Skid by Rene Gutteridge and a GIVEAWAY!

This was a very fun and exciting read. Although it had many funny parts, it still had enough action in it to keep my attention. I really enjoyed it.

GREAT NEWS! I have one copy of Skid to give away to one lucky commenter. Leave me a comment telling me a joke or something funny and I will put you in a drawing for this wonderful book. Drawing will be June 7th.

About this Book:

Blissfully unaware that Atlantica Flight 1945 from Atlanta to Amsterdam is about to make aviation history, First Officer Danny McSweeney focuses his energies on navigating the turbulent personalities of an eccentric female captain, a co-pilot with a talent for tactless comments and conspiracy theories, and a lead flight attendant with an outsized attitude that definitely exceeds the limits for carry-on baggage.

On the other side of the cockpit door, the unscheduled in-flight entertainment includes a potbellied pig, a jittery diamond courier, and the recently jilted Lucy Meredith, whose personal mantra of “What Would Oprah Do?” will be challenged by the sudden appearance of her ex and his new traveling partner. On her left sits Hank Hazard, whose unusually polite but constant requests–prompted by his covert role as a spy for the airline–test the limits of the crew’s customer service. But as Lucy and the rest of the crew discover, Hank’s odd behavior is linked to a quiet faith that may play a key role in the fate of everyone on board. Especially when an unexpected traveler sets this already bumpy flight on a course toward the unfriendly skies.

About the Author:

Rene Gutteridge is the author of twelve novels, including the Boo series, the Storm series, and the novelization for The Ultimate Gift, as well as Scoop and Snitch, the first two Occupational Hazard novels. She lives with her husband, Sean, and their two children in Oklahoma City.

To purchase this book, click here.

Be Blessed!

Ruby Among Us by Tina Ann Forkner

This was a very good book. The complex relationship of a mother and daughter always captures my attention, as I am a daughter and a mother to two daughters. Tina Ann weaves a story that has meaning, yet is very enjoyable and interesting. I loved it from beginning to end!

About this Book:

Sometimes, the key that unlocks your future lies in someone else’s past...

In Ruby Among Us, Lucy DiCamillo is safely surrounded by her books, music, and art─but none of these reclusive comforts or even the protective efforts of her grandmother, Kitty can shield her from the memory of the mother she can no longer remember. Lucy senses her grandmother holds the key, but Kitty seems as eager to hide from the past as Lucy is eager to find it.

From the streets of San Francisco and Sacramento, to the lush vineyards of the Sonoma Valley, Lucy follows the thread of memory in search for a heritage that seems long-buried with her mother, Ruby.

What she finds is enigmatic and stirring in this redemptive tale about the power of faith and mother-daughter love.

About the Author:

Tina Ann Forkner writes contemporary fiction that challenges and inspires. Originally from Oklahoma, she graduated with honors in English from CSU Sacramento before ultimately settling in the wide-open spaces of Wyoming where she now resides with her husband and their three children. Tina serves on the Laramie County Library Foundation Board of Directors and enjoys gardening, spending time outdoors with her family, and works as a full-time writer.

To purchase this book for your bookshelf, click here.

Be Blessed!

Broken Angel by Sigmund Brouwer

This fantasy-fiction book was well written and full of twists and turns that kept my attention riveted. Although fantasy fiction is not my favorite genre, I really enjoy Sigmund Brouwer's writing. His picture in words skills are amazing. If you are looking for a break from the ordinary, then consider this book for your next read!

About this Book:

Her birth was shrouded in mystery and tragedy.

Her destiny is beyond comprehension.

Her pursuers long to see her broken.

She fights to soar.

In the rough, shadowy hills of Appalachia, a nation carved from the United States following years of government infighting, Caitlyn and her companions are the prey in a terrifying hunt. They must outwit the relentless bounty hunters, skirt an oppressive, ever-watchful society, and find passage over the walls of Appalachia to reveal the dark secrets behind Caitlyn’s existence–and understand her father’s betrayal.

In this engrossing, lightning-paced story with a post-apocalyptic edge, best-selling author Sigmund Brouwer weaves a heroic, harrowing journey through the path of a treacherous culture only one or two steps removed from our own.

