Saturday, August 27, 2011

Another Great Author -- Blue Skies Tomorrow

Blue Skies Tomorrow was my first introduction to another great author -- Sarah Sundin.  This is book three in her Wings of Glory WWII romance series.  There was no problem in picking up this late in the series, but I was left wanting to go back to the first two books just to enjoy more of the story.

Helen Carlisle has been recently widowed when her hero husband became a casualty of war.  She is staying busy with her "heart's work" of volunteer efforts on the home front and caring for her young son Jay-Jay.  Lt. Ray Novak is trying to find his place of service in the war, although his heart is in the pulpit.  When Ray returns home to Antioch, California, he and Helen renew an old friendship -- and maybe more.  But there are deep issues they both have to deal with, issues that drive them apart for a while -- and maybe forever.

One of the things that really touched me in the story was the growth of Helen's faith.  This paragraph stood out and spoke to my heart:

     "For the first time, she yielded to his comfort. 
      Jesus didn't take away her tears, he received them.
      He didn't take away the memories, he shared them. 
      He didn't take away the hurts, he felt them.
      Somehow, with the Lord, she could bear it."

Sarah develops characters with such depth that you feel you really know them and share in their joys and struggles.  I was drawn into the story as her characters faced very real and ugly horrors of society in sometimes painful ways.  And although the story and most of the people are fictional, it is obvious that Sarah has done a tremendous amount of research to make the setting and many details true to life.

Available August 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

This book was provided free for my honest review from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

"What We Can Learn from the Simple Life" -- Amish Values for Your Family

"What We Can Learn from the Simple Life" -- that's the lead-in on the cover of Suzanne Woods Fisher's Amish Values for Your Family.  And there are indeed lots of lessons we can learn.  This book reinforces what I've learned from a lot of reading about and limited interaction with Amish people -- we are very different, yet very much the same.

This is a great book to read all at once or in small chunks.  Suzanne shares real stories from real Amish families and then offers suggestions and/or asks questions to help the reader think about how the same values and ideals can fit into the less simple lives of families who are not Amish.  The specific events she tells about may play out differently in Amish homes than they would in yours or mine, but she reminds us that we can teach our children the same lessons of respect, appreciation for God's creation, work ethic, and so much more.

So take a few minutes, sit back in your favorite chair, and enjoy snippets from the simple life.  I think you'll be glad you did!

Available August 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

This book was provided free for my honest review from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

A Trio of Some Favorite Christian Fiction Authors

As I was looking through the list of authors with pages at Family Fiction, I found these who didn't fit into either of the categories I had already listed.  Of course, Francine Rivers and Karen Kingsbury are two of the top-of-the-line Christian fiction authors who have written lots of books.  Just recently I discovered Eva Marie Everson's first Cedar Key novel and loved it!  I'm anxiously awaiting the next book.  Check out these pages for some great reads.

Great Suspense Authors

Another of my favorite genres of books is suspense.  Here are some of the authors whose books I really enjoy in that category.  Some of them write at least partially in the supernatural realm, some write legal or crime dramas, and others write more general suspense.  Check out their pages at Family Fiction and enjoy their books!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Amish Authors I Love

As any readers of my blog know, one of my favorite types of books is Amish fiction.  These are some of the authors whose books I love to read.  In fact, if they've written an Amish book, I probably own it and have read it!  Check out their pages at Family Fiction for more information -- and enjoy their stories!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Contest

Barbara Cameron is hosting a new contest for a reader to win an autographed copy of A Time for Peace, Book 3 of the Quilts of Lancaster County, on http://www.amishhearts.com/ Go there to read details of the contest. Good luck!
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Monday, August 1, 2011

Cindy Woodsmall Information

I received some information about Cindy Woodsmall's books that I would like to share with other fans of this great author.

* Special eBook promotion!
The eBook of Cindy’s first book in the Ada’s House series, The Hope of Refuge, is specially priced at only $1.99 for a limited time! You can check out the following link to purchase this before August 15:  http://www.randomhouse.com/book/193697/the-hope-of-refuge-by-cindy-woodsmall/9780307458346/?view=ebform

* Book Signing Tour!
Cindy will kick off her The Harvest of Grace book signing tour with a stop at Lifeway in Memphis, TN on August 9th. She’ll also be meeting fans and signing books in Arkansas (Conway, Little Rock, Harrison, Rogers, Jonesboro), Oklahoma (Tulsa, Oklahoma City) Kansas (Topeka), and Missouri (Kansas City, St. Louis, Branson, Springfield). If you live in any of these stops, Cindy would love to meet you! Details are available at the following:  http://www.cindywoodsmall.com/events.php