Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Shadows on the Sand by Gayle Roper

This is one of the best books I've read this summer. I hated to turn the last page and close the book. I wanted to spend more time with these fascinating, wonderful characters. The plot was deliciously complex and heart-wrenching but led to a satisfying conclusion. If you are a fan of well-woven romantic suspense, this may be the book you want to invest in this summer.

Yes, I have a giveaway copy, but don't wait around to see if you win. Go ahead and buy it now!

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Shadows on the Sand
Multnomah Books (July 19, 2011)
by
Gayle Roper






ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



Gayle is the award winning author of more than forty books. She has been a Christy finalist three times for her novels Spring Rain, Summer Shadows, and Winter Winds. Her novel Autumn Dreams won the prestigious Romance Writers of America's RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance. Summer Shadows was voted the Inspirational Readers Choice Contest Book of the Year (tied with fellow author Brandilyn Collins).



Gayle has won the Holt Medallion three times for The Decision, Caught in a Bind, and Autumn Dreams. The Decision won the Reviewers Choice Award, and Gayle has also won the Award of Excellence for Spring Rain and the Golden Quill for Summer Shadows and Winter Winds. Romantic Times Book Report gave Gayle the Lifetime Achievement Award.



Her Amhearst mystery series, Caught in the Middle, Caught in the Act, and Caught in a Bind, originally published by Zondervan, was reprinted in 2007 by Love Inspired Suspense with a fourth original title added, Caught Redhanded. Another original single title, See No Evil, was also released. Caught in the Middle has been optioned for film.



For her work in training Christian writers Gayle has won special recognition from Mount Hermon CWC, St. Davids CWC, Florida CWC, and Greater Philadelphia CWC. She directed St. Davids for five years and Sandy Cove CWC for six. She has taught with Christian Leaders, Authors and Speakers Services (CLASS), serving for several years as their writer in residence. She enjoys speaking at women's events across the nation and loves sharing the powerful truths of Scripture with humor and practicality.



Gayle lives in southeastern Pennsylvania where she enjoys her family of two great sons, two lovely daughters-in-law, and the world's five most wonderful grandchildren. When she's not writing, or teaching at conferences, Gayle enjoys reading, gardening, and eating out.





ABOUT THE BOOK



Carrie Carter’s small café in Seaside, New Jersey, is populated with a motley crew of locals although Carrie only has eyes for Greg Barnes. He’s recovering from a vicious crime that three years ago took the lives of his wife and children—and from the year he tried to drink his reality away. While her heart does a happy Snoopy dance at the sight of him, he never seems to notice her, to Carrie’s chagrin.



When Carrie’s dishwasher is killed and her young waitress disappears, Greg finds himself drawn into helping Carrie solve the mysteries … and into her life. But Carrie has a painful past, too, and when the reason she once ran away shows up in town, the fragile relationship she’s built with Greg threatens to implode from the weight of the baggage they both carry. Two wounded hearts struggle to find a way to make one romance work. Failure seems guaranteed when Carrie locates her waitress but is taken hostage...



If you would like to read the first chapter of Shadows on the Sand, go HERE.

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK NOW!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Falls Like Lightning by Shawn Grady

Yes, I have a giveaway copy. Leave a comment at the end of the post for a chance to win!

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Falls Like Lightning
Bethany House (July 1, 2011)
by
Shawn Grady




ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



Shawn Grady signed with Bethany House Publishers in 2008. He was named “Most Promising New Writer” at the 39th Annual Mount Hermon Writers Conference. He is the author of the novels Through the Fire, Tomorrow We Die & Falls Like Lightning.



Shawn has served for over a decade as a firefighter and paramedic in northern Nevada. From fire engines and ambulances to tillered ladder trucks and helicopters, Shawn’s work environment has always been dynamic. The line of duty has carried him to a variety of locale, from high-rise fires in the city to the burning heavy timber of the eastern Sierras.



After graduating from James Logan High School in Union City, California, Shawn attended Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego as a Theology undergrad. There he found clarity of direction and proceeded on to acquire an Associate of Science degree in Fire Science Technology as well as Paramedic licensure through Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nevada.



Shawn currently lives in Reno, just outside of Lake Tahoe. He enjoys spending time in the outdoors with his wife, three children and yellow Labrador.



ABOUT THE BOOK



When hotshot smoke jumper Silas Kent gets his own fire crew, he thinks he's achieved what he's always wanted. But a lightning-sparked fire in the Desolation Wilderness of the Sierra Nevadas has his team in a plane before they can even train together.




Pilot Elle Westmore has been called up to drop the crew into the heart of the forest infernos. A single mother of a mysteriously ill six-year-old, she can't imagine her life getting any more complicated.



