Tag Archives: Christian fiction

Review: Dandelions for Dinner, by Valerie Comer

Dandelions 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

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…

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.

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.

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.

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

Amy 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 (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.

Amy’s Social Media Links:

Website: amycblake.com
Facebook: Amy C. Blake Facebook author page
Twitter: Amy C. Blake Twitter page

Interview: Suspense Author Bethany Macmanus

Author Bethany Macmanus

Bethany Macmanus lives in Houston with her husband, daughter, and son. After practicing as an RN for five years, Bethany left the nursing field to pursue a writing passion the Lord planted in her heart when she was a child. Nancy Drew mysteries were her guilty pleasure during those early years, so she naturally gravitates her pen toward the things that go bump in the night, and most of her plots have a psychological spin.

She’s allergic to cheese, Sulfa drugs, and people who stop in the middle of intersections while driving. Bethany describes herself as “a suspense author who writes gritty characters into novels that keep God on His throne where He belongs.”

Janet: Wow, Bethany, that tag line from your website has my attention. Could you unpack it a bit for our readers?

Bethany: Sure! Early into writing full time, I found I have characters who aren’t afraid to show their imperfections. They may mouth off, be darkly sarcastic, or have a fatal flaw that makes them incredibly human. You don’t find that as often in Christian fiction. That’s why I also included the unapologetic line about keeping God on his throne. Because though my books hint at how dark our sin nature can be at times, God is Lord over all, and His sovereignty and the light we desperately need and crave becomes more clear against the backdrop. His truth shines forth.

Janet: Tell us a bit about your newest release, Nerve.

Bethany: Nerve was born out of the biggest trial of my life, when my husband’s nerve problem in his arms plunged him into a severe depression, which ultimately caused him to attempt suicide. The struggle for a diagnosis, having so many doctors say different things, different reasons for his problem, is what caused me to ask, “what if?”, and to imagine the premise for the book. You can read the blurb to get a good idea of the plot, but I’ll re-state it here.

Environmental photographer Lauren “Wren” Masterson discovers a very important medical invention has been stolen from her father’s house, two days after his death. Her father, Doctor Noah Masterson, had built it for her, in hopes her mysterious nerve problem could finally be diagnosed.

Lieutenant Justin Breck is the police officer assigned to the case. He has serious reservations, to the tune of knowing and having feelings for Wren two years ago. But Justin doesn’t know about Lauren’s nerve problem. How will he feel about her when and if he finds out? Does she dare to open her heart, and reveal?

And what will the thief do with the invention, now that its power is in his hands?

Janet: Did your experience working in the medical field plant some of the seeds that grew into this medical-themed romantic suspense?

Bethany: I think my overall interest in medical science helped with the research, kept me from stalling out when digging was producing no answers applicable to the storyline.

I’ve always been interested in the field. I remember having my own personal first aid kit as a child, one I could grab if, for instance, a friend fell off the zipline my very cool dad built for us in the backyard. I’d even bring it with me when babysitting, much to the chagrin of the baby’s mother. (Good to be prepared, right?!)

Janet: Good to be prepared, indeed! What do you hope readers will take away from the story?

Bethany: Mine is a message that’s good to hear again and again. Relationships work best when those involved in them are open and honest in their communication, and put God first.

Janet: Your other novels aren’t medical, but they’re all suspense. Has this always been your genre of choice?

Bethany: Yes, mysteries and suspense have always been my favorite, and even when I try to write something outside the genre, something criminal/medical/death-related always creeps in somewhere!

I read the Amanda Shaw books (Bethany House) growing up. They always had some element of mystery to them. I was also addicted to the Cooper kids adventure series by Frank Peretti, the Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew (still am!). I’ve come to a point where it’s quite difficult for me to read outside my genre. I try, though…

Janet: What’s the best part of the writing life?

Bethany: Making my own hours and feeling like I’m going to a therapy session to work things out through one of my characters!

