S. Dionne Moore resides in South Central PA with her family. She is a weekly contributor to The Borrowed Book where she posts tips on the writing life, recipes, and teaches on various writing-related subjects. In addition to writing cozy mysteries, she pens historical romances that bring strong focus to locales within her region of Pennsylvania as a way of indulging her passion for history. In Fall of 2011 her first of three romances set in Wyoming, A Sheepherder’s Song, will release.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Love is the same, no matter when, no matter where—it never comes without sacrifice. Theodore risks capture for Ellie, but will their hope for a future together be defeated? Can Marylu trust Chester, or is she asking for another broken heart? Will Alaina and Jack find common ground, or will flood waters destroy any possible future? Enjoy three romances from the historic state of Pennsylvania.
Rick Denton’s relationship with his step-father was strained so he had not returned home after college but had become a successful businessman in another city. Although he had a ski trip planned for Thanksgiving weekend, he dropped everything to help in the family Christian bookstore after his step-father suffered an aneurysm. Totally out of his element, Rick could not wait to return to his own job. Unfortunately, the seriousness of his step-father’s condition required Rick to extend his time at the bookstore at risk to his own career. Listening to customers talk about his mom and step-dad and spending time with single mom Andrea and her daughter, self-centered Rick slowly began to develop a different perspective about his family and his own role in it. In fact, it was an experience that promised to change his life forever.
‘Remembering Christmas’ is a simple yet powerful story that demonstrates Walsh’s excellent writing skills. Filled with interesting and sometimes quirky characters, true-to-life events, a touch of action and suspense, and a bit of romance, ‘Remembering Christmas’ was a satisfying read. An unexpected twist or two helped to hold my attention. ‘Remembering Christmas’ highlights the importance of family, forgiveness, and redemption without being at all preachy. When I viewed the cover of ‘Remembering Christmas’ I thought of warm and cozy winter nights by the fire after a busy day preparing for Christmas. What I found when I opened the pages and began to read was not at all cozy. In fact I kept waiting to get to the cozy part and that just never happened. I loved the cover (especially since that is MY rocker) but for me it just didn’t depict what I found inside. That being said, I did enjoy ‘Remembering Christmas’ once I realized it was just not going to be a warm and fuzzy story. Although not exactly the kind of Christmas story I was expecting, ‘Remembering Christmas’ was well worth my time.
Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
This book was provided for review by
Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Can A Successful Executive See More Than A Single Mom Struggling To Provide Christmas For Her Daughter?
Dan Walsh Returns With Another Christmas Story Full of Nostalgia, Wonder, And Hope
Award-winning author Dan Walsh creates a nostalgic, Christmas story that takes readers back in time in Remembering Christmas (ISBN: 978-0-8007-1979-1, 272 pages, September 2011.) A time not so long ago in 1980 when IBM had not yet launched the personal computer; the Boombox was hot; Reality TV was unheard of; MTV was just launching; Ronald Reagan was president; the Winter Olympics witnessed the USA team defeat the favored Soviet team and win the gold; and Rick Denton was in pursuit of his career goals and climbing the corporate ladder.
During this time, the holiday season only slowed Rick from his frenetic normal pace. For Rick, holiday downtime for everyone else meant extra time to get ahead on goals and returning calls. His goal in life was to work hard, play hard, live life on his terms, and answer to no one.
Then the phone call came from his mother during Thanksgiving weekend informing him about his stepfather’s stroke. His mom needed Rick’s help at the little run-down bookstore they owned. He has never liked Art, his stepfather and resents the man’s presence in his life, despite the fact that his own father abandoned the family when Rick was just twelve. Reluctantly Rick agrees to help and when he arrives at the store, he soon discovers that a few days of managing the store turn into a few weeks.
While there Rick meets the patrons of the Book Nook – some quirky, some homeless, some chatty, some hip and cool – and one a lovely young woman who trains him on the job. He tends to judge them all– until a moment of truth and discovery: the true meaning of Christmas.
With skillful storytelling, Dan Walsh creates a Christmas story that will have readers remembering every good and perfect gift of Christmas.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dan Walsh is the award-winning author of The Unfinished Gift, The Homecoming, and The Deepest Waters. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Dan served as a pastor for 25 years. He lives with his family in the Daytona Beach area, where he’s busy researching and writing his next novel.
Since 2000, Shelley Sabga has sold over thirty novels to numerous publishers, including HarperCollins, Harlequin, and Abingdon Press. She has been interviewed by NPR, and her books have been highlighted in numerous publications, including USA Today and The Wall Street Journal.
