Tag Archives: Christian fiction

Review: Trial by Twelve, by Heather Day Gilbert

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Trial by Twelve, by Heather Day Gilbert | A Murder in the Mountains #2Trial by Twelve, by Heather Day Gilbert (WoodHaven Press, 2015)

Despite her troubled past, Tess is thriving in the close-knit Spencer family. She’s a feisty, straight-talking (and straight-shooting) wife and mother, trying to supplement the family income. She’s not looking for trouble, but trouble finds her – this time in the form of skeletons found buried at the spa where she works. Newer deaths suggest the killer isn’t finished yet.

Tess nearly lost her life the last time she investigated a mystery, and with a young daughter, she’d rather stifle her curiosity and stay safe. Unfortunately, her boss needs her on-site, and the investigating detective asks her to be his eyes on the scene. He promises to do all he can to keep her safe – and then advises her to conceal carry a gun just in case.

This is a satisfying novel, where plot, characters and setting blend into a compelling read. Heather Day Gilbert knows how to keep readers turning pages. Tess is one of those rare-to-me characters I’d like to have as a real-life friend.

Most chapters open with a letter from a disturbing man to the child he left behind, who he’d trained in bow-hunting. If the man was the original killer, are the new deaths a second-generation event? His letters refer to Buddhism and various philosophers, but don’t let that put you off.

Set in the mountains of West Virginia, Trial by Twelve is a clean read, featuring Tess and her family as Christian characters but without the strong spiritual theme that is sometimes expected in Christian fiction. Here is Tess’ most overt thought on faith, comparing herself to her mentor, Miranda:

“I feel so inadequate in the face of her faith, but I know she’d tell me we each grow at our own speed and the point is to be growing.” [Kindle location 3072]

And an example of her sense of humour, which means no disrespect to the church prayer chain:

“Quite a few people have police scanners in these parts, to keep up with the local news. It’s a lot faster than the newspaper, but maybe not quite as lickety-split as the prayer chain.” [Kindle location 3001]

Trial by Twelve is book two in the A Murder in the Mountains series. I’m not sure if it’s stronger than book one, Miranda Warning (which I very much enjoyed) or if I feel that way because I’m getting know the characters better. Either way, bring on book three!

Heather Day Gilbert is also the author of the acclaimed Viking historical novel, God’s Daughter. A sequel, Forest Child, is in the works. For more about the author and her books, visit heatherdaygilbert.com. To read sample chapters from Trial by Twelve, click here.

[Review copy provided by the author.]

Review: Buried Secrets, by Irene Hannon

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Buried Secrets, by Irene HannonBuried Secrets, by Irene Hannon (Revell, 2015)

The discovery of skeletal remains on a construction site unites a small-town police chief and a county detective in a search for justice. Lisa Grant and Mac MacGregor have both stepped into lower-stress roles to find balance in their lives… and maybe to carve out enough time to find someone to settle down with. Romantic sparks fly at their first meeting, but the case must come first.

Thanks to the opening scene, readers know how the body arrived where it did – and who’s to blame. This is the only part of the book written in the first person, and since it wasn’t to disguise the identity of the character, I’d have preferred to see it in third-person he/she like the rest of the story.

Lisa was working impossible hours as a homicide detective on a big-city force, trying to keep ahead of certain male officers whose jealousy made them want sabotage her career. She loves her new job and still struggles to avoid the trap of over-work. Her diabetes makes it even more vital that she take proper care of her health. Mac is a former Navy SEAL who saw one too  many of his friends die. He got out while he still had the chance to build a life and start a family. He still worries about his younger brothers, both in high-danger military roles.

They work well together professionally, and they’re both longing to see what might happen personally when this case wraps up. The main question for the moment is, can they identify the victim – and the killer – and find proof before the past drags danger into the present?

Fast-paced, tense but not traumatic, Buried Secrets is a satisfying read. I’m looking forward to the next book in the Men of Valor series. Irene Hannon is a multi-published, award-winning author of romantic suspense and contemporary suspense. For more about the author and her books, visit her website: irenehannon.com. Or follow this link to read an excerpt from Buried Secrets and see the discussion questions that accompany the book: Buried Secrets.

[Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.]

