Tag Archives: Christian fiction

Friday Friends: Janice Hanna Thompson

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Janice Hanna ThompsonJanice Hanna (also published as Janice Thompson) has published more than seventy novels and non-fiction books. She has also published more than fifty magazine articles and several musical comedies for the stage. Janice makes her home in the Houston area near her children and grandchildren.

As if she weren’t busy enough, Janice also teaches writing, and I was in her online course for the American Christian Fiction Writers group in June (they welcome non-US members, too, for those who know I’m Canadian.)

Janet: Janice, thanks for stopping by today. To get us started, what’s something random we may not know about you?

Janice: I occasionally bake wedding cakes. In 2009 I baked a lovely four-tiered white cake with strawberry filling and cream cheese frosting that toppled less than an hour before the wedding. I managed to piece together two very messy/ugly layers. Thankfully, the bride did not murder me. It made for a great scene in a later book. (Nothing ever gets wasted, not even a mashed piece of cake.)

Janet: Ouch! I’ll bet that was funnier in the book than in real life. Why do you like writing comedies with strong take-aways?

Janice: Comedy is a great outlet. We comedians can get away with a lot more than authors who play it straight. Want the reader to walk away with a little nugget of truth? Couch it in something humorous. I’ve found that light-hearted writing not only suits my personality, it’s the perfect vehicle for sharing the gospel.

Janet: Please tell us a bit more about the plot of Love Finds You in Groom, Texas (Summerside/ Guideposts, June 2011).

Janice: Always the groomsman, never the groom… It’s 1914, and Jake O’Farrell has gained an unusual reputation among the locals: He’s played the roles of groomsman and best man in all four of his older brothers’ weddings, but he’s never been able to find the woman to capture his heart. And now with the upcoming wedding of his best friend, Jake will become the last single man in the town of Groom.

Anne Denning has made the difficult decision to move with her sisters to Texas, but a train derailment forces them to seek shelter in Groom, near Amarillo. Mrs. O’Farrell, hopeful that Anne will catch her youngest son’s eye, invites the girls to stay at her home until the train is repaired and ready to pull out. Anne has no idea of the blissful chaos that lies ahead!

Janet: Groom is a wedding-themed book. Why do you write so many stories with a strong wedding theme?

Janice: I have four grown daughters—Randi, Megan, Courtney Rae and Courtney Elizabeth. Yes, I really have two daughters named Courtney. (Long story!) All four of my girls got married within four years of each other. We’re told to write what we know. I know weddings, trust me! I helped coordinate all four weddings and even worked as a wedding coordinator at my church for a season. I was also tickled to be the “Wedding Planner Examiner” for the city of Houston for a spell. What fun! You’ll see me writing about weddings for years to come, so hang on for the ride!

Janet: What is it about your lead character that will make your readers care about her?

Janice: Readers will care about Anne because she’s been through so much and still chooses to move forward. They will also love her relationship with her younger sisters. She’s the only remaining parental figure and takes that position very seriously.

Janet: Tell us a little about your hero? Is he true hero material?

Janice: Jake is a hunka-hunka Texas man! He’s a railroad man who loves his job, loves his family and loves the heroine. He’s got a great sense of humor, which is perfect for this story, because the heroine’s little sisters are loaded with antics! Jake has a lot to deal with: he’s the town’s last single man, which has made him the brunt of many a joke. His older brothers (all married with children) taunt and tease. Jake can never catch a break. Unless he’s with Anne, of course. Then he catches far more than a break… he catches the woman of his dreams!

Janet: Are any of your characters patterned after real people?

Janice: The characters are patterned more after characters than real people. I wanted the overall “feel” of the book to be a bit like that in “Anne of Green Gables.” If the reader is paying attention, he/she will notice a few Avonlea-esque images, including my heroine’s name. There are also a few nods to “Meet Me in St. Louis” in this story, as well.

Janet: The “Anne” books are set in Prince Edward Island, Canada. That’s practically next door to me. One more reason for me to read Love Finds You in Groom, Texas. What sorts of transformations take place in this book?