Under the name Shelley Shepard Gray, Shelley writes Amish romances for HarperCollins’ inspirational line, Avon Inspire. Her recent novel, The Protector, the final book in her “Families of Honor” series, hit the New York Times List, and her previous novel in the same series, The Survivor, appeared on the USA Today bestseller list. Shelley has won the prestigious Holt Medallion for her books, Forgiven and Grace, and her novels have been chosen as Alternate Selections for the Doubleday/Literary Guild Book Club. Her first novel with Avon Inspire, Hidden, was an Inspirational Reader’s Choice finalist.
Before writing romances, Shelley lived in Texas and Colorado, where she taught school and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education. She now lives in southern Ohio and writes full time. Shelley is married, the mother of two children in college, and is an active member of her church. She serves on committees, volunteers in the church office, and currently leads a Bible study group, and she looks forward to the opportunity to continue to write novels that showcase her Christian ideals.
When she’s not writing, Shelley often attends conferences and reader retreats in order to give workshops and publicize her work. She’s attended RWA’s national conference six times, the ACFW conference and Romantic Times Magazine’s annual conference as well as traveled to New Jersey, Birmingham, and Tennessee to attend local conferences.
Judith Graber has always been the obedient daughter. When her older brother Josh struggled with his love life, she offered wise counsel. When her younger brother Caleb flirted with the idea of leaving their order, she firmly told him he was wrong. Over the years, she’s watched her younger siblings, helped around the house, and worked in her family’s store during her spare time. Judith feels overworked, overlooked, and underappreciated this holiday season.
But everything changes when her father hires Ben Knox.
Ben Knox is the “bad boy” of Sugarcreek. Though he’s never considered jumping the fence, he’s certainly never tried to be anything close to dutiful. Two years ago he left Sugarcreek under a cloud of shame. Rumors circulated that his rumspringa had been filled with more than the usual harmless explorations.
Now he’s back and working side by side with Judith.
As the chaos of the holiday season threatens to sap all joy, sparks fly between Ben and Judith. But Judith steels herself to ignore her infatuation. The last thing she wants to be is just one more girl who falls under Ben’s spell. Ben, on the other hand, wants Judith to realize there’s more to him than his bad reputation. When he fled Sugarcreek, he was running from a disruptive home life. Now that he’s back, he wants a fresh beginning.
Could this Christmas season bring love and a new life for the unlikeliest pair in Sugarcreek?
Learn more about Shelley and her books on her Website .
MY REVIEW:
Originally reviewed for Amazon Vine™ Program on September 16, 2011.
Christmas in Sugarcreek is an easily read, sweet Amish romance that is just right for a lazy afternoon by the fire with a warm beverage. In this story, the reader returns to the small town of Sugarcreek where Judith Graber might just receive a Christmas surprise she never expected.
Judith is the quintessential “good girl”. In her opinion, everyone in her family depends on her way too much and seem to take her for granted. But being the good girl that she is, she stuffs her dissatisfaction and continues to help where needed without complaint. Just when she thinks she cannot handle another extra responsibility, her father hires a temporary employee to help her in the family store. Unfortunately that helper turns out to be Ben Knox, the former “bad boy” of Sugarcreek before he left town. Although they have both matured, Judith is not sure she can trust Ben because of everything she has heard about him. But as the two are forced to spend many hours working together, Judith slowly begins to realize that Ben is not the person she thought he was.
Yes, this is one of those “good girl” falls in love with the “bad boy” romances but it is one with a difference. Christmas in Sugarcreek teaches a valuable lesson about judging people by appearances or actions without looking to see the true inner person. Although the outcome of the story is obvious from the beginning, it is a charming and delightful read.
Vickie McDonough is an award-winning author of twenty-four books and novellas. Her books have won the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Contest, Texas Gold, the ACFW Noble Theme contest, and she has been a multi-year finalist in ACFW’s BOTY/Carol Awards. She was voted Third Favorite Author in the Heartsong Presents Annual Readers Contest in 2009. Vickie is the author of the fun and feisty Texas Boardinghouse Brides series from Barbour Publishing. She has also authored two books in the Texas Trails: A Morgan Family series, in which she partners with Susan Page Davis and Darlene Franklin to write a six-book series that spans fifty years of the Morgan family. Also, next year brings the release of a new series from Guidepost/Summerside: Pioneer Promises, set in 1870s Kansas.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
The Long Trail Home is third in a six-book series about four generations of the Morgan family living, fighting, and thriving amidst a turbulent Texas history spanning from 1845 to 1896. Although a series, each book can be read on its own.When Riley Morgan returns home after fighting in the War Between the States, he is excited to see his parents and fiancee again. But he soon learns that his parents are dead and the woman he loved is married. He takes a job at the Wilcox School for the blind just to get by. He keeps his heart closed off but a pretty blind woman, Annie, threatens to steal it. When a greedy man tries to close the school, Riley and Annie band together to fight him and fall in love.But when Riley learns the truth about Annie, he packs and prepares to leave the school that has become his home and the woman who has thawed his heart. Will he change his mind and find the love he craves’ Or will stubbornness deprive him from the woman he needs’ Through painful circumstances, Riley and Annie learn that the loving and sovereign hand of God cannot be thwarted.
