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.

Review: Moon over Maalaea Bay, by H.L. Wegley

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Moon Over Maalaea Bay, by H.L. Wegley (Harbourlight Books, 2014)

Moon over Maalaea Bay is book 3 in the Pure Genius series, and it picks up hours after the end of book 2 (On the Pineapple Express). If you plan to read this series from the beginning, stop here or you’ll find out more than you want to know about plot points from the earlier books.

Still with me? Okay. Brilliant and beautiful Jennifer Akihara and her fiancé, Lee Brandt, were instrumental in breaking open one arm of an international human trafficking ring and rescuing teenage girls who would have been sold into terrible situations.

The couple has earned a break, and how better to spend it than honeymooning in Hawaii? Except now there’s not just one group of villains wanting revenge on Jennifer, there are two. Thanks to the publicity surrounding the captured girls’ rescue, both groups know where to find her.

One takes her. Frantic with worry, Lee doesn’t trust the local police (and the FBI who quickly swarm the area) to move fast enough. He, Jennifer’s grandfather, and Katie, who will be the Brandts’ adopted daughter as soon as the paperwork is finished, set out to find Jenn before it’s too late.

The novel alternates between Jenn’s and Lee’s points of view, and the pace doesn’t let up. I’m glad I read the previous book and developed a trust for H.L. Wegley’s writing. Jennifer’s enemies have an extremely bad ending planned for her, and I wouldn’t have wanted to risk what a new-to-me author might include in the text. Mr. Wegley conveys the danger without anything graphic or gratuitous.

The entire novel spans roughly 24 hours as Lee races to save his wife and Jennifer uses all her wits to find a way to escape. This is a Christian novel, and one of the things Lee grapples with is how much harder it is to trust God to look after the woman he loves than it is to trust Him with his own life or death.

As well as the action (including some impressive Karate from Katie) I enjoyed the chance to vicariously swim with the giant sea turtles off the Maalaea Bay beach. An end note from H.L. Wegley reveals that Hawaii is his favourite vacation spot, and I’m sure that has a lot to do with how authentic the setting feels.

There will be one more book in the Pure Genius series, releasing later this year. H.L. Wegley blogs at The Weather Scribe, and his novels offer “A climate of suspense and a forecast of stormy weather.”

[Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.]

He Can Do it Again

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He stands motionless in the dim light, his back to the door. The fashionable linen shirt droops from his tired shoulders, heavy with grime. We can almost taste the air that he breathes: dank and foul… steeped in the aroma of unwashed bodies, mouldy walls and accumulated filth… heavily spiced with fear and hopelessness.

This time, it looks like the end. Have his enemies finally triumphed?

Tension mounts, but we’re sure he’ll come up with a plan. He’s the Scarlet Pimpernel, nemesis of all that is evil within Revolutionary France. We’ve already seen him achieve the impossible. Of course he can do it again; the thrill for the audience is to see just how. (I’m thinking of the 1982 version of The Scarlet Pimpernel. See the 8-minute mark in this YouTube clip.)

He faces his peril coolly. And why shouldn’t he—he’s a fictional character. The writer protects him. It’s different for us. The threats in our lives are real, and we stand to lose.

We’re on our own.

Or are we? There was once a king named Jehoshaphat who thought otherwise. He believed his Author was responsible for making a way out at his crucial hour. Second Chronicles 20 tells the story, and it ranks alongside Hollywood’s most edge-of-the-seat thrillers.

An overwhelming army was marching on Jerusalem. Jehoshaphat was helpless to stop the slaughter of his people. In desperation, he proclaimed a national fast. And he prayed.

Unlike many of our prayers, Jehoshaphat’s wasn’t full of suggestions for how God might solve the problem. He praised God, reminding himself and the people of God’s omnipotence. He reviewed the facts: the attackers were only alive to fight because God had earlier forbidden their destruction.

Facing annihilation, Jehoshaphat concluded simply, “O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.” (2 Chronicles 20:12, NLT*) And he waited.

God’s answer sounded too good to be true. Israel wouldn’t even have to fight. They were to meet the advancing army, then stand and watch God do battle on their behalf.