Review: No One to Trust, by Lynette Eason

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No One to Trust, by Lynette Eason

No One to Trust, by Lynette Eason (Revell, 2014)

Summer Abernathy wakes up one morning to find her husband missing, three men in her home intent on finding him, and the life she’s been living based on a lie. Which Kyle Abernathy did she marry? The computer programmer she met in line at the bank? Or the one who was apparently using that image as a cover? (From the publisher’s website)

Kyle Abernathy is really David Hackett, living undercover in hopes the Witness Security program can keep him alive long enough to testify at a high-profile trial that’s only months away now. The mob wasn’t supposed to find him – never supposed to threaten Summer.

No One to Trust is a fast-paced thriller as Kyle/David and Summer try to outrun their enemies and to discover if one of the US Marshalls helping them is secretly feeding updates to the other side. Their safety comes down to the skills David learned in the military and to the help of his most trusted friends.

Complicating the story is the broken trust between Summer and David – when the one thing Summer told him in the beginning is that she couldn’t handle lies because of her past. Now her whole marriage is based on a lie, but she can’t leave him because his enemies have become hers.

The full identity of Ron, one of David’s friends, isn’t explained, and I hope this means he’ll show up in his own story. Or perhaps he has in a previous novel.

Lynette Eason has crafted a taut suspense novel with an ordinary heroine and some chilling antagonists. David has changed a lot during his time as Kyle. For one thing, he’s become a Christian. For another, he’s truly fallen in love with the woman he married for cover. Now, if he lives, it looks like he’ll lose her because of his lies.

Moments of the story pushed fairly close to the edge of my comfort level, but never passed it. No One to Trust is a good read that you won’t want to put down.

Lynette Eason www.lynetteeason.com is a bestselling author of Christian romantic suspense. To read an excerpt of No One to Trust, Hidden Identity #1, visit the publisher’s website. The next novel in the Hidden Identity series is Nowhere to Turn.

[Review copy from the public library.]

Review: Five Miles South of Peculiar, by Angela Hunt

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Five Miles South of Peculiar, by Angela HuntFive Miles South of Peculiar, by Angela Hunt (Howard Books, 2012)

Twins Carlene and Darlene celebrate their 50th birthday during this story, and younger sister Nolie is in her forties. Each woman’s life has been shaped by past hurt, whether inflicted or received, intended or imagined. And as the back cover says, “If these three sisters don’t change direction, they’ll end up where they’re going.”

Angela Hunt does an amazing job of bring three very different and yet believable sisters to life, and while there may be moments you want to shake some sense into each one of them, you’ll appreciate each one as well.

The story is set in a sprawling home near the fictional town of Peculiar, Florida. As Nolie says about small towns: “there’s not much to do, but plenty of people to talk about you when you do it.” [p. 288]

Five Miles South of Peculiar is an engaging read. While we may not have the same secrets, longings or hurts that the three sisters carry, it may help us see areas in our own lives where change would be healthy. And isn’t it encouraging to know we’re not “stuck” as long as we’re still alive?

The novel’s secondary characters include two Leonberger dogs, a large breed I’d never heard of. (My spellcheck hadn’t heard of them either, but Google has.)

Angela Hunt is a Christy Award-winning author and sought-after writing teacher who writes both contemporary and historical women’s fiction. Her current series is the Dangerous Beauty series about women from the Bible: Esther, Bathsheba and Delilah. Read her story of how she came to write Five Miles South of Peculiar on her website.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Giveaway & Author Interview: Renee Blare

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Author Renee Blare

Author Renee Blare, with her novel, Beast of Stratton

Raised in Louisiana and Wyoming, Renee Blare started writing poetry in junior high school and that, as they say, was that. After having her son, a desire to attend pharmacy school sent her small family to Laramie and she’s been counting pills ever since. While writing’s her first love, well, after the Lord and her husband, she also likes to fish and hunt as well as pick away on her classical guitar.

Nestled against the Black Hills with her husband, crazy old dog and ornery cat, she serves the community of northeastern Wyoming as a pharmacist and pens her Christian stories, keeping them interesting with action and intrigue, of course. She loves to interact with readers and invites you check out her website, blog, and social media [see links at the end of this interview].

Janet: Welcome, Renee, and thanks for taking time to join us. I love your tag line: “Christian fiction… where the wild meets the Forgiven.” How did you choose it?

