Words

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Words B&H Books (February 1, 2011) by Ginny Yttrup



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ginny Yttrup is an author, freelance writer, and writing coach. As she writes, speaks, and coaches, her prayer is that God will use her words to replace the lies so many believe about themselves with the truth of His unconditional love and grace. To see someone grasp, perhaps for the first time, the truth of God's love, is truly an honor. Through a relationship with the Truth, Jesus Christ, the bonds of shame are loosed and freedom abounds!



When Ginny is not working, she loves spending time with her two college-age sons or with friends. She is surrounded by the most amazing people--each a gift in their own way. If she can spend time outdoors with those she love, it's even better. And she thoroughly adores her dog, Bear. He's a book lover too.



She has two grown sons and lives near Sacramento, California. Words is her first novel.



ABOUT THE BOOK

"I collect words. I keep them in a box in my mind. I'd like to keep them in a real box, something pretty, maybe a shoe box covered with flowered wrapping paper. Whenever I wanted, I'd open the box and pick up the papers, reading and feeling the words all at once. Then I could hide the box. But the words are safer in my mind. There, he can't take them."



Ten-year old Kaylee Wren doesn't speak. Not since her drug-addled mother walked away, leaving her in a remote cabin nestled in the towering redwoods-in the care of a man who is as dangerous as he is evil. With silence her only refuge, Kaylee collects words she might never speak from the only memento her mother left behind: a dictionary.



Sierra Dawn is thirty-four, an artist, and alone. She has allowed the shame of her past to silence her present hopes and chooses to bury her pain by trying to control her circumstances. But on the twelfth anniversary of her daughter's death, Sierra's control begins to crumble as the God of her childhood woos her back to Himself.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Words, go HERE.



Watch the book trailer video:

Lone Star Intrigue

This week, the  Christian Fiction Blog Alliance  is introducing  Lone Star Intrigue  Avon Inspire (February 1, 2011)  by  Debra White Smith  


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  

Debra White Smith is a seasoned Christian author, speaker, and media personality who has been regularly publishing books for over a decade. In the last twelve years, she has accumulated over 50 books sales to her credit with over 1 million books in print. Her titles include such life-changing books as Romancing Your Husband, Romancing Your Wife, The Divine Romance: Developing Intimacy with God, the The Lonestar Intrigue fiction series, and The Jane Austen fiction series.


As a woman of God, Debra is committed to the highest standards of integrity and to spending hours a week being still before the Father, staying in tune with Him, and listening for His voice of direction in all she does. This commitment to romancing the Lord, coupled with her lifestyle of devouring, analyzing, and dissecting the Word of God has allowed God to bring about a miracle of deliverance and healing in Debra's spirit, mind, and soul. For you see, Debra holds a double Ph.D. from the toughest schools in the world. The first Ph.D. from the "School of Hard Knocks" and the second, from the "School of Very Hard Knocks." Aside from that, she holds an M.A. in English from the University of Texas.


Along with Debra's being voted a fiction-reader favorite several times, her book Romancing Your Husband was a finalist in the 2003 Gold Medallion Awards. And, her Austen Series novel First Impressions was a finalist in the 2005 Retailer's Choice Awards. Debra has been a popular media guest across the nation, including Fox TV, The 700 Club, ABC Radio, USA Radio Network, and Moody Broadcasting. Her favorite hobbies include fishing, bargain-hunting, and swimming with her family. Debra also vows she would walk 50 miles for a scoop of German Chocolate ice cream.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In the small town of Bullard, Texas, the Mansfield brothers seem to have everything in order . . . except for their love lives. Jack is the lonely police chief still pining after Charli, his college girlfriend. Younger brother Sonny keeps busy on the road as a private investigator, and a secret from his past prevents him from finding someone to settle down with. But all that is about to change...


Read the two stories...

In Texas Heat, Charli is wrongly accused of a terrible crime. Now Jack must arrest the one woman he's ever loved and risk everything to prove her innocence and save her life.

In Texas Pursuit, a single mother is a target of a relentless stalker—and Sonny finds himself both the only man who can protect her and the one who inadvertently leads danger back into her world.

Page-turning novels of romance and suspense, the Lone Star Intrigue series will give you faith in the power of love, and remind you that having faith in a God who redeems our mistakes is the greatest love story of all.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Lone Star Intrigue, go HERE.

Promises to Keep

This week, the  Christian Fiction Blog Alliance  is introducing  Promises to Keep  Bethany House (February 1, 2011)  by  Ann Tatlock  



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  

Ann Tatlock is the author of the Christy Award-winning novel All the Way Home. She has also won the Midwest Independent Publishers Association "Book of the Year" in fiction for both All the Way Home and I'll Watch the Moon. Her novel Things We Once Held Dear received a starred review from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly calls her "one of Christian fiction's better wordsmiths, and her lovely prose reminds readers why it is a joy to savor her stories." Ann lives with her husband and daughter in Asheville, North Carolina.


ABOUT THE BOOK  

Eleven-year-old Roz (Rosalind) Anthony and her family have just moved to Mills River, Illinois, to escape an abusive situation. Only days after settling into their new home, they are surprised to find the previous owner, Tillie Monroe, on their front porch reading the newspaper.


Though her sons have sold the house and sent her to a facility for the aged, she is determined to die in the place she lived her life, and somehow manages to find her way "home" day after day. Feeling sympathy for the elderly woman, Roz's mother allows Tillie to move back in.

Mara Nightingale becomes Roz's first friend in Mills River. In spite of their many differences, the girls discover they have something in common that binds them together--both are hiding secrets. So they make a promise--"cross my heart and hope to die"--never to tell anyone else. When danger stalks the Anthonys, Tillie exhibits unimaginable courage and selfless love in her determination to protect the family she has adopted as her own.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Promises to Keep, go HERE.

