by Jason Joyner | Jun 16, 2007 | Blog, CFBA, fiction
This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
As I Have Loved You
by
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nikki Arana is an award-winning author of highly-acclaimed inspirational women’s fiction who weaves today’s social, political, and spiritual issues into her novels. She has received numerous awards, including the Excellence in Media 2007 Silver Angel Award for The Winds of Sonoma.
The book was based on the true love story of how Nikki met her future husband Antonio as he was cleaning the stalls of her parents’ Arabian horses. Nikki and Antonio have been married for over thirty years, have two grown sons, and live in Idaho.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Contemporary Struggles…
…A Single Mom and College-Ages Son.
Leigh Scott is a widowed, single mother who wants the best for her son Jeff. She would like him to graduate from college, land a secure job, and start a family. However, Jeff, who was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) at a young age, has a God-given compassion for people. And his non-judgemental acceptance of all has unintended consequences.
Jeff starts dating Jessica, a girl with a questionable past and seemingly non-existent future. Soon, Jeff’s grades drop as quickly as his sober determination to achieve the goals he’s worked toward all his life, and Leigh finds herself caught ina relational tornado
To complicate matters further, Leigh is an author with a looming book deadline, a father battling cancer, and her former boyfriend and first love, a strong Christian Native American, coming back in her life.
Arana weaves a multi-layered, emotional family saga that brings the peril of judgement, the need for forgiveness and the gift of love to light
by Jason Joyner | Jun 13, 2007 | Blog, CFBA, fiction
OK, usually you won’t find any posts about country music here (shudder), but this book looks like it has an interesting premise. Here’s the CFBA take on Diva NashVegas:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Rachel is the author of many books. Her current release, Diva NashVegas is the second in a series which began with
Lost in NashVegas. She is also a
Blogger and a CFBA member! She lives in Florida with her husband. Visit her great
profile and learn more.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Even if you are not a lover of country music, you can enjoy this fun look at the Nashville entertainment industry.
What do you do when the past you’ve been skirting shows up at your door with cameras rolling?
Aubrey James ruled the charts as the queen of country for over a decade. She’d rocketed to fame in the shadow of her parents’ death-both of them pioneers in Gospel music. But while her public life, high profile romances, and fights with Music Row execs made for juicy tabloid headlines, the real and private Aubrey has remained a media mystery.
When a former band member betrays Aubrey’s trust and sells an “exclusive” to a tabloid, the star knows she must go public with her story. But Aubrey’s private world is rocked when the Inside NashVegas interviewer is someone from her past-someone she’d hoped to forget.
All the moxie in the world won’t let this Diva run any longer.
“Hauck once again takes us into the country music world, this time through the experiences of mega-star Aubrey James. Aubrey’s life journey is filled with flaws, as well as a great deal of joy, and real life locales makes this highly original story authentic. The extra tidbits – from Aubrey’s liner notes to quotes from the “media” at the beginning of the chapters – add extra sparkle to the plot.”
– 4 Stars, Melissa Parcel, Romantic Times Book Club
by Jason Joyner | Jun 13, 2007 | Blog, CFBA, fiction
OK, usually you won’t find any posts about country music here (shudder), but this book looks like it has an interesting premise. Here’s the CFBA take on Diva NashVegas:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Rachel is the author of many books. Her current release, Diva NashVegas is the second in a series which began with
Lost in NashVegas. She is also a
Blogger and a CFBA member! She lives in Florida with her husband. Visit her great
profile and learn more.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Even if you are not a lover of country music, you can enjoy this fun look at the Nashville entertainment industry.
What do you do when the past you’ve been skirting shows up at your door with cameras rolling?
Aubrey James ruled the charts as the queen of country for over a decade. She’d rocketed to fame in the shadow of her parents’ death-both of them pioneers in Gospel music. But while her public life, high profile romances, and fights with Music Row execs made for juicy tabloid headlines, the real and private Aubrey has remained a media mystery.
When a former band member betrays Aubrey’s trust and sells an “exclusive” to a tabloid, the star knows she must go public with her story. But Aubrey’s private world is rocked when the Inside NashVegas interviewer is someone from her past-someone she’d hoped to forget.
All the moxie in the world won’t let this Diva run any longer.
“Hauck once again takes us into the country music world, this time through the experiences of mega-star Aubrey James. Aubrey’s life journey is filled with flaws, as well as a great deal of joy, and real life locales makes this highly original story authentic. The extra tidbits – from Aubrey’s liner notes to quotes from the “media” at the beginning of the chapters – add extra sparkle to the plot.”