Renee: Hi Janet, thanks for having me. I searched for a tag line to match my writing for quite a long time. I wrestled with a few… truth, faith… they flew around the keyboard until I decided to center on my stories. Within every tale’s a wild component… whether nature or man… which must be confronted. The Forgiven represents the body of Christ and may be the tool by which this task is accomplished, if not the end result of the journey.

Janet: Your website says you write “about Christians struggling along the hard journeys of their lives.” For me, these are the best kind of stories, because the lessons the characters learn are lessons I likely need as well. Do you start with what you want to “teach” the character and shape the story from there, or do you start with the character and his/her circumstances?

Renee: It’s funny. I don’t think about lessons or plots when I think about a new book. My ideas for a new novel flash like a movie in my dreams at night. I wake up at two or three o’clock in the morning and jot them down. The major character’s inner conflict and occupation is where I usually start… as well as the setting. For some reason, the setting’s very important to me. It always has been.

Janet: Your novel, Beast of Stratton, released in March, and one commenter to this post will receive a free ebook copy. Congratulations! Is this your first published novel? If so, how have things changed now?

Renee: I’ve always been busy. Between my family, job, and writing, I have very little time for relaxation. Add the release and promotion… well, you get the picture.Beast of Stratton

Janet: Tell us a bit about Beast of Stratton. I haven’t had the chance to read it yet, but it sounds like there might be a “Beauty and the Beast” connection.

Renee: Yes, there definitely is a Beauty and the Beast connection. Although contemporary and a romantic suspense, Beast of Stratton’s inspired by the fairy tale.

Janet: On the cover, I see the lion looks like it’s chasing Aimee. Where did the story idea come from? And do you have a favourite character?

Renee: My crit group, Rough Diamond Writers had the ingenious idea to write novellas based on fairy tales. Everyone selected one and wrote a story. I chose Beauty and the Beast (my favorite, of course).

As for the story behind the story, I’d planned a romance with a touch of suspense. Nothing too drastic… after all, it was a novella. Before I knew it, the story morphed into a different book… a mystery.

Miles became a wounded veteran, an element which stems from my personal experience with veterans and a desire to convey their struggle behind the scenes. I couldn’t sugar-coat the trauma of war. PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), Suicide, Migraine, physical injuries… they’re all addressed one way or another… some more in-depth than others. (Note: The migraine depicted in this book’s based on one of my own headaches, although the recovery is not.)

My favorite character would have to be the little old lady toward the end of the story.  This woman’s wisdom is amazing!

Janet: I’ll watch for her when I’m reading! What do you want readers to take away when they’re done?

Renee: Beast of Stratton’s a suspenseful, mysterious, but thoughtful book. I would like people to remember God’s providence. He will provide… even when we think He’s not listening, doesn’t care, or has forgotten we exist.

I also would hope they remember freedom isn’t free. It comes at a cost… blood.

Janet: Definitely truths to remember! You have another novel releasing soon. Is it a sequel, or something entirely different?

Renee: Yes! I do have another book coming out July 10th. It’s called To Soar on Eagle’s Wings, and it’s the first of my series, the Snowy Range Chronicles. I’m really excited about it.

The fictitious town of Timber Springs is home to the Fitzgerald family. With their father, the local pastor, the Fitzgeralds struggle to come to terms with the unexpected death of their mother while life continues… on the Snowy Range.

Here’s a little bit about Book One, To Soar on Eagle’s Wings:

Spring’s in the air. While the sun shines in Timber Springs, snow falls on the Snowy Range, and trouble’s brewing in the meadows. The area’s new game warden, Steve Mitchell, finds a moose mired in a bog and launches his first wildlife investigation of the season. Then the trouble follows him… straight to town.

Rachel Fitzgerald’s on Spring Break. Or at least she’s trying. Between paperwork, harassing phone calls, and her family, she may as well have stayed in her classroom. So much for relaxation. A ‘chance’ meeting with her brother’s old roommate offers her weary soul a shred of hope, but she discovers love, like life, isn’t easy.

He talks with the wisdom of the Lord but rejects the future. She wants to soar with the eagles but walks alone. And trusting God proves more of a challenge than ever before…

Janet: Sounds intriguing. What got you started writing?

