{"id":1245,"date":"2009-03-26T01:48:39","date_gmt":"2009-03-26T06:48:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/\/?p=1245"},"modified":"2009-03-26T10:27:58","modified_gmt":"2009-03-26T15:27:58","slug":"deadly-charm-by-claudia-mair-burney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/?p=1245","title":{"rendered":"Deadly Charm by Claudia Mair Burney"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"\"<\/a>It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/strong> 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!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Today’s Wild Card author is: <\/strong><\/div>\n

\n

Claudia Mair Burney<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

and the book:<\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Deadly Charm (Amanda Bell Brown Mystery Series, Book 3) <\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Howard Books (March 24, 2009)<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:<\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Claudia Mair Burney is the author of numerous novels and the popular Ragamuffin Diva blog. She lives with her husband and their seven children in Michigan.<\/p>\n

Visit the author’s website<\/a> and blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Product Details:<\/p>\n

List Price: $13.99
\nPaperback: 400 pages
\nPublisher: Howard Books (March 24, 2009)
\nLanguage: English
\nISBN-10: 1416551956
\nISBN-13: 978-1416551959<\/p>\n

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:<\/span> <\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Rocky showed up at my apartment door with an offer that, in his words, I \u201cno coulda refuse.\u201d Or maybe those were Marlon Brando\u2019s words. I couldn\u2019t be sure. My blond, dreadlocked former pastor slash ex-boyfriend locked me into a stare with those big, brown puppy eyes. He\u2019d puffed out his jowls to utter the Godfather\u2019s most famous line, while grazing his cheek with the back of his fingers\u2014an excruciatingly amiss imitation. I\u2019ve seen newborn babies\u2019 smiles more intimidating.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look more like a hamster than a mobster, Rock.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHamsters are cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut less compelling, you must admit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rocky grinned and wagged his finger at me, \u201cNever underestimate the power of a furry little creature.\u201d He twitched his nose and started making hamster noises.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmen!\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

I thought of my vicious, former pet sugar glider, Amos. Although he\u2019d become my friend and hero, I had to give him away to another nocturnal creature\u2014otherwise, I\u2019d never sleep again. My husband\u2019s best friend, Souldier, had taken the murderous marsupial. Now Amos happily shreds his drapes.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on in, my not-so-furry friend,\u201d I told Rocky, mostly so he would stop making weird rodent sounds.<\/p>\n

I moved aside so he could enter my little slice of paradise: shabby chic meets Africa is what Jazz, my husband called it. Rocky loved my funky, eclectically furnished place, too. He just didn\u2019t describe it as aptly as Jazz did.<\/p>\n

Who was I kidding? Rocky didn\u2019t do anything as aptly as Jazz did. I had lost them both six weeks ago, and now here was Rocky, surprising me by showing up at my door like unexpected grace.<\/p>\n

\u201cWelcome back, Rocky,\u201d I said. I know how lame I sounded, but I wanted him to know I was glad he\u2019d come no matter what the reason.<\/p>\n

He muttered a shy, \u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

We stood in my foyer exchanging reticent glances until I got bold enough to take a long look at him. I\u2019d missed him so. He wore a typical Rockyesque uniform underneath his white down jacket\u2014khaki pants and a long-sleeved Batman T-shirt. A cupid earring dangled in his right ear. Every year about this time he wore it to remind me to come to the Saint Valentine\u2019s Day feast.<\/p>\n

Without thinking I blurted out. \u201cI see you and Cupid are still advertising our\u2014\u201d I bit my tongue. There\u2019d be no \u201cour\u201d Saint Valentine\u2019s Day feast this year for prodigal Bell. \u201cSorry,\u201d I muttered.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo problem,\u201d he rushed to say, and then an awful silence descended on us like a cold, grey fog.<\/p>\n