It doesn't take long for things to go very wrong, very quickly. A suspicious engine explosion forces Elle to make an emergency landing. Silas is able to parachute to safety but soon discovers his crew can't be trusted. They're hiding something, and now Silas is on a race to save himself and Elle from the flames--and from a more dangerous threat: his own team.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Falls Like Lightning, go HERE



CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK NOW!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Pattern of Wounds by J. Mark Bertrand

This is a complex mystery with definite cross-over appeal. The crusty cop hero has issues layered among issues in both his personal and professional lives, which makes for a very interesting central character. I look forward to more in this series.

I do have a giveaway copy, so leave a comment at the end of the post for a chance to win!

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Pattern of Wounds
Bethany House (July 1, 2011)
by
J. Mark Bertrand




ABOUT THE AUTHOR:





J. Mark Bertrand lived in Houston, where the series is set, for fifteen years, earning an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Houston. But after one hurricane too many he relocated with his wife Laurie to the plains of South Dakota. Mark has been arrested for a crime he didn't commit, was the foreman of one hung jury and served on another that acquitted Vinnie Jones of assault. In 1972, he won an honorable mention in a child modeling contest, but pursued writing instead.







ABOUT THE BOOK





It's Christmas in Houston, and homicide detective Roland March is on the hunt for a killer. A young woman's brutal stabbing in an affluent neighborhood bears all the hallmarks of a serial murder. The only problem is that March sent the murderer to prison ten years ago. Is it a copycat -- or did March convict the wrong man?



Alienated from his colleagues and with a growing rift in his marriage, March receives messages from the killer. The bodies pile up, the pressure builds, and the violence reaches too close to home. Up against an unfathomable evil, March struggles against the clock to understand the hidden message in the pattern of wounds.



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

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK NOW!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

It's Official! Legacy of Lies Made the Cut



I'm so jazzed!

ACFW Announces Finalists for Christian Fiction’s Prestigious Carol Awards

(Atlanta, GA) At ICRS, in a press conference hosted by ACFW and CBA, ACFW proudly announced the finalists in the Carol Awards. The Carol Awards evolved from ACFW’s Book of the Year Awards to honor the highest achievement for published authors of Christian fiction. The 2011 Carol Award winners in each category will be announced at ACFW’s Awards Gala on Saturday, September 24, 2011 at the annual conference in St. Louis, Missouri. For Awards Gala ticket information, contact Allison Wilson at ca@acfw.com

Honoring excellence in Christian fiction of all genres, American Christian Fiction Writers announces the Carol Award finalists:


Debut Author:

The Preacher’s Bride by Jody Hedlund (Bethany House)

Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes (Tyndale Publishers)

Rooms by James L. Rubart (B&H Publishing)


Long Contemporary:

The Choice by Suzanne Woods Fisher (Revell)

Red Ink by Kathi Macias (New Hope Publishers)

Never Say Never by Lisa Wingate (Bethany House)


Long Contemporary Romance:

Plain Jayne by Hillary Manton Lodge (Harvest House)

Anna’s Return by Marta Perry (Berkley)

Plain Paradise by Beth Wiseman (Thomas Nelson)


Long Historical:

Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs (Waterbrook Press)

Petra: City in Stone by T.L. Higley (B&H Publishing)

Sons of Thunder by Susan May Warren (Summerside Press)


Long Historical Romance:

The Husband Tree by Mary Connealy (Barbour)

Love Finds You In Homestead, Iowa by Melanie Dobson (Summerside)

Courting Morrow Little by Laura Frantz (Revell)


Mystery:

Mirrored Image by Alice K. Arenz (Sheaf House)

Muslin Mystery by Vera Dodge (Guideposts)

The Camera Never Lies by Elizabeth Goddard (Barbour)


Novellas:

The Prodigal Groom by Vickie McDonough (Barbour)

Ride With Me Into Christmas by Rachael Phillips (Barbour)

A Trusting Heart by Carrie Turansky (Barbour)


Romantic Suspense:

The Silent Order by Melanie Dobson (Summerside Press)

Don’t Look Back by Lynette Eason (Revell)

Pursuit of Justice by DiAnn Mills (Tyndale Publishers)


Short Contemporary:

The Wedding Garden by Linda Goodnight (Love Inspired)

A Father for Zach by Irene Hannon (Love Inspired)

Winter’s End by Ruth Logan Herne (Love Inspired)


Short Contemporary Suspense:

Night Prey by Sharon Dunn (Love Inspired Suspense)

Legacy of Lies by Jill Elizabeth Nelson (Love Inspired Suspense)

