want to scream. But the clever thing is, I’m anonymous. When I’m blogging.
I’m Jackie, Joe’s cubicle-mate when I’m not.
And that’s the problem.
Joe is asking Jackie (me) what I think about the Mystery Blogger (also me). And since I don’t want Joe to know the blog is all about me and what I think of him, I can’t tell him what I think about me.
My brain is starting to short circuit.
So if I can’t tell him what I think about me, I certainly can’t tell him what I think about him, so I’m going to have to pretend not to be me. Not me myself and not me The Cubicle Next Door Blogger—TCND to my fans.
I have fans!
If I were clever I’d say something like, “Look!” and point behind him and then duck out of the room when he turned around to look.
But there’s so much computer equipment stacked around my desk and so many cables snaking around the floor that I’d break my neck if I tried to run away. So that option is out.
I could try pretending I didn’t hear him. “What?”
“SUVs. So what do you think about them?”
But then we’d basically end up back where we started.
So how did I get myself into this mess?
It was all Joe’s fault.

Friday, October 27, 2006

The Election by Jerome Teel

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is reviewing Jerome Teel's latest book, The Election..

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

Jerome Teel is a graduate of Union University, where he received his JD, cum laude, from the Ole Miss School of Law. He is actively involved in his church, local charities, and youth sports.
He has always loved legal-suspense novels and is a political junkie. Jerome and his wife, Jennifer, have three children-Brittney, Trey, and Matthew-and reside in Tennessee, where he practices law and is at work on a new novel.
The book: THE ELECTION

They seek ultimate power.

Nothing can stand in their way.

Ed Burke has waited a lifetime to become president of the United States. He's not about to let his nemesis, Mac Foster, stop him now...especially when he's sold his soul for the Oval Office.

Claudia Duval has lived a rough life. And finally, things have turned around for her after meeting the wealthy Hudson Kinney. But is all what is seems?

When a prominent citizen is murdered in Jackson, Tennessee, attorney Jake Reed doesn't want to know the truth. He just wants to get his client off. But as he investigates, he uncovers a sinister scheme. A scheme that would undermine the very democracy of America...and the freedom of the entire world.

"The Election, by Jerome Teel, is a fast-paced, highly readable mystery filled with suspense, intrigue, and political conspiracy. Teel skillfully weaves together themes of faith, family, suffering, and providence in a way that not only compels, but enlightens."David S. Dockery-President, Union University



Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Like Dandelion Dust by Karen Kingsbury

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is
posting about Karen Kingsbury's latest book,
Like Dandelion Dust.

About the Author:


USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury is America’s #1 inspirational novelist. There are nearly 5 million copies of her award-winning books in print, including more than two million copies sold in the past year. Karen has written more than 30 novels, nine of which have hit #1 on national lists, including award-winning Oceans Apart, One Tuesday Morning, Beyond Tuesday Morning, the Redemption Series and Firstborn Series, and several other bestsellers, one of which was the basis for a CBS Move-of-the-Week and Gideon's Gift, which is currently in production as a major theatrial release for Christmas 2007. Karen lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, Don, and their six children, three of whom are adopted from Haiti.

About the Book:


A PEACEFUL TOWN...


AN IDYLLIC FAMILY...


A PHONE CALL THAT THREATENS THEM ALL.



Jack and Molly Campbell enjoyed an idyllic life (Great house in a fancy neighborhood, high-paying job, and a beautiful little boy) in their small hometown outside Atlanta with their adopted 4-year-old, Joey. Then they receive the phone call that shatters their world: a social worker delivers the news that Joeys biological father has been released from prison and is ready to start life overbut with his son. (It's discovered that Joey's birth mother forged the signature of Joey's birth father, making it a fraudulant adoption.) When a judge rules that Joey must be returned to his father (a man who cannot seperate love and violence), the Campbells, in a silent haze of grief and utter disbelief, watch their son pick a dandelion and blow the feathery seeds into the wind.Struggling with the dilemma of following the law, their hearts, and what they know to be morally right, the Campbells find that desperation leads to dangerous thoughts. What if they can devise a plan? Take Joey and simply disappear....LIKE DANDELION DUST.