When I was still a member of his church, aptly named the Rock House, I never missed the event. Rocky would tell stories of the historical Saint Valentine; we\u2019d eat candy conversation hearts, listen to live music, and share abundant amounts of food and laughter. It was Rocky\u2019s way of making sure the lonely hearts wouldn\u2019t spend the evening alone. There with my church family, not only did I get heaps of love, I could give out some from my meager supply.<\/p>\n

That and we always had a chocolate fountain.<\/p>\n

What was I going to do now?<\/p>\n

I tried not to think about the sting of Rocky kicking me out of his church. I didn\u2019t want to think about anything that had happened six weeks ago. Still, I figured whatever brought him to my door had an olive branch attached to it, and whatever he asked, short of sin, I\u2019d be willing to do to reconcile with him.<\/p>\n

Rocky hung up his jacket, kicked out of his Birkenstocks, and headed over to my rose-colored velvet sofa and sat. I followed, plopping down beside him.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what\u2019s the offer, Godfather?\u201d<\/p>\n

He stared at me. \u201cDid you gain weight?\u201d<\/p>\n

Because I know it\u2019s rude to kill your loved ones, I let that one slide and gave him a polite smile, but I did grab a mudcloth throw pillow and cover my expanding waistline.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what\u2019s the offer, Rocky?\u201d<\/p>\n

He gushed in a most un-Godfatherly like way. \u201cI want you to go to a meeting with me. It\u2019s only going to be the way-coolest event you\u2019ve been to in forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

I cuddled the pillow and eyed him cautiously. He didn\u2019t mean the Valentine\u2019s Day feast. I braced myself. Rocky\u2019s idea of way cool could get scary. \u201cCan you be a little more specific?\u201d<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t answer. Just reached out and touched my hand, rubbing his thumb across my knuckles. \u201cI really missed you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oh, man. That small gesture\u2014him touching the hand nobody held anymore\u2014that tiny movement had the effect of a pebble in a pond, creating ripples of unexpected sadness that circled out of my soul. Lord, have mercy. I didn\u2019t fling myself at him, begging like a rhythm-and-blues singer for him to keep loving me, to not give up on me, but something in me wished I could.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t want to marry Rocky, or even date him. He had never been the love of my life. In that moment I simply wanted to banish the nearly incarnate loneliness that had been dogging my heels as a solemn, maddening companion, shuffling me through all those days with no best-friend Rocky.<\/p>\n

And with no husband Jazz.<\/p>\n

I gazed up at him with my own version of puppy eyes. \u201cI missed you too, Rocky.\u201d<\/p>\n

We let a bit of silence sit between us on the sofa like a third and very quiet presence. Our heads hung low. Apparently we both still smarted over our mutual pain of separation.<\/p>\n

Minutes passed, our hands still clasped together, but Rocky\u2019s merciful presence soothed my dry soul patches like olive oil.<\/p>\n

Thank God. Thank God for every kind soul I don\u2019t deserve in my life who loves me anyway.<\/p>\n

\u201cRocky.\u201d I made my voice as soft and small as a baby\u2019s blankie.<\/p>\n

He turned to me, his face as open and vulnerable as that blankie\u2019s little owner.<\/p>\n

I squeezed his hand. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry I hurt you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those puppy eyes shone with the compassion I knew like the backs of my freckled hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry for the things I did, too, babe. For the things I said that night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t call me babe.\u201d<\/p>\n

He chuckled. \u201cSome things never change.\u201d Again, those gentle peepers bore into me. \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell me you married Jazz?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time I didn\u2019t seem too clear on it myself. Things happened pretty fast, and the next thing I knew, I was a wife.\u201d I paused, the weight of that statement shifting just a bit since Rocky had shown up to help bear my burden. \u201cHe\u2019s mad at me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDuh-uh. You were kissing your blond boy toy.\u201d He nudged me with his tattooed arm. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on with the two of you now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen corpses on Carly\u2019s autopsy tables more involved than our marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n

I wondered if I\u2019d ever get over what I\u2019d lost with Jazz.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can only imagine what his parents think of me. I guess they\u2019d say I\u2019m the nightmare that took his ex Kate\u2019s place.\u201d<\/p>\n