Firestorm by Kelly Ann Riley (Love Inspired Suspense)


Short Historical:

Her Healing Ways by Lyn Cote (Love Inspired)

Promise of Tomorrow by S. Dionne Moore (Barbour)

The Columns of Cottonwood by Sandra Robbins (Barbour)


Speculative Fiction:

The Wolf of Tebron by C. S. Lakin (AMG Publishers)

Rooms by James L. Rubart (B&H Publishing)

König’s Fire by Marc Schooley (Marcher Lord Press)


Suspense/Thriller:

Predator by Terri Blackstock (Zondervan)

Fear No Evil by Robin Caroll (B&H Publishing)

Medical Error by Richard L. Mabry (Abingdon Press)


Women’s Fiction:

Beaded Hope by Cathy Liggett (Tyndale Publishers)

They Almost Always Come Home by Cynthia Ruchti (Abingdon)

Beyond Summer by Lisa Wingate (NAL)


Young Adult:

Anything But Normal by Melody Carlson (Revell)

Healer’s Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson (Zonderkidz)

Katy’s New World by Kim Vogel Sawyer (Zonderkidz)

Monday, July 11, 2011

Vigilante by Robin Parrish

Readers with a taste for action/adventure will be thrilled with this book. High action, appealing characters, and a fun--if rather outrageous--premise will keep those pages turning. We long for a hero to appear in our day and hour and show us a better way. Grab Parrish's new book for a jolt of adrenaline today!

I do have a giveaway copy, so leave a comment at the end of the post for a chance to win!

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Vigilante
Bethany House (July 1, 2011)
by
Robin Parrish




ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



Robin Parrish wants to take you on a ride.



A wild ride -- which is exactly what you're in for when you pick up one of his books. And he's adamant that it will never be the same kind of experience twice.



Robin's stories mix, mingle, and meld various genres together to create thoroughly original suspense/thrillers. His Dominion Trilogy, for example, mashed up superhero action, secret societies, ancient myths, and an apocalyptic setting to create an entirely new take on the classic "hero's journey." Offworld mixed science fiction and an end-of-the-world scenario with high-octane action. Nightmare, his 2010 novel, is a spine-tingling examination of the world of the paranormal, paired with can't-put-it-down mystery. His 2011 novel, Vigilante, is an action-packed story about a soldier who sets out to change the world. Later this year, he's releasing his first ever Young Adult novel, titled Corridor.



Always pushing the envelope, ever on the edge of where modern storytelling is going, Robin Parrish will gladly and unapologetically tell you that he's an entertainer, a weaver of stories that ignite the mind and delight the heart. Defying labels and refusing pigeonholes, his imagination is fueled by the possibilities of asking "What if…?", and as anyone who's read his work knows, he has a very big imagination.



His influences as a novelist range from television and film storytellers like Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams, to masters of the modern myth like J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Akin to Philip K. Dick's search for the meaning of identity, most of what Robin writes about boils down to his own ponderings and examinations of just what this thing we call "existence" is.



Robin is a full time writer. He and his wife Karen and two children live in High Point, NC.



"Robin Parrish is a keen-eyed, passionate pop cultural savant,

whose writing is as incisive and insightful as it is entertaining."


- Allan Heinberg, Executive Producer, Grey's Anatomy







ABOUT THE BOOK



Nolan Gray is an elite soldier, skilled in all forms of combat. After years fighting on foreign battlefields, witnessing unspeakable evils and atrocities firsthand, a world-weary Nolan returns home to find it just as corrupt as the war zones. Everywhere he looks, there's pain and cruelty. Society is being destroyed by wicked men who don't care who they make suffer or destroy.



Nolan decides to do what no one else can, what no one has ever attempted. He will defend the helpless. He will tear down the wicked. He will wage a one-man war on the heart of man, and he won't stop until the world is the way it should be.



The wicked have had their day. Morality's time has come. In a culture starving for a hero, can one extraordinary man make things right?



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

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK NOW!

Saturday, July 09, 2011

Who is My Shelter? by Neta Jackson

I have a giveaway copy, so be sure to leave a comment at the end of the post for a chance to win!

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Who is My Shelter
Thomas Nelson (March 1, 2011)
by
Neta Jackson




ABOUT THE AUTHOR:





Neta Jackson is the author of the popular novel series, *The Yada Yada Prayer Group*, and a spin-off series called *The Yada Yada House of Hope.* These novels were inspired by a real women's Bible study and prayer group that, as Neta says, "God has used to turn my life upside down and rightside up." Neta and her husband, Dave, are also an award-winning writing team, best known for the Trailblazer books--a forty-book series of historical fiction for young people about great Christian heroes (see www.trailblazerbooks.com). The Jacksons are members of a multi-cultural church in the Chicago area, and the parents of three grown children, including a Cambodian foster daughter, all with families of their own.



