Author Archives: Janet Sketchley

About Janet Sketchley

Janet Sketchley is an Atlantic Canadian writer whose Redemption’s Edge Christian suspense novels have each been finalists in The Word Awards. She's also the author of the devotional collection, A Year of Tenacity. Janet blogs about faith and books. She loves Jesus and her family, and enjoys reading, worship music, and tea. Fans of Christian suspense are invited to join her writing journey through her monthly newsletter: bit.ly/JanetSketchleyNews.

Blogging Book Reviews: Benefits and Tips

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If you read books, it’s a natural progression to talk about them on your blog. Here are six benefits, plus some tips to get you started.

1. New Content

Bloggers have an ongoing need of material. You’re reading anyway; why not get some extra mileage from it?

2. Attract Visitors

Some visitors who find my blog for reviews stay as subscribers, and some write blogs that I’ve added to my own reading list.

3. Promote Your Blog

Join a readers’ group on Facebook and post your review link. Tweet the link with an eye-catching phrase and the hashtag #review.

4. Value Added

If you review books with content related to your other posts, you’re providing resources for your community of readers.

5. Help Others

Your reviews can help readers discover books they’ll love, and they raise awareness of authors you like.

6. Free Books

Publishers and authors provide free books to reviewers, and you only choose the ones you want. (I review for Graf-Martin and BookSneeze®, and I’ve just set up with NetGalley. An Internet search will turn up more options.)

Blogging Book Reviews 101

Be yourself; use your regular blogging voice. Start with a book you think your readers might appreciate.

Keep it short, 300-400 words. Write a brief description (no spoilers!), tell what works (or anything key that doesn’t) and share your personal reaction. Include cover art if possible and a link to the author’s website.

If you didn’t like the book, think twice about reviewing it. Don’t turn it into a personal attack on the author. Be professional.

If you decide to make this a regular feature, don’t schedule it so tightly that you turn reading into work.

If you were given the book for review purposes, or if you’re using Amazon (or other) affiliate links, include a disclosure to that effect.

[This post originally appeared in Carolyn Wilker‘s monthly newsletter, FineTuned, October 2012 edition.]

Obeying Because We Trust

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All [God] does is just and good,
and all his commandments are trustworthy.
They are forever true,
to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity.
Psalm 111:7-8, NLT*

We may struggle with obeying God, but we never need worry about the quality of His leadership. He’s not like a human leader who may be mistaken or manipulative.

When I think of “all His commandments,” I think of the Ten Commandments and of Jesus’ teachings, not of the hundreds of legalistic man-made rules the old teachers of the law made to teach people how to apply the law.

Some of His principles seem upside-down to our thinking: give to receive, die to live, humble yourself to be exalted. They don’t look sensible to our eyes, but they work. Will we choose to trust what God says, or what we see?

God who is enthroned above the heavens but yet whose Spirit dwells in our hearts, You’ve proven Your character, authority and goodness time and again. Help us choose to trust and obey the commandments and principles You’ve set out, because we trust that You are good.

∞

What if we really lived like we believed everything God says? Be inspired by Matt Redman’s song, “We Could Change the World.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxmouLuz438

*New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Review: When Will the Dead Lady Sing? by Patricia Sprinkle

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When Will the Dead Lady Sing? by Patricia Sprinkle (Signet, 2004)

MacLaren and Joe Riddley Yarbrough live in the small town of Hopemore, Georgia. She’s a county magistrate, and he had the job before her. They have married children and school-age grandchildren, so these aren’t your traditional 20-somethings.

They were childhood sweethearts, and the long relationship has developed some delightful banter between them. There’s also a secret between them, one MacLaren hoped would never surface: in university, she briefly dated someone else behind Joe Riddley’s back.

That man is now somewhat of a hero to Joe Riddley. What’s she to do when he turns up in town, complete with a political entourage and a live buffalo?

And when she finds a dead body who’s linked to the man, things get even worse. Mac has promised her husband she’ll stay out of investigating, but the local sheriff is short on sense. I assume that’s how she’s gotten involved in previous mysteries, too.

When Will the Dead Lady Sing? is book 7 in the Thoroughly Southern Mystery series, and the first one I’ve read. I plan to go back and start at the beginning. The author thoughtfully provides an opening list of the characters to help keep them straight.

