by Jason Joyner | Jul 31, 2007 | Blog, CFBA, fiction, reviews
To Dance in the Desert
I’m a little late to the party for last week’s blog tour, but better late than never.
It is funny how you can “meet” people on the internet. It is an informal gathering of words and pictures, without the natural setting of relationships, yet people can still come across in their personality.
I used to hang out at the forum for Faith in Fiction. Unfortunately blogging has taken priority, so I don’t go there much any more. However, there are some really cool people there with hearts of gold. There always seemed to be people who took it upon themselves to keep the community spirit up over there.
So I “met” Kathleen Popa there. We heard with excitement when her book, To Dance in the Desert, was picked up by a publisher and rejoiced with her. It is pretty awesome to see the journey people make to publication.
I am looking forward to reading this book. I admit, I don’t usually read the romance or women’s fiction books offered through CFBA. There’s enough books to go around that I keep busy enough. This is one that I’m going to sit down and enjoy though. I wish I could’ve read it for this tour, but I was swamped with other commitments reading wise. However, I do have an original review for you, as my darling wife just finished it up and offers her thoughts below. She’s not used to reviewing, but she gave me a good impression of what she liked in the book.
By the way, doesn’t this book have the best cover? Wow.
Beccy’s impressions:
The main character, Dara, has been hurt all of her life. To Dance in the Desert takes you through the emotional path of healing in her life. Though she’s survived horrible tragedy, she wants to hide in the desert and stay where no one will find her. It is only when Jane Cameron is dancing in the desert, free from her burdens, that Dara starts to see a way out.
Beccy said that the book is very gripping at the start, drawing the reader in an emotional way by setting up your understanding of the character’s hurts. The characters are very true to life, and you feel what they are going through, and you care and invest in who they are. This is a great strength of this book. She kept going back to this point, so I could tell she was impressed by this aspect of the book.
She said the ending was a little crammed with so much happening at once. It worked, but it was a little thick in her opinion, pulling her out of the story a little bit in wondering what was going on. This wasn’t a major criticism, and overall she really enjoyed the book – she was up late one night reading, so I know she did.
For another glowing review (not to only highlight the good, but to explain how well Kathleen did on her debut), please check out Becky Miller’s review as well. Kathleen has more reviews listed on her blog also. Way to go Kathleen!
by Jason Joyner | Jul 21, 2007 | Blog, CFBA, fiction
This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
ONE STEP OVER THE BORDER(Center Street June 12, 2007)
by
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Stephen Bly is a pastor, a mayor, an antique Winchester gun collector and a writer.
He’s mayor of a town of 308 in the mountains of Idaho, on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation. In his spare time, he pursues the three R’s of ridin’, ropin’ and rodeo…and construction of Broken Arrow Crossing, a false-front western village near his home.
That keeps him very western. And he collect old Winchester rifles, which reflects his love of historical accuracy. He’s also a fan of Jimmy Buffet music.
Stephen says about his writing, “I write about the West (historic or modern) from the inside. Born and raised on western ranches, I have both the heart and mind to describe things as they really were…and are. There are those who think the frontier has long passed and with it the ‘code of the west.’ The truth is, both are still around…and it’s fun to show that in a contemporary story. The West is so big, so diverse, so enchanting it’s a thrill to write about it in any era.”
Stephen is the author of ninety-five books and hundreds of articles.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
It’s a romp…
A road adventure…
It’s a buddy story with romantic comedy!!
Some call it CowboyLit. Rodeo cowboy Hap Bowman’s on a search for Juanita, the gal of his dreams, whom he hasn’t seen in 18 years. He seems stuck on 12-years-old and the enchanting girl he met then.
“An idiot obsession,” his roping partner, Laramie Majors, chides.
But Laramie agrees to a final summer’s trek along the Rio Grande. If they don’t find Juanita during those months, Hap promises to drop the idea of the hunt for the mystery senorita. But if they find her, will she feel the same as Hap does about their years ago interlude?
In One Step Over The Border the time tested values of cowboys rub up against contemporary mores. It’s a crazy story that becomes more logical as the reader delves deeper into it. It will make you laugh and shed a tear or two.