About the Author:

Sigmund Brouwer is the award-winning author of scores of books, from youth fiction to adult thrillers. His books has been lauded in publications such as Library Journal and Booklist and he has received the Alberta Film and Literary Arts Writing Grant twice. Sigmund's coolreading.com Web site helps instill good reading and writing habits in the next generation. He has always been committed to speaking at schools and homeschooling conventions to provide encouragement to reluctant readers and writers the same way he was encouraged. In 1993, to further this cause, he co-founded The Young Writer's Institute with education expert Debra Bell. He now meets more than 10,000 children a year travelling to writing camps and seminars.

His SAM KEATON: LEGENDS OF LARAMIE western books recapture the grit, adventure, and romance of the West and bring new life to this well-loved genre. Each book captures the essence of Sigmund's faith as well, supported by an underpinning of morality and redemption.

Sigmund and his wife, recording artist Cindy Morgan, divide their time between Alberta and Nashville.

This book will be out on May 20th, so be sure that you preorder a copy for your library! It will arrive just in time for those summer vacations!

Be Blessed!

Embrace Me by Lisa Samson

About this Book:

Biting and gentle, hard-edged and hopeful...

a beautiful fable of love and power, hiding and seeking, woundedness and redemption.

When a "lizard woman," a self-mutilating preacher, a tattooed monk, and a sleazy lobbyist find themselves in the same North Carolina town one winter, their lives are edging precariously close to disaster...and improbably close to grace.

Valentine, due to her own drastic self-disfigurement, has very few friends in this world and, it appears as if she may be destined to spend the rest of her life practically alone. But life gives her one good friend, Lella, whose own handicap puts her in the same freakish category as Valentine. As part of Roland's Wayfaring Marvel and Oddities Show, a traveling band of misfits, they seem to have found their niches in an often curiously cruel world.

Residing in a world where masks are mandatory, Valentine has a hard time removing hers, because of her disfigured face but more so because of her damaged soul. It is much easier for her to listen endlessly to different versions of a favorite song, Embraceable You, and escape reality. Yet, life has more in store for her when she meets Augustine, replete with the tattoos, dreadlocks, and his own secrets. With his arrival, Valentine's soul takes a turn.

If you would like to read the first chapter, go HERE.

About the Author:

Lisa Samson is a Christy Award-winning author of 19 books, including the Women of the Faith Novel of the Year, Quaker Summer. Lisa has been hailed by Publishers Weekly as "a talented novelist who isn't afraid to take risks."

In Embrace Me, the latest novel by acclaimed author Lisa Samson, readers are privy to the realization that regardless of outward appearances…hideous, attractive, or even ordinary…persons are all looking for the same things: love, forgiveness, and redemption.

This story explores a world that is neither comfortable nor safe, a world that people like Valentine know all too well. Masterfully crafted by Samson and populated by her most compelling cast of characters yet. It is a tale of forgiveness that extends into all spheres of life: forgiving others, forgiving oneself, forgiving the past.

She lives in Lexinton, Kentucky, with her husband and three kids.

To purchase this book for yourself, click here.

Be Blessed!

A Whisper of Freedom by Tricia Goyer and a Fun Meme!

About the Book:

Battles heat up…not only those being waged by the soldiers on both sides fighting for Spain, but in the hearts and minds of the men and women who must sacrifice more than their dreams to save the lives of their loved ones.

In this meticulously researched novel, brave and idealistic Sophie, Philip, Jose, and Deion realize their only hope for freedom is escaping Spain's borders.

By continuing the story of this band of volunteers during the Spanish Civil War, A Whisper of Freedom proves that there are whispers of hope and liberty that resonate through even the darkest night.


About Tricia:

Tricia Goyer is the author of twelve books including From Dust and Ashes, My Life UnScripted, and the children's book, 10 Minutes to Showtime. She won Historical Novel of the Year in 2005 and 2006 from ACFW, and was honored with the Writer of the Year award from Mt. Hermon Writer's Conference in 2003. Tricia's book Life Interrupted was a finalist for the Gold Medallion in 2005. In addition to her novels, Tricia writes non-fiction books and magazine articles for publications like Today's Christian Woman and Focus on the Family. Tricia is a regular speaker at conventions and conferences, and has been a workshop presenter at the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International Conventions. She and her family make their home in the mountains of Montana.