This is a mainstream mystery with some Christian characters. In the story, MacLaren and Joe Riddley attend church, send a homeless man to a church-funded soup kitchen (and then regret that they didn’t help him more), and pray for their grandson when he gets in trouble. Nothing preachy or flashy, and everything serves a purpose in the plot.

The characters, Christian and non, are real, feeling people. Some are a bit eccentric, as you’d expect in a humour-tinged southern mystery. They fit with Patricia Sprinkle’s delightful voice (as spoken through first person narrator, Mac).

Patricia Sprinkle has published many mysteries, including the Thoroughly Southern Mysteries and the Family Tree Series, but somehow I hadn’t read any of her novels. When another mystery author, Jayne E. Self, interviewed her I enjoyed the interview and liked the humour in some of her titles. Her name sounded familiar, and a search turned up When Will the Dead Lady Sing, deep in my to-read stash. [Read the interview: Part 1 and Part 2]

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Fog

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The lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, in the fog
Photo credit: Janet Sketchley

I love to walk in the fog. My world shrinks, cocooned in a soft, grey blanket. I feel peaceful and secure. Given that I live in Atlantic Canada’s coastal region, that’s probably a good thing.

Fog simply is. It has no intent, benevolent or malicious. Our individual natures shape how it affects us. Some thrive in it, while others feel oppressed and caged in. It saps their energy and weighs them down.

Our lives are often a lot like that. Things happen that are outside of our control. Panic wells up inside of us when events seem to be moving too fast, or taking a direction we don’t like. How should we respond? Who knows what’s ahead?

We can’t choose our circumstances any more than our favourite weather patterns. They come to us, filtered through God’s loving fingers. The only control we have is over our choice of response.

In a way, it’s like driving in the fog. We creep along, wearing down the brake pads and straining to see ahead. The limits are suddenly too close. What was perfectly safe for a pedestrian doesn’t allow enough reaction time at a faster pace, and the headlights reflect back at us instead of showing the way.

It’s different when we’re passengers. As long as we trust the driver’s ability, we may as well relax. We have neither control over nor responsibility for a safe arrival at our destination. The decisions are out of our hands. We can fret or enjoy the ride; the results will be the same.

If our lives are a journey, travelling sometimes through poor visibility, sometimes through clear sunlight, where would we rather be, behind the wheel or in the passenger seat? (Well, truthfully, I’d like to take over in the sunny places!)

God is our Creator. He is somehow bigger than time, not limited by it like we are. The Bible says He knows the end from the beginning, and the Old Testament prophets have shown this to be true.

He knows what the future hides from us. We’re free to choose our own way, but accepting His wise guidance gives us a better chance. It’s as if He’s the cartographer who drew the map. Suddenly the limited vision, the daunting unknowns, cease to threaten. He understands the dangers, and can navigate us through them. And He will never abandon us.

The Psalmist declared that even when his path was dark and dangerous, he would fear no evil, because God would be with him to comfort and protect him. When our road gets bumpy, and the fog closes in on us, God is holding the wheel. He can get us safely to the end of our journey. I’m glad it’s not up to us.

[This post first appeared as an article in the Spring 1999 issue of Esprit.]

Choosing to Believe God

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The people refused to enter the pleasant land,
for they wouldn’t believe his promise to care for them.
Psalm 106:24, NLT*

The Psalmist is recapping Israel’s history, and this verse refers to the first time God brought them to the edge of the Promised Land, when they believed a frightening report of the dangers ahead instead of remembering how God had kept them safe thus far.

“They wouldn’t believe His promise to care for them.” I’m sure that’s not how they saw it. They’d probably say they were being realistic, facing facts. After all, the scouts reported giants in the land. What chance did they have?

They forgot they had God on their side. The same God who’d broken Pharaoh with plagues and destroyed his army after parting the Red Sea. The same God who’d given them water in the desert and daily bread from heaven.

The same God who disciplined them when they disobeyed or got too demanding.

They forgot. We do, too.

All-powerful and holy God, Your promises are true and Your hand is mighty to defend us. Forgive us for the times we trust our own eyes and ears instead of trusting Your word. Help us remember what You’ve revealed about Yourself, and help us choose to believe You.

∞

Jeremy Camp’s song, “Walk By Faith,” is a good reminder for us.

