WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday}

Buttermilk Sky by Jan Watson

Book Description:  Weary of the expectations imposed on her by her strict upbringing, eighteen-year-old Mazy Pelfrey prepares to leave her home in the Kentucky mountains for the genteel city of Lexington, where she’ll attend secretarial school. She knows her life is about to change—and only for the better. Everything will be blue skies from now on.

But business school is harder than she thought it would be and the big city not as friendly, until she meets a charming young man from a wealthy family, Loyal Chambers. When Loyal sets his sights on her, Mazy begins to see that everything she’d ever wished to have is right before her eyes. The only hindrance to her budding romance is a former beau, Chanis Clay, the young sheriff she thought she’d left firmly behind.

Danger rumbles like thunder on a high mountain ridge when Mazy’s cosseted past collides with her clouded future and forces her to come to terms with what she really wants.

My Thoughts:  Since Mazy Pelfrey wants blue skies...a life of ease maybe, I think the title of this novel, Buttermilk Skies, is an interesting twist to her "blue sky plan" for life.  Since buttermilk tends to be sour and somewhat cloudy, I feel the book is well titled.

Like most young women Mazy wants a life that has some excitement so when she leaves her strict upbringing and her boyfriend/suitor, Chanis Clay, behind she is more than a little surprised how life follows one, where ever one goes.

Secretarial school, city life, and the changing scenery are not what she "really" thought her move to "freedom" would entail.  Well, there must be more to this life than this, right?  

So, when she meets the very charming Loyal Chambers and he sets his hat for her it seems that her blue sky life is looking better and better.  But even blue skies have thunderstorms.

A great read you'll want to read for yourself!

*This book was provided for review by Tyndale Publishing*

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (October 1, 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141438985X

COTT {Clash of the Titles} Winner of the August New Releases Clash

Thanks to all of our participants for their wonderful submissions. 

Congratulations to Our Winner!

Having his younger sister at camp was a pain, but Taylor Dixon never expected the pain to go so deep. At 15, Taylor dreams of getting his driver’s license and driving racecars when he’s older. Only his younger sister, Marissa, believes in his dreams, but her adventurous spirit keeps landing him in trouble. Dad won’t let Taylor get his license and predicts he’s heading for the same jail cell as his once-favored older brother.

Taylor returns to Rustic Knoll Bible Camp, expecting softball, swimming and sermons. Then he discovers a classic Mustang in the camp’s machine shed, and the owner’s invitation to help restore it fuels his dream of driving racecars. But when Marissa falls for his snobbish cabin mate, the ensuing war of words and pranks escalates until it threatens to destroy both the car and his dreams for the future.

Will Taylor fulfill Dad’s prediction?

Or will the message of the old Mustang’s engine set him free from the prison he built himself?

 A video of Speak No Evil

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Meet Mary Hamilton

Mary L. Hamilton grew up at a youth camp in southern Wisconsin, much like the setting for her Rustic Knoll Bible Camp series. Her stories feature kids who bring their real life issues to camp 
and gain new perspectives on themselves and their problems.

Mary is a graduate of two Long Ridge Writer's Group courses and an ACFW member. She's an award-winning author who started out writing articles and a Christmas play, "Homespun Angel," 
before trying her hand at novels. She and her husband raise three terrific kids and live in Texas with a rescued Golden Retriever.

Connect with Mary:
Website / blog

Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter:@mhamilton122

What our Voters Had to Say:

God Bless you Mary Hamilton. Speak No Evil caught my heart.

Mary, your writing is truly inspired! Thank you for answering The Call!

Another great camp tale...waiting for #3

Mary Hamilton, I think your books are truly relevant for teen age kids and good for parents to read as well.

I got hooked after reading the first book in Mary Hamilton's series. Speak No Evil is definitely on my "must-read" list!

 

An Interview with Mary

 

How did you come up with the idea for this series?

While raising my three children, I saw so much pain in the lives of their friends who were dealing with all the aspects of their parents’ divorce, as well as conflicts with parents and siblings. 

Because of my own background, I believe in the power of Christian camping, so I decided to use some real life issues that kids face and let them deal with them at camp.

Are any of the characters based on real people?

Most of the adult staff in the book are modeled after people I knew as a child. Often, the characters are a combination of people I knew.

The first book in the series is Hear No Evil. This book is Speak No Evil. Will there be one titled See No Evil?

Yes, I’m working on that one now. It’s scheduled for release in May 2015.

What do you enjoy most about writing?

I love the connection with my readers. It’s very humbling to know that people not only want to read my words but that they get such enjoyment out of the stories. That makes my day!

WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday}

You don't have to be Southern to love this pie!

Soooo gooood!

Where Treetops Glisten: Three Stories of Heartwarming Courage and Christmas Romance During World War II by Tricia Goyer, Cara Putman, Sarah Sundin

Book Description:  The crunch of newly fallen snow, the weight of wartime

Siblings forging new paths and finding love in three stories, 

filled with the wonder of Christmas

 Turn back the clock to a different time, listen to Bing Crosby sing of sleigh bells in the snow, as the realities of America’s involvement in the Second World War change the lives of the Turner family in Lafayette, Indiana. 

In Cara Putman’s White Christmas, Abigail Turner is holding down the Home Front as a college student and a part-time employee at a one-of-a-kind candy shop. Loss of a beau to the war has Abigail skittish about romantic entanglements—until a hard-working young man with a serious problem needs her help. 