Links:
Book excerpt: http://triciagoyer.com/cmsdocuments/WhisperCh1.doc
Buy the book: http://www.amazon.com/Whisper-Freedom-Chronicles-Spanish-Civil/dp/0802467695

Watch the series trailer: http://cg.creativenuclei.com/wip/TriciaGoyer/cscw.html
Tricia’s website: http://triciagoyer.com/
Tricia’s Blogs: http://triciagoyer.com/blogs.html

During the tour, you (my readers) can enter to win one of FIVE signed copies of A Whisper of Freedom by signing up for Tricia's newsletter here!

A Fun Meme:

1. List three things you would do with a chest full of gold (assuming you got to keep it!) buy a new house, donate to church, and roll around in it!LOL

2. List three charities/missions/organizations you support (and why).
The Crossing (my church). The March of Dimes because of my nephew who was born prematurely. Plead for the Widows because I think that they are forgotten often in the church.

3. List three ways you have volunteered your time/services.
I helped with a walkathon for Plead for the Widows last weekend. I work at my church every Sunday.

4. List three things you keep "hidden" when company comes over.
dirty clothes, dirty dishes, dirty dog

5. List the last three things you've lost.
earring, keys, mindLOL

6. List the last three things you've found.
keys, papers, weight

Three brave "players" will be selected at random to win their own lost gold (Gourmet chocolate coins and all three books in the Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War series). To enter all you have to do is answer the MEME on your blog and then leave a comment on Tricia’s blog tour post here http://triciagoyer.blogspot.com/2008/03/whisper-of-freedom-meme-sticky-post.html that you’ve posted your MEME. Easy.

Be Blessed!

Healing Promises by Amy Wallace

Loved this book! It was such a touching book about how God is in everything-even when we are going through the bad things. I loved the interwoven stories that kept my interest from beginning to end. If you are looking for a meaningful, but interesting, book to read, then look no further than Healing Promises.

About this Book:

Facing a new threat.

When FBI Agent Clint Rollins takes a bullet during a standoff, it might just save his life. But not even the ugly things he’s seen during his years working in the Crimes Against Children Unit could prepare him for the overwhelming powerlessness of hospital tests revealing an unexpected diagnosis. If only Sara weren’t retreating into doctor mode…he needs his wife now more than ever.

Frozen in fear.

Sara Rollins is an oncologist with a mission–beating cancer when she can, easing her patients’ suffering at the very least. Now the life of her tall Texan husband is at stake. She never let the odds steal her hope before, but in this case, the question of God’s healing promises is personal. Can she hold on to the truth she claimed to believe?Faith under fire.As Clint continues to track down a serial kidnapper despite his illness, former investigations haunt his nightmares, pushing him beyond solving the case into risking his life and career. Clint struggles to believe God is still the God of miracles. Especially when he needs not one, but two. Everything in his life is reduced to one all-important question: Can God be trusted?

If you would like to read the first chapter, go HERE

About Amy:

Amy Wallace is the author of Ransomed Dreams, a homeschool mom, and a self-confessed chocoholic. She is a graduate of the Gwinnett County Citizens Police Academy and a contributing author of several books, including God Answers Moms’ Prayers and Chicken Soup for the Soul Healthy Living Series: Diabetes. She lives with her husband and three children in Georgia.

To add this book to your summer reading stack, click here.

Be Blessed!

Sincerely, Mayla by Virginia Smith

Mayla thinks that she has to control every facet in her life, but soon comes to realize that she needs to give that control to God. As a fellow control freak, this book really convicted me about putting it all in God's hands. Although it is difficult, if we can just do that, everything will turn out right. Mayla's story was fun and realistic and kept me enthralled from beginning to end.

About the Book:

Just as life is beginning to come together for spunky, purple-haired Mayla Strong, she loses her job and her boyfriend. When she escapes to sunny Florida, her problems only tag along. In this heartwarming sequel to Just As I Am, Mayla learns how to balance friends, family, and faith while living in a messed-up world.

About Virginia:

Virginia Smith left her job as a corporate director to become a full time writer and speaker with the release of her first novel Just As I Am. Since then she has contracted ten novels and published numerous articles and short stories. She writes contemporary humorous novels for the Christian market, including Murder by Mushroom, Bluegrass Peril, and her new releases, Sincerely, Mayla and Stuck in the Middle. In March of 2008 she was named "Writer of the Year" at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference. An energetic speaker, she loves to exemplify God’s truth by comparing real-life situations to well-known works of fiction, such as her popular talk, “Biblical Truths in Star Trek.”

