by Jason Joyner | Jun 18, 2009 | Blog, books, CFBA, christian fiction
Jason says: My wife has become a big fan of Deeanne’s books. Unfortunately with moving she has only just started this book. Maybe I’ll get her thoughts posted down the road.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Deeanne Gist, the bestselling author of A Bride Most Begrudging and The Measure of a Lady, has a background in education and journalism. Her credits include People magazine, Parents, and Parenting. With a line of parenting products called “I Did It!® Productions” and a degree from Texas A&M, she continues her writing and speaking. She and her family live in Houston, Texas.
Since the debut of those novels, her very original, very fun romances have rocketed up the bestseller lists and captured readers everywhere. Add to this two consecutive Christy Awards, two RITA nominations, rave reviews, and a growing loyal fan base, and you’ve got one recipe for success.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The Wedding Is All Planned…
Someone Just Needs to Tell the Bride
In 1860s Seattle, redwoods were plentiful but women scarce. Yet a man with a wife could secure 640 acres of timberland for free.
Joe Denton doesn’t have a wife, though. His died before she could follow him to Seattle and now the local judge is threatening to take away his claim. In desperation, he buys himself a Mercer bride–one of the eastern widows and orphans brought to the Territory by entrepreneur Asa Mercer.
Anna Ivey’s journey west with Mercer is an escape from the aftermath of the Civil War. She signed on to become a cook–not a bride. When she’s handed over to Denton, her stubborn refusal to wed jeopardizes his land. With only a few months before he loses all he holds dear, can he convince this provoking, but beguiling, easterner to become his lawfully wedded wife?
If you would like to read the first chapter of A Bride In The Bargain, go HERE
by Jason Joyner | Jun 18, 2009 | Blog, books, CFBA, christian fiction
Jason says: My wife has become a big fan of Deeanne’s books. Unfortunately with moving she has only just started this book. Maybe I’ll get her thoughts posted down the road.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Deeanne Gist, the bestselling author of A Bride Most Begrudging and The Measure of a Lady, has a background in education and journalism. Her credits include People magazine, Parents, and Parenting. With a line of parenting products called “I Did It!® Productions” and a degree from Texas A&M, she continues her writing and speaking. She and her family live in Houston, Texas.
Since the debut of those novels, her very original, very fun romances have rocketed up the bestseller lists and captured readers everywhere. Add to this two consecutive Christy Awards, two RITA nominations, rave reviews, and a growing loyal fan base, and you’ve got one recipe for success.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The Wedding Is All Planned…
Someone Just Needs to Tell the Bride
In 1860s Seattle, redwoods were plentiful but women scarce. Yet a man with a wife could secure 640 acres of timberland for free.
Joe Denton doesn’t have a wife, though. His died before she could follow him to Seattle and now the local judge is threatening to take away his claim. In desperation, he buys himself a Mercer bride–one of the eastern widows and orphans brought to the Territory by entrepreneur Asa Mercer.
Anna Ivey’s journey west with Mercer is an escape from the aftermath of the Civil War. She signed on to become a cook–not a bride. When she’s handed over to Denton, her stubborn refusal to wed jeopardizes his land. With only a few months before he loses all he holds dear, can he convince this provoking, but beguiling, easterner to become his lawfully wedded wife?
If you would like to read the first chapter of A Bride In The Bargain, go HERE
by Jason Joyner | Jun 9, 2009 | Blog, books, CFBA, fiction, reviews
The latest book for the CFBA Tour is Ghostwriter by Travis Thrasher.
Dennis Shore is the latest, greatest horror writer. His books have sold millions, but since his wife’s death he has been unable to write at all. Desperate to keep up with medical bills, he sends in a manuscript from an undiscovered writer, Cillian Reed, and it becomes his latest smash novel, with critical acclaim. He is already haunted by the guilt of his crime, but the true author begins harrassing Dennis. First with words, then with demonstrations, Dennis becomes caught up in his own horror story. Will he find the way out, or will he become like too many of his characters before him?
There’s been a few books I’ve read on the topic of a horror writer unable to write anymore. From the contemplative (Dave Long’s Ezekiel’s Shadow) to the humerous (Rene Gutteridge’s hilarious Boo series), it seems like a rich theme to mine. Ghostwriter aims for the straightforward suspense/horror aspect.
I had a hard time with this book on several levels. The main character Dennis Shore is not someone I wanted to root for. He stole the manuscript, so he brought things on himself to a degree. There was some mild sympathy in the loss of his beloved wife, but they didn’t tug the heart strings. The antagonist Cillian Reed and his friend Bob were similarly thin, without much to recommend them as fully developed characters.
Suspense is built up at times, but it starts slowly and builds in a disjointed fashion, as Dennis wrestles with his wife’s death. There is a point to this, but in my opinion it distracted from the flow more than it provided emotional punch.
There is a major twist that is handled very well-it surprised me and renewed my interest in the book for a while. It ended up being too little too late. The ending turns quickly and felt pretty contrived to me. Too convenient to bring around a happier ending.
If readers have an aversion to violent imagery, there is some in this book. It seems appropriate for a mild horror novel, and it is not excessive by my reckoning, but sensitive people should be aware.