Getting back to Hap’s pursuit . . . don’t we all have someone in the past, that we knew for only a short while, that we wish we could have known better, longer? Stephen Bly has!. So when Hap and Laramie ventured out on a quest for Hap’s Juanita, Stephen decided to invite others to go along too. Folks have been e-mailing Hap hapandlaramie@yahoo.com and asking for their own “Juanita Search Kits.”
They get a bumper sticker, magnet, bookmark, stickers, flyers, etc. It’s a whole packet of material that will equip anyone to join the fun of finding the Juanita with “the mark of God.” If they send Hap a picture of the places where they stuck their Juanita signs, they’ll receive a free copy of the book. It’s all there on the website at http://www.onestepovertheborder.com/
And there’s a very special feature on http://www.amazon.com/…some more adventures about Hap and Laramie that did NOT appear in the book, can be found on AmazonShorts in the story entitled, Aim Low, Shoot High.
by Jason Joyner | Jul 21, 2007 | Blog, CFBA, fiction
This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
ONE STEP OVER THE BORDER(Center Street June 12, 2007)
by
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Stephen Bly is a pastor, a mayor, an antique Winchester gun collector and a writer.
He’s mayor of a town of 308 in the mountains of Idaho, on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation. In his spare time, he pursues the three R’s of ridin’, ropin’ and rodeo…and construction of Broken Arrow Crossing, a false-front western village near his home.
That keeps him very western. And he collect old Winchester rifles, which reflects his love of historical accuracy. He’s also a fan of Jimmy Buffet music.
Stephen says about his writing, “I write about the West (historic or modern) from the inside. Born and raised on western ranches, I have both the heart and mind to describe things as they really were…and are. There are those who think the frontier has long passed and with it the ‘code of the west.’ The truth is, both are still around…and it’s fun to show that in a contemporary story. The West is so big, so diverse, so enchanting it’s a thrill to write about it in any era.”
Stephen is the author of ninety-five books and hundreds of articles.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
It’s a romp…
A road adventure…
It’s a buddy story with romantic comedy!!
Some call it CowboyLit. Rodeo cowboy Hap Bowman’s on a search for Juanita, the gal of his dreams, whom he hasn’t seen in 18 years. He seems stuck on 12-years-old and the enchanting girl he met then.
“An idiot obsession,” his roping partner, Laramie Majors, chides.
But Laramie agrees to a final summer’s trek along the Rio Grande. If they don’t find Juanita during those months, Hap promises to drop the idea of the hunt for the mystery senorita. But if they find her, will she feel the same as Hap does about their years ago interlude?
In One Step Over The Border the time tested values of cowboys rub up against contemporary mores. It’s a crazy story that becomes more logical as the reader delves deeper into it. It will make you laugh and shed a tear or two.
Getting back to Hap’s pursuit . . . don’t we all have someone in the past, that we knew for only a short while, that we wish we could have known better, longer? Stephen Bly has!. So when Hap and Laramie ventured out on a quest for Hap’s Juanita, Stephen decided to invite others to go along too. Folks have been e-mailing Hap hapandlaramie@yahoo.com and asking for their own “Juanita Search Kits.”
They get a bumper sticker, magnet, bookmark, stickers, flyers, etc. It’s a whole packet of material that will equip anyone to join the fun of finding the Juanita with “the mark of God.” If they send Hap a picture of the places where they stuck their Juanita signs, they’ll receive a free copy of the book. It’s all there on the website at http://www.onestepovertheborder.com/
And there’s a very special feature on http://www.amazon.com/…some more adventures about Hap and Laramie that did NOT appear in the book, can be found on AmazonShorts in the story entitled, Aim Low, Shoot High.
by Jason Joyner | Jul 12, 2007 | Blog, CFBA, fiction, reviews
There are some books that are a nice, gentle read. They quietly beckon from your bookshelf to spend some quality time with them.
Fearless is not that book.
It is the book that grabs you by your collar, sits you in the chair forcefully, and takes you on a white-knuckled ride from one close call to another. Suspense builds up, loops around, and delivers you to a breathless ending that leaves you wanting…nay-begging for more.
Or something like that.
Robin Parrish, master of Infuze, returns to his Dominion Trilogy with the sequel to Relentless. In the first book we meet the Loci, a group of Ringwearers who are Shifted into new bodies with amazing mental powers. They are supposedly the subjects of a prophecy guarded by the Secretum until the proper time, when The Bringer would come and usher in a new age.