For Israel, hearing was receiving. Jehoshaphat led the people in worship of this God who would take care of them. They worshiped and they praised. They were still praising the next day when they saw God rout their enemies.

Jehoshaphat’s case was special. Most times, God’s deliverance involved more than “watch and see.” His people had—we have today—a role to play in the solution. God empowered Israel’s armies, but they usually had to fight.

The Old Testament view of God pictured, among other things, a strong deliverer. He watched over His chosen people, essentially requiring only two things: they were to love Him wholeheartedly, and to obey Him. As long as they did, He took care of them. When they drifted away from loving Him, discipline brought them back.

Both the protection and the discipline had a dual purpose. Israel was helped, while at the same time other nations saw the character and power of Almighty God.

Our own experiences tell us God still looks after His people. It’s vital that we remember what He has done (in our lives and throughout history) and expect the same level of care now. He hasn’t changed. This gives our faith the necessary springboard to launch us into each day.

Nothing is too hard or too insignificant to bring to God: failing health, crumbling finances, or a sobbing child’s lost soother. We are significant to Him, and so He hears our prayers.

He will care for us His way, though, not ours. We may endure some things we’d rather escape. But He will always be with us, making a way. Whatever the day holds, will we love Him, and willingly follow His lead? Look to Him in childlike and expectant trust? Let others know we’re depending on His promise to care for us?

Then, like with Israel long ago, the people around us will see God’s love and power in action. The word will go out: God is relevant to our lives. He does make a difference.

Our God is the God of Jehoshaphat—Nemesis of all that is evil within our world. He is the Author and Sustainer of the universe. We’ve already seen Him achieve the impossible. Of course He can do it again; the thrill for the believer is to see just how.

*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.

This post was originally printed in Evangel, February 2003.

God Isn’t Finished With Us Yet

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Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you,
nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.
Isaiah 59:1, NLT*

Last week I posted about the need to draw apart for quiet moments with God. As sometimes happens, God was speaking to my friend Ginny Jaques about the same thing: see her post, Meeting God Under the Fig Tree.

Where my need was to sit with God and be still with Him, remembering our relationship and His power, Ginny needed a “fireside chat” with Him to pour out her concerns for our culture, our world, and where it looks like it’s heading. (Do take time to read her post from the link above. It will encourage you.)

I carry the same concerns, about our God-ignoring culture and about the way even Christians don’t seem awake to the importance of living God’s way. We don’t dare go back to legalism, but often we as God’s people don’t look much different in our attitudes and behaviours than the people who don’t know Him. As if God’s call to holy living was only a suggestion, or His definitions have changed over time.

We need to live by God’s standards while being genuine and approachable. For some of us, that means remembering that Jesus is rightfully Lord of our lives and has a claim on our behaviour. For others, it means risking transparency so our non-Christian friends can see we’re different. For all of us, it means guarding our relationship with God and growing deeper in relationship with Him.

I love how creative God is in communicating. He used Ginny’s post to stir my thoughts about this and to bring me to a prayer of repentance for myself and for much of the North American church. Then He reminded me of today’s verse. It’s not over, and it’s not hopeless. In the long history of God and humans, this has happened many times. God can bring us back to where we need to be. He’s done it before, and His strength has not weakened over time.

God’s arm is still strong to save, and what is our proof? Our hope-anchor? Once He realigned my perspective through the verse, He brought me a song, “Thank You for the Cross.” It doesn’t end with us and our efforts. This is God’s work, and our weakness isn’t enough to eclipse His strength.

Mighty and holy God, it’s a good thing You know our weaknesses—and an even better thing that You are mighty to save and loving, to forgive. Speak to each one of us. Reveal anything that needs to change. We are very much works in progress, and we need Your help. Restore, revive, renew us and make us useful to Your Kingdom. Though we fail, let none be lost because of it. Have mercy on the hurting, and draw them to Yourself. Thank You for Your plan as revealed through the Cross, and for what You will do.

∞

Here’s Kathryn Scott with “Thank You for the Cross.”

*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: The Pregnant Pause of Grief, by Brenda J. Wood

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The Pregnant Pause of Grief, by Brenda J. Wood (Word Alive, 2013)

“I’ve trusted God and His promises for years. Will they hold true in widowhood? I don’t know yet.” [p. 4]

So begins Brenda J. Wood’s poignant account of her “first trimester of widowhood” after the loss of her beloved husband, Ron. The book is written as a series of journal entries, in a conversational style as if Brenda were talking with the reader via email.