Review: Murder a Cappella, by James R. Callan and Diane Bailey

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Murder a Cappella, by James R. Callan and Diane Bailey (Wayside Press, 2012)

The stereotypical image of barbershop music is a quartet of older men in straw hats, singing four-part harmony. What most people outside barbershop circles don’t know is that A) men’s quartets and choruses have young and middle-aged guys too, and B) there are ladies’ quartets and choruses. And both groups have regional, district and international competitions.

So… the scene is San Antonio, Texas. The Alamo plaza, to be precise, where an identically-dressed quartet of female barbershoppers is part of an open-air concert. It’s part of the Sweet Adelines’ international competition, and women have travelled from all over the US and beyond to participate.

When a sniper kills two members of the quartet, is it random violence? Or is someone after the singers?

Barbershopper Tina Overton is in town for the competition, but she’s a cop in her other life. The victims were her friends, and she wants to help find their killer. She works herself into the investigation as a liaison between the San Antonio police and the Sweet Adelines.

This is a mainstream novel and there’s some minor profanity. Because a lot of my readers are Christian, I’ll warn you there’s one instance of Jesus’ name used as a curse. The sad thing is, another word would have done as well and been less offensive. Otherwise, the novel’s a good read.

By definition, a competition for barbershop choruses involves a lot of characters. While only a few are central to the story, like Tina, Angela and the detective, there are a number of interactions with what I’ll call “mid-level” characters. At times I got their names jumbled. If you’re prone to that sort of thing, I’d suggest taking a blank paper for a bookmark and jotting down each person as s/he appears. First and last name (the detective uses surnames) and a cue, like “director.” It’s times like this I wish for the Agatha Christie-style cast list.

Murder a Cappella is the first barbershop-themed mystery I’ve read, and the authors do a fine job of balancing the intricate behind-the-scenes world of the women’s international competition with the unfolding mystery and clues. The solution took me by surprise.

If you’re a barbershopper, you’ll nod and smile at some of the details and situations. If you’re not, you’ll learn a bit about something new. You won’t feel lost in jargon or technicalities. This is Tina’s first time at International, and she’s new enough to her chorus that if there’s anything you need to know, she’ll need to know too. Her friend and mentor Angela will explain it in a non-disruptive way.

You can learn about co-authors James R. Callan and Diane Bailey at their respective websites. For more about Murder a Cappella, to read chapter 1 or to view the book trailer, visit the Sweet Adelines Mystery site. Yes, there will be more Sweet Adeline Mysteries. And that’s a good thing.

[review copy from my personal library]

Tips and Links on Writing Fiction

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I took in as many writing workshops as I could at this year’s Hal-Con science fiction/ fantasy/ gaming convention. Many of the writing tips apply across fiction genres, so I thought I’d share some of my notes:

From C. S. MacCath: a great overview of open-source (or minimal cost) software for things like organizing notes, story creation, mind mapping and backups. See her Technology for Writers page on her website.

From Matt LeDrew and Ellen Curtis of Engen Books:

Sometimes, instead of a villain, you need a foil for the main character.
Find out who your characters are outside of the story.
If your characters are too similar, let that type be your main character (MC); designate another to always agree, another to always want to prove MC wrong, and another to have yet a different quirk. (Not to create plastic characters, but to train yourself to write with variety. You can edit any stiffness out later.)

From Elizabeth Moon (who was not at the convention, but whose novel, Engaging the Enemy, I slipped off to read between sessions):

Two characters had different strategies to understand their enemy. Both points made good sense for a writer presenting a character:
- “What he does tells us who he is, what he’s really like.”
- “What he wears tells us who he thinks he is.”

From Brandon Sanderson:

Revolve your plot around conflict.
Don’t make your main character an observer; make her the centre of the conflict. She needs to make the plot move, although the story opening can be a call to action where she’s pushed into the plot.
Story structure needs to maintain a good sense of progression on multiple levels; the reader’s feeling of movement is what keeps him turning pages.
What does the character want, and why can’t he have it?
- what does he want = larger than this story’s plot
- why can’t he have it = plot
- Be intentional in your story opening about the promises you make; fulfill them.
  - genre/ feel/ style
  - make sure your ending wraps up what your opening raised
  - Nest multiple plot threads by priority (start the most important first, end it last)
  - Videos of his 2012 writing lectures are posted at Write About Dragons.
  - He’s one of the team at Writing Excuses (podcasts and news updates). I love their tag line: “Fifteen minutes long, because you’re in a hurry, and we’re not that smart.”