Janice: How much time do you have? (Ha!) Seriously, there are so many! The heroine, Anne, has been through tremendous losses and struggles with her faith from the get-go. By the end of the story, she is a woman transformed. Likewise, the hero has been through far too much taunting and teasing. He, too, has faced losses. With Anne’s hand in his, transformation comes. Even precocious Emily, Anne’s younger sister, goes through a bit of a metamorphosis as the story progresses. The biggest change of all, however, is in Uncle Bertrand. I don’t want to give away too much. You’ll have to read the story to see for yourself!

Janet: Sounds like a plan! Anything else you want our readers to know?

Janice: Yes, I’m very passionate about my faith, which is why I write Christian books. I could no more leave out the faith elements than I could stop eating chocolate. They are integral… to my stories and my life. I’m a huge believer in stirring up the gifts that God has placed inside of us, which is what I hope to do through my teaching.

Janet: What’s the last book you read that you would recommend?

Janice: I was completely blown away by Judy Christie’s book Wreath, about a teen girl who lives on her own. I can’t tell you the last time a character impacted me like Wreath did. I read the book for endorsement. I’m pretty sure it releases in a month or two. Can’t wait to see what readers think!

Janet: Where else can readers find you online?

Janice: I love to connect with my readers at the following places:

Janet: Now that you’ve hooked me, where can I get the book?

Janice: Love Finds You in Groom, Texas can be purchased at any number of online stores, as well as my website  (front page, scroll down). Readers can always join my VIP bookclub and get the locked in price of $11 (no shipping fee for Continental USA) by contacting me directly. [Contact Janice for international rates]

Janet: Thanks so much for stopping by, and keep those books coming. We can always use a bit more encouraging comedy!

Janice: Thanks for spending time with me! I had a blast!

Review: The Kingdom, by Benjamin T. Collier

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The Kingdom, by Benjamin T. Collier (Word Alive Press, 2011)

The Kingdom is a short novella, under 100 pages, but it pulls readers into an intriguing fantasy world of kingdoms, knights, princesses and mythical flying beasts.

The story draws on classic fantasy and fairy tale elements such as the princess enduring endless presentations from eligible-but-boring suitors, the corrupt steward ruling in the good king’s absence, the strong hero and his fantastic animal companion (in this case, a dragon-like creature called a wyvern).

One of the twists: the “strong hero” might be considered a villain. And Princess Nevaeh is no damsel in distress. She’s a strong young woman looking for a partner, not a rescuer.

Nevaeh and the villain/hero, Roy, are each looking for someone who’ll love them for who they are—and neither is looking for a person like the other. Behind the romance is another kind of love and trust as Nevaeh waits confidently for her father, the good king, to return as promised, when the rest of the kingdom considers him lost at sea.

Canadian author Benjamin T. Collier writes with vivid description and humour. In contrast with epic fantasy and its multiple plot threads, he keeps a tight focus on Nevaeh’s story. The world he’s envisioned could support a more complex weaving of plots, and if he decides to revisit it in the future there would be plenty to explore.

You can find Benjamin at his blog, and you might want to check out my interview with him.

Review: The Story in the Stars, by Yvonne Anderson

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The Story in the Stars, by Yvonne Anderson (Risen Books, 2011)

In a universe where beings from various planets live in peace under the unifying authority of the League of Worlds, one planet stands apart. Gannah: the very name brings fear and memories of the Gannahans’ failed attempt at interstellar domination.

The Story in the Stars throws together two unlikely characters: Dassa, last survivor of the planet Gannah, and Pik, the doctor who saved her life. Pik’s native planet, Karkar, was conquered by the Gannahans before scientists developed the plague that forced them to retreat.

Dassa and Pik make an interesting study in contrasts, and as the novel progresses each discovers her/himself to be more like the other than they’d like to admit. Dassa is a warrior; Pik is an intellectual. She’s comfortable with her emotions; he’s bound by logic and appearances. She can survive in the wilderness; at the start of the novel, he’s never been outside a domed city except when in space.