Overall, I was fairly disappointed and struggled to finish the book. Ghostwriter has an intriguing premise and some moments that work, but overall there weren’t many goose bumps on my arms by the time I hit “The End”.
If you would like to read the first chapter of Ghostwriter, go HERE.
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by Jason Joyner | Jun 9, 2009 | Blog, books, CFBA, fiction, reviews
The latest book for the CFBA Tour is Ghostwriter by Travis Thrasher.
Dennis Shore is the latest, greatest horror writer. His books have sold millions, but since his wife’s death he has been unable to write at all. Desperate to keep up with medical bills, he sends in a manuscript from an undiscovered writer, Cillian Reed, and it becomes his latest smash novel, with critical acclaim. He is already haunted by the guilt of his crime, but the true author begins harrassing Dennis. First with words, then with demonstrations, Dennis becomes caught up in his own horror story. Will he find the way out, or will he become like too many of his characters before him?
There’s been a few books I’ve read on the topic of a horror writer unable to write anymore. From the contemplative (Dave Long’s Ezekiel’s Shadow) to the humerous (Rene Gutteridge’s hilarious Boo series), it seems like a rich theme to mine. Ghostwriter aims for the straightforward suspense/horror aspect.
I had a hard time with this book on several levels. The main character Dennis Shore is not someone I wanted to root for. He stole the manuscript, so he brought things on himself to a degree. There was some mild sympathy in the loss of his beloved wife, but they didn’t tug the heart strings. The antagonist Cillian Reed and his friend Bob were similarly thin, without much to recommend them as fully developed characters.
Suspense is built up at times, but it starts slowly and builds in a disjointed fashion, as Dennis wrestles with his wife’s death. There is a point to this, but in my opinion it distracted from the flow more than it provided emotional punch.
There is a major twist that is handled very well-it surprised me and renewed my interest in the book for a while. It ended up being too little too late. The ending turns quickly and felt pretty contrived to me. Too convenient to bring around a happier ending.
If readers have an aversion to violent imagery, there is some in this book. It seems appropriate for a mild horror novel, and it is not excessive by my reckoning, but sensitive people should be aware.
Overall, I was fairly disappointed and struggled to finish the book. Ghostwriter has an intriguing premise and some moments that work, but overall there weren’t many goose bumps on my arms by the time I hit “The End”.
If you would like to read the first chapter of Ghostwriter, go HERE.
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by Jason Joyner | Apr 20, 2009 | Blog, BoneMan's Daughters, books, reading, reviews, Ted Dekker
*Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of BoneMan’s Daughters.*
I had a few scattered thoughts on the book that I didn’t work into my review.
Firstly, there is a lot of violent images in the book. The violence itself is “off-stage” for the most part, but a reader who is quite sensitive should be aware of this. Dekker addresses this in a post on his blog, and it is worth reading.
Second, Dekker also has a heartfelt story on his blog regarding the inspiration behind this book.
For what it’s worth, I was surprised by the editing mistakes I seemed to find throughout the book. They were mainly inconsistencies (six victims, then seven). For a “major” push, I would expect higher quality, because I don’t go looking for those type of things. I also tried, for the first time, to use Google maps to follow one path the protaganist takes. I remember Brandilyn Collins blogging about carefully charting whether the moon would be full or not on a certain date mentioned in her book, as obsessive fans who really watch details would be sure to notice. I was just curious, but the directions the book give don’t jive with the real life roads he uses. Interesting. Maybe Jason had too much time on his hands, but still…
Finally, a challenge. I found at least 5 times that a character is noted to be surprised or taken aback by a conversation by Dekker using the phrase, “He blinked.” Every author has their pet phrase. Some I’ve noticed is the coppery taste of blood, others sensations tingling/dancing/trippping down the spine. Blinking is a Dekker trademark. See how many times you can find this!
Enough rambling by me, so leave a comment already!
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by Jason Joyner | Apr 20, 2009 | Blog, BoneMan's Daughters, books, reading, reviews, Ted Dekker
*Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of BoneMan’s Daughters.*
I had a few scattered thoughts on the book that I didn’t work into my review.
Firstly, there is a lot of violent images in the book. The violence itself is “off-stage” for the most part, but a reader who is quite sensitive should be aware of this. Dekker addresses this in a post on his blog, and it is worth reading.
Second, Dekker also has a heartfelt story on his blog regarding the inspiration behind this book.
For what it’s worth, I was surprised by the editing mistakes I seemed to find throughout the book. They were mainly inconsistencies (six victims, then seven). For a “major” push, I would expect higher quality, because I don’t go looking for those type of things. I also tried, for the first time, to use Google maps to follow one path the protaganist takes. I remember Brandilyn Collins blogging about carefully charting whether the moon would be full or not on a certain date mentioned in her book, as obsessive fans who really watch details would be sure to notice. I was just curious, but the directions the book give don’t jive with the real life roads he uses. Interesting. Maybe Jason had too much time on his hands, but still…
Finally, a challenge. I found at least 5 times that a character is noted to be surprised or taken aback by a conversation by Dekker using the phrase, “He blinked.” Every author has their pet phrase. Some I’ve noticed is the coppery taste of blood, others sensations tingling/dancing/trippping down the spine. Blinking is a Dekker trademark. See how many times you can find this!
Enough rambling by me, so leave a comment already!
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The Wedding Is All Planned…