Abigail’s brother Pete is a fighter pilot hero returned from the European Theater in Sarah Sundin’s I’ll Be Home for Christmas, trying to recapture the hope and peace his time at war has eroded. But when he encounters a precocious little girl in need of Pete’s friendship, can he convince her widowed mother that he’s no longer the bully she once knew?

In Tricia Goyer’s Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Meredith Turner, “Merry” to those who know her best, is using her skills as a combat nurse on the frontline in the Netherlands. Halfway around the world from home, Merry never expects to face her deepest betrayal head on, but that’s precisely what God has in mind to redeem her broken heart. 

The Turner family believes in God’s providence during such a tumultuous time. Can they absorb the miracle of Christ’s birth and His plan for a future?

My Thoughts:  It's that time of the year again!  Christmas stories!!

And best yet...three stories in on book!  Three great authors pen about WWII and romance at Christmas time.  

In White Christmas Cara Putman writes about Abigail who is trying so very hard to hold.it.all down as she attends college and works part time at a candy shop.  But then a someone with problems bigger than hers comes along and Abigail steps in to help.  A sweet story!

In I'll Be Home for Christmas Sarah Sundin tells about Pete a fighter pilot in the war who meets the cutest most precious little girl.  This cute little girl has a widowed mother whom Pete would gladly like get together with but Pete was once a bully of sorts and the widowed mother isn't so sure about Pete.  This is what Christmas is all about!

Tricia Goyer writes about Meredith or Merry as her friends call her in Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.  Merry is a combat nurse on the from lines in the Netherlands.  Merry and her adventures were like being on the front lines...romance and all. I loved this story simply because my baby sister recently married and moved to the Netherlands....it just hit home with me.

All three stories are novellas...short stories but they are ever.so.interesting and fun to read!  I love them all!  What a grand book! 

*This book was provided for review by Waterbrook/Multnomah*

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: WaterBrook Press (September 16, 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1601426488
• ISBN-13: 978-1601426482

Unwrapping Christmas by Ann Voskamp

Book Description:  Based on the overwhelming success of The Greatest Gift, Ann Voskamp has expanded her presentation of the timeless Advent tradition of the Jesse Tree so families can celebrate together. Each day, families can read the provided Scripture passage (in connection with the original book), engage with a specially written devotion to help children of all ages understand the Advent theme for the day, and participate in suggested activities to apply the theme.

This special edition is beautifully illustrated. It can serve as a precious guide to help recapture the sacredness of the Advent season and to help the entire family understand and celebrate the epic pageantry of humankind from Adam to the Messiah.

My Thoughts:  Yay!  Another Christmas book.  I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I picked this book so I was amazed when I received it.  It's a beautiful book...hardback, lovely illustrations and such a nice cover!  

This is one book that will be on our living room table for the month of Christmas.

Each day there is a scripture passage/devotion to be read and then there are activities to do as a family.  A great way for a family to connect at the onset/Advent of the season.  

As more and families are trying not to get lost in the busyness and materialism of the Christmas season...this book is a great way to bring your family into the "worship" of the season and why we celebrate the birth of the Savior.

I love the title, Unwrapping the Greatest Gift:  A Celebration of Christmas, because this is exactly what the book brings to each member of the family...the greatest gift of all!

***From the Back Cover

Unwrap the greatest Gift with your family this Advent season!
Person by person, story by story, retrace the lineage of Jesus. Fall in love with Him all over again as you experience God’s plan of salvation for us—from the Garden of Eden to the manger and beyond.

With vivid, full-color illustrations, downloadable ornaments, and moving scenes from the Bible, this book is a gift your whole family can unwrap each day leading up to Christmas.

Each devotion includes the following:

• Scripture readings to go along with each story
• Questions and activities to engage the entire family
• Beautiful illustrations to further enhance each reading

Celebrate the best love story of all time with your family!

This book would be a great Christmas card to give to a family before the season begins.

*This book was provided for review by Tyndale*

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (November 1, 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414397542
• ISBN-13: 978-1414397542

COTT {Clash of the Titles} August New Releases Clash

Clash of the Titles presents four brand new inspirational novels. One’s set in a Bible camp for tweens or the tweens in your lives. Hopes and dreams are threatened in another. In the third, a town’s in need of a miracle. Two people work to cure a deadly disease in the fourth. Which one will you read first? 

SPEAK NO EVIL by Mary Hamilton
Having his younger sister at summer camp will be a pain, but Taylor Dixon, 15, never expects the pain to go so deep. When she falls for his snobbish cabin mate, a war of words and pranks escalates, threatening to land him in jail and destroying his dreams for the future—until a lesson learned from an old engine sets him free from the prison he built himself.




THE HESITANT HEIRESS by Dawn Crandall
With the rare ability to play the piano by ear, Amaryllis Brigham wants nothing more than to someday found a music school. However, someone keeps undermining her hopes and dreams, and 
she's sure it's Bram Everstone--the father of the one man she's ever come close to falling for.



MIRACLE IN A DRY SEASON by Sarah Loudin Thomas
Perla Long wants a quiet, safe place for her and her daughter where her past can stay hidden, but she ends up in a town in desperate need of a miracle. Bachelor Casewell Phillips sees everything he wants in a woman in her, but can’t get past the sense she’s hiding something.

WITH EVERY BREATH by Elizabeth Camden
In the shadow of the nation's capital, Kate Livingston's respectable life as a statistician is disrupted by an encounter with the insufferable Trevor McDonough, the one man she'd hoped never to see again. A Harvard-trained physician, Trevor never showed the tiniest flicker of interest in Kate, and the only reason he seeks her out now is because of the one thing they share in common: the competitive drive to cure the world’s deadliest disease.