Monday, September 30, 2013
Saturday, September 28, 2013
{Tyndale Blog Tour} Every Waking Moment, A Novel by Chris Fabry
My Thoughts: Chris Fabry writes an amazing story full of emotion and life issues in Every Waking Moment! This is a one.of.a.kind story that takes the reader on an emotional journey. But the life of Treha and how she looks at the heart of people, especially the old and aging who seem to be lost in the fog of dementia. And what is in Treha's background? And how will the the new director fix (mess everything up)? And what about Miriam and her husband? There are quite a few stories going on at one time in this read.
Hats off to Chris Fabry for another fantastic read that will make the reader not only think but probably laugh and cry, too.
The following is a Question and Answer time with Chris about this book:
Author Q & A
Chris Fabry on Every Waking Moment
1. What was your inspiration for this book, Every Waking Moment?
The question at the center of this story is “If this is as good as it gets, am I okay with life?” I find this is a universal question that hits at the heart of our outlook on life and our belief in God. The other question it raises is this: If you could bring someone back from dementia or Alzheimer’s and have a conversation, what would you ask? What would you say to that person?
2. Tell me about your main character Treha Langsam. Was this character based upon anyone in particular?
She was loosely based on my own children and what they’ve gone through the past five years. This is probably my most personal story to date. We were exposed to toxic mold. Most people think you can only get a rash or have respiratory damage, but it can attack the brain. Treha’s symptoms are similar to what I’ve seen in them and others who have been exposed.
3. What lessons or truths will your readers find in the pages of this novel?
I love the fact that God doesn’t look at the exterior; he looks at the heart. As humans, we have a tendency to judge on first impressions, but we miss so much by doing that. Those who are disabled, those who have some kind of struggle in life, those who are older—all are lumped into a category, and this is such a disservice to them and us.
4. How do you expect Treha’s story to resonate with your readers?
I think everyone feels a bit like Treha. She is the little engine that could, even if she isn’t given a chance. And it only takes one person giving someone else a chance. I’m hoping readers will give someone a chance—or maybe let someone else give them a chance.5. As a writer, what did you particularly enjoy about crafting this story?
I loved getting to know Treha better because she’s so mysterious to everyone around her. She’s also a bit scary. To crawl into her skin and walk around and see what she sees is a heartbreaking, life-affirming journey. I also liked the discovery that came with other characters who encounter Treha and see how she changes their lives.
6. What is your hope for this story? How would you like it to impact readers?
My hope is that this force of nature, Treha, would empower readers to believe the truth about themselves and others. In Christ, you are stronger than you think you are. With God, you can do anything he calls you to do.
7. How has this novel helped you to grow as a storyteller?
Trying to tell a complex story in a simple way is always difficult, and people’s lives are hugely complex. Trying to uncover the truth about Treha—why she is the way she is and where she might be able to go from here—helped me as a human being as well as a writer.
8. Your novels typically touch on a relevant and current topic in our culture. What topics do you weave into this novel?
One thread running deeply through this story is the reliance we have on drugs. It’s much easier to take a pill than to make a lifestyle change. And this is affecting individuals, families, and our culture. It also means a great deal of money to institutions, so in tackling this, I know I’m not going to make friends in the pharmaceutical industry. I’m grateful for drugs—my son wouldn’t be alive today without insulin. But every positive thing can have a negative side as well.
9. What big questions will this novel get your reader thinking about?
What is your backstory?
What is the worth of an individual? Old, young, disabled, unsuccessful . . . several characters are faced with questions of their own worth as well as how they treat others. I’ve always heard that your faith is tested by how you treat someone who can’t do anything for you. This story will get you thinking about some of those deep issues of the heart.
10. How do you manage your time with such a full life, including a writing career, a radio career, and a large family?
Everyone has the same amount of time each day. We simply make choices about what we invest in. Hence, I spend less time watching television than I used to. That’s a huge time waster. I get up earlier and go to bed earlier. And when you begin your day centered on God’s Word and ask him what your priorities should be, things generally fall into place. I haven’t arrived at that balance, but I’m struggling as well as I can.
