what's in the mail? 5-31-12 edition

I got several things in the mail these past two weeks—more cereal, a movie, and lots of books!

Quaker Oatmeal Squares, Cinnamon
Apparently Vine has discovered I like cinnamon ... I've gotten cinnamon-flavored cereals two newsletters in a row! This one doesn't hold a candle to the other. It's bland and not very cinnamony. Don't get me wrong—I'll eat it for breakfast ... but I definitely won't be buying it in the future! Here's my review.

Coriolanus
I thought this adaptation of a Shakespeare play would be my cup of tea. I was wrong. So, so wrong. I haven't posted my Vine review yet (because I'm a bit afraid of getting my review voted down—all the less-than-glowing reviews are getting voted down like crazy!), but I did post about it on Cinematic Survey, where I can be completely candid. You can see the post here.

Tarnished by Daniel & Christina Morrison
Earlier this week, the Morrisons did a guest post about their fantasy novel and the Kickstarter project to fund the audio book. My book arrived yesterday; I'm looking forward to reading it as soon as I finish the one I'm currently reading.

The Anniversary Waltz by Darrel Nelson
When this book arrived earlier this week, I had no idea where it came from. I'm not so in demand as a reviewer that I have unsolicited books arriving at my door, so I knew I must have requested it. And I did—a mere 18 days ago! How quickly we forget ... Anyway, it appears to be mainly set around WWII, which is my favorite historical era to read about, thus explaining why I requested it from Glass Road!

After All: A Hanover Falls Novel by Deborah Raney
This is the book that I mentioned last time—the one that got sent to the wrong mailing list. I loved After All and finished it in one afternoon. Here's the review.

Prize of My Heart by Lisa Norato
Some of you may have picked up the Kindle edition of this book for free a couple weeks ago. I did! I requested this from Bethany House in March. I never got a confirmation e-mail, so I assumed I didn't make the cut. Then this showed up last week ...

Legacy Road by Graham Garrison
I'll be reviewing this for Kregel in July ... which means I probably won't read it for another five weeks! It's about a journalist, and that's all I know. I signed up for this tour because I really like working with Kregel.

One.Life: Jesus Calls, We Follow by Scot McKnight
This is the lone book on the list that I purchased myself. I bought it because it was quoted in an article I recently read, and I was intrigued. Now that I've flipped through a few pages, I think I will be challenged by what I read. I haven't read a book that I really have to think critically about in a long time, and I'm looking forward to it!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received some of these products free in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review and received no monetary compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

"after all" by deborah raney

About the book (from the back cover): Eighteen months after the tragic Grove Street Fire took the life of her husband, David, and four other heroic firefighters, Susan Marlowe thinks she's finally beginning to heal.

But then she discovers that David carried a secret to his grave. A secret that changes everything she thought their marriage had been. For the sake of their sons, can Susan forgive the unforgivable?

Andrea Morley lost her closest friend in the fire. But she has no right to mourn him. Instead, she must forever grieve in silence—because her dearest friend was someone else's husband.

Peter Brennan carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. As Hanover Falls' fire chief, he was responsible for the brave firefighters who lost their lives that awful November night.

Can he ever shake the feeling that he should have somehow prevented the tragedy?

As he tries to rebuild the team at Clemens County's Station 2, it seems he might find comfort in the arms of the woman he least expected.

My take: After All provides a satisfying conclusion to the Hanover Falls series, all of which deal with the aftermath of a fatal fire at a homeless shelter. (I reviewed book two, Forever After, here.) In After All, shelter director Susan Marlowe gets a second chance at love ... but the woman who came between her and David also threatens this new relationship.

After All is a story full of heartbreak, redemption, and forgiveness, and I really enjoyed this final trip to Hanover Falls. I especially liked watching Pete's transformation as he fell in love with Susan and found his way back to God. I read the entire book in one afternoon—it was so good I didn't want to put it down! 4-1/2 out of 5 stars.

About the author: Deborah Raney is the award-winning author of numerous novels, including A Nest of Sparrows and the RITA award-winning Beneath a Southern Sky and its sequel, After the Rains. Deborah's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, was the inspiration for World Wide Picture's highly acclaimed film of the same title, which in December 2004 aired on prime time network TV for the second time. Deb's novella, Playing by Heart, was a National Readers Choice Award winner and a 2004 Christy Award finalist. Her novel with Howard/Simon & Schuster, Yesterday's Embers, appeared on the ECPA Christian fiction bestseller list. Known for her sensitive portrayal of family struggles and relationships, Deb has also written nonfiction books and articles and often speaks at women's retreats and writers' conferences around the country. She and her husband, illustrator/author Ken Raney, have four children and make their home in Kansas. Learn more at www.deborahraney.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free for review from Glass Road Public Relations. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

i really should be working ...

