Lisa lives in central Texas were she is a popular inspriational speaker, magazine columnist, and national bestselling author of several books. Her novel, Tending Roses, received dozens of five-star reviews, sold out thirteen printings for New York publisher, Penguin Putnam, and went on to become a national bestselling book. Tending Roses was a selection of the Readers Club of America, and is currently in its fourteenth printing.
The Tending Roses series continued with Good Hope Road, the Language of Sycamores, Drenched in Light, and A Thousand Voices. In 2003, Lisa’s Texas Hill Country series began with Texas Cooking, and continued with Lone Star Cafe’, which was awarded a gold metal by RT Bookclub magazine and was hailed by Publisher’s Weekly as “A charmingly nostalgic treat.” The series concluded with Over the Moon at the Big Lizard Diner.
Lisa is now working on a new set of small-town Texas novels for Bethany House Publishers. The series debuted with Talk of the Town and continued with Word Gets Around and Never Say Never. A new series is also underway for Peguin Group NAL, beginning with A Month of Summer (July 2008), and continuing with The Summer Kitchen (July 2009) and Beyond Summer (July 2010). Lisa’s works have been featured by the National Reader’s Club of America, AOL Book Pics, Doubleday Book Club, the Literary Guild, American Profiles and have been chosen for the LORIES best Published Fiction Award. In 2009, A Month of Summer was nomiated for the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year award.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Kai Miller floats through life like driftwood tossed by waves. She’s never put down roots in any one place–and she doesn’t plan to. But when a chaotic hurricane evacuation lands her in Daily, Texas, she begins to think twice about her wayfaring existence.
And when she meets hometown-boy Kemp Eldridge, she can almost picture settling down in Daily–until she discovers he may be promised to someone else. Daily has always been a place of refuge for those the winds blows in, but for Kai, it looks like it will be just another place to leave behind. Then again, Daily always has a few surprises in store–especially when Aunt Donetta has cooked up a scheme.
Learn more about Lisa and her books on her Website.
MY REVIEW:
Lisa Wingate has become one of my favorite authors. I can’t seem to get enough of her quirky but real life characters and the pithy down-home axioms that are always appropriately placed. Lisa’s clever humor and the way she is able to work in a spiritual message without getting preachy also earn major kudos from me.
In Never Say Never, the third installment of the Daily, Texas series, Donetta and her friends have headed to the coast to take a cruise only to find a hurricane approaching and everyone else evacuating. They encounter Kai, a cruise ship employee who has missed the boat and is headed north with her landlord’s dogs to escape the storm. Their exploits during the mad rush to escape the approaching storm kept me on the edge of my seat. I have never experienced a hurricane evacuation and after reading this, I definitely don’t want to be a part of one.
Although I enjoyed Kai and Kemp’s story, I have to say that Donetta is the real star of Never Say Never. Even as she gets caught up in her usual matchmaking efforts and being in the middle of helping everyone else, Donetta has some problems of her own. Several surprises are in store for Donetta in this heartwarming tale. I just can’t say anything else lest I reveal too much. Be sure to pick up a copy of Never Say Never. I don’t think you will be sorry.
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!
***Special thanks to Bridgette Brooks of ZONDERKIDZ for sending me a review copy.***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Melody Carlson has written more than 200 books for teens, women, and children. Before publishing, Melody traveled around the world, volunteered in teen ministry, taught preschool, raised two sons, and worked briefly in interior design and later in international adoption. “I think real-life experiences inspire the best friction,” she says. Her wide variety of books seems to prove this theory.
Spring Breakdown is the newest installment of the Carter House Girls series. Mrs. Carter and the girls travel to Florida during spring break for a relaxing holiday and a chance for the girls to model again. When all the boys show up, things are not quite as relaxing as Mrs. Carter planned and a crisis upsets the entire crew. As in previous books, there is the usual rivalry between some of the girls, problems with teen drinking and sex, etc. – pretty much the usual issues teens face every day. But, as always, Melody Carlson has taken the opportunity to illustrate the consequences that follow such behavior. In Spring Breakdown, the girls learn a valuable lesson about loving their enemies.