He regarded me with the care and concern I\u2019ve seen him lavish on the fortunate souls he counseled as a pastor. Rocky may be only twenty-seven years old, but he\u2019d been a pastor for two years. Two good years. He didn\u2019t have the life experience an older pastor would, but God had given him an extraordinary shepherd\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not a nightmare,\u201d he said. \u201cYou jumped into a marriage with no spiritual or emotional preparation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like I, the clinician, needed him to tell me that.<\/p>\n

I sighed. \u201cYet another psychologist heal thyself thing.\u201d I looked away from him, guilt gnawing at me. \u201cMaybe Jazz and I just aren\u2019t meant to be, Rocky.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you talked to him?\u201d<\/p>\n

I shrugged. \u201cJust once. He came over for a few minutes on Christmas Eve. I let him know I wanted him in a way I knew he\u2019d understand. And then I waited. He never came back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you go to him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same reason I didn\u2019t come to you. I wanted to give him some space to feel whatever he felt and then to decide on his own.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, maybe he\u2019s not like me, babe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYa, think? And don\u2019t call me babe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe he needs you to help him decide. Like, some extra reassurance or something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s crazy, Rock.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not so crazy, babe.\u201d<\/p>\n

I took back every nice thing I\u2019d just thought about him. What did he know? Yes, he pastors a church of more than two-hundred members. He did missions work. He had a shepherd\u2019s heart. He took pastoral counseling classes in seminary, but, honestly! His voice sounded just like Patrick\u2019s on Sponge Bob.<\/p>\n

Rocky glared at me. \u201cBabe. . . .\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t call me babe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBabe! You gotta go to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he yells. Sometimes he cusses like a fish wife.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s a fish wife?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, but my great-grandmother used to say that and it stuck with me. Maybe only females cuss like fish wives. Maybe he cusses like the fish.\u201d Now I sounded like Patrick!<\/p>\n

\u201cFish don\u2019t cuss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, I know I should have reassured him.\u201d<\/p>\n

He sighed. Looked at me with those eyes. Squeezed my hand. \u201cWill you ever let anyone love you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople love me, Rocky. My sister. My secretary. Sasha.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have doubts about Sasha.\u201d<\/p>\n

I thought about that and chuckled with him. \u201cYou may be right. My mother has done a few things that make me wonder. Now I\u2019m really depressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to see you happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to see you happy, too. Speaking of which, how are you and Elisa?\u201d<\/p>\n

He grinned, reddened, looked away.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat? Did you marry her in six weeks? My goodness!\u201d For the first time, I didn\u2019t feel jealous that someone was interested in Rocky. Well, not much.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. I\u2019m not married. I\u2019m . . . .\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s really special, but it hasn\u2019t been that long since she left creepy cult dude. I\u2019m not sure I should be involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow involved are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m involved, babe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re in love?\u201d<\/p>\n

He wouldn\u2019t say anything, but his goofy grin spoke for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cRocky?\u201d<\/p>\n

He nudged me, \u201cCut it out, babe.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, Rocky was really in love. Wow. I always knew it would happen, but I didn\u2019t realize I\u2019d still have the teensiest bit of pain knowing he\u2019d moved on from me for good. I could see a flower of astonishing beauty blossoming between them when I saw them together, even though it nearly killed me at the moment. But God knows Rocky deserved the biggest, juiciest love he could find. He needed to look beyond the non-existent us. And he still calls me babe.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust take it slow, Rock. Trust me. The cost of moving too fast is astronomical, even if you are in love.\u201d<\/p>\n

I could tell he didn\u2019t feel comfortable talking to me about Elisa. I decided to let their love blossom without my tending, pruning, or pulling up weeds. I got back to the business at hand. \u201cAre you ever going to tell me what your offer is?\u201d I eased into the lush upholstery of my sofa.<\/p>\n