Renee: My husband. That sounds a little strange but it’s true. I’ve written poetry and short stories since junior high school, but a novel? No way. One day about five years ago, I bought a “Christian” book off Amazon, and threw it into my cybernetic trash bin almost immediately. I was livid. The language didn’t make me half as mad as the sex. Christian, my foot. I raised the roof with my temper tantrum and burned my husband’s ear (at least he can only hear out of one.) Of course, now that I’ve calmed down, I like to pretend it was a marketing error.

Anyhoo, James (my husband) looked at me, listened, and nodded a few times from his easy chair, and told me to write my own. I did. 🙂

Janet: Good for him, and good for you! You’re an active blogger, too. How do you balance that with your fiction?

Renee: Very carefully. I have to manage my time in order to get it all done, that’s for sure.

Janet: Are you a morning person or a night owl? And what’s your favourite season?

Renee: I love the morning. I wake up in a good mood and full of chatter, much to my husband’s displeasure. (He’s NOT a morning person.) I’ve learned how to be a night owl when I need to be though. I have to be careful to get my sleep for health reasons… my migraines can be a literal nightmare.

Janet: What do you like to do to recharge?

Renee Blare

Author Renee Blare

Renee: I love to relax on the side of a lake with a good book with my line in the water. Half the time I don’t even pay attention to the thing, but the fresh air and sun’s awesome. Give me a beach, and I’m in heaven.

Janet: That lake is beautiful. I’m surprised how similar the landscape looks to Nova Scotia, although we don’t usually see rocks that amazing in the water. Thanks for visiting today, Renee, and may these two novels releasing this year be the start of many more.

Ebook giveaway of Beast of Stratton: to enter, leave a comment below. If you like, you can tell us what fairy tale you’d like to see rewritten as contemporary fiction. Draw ends at midnight, April 17, and I’ll choose one commenter’s name at random. (Offer void where prohibited by law.) [And our winner is Mary Preston!]

About the Book:

He appears the beast but she sees his heart.

Architect Aimee Hart, determined to locate her father, infiltrates Miles Stratton’s engineering firm as a secretary. Her presence wrenches the shaggy, wounded man from his penthouse, and the quest begins.

He’s been betrayed by his best friend. Miles would rather hide than help, especially his daughter. But it isn’t over. Someone’s trying to destroy Stratton Industrial. A war veteran, he knows how to defend his own, the Beast of Stratton can do it again.

Find Renee online:

Review: Heart Failure, by Richard L. Mabry

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Heart Failure, by Richard L. MabryHeart Failure, by Richard L. Mabry, M.D. (Thomas Nelson, 2013)

Dr. Carrie Markham’s freshly-healed heart is broken when her new fiancé turns out to be a man on the run, living under an assumed identity. Adam tells her his testimony put a powerful man in jail, but the man’s friends have been hunting him ever since.

Can she believe him? Does she want to? Or is it possible that the attacks are really directed at Carrie herself? Something’s definitely suspicious in the clinic where she works. Or is a former patient – or the family of a patient who died – holding a grudge?

Heart Failure is an intriguing mystery, with a nice play on the “heart” angle: Carrie is a heart doctor, her romance with Adam is an affair of the heart, and the courage of her heart may fail in the face of the unexpected danger.

An interesting sub-plot looks at a form of survivor guilt: Carrie can’t stop blaming herself for her husband’s heart-related death. It wasn’t foreseeable, but this is her field. Couldn’t she have noticed?

I enjoyed the novel. The one thing that bothered me was Adam’s insistence of sneaking through back alleys to Carrie’s house, so he wouldn’t lead his enemies to her. The enemies (are they his, or hers?) know where she works and could easily follow her home at any time.

Dr. Richard L. Mabry writes medical romantic suspense, and you can learn more about him and his books at rmabry.com. You can read the opening chapters of Heart Failure here.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: Dandelions for Dinner, by Valerie Comer

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Dandelions for Dinner, by Valerie ComerDandelions for Dinner, by Valerie Comer (GreenWords Media, 2014)

Green Acres Farm began with three friends, all single women, who wanted to get out of the city and practice sustainable living. In Dandelions for Dinner, newcomer Allison Hart joins the growing community on the farm.

Allison is a reserved person, and she finds it a challenge living in a communal environment. Eventually she’ll have her own house and farm school, but for now she’s living with one of the other women. And all the farm decisions are made as a group.