I may have said this before but I wish this series had been available when my daughter was a teen. The books are easily read with content that interests most teen girls such as fashion, boys, sports, music, etc. When rich spiritual content is added to the mix, what more could a mother ask? I highly recommend Spring Breakdown and the rest of this series. If you have a teen daughter, do both of you a favor and run out and buy the entire series.
Deeanne Gist, the bestselling author of A Bride Most Begrudging and The Measure of a Lady, has a background in education and journalism. Her credits include People magazine, Parents, and Parenting. With a line of parenting products called “I Did It!® Productions” and a degree from Texas A&M, she continues her writing and speaking. She and her family live in Houston, Texas.
J. Mark Bertrand has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. After one hurricane too many, he left Houston and relocated with his wife Laurie to the plains of South Dakota.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
In the shadows of Charleston, someone is watching her… Rylee Monroe, a dogwalker in Charleston’s wealthiest neighborhood, never feared the streets at night. But now a thief is terrorizing the area and worse, someone seems to be targeting her.
Reporter Logan Woods is covering the break-ins with the hope of publishing them as a true-crime book. The more he digs, the more he realizes this beguiling dogwalker seems to be at the center of everything. As danger draws ever closer, Logan must choose: Chase the girl, the story, or plunge into the shadows after the villain who threatens everything?
If you’d like to read the first chapter of Beguiled, go HERE.
Check out their video:
MY REVIEW:
I have always enjoyed books by Deeanne Gist but her collaboration with Mark Bertrand for Beguiled took things to a new level in my opinion. The romantic aspect developed naturally while the mystery and suspense built at the ideal tempo with just the right balance of humor. All characters were perfectly defined and authentic. The city of Charleston was the perfect setting and the authors brought it to life with all its beauty by day and ominous atmosphere by night. I would have liked to see a bit more spiritual content but won’t complain too much about that.
I really enjoyed Beguiled and hope that Deeanne and Mark will write more books together soon.
Laura Jensen Walker is an award-winning writer, popular speaker, and breast-cancer survivor who loves to touch readers and audiences with the healing power of laughter.
Born in Racine, Wisconsin (home of Western Printing and Johnson’s Wax—maker of your favorite floor care products) Laura moved to Phoenix, Arizona when she was in high school. But not being a fan of blazing heat and knowing that Uncle Sam was looking for a few good women, she enlisted in the United States Air Force shortly after graduation and spent the next five years flying a typewriter through Europe.
Her lifelong dream of writing fiction came true in Spring 2005 with the release of her first chick lit novel, Dreaming in Black & White which won the Contemporary Fiction Book of the Year from American Christian Fiction Writers. Her sophomore novel, Dreaming in Technicolor was published in Fall 2005.
Laura’s third novel, Reconstructing Natalie, chosen as the Women of Faith Novel of the Year for 2006, is the funny and poignant story of a young, single woman who gets breast cancer and how her life is reconstructed as a result. This book was born out of Laura’s cancer speaking engagements where she started meeting younger and younger women stricken with this disease—some whose husbands had left them, and others who wondered what breast cancer would do to their dating life. She wanted to write a novel that would give voice to those women. Something real. And honest. And funny.
Because although cancer isn’t funny, humor is healing.
To learn more about Laura’s latest novels, please check out her Books page.
A popular speaker and teacher at writing conferences, Laura has also been a guest on hundreds of radio and TV shows around the country including the ABC Weekend News, The 700 Club, and The Jay Thomas Morning Show.
She lives in Northern California with her Renaissance-man husband Michael, and Gracie, their piano playing dog.
ABOUT THE BOOK :
Sales clerk, barista, telemarketer, sign waver…
At twenty-five, free-spirited Becca Daniels is still trying to figure out what she wants to be when she grows up. What Becca doesn’t want to be is bored. She craves the rush of a new experience, whether it’s an extreme sport, a shocking hair color, or a new guy. That’s why she quit her bookstore job, used her last bit of credit to go skydiving, and broke her leg.
