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Showing posts from April, 2009

What I'm writing in YEAR OF THE DOG

I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
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Excerpt - NEW YORK DEBUT by Melody Carlson

Today's Wild Card author is: Melody Carlson and the book: New York Debut (Carter House Girls) Zondervan (May 1, 2009) Mix six teenage girls and one ‘60s fashion icon (retired, of course) in an old Victorian-era boarding home. Add boys and dating, a little high-school angst, and throw in a Kate Spade bag or two . . . and you’ve got The Carter House Girls, Melody Carlson’s new chick lit series for young adults! New York Debut The New Year promises to be lively for the Carter House girls. No sooner does the calendar page turn and the girls are forced to confront a whole load of difficulties. There is constant pressure from Mrs. Carter as the household prepares to participate in the high stakes Spring Fashion Week in New York City. Competition flares from all directions as the girls vie for top billing, premium outfits, and attention from favorite guys. Stresses mount and some personal challenges grow into serious problems. Will the girls survive the big city experience and the even b...
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Excerpt - NOTHING BUT TROUBLE by Susan May Warren

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Nothing But Trouble Tyndale House Publishers (May 1, 2009) by Susan May Warren ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Susan grew up in Wayzata, a suburb of Minneapolis, and became an avid camper from an early age. Her favorite fir-lined spot is the north shore of Minnesota is where she met her husband, honeymooned and dreamed of living. The north woods easily became the foundation for her first series, The Deep Haven series, based on a little tourist town along the shores of Lake Superior. Her first full-length book, Happily Ever After, became a Christy Award Finalist published in 2004 with Tyndale/Heartquest. As an award winning author, Susan returned home in 2004, to her native Minnesota after serving for eight years with her husband and four children as missionaries with SEND International in Far East Russia. She now writes full time from Minnesota's north woods and the beautiful town that she always dreamed of livin...
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Pepper and Snickers

Captain's Log, Stardate 04.29.2009 Let me tell you the story of Pepper. Pepper is a Labrador mix who belongs to a certain editor who shall remain nameless. Pepper was an adorable puppy and remains a darn cute dog. He is black, with short legs and a barrel of a body. He also loves the cat he lives with. Snickers is a German Shepherd/Labrador/Pit Bull/name any dog you can think of mix who is a butthead. She went through SIX ROUNDS OF DOG TRAINING because she is such a butthead. Even our trainer said she was a butthead and that we got a difficult dog for our first pet. Lovely. While lots of other dogs responded well to their owners, ours did not listen. The trainer had to be—ahem—a bit forceful with her to get her to stop misbehaving. It’s kind of like having the problem child in a classroom full of brilliant overachievers. For my May 2010 book, my editor asked me to write about a dog. Naturally, being a dog owner, I jumped at the chance. Except I am the owner of one of the biggest b...
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Excerpt - Enduring Justice by Amy Wallace

Captain's Log, Stardate 04.27.2009 Enduring Justice by Amy Wallace A painful past Hanna Kessler’s childhood secret has remained buried for over two decades. But when the dark shadows of her past threaten to destroy those she loves, Hanna must face the summer that changed her life and the man who still haunts her memories. A racially-motivated killer As a Crimes Against Children FBI Agent, Michael Parker knows what it means to get knocked down. Difficult cases and broken relationships have plagued his entire year. But when the system fails and a white supremacist is set free, Michael’s drive for retribution eclipses all else. A life-altering choice A racist’s well-planned assault forces Hanna and Michael to decide between executing vengeance and pursuing justice. The dividing line between the two is the choice to heal. But when the attack turns personal, is justice enough? Buy from Christianbook.com Buy from Amazon.com Excerpt of chapter one: The wall she’d bu...
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Excerpt - ELISHA'S BONES by Don Hoesel

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Elisha's Bones (Bethany House March 1, 2009) by Don Hoesel ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Don Hoesel was born and raised in Buffalo, NY but calls Spring Hill, TN home. He is a Web site designer for a Medicare carrier in Nashville, TN. He has a BA in Mass Communication from Taylor University and has published short fiction in Relief Journal. He lives in Spring Hill with his wife and two children. Elisha's Bones is his first novel. ABOUT THE BOOK Every year, professor of antiquities Jack Hawthorne looks forward to the winter break as a time to hide away from his responsibilities. Even if just for a week or two. But this year, his plans are derailed when he's offered almost a blank check from a man chasing a rumor. Billionaire Gordon Reese thinks he knows where the bones of the prophet Elisha are--bones that in the Old Testament brought the dead back to life. The bones of the prophet once raised...
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Excerpt - Ruby's Slippers by Leanna Ellis

Ruby’s Slippers by Leanna Ellis Wizard of Oz meets Cinderella When Dottie Meyers loses her ‘no place like home’ during a Kansas tornado, she wakes up to find a pair of ruby slippers left by her father who abandoned his family thirty years ago. With her sister hot on her trail to find the treasured ruby slippers, Dottie travels a yellow brick road with three friends to find her father. No wizard can solve her problems. Only the love of a heavenly father can heal her wounds and give her the desires of her heart. There’s no place like … the heart for God’s healing touch. Order on Christianbook.com Order on Amazon.com Winner of the National Readers’ Choice Award, Leanna Ellis writes quirky women's fiction. When she’s not busy writing, taxiing her kids to and from dance and fencing, or taking the dogs in and out, then she’s contemplating some new weird plot. Visit her website at http://leannaellis.com . Excerpt of chapter one: “There’s no place like home.” Dorothy The Wizard of Oz Chapt...
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He’s a jerk

Captain's Log, Stardate 04.23.2009 I’m over at Faithchick today! Here’s an excerpt: Camy here, asking the question, “What do you look for in a hero?” Tall, dark and handsome? Suave and charming? A little geeky, a little endearing? Or how about, a nice guy? Click here to read the rest of the post
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New reality show idea!

Captain's Log, Stardate 04.22.2009 Captain Caffeine and I have been talking again (I know, marvel concept!). We happened to catch the last show of Rock of Love (with Brett Michaels) season ten or something like that (the boy gets around, that's for sure ... Captain says, "He's a rock star." As if that explains it all), and the Captain remarked, “You’ve got to come up with a really good reality show idea." So, after the Amish vampire kung fu Asian triad idea , creative juices were still flowing and we came up with this: Twelve contestants think they have to learn to live like the Amish in an Amish village. The TV show has remarkably found an Amish village they can film in. The contestants have to learn Amish ways and “survive” for twelve weeks. The last contestant not booted out of the village gets a million bucks. Little do they know ... Come on, what true Amish community is going to let themselves be photographed? The “Amish village” is a fake! The contest...
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Excerpt - SO NOT HAPPENING by Jenny B. Jones

Today's Wild Card author is: Jenny B. Jones and the book: So Not Happening (The Charmed Life) Thomas Nelson (May 5, 2009) New York's social darling Isabella Kirkwood just woke up in a nightmare: Oklahoma. Problem is, it's right where God wants her. Bella Kirkwood had it all: A-list friends at her prestigious private school, Broadway in her backyard, and Daddy's MasterCard in her wallet. Then her father, a plastic surgeon to the stars, decided to trade her mother in for a newer model. When Bella's mom falls in love with a man she met on the Internet--a factory worker with two bratty sons--Bella has to pack up and move in with her new family in Truman, Oklahoma. On a farm no less! Forced to trade her uber-trendy NYC lifestyle for her down-home charm, Bella feels like a pair of Rock & Republic jeans in a sea of Wranglers. At least some of the people in her new high school are pretty cool. Especially the hunky football player who invites her to lunch. And maybe eve...
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