Dassa’s people follow the Christian faith, in a universe where proselytizing is a punishable offense. Dassa’s personal relationship with God (she calls Him Yasha) allows her to hear His voice in her spirit.

Doctor Pik, on the other hand, has no use for delusions of faith. He’s as obnoxious and superior as they come. Yet she begins to sense that God wants to unite them.

Dassa tells Pik that every planet’s early constellations, and the legends that go with them, give a version of the same story: “a virgin birth and a saviour dying on a cross and a wicked serpent and a great war.” (p.140) The Gannahans know this God, and despite being the last of her people, she’s determined to share Him with the universe.

I really enjoyed this novel. The sharp cultural contrasts and the faith elements reminded me of Kathy Tyers’ Firebird. I’ll definitely be watching for the sequel. Click here to learn more about the Gateway to Gannah series.

For more about Yvonne Anderson, visit her blog, Y’s Words, and check out her interviews at A Writer’s Journey and Novel Journey.

[Electronic Advanced Review Copy provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair review.]

Review: Keeping Guard, by Christy Barritt

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Keeping Guard, by Christy Barritt (Love Inspired Suspense, 2011)

Kylie Summers is petite and a cancer survivor. She knows she’s strong, but her family treats her as someone fragile to be protected. And now she needs protecting—someone is stalking her, and his actions are escalating.

Her brother’s best friend, former Coast Guard rescue diver Nate Richardson, lets her hide out in his restaurant until the police catch the man who’s been terrorizing her. Kylie hosts her own cooking show, but Nate doesn’t want to hear her ideas on improving his menu.

Kylie and Nate each have baggage from past relationships. And their personalities conflict. He’s a rescuer, she’s independent. As much as they know they don’t match, they each feel the attraction.

Keeping Guard is set in historic Yorktown, Virginia, and gives readers a whirlwind tour of the town and a sampling of local dishes. (I love books with food in them.) The suspense begins on page one and doesn’t let up.

I’ve been a fan of Christy Barritt since I read her Squeaky Clean Mystery series. (See my interview with Christy Barritt from 2008) She packs a lot of story into this short novel, and I’m looking forward to her next one.

You can learn more about Christy Barritt at her website and on Facebook.

Review: Shadow of Reality, by Donna Fletcher Crow

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Shadow of Reality, by Donna Fletcher Crow (StoneHouse Ink, 2010)

When college professor and mystery-lover Elizabeth Allerton convinces her good friend and colleague Richard Spenser to attend a week-long mystery role-play in a castle-replica-turned-hotel in the Colorado Rockies, she never dreams she’ll find a real murder—and love.

The guests work in teams to solve a mysterious death, acted out over dinner their first night. They come prepared with period costumes for 1930’s England, and the costumes Elizabeth rented for herself and Richard turn them into a dashing couple.

Trouble is, while he wants them to be a couple she’s happy with friendship. And she meets the man of her dreams in one of the mystery’s actors.

An even bigger trouble is her discovery of a genuine dead body. A storm has cut off access to the nearest village, and those in charge try to keep the real mystery quiet until the police can arrive. Elizabeth and Richard work to solve both mysteries, and the two keep blurring in her mind.

Shadow of Reality is an easy read with plenty of attention to costumes and food, and sprinkled with references to classic British characters like Dorothy Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey and Agatha Christie’s Tommy and Tuppence. The romance element is at least as strong as the mystery. There’s also a spiritual thread, as Elizabeth reconnects with the faith she learned as a child.

Originally published in 1992 as Castle of Dreams, the novel was released as an ebook in 2010 and a new print version is available for pre-order. Shadow of Reality is the first in the Elizabeth and Richard mystery series. The ebook is available in multiple formats at Smashwords or for Kindle or Nook. The paperback copy is coming out in 2011 and you can pre-order it at Amazon.ca or Amazon.com.

Donna Fletcher Crow is also the author of the Monastery Murders series and a number of other novels. You can find Donna (and a full listing of her books) at her website. She also blogs at the Deeds of Darkness; Deeds of Light blog.