And that’s why, grounded and grumpy, Becca bristles when teased by friends for being commitment-phobic. In response, Becca issues an outrageous wager—that she can sustain a three-month or twenty-five date relationship with the next guy who asks her out. When the guy turns out to be “churchy” Ben—definitely not Becca’s type—she gamely embarks on a hilarious series of dates that plunge her purple-haired, free-speaking, commitment-phobic self into the alien world of church potlucks and prayer meetings.
This irrepressible Getaway Girl will have you cheering her on as she “suffers” through her dates, gains perspective on her life’s purpose, and ultimately begins her greatest adventure of all.
Learn more about Laura and her books on her Website.
MY REVIEW:
Becca By The Book is not the usual Christian fiction novel. For one thing, Becca is NOT a Christian and is resisting all efforts to get her into church. Her attitude is one I have often heard from young people – “I don’t have a problem with Jesus. It’s his people I don’t like.” Unfortunately, many of us have given them good reasons to form that opinion (and I don’t exempt myself). I hope that readers of this book will not take it as an attack on the organized church but as a wake up call about where we are missing it.
Becca’s story is candid with plenty of comic relief. Her character is portrayed realistically. Like many young people today, Becca has a built-in radar for bogus Christianity. Maybe her perceptions are skewed because of her personal history but she believes that if she becomes a Christian her true self will be compromised. As the story progresses, and Becca is exposed to varied Christians and church events, her attitude begins to change and Becca begins to discover who she really is.
The story does end rather abruptly and I was unsatisfied with the conclusion. Hopefully, it will be continued in a sequel. Nevertheless, I enjoyed Becca By The Book and feel that it was well worth my time.
When Jenna’s cowboy returns to their small hometown in Texas, she discovers that the memories of the past aren’t so easy to shake after all
Popular author Sharon Gillenwater releases a new novel, Jenna’s Cowboy, set in the beautiful part of West Texas where she grew up as the debut novel in The Callahans of Texas series.
Readers meet Jenna Callahan, who has a young son and is working hard at her father’s ranch. She’s content with her life. But she never expected to see Nate Langley back in town—the first guy she ever noticed, the very same one her father sent away all those years ago. And she never thought the attraction they felt would be as strong as ever.
Jenna’s cowboy has some healing of his own to do, though, after two tours of duty in the armed forces. With the help of good friends, strong faith, and a loving family, he hopes to put the horrors of the past behind him—and become the man Jenna deserves.
With an emphasis on simple acts of love, Jenna’s Cowboy gives romance readers what they want most: a love story with a Texas touch. This contemporary novel will appeal to fans of Debbie Macomber and Lisa Wingate.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Sharon Gillenwater was born and raised in west Texas, and loves to write about her native state. The author of ten novels, she is a member of ACFW and Romance Writers of America. When she’s not writing, she and her husband enjoy spending time with their son, daughter-in-law, and adorable grandson. She lives in Port Angeles, Washington.
MY REVIEW:
Have I mentioned that I like books with cowboys in them? I was excited to find yet another one on my blog review list this month, a contemporary one set in Texas this time. I am glad that I had the opportunity to read Jenna’s Cowboy and recommend it to others.
Jenna and Nate were special friends as teens but never revealed their secret feelings to each other before going their separate ways after graduation. The book begins with Nate back home after his military service ends with injuries. Jenna has also returned to her family’s ranch with her young son after a disastrous marriage. They soon find that their feelings for each other are as strong as ever but both have issues to overcome before feeling free to pursue those feelings. Jenna’s Cowboy is a sweet and tender love story that beautifully illustrates Nate and Jenna’s developing relationship.
The author’s description of farm and ranch life in west Texas made me feel as if I were there. There are enough similarities to farm life in Tennessee that I know her descriptions are accurate. I learned a lot about PTSD through Nate’s struggles with it and wonder how many of our young men suffer similar trauma each day after returning from the war. Jenna’s Cowboy deals with some serious subjects but the difficulties are eased by the joyful moments and humor scattered throughout.
This book was provided by Revell for my review.
Available January 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
Winner of the
2008 Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel Contest!