Random bonus photo: Hal-Con’s mascot, Nelson, with my Adventure Sheep, Acton, at a Hal-Con fundraising barbecue hosted by the fine folks at Giant Robot Comics.

Hal-Con’s Mascot, Nelson, with Acton the Sheep

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Transplanted to Flourish

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For [the godly] are transplanted to the Lord’s own house.
They flourish in the courts of our God.
Even in old age they will still produce fruit;
they will remain vital and green.
They will declare, “The Lord is just!
He is my rock!
There is no evil in him!”
Psalm 92:13-15, NLT*

Transplanted trees… usually they come from the nursery (or forest) with their roots in a ball of dirt. Scrawny ones may be pulled out of poor soil with bare roots, or their roots may even need washing before being plunged into good ground.

It’s amazing that God would take humans in all our messiness, clean us and label us “godly,” and transplant us into His own house — into His presence. May we not stand there, roots clenched tight into the clot of dirt they came with. May we consciously poke our roots into the wide, deep, nourishing ground of God’s presence. May we flourish. May we thrive.

God of grace and mercy, what can we say but “Thank You”? Help us grow into all You’ve designed us to be, with our confidence fully rooted in You.

∞

With the thought of flourishing in the courts of the Lord, here’s Kutless with “Better is One Day.” This is a new version to me, and I like what they’ve done with it.

Review: Trading in Danger, by Elizabeth Moon

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Trading in Danger, by Elizabeth Moon (Vatta’s War #1) (Del Rey, 2004)

Kylara Vatta chose a military career over the family’s interstellar shipping business. When she’s kicked out of the academy for a lapse in judgment, the best way to avoid the media frenzy is to accept her father’s assignment to deliver an old ship to a distant planet for scrap.

The job comes with a Captain’s rank and a seasoned crew. The ship’s not in too bad a shape, but it won’t pass its next inspection without expensive repairs. If Ky can pick up some good trades en route to the scrap yard, she could buy the ship herself, fix it up and go independent.

Following the family mantra of “trade and profit” puts Kylara and crew in the middle of an unforeseen interplanetary war. A civilian captain without Ky’s military training would panic and be killed. Young though she is, Kylara has a chance of bringing her crew out alive.

As well as action and adventure, the novel provides an interesting look at cultures, trading customs, and diplomacy. Characters are nominally religious, although that means choosing a sect to suit one’s philosophy. There’s no acceptance of an actual God (or devil).

Trading in Danger is the first in the Vatta’s War series. I want to see how some of the ongoing plot threads work out, and I enjoy watching Ky in action. She’s a strong female hero and I like her style. [At the time of posting this review, I’m ready to start book 4.]

I’d suggest picking up book 2, Marque and Reprisal, with the first book. I didn’t do that, and then I read the first chapter (included at the end of book 1). Suffice to say it starts with a bang and the chapter end is not a spot you want to stop.

Elizabeth Moon writes both science fiction and fantasy. To learn more about her and her books, visit her website, appropriately named Moonscape. Her novels have won Compton Crook, Nebula and Heinlein Awards and been nominated for a Hugo. I owe a special thanks to James at Fantasy in Motion for introducing me to this author through his interview with Elizabeth Moon.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Masquerade: Am I a Fraud? Guest Post by Deb Elkink

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MASQUERADE: AM I A FRAUD?

Guest Post by Deb Elkink

My character Ebenezer MacAdam owns Incognito Costume Shop and individually recommends rentals based on a client’s personal character. He says,

I’d like to think the purpose of my costumes has been to reveal the real in this masked and disguised generation. But on a grander scale, I myself am being unmasked and my failure laid open to my own view. So many of my years I spent fearing to be discovered for the fraud I really am. Yet here it is the autumn of my life and I stand naked, as it were, before a Judge more kindly than myself. (The Third Grace, p. 74)

Eb’s words issue from a conflicted spot in my own soul. I’d like to think the purpose of my writing is to speak a message of truth to this generation and yet—like him—the very act of my service exposes me to the truth of my own shortcomings. Doesn’t my choice of words (like his choice of costumes) say more about my own heart attitude than that of the reader whose heart I’m judging?

