{"id":4215,"date":"2010-03-10T18:11:45","date_gmt":"2010-03-10T23:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/?p=4215"},"modified":"2010-03-10T18:13:35","modified_gmt":"2010-03-10T23:13:35","slug":"genoa-bay-by-bette-nordberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/?p=4215","title":{"rendered":"Genoa Bay by Bette Nordberg"},"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


<\/p>\n

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


<\/p>\n

Bette Nordberg <\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Genoa Bay<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Monarch (December 15, 2009)<\/p>\n

***Special thanks to Cat Hoort of Kregel Publications for sending me a review copy.***<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>
\n A professional author, Bette Nordberg has published many books, plays, and articles. Her previous novels have been published by Bethany and Harvest House; this is her sixth. Her best known, Serenity Bay, has sold over 22,000 copies. She lives in Washington and she and her husband, Kim, have four children.<\/p>\n

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

Product Details:<\/p>\n

List Price: $14.99
\n Paperback: 320 pages
\n Publisher: Monarch (December 15, 2009)
\n Language: English
\n ISBN-10: 0825462967
\n ISBN-13: 978-0825462962<\/p>\n

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

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

Prologue:<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

February 8th 2004<\/p>\n

God talks to me.<\/p>\n

Now, hear me out. Before you put me in the same category as the loony folks who hear voices just before they go on a shooting rampage at the local shopping mall, remember: In general, I don\u2019t have visions. I don\u2019t hear voices, either\u2014at least not audible ones.<\/p>\n

Still, sometimes, even in the most mundane of moments, I hear the voice of God.<\/p>\n

Most recently, it happened down at Waterfront Park at Navy Point, right here in Pensacola. I\u2019d taken Gabby, my seven-year-old and Liz our golden-doodle for a walk. Gabby rode her new bike, a fluorescent pink Speed Demon complete with training wheels, and Liz trotted along on a leash. By the time we began the final loop toward the car, my daughter had begun a serious meltdown.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to ride anymore,\u201d she said, climbing off the silver seat. \u201cIt\u2019s too hard. The wheels get stuck.\u201d<\/p>\n

She had me there. It seemed her bike\u2019s only demon resided in the five inch balancing wheels that wobbled and froze in every quarter-sized pothole along the trail. Her short legs had powered their way through nearly two miles of these freeze-ups; she\u2019d had enough. Who could blame her?<\/p>\n

If Timothy were still alive, he\u2019d have figured out a way to fix the wheels. Me? I\u2019m no tool man. Instead of fixing the bike, I hoped that Mags would out grow the need for wheels.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re almost to the van,\u201d I said. \u201cYou can make it that far, can\u2019t you?\u201d
\n Gabby shook her head as tears began to roll down her cheeks. Crossing stubby arms across her chest, she said, \u201cGo get the car!\u201d<\/p>\n

Wanting to avoid yet another battle, I resigned myself to pushing the bike back to the parking area. I wrapped the dog\u2019s leash around my wrist, threw my purse strap across my back, and bent over to push the bike down the pavement. Glancing over my shoulder, I discovered that Gabby and the dog had chosen not to follow. Instead, Gabby\u2014with both arms around the dog\u2019s neck\u2014was enjoying a face washing of sloppy dog kisses.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on you two,\u201d I called. \u201cWe don\u2019t have all day.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time we reached the van, my back ached, and sweat rolled down the space between my shoulder blades. I unlocked the car, started the engine and turned up the air conditioning. After settling Gabby in her safety seat, I loaded the little bike inside the passenger compartment. At last, holding the dog\u2019s leash, I opened the back hatch and called for Liz. \u201cCome on Liz,\u201d I called. \u201cJump!\u201d<\/p>\n

The dog circled around behind me, as if to gain speed for the leap into the cargo space. But, just as her front paws touched the bumper, she balked, as if to change her mind. Liz jumped back to the ground, and sat down, whining. \u201cCome on,\u201d I pleaded. \u201cJust get in the dumb car. We\u2019re already late!\u201d<\/p>\n

Once again the dog circled. This time, instead of leaping for the cargo area, she stopped dead and circled back the other way. Apparently changing your mind is not a prerogative saved only for women. \u201cPlease, just get inside,\u201d I begged, losing what little patience I had. After two more false starts, I began to exert my position as leader of the pack. This time, as Liz approached the car, I dragged her forward by the leash. Why wouldn\u2019t the stupid dog just get into the car? How hard could it be?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when I heard God speak. \u201cDon\u2019t be so critical,\u201d his voice clearly said. \u201cYou\u2019re not all that different from the dog.\u201d<\/p>\n

The problem with hearing from God, I\u2019ve discovered, is that sometimes, he gives you an answer before you are even aware of the question. Such was the case that day at waterfront park. From the day Liz refused to enter the van, until I clearly understand his meaning, nearly four months passed. And until I put the pieces together, I felt as clueless as a blind man at the bottom of a deep well.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

MY COMMENTS:<\/strong><\/p>\n

It has been one of those busy weeks plus a book per day to read so I am still reading this one. At this point, I can say that I like Genoa Bay<\/a> and plan to finish it. The author has done a magnificent job with the backdrop of the story. Her descriptions make me want to visit Genoa Bay. The characterization of Brandy is excellent and her emergence back into life following a long period of grief and withdrawal after her husband’s death are quite believable. I am at a point in the story where Brandy’s personal history and personality have been established. There are hints of conflict ahead (and possibly some romance) but I will have to keep reading to see how it all transpires.<\/p>\n

I have read a massive number of books during my lifetime so I have pretty well developed instincts about whether a book will be worthwhile. 125 or so pages into Genoa Bay<\/a> and I am certain that it is a book that I would recommend.<\/p>\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":[8,60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-contemporary-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"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=4215"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4229,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4215\/revisions\/4229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}