Christy Williams finally has her life on track. She’s putting her past behind her and working hard to build a career as an antiquarian book buyer. But things begin to unravel when a stolen Hemingway first edition is found in her possession, framing her for a crime she didn’t commit. With no one to turn to, she yearns for her estranged younger sister, May, whom she abandoned after their parents’ untimely deaths. Soon, Christy’s fleeing from her shattered dreams, her ex-boyfriend, and God. Could May’s Triple Cross Ranch be the safe haven she’s searching for? Will the sisters realize that each possesses what the other desperately needs before it’s too late?
MY REVIEW:
The very first time I saw the cover of Thicker Than Blood I knew I wanted to read the book. As a self-taught graphic artist and an avid reader, the cover had an appeal that could not be denied. My congratulations to the designer of the cover- it is one of the best I’ve seen and reflects the book’s contents very well.
After I received a copy and the day I could finally read it arrived (I try to adhere to my blog review calendar), I was thrilled to find that Thicker Than Blood lived up to my expectations. This is a story with meat to it. The characters are well developed and interact naturally. Their daily lives, their struggles, their hopes and dreams unite to make each character three dimensional – people that could be friends, neighbors, or coworkers. Darlington’s depiction of Christy’s job as a book buyer and May’s life on the ranch are true to life and add depth to an already interesting tale. Difficult subjects such as addiction, physical abuse, shame, abortion, and dishonesty are handled skillfully.
Thicker Than Blood contains all the essential elements of a good novel including an easy to read style, a well paced plot with just the right tension, and natural dialogue. It also doesn’t hurt that there is plenty of action and suspense. A key element is the interaction of the characters, particularly Christy and May as they get to know each other after years apart. This is a book about separation and reconciliation, disgrace and redemption, but most of all the overwhelming grace and mercy of the Lord for those who turn to Him.
I recommend this new author with overwhelming enthusiasm and hope you will pick up a copy of Thicker Than Blood for yourself.
With careful attention to detail, emotion, and scene-setting, C.J. Darlington scores with her debut effort. Here is a special writer you won’t want to miss. —Jerry B. Jenkins, New York Times best selling author
If you love a good read filled with adventure and ultimately redemption, I encourage you to brew the tea, settle into your favorite chair and pick up the page turner that is C.J. Darlington’s imaginative new novel of a modern day sisterhood that triumphs over separation and the raw challenges of life to find the real endurance of both family ties and God’s amazing grace. —Rebecca St. James, Grammy award winning Christian singer and bestselling author With Thicker than Blood, C.J. Darlington proves she’s a novelist for the long-haul, a strong new voice in Christian fiction. This book speaks to the heart, from the heart, about the heart. Readers will not soon forget it. —Sibella Giorello, Christy award-winning author of The Rivers Run Dry & The Clouds Roll Away
Watch the book trailer:
About the Author:
C. J. began writing the story that would become Thicker than Blood (her first novel) when she was a fifteen-year-old homeschool student. She has been in the antiquarian bookselling business for over a decade, scouting for stores similar to the one described in the novelbefore cofounding her own online bookstore. Thicker than Blood was the winner of the 2008 Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel.
C. J. co-founded the Christian entertainment Web site TitleTrakk.com with her sister, Tracy, and has been actively promoting Christian fiction through book reviews and author interviews. She makes her home in Pennsylvania with her family and their menagerie of dogs and cats. Visit her website www.cjdarlington.com for more info.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Many links on this site are supplied by the Reviewer groups that provide the books I review. Occasionally other links may be my personal associate links.
Lisa lives in central Texas were she is a popular inspriational speaker, magazine columnist, and national bestselling author of several books. Her novel, Tending Roses, received dozens of five-star reviews, sold out thirteen printings for New York publisher, Penguin Putnam, and went on to become a national bestselling book. Tending Roses was a selection of the Readers Club of America, and is currently in its fourteenth printing.
Kai Miller floats through life like driftwood tossed by waves. She’s never put down roots in any one place–and she doesn’t plan to. But when a chaotic hurricane evacuation lands her in Daily, Texas, she begins to think twice about her wayfaring existence.