She writes about whatever’s on her mind that day, from spontaneous tears in public to fear of forgetting Ron to what she’s learning from God on how to cope. As hard as this new life is, she’s determined to push forward into it, even to laugh again. Ron wouldn’t want her to give in to the misery.

Most of the book is written during the third month ‘AR’ (After Ron’s passing), but the final pages include Ron’s testimony of the difference God made in his life, with brief notes from Brenda taking us past the anniversary of his death.

Brenda and Ron weren’t a perfect couple, but they loved each other deeply and for almost 50 years. One of the main take-aways from this book is the call to love our family and friends well, while we have them in our lives.

It’s a book that can help those who haven’t lost a spouse to understand the thoughts, emotions and needs of a grieving widow or widower. For example, I didn’t know that finances are often in short supply in the early months until the government, insurances etc catch up on the paperwork.

I think it would be a good resource to let newly-grieving readers know what they’re going through is normal.

One of the things I found most encouraging was Brenda’s determination to remember how God had looked after them in the past and her choice to believe that even in this new, painful place, God still had the power and the compassion to care for her.

Brenda J. Wood is a motivational speaker and writer based in Ontario. She’s also written a book to help children deal with grief, The Big Red Chair. You can read the first chapter of The Pregnant Pause of Grief or learn more about the author on her website, heartfeltdevotionals.com.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

The Sheep Who Attended a Writers’ Conference

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It started as a joke.

One of my sons offered his stuffed sheep as a travelling companion when I packed for Write! Canada in 2012. I have a sheep of my own (named Acton) but he’s big enough to count as carry-on luggage.

Taking a break between flights in Montreal

Wilhelm, on the other hand, stands maybe 4 inches tall. And he’s cute as all get-out.

He came along. We had some fun on the way.

Then I decided to smuggle him into the first conference session, just so I could say he’d been there.

I listen at Write! Canada. To the faculty, to my fellow attendees, and to God. This theme showed up early: Look. Listen. Recapture wonder and curiosity.

Look at that face. Could it get more wide-eyed and wonder-filled?

Wilhelm rode in my shoulder bag all conference, peeking out as a visual aid to remind me of the lesson. Unprofessional? Maybe. Quirky? Yup. Conversation starter? Definitely.

We came home with two new books on writing. Have you read either of these? I confess I haven’t read the fantasy one yet, but my review of Unleash the Writer Within is here, and I highly recommend this book.

A Quiet Moment with God

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“Step out of the traffic! Take a long,
loving look at me, your High God,
above politics, above everything.”
Psalm 46:10, MSG*

Traffic noise: motors, horns, someone’s booming stereo. Dust. Exhaust fumes. Movement everywhere.

We get used to navigating life in the middle of it all. This verse caught my attention, invited me to take a time out.

Then I saw this tweet from Sheila Wray Gregoire:

Have you and your spouse talked about something other than logistics–kids, groceries, errands–today? If not, do it now!

— SheilaGregoire (@sheilagregoire) June 2, 2014

It’s about marriage, but it applies just as well to a Christian’s relationship with God. We get so caught up in the “traffic” of daily life, the things we’re doing for God. Sometimes we drift into managing our responsibilities in our own strength (we all have stories of how well that works–not!). But even when we’re praying about it, committing the day and its needs to God, working with Him and for Him, it can get to be all about the work. The responsibilities.

Yes, we want to please God. We love Him, and He’s given us so much. But it’s easy to forget that this isn’t all He wants. It isn’t even the most important part.

God wants quality time with us. (Click to tweet)

Just like the husband and wife, the friends who work or study together, we can’t let it all be about doing—even when there are a million things to do. We need to pull back, “step out of traffic,” “be still and know” He is God. (Did you recognize the verse from The Message paraphrase? I didn’t!)

Some people schedule a daily “appointment” with God so their agendas don’t fill up and crowd Him out. I start with a morning prayer and reading, but you know, that’s starting to feel like the morning meeting with the Boss. Important, but needing to be realigned. Reinforced.