Watch the book trailer:

Another Dawn - Review

This week, the  Christian Fiction Blog Alliance  is introducing  Another Dawn  Bethany House (February 1, 2011)  by  Kathryn Cushman  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kathryn Cushman is a graduate of Samford University with a degree in pharmacy. After practicing as a pharmacist, she left her career to marry and begin a family and has since pursued her dream of writing.

Other books by Kathryn, A Promise to Remember was a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers Book-of-the-Year in the Women’s Fiction category, and Waiting for Daybreak was a finalist in Women’s Fiction for the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award.

Leaving Yesterday, her third novel, was a finalist for the ACFW Carol Award.

Now her fifth book, Another Dawn, has arrived in stores, and I’m very excited about it!

On the homefront, Kathryn has been married to Lee for over twenty years now, and their two daughters are currently braving the worlds of junior high and high school. They’ve lived in Santa Barbara for the last nineteen years. It’s a beautiful place and Kathryn feels blessed to be there (although a seventy degree Christmas still leaves her dreaming of a white one—or at least a colder one!)

ABOUT THE BOOK    

Grace Graham is back in Tennessee with her four-year-old son on a short unpaid leave from work, helping her father recover from surgery and spending time with her sister.

Shoal Creek seems more backward than ever after her years in California, and it's hard to find organic food anywhere. When the unthinkable happens and her son is diagnosed with measles, Grace's fears over modern medicine take a dangerous turn.

Worse, the town has fallen into quarantine and its residents focus their anger and blame on Grace. She is alone and scared, until one brave woman chooses to reach out a hand of forgiveness and mercy. But when the outbreak takes a life-threatening turn, will Grace be able to forgive herself?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Another Dawn, go HERE.

My Review:

Another Dawn is a great story that deals with a real issue, to immunize your children or not.  Is the risk of side effects greater than the risk of disease.  This is a dilemma Grace finds herself in with her son.  Not only is she dealing with the consequences of that decision, she is in the middle of a broken engagement, she is harboring unforgiveness towards her father, and she is a runner.  Running from anything and everything that makes her uncomfortable.  She feels she has been given the short end of the stick so many times and she doesn’t believe that will ever change.  When everything around her starts falling apart, she realizes she is going to have to quit running and make some life changes or she is going to lose everything.

I received Another Dawn from Kathryn Cushman through Christian Fiction Blog Alliance in exchange for my honest opinion.  I would recommend this book to everyone.  There is lots in it we can all learn from.

Happy Reading

Unplanned - Review

About the Author:

Abby Johnson quit her job in October 2009. That simple act became a national news story because Abby was the director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas who, after participating in her first actual abortion procedure, walked across the road to join the Coalition for Life. 

About the Book:

Unplanned is a heartstopping personal drama of life-and-death encounters, a courtroom battle, and spiritual transformation that speaks hope and compassion into the political controversy that surrounds this issue. Telling Abby’s story from both sides of the abortion clinic property line, this book is a must-read for anyone who cares about the life versus rights debate and helping women who face crisis pregnancies.

Facts about Abortion in the United States 

Unless otherwise noted, statistics are from the Alan Guttmacher Institute1 (AGI): 

1. 22 percent of all pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion.2 

2. Over 50 million abortions have taken place in the United States since 1973.3 

3. Abortion is one of the most common medical procedures undergone by women aged 15–44 in the US.4 

4. An abortion takes place every 24 seconds. Over 3,600 abortions occur each day in the United 

States.5 

5. Planned Parenthood reported 305,310 abortions and 4,912 adoption referrals during 2007.6 

6. In 2008, one-third of Planned Parenthood funding came through government grants from United 

States tax dollars.7 

7. 31 percent of all abortions in the United States are paid for by tax dollars through Medicaid.8 

8. In the United States, 78 percent of women report a religious affiliation at the time of their abortion.9 

9. One-third of women in the United States will have an abortion before the age of 45.  

10. About 61 percent of abortions are obtained by women who have one or more children.10 

11. In the United States, 49 percent of all African-American pregnancies end in abortion—three times 

the ratio for white pregnancies.11 

                                                           

1“Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States,” May 2010, 

http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html 

2 Jones et al., 2008, cited by AGI 

3 based on yearly estimates from AGI 

4 Jones, et al., 2008 

5 based on yearly estimates from AGI 

6 Planned Parenthood Annual Report, 2007–2008,  http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/AR08_vFinal.pdf 

7 Planned Parenthood, Annual Report, 2007–2008, http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/AR08_vFinal.pdf 

8 AGI, Characteristics of U.S. Abortion Patients, 2008, http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/US-Abortion-Patients.pdf 

9 AGI, An Overview of Abortion in the United States, 

http://www.guttmacher.com/media/presskits/2005/06/28/abortionoverview.html 

10 Jones et al., 2010, cited by AGI 

11 U.S. Center for Disease Control, MMWR Surveillance Summaries, Nov. 2006, 

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5511a1.htm  

My Review:

This is a great book.  When Abby describes the ultrasound that changed her life, it gave me chills.  I have always been pro-life, I have always believed that you are pregnant with a baby not tissue from day one and it does my heart good to see the changes God made in this ladies life.  The diligence of the Coalition for Life is tremendous.  Day after day, week after week, year after year, standing at the fence praying and believing.  At times losing hope, getting frustrated, but sticking with it to the end and seeing results from their diligence.  A true testament to standing up and firm for what you believe.

I would recommend this book to anyone but, I truly believe every person considering abortion, male or female, should have to read the first chapter.  

If you would like to read the first chapter go here!!

Happy Reading!!