Brent Callahan is the construction foreman for Allison’s building project. The two clash from the beginning and yet each can see hints of vulnerability beneath the other’s surface. And each one carries memories that they feel disqualify them from future relationships. Add to that Allison’s opinion of men in general, and things get even trickier.

As farm life begins to mellow Allison, she gains custody of her four-year-old nephew, Finnley. The little boy has been abused and ignored, and his only safe place is his imaginary dog, Rover. Watching Finnley blossom is a heart-warming part of the novel.

Favourite lines:

Who let his mouth go for a hike without his brain along? [Brent, wondering why he’d just said what he said; Kindle location 697]

“He’s a man. I’m a woman. I’m pretty sure God made both genders then laughed His head off.” [Jo, to Allison; Kindle location 1661]

Dandelions for Dinner is book 4 in the Farm Fresh Romance series, and it may be my favourite to date. You don’t have to have read the previous books, but you’ll learn things in this one that reveal the other stories’ endings. The characters are Christians, and their faith clearly influences their decisions. Some come from wholesome backgrounds, but others do not. Each one brings something positive to the group, and each has something to learn.

Valerie Comer is a Canadian author with a commitment to faith, food and fiction. As well as this farm-lit romance series, she writes contemporary romance novellas and has a fantasy novel, Majai’s Fury. For more about the author, visit her website: valeriecomer.com.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Historical Novelist Christine Lindsay

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Christine Lindsay’s tag line is “Giving hope and strengthening faith,” which she does through richly-written historical fiction and a contemporary romance novella, Londonderry Dreaming. Her most recent release is Veiled at Midnight, a novel filled with historical drama and with timeless human struggles. Read on…
Author Christine Lindsay, and the covers of her novels

Janet: Welcome, Christine, and thanks for taking time to join us. Your book Captured by Moonlight was the 2014 winner of Canada’s The Word Guild Award for historical. Did you enter your latest novel, Veiled at Midnight, in that contest?

Christine: Sadly, Janet, I missed the deadline to enter Veiled at Midnight for The Word Guild this year. Oh well. But what an honor it was last year for Captured by Moonlight to win in my category, and congratulations to you for Heaven’s Prey being a finalist in the suspense category.

Janet: Thanks! What’s the most exciting thing for you right now?

Christine: To be honest, the most exciting thing is watching my youngest son who is 26 falling in love with a beautiful girl. When our kids grow into the adults God wants them to be, it’s so exciting. My son is a musician and a graduate of Briercrest Theological College, and is currently the lead guitarist in a worship band. His young lady is exactly what I have been praying for my son Rob for years.

Janet: What’s your biggest challenge right now?

Christine: Trying to balance two part-time jobs, promote Veiled at Midnight that was recently released, do edits for my publisher on a historical romance called Sofi’s Bridge that will be coming out later this year, and trying to write my non-fiction book that has a looming deadline. My non-fiction book is about the relinquishment of my first child to adoption in 1979 and our painful reunion in 1999, and to the relationship we currently have that is sweetened by the love of God.

Janet: That’s enough to keep you busy! Tell us a bit about Veiled at Midnight.

Christine: Veiled at Midnight is the third and final installment of my series Twilight of the British Raj. This third book has a hard act to follow because Book 1 Shadowed in Silk won the ACFW Genesis, The Grace Award, and was a finalist for Readers’ Favorite. Book 2 Captured by Moonlight won The Word Guild Award and was finalist for Readers’ Favorite and the Grace Award.

As a finale Veiled at Midnight is quite explosive and passionate in my opinion. When you write a series you get really invested in the characters. While each book can stand alone in this series, many of the main characters pop up in the following books.

Cam: "The truth hit him like an artillery barrage. He was just like his wretch of a father."In Veiled at Midnight we find the little boy Cam from Book 1 is now an adult and struggling with the alcoholism he seems to have inherited from his natural father. Cam is also in love with a beautiful Indian woman he’s known since childhood. But as a high-ranking officer in the British army and having the prestigious position of aide to the last British Viceroy to India, Cam must fight against racial bias to marry the love of his life. Or will he?

Janet: Where did the story idea come from?

Christine: Two things—first of all I wanted to have a more redemptive story for a person struggling with addiction. The ending to book 1 Shadowed in Silk was good, but there were things I wanted to say further. There are a lot of people in this world suffering because either they have addictions or the people they love do.