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

Bethany: I absolutely love Psalm 139. Knowing God pursues us and knows us no matter how far we run, how deep we hide, how tightly we lock our hearts—that’s what mystifies me about His love and power.

Janet: What do you like to do to recharge?

Bethany: I enjoy hiking with my family on the biking trails near our house. They have lots of hills and ramps and such. The kids (8 and 6, girl and boy) love it! For me, it’s perfect after sitting in front of a computer all day.

Janet: Together time and getting the body moving… good stuff! Tell us something you appreciate about where you live.

Bethany: I live in Houston and have for most of my life. For a brief seven years, early in my marriage, I lived in a rural area of Texas, where they make Blue Bell Ice Cream. While there, I missed the arts, the crowds, the food, the night life, the shopping… yes, can you tell I’m an extrovert and a city girl?! I also appreciate the mild winters we have here, those cool trails I mentioned, and the good economy. There’s a lot to appreciate in Houston, Texas.

Janet: Ooh, I heard of Blue Bell Ice Cream for the first time in a novel just last week. Thanks for visiting with us today, Bethany, and congratulations on your new release.

Bethany: Thanks for letting me come over! It was a pleasure and a privilege.

[Note: For more about Bethany Macmanus and her books, and to see other stops on Bethany’s blog tour, visit her website: bethanymacmanus.com. Bethany is giving away an ebook copy of Nerve with this interview. To enter the draw, leave a comment here on this post. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries, and the offer is void where prohibited. Draw closed at midnight, Friday, March 13. Winner: Cathy.]

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It was created to save lives.

Now someone is using it to take them.

When Lauren “Wren” Masterson discovers her deceased father’s medical invention has been stolen from her childhood home in Florida, she never expects the officer assigned to the case will be Justin Breck, who asked her out two years ago.

He’s changed since then, seems like he’s hiding something. What happened to his openness, his no-holds-barred, carefree attitude? She wonders how this new Justin could possibly accept her imperfections, namely the persistent nerve disorder her father’s missing invention might cure.

Justin is learning the darker side of Doctor Masterson’s past life. The hard part? Proving it to Doc’s adoring daughter, while attempting to win her heart. He might have some history with her, but Doc’s lawyer, Connor Radcliffe, has more.

As bodies begin to drop around them, will Justin and Lauren find the invention before the thief uses it to kill Lauren?

Review: Anna Finch and the Hired Gun, by Kathleen Y’Barbo

Anna Finch and the Hired Gun, by Kathleen Y’Barbo (WaterBrook Press, 2010)

In 1885 Denver, Anna Finch is the youngest of five daughters, and the only one unmarried. She’s far more interested in being a journalist, but her wealthy father would be horrified if a member of his family was known to be employed. He’s frequently horrified anyway by her less-than-decorous behaviour.

When Mr. Finch discovers she’s been out on horseback alone again, disguised as a boy no less, he issues an ultimatum. Anna must marry and become her husband’s responsibility, not her father’s. Until that time, her father hires her a bodyguard.

Jeb Sanders thinks it will be an easy assignment, but that’s before he meets Anna – and discovers she’s the “boy” who shot him. Jeb has also seen Anna talking with the notorious Doc Holliday, the man who killed Jeb’s wife.

Anna is a feisty character, but Jeb is very good at his job. Can he keep her safe while using her connection with Doc Holliday to bring the man to justice?

This is a light-hearted read, but Jeb’s struggle to let go of his need for vengeance gives readers something to ponder.

Favourite line:

Jeb spent the next several minutes staring at the apothecary door, trying to decide just how bad an idea it was to go inside. His stupid side won out. (p. 48)

The novel is the sequel to The Secret Life of Eugenia Cooper, which I hadn’t read. If you plan to read them both, do it in order, because this one clearly refers to events in the first one.