Fearless continues this tale with the world in chaos. Strange natural disasters are occurring around the world, and fear grips the populace. In Los Angeles, the public has a mysterious benefactor with phenomenal powers they dub the Guardian. It is Grant Burrows, who leads a group of Loci to use their powers for good.
When an unusual event leads Grant and his friends to London, he is confronted with his destiny. Will he bring about what was spoken of long ago, or would he find the power within to be Fearless?
I read the first book in the trilogy last fall. I enjoyed it a lot, finding it to be an engaging read with a lot of excitement. Fearless increases this exponentially. Robin has really found a unique voice that keeps you glued to the page and your mind engaged. He has a habit of taking you to the edge of the precipice, only to move to another chapter (and often a different character and setting, keeping you hanging). If you like suspense, then this book will provide enough to satisfy for quite a while.
The characters are varied and have unique personalities that draw you in. A plot-driven book can take you along without letting you invest in the people of the story. The author keeps the action cooking all along while bringing us into their lives, fears, and dreams. Just don’t get too attached, as he pulls no punches as the book hurtles toward the ending.
The book has many strong points, but no work is perfect. Some of the description comes across slightly awkward, but this may well be a matter of taste. Very minor complaint, as it is first and foremost a bold, thrilling story. This is a sweeping tale of the end of the world (perhaps?), and thus has some significant action. At times it gets a little bloody, so the squeamish may get a little uncomfortable. He has set in motion an elaborate mythology. There is not any overt Christianity for those who are concerned with that, but I believe that the payoff lies ahead in the final book.
(This is no criticism, just a little game I amuse myself with. I have a habit of noting the preferred descriptors, metaphors, or distinctives that authors like to use. I can’t help it. In Relentless Robin favored the coppery or metallic taste of blood. This continues to a degree in Fearless, but he moves on to the imagery of blood splattered on another person’s cheek. Play the game – see if you can find any others 😀 )
One more item – Fearless should be pretty easily understood by someone who hasn’t read Relentless. Still, the whole story and mythology is lacking a little if you haven’t read the first book, so just be sure to buy them both and enjoy the ride. I highly enjoyed this book. My only complaint is that I have to wait until next summer for the final installment. Boy, Robin Parrish can be merciless…
This review today is sponsored by the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance. Fearless will be featured in the Christian Sci-fi/Fantasy blog tour in about 10 days as well. I will have a special essay prepared, and hopefully another treat for those looking for more on Robin and his books.
by Jason Joyner | Jul 12, 2007 | Blog, CFBA, fiction, reviews
There are some books that are a nice, gentle read. They quietly beckon from your bookshelf to spend some quality time with them.
Fearless is not that book.
It is the book that grabs you by your collar, sits you in the chair forcefully, and takes you on a white-knuckled ride from one close call to another. Suspense builds up, loops around, and delivers you to a breathless ending that leaves you wanting…nay-begging for more.
Or something like that.
Robin Parrish, master of Infuze, returns to his Dominion Trilogy with the sequel to Relentless. In the first book we meet the Loci, a group of Ringwearers who are Shifted into new bodies with amazing mental powers. They are supposedly the subjects of a prophecy guarded by the Secretum until the proper time, when The Bringer would come and usher in a new age.
Fearless continues this tale with the world in chaos. Strange natural disasters are occurring around the world, and fear grips the populace. In Los Angeles, the public has a mysterious benefactor with phenomenal powers they dub the Guardian. It is Grant Burrows, who leads a group of Loci to use their powers for good.
When an unusual event leads Grant and his friends to London, he is confronted with his destiny. Will he bring about what was spoken of long ago, or would he find the power within to be Fearless?
I read the first book in the trilogy last fall. I enjoyed it a lot, finding it to be an engaging read with a lot of excitement. Fearless increases this exponentially. Robin has really found a unique voice that keeps you glued to the page and your mind engaged. He has a habit of taking you to the edge of the precipice, only to move to another chapter (and often a different character and setting, keeping you hanging). If you like suspense, then this book will provide enough to satisfy for quite a while.
The characters are varied and have unique personalities that draw you in. A plot-driven book can take you along without letting you invest in the people of the story. The author keeps the action cooking all along while bringing us into their lives, fears, and dreams. Just don’t get too attached, as he pulls no punches as the book hurtles toward the ending.
