Attracted to Fire by Diann Mills

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingAttracted to FireTyndale House Publishers, Inc. (October 1, 2011)byDiAnn Mills

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

DiAnn Mills believes her readers should “Expect an Adventure.” She is a fiction writer who combines an adventuresome spirit with unforgettable characters to create action-packed novels. Her books have won many awards through American Christian Fiction Writers, and she is the recipient of the Inspirational Reader’s Choice award for 2005, 2007, and 2010. She was a Christy Award finalist in 2008 and a Christy winner in 2010. DiAnn is a founding board member for American Christian Fiction Writers, a member of Inspirational Writers Alive, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, and is the Craftsman Mentor for the Christian Writer’s Guild. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops. DiAnn and her husband live in Houston, Texas. Visit her website at: http://www.diannmills.com/ or find her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/diannmills


ABOUT THE BOOK

Special Agent Meghan Connors’ dream of one day protecting the president of the United States is about to come true. Only one assignment stands in her way. After the vice president’s rebellious daughter is threatened, Meghan is assigned to her protective detail on a secluded ranch in West Texas. Unfortunately, working with Special Agent in Charge Ash Zinders may be as tough as controlling her charge. Ash has a reputation for being critical and exacting, and he’s also after the same promotion as Meghan. But when the threats escalate and security on the ranch is breached, it becomes clear this isn’t the work of a single suspect—it’s part of a sophisticated plan that reaches deeper and higher than anyone imagined. And only Ash and Meghan can put the pieces together before it’s too late.

Watch the book trailer:

It's Monday What Are You Reading? October 24, 2011

This is a weekly meme hosted by Shelia at One Persons Journey Through a World of Books. http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/

I cannot believe how fast this year has flown by. Each day goes by so quick. It is a little depressing. :)

What I read last week:

- Winona's Pony Cart by Maud Hart Lovelace

- Attracted to Fire by Diann Mills

What I am currently reading:

- Walk Strong Look Up by Chantel Hobbs

- My Dearest Friend by Hazel Statham

- The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Raybourn

What I am reading next:

- A Lasting Impression by Tamera Alexander

- The Baker's Wife by Erin Healy

- Forbidden by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee

Reviews I posted last week:

http://abookloverforever.blogspot.com/2011/10/necessary-deception-by-laurie-alice.html

The Sunday Salon October 23, 2011

It has a been awhile since I last participated in the Sunday Salon. I have not been reading like I used too. I do listen to audio books in the car now which I really like. I seriously get sick of the radio and music because I have to have music when I work out and I work out six days a week. I also listen to the radio all day at work. Right now I am listening to Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani. It is a light escapist book which is needed every now and then. I am behind on review books and have stopped accepting so many. I think I only have four tours for November which should give me time to finish the ones I am still working on hopefully. I have been purging books like crazy. I decided I could not breathe with all the books in my room. Then my TBR shelves are out of control so I decided to work on them too. I am trying to live a more active lifestyle so reading is taking a backseat but I am not giving it up. It is still one of my favorite things. Life is a balancing act and not easy. Today I need to do my cooking for the week, finish a review book, and finish cleaning. I am having trouble motivating myself. I hope everyone has a good Sunday and a great week! :)

Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingWonderland CreekBethany House (October 1, 2011)byLynn Austin



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

For many years, Lynn Austin nurtured a desire to write but frequent travels and the demands of her growing family postponed her career. When her husband's work took Lynn to Bogota, Colombia, for two years, she used the B.A. she'd earned at Southern Connecticut State University to become a teacher. After returning to the U.S., the Austins moved to Anderson, Indiana, Thunder Bay, Ontario, and later to Winnipeg, Manitoba.



It was during the long Canadian winters at home with her children that Lynn made progress on her dream to write, carving out a few hours of writing time each day while her children napped. Lynn credits her early experience of learning to write amid the chaos of family life for her ability to be a productive writer while making sure her family remains her top priority.



Extended family is also very important to Austin, and it was a lively discussion between Lynn, her mother, grandmother (age 98), and daughter concerning the change in women's roles through the generations that sparked the inspiration for her novel Eve's Daughters.