Review: Relentless, by Robin Parrish

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Relentless, by Robin Parrish (Bethany House, 2007)

One morning Colin Boyd sees himself on the street heading for work. He, meanwhile, is wearing a stranger’s body. Lucky for him, his new persona comes with muscle memory and fighting instincts. He’ll need them all and then some, to survive the mysterious assassin who’s suddenly on his tail. And that’s just for starters.

A mysterious, barefoot girl warns him to leave town, but he needs to find out what’s going on. Apparently he’s now Grant Borrows: strong, handsome, owner of a luxury apartment and a sweet blue Corvette. And he’s wearing a fancy gold ring that’s bonded to his finger.

The novel’s pace is relentless indeed, and when the stakes look like they can’t get any higher, they do. Colin/Grant and his unlikely collection of friends try to stay one step ahead of the unseen Keeper, only to find him manipulating every turn. Everyone who has been “shifted”—and now wears a bonded ring—has some form of mental powers. Grant’s is the ability to move objects with his mind.

Grant is the Bringer, long prophesied to lead the ring-wearers into their destiny. He’s a reluctant hero, but he can’t break away from these people—and from his friends—who need him.

I didn’t have any better idea than the characters of what was going on. We learned together, and it was a fun ride with some very satisfying explosions. On a deeper level, the novel touched on forgiveness and on the question of who we are: defined by our circumstances, or by something inside us?

Relentless comes from a Christian publisher, but it could easily be a clean mainstream novel. Toward the end there’s mention of an Old Testament prophecy, and perhaps a spiritual thread will develop as the series progresses. If you like fast-paced speculative thrillers, this book’s for you.

I read the epub version as a free download from Christianbook.com, and there were some formatting glitches. Mostly they were just missing blank lines when the scene shifted from one group of characters to another. There was one page with a totally extraneous sentence, but that’s in the print version too. (Guess who bought a copy, then forgot and downloaded the ebook?)

The Dominion Trilogy finishes with Fearless and Merciless. You can learn more about American author Robin Parrish at his website.

Review: Stuck in the Middle, by Virginia Smith

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Stuck in the Middle, by Virginia Smith (Revell, 2008)

Joan Sanderson is a middle child—between two sisters who have great lives while she works a mediocre job and shares a home with her mother and aging grandmother. She feels caught between those two ladies too, and she’ll do whatever it takes to keep Mom from putting Gram into a care facility. After all, what’s a little forgetfulness—or obsessive behaviour—among loved ones?

Joan is also on middle ground with God. He feels like a heavenly version of her own father, who’s been absent without contact for thirteen years.

When a handsome single doctor, Ken, and his dog move in next door, Joan finds herself competing with her polished younger sister, Tori, for his attention. Will their frenzied flirting scare him away? Or does Joan really want to catch his eye? He talks about God outside of church. Even asks questions in the adult Sunday school class. Is he some kind of fanatic? Or does he have something Joan needs?

She can’t stop thinking about a visiting missionary’s account of God answering an orphan child’s prayer for chocolate ice cream. The God she knows has never done anything like that for her. Granted she’s never asked, and her needs aren’t as extreme as the lonely orphan, but still… something inside her longs for Him to disrupt her predictable world with some outrageous and personal sign of love. (For more on that, see Virginia Smith’s blog post, “Where’s My Chocolate Ice Cream?”)

Stuck in the Middle is more than just a heart-warming romance. Joan is 25 but I think it’s a coming of age tale for her. It’s also the story of three generations of women who love one another even when they’re on opposite sides. Surprisingly, it’s not over-the-top estrogen-heavy. Sure, the flirting instructions Joan’s older sister Allie pulled off the internet were a bit much for this non-girly-girl reader, but Ken thought so too.

And it’s funny. Joan’s sense of humour keeps her sane by imagining zany headlines to describe her stress. I like her attitude, and the way she grows during the course of the novel.