The book has many strong points, but no work is perfect. Some of the description comes across slightly awkward, but this may well be a matter of taste. Very minor complaint, as it is first and foremost a bold, thrilling story. This is a sweeping tale of the end of the world (perhaps?), and thus has some significant action. At times it gets a little bloody, so the squeamish may get a little uncomfortable. He has set in motion an elaborate mythology. There is not any overt Christianity for those who are concerned with that, but I believe that the payoff lies ahead in the final book.
(This is no criticism, just a little game I amuse myself with. I have a habit of noting the preferred descriptors, metaphors, or distinctives that authors like to use. I can’t help it. In Relentless Robin favored the coppery or metallic taste of blood. This continues to a degree in Fearless, but he moves on to the imagery of blood splattered on another person’s cheek. Play the game – see if you can find any others 😀 )
One more item – Fearless should be pretty easily understood by someone who hasn’t read Relentless. Still, the whole story and mythology is lacking a little if you haven’t read the first book, so just be sure to buy them both and enjoy the ride. I highly enjoyed this book. My only complaint is that I have to wait until next summer for the final installment. Boy, Robin Parrish can be merciless…
This review today is sponsored by the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance. Fearless will be featured in the Christian Sci-fi/Fantasy blog tour in about 10 days as well. I will have a special essay prepared, and hopefully another treat for those looking for more on Robin and his books.
by Jason Joyner | Jul 7, 2007 | Blog, CFBA, fiction
I find I don’t have time to read all the books that the CFBA has to offer, so I often just support the tour by posting the pre-fabricated post. Later this summer I’m really socked in with reading commitments. However, after reading this blurb I’m thinking that
Island Inferno could be a pretty good testosterone fest for those so inclined. Christian men have testosterone too! I say we let Chuck do his take on a prairie romance…
Never mind me. Here’s this week’s tour:
This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
by
Chuck Holton
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Chuck served four years in the Elite 75th Ranger Regiment–the same unit profiled in the movie “Black Hawk Down.” Chuck saw combat in Panama in 1989. After leaving active duty, Chuck flew helicopters in the Wisconsin National Guard while attending the University of Wisconsin.
In 2004, after ten years as a stockbroker, Chuck left that profession to pursue full-time writing. At the same time, he began working as the “Adventure Correspondent” for CBN.
He is the author of five books, including A More Elite Soldier, Bulletproof, and
Allah’s Fire, the first of three books in the Task Force Valor series.
Today, Chuck, Connie, and their five children live on a farm in Appalachia, where Chuck now pursues his varied interests of farming, writing, adventure travel and public speaking, among other things.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
TASK FORCE VALOR
EXPLOSIVE ORDINANCE DISPOSAL–THE BOMB SQUAD
As the global war on terror heats up, the U.S. deploys a team of highly trained special operators overseas to locate and neutralize threats, bringing EOD expertise to dangerous missions that have no room for error.
A DEADLY EXPLOSION
A new specialty explosive is on the black market: ITEB looks like water, but when it’s exposed to air, the effects are lethal! The United States government is frantic to keep it from our shores. Staff Sergeant Euripides “Rip” Rubio knows how destructive ITEB can be. He has already risked his life to thwart a horrific terrorist plot involving the chemical. Now Task Force Valor heads to Panama, on the trail of an arms dealer who plans to use ITEB to make a killing…literally.
AN ADVENTURE ABROAD
Fernanda Lerida is a University of Florida grad student who jumps at the chance to join a biological expedition to a mysterious former prison island. But the snakes, bugs, and crocodiles are soon the least of her worries as the group stumbles upon something they were not meant to see. To Make matters worse, Fernanda soon finds herself alone and being pursued by an unseen foe.
A RISKY RESCUE
When Rip’s path collides with Fernanda’s, they find themselves caught in the midst of a brutal turf war. Can they use the chaos to their advantage, or will one false step set the entire island ablaze?
“Island Inferno is a boy-meets-girl story. But in Chuck Holton’s world, boy meets girl in the middle of a jungle at 25mph. hanging under a parachute with an assault rifle strapped across his chest. You’d better plan on reading this in one sitting. And once you’re done, you’d better give yourself time for your pulse to calm down.”
—-TOM MORRISEY, Author of Deep Blue, and Dark Fathom