Book Trailer:
*This book was provided for review by Tyndale Publishing*
Meet the Author:
Chris Fabry is an award-winning author and radio personality who hosts the daily program Chris Fabry Live! on Moody Radio. He is also heard on Love Worth Finding, Building Relationships with Dr. Gary Chapman, and other radio programs. A 1982 graduate of the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism at Marshall University and a native of West Virginia, Chris and his wife, Andrea, now live in Arizona and are the parents of nine children.Wednesday, September 25, 2013
A Christmas Gift for Rose by Tricia Goyer
Book Description: Born in the midst of the hardships of The Great Depression, Rose grew up in Berlin, Ohio, in the arms of a loving Amish family. But as she prepares to marry, she's thrown into confusion when she learns the truth of her birth. She was born Englisch and abandoned when the family moved on in search of work.
Was she meant to be Amish or would she have been better off growing up with her own kind---Englischers? And was her intended's gift of discovering her birth family given out of love or fear?
My Thoughts: Christmas! A time of forgiveness and love!
Rose has grown up in the midst of the Great Depression. Rose and Jonathon are in love and Rose is ready to marry Jonathon.
Then she finds that she was born English. And Rose also feels abandoned. Rose wonders if she is really Amish or English?
But Jonathon has been a medic in the war. No amish man would even join a war! And Rose turns her back on Jonathon because he isn't part of the Amish now. Some twists and turns!
Rose and Jonathon learn about forgiveness, love, acceptance and God's mercy.
For such a short book this story reads smoothly and with a lot depth. This is a "wonderful gut" Christmas novella! But the reader must read it and decide for herself what the Christmas gift is all about!
*This book was provided for review by BookSneeze/Zondervan*
- Hardcover: 192 pages
- Publisher: Zondervan (September 24, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0310336783
- ISBN-13: 978-0310336785
Unlimited ebook special for the next 6 days!
GREAT news!
The ebook for Unlimited is now only $4.99 for the next 6 days!!
Go HERE to buy your ebook!
Forever Friday (A Novel) by Timothy Lewis
Every Friday, a postcard.
Every Friday, a love poem.
Every Friday for sixty years.
Adam Colby is just doing his job, sorting through the unsold Alexander belongings after the estate sale. He is unprepared for what he finds in an old photo album, overlooked by the bargain hounds and treasure hunters—six decades of postcards and poems from Gabe Alexander to his wife, Pearl. The mystery of the Alexanders’ love entices Adam, a man unhinged by divorce and puzzled by the depth of commitment that he finds in the unabashedly romantic cards.
Forever Friday invites you to travel back in time to the early twentieth century Texas Coastal Bend where a young couple—Gabe and Pearl Alexander—are swept up in a miraculous love. As the heartwarming, pulse-quickening story of their relationship develops through Gabe’s poems, the Alexanders reveal a new way to consider what it means to be truly devoted to each other. Could the secrets of their love affair, laid to rest twenty years ago, hold the key to one man’s future?
My Thoughts: Sometimes the past can bring help/peace to the future. Timothy Lewis writes a heartwarming love story of a couple, from the past whose love letters in the form of postcards entice a divorced man, Adam Colby, to come to grips with his own commitments or lack of commitment.
Adam is compelled to find the mystery of this love affair that his aunt and uncle, the Alexander's had. So, when he has some left over items from their estate sale, he finds these postcards that came every Friday. What woman wouldn't love a romantic poem on a postcard every Friday and for 66 years?!?! What kind of man writes these romantic words to a woman...and what keeps the romance alive for this couple?
This is a sweet and romantic read but yet it has the feel of "today." An eye opening, fiction read that brings out the mystery of love and of commitment...that divorce isn't an option. That love is a "thing" that must be cultivated and most of all that there is always hope.
*This book was provided by review by Waterbrook Press*
- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: WaterBrook Press (September 3, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0307732215
- ISBN-13: 978-0307732217
WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday} Apple Enchiladas
WOW! Fall is here, again! And with fall comes apples. And we love apples!
Another great recipe found on Pinterest! So I'm making these . . .