Kathleen Y’Barbo writes both contemporary and historical fiction. Anna Finch and the Hired Gun is book 2 of 3 in her Women of the West series. The full series is also available as a single ebook, The Rocky Mountain Heiress Collection.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: A Cast of Stones, by Patrick W. Carr

A Cast of Stones, by Patrick W. Carr (Bethany House, 2013)

The kingdom of Illustra has a mediaeval feel to it, with horses, knights and magic. The story opens with Errol, a homeless youth, seizing the opportunity to deliver a message to a reclusive priest. The money will buy him more ale, which will push back the memories he can’t face.

Errol is the most unlikely of heroes: scrawny, hopeless and addicted to drink. Yet as he’s dragged unwillingly along with the others on a desperate journey, he develops skills and a sense of worth. Something about the lad engaged my interest from page one, before I realized he was the novel’s protagonist. (He wouldn’t like me to use the word “hero.”)

There are plenty of allegorical references to the Christian faith, but not in a way that should limit this book’s appeal to a wider audience. Readers will find the corrupt as well as the pure within Illustra’s church leaders. Indeed, the pure seems the exception rather than the rule.

The magic element comes from those who can cast and read hand-carved lots. To anyone but a reader, the lots look like balls made of wood or stone. To a reader who asks the right question, the lots can reveal truth—and the future.

The novel’s magic and religious systems are well-thought-out, the world feels believably real, and the characters come alive. Errol’s perpetual danger on his journey (and once he reaches his destination) and his transformation along the way, make for a deeply satisfying fantasy read.

Favourite line:

“I am Brother Fenn,” the man in the cowl said. His voice sounded dry, dusty—as if he’d forsaken water when he’d taken the rest of his vows. [Kindle location 1616]

A Cast of Stones is book one in The Staff & The Sword trilogy, and I was happy to discover that books two and three are already available. For more about the author and his books, visit patrickwcarr.com. You can watch a brief trailer for A Cast of Stones, complete with original music: [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqmIFM3T080] [Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: Secretly Yours, by Valerie Comer

Secretly Yours, by Valerie Comer (GreenWords Media, 2014)

Who doesn’t love a secret admirer story? When chef Lindsey Solberg returns to the small town of Riverbend, BC, she’s shocked to recognize the youth pastor of her sister’s church. The way Nick Harrison behaved in high school, church was the last place she’d expect to see him.

No way will Lindsey risk Nick hurting her again. What’s a guy to do but send anonymous gifts and try to win her trust?

Secretly Yours is a Valentine’s Day novella, and the shorter length is perfect for an afternoon’s read. Author Valerie Comer always adds more than the romance. In this story (the first of a series to be set in Riverbend) we see Lindsey’s step-father as a morose, deflated kind of man. Dynamics in the household are not good—that’s why Lindsey returned, to act as a buffer for her younger sister. I suspect we’ll see some changes and growth in these characters as the series progresses.

What I most appreciated about Secretly Yours was watching Lindsey’s discovery of God’s love as personal. It’s a tricky balance, to know He loves each individual as if he/she were special. As Lindsey says in the story, we can think of Jesus’ death to save us something for everyone—which of course it was—without realizing how personal it was for each soul.

Valerie Comer is a prolific Canadian author of romance (plus one fantasy novel). She’s most known for her Farm Fresh Romance series. This new Riverbend series is set in Canada, which is a treat for readers like me. For more about the author and her books, visit valeriecomer.com.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Secrets and Lies Photo Album

Most of the settings in Secrets and Lies are fictional: Carol’s café, the Linden House art gallery, the apartments, Paul’s school. Two sites are real: the Roy Thomson Hall where Carol and Patrick attend the symphony, and the Toronto Island parks.

I wrote the island scenes with some help from Google Maps, but in 2013 my husband and I were in Toronto and visited the island parks. Like Carol and Joey, we took a water taxi to the islands and rode back on the regular ferry. I took hundreds of pictures, to capture the feel, and although we visited in mid-August and Carol and Joey went in September, they may have seen things like this:

Some of the Toronto Island gardens [photo credit: Janet Sketchley]

This is the path they walked along before the guy stole Carol’s bag. If you walk far enough, it becomes a boardwalk. This is the concrete wall they’d have leaned on to watch the paddleboarder.