Secondly, my series starts off in 1919 with India’s first real attempt for independence from the oppressive British rule. I had to finish the series off when Britain did relinquish her strangle hold on India in 1947. What a flamboyant time in history!!! It was great doing the research of Lord Louis Mountbatten and his wife Lady Edwina, and all that they did to help the Indian people through that terrible time called the Partition.

Janet: Do you have a favourite character in the story?

Christine: So hard to choose. I love them all, especially my main characters Cam and Dassah, and then Cam’s sister Miriam and the man she’s falling in love with, Jack Sunderland, but there is a secondary character that snuck up and stole my heart.

Reverend Alan Callahan. At first this character was only going to be a foil to help Cam through his alcoholism, but as Alan’s character developed he made me laugh. He’s a tall, lanky, Anglican vicar, with a slightly longish nose, threadbare suit, and always in need of a haircut. He rides out on his horse into the Himalayan foothills to visit his parishes. Alan used to be the vicar of a large English church back in Britain, until he lost his parish because of his drinking problem.

After Alan conquered his addiction he took on missionary service in India and has remained happy ever since. When Alan meets Cam, his beautiful ecclesiastical elocution and precise annunciation deliver really scathing but hilarious rebukes—real zingers—to Cam. Alan is a hoot, and a man who doesn’t even realize he’s lonely for female companionship.

Janet: Alan is a fun character. Sometimes I think the secondary ones have a little more freedom to push the boundaries, because they’re not on the page often enough for readers to become tired of them. What’s the novel’s theme?

Christine: The theme is found in the main scripture verse Romans 8:38, 39 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Because this book is set during the Partition of India and the country of Pakistan being carved out of India, the theme is all about separation. Families are being torn apart and separated due to the horrific political and religious conflict of Muslims and Hindus. But so is Cam being separated from the woman he loves due to racial bigotry, the conflict around them, and due to his drinking problem, and from his seeming embarrassment that she is Indian.

Cam, Dassah, as well as Miriam have to learn that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, not even our own sin or addictions.

Janet: Is there another title in the works?

Christine: I’m excited about Sofi’s Bridge coming out later this year, a historical romance set in Washington State 1913. This book deals with post-traumatic stress syndrome and the fact that we cannot save the ones we love, only Christ can do that.

And I’m excited about the non-fiction book that I started back in 1999. God knew that the story wasn’t ready to be published then. I had so much healing to gain. But now in 2015 the Lord must have done His work in me, because He’s opened the door for this story about the relinquishment of my birth daughter, and what that emotional pain taught me about the Lord. Title is still in the works, but it will be released November 2015.

Janet: Two books releasing this year… very different content, but I can see how they’ll both touch readers’ hearts. What got you started writing?

Christine: Pretty much that non-fiction book I just mentioned. After the reunion with my birth-daughter when she was 20, I went through a terrible depression, reliving my original loss of her when I’d given her up at 3 days old. My husband caught me crying about it one day. He went out and returned a while later with a brand new journal and pen. He said, “Here, honey, write it”

I took my emotional pain and poured it all out to the Lord in that journal. As He brought healing to me in time, I felt His encouragement to put that spiritual truth into fictional novels to help others. So my books are highly entertaining but have strong spiritual takeaways.

Janet: That’s one of the things I appreciate about your novels. What do you like best about the writing life?

Christine: Making new friends, like you, Janet. 🙂

Janet: Someday we’ll meet in person! What do you like least?

Christine: The terrible time pressure. Writers don’t make much money. For the amount of work we put into our novels, we make pennies. Good thing most of us aren’t writing for financial gain. Many of us hold down full-time jobs as well as try to write, so we can share clean, uplifting novels, and also be caring wives, mothers, grandmothers. Family must come first.

Janet: Is there a particular song or Scripture verse that’s made a big difference for you?

Christine: My life verse that anchors all my writing and speaking is Isaiah 49:15, 16a. “Can a woman forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has born? Though she may forget, I will not forget you. See…I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”

Janet: Chocolate or vanilla? Coffee or tea? Are you a morning person or a night owl? Cake or Pie? What’s your favourite season?

Christine: Vanilla. Tea. Morning person. Pie. And my favorite season is spring—like my novels—God takes the dark, the cold, the hurtful, and turns it into triumphant warmth, light and beauty.