– 4 Stars, Melissa Parcel, Romantic Times Book Club
by Jason Joyner | Jun 6, 2007 | Blog, books, CFBA, fiction
This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing These Boots Weren’t Made for Walking (WATERBROOK Press June 19, 2007) by Melody Carlson
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Melody Carlson has published over 100 books for adults, children, and teens, including On This Day, Finding Alice, the Notes from a Spinning Planet series, and Homeward, which won the Rita Award from Romance Writers of America. She and her husband, the parents of two grown sons, make their home near the Cascade Mountains in Central Oregon. Melody is a full-time writer as well as an avid gardener, biker, skier, and hiker.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Willing to make the necessary sacrifices–even skipping the occasional latte–to ensure career success, 31-year-old Cassidy Cantrell “invests” in a chic pair of boots, certain they’ll make a spectacular impression and help seal the deal on a long-anticipated promotion from her Seattle employer.
But reality tromps all over her expectations. Cassie’s job is abruptly eliminated–and her love life obliterated, when her longtime boyfriend dumps her for a “friend.” Her self-esteem in tatters, Cassie limps home to the resort town she once so eagerly fled–only to find her recently divorced mother transformed into a gorgeous fifty-something babe with a thriving social life. Cassie wrestles with envy and apathy as she considers the dismal shape of her own physique and romantic prospects. What will it take for her to jump back into life and regain her stride?
This sassy and hilarious novel leads readers on a romp through the wilds of relationships, romance, career, and spirituality, revealing that, while God’s plans may look drastically different than our own, it’ll always be a perfect fit.
by Jason Joyner | Jun 6, 2007 | Blog, books, CFBA, fiction
This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing These Boots Weren’t Made for Walking (WATERBROOK Press June 19, 2007) by Melody Carlson
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Melody Carlson has published over 100 books for adults, children, and teens, including On This Day, Finding Alice, the Notes from a Spinning Planet series, and Homeward, which won the Rita Award from Romance Writers of America. She and her husband, the parents of two grown sons, make their home near the Cascade Mountains in Central Oregon. Melody is a full-time writer as well as an avid gardener, biker, skier, and hiker.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Willing to make the necessary sacrifices–even skipping the occasional latte–to ensure career success, 31-year-old Cassidy Cantrell “invests” in a chic pair of boots, certain they’ll make a spectacular impression and help seal the deal on a long-anticipated promotion from her Seattle employer.
But reality tromps all over her expectations. Cassie’s job is abruptly eliminated–and her love life obliterated, when her longtime boyfriend dumps her for a “friend.” Her self-esteem in tatters, Cassie limps home to the resort town she once so eagerly fled–only to find her recently divorced mother transformed into a gorgeous fifty-something babe with a thriving social life. Cassie wrestles with envy and apathy as she considers the dismal shape of her own physique and romantic prospects. What will it take for her to jump back into life and regain her stride?
This sassy and hilarious novel leads readers on a romp through the wilds of relationships, romance, career, and spirituality, revealing that, while God’s plans may look drastically different than our own, it’ll always be a perfect fit.
by Jason Joyner | May 28, 2007 | Blog, CFBA, fiction, reviews
Okay, I missed my review post when I said – holiday weekends with family can kind of clobber the best blogging plans. But don’t take my tardiness for disinterest, for if you like a laugh at all, you don’t want to miss Snitch.
This is the second of the Occupational Hazards series, following the kids from a homeschooled family who leave the family clown business when their parents died in a tragic hot-tubbing accident. This book focuses on Mackenzie “Mack” Hazard, a police officer from Las Vegas who had an appearance in the first book, Scoop.
She is chosen for a special undercover task force involving stolen vehicles, though this decision is questioned by the aging head of the task force, Ron Yeager.
His task is to train this rag-tag bunch of officers into a unit able to bring down this crime ring. He may have lots of experience, but nothing prepared him for Jesse, his hotshot maverick; Dozer, the loveable narcoleptic; Wiz, who likes to visit the bathroom; Mack, who wears her faith like “an ever-present badge”; and the mysterious Kyle. The stakes get higher as the team must learn to trust one another to even survive.
This sounds like your typical crime/suspense novel. It is, but then again it is anything but. Gutteridge is perhaps the funniest author currently writing Christian novels. The story moves along and draws you in, but it is the zany cast of characters and the zig-zag journey the author takes you on that makes this book sparkle. I have an hour bus commute to work one-way, and I had to stifle many laughs so I wouldn’t draw the stares of my fellow passengers. The book was a great read – my only complaint is that I was drawn in so much that I am already finished! I’m not ready for it to be over. Gutteridge has an original voice and talent with keeping you guessing that you don’t feel like you’re reading – you feel like you’re along for the ride of a real-life sitcom.
Basically, Rene is one of my favorite authors now, and her books are worthwhile for great humor and stellar writing. Be sure to check out both books from the series!