I had my gallbladder removed last week. (That's a post for another day.) My yearbook submission date was May 25, but I knew there was no way I'd feel like working on yearbook right after my surgery, so I got an extension from my yearbook rep. Now I'm back at work and feeling good, so it's time to buckle down and finish the yearbook. So tonight, I silenced my phone, turned on some music, and sat down with a stack of spreads to proofread.

That was three hours ago. In those three hours, I did manage to proofread three spreads. But I also ...

• Carried on a Facebook conversation with Blendy and Janae about The Bachelorette. I have somehow managed to be spoiler free so far this season, so I have no idea what's coming down the pike ... and I'd like to keep it that way! My top three right now are Arie, Doug, and Sean. And Kalon and Ryan so have to go!
• Perused this list of celebrity Republicans. I have no idea how accurate it is, but I always knew I liked Freddie Prinze, Jr.!
• Watched a couple episodes of What I Like About You. (Yes, Val, "Ground-Turkey-Hog-Day" was one of them!)
• Fell into that black hole known as YouTube. Seriously! What is it about being under pressure that makes terrible fan videos so appealing?
• Played "Words with Friends" on Facebook. I'm truly terrible, but I enjoy it—and I'd be willing to play any of you ... just send me a request!
• Fell into that black hole known as Pinterest. I am totally trying this tightlining tip I found!

And now, it's time for bed. Maybe it's time to start using LeechBlock again!

guest post: "reclaiming fantasy" by daniel morrison

Recently, I learned about Daniel & Christina Morrison's fantasy novel, Tarnished, and their Kickstarter campaign to turn it into an audio book. I'll be reading and reviewing the book soon, but in the meantime, I asked if they'd like to do a guest post on my blog, telling a bit about themselves and their project. 

“Why can’t you like something girlie like bunnies or something?” her boyfriend quipped.

“But I’ve always loved dragons and I think God wants me to help redeem them,” Christina answered. Needless to say, it was an ill-fated relationship.

When she began writing her novel, it was a historical fiction based on a popular story in the Old Testament. After some expert advice from an accomplished writer she reworked it as a fantasy novel. He said, ‘Write what you know’ and she had always known and loved fantasy. C.S. Lewis took characters from the theological mess of Greek mythology and cleaned them off, putting them into a fantastic Christ-centered narrative. Christina decided she wanted to do the same thing.

It was more than a rewrite later with her fantasy novel lying on the shelf that she met and married me, a creative director with a film degree and a calling to media. “I went from feeling like this was just a wildly out of touch dream to suddenly being centered and connected with God’s plan for my writing,” Christina says. “Before Daniel, it was just a somewhat good story sitting completed in my computer hard-drive. But with his help I suspected it could become much more.”

While joining in marriage was a journey, joining in creativity was another battle all its own. It’s hard to drop your pride and defenses and offer your skill and ideas up to each other. And I wasn’t on board with the project at the beginning. There were some serious issues which I think all fantasy writers have to pin down: how magic is approached, the general context of the world and how God is presented in that world are all delicate and pivotal parts of reclaiming the fantasy genre.

It was also hard for Christina to put her work on the chopping block. The story was already well-crafted and most of it stayed the same. It was really just a matter of a few wires in the heart of the story that needed switching, and once that happened there was a ripple effect that required a technical overhaul of most of the dialogue. Together, we wrestled through another re-write, changing character’s arcs, redesigning creatures, and switching the genders of some characters to better suit the story and avoid unintended undertones.

Daniel & Christina Morrison

Six months of rewriting and a pass through our editor brought us to our final scrutinized manuscript. Being artists and media creators, we were able to manage much of the publishing process ourselves. But having a completed book self-published is really only the beginning.

We have plans for developing a graphic novel, dramatized audio book and eventually a feature film of Tarnished. That’s a lot to bite off at once so we decided to begin with the audio book. We found and hired a professional Scottish voice artist to narrate Tarnished. John Cavanagh is amazing and did a fantastic job of the narration. But hiring artists and developing assets is a pricey endeavor when we are raising two kids, working a full-time job and running a media production company after work. We spend most of what we make in our own company (Remnant Studios) on the Tarnished production because we believe God has called us to spend ourselves on what He has given us to do.

“We want to engage as many people as possible in bringing excellent fantasy to life,” Christina says. “For too long Christians have backed away from important arenas like media and fantasy.”

And we are aiming to engage like-minded people: Launching a Kickstarter campaign (active until June 15th) to invite fans to fund the audio book.

Our core motto is to “Be Spent” by inviting God to direct us how to do that well.