Along with reading, two of Lynn's lifelong passions are history and archaeology. While researching her Biblical fiction series, Chronicles of the Kings, these two interests led her to pursue graduate studies in Biblical Backgrounds and Archaeology through Southwestern Theological Seminary. She and her son traveled to Israel during the summer of 1989 to take part in an archaeological dig at the ancient city of Timnah. This experience contributed to the inspiration for her novel Wings of Refuge.



Lynn resigned from teaching to write full-time in 1992. Since then she has published twelve novels. Five of her historical novels have won Christy Awards in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, and 2009 for excellence in Christian Fiction. And two of her inspirational fiction books were chosen by Library Journal for their top picks in 2003, and 2005. One of Lynn's novels has been made into a movie for the Hallmark Channel, starring actress Shirley Jones. Ms Jones received a 2006 Emmy Award nomination for her portrayal of Aunt Batty in the film.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Alice Grace Ripley lives in a dream world, her nose stuck in a book. But happily-ever-after life she's planned on suddenly falls apart when her boyfriend, Gordon, breaks up with her, accusing her of living in a world of fiction instead of the real world. Then to top it off, Alice loses her beloved job at the library because of cutbacks due to the Great Depression.



Fleeing small-town gossip, Alice heads to the mountains of eastern Kentucky to deliver five boxes of donated books to the library in the tiny coal-mining village of Acorn. Dropped off by her relatives, Alice volunteers to stay for two weeks to help the librarian, Leslie McDougal.



But the librarian turns out to be far different than she anticipated--not to mention the four lady librarians who travel to the remote homes to deliver the much-desired books. While Alice is trapped in Acorn against her will, she soon finds that real-life adventure and myster--and especially romance--are far better than her humble dreams could have imagined.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Wonderland Creek, go HERE.

A Necessary Deception by Laurie Alice Eakes (Review)

Paperback: 352 pages

Publisher: Revell (October 1, 2011)

ISBN-13: 978-0800734664

From the back cover:

When young widow Lady Lydia Gale helps a French prisoner obtain parole, she never dreamed he would turn up in her parlor. But just as the London Season is getting under way, there he is, along with a few other questionable personages. While she should be focused on helping her headstrong younger sister prepare for her entré into London society, Lady Gale finds herself preoccupied with the mysterious Frenchman. Is he a spy or a suitor? Can she trust him? Or is she putting her family in danger?

Readers will enjoy being drawn into this world of elegance and intrigue, balls and masquerades. Author Laurie Alice Eakes whisks readers through the drawing rooms of London amid the sound of rustling gowns on this exciting quest to let the past stay in the past and let love guide the future.

My Review:

I thought this was an overall okay Christian Regency book. It did not have enough details and development especially the mystery element. I am still confused on what actually happened.  The romance part was good. I liked Lady Lydia and her sisters. I will read the next book in the series to see what happens to them. It is an interesting start to a new series and new to me author. :)

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

Thank you Donna at Revell for my review copy.

10 Books I would like to reread

"It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones." C.S. Lewis

Carrie at Reading to Know posted her ten books she would like to reread today which is inspiring me to list mine. :)
http://www.readingtoknow.com/

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2. The Secret Garden by Frances Burnett
3. The entire O'Malley series by Dee Henderson
4. The Hawk and the Jewel by Lori Wick
5. What a Girl Wants series by Kristen Billerbeck
6. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
7. The entire Anne of Green Gables series by L. M. Montgomery
8. The entire McAllister Files by Patricia Rushford and Harrison James
9. The Angel Delaney series by Patricia Rushford
10. The Pelican Brief by John Grisham

If you would like to join in post your list or leave a comment with what books you would like to reread. :)

A Wedding Invitation by Alice Wisler

I am still behind on review books but I can't wait to start to this one. I enjoyed reading all of her other books. :)

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingA Wedding InvitationBethany House (October 1, 2011)byAlice Wisler



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Alice was born in Osaka, Japan in the sixties. Her parents were Presbyterian career missionaries. As a young child, Alice loved to walk down to the local stationer's store to buy notebooks, pencils and scented erasers. In her room, she created stories. The desire to be a published famous author has never left her. Well, two out of three isn't bad. She's the author of Rain Song, How Sweet It Is, Hatteras Girl and A Wedding Invitation (all published by Bethany House).