Janet: What was the best part of the story to write?

Christine: The humor in my characters. When you’re writing about a heart-rending time in history, you need to balance that with light. I get a real kick out of my characters’ wit. Reverend Alan Callahan and Cam’s sister, Miriam, especially. These two characters make me laugh till the tears run down my face.

"Honestly, Miriam, the way you barge into Dante's Inferno you must think angels ride on your shoulder."

Janet: Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

Christine: Make the word Perseverance your middle name. That’s what it’s all about.

Janet: Amen. What do you do when the muse is uncooperative?

Christine: Go for a brisk walk with the dog.

Janet: Any interesting research tidbits?

Christine: I thoroughly enjoyed the biographies of Lord Louis Mountbatten (the Queen’s cousin) and his wife Lady Edwina. Lady Edwina, though not a Christian and having some shady morals in her personal life, was also an inspiration when it came to her Red Cross work during WW2 and during the Partition of India. I came to admire her for that.

Janet: What are you reading these days? Listening to?

Christine: I just finished reading Crooked Lines by Holly Michael—a very different style in Christian literature. But I loved it.  It was set in India, in many of the places I’ve been to. I also highly recommend The Language of Sparrows by Rachel Phifer.

Janet: What do you like to do to recharge?

Christine: Spend time with my loved ones—my husband, my mother, my kids and grandkids. I especially love to go camping with my husband in our little travel trailer.

Janet: Tell us something you appreciate about where you live.

Christine: I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world—British Columbia, Canada.  We’re within an hour’s drive of the ocean, but are surrounded by mountains. About six hours to the Rockies.

Janet: What’s the most surprising/fun/zany/scary thing you’ve ever done?

Christine: I wanted to learn to fly, so I took a trip up with a pilot in a small plane just to see if I could handle it. It was exhilarating, and I would have done it if I’d had the money.

Thank Janet, it’s been such fun being a guest on your blog. One of these days we’ll have to meet in person. Hugs for now.  Christine

Janet: Christine, thanks so much for taking time to answer all these questions… my, but I was feeling curious when I put this interview together! The Lord bless you as you prepare these next two books for the world, and in all the other aspects of your life as well.

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You can visit Christine Lindsay’s website and sign up for her quarterly newsletter—she always has something free to give away. And go to the links below to read sample chapters from all the completed series Twilight of the British Raj.

Veiled at Midnight, by Christine Lindsay

Chapter One Shadowed in Silk

Chapter One & Two Captured by Moonlight

Chapter One & Two Veiled at Midnight

Purchase sites for Christine Lindsay’s books:

Suspense Author Amy C. Blake

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Amy C. BlakeAmy C. Blake joins us today to talk about her newest novel, Whitewashed. Amy is a pastor’s wife, writer, and homeschooling mother of four. She writes juvenile fantasy and new adult suspense.

Janet: Welcome, Amy, and thanks for taking time to join us. Your novels feature homeschooled characters, although they’re written for everyone. I think it’s a great way for people outside the homeschooling movement to find out what it’s like. Would you tell us a bit about Whitewashed?

Amy: Thanks for hosting me, Janet. Whitewashed is a contemporary suspense about 18-year-old homeschooler Patience McDonough as she heads off to college in Hades, Mississippi, where she’ll live with her grandparents and complete her degree in record time. Patience’s careful plans quickly go wrong because things at the college are strangely neglected, her class work is unexpectedly hard, Grand gets called out-of-town, and Poppa starts acting weird—so weird she suspects he has Alzheimer’s. On top of that, she has to work extra hours at her student job inputting financial data for the college—boring! Soon her job gets more interesting than she’d like: she finds that millions of dollars are unaccounted for and that something creepy is going on in the Big House basement. She discovers secrets tying her family into the dark beginnings of Verity, founded on a slave plantation, and she is forced to question the characters of people she has always trusted. Finally, confronted with a psychotic killer, Patience has to face facts—her plans are not necessarily God’s plans.

Janet: Wow! Sounds like a gripping read! What age range is the novel for? And with female protagonists, I’m guessing it’s mainly for girls, or is it for both genders?

Amy: Whitewashed is primarily for girls, especially those in the older teen/younger twenties range who are transitioning into adulthood. However, I’ve had a few male readers tell me they enjoyed the book, and many women all the way into their senior adult years tell me they couldn’t put it down.