And there's more: The Morrisons are sponsoring a Tarnished review contest. If you read the book and post a review on Amazon by the end of June, you'll be entered into a drawing for a Kindle Fire. Check the book out here. You can also keep up with the project on facebook.

"dreamspell" by tamara leigh

This is one of my rare "I didn't have to write this review" reviews. When I saw a review of Dreamspell on another book blog, I knew I needed to check it out. And, as Dreamspell is one of the books Amazon Prime members can read for free, I didn't even have to pay for it!

About the book (from Amazon): A time to live. A time to die. A time to dream.

Sleep disorders specialist Kennedy Plain has been diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor. When her research subject dies after trying to convince her he has achieved dream-induced time travel and her study is shelved, she enlists herself as a subject to complete her research. But when she dreams herself into 14th-century England and falls into the hands of Fulke Wynland, a man history has condemned as a murderer, she must not only stay alive long enough to find a way to return to her own time, but prevent Fulke from murdering his young nephews. And yet, the more time she spends with the medieval warrior, the more difficult it is to believe he is capable of committing the heinous crime for which he has been reviled for 600 years.

Baron Fulke Wynland has been granted guardianship of his brother’s heirs despite suspicions that he seeks to steal their inheritance. When the king sends a mysterious woman to care for the boys, Fulke is surprised by the lady's hostility toward him--and more surprised to learn she is to be his wife. But when his nephews are abducted, the two must overcome their mutual dislike to discover the boys' fate. What Fulke never expects is to feel for this woman whose peculiar speech, behavior, and talk of dream travel could see her burned as a witch.

My take: Dreamspell had me at time travel. I am predisposed to loving anything dealing with time—time travel, time loops, etc. So even though medieval romances aren't usually my cup of tea, I thought I'd give it a chance. To my surprise, I loved the action in the 1300's ... and I couldn't get through the modern scenes fast enough, as I wanted to know what would happen in the "past."

I enjoyed watching Nedy try to fit into the middle ages—especially when it came to hygiene issues!—and I liked her relationship with Fulke. I also especially liked Marion, Fulke's sister ... her defense against an unwanted marriage was pretty genius!

While I preferred the scenes in the 1300's, the most touching scene was the epilogue involving Kennedy's mother in the present. It was an absolutely genius way to wrap up the story!

Tamara Leigh is known for her Christian fiction, but Dreamspell is more of a general market romance. That said, it's a clean, enjoyable read. 4 stars.

About the author: Tamara Leigh holds a Masters Degree in Speech and Language Pathology. In 1993, she signed a 4-book contract with Bantam Books. Her first medieval romance, Warrior Bride, was released in 1994, followed by Virgin Bride, Pagan Bride, and Saxon Bride. Tamara continued to write for the general market, publishing three more novels with HarperCollins and Dorchester and earning awards and spots on national bestseller lists.

In 2006, Tamara's first inspirational contemporary romance, Stealing Adda, was released. In 2008, Perfecting Kate was optioned for a movie and Splitting Harriet won an ACFW "Book of the Year" award. Both books were released as audiobooks. In 2009, Faking Grace was nominated for ACFW "Book of the Year" and RITA awards. In 2010, Leaving Carolina was featured in Target stores' "Emerging Authors: New, Notable, Red-Hot Reads" section. In 2011, Tamara wrapped up her "Southern Discomfort" series with the release of Restless in Carolina.

Tamara lives near Nashville, Tennessee with her husband and sons, a Doberman that bares its teeth not only to threaten the UPS man but to smile, and a Shih Tzu with a Napoleon complex and something of an eating disorder.

"waking hours" by lis wiehl with pete nelson

About the book (from the back cover): All towns have secrets. Some have demons.

Welcome to East Salem. A deceptively sleepy town where ancient supernatural forces are being awakened.

A local high-school girl is found murdered in a park amid horse farms and wealthy homes of northern Westchester County, New York. The shocking manner of her death confounds the town and intrigues forensic psychiatrist Dani Harris, who is determined to unravel the mystery. All the suspects are teenagers who were at a party with the girl—yet none remembers what happened. Could one of them be a vicious killer? Or is something more sinister afoot—something tied to an ancient evil?

But it's not just her waking hours that challenge Dani. Each night, her eyes open at 2:13 due to troubling dreams. Dreams filled with blood, water, and destruction. Is it a clue—or a supernatural sign?

Across town, former NFL linebacker Tommy Gunderson finds his state-of-the-art security system has been breached by an elderly woman. Mumbling threats in Latin, she attacks him with an uncanny, preternatural strength. Before he has time to process the attack, someone close to him is implicated in the girl's murder at the park. He agrees to help-and finds himself working with Dani, the only girl who could resist his charms years ago when they were in high school.

A heavy darkness is spreading. Yet a heavenly force is also at work.