Rocky\u2019s face lit up. Honestly, if that guy had a tail to go with those puppy eyes, it\u2019d be thumping my sofa with joy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s gonna be awesome, ba\u2014 I mean, Bell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apparently our little chat about Elisa made him correct himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think everything is awesome, Rocky.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think everything is awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou said my Love Bug is awesome. You said Switchfoot\u2019s new CD is awesome. You said my new zillions braids are awesome, and you said the ice-cream at Cold Stone Creamery is awesome.\u201d Okay, the ice-cream at Cold Stone happened to be awesome for real. Lately I\u2019d craved it like the blind crave sight.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, babe . . . \u201d<\/p>\n

There he goes again. Honestly! A holy war couldn\u2019t make that man stop calling me babe.<\/p>\n

He went on. \u201cThose things are awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGod is awesome, Rock. Awesome meaning the subject inspires awe, as in reverence, respect, dread.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou reverence your tricked-out VW Beetle,\u201d he said, \u201cAnd I respect Switchfoot, especially Jon Foreman, and your way-cool, African-goddess hair inspired me to get dreads.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stared at him. Comments like these coming from Rocky tended to render me temporarily speechless.<\/p>\n

He filled the silence with his proposal. \u201cI want you to go see Ezekiel Thunder with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

My eyes widened. Electroshock therapy wouldn\u2019t have given me such a jolt. \u201cEzekiel Thunder?\u201d I screeched. I jerked up from my slouch. I\u2019d heard the un-right reverend wanted to hit the comeback trail, taking his miracle crusade with him.<\/p>\n

Rocky gave me a wicked grin and settled himself smugly into the soft folds of my sofa. He knew I\u2019d left Thunder\u2019s particular brand of Pentecostal fire many years ago and had no desire to go back.<\/p>\n

Rocky bobble-head nodded, as if his physical movement would affect a change in my attitude.<\/p>\n

\u201cStop all that nodding!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just trying to encourage you.\u201d<\/p>\n

I did not feel encouraged.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be fun,\u201d he said, blasting me with the full puppy-eyes arsenal. Oh, those eyes. Powerful! Mesmerizing! Like a basket full of cocker spaniel puppies wearing red ribbons. I could feel myself weakening.<\/p>\n

\u201cRocky, that meeting will torture me. It will torture you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it won\u2019t. Ezekiel is my friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour friend?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe led me to Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEzekiel Thunder led you to Christ?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI told you I came to Christ at a Bible camp.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes? And?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a Sons of Thunder Bible camp. I\u2019m a Thunder Kid!\u201d He beamed with what I hoped wasn\u2019t pride.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never told me that!\u201d<\/p>\n

Honestly! You think you know somebody! He was my ex-boyfriend for goodness\u2019 sake. We\u2019d talked about marriage. I couldn\u2019t believe I had no idea he was close friends with the infamous Ezekiel Thunder!<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can be kinda judgmental about guys like Ezekiel.\u201d He went on. \u201cI didn\u2019t mean to upset you or trigger bad memories of your tongues-talking days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen don\u2019t ask me to go see him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a different man. He and his family want to buy a house in Ann Arbor. He\u2019s living at the Rock House house until one comes through for him. \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGod forbid!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe needs support. People to show up and cheer him on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCheer him on? We should stop him!\u201d Had Rocky forgotten that Ezekiel Thunder had fallen as hard as many of his televangelist contemporaries in the eighties\u2014and for a tawdry little tryst with a young intern? May it never be!<\/p>\n

\u201cHow hard would it be for you to sit there and listen? Maybe say a few prayers for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGod bless you as you do that for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was there for you, supporting Great Lakes Seminary when they were struggling and going to lose their building. I did it because of how much you love Mason May.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRocky! That\u2019s not even comparable. Mason is a fine theologian training good men and women for powerful, effective ministries. He\u2019s not a snake-oil peddler.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not snake oil. It\u2019s miracle prosperity oil.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stared at him. He\u2019d stunned me to silence once again. I waited for Rocky to fill the silence with testimonies about the healing properties of miracle prosperity oil. Thankfully, he refrained. But he didn\u2019t look like he\u2019d let me off the hook.<\/p>\n