ABOUT THE BOOK





In Jackson's fourth Yada Yada House of Hope Christian evangelical novel, Gabby Fairbanks is now settled in her new apartment at the House of Hope. But she is being pulled in several directions at once and has some hard decisions to make.



Philip, her estranged husband, is in a lot of trouble with a rogue cop from whom he borrowed money and also with his partner at the commercial development firm after he takes company money to cover his gambling losses. Lee Boyer, the Legal Aid lawyer who has become a friend to Gabby, now wants to be more. Gabby must decide whether to give Philip another chance, as their sons, Paul and PJ, hope, and she turns to the folks at Manna House, where she works, and the Yada Yada Prayer Group to help her discern God's plan for her.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Who is My Shelter, go HERE

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK NOW!

Thursday, July 07, 2011

Veiled Rose by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

I do have a giveaway copy, so be sure to leave a comment at the end of the post for a chance to win!



This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Veiled Rose
Bethany House (July 1, 2011)
by
Anne Elisabeth Stengl




ABOUT THE AUTHOR:





Anne Elisabeth Stengl makes her home in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she enjoys her profession as an art teacher, giving private lessons from her personal studio, and teaching group classes at the Apex Learning Center. She studied illustration at Grace College and English literature at Campbell University. Heartless is her debut novel.





ABOUT THE BOOK



Rose Red trusts no one with her secret. She hides in the forest, her face veiled in rags, shunning the company of all save her old father and her nanny goat. Her life is bleak and lonely.



Until she meets a privileged young man sent to spend his summer in the mountains. Leo, a lonely lad, befriends Rose Red, and together they begin hunting for the Mountain Monster which, rumor says, stalks these lands.



But the hunt which began as a game holds greater risk than Leo supposes. Rose Red can scarcely guess at the consequences should he insist on continuing his search. Dare she trust him with her secret? Or tell him what dwells at the top of the mountain in the cave only she can find?



Above all, when Leo asks Rose Red to leave the mountain and follow him to the low country, dare she agree and risk the wrath of a Monster that is all too real?



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

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK NOW!

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Lion of Babylon by Davis Bunn

Check this one out by one of the most skilled and gifted authors in Christian fiction today. I have a giveaway copy, so be sure to leave a comment at the end for a chance to win!

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Lion of Babylon
Bethany House (July 1, 2011)
by
Davis Bunn




ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



Born and raised in North Carolina, Davis left for Europe at age twenty. There he first completed graduate studies in economics and finance, then began a business career that took him to over forty countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.



Davis came to faith at age 28, while living in Germany and running an international business advisory group. He started writing two weeks later. Since that moment, writing has remained both a passion and a calling.



Davis wrote for nine years and completed seven books before his first was accepted for publication. During that time, he continued to work full-time in his business career, travelling to two and sometimes three countries every week. His first published book, The Presence, was released in 1990 and became a national bestseller.



Honored with three Christy Awards for excellence in historical and suspense fiction, his bestsellers include The Great Divide, Winner Take All, The Meeting Place, The Warning, The Book of Hours, and The Quilt.



A sought-after speaker in the art of writing, Davis serves as Writer In Residence at Regent’s Park College, Oxford University.



ABOUT THE BOOK



Marc Royce works for the State Department on special assignments, most of them rather routine, until two CIA operatives go missing in Iraq--kidnapped by Taliban forces bent on generating chaos in the region. Two others also drop out of sight--a high-placed Iraqi civilian and an American woman providing humanitarian aid. Are the disappearances linked? Rumors circulate in a whirl of misinformation.



Marc must unravel the truth in a covert operation requiring utmost secrecy--from both the Americans and the insurgents. But even more secret than the undercover operation is the underground dialogue taking place between sworn enemies. Will the ultimate Reconciler between ancient enemies, current foes, and fanatical religious factions be heard?



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

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK NOW!

Friday, July 01, 2011

Robert Liparulo - Big Book Giveaway!

Thriller writer, Robert Liparulo, is starting a contest today! The winner gets a 20-book library worth $300. A lot of the books are signed. If you click the following link to his mailing list sign-up page and enter the drawing, by putting my blog name (Artistic Blogger) in the box for "Friend 1," you'll get an extra entry (you'll get two: one for signing up and one for being a reader of my blog)... more if you get some other friends to sign up.

CLICK HERE FIND OUT THE DETAILS!