Step one: I need to slow down and enjoy that quiet time. Reflect more on who God is. Worship. Enjoy His presence.

Step two: It’s time to go back to having a tea date with God later in the day. No planning the rest of the day, just a pause for togetherness. Maybe with a worship song to help me focus, or maybe in silence.

God our Creator and our Shepherd, teach us to be still and to know that You are God. Help us abide in You, delighting in Your presence. Forgive us for what we’ve missed in our frantic pace. Help us to work diligently for You and in Your strength, but help us first and foremost to set our hearts on You and to let everything else flow out of that relationship.

∞

A good prayer as we step back from the noise is Michael W. Smith‘s song, “Draw Me Close to You.” If you have 4 ½ minutes for an experiment, try this: listen to the song, concentrating on the Lord, without doing anything else. No checking email, no deciding what to look at next. Just 4 ½ minutes of you and God. (I confess I found it really hard!)

Review: Harmful Intent, by Nike Chillemi

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Harmful Intent, by Nike Chillemi (Crime Fictionista Press, 2014)

Brooklyn PI Veronica “Ronnie” Ingels is self-confident, determined, and she knows how to stand up for herself – at least when she’s on her home turf. When she discovers her husband’s infidelity, she flees to Texas to process the hurt before she has to face him, only to become a person of interest in his murder.

Local Deputy Dawson Hughes doesn’t think Ronnie had anything to do with her husband’s death, and they develop an uneasy working relationship to find the killer. Hughes is picking up the pieces after a messy divorce, and Ronnie’s reeling from the double blow of betrayal and widowhood, but there are definitely sparks between these two.

Harmful Intent is the start of a new, contemporary series from Nike Chillemi, a departure from her 1940s-era Sanctuary Point romantic suspense series. I’m intrigued by her vision for this new series, featuring couples who will sometimes appear as minor characters in other couples’ stories. The plots are suspense with romantic threads, but weaving across these threads are others from the characters’ past hurts. Each of the main characters carries, like many readers, wounds from their childhood which keep them from being all they could be.

Ronnie’s father cheated on her mother, and realizing she married the same type of creep herself helps Ronnie to understand her mother differently. This type of character growth is organic to the story, never overshadowing the suspense plot.

Harmful Intent is not an overtly Christian book, although there are faith overtones. Ronnie and Hughes each find themselves in places in life where faith doesn’t come easy. The character of Bertha is a Christian, and I love this exchange between the two women when Ronnie finds Bertha reading a Bible before bed:

[Bertha] patted my cheek. “What puzzles me is why folks who deny the Lord get mad thinkin’ His promises might not include them. That don’t make a lick of sense to me.”

I stood. “I don’t deny the Lord.”

She gazed up at me with a mother’s kindness. “Then there’s more for you than you know in this book.” [Kindle location 942]

Harmful Intent is a novel with a strong sense of place. The Texas locale feels authentic (to this Canadian) and the details of scenes set in the spa, shooting range and various eating establishments bring those scenes to life. Here’s an interesting post by the author on how she researched the setting’s dialect: Dialect ~ Lend Me Thine Ear.

Ronnie and Hughes are well-matched sparring partners, and I think if they can work through the issues keeping them apart, they’ll make a truly happy couple. We’ll have to wait for the next installment to find out, since Harmful Intent takes place over a short period of weeks after Ronnie’s cheating ex’s death.

For more about author Nike Chillemi and her books, visit her website: nikechillemi.wordpress.com

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Writing Friends

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It’s ironic that a solitary path like writing involves so many companions along the way. The act of stringing words into paragraphs (or poems) may involve only one brain and set of hands, but writers need–and acquire–friends along the way.

We have our regular friends, wonderful and supportive. And we develop friends in the industry: other writers, editors etc. Some of them are local, but many are scattered around the world.

We encourage one another. Share information. Critique, challenge and cross-promote. We may write alone, but we’re not alone.

It’s a special treat to meet a writing friend face to face after a long-distance friendship. Yesterday I had the chance to meet a fairly new writing friend, suspense author and blogger R.A. Giggie. We’ve traded Tweets and Facebook messages, but now we’ve heard each other’s voices and seen the full person instead of a Facebook avatar.