I tried to reason with him. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t ask me to do this. You\u2019re Emergent, Rocky, not a dyed-in-the-wool charismatic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t like post-modern, post-denominational, Emergent folks either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI like them more than Ezekiel Thunders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that thing you say about the Emergent Church?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not about the Emergent Church. I\u2019d go to an Emergent meeting with you anytime. You name the place: Mars Hill, Ann Arbor Vineyard. How \u2018bout Frontline Church? \u201d<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t budge. \u201cCome on, babe. He\u2019s like a dad to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA dad?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou always say Mason is like a dad to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Mason has a PhD. He doesn\u2019t sell \u2018miracle prosperity oil\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEzekiel doesn\u2019t sell it, either. He gives it away for a love offering.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA considerable love offering, if I remember! It\u2019s plain olive oil he\u2019s pushing to gullible babes in the faith who don\u2019t know any better. How can I support his money-lusting schemes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUmmm. By going with me?\u201d Hope burgeoned in his voice as if I hadn\u2019t just accused his mentor of being a hustler.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you hear what I said, Rock? Ezekiel Thunder is everything I walked away from.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou walked away from a lot more than that, babe. And you\u2019ve been known to hang out with people with worse theology than his. People way more dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

He had a point.<\/p>\n

\u201cRocky . . . .\u201d I didn\u2019t want to go. Please, God, don\u2019t make me go.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s changed, babe. Give him a chance. For me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The eyes again, and a smile with an invisible tail wag.<\/p>\n

I grumbled.<\/p>\n

He grinned.<\/p>\n

I gave him a dramatic sigh. \u201cWhat time are we leaving?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re not busy, and you\u2019re not, we can leave in a few hours. I\u2019ll pick you up at six.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you know I don\u2019t have plans?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you have antisocial tendencies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t hold back, Rock. What do you really think about me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d he said, ignoring my insolence. \u201cYou\u2019re gonna fall in love with Ezekiel.\u201d<\/p>\n

I rolled my eyes. \u201cNot likely.\u201d<\/p>\n

He put his face right in front of mine until we were eye to eye. \u201cYou are feeling veeeeeery tired. You\u2019re getting sleepy. You\u2019re going to enjoy yourself at the crusade.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo fair,\u201d I said, \u201cThose eyes of yours are potent hypnotizers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are going to love Ezekiel Thunder.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am going to love Ezekiel Thunder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rocky got out of my face. \u201cYou\u2019ve gotta admit, babe. This will be safer than sleuthing.\u201d<\/p>\n

No, it won\u2019t, a disembodied voice–also known as the still, small voice of God–informed me.<\/p>\n

I tried to ignore it. Maybe this Spirit prompting was speaking figuratively.<\/p>\n

Couldn\u2019t ignore it.<\/p>\n

What, Lord, am I some kind of trouble magnet?<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t answer that, God.<\/p>\n

I started rationalizing immediately to take the edge off what I truly hoped was not a prophetic warning. Maybe I could fall in love with the guy and respect him. Maybe he could even heal the egg-sized growth on my lower abdomen that scared me to death each time I ran my index finger across it. Maybe I could even find the keys to unlock the little room inside my heart where all the Ezekiel Thunders I\u2019ve ever known were locked. I\u2019d stored them there to keep me safe from the particular brand of harm only they could inflict.<\/p>\n

I could feel my defenses shoot up as if a rocket propelled them.<\/p>\n

Fall in love with Ezekiel Thunder?<\/p>\n

I wished.<\/p>\n

I shouldn\u2019t have wished. My great-grandmother and namesake Amanda Bell Brown use to say, \u201cBe careful what you wish for, baby. You just might get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

She ain\u2019t never lied.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1245"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1245"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1251,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1245\/revisions\/1251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}