Alice went to Eastern Mennonite University after graduating from Canadian Academy, an international high school in Kobe, Japan. She majored in social work and has worked across the U.S. in that field. She taught ESL (English as a Second Language) in Japan and at a refugee camp in the Philippines. She also studied Spanish at a language institute in San Jose, Costa Rica.



She has four children--Rachel, Daniel, Benjamin and Elizabeth. Daniel died on 2/2/97 from cancer treatments at the age of four. Since then, Alice founded Daniel's House Publications in her son's memory. This organization reaches out to others who have also lost a child to death. In 2000 and 2003, Alice compiled recipes and memories of children across the world to publish two memorial cookbooks, Slices of Sunlight and Down the Cereal Aisle.



ABOUT THE BOOK

After returning home from teaching English at a refugee camp in the Philippines, Samantha Bravencourt enjoys her quiet life working at her mother's clothing boutique in Falls Church, Virginia. When she receives an invitation to a wedding in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, she looks forward to reconnecting with her college friend. Instead her life collides with Carson, a fellow teacher and the man who broke her heart, and a young Amerasian refugee named Lien who needs Samantha and Carson's help to find her mother before Lien's own wedding. When the search for Lien's mother reveals surprising secrets from the past, Samantha must reevaluate her own memories and decide whether to continue to play it safe or take a risk that could change her life.



If you would like to read the first chapter of A Wedding Invitation, go HERE.



Watch the book trailer:

It's Monday What Are You Reading? October 10, 2011

This is a weekly meme hosted by Shelia at One Persons Journey Through a World of Books.
http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/

I really need some audio book recommendations if anybody has one. I am listening to the radio right now because I can't find anything I like at the library. Help!

What I read last week:

- The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen (audio in the car)

- Deadly Pursuit by Irene Hannon

What I am currently reading:

- My Dearest Friend by Hazel Statham

- The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Raybourn
- Carney's House Party by Maud Hart Lovelace

- Walk Strong, Look Up by Chantel Hobbs

What I am reading next:

- A Wedding Invitation by Alice Wisler

- A Necessary Deception by Laurie Alice Eakes

Reviews I posted:

http://abookloverforever.blogspot.com/2011/10/deadly-pursuit-by-irene-hannon-review.html

Deadly Pursuit by Irene Hannon (Review)

Paperback: 340 pages

Publisher: Revell (September 1, 2011)

ISBN-13: 978-0800734572

From the Back Cover

A stalker with deadly intent . . .
A woman who protects children . . .
An ex-Navy SEAL turned police detective.
Social worker Alison Taylor has a passion for protecting children. But now it seems she needs protecting. When her tormentor's attentions take a violent turn, she calls in reinforcements--her police-detective brother, Cole, and his new partner, ex-Navy SEAL Mitch Morgan. As her relentless stalker turns up the heat and the danger intensifies, Mitch takes a personal interest in the case. Because protecting Alison has become more than a job; his future depends on keeping her safe.

Filled with nail-biting suspense and heart-melting romance, Deadly Pursuit is Irene Hannon's storytelling at its very best.

My Review:

Although this is book two in the Guardians of Justice series it can stand alone fine. The series follows two brothers and one sister who pursue justice in their careers. This book focuses on Alison who is a social worker. I love the kind of books that have a little mystery, suspense, romance, and action all together. Parts of this book were not easy to read because of subject matter. It is well written and the characters are well developed. The book held my attention and I wanted to know what happened next to the characters. I even had to put it down at one point because I wasn't ready for what came next for Alison. lol This is one of my go to authors for these kind of books. She reminds of my all time favorite author Dee Henderson. Recommended. :)

 

 

About the author:

Irene Hannon is the author of more than 35 novels, including the CBA bestsellers Against All Odds, An Eye for an Eye, and In Harm's Way. Her books have been honored with the coveted RITA® Award from Romance Writers of America, the HOLT Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier award, and two Reviewer's Choice Awards from Romantic Times BOOKreviews magazine. She lives in Missouri.