I downloaded a free electronic copy of Stuck in the Middle from Christianbook.com and enjoyed the read. There were occasional formatting issues with paragraphs, but not often and nothing to affect enjoyment of the novel. This is book one in the Sister-to-Sister series, followed by Age Before Beauty and Third Time’s a Charm. I’d definitely like to spend some more time with this family.

Virginia Smith is an award-winning American author and inspirational speaker. You can learn more about Ginny and her books on her website and her blog, Virginia’s Journal, and you can find her on Facebook.

Review: Reluctant Smuggler, by Jill Elizabeth Nelson

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Reluctant Smuggler, by Jill Elizabeth Nelson (Multnomah, 2008)

Desiree Jacobs, art security expert and successful breaker of her competitors’ security systems, is back in the third and final novel in Jill Elizabeth Nelson’s “To Catch a Thief” series.

This time we join Desi in Mexico, where she’s negotiating for a contract with a world-famous Mexico City art museum. Instead, she finds art thieves, a dangerous gang, and personal attack. She’s still grieving her father’s death (book one: Reluctant Burglar) and struggling to find time for a relationship with handsome FBI agent Tony Lucano amidst their busy schedules.

Back in Boston, Tony’s high-profile case is about to intersect with Desi’s own. And I won’t tell you more—except that this is perhaps the fastest-paced novel of the three. I loved it. Desi and Tony are two of my favourite characters. Readers can count on plenty of action, fast quips, and a story that will make it hard to stop reading at bedtime.

Reluctant Smuggler is an older title now, and I don’t know why I waited so long for this final instalment. Maybe I didn’t want to finish the ride with these characters. But it’s a fun read.

I bought the epub version from Kobobooks and although I’m usually happy with the product quality, I’d recommend getting a paper copy of Reluctant Smuggler. The file conversion didn’t work well and there are plenty of mangled words.

Here’s a link to an excerpt from Reluctant Smuggler. If you’re new to the series, I’d strongly suggest starting at the beginning. (See my review of Reluctant Burglar here.)

Jill Elizabeth Nelson is an American author of Christian romantic suspense, and she’s published four novels with Steeple Hill since the “To Catch a Thief” books (her most recent is Legacy of Lies). I’ve enjoyed those too, but I hope someday she’ll move back into longer novels where she has more room to manoeuvre. You can learn more about Jill Elizabeth Nelson and her books at her website, or check out the Jill Elizabeth Nelson page on Facebook.

Friday Friends: Author Sara Davison (part 2)

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Last Friday we chatted with Canadian author Sara Davison, whose novel, The Watcher, released in March 2011. [You can read part one of the interview here.]

Janet: Welcome back, Sara. You’ve persevered a long time on the road to publication. What hope can you share with those of us still slogging?

Sara: It is a difficult journey, and a tough business that is only getting tougher as a result of uncertain economic times and on-going developments in technology. When this book was rejected yet again a year and a half ago I launched a blog called Choose to Press On, emphasizing the fact that if you believe in your story, and believe that God gave you this gift and this calling (and you really, really have to believe that or I would strongly recommend looking into other career options) then you have to just keep going and not give up. The stories are given for a purpose, and that purpose will be fulfilled in God’s time and in his way, not ours. In the meantime, keep working on your craft, honing it to  continually become a better and stronger writer. To get published now, work can’t just be good, it has to be excellent which, as writers working for the glory of God, should be our objective anyway. After that, we have to leave the results up to God.

Janet: Sound advice. Thank you. Are you working on a sequel?

Sara: Good question Janet. And the answer is maybe. When the book was UnBroken, I had a sequel written. Now that it has all been changed I’m not sure if the sequel still works or is needed. However, people have been asking about one, so I am taking a hard look at the other book to see if it can be rewritten to follow The Watcher or not. I will have to keep you posted on that. I do have another suspense novel written, The Child-Snatchers, which was short-listed in the Word Alive contest, so I am currently looking into publishing options for that one as well, but that one is the first in a completely different series.