It will take astute analysis and forensic skills to solve the crime. But Dani and Tommy suspect there's more the the mystery than murder, more to their growing friendship than chance . . . and more to the evil they're facing than a mere human killer.

My take: Lis Wiehl has done it again! I'm a longtime fan of her Triple Threat series (written with April Henry), and Waking Hours is just as engaging as—though completely different from—those books. Taken as a mystery/detective novel, Waking Hours is good. But when you add in the supernatural element (which really doesn't come to the forefront until the end), you have a fantastic story that sets up what will hopefully become a long-running series.

Because Waking Hours is the set-up to the series, it's not as suspenseful as I expected. (It kind of acts like a TV show pilot—it gives you all the elements you need to embrace the series as it continues.) The action definitely ramps up at the end, and the book ends on a cliffhanger. I wish I could have kept reading—I can't wait to get my hands on book two! 4 out of 5 stars.

About the authors: Lis Wiehl is a New York Times best-selling author, Harvard Law School graduate, and former federal prosecutor. A popular legal analyst and commentator for the Fox News Channel, Wiehl appears on The O'Reilly Factor and was co-host will Bill O'Reilly on the radio for seven years.

Pete Nelson is the author of I Thought You Were Dead. He was listed in the Esquire Register of Best American Writers, the recipient of the 2003 Christopher Award, and nominated for the prestigious Edgar Award. He lives with his wife and son in Westchester, New York.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product free for review from Amazon.com through its Vine reviewer program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

"my stubborn heart" by becky wade

About the book (provided by Litfuse): Kate Donovan is burned out on work, worn down by her dating relationships, and in need of an adventure. When her grandmother asks her to accompany her to Redbud, Pennsylvania, to restore the grand old house she grew up in, Kate jumps at the chance.

Upon her arrival in Redbud, Kate meets Matt Jarreau, the man hired to renovate the house. Kate can't help being attracted to him, drawn by both his good looks and something else she can't quite put her finger on. He's clearly wounded--hiding from people, from God, and from his past. Yet Kate sets her stubborn heart on bringing him out of the dark and back into the light...whether he likes it or not.

When the stilted, uncomfortable interactions between Kate and Matt slowly shift into something more, is God finally answering the longing of her heart? Or will Kate be required to give up more than she ever dreamed?

My take: Oh. My. Goodness. I loved, loved, loved this book! As soon as I read the prologue (which you can read here), I knew My Stubborn Heart would be something special. Author Becky Wade has such a unique voice, and the novel is funny (as in laugh-out-loud), poignant, and oh so romantic. Wade often shifts between the perspectives of Kate and Matt, and while a varying viewpoint often annoys me to no end, it works perfectly here.

As Kate and Matt tried to figure things out, I longed for them to be together. But they weren't the only characters I cared about: Morty—desperately in love with Velma, who made life very difficult for him—and Gran were especially endearing.

My Stubborn Heart is a novel that will stick with me for a long time, and I eagerly anticipate Becky Wade's next book! 5 out of 5 stars.

See what other bloggers are saying here.

About the author: During her childhood in California, Becky frequently produced homemade plays starring her sisters, friends, and cousins. These plays almost always featured a heroine, a prince, and a love story with a happy ending. She's been a fan of all things romantic ever since. Becky and her husband lived overseas in the Caribbean and Australia before settling in Dallas, Texas. It was during her years abroad that Becky's passion for reading turned into a passion for writing. She published three historical romances with Avon Books, then put her career on hold for several years to care for her kids, then recently returned to writing sheerly for the love of it. She felt led to move to the genre of contemporary Christian romance and couldn't be more thrilled with it.

These days Becky can be found failing but trying to keep up with her housework, sweating at the gym, carting her kids around town, playing tennis, hunched over her computer, eating chocolate, or collapsed on the sofa watching TV with her husband. Learn more at: www.BeckyWade.com.

About the giveaway: Win a Nook Simple Touch™ with GlowLight™ in Becky Wade's My Stubborn Heart Giveaway and RSVP for FB Party {5/24}! 
 
Celebrate with Becky by entering her My Stubborn Heart Giveaway and connecting with her during the Author Chat Party on 5/24!

One fortunate winner will receive:

• A Brand New Nook Simple Touch™ with GlowLight™
• A $25 Barnes & Noble Gift Certificate
• A copy of My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends at noon on May 24th. Winner will be announced at the "My Stubborn Heart" Author Chat Facebook Party on 5/24. Becky will be hosting an book chat, testing your trivia skills and giving away some great prizes!

So grab your copy of My Stubborn Heart and join Becky on the evening of the May 24th for a chance to meet Becky and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book - don't let that stop you from coming!)

 

Don't miss a moment of the fun. RSVP today and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 24th!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."