Christine Lindsay writes historical Christian inspirational novels with strong love stories. She doesn’t shy away from difficult subjects such as the themes in her debut novel SHADOWED IN SILK which is set in India during a turbulent era. Christine’s long-time fascination with the British Raj was seeded from stories of her ancestors who served in the British Cavalry in India. SHADOWED IN SILK was the Gold winner of the 2009 ACFW Genesis for Historical.
The Pacific coast of Canada, about 200 miles north of Seattle, is Christine’s home. It’s a special time in her life as she and her husband enjoy the empty nest, but also the noise and fun when the kids and grandkids come home. Like a lot of writers, her cat is her chief editor.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
She was invisible to those who should have loved her.
After the Great War, Abby Fraser returns to India with her small son, where her husband is stationed with the British army. She has longed to go home to the land of glittering palaces and veiled women…but Nick has become a cruel stranger. It will take more than her American pluck to survive.
Major Geoff Richards, broken over the loss of so many of his men in the trenches of France, returns to his cavalry post in Amritsar. But his faith does little to help him understand the ruthlessness of his British peers toward the Indian people he loves. Nor does it explain how he is to protect Abby Fraser and her child from the husband who mistreats them.
Amid political unrest, inhospitable deserts, and Russian spies, tensions rise in India as the people cry for the freedom espoused by Gandhi. Caught between their own ideals and duty, Geoff and Abby stumble into sinister secrets . . . secrets that will thrust them out of the shadows and straight into the fire of revolution.
I was unsure of what to expect when I opened the pages of Shadowed In Silk but soon found that I was totally engrossed in its story. I was unfamiliar with the author Christine Lindsay but will now keep my eyes open for more of her novels. This book has a little of everything – a beautiful yet mysterious setting, political intrigue, a love interest that seems impossible, wonderful characters, and a spiritual message woven throughout. Filled with action, suspense, mystery, and romance, Shadowed In Silk is guaranteed to hold the reader’s attention to the very end.
Don’t let the unfamiliar publisher and author put you off. Shadowed In Silk is well worth your time, especially if you are a lover of historical fiction.
After having her heart broken by Gideon, the man she loved, Mattie has become a cake decorator with a successful business in a different town. She has a comfortable relationship with Sol, a good man she hopes to spend her life with. An unexpected catastrophe takes her back home where she cannot avoid spending time with Gideon. Old feelings are reawakened but Mattie is determined to ignore them. Gideon realizes he has never stopped loving Mattie but believes that a life with Sol is best for her. Old lies surface that change everything Mattie believed. Will she be able to settle for a safe life with Sol or can she take a chance on true love with Gideon?
“The Christmas Singing” is a short but sweet Christmas novella set among the Amish. I loved Woodsmall’s characterization of Mattie in all her ditziness. I also enjoyed reading about Beth and Jonah from “The Sound of Sleigh Bells” as they prepared for their wedding. Major theme of this book is forgiveness with an emphasis on how sometimes what is done with the intention of protecting someone may actually hurt them more.
“The Christmas Singing” is another good book from Cindy Woodsmall and is perfect for the holiday season.
This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Blogging for Books Program.
About The Book:
After Gideon coldly broke her heart, can the warmth of the season revive Mattie’s hopes?
Three years ago, at Christmastime, Mattie Eash’s life was everything she could hope for. That is, until her childhood sweetheart, Gideon, betrayed her.
Heartbroken, Mattie retreated to her brother’s home in Ohio and poured her life into the dream of running her own cake shop. There, she found someone unlike Gideon. Someone safe.
But a devastating situation forces her back home…and right into the path of Gideon Beiler.
Will learning the truth behind his rejection restore her Christmas joy—or open the door to even deeper heartbreak?
This holiday season, Mattie’s best gift might just be the harmony of unexpected truth and reconciliation.
Spend Christmas with the Amish in this story of love, romance, heartache, and restoration in The Christmas Singing.
Cindy Woodsmall is a New York Times best-selling author whose connection with the Amish community has been featured on ABC Nightline and on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. She is the author of six novels, two novellas and Plain Wisdom, a work of non-fiction co-authored with her dearest Old Order Amish friend. Cindy lives in Georgia with her family.
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