by admin | Oct 14, 2014 | Books, Christmas, Romance, Texas, Western
MY REVIEW:
What fun it is to count down the weeks until Christmas with a novella a week by some of my very favorite authors plus the chance to discover some new-to-me authors. The second Christmas bride is “The Nutcracker Bride” by Margaret Brownley.
Lucy Langdon is a young woman doing her best to care for her grandfather while trying to support them by continuing her grandmother’s baking business. Her grandfather’s memory is lapsing and he is prone to wander off looking for her deceased grandmother. When a handsome stranger throws a bag into the back of her wagon while pursued by bandits, Lucy is flabbergasted to learn what it in the bag. When the stranger returns for his property, Lucy accidentally shoots him and feels obligated to care for his injury.
“The Nutcracker Bride” is a fun and romantic story with a bit of action and humor added for good measure. Brownley’s characters were well developed and realistic for such a short novella. I loved reading about the history and German customs regarding nutcrackers. My only complaint is that the story ended much too soon. I would have loved to spend more time with Lucy and her Texas Ranger Chad.
This book was provided for review by Shiloh Run Studios.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
While gathering walnuts, someone throws a bag of money into Lucy Langdon’s wagon. Now Chad Prescott, a Texas ranger, is determined to recover the bag, but not before he is shot as a prowler. Waking up in a house full of German nutcrackers is rather disconcerting for this lawman, but not as troublesome as feeling his heart fall for the lovely Lucy.
Purchase a copy of The Nutcracker Bride
HERE.
More About The Nutcracker Bride with Margaret BrownleyThe Nutcracker Bride started with an idea:I kept envisioning a handsome stranger on a gorgeous black horse riding up to the heroine and shouting “Save it for me.” I had no idea what he wanted her to save but I was intrigued enough to keep digging.You’ll have to read the book to find out. That’s what Margaret had to do–except in her case, she had to write it first.
“I never outline so I have no idea where a story is going or how it will end until the words appear on my screen. No one is more surprised by an ending than I am and the same holds true for The Nutcracker Bride. All twelve bride stories involve a special gift and I was especially surprised at what the hero gave my heroine.”
Margaret is partial to Texas Rangers, so you can guess what her hero did for a living, but her heroine was a little different.
“My heroine is caring for both an elderly grandfather and the stranger she shot. She’s clearly overwhelmed and maybe even a bit resentful. The Bible says a cheerful heart is good medicine but it’s a struggle for her.”
The story’s theme came out of that struggle.
The nutcracker title came from a ballet written by Peter Tchaikovsky for the Christmas season. Margaret has a small but impressive collections of nutcrackers she display every Christmas. “Nutcrackers have a fascinating history, some of which I wrote about in my story.”
Margaret Brownley’s stories generally take place in the nineteenth century, and she’s always been fascinated by the similarities between that time period and ours today.
“During the 1800s banks failed and unemployment was high. Immigration, health care and education problems also added to the nation’s woes. If you think politics are bad now, take a look at what was going on back then. Today we’re losing jobs to robots; in the nineteenth century jobs were lost to the machine age.”
Even social media changes were afoot:
“Victorians had their tech challenges too with the advent of the telephone, electricity and automobiles. They even had an early form of social media called the telegram. With all these challenges it’s encouraging to know that our forefathers not only survived but thrived. That gives me hope for the future. I hope it does the same to readers.”
The Brownley family enjoys Christmas,”we always make a big fuss and celebrate the birth of Jesus with loving hearts, giving spirits and as many lights as will fit in and outside the house.”
The Nutcracker Bride, however, which required a far more modest celebration: “I wanted my heroine to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas in her own unique and meaningful way.”
Who is Margaret Brownley?
Margaret Brownley has penned more than thirty novels. Her books have won numerous awards and she’s a former Romance Writers of American RITA® finalist. She’s also written for a TV soap. She’s currently working on a new series of mystery/romance novels. The first in the series, Petticoat Detective, will be published in December 2014.
Margaret was a co-author (with Vickie McDonough and Michelle Ule) in last year’s best-selling A Pioneer Christmas Collection, along with Michelle Ule in the New York Times’ best-selling A Log Cabin Christmas Collection.