Janet: What’s the novel’s theme? Or what do you want readers to take away when they’re done?

Amy: Whitewashed has several themes interwoven into the plot, but I’ll just tell you about one. Patience is a real stickler for truth, so much so she sometimes can’t see people. She’s even been known to scream truth in the faces of people she loves, and in so doing has caused much more harm than good. I want the reader to learn, along with Patience, that truth and mercy go hand-in-hand. Just as God is a God of truth who is merciful to His children, we should be people of truth who also show mercy to others.

Janet: That’s definitely a balance we all need to find. Whitewashed is book 1 in the On the Brink series. The other stories feature Patience’s sisters, correct?

Amy: Actually, the other two On the Brink books feature Patience’s two best friends, Nat and Christy, who are also homeschooled. Christy’s story is set in Buckeye Lake, Ohio, and ties into the 1920s when Buckeye Lake—with its amusement parks and nationally-known ballrooms—drew huge crowds. Nat’s story is still in the works, though I’m pretty sure it’ll be set in Washington DC.

Janet: You write both suspense and fantasy… this encourages me, because I write suspense and have some science fiction ideas scooting around in my brain. Do you have a favourite genre to write? To read?

Amy: I love writing and reading both suspense and fantasy (especially YA fantasy). I also enjoy mystery and some romance. I recently finished writing a romance novella, Gabriel’s Gift, which my agent is now shopping around.

Janet: Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

Amy: Keep writing, no matter how bad what you’ve written seems, because the more you write, the better you’ll get. Try to attend a Christian writers’ conference and network with others. Join a critique group. Read books on the writing craft and books in your genre(s).

Janet: Wise words! What do you do when the muse is uncooperative?

Amy: I write anyway. If I can’t create anything new, I edit my old stuff. Sometimes I shift gears and work on blogs or articles for magazines instead of fiction for a while. Other times, though not often enough, I go clean the house instead.

Janet: Tell us something you appreciate about where you live.

Amy: I live in Columbus, Ohio. I appreciate being close to museums, theatres, symphonies, etc. I also appreciate the ACFW Ohio writers I get to meet with, and I appreciate my local church, Parsons Baptist Church, where my husband pastors.

Janet: Is there a particular song or Scripture verse that’s made a big difference for you?

Amy: Isaiah 6 reminds me of how very massive and majestic God is. When I get overwhelmed with all the little details in my life or feel tempted to throw myself a pity party, I need the reminder of who God is and why I was created—to glorify God in all I think, say, and do.

Janet: What a great note to end on. Thanks for chatting, Amy, and congratulations on your new release! All the best!

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Whitewashed, by Amy C. Blake

Whitewashed, by Amy C. Blake (Mantle Rock Publishing)

Eighteen-year-old Patience McDonough has a plan. Despite her parents’ objections, she will attend Verity College in Hades, Mississippi, and live with her grandparents. She’ll complete her degree in record time and go on to become a doctor. But things at the college are strangely neglected, her class work is unexpectedly hard, Grand gets called out-of-town, and Poppa starts acting weird—so weird she suspects he has Alzheimer’s. On top of that, she has to work extra hours at her student job inputting financial data for the college—boring! But soon her job gets more interesting than she’d like: she finds that millions of dollars are unaccounted for and that something creepy is going on in the Big House basement. She discovers secrets tying her family into the dark beginnings of Verity, founded on a slave plantation, and she is forced to question the characters of people she has always trusted. Finally, confronted with a psychotic killer, Patience has to face facts—her plans are not necessarily God’s plans. Will the truth set her free?

Buy links for Whitewashed: (author affiliate links)

Amy C. Blake is a pastor’s wife and homeschooling mother of four. She has a B.A. and an M.A. in English from Mississippi College. She contributed to Barbour’s Heavenly XOXO’s for Women, Book Lover’s Devotional, and Every Good and Perfect Gift. Amy wrote short stories and articles for Focus on the Family, Mature Years, Significant Living, Vista, Encounter, and other publications. She won awards at St. Davids Christian Writers Conference and West Branch Christian Writers Conference. The Trojan Horse Traitor quarterfinaled in the 2011 ABNA contest. Her juvenile fantasy novel The Trojan Horse Traitor, releases in November, 2015, and her new adult suspense novel, Whitewashed, released February 15.

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