I, too, fear being found out for the fraud I really am.

It started early in my life—this suspicion that I wasn’t all that I wished I were or that I portrayed myself to be. When I memorized my spelling list and won the elementary bee, I was self-satisfied but suspected the triumph was a fluke. When I earned honours in graduate school, I delighted in the accomplishment but credited grade inflation. Innately knowing that proficiency can become the breeding ground of pride, I tend to demur: “Oh no, I’m not that talented. It was luck. I don’t deserve the praise.”

There’s actually a psychological label slapped on this condition when it’s pathological: “Imposter Syndrome.” I rush to say that I’ve not been diagnosed; most healthy people to some degree attribute success to luck, reject compliments, or think, “Anyone could have done this.” I suspect it’s a well-intentioned attempt at humility.

What’s the line between humility and hypocrisy?

Jesus denounced as hypocrites those who ostentatiously fulfilled religious responsibility for public applause, describing the sanctimonious Pharisees with hearts full of greed and self-indulgence as whitewashed tombs and dirty cups (Matt. 6:2, 5, 16; 23:25-28). The word “hypocrite” comes from the Greek stage, where an actor would hold up a mask indicating one emotion while displaying a juxtaposing facial expression revealing his true feelings. “These people honour me with their lips,” Jesus said, “but their heart is far from me” (Matt. 15:8 NIV). Hypocrites receive their reward in this life; no reward awaits them in Heaven.

The deciding factor between true humility and the falseness of hypocrisy, then, seems to be the heart intention of the worshipper/writer; honouring the Lord with my lips/keyboard for temporal reward isn’t synonymous with bringing my heart close to Him. The very public nature of writing for reader feedback (comment on a blog, payment for an article, placement in a competition) forces me to investigate my motives.

Does my façade match my heart attitude?

The sixteenth-century Reformer John Calvin wrote in his Institutes (1.1.1-2),

Without knowledge of self, there is no knowledge of God . . . Without knowledge of God there is no knowledge of self.

The only way to know God is through His Word (Living via Written). Humility is seeing myself as I really am, in light of God’s gifting. When I look clearly and honestly at my own heart, I am driven back into the Bible, where I must face my motivation and ask myself truly:

Do I write for recognition by my readers or for reward by my Creator?

The stardust of long-awaited, hard-won, now-realized publication threatens to blind me. The only way I see to avoid hypocrisy—that veneer of false humility—is to face the “shaming nakedness” (as Calvin put it) of my own insufficient human efforts. This readies me for the revelation of the righteousness that exists in God alone, the thrill of embracing His gifts to me. I can see myself in perspective not as I measure up to my idea of authorial success but only as I see God’s flawless provision for my imperfection. On this basis I take joy in unearned grace (of salvation, of course, but also of ongoing achievements) while simultaneously facing my fear of exposure without hiding behind a mask of self-effacement. God is the ground of my humility, the Giver of all gifts for the purpose of His glory.

I find writing to be a humbling and unmasking experience.

Deb Elkink, recipient of the 2012 Grace Irwin Award (sponsored by The Word Guild) for her debut novel, The Third Grace, writes from her cottage on the banks of a creek in southern Alberta. Visit her sometime: www.debelkink.com.

Watch the book trailer for The Third Grace, and read a review of The Third Grace. Check out all the stops on Deb’s blog tour, and maybe win a Kindle Fire HD.

Janet Sketchley

Writing Christian Mysteries & Suspense

Author Archives: Janet Sketchley

About Janet Sketchley

Blogging Book Reviews: Benefits and Tips

[This post originally appeared in Carolyn Wilker‘s monthly newsletter, FineTuned, October 2012 edition.]

Obeying Because We Trust

Review: When Will the Dead Lady Sing? by Patricia Sprinkle

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Fog

[This post first appeared as an article in the Spring 1999 issue of Esprit.]

Choosing to Believe God

Review: Murder a Cappella, by James R. Callan and Diane Bailey

[review copy from my personal library]

Tips and Links on Writing Fiction

Transplanted to Flourish

Review: Trading in Danger, by Elizabeth Moon

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Masquerade: Am I a Fraud? Guest Post by Deb Elkink

Photo credits: Colourful window of masks: Deb Elkink; Lacy black masks: Lorenda Harder. Photos used by permission.