**Cherries or peaches can be substituted for apples.
1 (21 ounce) can apple pie filling
6 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
- Spoon about one heaping quarter cup of pie filling evenly down the center of each tortilla.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon; roll up, tucking in edges; and place seam side down in prepared dish.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, white sugar, brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes.
- Pour sauce over enchiladas and let stand 45 minutes.
- Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes, or until golden.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
UNLIMITED By Davis Bunn AND a WOW! This book is a movie too! SEE the BOTTOM of this POST for FUN & PRIZES!!
Book Description: Simon Orwell is a brilliant student whose life has taken a series of wrong turns. At the point of giving up on his dreams, he gets a call from an old professor who has discovered a breakthrough in a device that would create unlimited energy, and he needs Simon's help.
But once he crosses the border, nothing goes as the young man planned. The professor has been killed and Simon is assaulted and nearly killed by members of a powerful drug cartel. Now he must take refuge in the only place that will help him, a local orphanage. There, Simon meets Harold Finch, the orphanage proprietor who walked away from a lucrative career with NASA and consulting Fortune 500 companies to serve a higher cause. With Harold's help, Simon sets out on a quest to uncover who killed the professor and why. In due time, he will discover secrets to both the worldchanging device and his own unlimited potential.
My Thoughts: I'm SO excited because Davis Bunn has written another novel! Davis Bunn writes a fantastic novel in Unlimited. It includes the drug cartel and lots and lots of adventure!!
We meet Simon Orwell. Poor Simon his whole life seems nothing but an endless stream of wrong choices. But just when Simon is about to give up on his dreams, his old professor calls him about a device he has discovered and he needs Simon's help. Simon has no idea what this device that creates unlimited energy is worth or that there are those who will seek for it.
Of course, Simon wants to help but is this more than Simon bargained for?!? Simon is nearly killed by whom he guesses is the drug cartel. Battered and bruised Simon seeks help and Harold Finch is the only one who seems to want to help poor Simon. Harold Finch runs the local orphanage along with his beautiful sister, Sophie. Simon learns that Harold has given up quite a career to serve God.
Simon can trust few people and there are more secrets than a basketful of weevils. But Simon perseveres because he is determined to find the killer and he wants to know the "why of it all."
The "why of it all" is quite interesting!
An excellent read! Well, honestly, this is probably the best book I've read this summer!
*I received a complimentary copy of Unlimited from
B&H Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review.
(A definite 5 star read!)
Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: B&H Books (September 1, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 143367940X
- ISBN-13: 978-1433679407
Unlimited is Davis’s first screenplay to be released as a major motion picture. The book, Unlimited, is a novelization of the screenplay. You can check out the movie trailer here . . .
***FREE DOWNLOAD: The inspiration behind the Unlimited film and novel is Harold Finch’s book, Success: Four Keys to Unlock Your Unlimited Potential. Download a free copy of Success here: http://unlimitedthemovie.com/4-keys-book/.
About Davis Bunn
Davis Bunn is a four-time Christy Award-winning, best-selling author now serving as writer-in-residence at Regent's Park College, Oxford University in the United Kingdom. Defined by readers and reviewers as a “wise teacher,” “gentleman adventurer,” “consummate writer,” and “Renaissance man,” his work in business took him to over 40 countries around the world, and his books have sold more than seven million copies in sixteen languages. Unlimited is Davis’s first screenplay to be released as a major motion picture. The book, Unlimited, is a novelization of the screenplay.The inspiration behind the Unlimited film and novel is Harold Finch's book, Success: Four Keys to Unlock Your Unlimited Potential.
Download a free copy of Success here: http://unlimitedthemovie.com/4-keys-book/.
GO HERE TO read the first THREE chapters of UNLIMITED!
GO HERE TO read the first THREE chapters of UNLIMITED!
- FUN & PRIZES!!
- You could win a $50 Fandango gift card plus UNLIMITED, Davis Bunn's new suspense novel. Ten additional winners will receive a copy of UNLIMITED. Enter right now by clicking this link: http://woobox.com/mp5qew
Pinterest Users: Here’s a Contest Just for You
You can connect with Davis Bunn at the following links:- His website: www.davisbunn.com.
- His Facebook page.