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

Sara: The song “Praise You in the Storm” by Casting Crowns has had a big impact on me. The first time I heard it, a girl from our church was singing it at the funeral for her twenty-year old brother who had died suddenly in a car crash. Praising God is always powerful, but I was overwhelmed by how powerful it was that someone could be in the midst of devastation and heartbreak, and still praise God. I often thought of this song, and of the moment I first heard it, when I was writing about how Kathryn dealt with what happened to her in The Watcher. 

Janet: I think the choice to praise God in the hard times and in the pain is very powerful. And it’s something we all need to do at times. Next question: Are you a writer who likes to immerse herself in details of the setting while incubating the story idea?

Sara: Actually, that depends on what I am writing. The Child-Snatchers is set in a diner in Toronto, so I have spent a lot of time in diners in my town, trying to capture the feel, sounds, smells etc. Other than my husband questioning why I am suddenly spending so much more money on coffee and breakfast, I love being surrounded by everything my characters see and experience in the book. In The Watcher, the setting doesn’t play as big a role as the actions and interactions of the characters, so I did not end up spending extra time on a ranch, or travelling out to British Columbia. I do immerse myself in the dialogue, internal and verbal, of the characters whenever I write, however. I don’t tell this to many people, but I do act out a lot of the scenes, holding up both (or more) ends of the conversation and really putting myself into the action so that I can feel and think everything the character would be feeling and thinking. Like most writers, I find my characters become very real to me. In fact, I realize they are becoming too real to me when my poor husband says something to me and I find myself thinking “Nick would never say that to Kathryn!” That’s when I have to stop and remind myself that Nick is a fictional character and it’s not really a fair comparison.  

Janet: What do your family think of your writing?

Sara: Well, other than moments like that, they are unbelievably supportive. It’s not an easy thing to live with a writer, and to go through all the emotional ups and downs that come with that calling. It would be extremely difficult to pursue that vocation if your spouse and children (and, in my case, grandmother, parents, sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephew, aunts, uncles, cousins etc.) didn’t support you and encourage you daily not to give up. My husband Michael is my biggest encourager, and tells everyone about the novel, whether they want to hear about it or not J. My kids think it’s pretty cool that I’ve written a book, and they seem to be impressed. My older two anyway. My youngest son, who is seven, recently said to me, “I’m glad you stay home with us and don’t work. Well, except for writing books, but that’s easy!” They make me laugh, anyway, and that goes a long way toward keeping me sane and keeping me going.

Janet: Writers are told to read widely and voraciously. I think that’s one of the perks of the deal. What are you reading these days?

Sara: At the moment I am reading The Story of Edgar Sawtelle for a book club I attend and it is a beautifully written book. I am also reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, another beautiful, poetic book that is teaching me to live with a perpetual attitude of gratitude, and an awareness of the grace of God in the ordinary and everyday things of life. I also recently read In the Company of Others by Jan Karon, as enjoyable as the rest of the series, and Rescued by Donna Dawson is next on my list. I try to read a variety of books and authors, and to expand my horizons beyond what is familiar and, sometimes, even comfortable, in a desperate attempt to learn how great writers tell a story that has a powerful effect on their readers.

Janet: What do you like to do to get away from it all?

Sara: Is that an option? It’s pretty tricky for me to get away from it all these days, as I have three kids and have moved away from my family and don’t know very many people in town yet. Mostly I escape up to my room with a book, and I walk every morning with a friend down to the lake or on one of the many trails around here. Now that my kids are a little older, my husband and I do actually get out for a meal or a movie once in a while, and an hour or two of uninterrupted conversation is pretty much as close to a getaway as we’re taking these days.

Janet: Uninterrupted adult conversation is nothing to sneeze at! What’s the most surprising/fun/zany/scary thing you’ve ever done?