A thoroughly organized blogger would, at this point, insert the photo of Renee-Ann and me (myself?) that I should have asked her husband to take. I did think of it ahead of time, honest! I just forgot. If my husband or sons read this post, they won’t think this is at all unusual.

Instead, here’s a random photo of another meeting:

Mr. Whiskers meets Wilhelm

And here’s where the aforementioned blogger uses this seemingly random photo as a bridge from one writing-friends story to another:

Two weeks from now I’ll be at Write Canada amid old and new writing friends. When I last attended, in 2012, the little sheep Wilhelm came along for the ride. (Not professional, I know, and not recommended, but it happened. Come back next Friday for the rest of the story.) For the conference, I stayed with another writing friend, blogger Mary Waind, and her housemate, Mr. Whiskers.

Face-to-face friends are best, but online friends are great too. If you’re a new writer, it’s easier than ever to find others of like mind online, through Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo Groups etc. Do yourself a favour and make some writing friends.

My favourite writing groups: The Word Guild, InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship, American Christian Fiction Writers (yes, they let international members join too!). And if you want to virtually “meet” some of my friends, R.A. Giggie’s blog is There’s Just Something About Writing and Mary Waind’s blog is Beech Croft Tales. If you’re curious about R.A. Giggie’s suspense novel, I’ve reviewed it here: Stella’s Plea.

“Use This”

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Give your burdens to the Lord,
and he will take care of you.
He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
Psalm 55:22, NLT*

Attitude. Heaviness of spirit. Frustration. Sadness. Some days I struggle with these things. They rise up, make it hard to live a life worthy of the gospel. Even minor situations amplify them, and I don’t want to have a meltdown or snap at (or cry on) the people around me.

Then there are the bigger situations—actual crises—health, obstacles, bad news. External things I can’t do anything about to help the people in pain or to salvage whatever plans have been overturned.

God is teaching me to pray Use this—to give these burdens to Him, repeatedly, with the plea that He will use even these to reveal His glory.

The Bible, and the personal stories of believers through the centuries, prove God can do this. Instead of rolling over and giving up in these experiences, we need to keep our eyes on the King and look in faith to see what He will do.

God, we know and believe there is none like You, none more powerful, wise or loving. We believe Your promise to sustain and care for us. You can do more than we can ever imagine. Help us trust You to use every aspect of our lives for Your glory. Let us not hold back or give up, but strengthen our faith so we can stand.

∞

Here’s a faith-encouraging song from Kutless: “What Faith Can Do.”

*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: Peril, by Suzanne Hartmann

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Peril, by Suzanne Hartmann (OakTara Publishers, 2011)

Danger, intrigue, faith and racing… what’s not to like? Lady Anne is a private bodyguard, medically enhanced to possess super-human strength and speed. Her security, and that of her family, comes from utter secrecy. If terrorists or foreign powers discovered her abilities and tracked her location, how far would they go to learn how to create an army just like her?

Lady Anne operates in the shadows until a high-profile assignment to guard a foreign diplomat exposes her to the world. That’s also when she meets Stuart Jackson, champion NASCAR driver.

Stuart and Lady Anne meet a few times, and he can’t stop thinking about her. Eventually he plots to meet her through her friend Joanne.

Stuart also can’t stop thinking about how empty he feels despite his successful life. His growing relationship with Joanne and her husband, Neil, lets him work through his questions and find his way to faith.

I enjoyed the racing aspects, although I confess I was hoping for some behind-the-wheel scenes. Instead we stick with the characters touring the grounds and watching the cars on-track. The author includes enough detail to make it feel real and to orient readers with no NASCAR background, but it’s not over-done. Non-racing fans can still enjoy the book.

I also appreciated the way Peril isn’t told as a romance. Stuart is attracted to Lady Anne, but she’s in a committed relationship. Although she feels a pull to him, she’s committed to her faith and her family. It adds an extra dimension to the story.

Author Suzanne Hartmann writes “fiction with a twist.” Click here to read an excerpt from Peril and to learn more about the author and her other work. Book 2 in the Fast Track Thrillers series, Conspiracy, is now available.

[Review copy from my personal library.]