“Not bad for someone who flunked 8th grade English. Just don’t ask me to diagram a sentence,” she laughed.
Stay in touch with Margaret:
www. margaret-brownley.com
Facebook
Twitter
by admin | Oct 13, 2014 | Books, Dystopian
MY REVIEW:
Thunder is the first book in Bonnie Calhoun’s new Stone Braide Chronicles published by Revell. The story takes place along the east coast of the United States approximately 150 years after The Time of Sorrows when the earth was nearly destroyed by nuclear war and the resulting volcanoes, tsunamis, etc. Some humans survived the holocaust and some even thrived but their world was a strange one with stark contrasts. Many of the humans worked hard for their daily needs using fairly primitive methods while others lived in comfort in a scientifically advanced self-contained city in The Mountain. One would think that after such an apocalypse, people would learn to get along but human nature never seems to change and the practice of defining a person’s worth by their race or where they lived was as common as ever. In this fractured world, Selah was on the verge of becoming an adult and could not wait to prove herself but woke to find that everything she believed about her life was a lie.
Bonnie’s writing style is easy going and held my interest throughout the book. The plot moved along at a good pace and held plenty of adventure, mystery, and conflict to keep me engaged. The characters were well developed and exhibited believable actions and change as the story progressed. Although I found Selah frustrating at times, her behavior was typical of a person her age – eager to prove themselves an adult but not enough maturity to pull it off.
I did enjoy the book although I will be the first to admit that this genre is not among my favorites. I also confess that I still have plenty of unanswered questions, particularly about exactly who the Landers might be. I am hoping for more details in Bonnie’s next installment and hate that I have to wait so long to read it. Overall, Thunder is an excellent adventure and should be read for pure enjoyment rather than trying to analyze it too deeply.
This book was provided for review by
Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
The Time of Sorrows is long past.
The future of Selah and her people is shrouded in mystery.
And the clock is ticking.
Hidden in the tall grasses along a shore littered with the rusted metal remnants of a once-great city, a hunter crouches. It is the eve of her eighteenth Birth Remembrance and high time she proves to herself and her brothers that she can stand on her own two feet. Selah Rishon Chavez waits not for game but for one of the small boats that occasionally crash against the desolate shoreline. Because inside one of these boats she will find her quarry–a Lander.
These people from an unknown land across the ocean are highly prized by the Company and bring a good price–especially if they keep the markings they arrive with.
Everything falls to pieces when the Lander whom Selah catches is stolen by her brothers, and Selah wakes the next morning to find the Lander’s distinctive mark has appeared on her own flesh. Once the hunter, Selah is now one of the hunted, and she knows only one person who can help her–Bodhi Locke, the Lander her brothers hope to sell in the Mountain.
With evocative descriptions of a strange new world that combines elements of disturbing scientific advances, devious political conspiracy, and survival in a hostile wilderness, Bonnie S. Calhoun weaves a captivating tale of a society more like our own than we may want to admit. From the tension-laced first scene to the captivating last page, Thunder is an epic journey into the heart of humankind that explores how far we are willing to go when we’re pushed to the limit.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Bonnie S. Calhoun teaches workshops on Facebook, Twitter, HTML, and social media at writers conferences. In her everyday life she is a seamstress and clothing designer. Bonnie and her husband live in a log home in upstate New York with a dog and two cats who think she’s wait staff. Thunder is her first YA novel. Learn more at www.bonniescalhoun.com.
by admin | Oct 13, 2014 | Books
This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingThunder (Stone Braide Chronicles)Revell (October 7, 2014)byBonnie S. CalhounABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Bonnie S. Calhoun is Owner/Director of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, owner/publisher of Christian Fiction Online Magazine, Northeast Zone Director for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), and the ACFW ‘2011 Mentor of the Year.”
She love to write, but it doesn’t make her happy unless there are the three B’s…body count, blood, and blowing things up. She also have mad skills at coding HTML, and website design. And she live in a log cabin in the woods with fifteen acres and a pond full of bass, though she’d rather buy fish at the grocery store. Bonnie shares her domain with a husband, a dog, and two cats, all of whom think she’s waitstaff!