 

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

 

Thank you Donna at Revell for my review copy.

I love Quotations

I have always loved quotations. I found one of my older journals from middle school and there were pages of quotations in it. lol I post most of them on my facebook page but here are a couple of my more recent finds that truly resonated with me.

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.”
Robert Collier

"Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor."
- Truman Capote

“How wrong it is for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself.”
- Marilyn Monroe

“There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.”
- Time Must Have a Stop, Aldous Huxley

“You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”
- Text of Steve Jobs’ Commencement address (2005)

You have to know what you stand for, not just what you stand against.
- Laurie Halse Anderson

There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.
Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.”
- Francis Bacon

“We shall go on so quietly and happily together with our books and our music.”
- Sense & Sensibility Jane Austen

"She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain."
- Louisa May Alcott

“There is no man, however wise, who has not at some period of his youth said things, or lived in a way the consciousness of which is so unpleasant to him in later life that he would gladly, if he could, expunge it from his memory.”
- Marcel Proust

“What better way to get to know someone than through her choice and treatment of books?”
- Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale

“Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life - well, valuable, but small - and sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven’t been brave? So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn’t it be the other way around? I don’t really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void.”
- Kathleen Kelly, You’ve Got Mail (1998)

"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free."
- Frederick Douglass

The greatest battle is not physical but psychological. The demons telling us to give up when we push ourselves to the limit can never be silenced for good. They must always be answered by the quiet the steady dignity that simply refuses to give in. Courage. We all suffer. Keep going.
- Graeme Fife

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As longs as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.”
- Anne Frank

“Night, the beloved. Night, when words fade and things come alive. When the destructive analysis of day is done, and all that is truly important becomes whole and sound again. When man reassembles his fragmentary self and grows with the calm of a tree.”
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The Mercy by Beverly Lewis

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingThe MercyBethany House (September 6, 2011)byBeverly Lewis



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Beverly's first venture into adult fiction is the best-selling trilogy, The Heritage of Lancaster County, including The Shunning, a suspenseful saga of Katie Lapp, a young Amish woman drawn to the modern world by secrets from her past. The book is loosely based on the author's maternal grandmother, Ada Ranck Buchwalter, who left her Old Order Mennonite upbringing to marry a Bible College student. One Amish-country newspaper claimed Beverly's work to be "a primer on Lancaster County folklore" and offers "an insider's view of Amish life."



Booksellers across the country, and around the world, have spread the word of Beverly's tender tales of Plain country life. A clerk in a Virginia bookstore wrote, "Beverly's books have a compelling freshness and spark. You just don't run across writing like that every day. I hope she'll keep writing stories about the Plain people for a long, long time."



A member of the National League of American Pen Women, as well as a Distinguished Alumnus of Evangel University, Lewis has written over 80 books for children, youth, and adults, many of them award-winning. She and her husband, David, make their home in Colorado, where they enjoy hiking, biking, and spending time with their family. They are also avid musicians and fiction "book worms."



ABOUT THE BOOK

Rose Kauffman pines for prodigal Nick Franco, the Bishop's foster son who left the Amish under a cloud of suspicion after his foster brother's death. His rebellion led to the "silencing" of their beloved Bishop. But is Nick really the rebel he appears to be? Rose's lingering feelings for her wayward friend refuse to fade, but she is frustrated that Nick won't return and make things right with the People. Nick avowed his love for Rose--but will he ever be willing to sacrifice modern life for her?



Meanwhile, Rose's older sister, Hen, is living in her parents' Dawdi Haus. Her estranged "English" husband, injured and helpless after a car accident, has reluctantly come to live with her and their young daughter during his recovery. Can their marriage recover, as well? Is there any possible middle ground between a woman reclaiming her old-fashioned Amish lifestyle and thoroughly modern man?



If you would like to read the first chapter of The Mercy, go HERE.