To purchase this book for your summer reading, click here.

Be Blessed!

Finding Hollywood Nobody by Lisa Samson

I loved this book just as much as the first one. What a wonderful book for teenagers that has such a Godly message and truths. I just wish that my daughters were a little older, so that they could enjoy them with me.

About this Book:

Scotty Fitzgerald, oft-neglected daughter of well-known Hollywood food stylist Charley, knows the “inside scoop” about the Hollywood stars we can’t get enough of. Having spent her life in an RV driving from set to set while her mom “styled food” for celebrities, Scotty sees what the fans do not. And she reveals it regularly on her Hollywood Nobody blog, though she’d rather be as far away from Hollywood as anyone can get. After all, Scotty has enough drama in her own life!
After learning that her ‘mother’ is really her grandmother, Charley finds out her real parents were probably killed in a mafia-style shooting reminiscent of The Sopranos. Scotty’s now certain a sinister “Biker Guy” who’s continued to track her and her mom must be connected to her parents’ shooting. There’s a pretty good chance, she decides, that he’s looking to finish the job by taking her life.

So Scotty and Charley do what they’ve always done—run and avoid the situation. But a life on the run is exhausting and Scotty’s had just about enough—enough to ignore Charley’s motherly direction and chart her own course. Let’s just hope it isn’t a course that puts her in the crosshairs of her own parents’ murderer.

Themes of the Book
Finding identity. Teen Pregnancy. Exploring faith for the first time. Learning to listen to the Holy Spirit. Encountering new environments. Discovering the courage to act on your convictions.

About Lisa:

Lisa Samson is the author of twenty books, including the Christy-Award-winning Songbird. Finding Hollywood Nobody is the second book in the Hollywood series. Lisa is the mother of three children. To learn more, visit lisasamson.typepad.com.

To purchase this book for yourself or a lucky teenager in your life, click here.

Be Blessed!

The Warriors by Mark Andrew Olsen

About this Book:

A failed recon mission deep in the tunnels of Afghanistan has provoked a demonic onslaught that had been brewing for centuries. The mission's sole survivor is reformed black ops assassin Dylan Hatfield, and he once again teams up with Abby Sherman, now at the helm of the Watchers, an ancient spiritual force. Uncovering and preventing a secret wave of death whispered across cyberspace and threatening to be unleash against civilization will require another level of spiritual power and expertise--the Warriors.

Journeying across the Alps of Europe through the multilayered history of warfare in the unseen world, Dylan and Abby uncover an age-old stone engraving that rouses the church's Warriors to action, placing them dead center in one of the fiercest spiritual battles of their time! And once again they are reminded: This is all part of a vast and perpetual war, a war beyond all human conflicts, one that has engulfed heaven and earth since before the dawn of history....

Abby Sherman is headed back to Israel, where a Watcher, the Sentinel of Jerusalem, lies dying. In her last breaths the old woman tells Abby of an ancient document prophesying humanity's full-scale entry into the ongoing conflict between armies of heaven and fallen angels. Dylan Hatfield has decided to answer a summons from his old boss and join a secret operation, its mission to reconnoiter the Afghani tunnel complex from which Osama bin Laden escaped in 2001. What he discovers sears his very soul and likely will end his life.

Abby learns of the peril facing Dylan, and she sends out a call for intercession on his behalf. Her frantic email message sets in motion a series of harrowing events, propelling the two on a new mission and quest--one where the stakes are the lives of millions!

The Warriors is packed with high-octane action, featuring exotic international locales, with characters in a clash against spiritual "principalities and powers" with eternal consequences, The Warriors is a story that will enthrall, enlighten, and engage its readers.

If that piques your interest, you can read the first chapter HERE.

About the Author:

MARK ANDREW OLSEN whose novel The Assignment was a Christy Award finalist, also collaborated on bestsellers Hadassah (now the major motion picture: One Night With the King), The Hadassah Covenant, and Rescued. His last novel was the supernatural thriller The Watchers.

The son of missionaries to France, Mark is a Professional Writing graduate of Baylor University. He and his wife, Connie, live in Colorado Springs with their three children.