Plenty of activity on the water — the paddleboarder they watched may have looked like this. [photo credit: Janet Sketchley]

This is the regular passenger ferry to/from the Island parks, with the CN Tower in the background. [photo credit: Janet Sketchley]

Roy Thomson Hall... sadly, we didn't get inside to enjoy a performance.

Roy Thomson Hall. What an interesting shape! Sadly, we didn’t get inside to enjoy a performance. [photo credit: Janet Sketchley]

Review: Triple Threat, by H.L. Wegley

Triple Threat, by HL Wegley Triple Threat, by HL Wegley (Harbourlight Books, 2014)

If you like novels that kick up the adrenaline on the first page, this one’s for you. Triple Threat is book 4 in the Pure Genius series, and it features Jennifer and Lee’s adopted daughter, Katie, who’s about to turn 21. Timeline-wise, it’s five years after Moon over Maalaea Bay.

Katie is doing her doctoral research on tracking terrorist messages on the Internet. When she discovers a triple threat aimed at the US (fire, power blackouts and disease) she and research partner Joshua West don’t have time to convince the FBI. They have to get proof – and stay alive long enough to deliver it.

Triple Threat reads like a movie. Some of the action is a bit past the believable point for me, but it’s good, clean fun. There’s a spiritual element too. Katie and Josh discover a mutual attraction, but she isn’t willing to have a relationship with a man who’s not a Christian. Josh thinks faith is for people who can’t see it doesn’t work. They have some interesting chats as Katie shares how her brilliant mind sees reasons for her faith.

Because the novel deals with cyber crimes, there are technical terms that get thrown around to give context, terms the characters would likely use. Confession: those sentences were over my head, so I skimmed them. Didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story any more than if the characters had been talking medicine or botany.

I haven’t yet read book 1 in this series, but the others have been good reads. HL Wegley writes clean, action-based fiction that tackles real-life issues like terrorism and human trafficking. If you like novels that tackle grittier subjects yet won’t leave you traumatized, check out the Pure Genius series. If you want to start at the beginning, book 1 is Hide and Seek.

Author HL Wegley describes his novels’ atmosphere as “A climate of suspense and a forecast of stormy weather.” For more about the author and his books, visit hlwegley.com.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: A Promise to Protect, by Patricia Bradley

A Promise to Protect, by Patricia Bradley (Revell, 2014)

To finish repaying her student loans, Dr. Leigh Somerall must take a temporary position in the one place she dreads: the small southern town of Logan Point. Logan Point was home, once.

Soon after she and her son TJ arrive, Leigh’s brother Tony is murdered. His dying request to Acting Sheriff Ben Logan? Protect Leigh.

Ben is the last person Leigh wants around – what if he discovers TJ is his son? It’s been too many years, and she’s told too many lies, to reveal the truth now.

In the mean time, whoever killed Tony wants a certain flash drive. And thinks Leigh has it. A series of attacks, some aimed at Leigh and some at the town’s general safety, keep Ben and his team scrambling. Is it really about Leigh, or is it about undermining the people’s confidence in Ben, who’ll be running for Sheriff in the next election?

A Promise to Protect is deftly plotted and keeps the reader guessing. I enjoyed the suspense more than Leigh’s angst over whether to tell Ben about his son. Ben and Leigh are realistic characters, each with inner struggles as well as the external one thrust on them by the unknown villains. And although this is their story, it was good to see Taylor Martin from the previous novel playing a small role.

This is book 2 in Patricia Bradley’s Logan Point series. Personally, I engaged better with the characters in book 1, Shadows of the Past, but both are quality stories, well told and well worth reading. I’m looking forward to the next in the series.

Patricia Bradley writes romantic suspense for Revell, and romance for Harlequin Heartwarming. For a brief, suspenseful read, visit her website and read her short story, “Blood Kin.”

[Review copy from my personal library.]