Watch the book trailer:

Maud Hart Lovelace Reading Challenge 2011

The Maud Hart Lovelace Reading Challenge is hosted every October by Sarah at A Library is a Hospital for the Mind. It runs October 1 to October 31. The goal is to read any book by Maud Hart Lovelace or materials about her. I had not heard of her before this challenge  few years ago and I am so glad I found it. She is most famous for the Betsy Tacy series. I have read all of them now so my goal this year is to read Carney's House Party and Winona's Pony Cart.

Please visit Sarah's blog here for more information:
http://libraryhospital.blogspot.com/2011/10/3rd-annual-maud-hart-lovelace-reading.html

40 Days to Better Living: Hypertension by Dr. Scott Morris and the Church Health Center

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Dr. Scott Morris and the Church Health Center

and the book:

40 Days to Better Living: Hypertension

Barbour Books (September 1, 2011)

***Special thanks to Audra Jennings, Senior Media Specialist, The B&B Media Group for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

From the time Scott Morris was just a teenager, he knew he would do two things with his future—serve God and work with people. Growing up in Atlanta, he felt drawn to the Church and at the same time drawn to help others, even from a very young age. It was naturally intrinsic, then, that after completing his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia he went on to receive his M.Div. from Yale University and finally his M.D. at Emory University in 1983.

After completing his residency in family practice, Morris arrived in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1986 without knowing a soul, but determined to begin a health care ministry for the working poor. He promptly knocked on the doors of St. John’s Methodist Church and Methodist Hospital in Memphis inviting them to help, and then found an old house to refurbish and renovate. By the next year, the Church Health Center opened with one doctor—Dr. Scott Morris—and one nurse. They saw twelve patients the first day and Morris began living his mission to reclaim the Church’s biblical commitment to care for our bodies and spirits.

From the beginning, Morris saw each and every patient as a whole person, knowing that without giving careful attention to both the body and soul the person would not be truly well. So nine years after opening the Church Health Center, he opened its Hope & Healing Wellness Center. Today the Church Health Center has grown to become the largest faith-based clinic in the country of its type having cared for 60,000 patients of record without relying on government funding. The clinic handles more than 36,000 patient visits a year while the wellness center, which moved to its current 80,000-square-foot location on Union Avenue in 2000, serves more than 120,000 member visits each year. Fees are charged on a sliding scale based on income.

Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Millions experience high blood pressure—and 40 Days to Better Living: Hypertension provides clear, manageable steps for you to manage it, through life-changing attitudes and actions. If you’re ready to really live better, select one or more elements of the 7-step Model for Healthy Living—Faith, Medical, Movement, Work, Emotional, Family and Friends, and Nutrition—and follow the 40-day plan to improve your life, just a bit, day by day. With plenty of practical advice, biblical encouragement, and stories of real people who’ve taken the same journey, this book—from the Church Health Center in Memphis, the largest faith-based clinic of its type in the U.S.—may be the most important book you read this year!

The 40 Days to Better Living series offers clear, manageable steps to life-changing attitudes and actions in a context of understanding and grace for all people at all points on the journey to optimal health. With plenty of practical advice, spiritual encouragement, and real stories of those who have found a better life, this simple and skillfully crafted book inspires readers to customize their own path to wellness by using the 7-Step Model for Healthy Living as a guide:

• Nutrition: pursuing smarter food choices and eating habits
• Friends and family: giving and receiving support through relationships
• Emotional life: understanding feelings and managing stress to better care for yourself
• Work: appreciating your skills, talents, and gifts
• Movement: discovering ways to enjoy physical activity
• Medical care: partnering with health care providers to optimize medical care
• Faith life: building a relationship with God, neighbors, and self

Along with tips from the Model for Healthy Living, the easy-to-read format features a Morning Reflection and an Evening Wrap-Up as well as a place for documenting plans, progress, and perspectives. Targeted scriptures and prayers that undergird the focus of each day’s message make this compact book an excellent choice for a daily devotional.

Subsequent titles in the Better Living series will be released bi-monthly and address key health topics including hypertension, diabetes, depression, weight management, stress management, aging, and addiction. All promise substantial support to those who are ready for a newer, better way of living—body and spirit.





Product Details:

List Price: $7.99
Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: Barbour Books (September 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1616262656
ISBN-13: 978-1616262655

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER: