Carol Preston – Truly Free

From the Back Cover:

trulyfreelargeBetsy loves her grandfather, but he has woven a tangled web of deceit throughout his life. Now, in his death, Betsy is determined to find out the truth. What she does not plan on and must face is that the journey to truth reveals issues in her own life and also that of her father, from whom she has been estranged for many years. Will she find the path to true freedom for them all?

Amanda’s Review:

I really loved this fourth and last instalment of Carol Preston’s Turning the Tide series. The questions left unanswered in Tangled Secrets were resolved, leaving me with a satisfied feeling at the conclusion. And I must admit I had a tear in my eye as well.

Carol has a real talent at taking the facts surrounding her ancestry and creating characterisation for those people, making their stories come to life. In Truly Free I really sensed Carol’s background in counselling coming through the storyline, as she examined motives and the reason people act the way they do.

I was especially caught into the novel by the murder mystery that was part of the story in this book. I wanted to know what the characters would discover about the suspicious circumstances that surrounded Bill’s supposed suicide.

All in all a very satisfactory read, and recommended to those who enjoy historical novels.

About the Author:

carol-photoCarol lives in Wollongong, NSW with her husband, Neil. As well as writing novels based on her family history, Carol has a private counselling practice and enjoys reading, gardening, spending time with her four grandchildren and bushwalking. She has pursued with great admiration the lives of her ancestors in Australia and has greatly enjoyed writing novels based on their stories and the inspiring history of the Australian people. For more information about Carol’s books and her other interests she can be contacted on her website: http://www.carolpreston.com.au

Published in: on 11th September, 2013 at 10:37 am  Leave a Comment  
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Donna Fletcher Crow – An Unholy Communion

2 – 6 September 2013

Australia Christian Readers Blog Alliance

 

Introducing

An Unholy Communion

Lion Hudson (1 April 2013)

by

Donna Fletcher Crow

About the Author:

“Donna Fletcher Crow has created her own niche within the genre of clerical mysteries.” – Kate Charles, author of Deep Waters

First light, Ascension morning. From the top of the tower at the College of Transfiguration, voices rise in song.

Felicity’s delight turns to horror when a black-robed body hurtles over the precipice and lands at her feet.

Her fiancé Father Antony recognizes the corpse as Hwyl Pendry, a former student, who has been serving as Deliverance Minister in a Welsh diocese. The police ignore the strange emblem of a double-headed snake clutched in the dead man’s hand, labelling the death a suicide. But Hwyl’s widow is convinced otherwise, and pleads for Felicity and Antony to help her uncover the truth.

Matters grow murkier as Felicity and Antony, leading a youth pilgrimage through rural Wales, encounter the same sinister symbol as they travel. Lurking figures follow them. Then a body is found face-down in a well …

“Donna Fletcher Crow gives us, in three extremely persuasive dimensions, the world that Dan Brown merely sketches.” – Timothy Hallinan, author of The Queen of Patpong

About the Book:

Donna Fletcher Crow is the author of 40 books, mostly novels dealing with British history. The award-winning Glastonbury, A Novel of the Holy Grail, an Arthurian grail search epic covering 15 centuries of English history, is her best-known work. She is also the author of The Monastery Murders: A Very Private Grave, A Darkly Hidden Truth and An Unholy Communion as well as the Lord Danvers series of Victorian true-crime novels and the literary suspense series The Elizabeth & Richard Mysteries. Donna and her husband live in Boise, Idaho. They have 4 adult children and 11 grandchildren. She is an enthusiastic gardener.

To read more about all of Donna’s books and see pictures from her garden and research trips go to: http://www.donnafletchercrow.com/

You can follow her on Facebook at: http://ning.it/OHi0MY

Published in: on 4th September, 2013 at 10:25 am  Leave a Comment  
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Love is Everything

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” [1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NIV]

1427703_27664717I was thinking about this passage last night, and all of a sudden a whole new level of depth opened up for me. It specifically mentions a few areas where love is important – communication, knowledge, faith and generosity. If we have all these things perfect, but don’t act in love, they are useless.

The thing is, this spreads to every area of life really. I mean, how many times do we hear on those reality cooking competitions ‘there is no love in this food’? Even if they used the right techniques and skills and it looked great, sometimes there is just not that extra wow that comes with love.

And again, when you listen to a skilled musician or watch a graceful dancer — without the love, it all becomes mechanical and doesn’t have the same impact.

It’s like love is the invisible foundation beneath all of life and without it, the world is colourless and meaningless. A world without love is no world at all.

Of course, when you think that GOD IS LOVE, it all makes sense. He’s in everything and He’s everywhere. That love — HIM — underpins all of life. So then, without Him, there is no life. When everything else is gone, love still remains. I’d say He’s a good thing to hold onto then.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” [1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV]

Published in: on 2nd September, 2013 at 10:50 am  Comments (1)  
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Heidi Glick – Dog Tags

From the Back Cover:

DogTags_h11265_300 (2)When disabled ex-Marine Mark Graham reconnects with his best friend’s sister, he finds himself falling in love. But Beth Martindale’s presence is a constant reminder of events he’d rather forget. Mark wants to move forward, but the secrets surrounding her brother’s death as well as his own confinement to a wheelchair threaten to tear them apart.

When a psychopath who calls himself The Knight fixates on Beth, Mark is determined to give her the protection he failed to give her brother on the battlefield, yet he discovers that a wheelchair isn’t the only impediment he has to keeping Beth safe.

Will terror win or can Mark find the strength of mind and body to rescue Beth and find his own redemption?

Amanda’s Review

So, here I was thinking I’d figured out who the bad guy was within the first few chapters. But then, further on, I was not so sure. And I was completely wrong of course – led up the garden path so to speak – which is a good thing I guess, when it comes to this genre. All this to say that I really enjoyed this Romantic Suspense from Heidi Glick. It kept me guessing till almost the end, and needless to say therefore, kept me up turning pages.

But it wasn’t just the suspense that caught my interest. I’m a sucker for romance and the tension between Beth and Mark also had me hooked. I loved that the male lead was in a wheelchair – something you don’t see every day – and that he still managed to be the hero in spite of it.

This novel also reminds us to trust God with our future as well as our present and even our past, but without being preachy. It flowed naturally as part of the characters’ lives as they worked through their struggles.

All in all a very satisfying read. Recommended to those who enjoy romantic suspense.

Thanks to the author for a free review copy.

About the Author:

PictureheidiHeidi Glick has a B.A. in biology, a minor in Bible from Cedarville University, and a passion for writing Christian fiction. She has over seven years of technical editing experience, a certificate in technical writing from Cal State University, Dominguez Hills, and is working towards her Master of English at Utah State University. Additionally, she is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and has written two articles for Intercom. When not working, Heidi spends time with her husband, son, and two dogs, Cocoa and Sparky. She attends Grace Chapel in Mason, Ohio.

You can find out more about Heidi at http://www.heidiglickbooks.com

Published in: on 21st August, 2013 at 10:48 am  Leave a Comment  
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You Can’t Escape the Pruning Saw

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” John 15:1-4

Pruning of trees with secateursWhile I have read this Scripture many times before — it is one of my favourites — it hadn’t occurred to me that no matter which way you live, you still receive attention from the pruning saw. However, only one of these forms of attention is worth enduring.

If we waste our time, live for ourselves, take no note of His will for us — in other words walk in disobedience — and therefore be ineffective and fruitless, of what use are we? The same as a tree with dried up branches that doesn’t bear fruit or even shady leaves. It is only good for firewood. Ouch!

On the other hand if we use our time wisely, following the Word of the Lord and living our best in Him and therefore producing fruit in our lives, God then prunes us in order that we increase in that fruit.

The fruit might be growth within our own lives, or seeing other people saved, or even helping others grow in their faith. But He prunes us, cuts back the offshoots so that we become stronger and can carry more responsibility. It’s a scary thought really, and it can be painful to go through these seasons of pruning, but in the end when we look back, we often find ourselves surprised at where God has taken us — beyond our dreams in many cases.

So, then, even if it is a painful process, I think I would rather be pruned for the furtherance of His kingdom than to be thrown in the fire. How about you?

Published in: on 19th August, 2013 at 10:22 am  Leave a Comment  
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Christine Lindsay – Captured by Moonlight

5 – 9 August

Australian Christian Readers Fiction Alliance

is introducing
Captured by Moonlight
(WhiteFire Publishing May 15, 2013)

by

Christine Lindsay

About the Author:

Christine Lindsay writes historical inspirational novels with strong love stories, and she takes pride in her Irish roots. Her great grandfather and grandfather worked as riveters in the Belfast shipyard, one of those ships her ancestors helped build was the Titanic. On her mother’s side it was stories of ancestors who served in the British Cavalry in India that seeded Christine’s long-time fascination with the British Raj and became the stimulus for her Twilight of the British Raj series.

The Pacific coast of Canada, about 200 miles north of Seattle, is Christine’s home where she lives with her husband, David, and they enjoy the visits from their adult children and grandchildren. Like a lot of authors, Christine’s chief editor is her cat.

About the Book

Prisoners to their own broken dreams…

After a daring rescue goes awry, the parched north of India grows too hot for nurse Laine Harkness and her friend Eshana. The women flee to the tropical south…and run headlong into their respective pasts.

Laine takes a new nursing position at a plantation in the jungle, only to discover that her former fiancé is the owner…and that Adam has no more to say to her now than he did when he crushed her years ago. Why, then, is she still drawn to him, and to the tiger cub he is raising?

Eshana, captured by her traditional uncle and forced once more into the harsh Hindu customs of mourning, doubts whether freedom will ever again be in her future, much less the forbidden love that had begun to whisper to her. Is faith enough to live on? Or is her Savior calling her home?

Amid cyclones and epidemics, clashing faiths and consequences of the war, will the love of the True Master give hope to these searching hearts?

Amanda’s Review

Captured by Moonlight indeed captured me. It was a wonderful experience to be able to slip into another culture and another time period and be caught up in an enthralling tale. I had trouble putting this novel down. From the descriptions of the landscape in India to the palpable tension between the characters, I was hooked.

Christine Lindsay gave me an insight into another time and other religions as I read, without feeling like I was being taught at all. I think that also, having missionaries in my present family and ancestry (in India a few generations back even), there is something that resonates with me in a story involving the work of missions.

This story also spoke a message to me in my current situation, and I love that sense of the Holy Spirit speaking to me through a work of fiction. I found myself encouraged and enriched without being preached at.

If you love a romance with lots of tension and an exotic setting, this book is for you. I look forward to reading more of Christine’s work in the future.

Thanks to the author and publisher for a free review copy.

Published in: on 7th August, 2013 at 10:54 am  Leave a Comment  
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Jennifer DeLamere – An Heiress at Heart

July 22 – 26

Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance

Is Introducing

An Heiress at Heart
(Grand Central Publishing)

By

Jennifer DeLamere

2013 Rita nominee

About the Author:
The youngest child of a Navy pilot and a journalist, Jennifer acquired a love of adventure and an excitement for learning that continues to this day. She’s lived in three countries and traveled throughout the United States. An avid reader of classics and historical fiction, she also enjoys biographies and histories, which she mines for the vivid details to bring to life the characters and places in her books. Her debut novel An Heiress at Heart was chosen by Grand Central Publishing to be the first inspirational romance for their Forever imprint. She resides with her husband in the southeastern United States–where, when not writing or dreaming up romantic adventures for her characters, she can be found fantasizing about her next ski trip or international vacation.

Website: http://www.jenniferdelamere.com/

About the Book:
A youthful indiscretion has cost Lizzie Poole more than just her honor. After five years living in exile, she’s finally returning home, but she’s still living a secret life. Her best friend Ria’s dying wish was for Lizzie to assume her identity, return to London, and make amends that Ria herself would never live to make. Bearing a striking resemblance to her friend, and harboring more secrets than ever before, Lizzie embarks on a journey that tempts her reckless heart once again . . .

 

A committed clergyman, Geoffrey Somerville’s world is upended when he suddenly inherits the title of Lord Somerville. Now he’s invited to every ball and sought after by the matchmaking mothers of London society. Yet the only woman to capture his heart is the one he cannot have: his brother’s young widow, Ria. Duty demands he deny his feelings, but his heart longs for the mysterious beauty. With both their futures at stake, will Lizzie be able to keep up her façade? Or will she find the strength to share her secret and put her faith in true love?

Amanda’s Review:

What can I say? I adored this book from debut author Jennifer Delamere. It had all the elements that, for me, make a great read. An Heiress at Heart is a heart-stirring romance, with a dash of suspense and a few surprising twists. It is set in Victorian London with reflections of Australia and carries within its pages a message of hope.

For me, the characters stood out on the page. A noble and honourable hero, a leading lady with a good heart who’s lost her way a little, a nasty villain and a colourful supporting cast kept me turning pages late into the night. I especially enjoyed the somewhat flippant James who provided some comic relief with his witty remarks. I do hope to see more of him in the continuing series of Love’s Grace, because I will definitely be reading more from this author.

I recommend this novel to all lovers of Historical Romance. You won’t be disappointed!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a free review copy.

Published in: on 24th July, 2013 at 10:34 am  Leave a Comment  
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Susan Diane Johnson – No Substitute

1 – 5 July
is introducing No Substitute 

(Pelican Book Group November 30, 2012)

By Susan Diane Johnson 

The Book Depository

 

 

 

 

About the Author

Susan Diane Johnson aka Suzie Johnson

I live on an island in Northwest Washington. A writer of Christian Fiction, my debut novel, No Substitute, is now available from Pelican Book Groups. During the day I work at my local hospital as a cancer registrar. During the evenings and on weekends, I write novels that I hope will bring joy and uplift the hearts of readers. I am married and have one grown son. I love to travel and see new places – especially by train. My favorite destinations are Victoria, B.C.; Williamsburg, Virginia; Disneyland; and Avila Beach in California. I love to read, write, go to baseball games, and ride roller coasters with my son. I am a member of American Christian Fiction Writers;Romance Writers of America; Faith, Hope and Love; National Cancer Registrars Association; and Washington State Tumor Registrars Association.You can find me on Inkwell Inspirations, a daily Christian Women’s blog where I am a regular contributor. You can also find me on my personal blog, Suzie’s Writing Place where I share my faith, my writing, and my love for books. I’m also onFacebook and Pinterest where I can explore my love of beautiful historical clothing, the South of France, beaches, and certain television shows.

About the Book:

Amy Welsh knew when she came back to the small Washington town of Goose Bay she’d eventually run into her high school sweetheart—the one who broke her heart seventeen years ago. Only Quentin Macmillan isn’t the boy she remembered. He could potentially be everything she’s ever dreamed of. But remembering the past reminds Amy that she and Quentin aren’t a pair of teenagers in the bloom of first love. Letting him into her life resurfaces all the hurt she’s tried to ignore. Forgiveness isn’t as simple—or easy—as it sounds, especially after Quentin and Amy discover his teenage daughter has been manipulating their feelings. If Amy can open her heart to healing, she’ll find the future God prepared for her.

Amanda’s Review:

I enjoyed No Substitute. At times it reminded me of my first love as a teenager and the kinds of emotions that went with that. I found the characterisation very realistic, particularly with teenagers as well as adults. The plot also was very believable. Over all No Substitute was a sweet, heart-warming read, and I recommend it to those who enjoy a romance.

Thanks to the author for a free review copy.

Published in: on 3rd July, 2013 at 10:11 am  Comments (3)  
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Finding the Balance

‘We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.’ [1 Timothy 1:8 NIV]

Image by Kostya Kisleyko

Image by Kostya Kisleyko

This verse stood out to me when I was reading my Bible last week. It reminded me of what we say about many things in life when used properly. For example a nail gun. When used properly this tool is very helpful, but if not, it can be downright dangerous.

So then, the law, if not used properly can be dangerous too? Or at the least detrimental? It made me think and reflect on different Scriptures.

The law, when adhered to stringently, can be binding. We can become so inflexible on rules and regulations that we lose sight of grace. We become unbending and judgmental to those around us.

On the other hand, if we become too liberal, taking advantage of the grace offered us through Christ’s death on the cross, we disrespect all that He has done for us. As it says in Hebrews 10, ‘If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left.’

Therefore, it seems we must find a balance — use the law properly. The law must be written on our heart as a high standard we aspire to, though with the knowledge that if we fail from time to time, we are covered by the grace wrought on the cross. Neither living in condemnation nor without any self-control or discipline. The law, when used properly serves to protect us and help us be the best we can be.

Where are you today? On the legalistic, judgmental side, or too liberal with your morality, or have you found the right balance?

Published in: on 24th June, 2013 at 10:52 am  Comments (4)  
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Phillip Cook – Insight

Rather than offer Phillip Cook the usual kind of interview, I asked him to share either how he met his partner, his testimony of faith, or something interesting from his family heritage. Phillip has chosen to tell us about both his testimony and his wife.

Worlds Collide

PCHeadShotI became a Christian late in life after being tossed to and fro by the waves and the winds of life. It was the late eighties (not my age of enlightenment but the timing) and I was living in Sydney. After being born again, I got rather confused by the Christianity message I was receiving from the so-called Christians around me so I decide to attend the Capernwray Bible College in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. Most students at the college were from overseas. It was at Capernwray where I started to build a solid foundation (through God’s word) for my life. It was also at Capernwray where I set my eyes on a pretty young lady. I thought I was blessed when I found out she was from Victoria. Aah, you beauty, another Aussie, but she did talk funny. It turns out there is a place called Victoria in British Colombia, Canada. That’s only 12,000 kilometres away and that’s where this lovely lady lived.

I can get away with a few things here like telling you that this girl had come to Australia looking for a bronzed Aussie and fell madly in love etc etc. But she came to get closer to the Lord and to visit her auntie in Queensland. But it just so happens now that this lovely lady is living in Queensland and we have been together close to 25 years.

I love how God seems to orchestrate these things in our lives, don’t you? Thanks for sharing your story with us, Phillip. Last week I reviewed Phillip’s debut novel, Dead Man’s Journey, which can be read here. What are you working on now, Phillip?

I’m working on a sequel at the moment.  It’s early days yet but the Professor has reappeared and has called on Lucas to help him with a problem he has. It involves the Professor’s granddaughter and revolves around the use of drugs to control depression etc.  The drugs are also used by the ‘enemy’ to stifle the desire to know God.

Sounds like it will be another intriguing read! I will look forward to it. In the meantime, where can we find you on the internet?

I can be found on www.52passages.com. I’m currently working on a series of devotions and this site will be where it all happens.

Thanks for joining me on my blog today, Phillip and all the best with your writing endeavours.
Published in: on 19th June, 2013 at 10:35 am  Leave a Comment  
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