Sara: Wow, after contemplating this question for quite a while, I have come to the conclusion that I mustn’t be a very surprising/fun/zany/scary kind of a person, as nothing significant immediately came to mind. I’m not a huge risk-taker by nature, so this whole journey of putting myself and my work out there has been an on-going process of pushing myself further and further out of my comfort zone, which is always a good thing. Flying is I guess the scariest thing I have done, mostly because I have encountered pretty much everything that can go wrong with a flight short of crashing – being lost in fog, landing in tornadoes and the plane almost tipping over, having the plane searched for a bomb after someone checked in and didn’t get on a flight loaded with Hell’s Angels. I will still do it when necessary, but it does require a leap of faith and trust every time. Oh, and one of the most fun things that ever happened to me was bumping into Donny Osmond – literally – on a sidewalk in Toronto one day when he was there performing in Joseph. 

Janet: Sounds like plenty of things that could work into future novels! Sara, thanks so much for taking time to let us get to know you a bit. May the LORD continue to bless you and make you a blessing to others—in every area of your life.

===

Sara Davison blogs at Choose to Press On, and you can also find her on Facebook and on the Great Canadian Authors site. Visit her website, saradavison.org, for information on her current projects, an excerpt from and discussion questions for The Watcher, interviews, reviews and more.


Review: Dark Clouds of the Morning, by Janet C. Burrill

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Dark Clouds of the Morning, by Janet C. Burrill (Word Alive Press, 2011)

It’s 1917, and World War 1 is raging. The residents of the port city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Canada’s east coast, fear for the lives of their loved ones serving overseas. They never dream they’re about to experience a disaster that will level part of their city and be felt in tremors hundreds of miles away.

On a clear December morning, two ships collide in the bustling harbour. One, the Mont Blanc, is loaded with explosives. The Halifax Explosion will be “the largest man-made disaster until the atomic age.” [From the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic site.]

Sadly, the explosion is fact. Dark Clouds of the Morning is fiction, the story of Jennie Grayson, and her extended family, as the disaster overthrows their regular lives—and as they struggle to cope with the tragedy.

Jennie is a young woman working a factory job during the war, hoping to resume nursing studies when the soldiers come home. Her father, two brothers and fiancé Carl are all serving in Europe. Jennie’s mother, Helen, disapproves of Carl, and this causes strife at home.

Bert Powell is a young Boston physician who eagerly joins the disaster relief train to bring medical support to the survivors—and who is desperate for news of his grandmother, who lives in the shattered city. His grandmother, Pearl, is alive and well, and Bert is delighted to meet the young woman who’s staying with her after her own home was flattened: Jennie.

Plenty of books have been written about the Halifax Explosion, but this may be the first novel from a Christian perspective. Meticulously researched, it brings out tidbits I hadn’t known despite living in the area all my life.

The novel is written in a gentle, older style than is common today, and it lends a realistic feel for the time period. Terms like nappy (diaper), shirtwaist and middy (types of ladies’ tops) are used, but their meaning is always clear by their context.

Lovers of early 1900-s era history will appreciate this novel, and I think older seniors will especially enjoy it. Readers of any age who like heart-warming dramatic stories with a touch of romance will be satisfied.

The one flaw in the reading experience is the editing. Ordinarily with a self-published book, this suggests an author who hasn’t purchased the publisher’s editing service. In this case, the acknowledgements clearly thank the Word Alive editor for his work.

Most of the issues are simple copy-editing mistakes: punctuation errors or the occasional wrong word (eg. cherry instead of cheery). Good editing would have also addressed the author’s occasional re-telling of details readers have already learned.

The story still flows well, and it’s an inviting read. Canadian author Janet C. Burrill writes with sensitivity and grace, and with compassion for her suffering characters. She also paints detailed word pictures of the era’s decor and customs. Two of her descriptions that struck me most were “smokestacks snapped like carrots (p. 48)” and a pastor’s prayer for the sorrowing that ends with “In the name of your Son who understood grief (p. 123).”

Dark Clouds of the Morning is Janet C. Burrill’s debut novel, and she’s now at work on a sequel. Copies are available on Amazon.ca. Signed copies are available through the Dark Clouds of the Morning website for $20 Canadian plus shipping.

[Review copy from my personal library. Disclosure: The author is a personal friend.]