- His Twitter account.
- His Pinterest account.
Time for the GIVEAWAY!! Click on the link below to enter:
The winner will receive a $50 Fandango gift card plus UNLIMITED, Davis Bunn’s new suspense novel. Ten additional winners will receive a copy of UNLIMITED.CONTEST ENDS OCTOBER 13, 2013!
Monday, September 23, 2013
Made to Last by Melissa Tagg
Book Description: Miranda Woodruff has it all. At least, that's how it looks when she's starring in her homebuilding television show, From the Ground Up. So when her network begins to talk about making cuts, she'll do anything to boost ratings and save her show--even if it means pretending to be married to a man who's definitely not the fiance who ran out on her three years ago.
When a handsome reporter starts shadowing Miranda's every move, all his digging into her personal life brings him a little too close to the truth--and to her. Can the girl whose entire identity is wrapped up in her on-screen persona finally find the nerve to set the record straight? And if she does, will the life she's built come crashing down just as she's found a love to last?
My Thoughts: Having read quite a few mystery and suspense reads lately I decided to swing away from these "heavier" books to read this contemporary romance Made to Last by Melissa Tagg.
Melissa is a new author and makes quite a debut with Made to Last.
Miranda "Randi" Woodruff is a hands on type of gal. She has her own homebuilding TV show, From the Ground Up. It all seems to be going so well and Randi seems to have it all . . . until she needs (more) ratings and a husband!
One small problem Randi isn't dating and so she pretends to be married.
Then Matthew agrees with his editor to write a serial blog about Randi and her life. Well, in all his "digging" about Randi's closely guarded life he comes to some "secrets."
As the handsome reporter,Matthew, shadows Randi's every move and begins the series on her show and life, Randi begins to see a a man who is made to last.
A fun and light hearted christian romance that is one great read!
*This book was provided for review by Bethany House*
Meet the Author:
Melissa Tagg is a former reporter turned author who loves all things funny and romancey. Her debut novel, a romantic comedy titled Made to Last, releases from Bethany House in September 2013, with a follow-up slated for summer 2014. In addition to her nonprofit day job, she is also the marketing/events coordinator for My Book Therapy, a craft and coaching community for writers founded by award-winning author Susan May Warren.
During her reporting days, Melissa interviewed presidential candidates and llama farmers, rode a hot air balloon and flew a plane, and once found herself face to face with a buffalo. But today she gets her kicks by letting her characters have their own fun. She's passionate about humor, grace and happy endings.
- Paperback: 368 pages
- Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (September 15, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0764211323
- ISBN-13: 978-0764211324
Thursday, September 19, 2013
End of Summer but not end of great reads!
Today I want to share some of my most favorite reads with you.
I absolutely LOVE the sisterchick books. Each sisterchick book by Robin Jones Gunn is a stand alone read. Each book has two or more different women that love the Lord and are on a journey...sometimes for rest, sometimes for service and sometimes for inheritance.
I love each book and I just can't pick a favorite that's why all of the sisterchick books are posted. I actually re-read each book when I have no other books to read!
I love the nuggets of truth that are planted throughout the story! OH!SO GOOD!
As I read these books my faith is increased and I'm ready to go on a sisterchick journey myself!
{not posted in any specific order}
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday} Butter Brickle Frozen Delight
This delightful and yummy recipe comes from allrecipes.com
I made this for Labor Day. It was a great hit!
|
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup white sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
|
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed
milk
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped
topping, thawed
1 (12 ounce) jar caramel topping
|
DIRECTIONS:
| 1. | Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). |
| 2. | In medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, 1/3 cup melted butter and white sugar until well mixed. Press into bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. |
| 3. | Bake 6 minutes, until set. Cool completely. |
| 4. | Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). |
| 5. | In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter and pecans until well mixed. Lightly pat onto a baking sheet. |
| 6. | Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until light brown. Crumble while still hot. Cool completely. |
| 7. | In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in condensed milk until well blended. Fold in whipped topping. |
"A graham cracker crust is topped with layers of sweetened cream cheese and a pecan oat crumble and snaked throughout with caramel sauce. Frozen and served cold."
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