To purchase this book for your own library, click here.

Be Blessed!

Broken Angel by Sigmund Brower

This fantasy-fiction book was well written and full of twists and turns that kept my attention riveted. Although fantasy fiction is not my favorite genre, I really enjoy Sigmund Brouwer's writing. His picture in words skills are amazing. If you are looking for a break from the ordinary, then consider this book for your next read!

About this Book:

Her birth was shrouded in mystery and tragedy.

Her destiny is beyond comprehension.

Her pursuers long to see her broken.

She fights to soar.

In the rough, shadowy hills of Appalachia, a nation carved from the United States following years of government infighting, Caitlyn and her companions are the prey in a terrifying hunt. They must outwit the relentless bounty hunters, skirt an oppressive, ever-watchful society, and find passage over the walls of Appalachia to reveal the dark secrets behind Caitlyn’s existence–and understand her father’s betrayal.

In this engrossing, lightning-paced story with a post-apocalyptic edge, best-selling author Sigmund Brouwer weaves a heroic, harrowing journey through the path of a treacherous culture only one or two steps removed from our own.

About the Author:

Sigmund Brouwer is the award-winning author of scores of books, from youth fiction to adult thrillers. His books has been lauded in publications such as Library Journal and Booklist and he has received the Alberta Film and Literary Arts Writing Grant twice. Sigmund's coolreading.com Web site helps instill good reading and writing habits in the next generation. He has always been committed to speaking at schools and homeschooling conventions to provide encouragement to reluctant readers and writers the same way he was encouraged. In 1993, to further this cause, he co-founded The Young Writer's Institute with education expert Debra Bell. He now meets more than 10,000 children a year travelling to writing camps and seminars.

His SAM KEATON: LEGENDS OF LARAMIE western books recapture the grit, adventure, and romance of the West and bring new life to this well-loved genre. Each book captures the essence of Sigmund's faith as well, supported by an underpinning of morality and redemption.

Sigmund and his wife, recording artist Cindy Morgan, divide their time between Alberta and Nashville.

This book will be out on May 20th, so be sure that you preorder a copy for your library! It will arrive just in time for those summer vacations!

Be Blessed!

The Winners Are....

I have two winners today!

The winner of My Soul to Keep is WindyCindy.

And

The winner of A Mending at the Edge and Clearing In the Wild is Carole.

Thanks everyone for entering and come back for more! More giveaways are coming up soon!

Be Blessed,

The Big Picture by Jenny B. Jones

This book was such a fun read! I wish that my daughters were old enough to enjoy it with me! If you are looking for wholesome, fun, and God-filled fiction for your teenage daughters, check out this book by Jenny Jones and the others that she has written. You will not be disappointed!

About this Book:

Sometimes there’s a fine line between comedy and tragedy—and Katie Parker is walking it.

School is winding down for the summer but Katie Parker is having a bad day. After leaving the drive-in, where her imploding love life was the main attraction, Katie arrives home to a big surprise on the Scott's front porch. Her mother, Bobbie Ann Parker, a former convict and recovering addict, wants to take Katie away from her family, friends, and church. Now Katie's life will be changed by a series of dramatic choices as she struggles to understand what family and home really means.

Katie is forced to walk away from In Between, leaving behind a family who loves her, a town drive-in to save, and a boyfriend who suddenly can’t take his eyes off his ex. When the life her mother promised begins to sink faster than one of Maxine’s stuffed bras, Katie knows she needs to rely on God to keep it together. But where is he in all this? Can Katie survive a chaotic life with her mother—and one without the Scotts? And if God is there, will he come through before it’s too late?

A Katie Parker Production series offers teen girls real-world fiction balanced by hope and humor. The The Big Picture helps us realize that the difficult chapters in our journey are only part of God's big story for our lives.

You can read the first chapter HERE.

About Jenny:

Jenny B. Jones is the author of A Katie Parker Production series. The other books in the series are In Between and On The Loose. Though now an adult, she still relates to the trauma and drama of teen life. She is thrilled to see her writing dreams come true, as her previous claim to fame was singing the Star Spangled Banner at a mule-jumping championship. (The mules were greatly inspired.)

Jenny resides in Arkansas, where, as a teacher, she hangs out with teens on a regular basis.

To purchase this book for your favorite teenager, click here.

Be Blessed!