Her sites are:
http://bonniescalhoun.com
https://www.facebook.com/bscalhoun
https://www.facebook.com/bonniescalhoun
https://www.goodreads.com/BonnieSCalhoun
http://www.pinterest.com/bonniecalhoun/
https://www.youtube.com/user/BonnieCalhoun
ABOUT THE BOOK:
In post-apocalyptic America, Selah Chavez is crouched in long grass on a shore littered with the rusted metal remnants of a once-great city. It is the day before her eighteenth Born Remembrance, and she is hunting, though many people refuse to eat animal flesh, tainted by radiation during the Time of Sorrows. What Selah’s really after are Landers, mysterious people from a land across the big water who survive the delirium-inducing passage in small boats that occasionally crash against the shoreline. She knows she should leave the capture to the men, but Landers bring a good price from the Company and are especially prized if they keep the markings they arrive with.
Everything falls to pieces when the Lander Selah catches is stolen by her brothers–and Selah wakes up the next morning to find the Lander’s distinctive mark has suddenly appeared on her own flesh. Once the hunter, Selah is now one of the hunted, and she knows only one person who can help her–Bohdi Locke, the Lander her brothers hope to sell.
With evocative descriptions of a strange new world that combines elements of scientific advances, political intrigue, and wilderness survival, Bonnie S. Calhoun weaves a captivating tale of a world more like our own than we may want to admit.
You can read Tremors, the prequel to the series for FREE on Amazon HERE.
If you’d like to read the first chapter of Thunder (Stone Braide Chronicles), go HERE.
MY REVIEW:
Thunder is the first book in Bonnie Calhoun’s new Stone Braide Chronicles published by Revell. The story takes place along the east coast of the United States approximately 150 years after The Time of Sorrows when the earth was nearly destroyed by nuclear war and the resulting volcanoes, tsunamis, etc. Some humans survived the holocaust and some even thrived but their world was a strange one with stark contrasts. Many of the humans worked hard for their daily needs using fairly primitive methods while others lived in comfort in a scientifically advanced self-contained city in The Mountain. One would think that after such an apocalypse, people would learn to get along but human nature never seems to change and the practice of defining a person’s worth by their race or where they lived was as common as ever. In this fractured world, Selah was on the verge of becoming an adult and could not wait to prove herself but woke to find that everything she believed about her life was a lie.
Bonnie’s writing style is easy going and held my interest throughout the book. The plot moved along at a good pace and held plenty of adventure, mystery, and conflict to keep me engaged. The characters were well developed and exhibited believable actions and change as the story progressed. Although I found Selah frustrating at times, her behavior was typical of a person her age – eager to prove themselves an adult but not enough maturity to pull it off.
I did enjoy the book although I will be the first to admit that this genre is not among my favorites. I also confess that I still have plenty of unanswered questions, particularly about exactly who the Landers might be. I am hoping for more details in Bonnie’s next installment and hate that I have to wait so long to read it. Overall, Thunder is an excellent adventure and should be read for pure enjoyment rather than trying to analyze it too deeply.
by admin | Oct 12, 2014 | Books, Dystopian, Novella
MY REVIEW:
Tremors is the novella prequel for Bonnie S. Calhoun’s new dystopian Stone Braide Chronicles series and its first novel Thunder. Tremors is a free ebook download and is quickly read. Bonnie offers just enough background details and action to guarantee that most readers will want to grab a copy of Thunder as soon as possible. If you are a fan of “The Hunger Games” or other dystopian fiction, you will definitely want to grab your free copy of Tremors. You probably need to go ahead and purchase your copy of Thunder while you’re at it. You won’t want to wait on it.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
In this gripping prequel to Thunder, unsettling secrets change Selah Chavez’s life forever in the days before her 18th Born Remembrance.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Bonnie S. Calhoun teaches workshops on Facebook, Twitter, HTML, and social media at writers conferences. In her everyday life she is a seamstress and clothing designer. Bonnie and her husband live in a log home in upstate New York with a dog and two cats who think she’s wait staff. Thunder is her first YA novel. Learn more at www.bonniescalhoun.com.
