This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Love's Pursuit Bethany House (June 1, 2009) by Siri Mitchell ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Siri Mitchell graduated from the University of Washington with a business degree and worked in various levels of government. As a military spouse, she has lived all over the world, including in Paris and Tokyo. Siri enjoys observing and learning from different cultures. She is fluent in French and loves sushi. But she is also a member of a strange breed of people called novelists . When they’re listening to a sermon and taking notes, chances are, they’ve just had a great idea for a plot or a dialogue. If they nod in response to a really profound statement, they’re probably thinking, “Yes. Right. That’s exactly what my character needs to hear.” When they edit their manuscripts, they laugh at the funny parts. And cry at the sad parts. Sometimes they even talk to their characters. Siri wrote 4 books and accumulated 153 rejec...

Captain's Log, Stardate 06.29.2009 Mom NEEDS Chocolate by Debora M. Coty What's a rundown, run-ragged mom to do? Her spirit yearns to soar, but her feet---and faith---are stuck in the diaper-by-diaper mud of everyday responsibilities. How can she de-muck when she's chronically exhausted and relentlessly robbed of abundant life by the joy-sucking dully-funks? This offbeat glimpse of reality with a tangy twist pitched in to help busy mothers get in touch with rejuvenating joy and empowering faith! In mom-to-mom, smile-eliciting style, humorist Debora Coty doesn't lolly gag around the hot topics such as enduring marriage, embarrassing children, defeating depression and grossfully (er, gracefully) aging. Unique insights and outrageous coping tips are shared alongside sisterly hugs and warm encouragement. Mom Needs Chocolate is a veritable grocery list of mud-between-your-toes issues, tackled with witty frankness and wild abandon. Young-at-heart mothers of all ages wil...

Dead Man's Rule by Rick Acker The Dead Man’s Rule—a law that bars one party of an oral contract from testifying about the agreement if the other party is dead. Ben Corbin, a young, up-and-coming lawyer, takes on a seemingly straightforward case dealing with the legal ownership of a safe-deposit box. But he soon discovers the case is not as clear-cut as it first appeared. Not only is his client, Dr. Mikhail Ivanovsky, an eccentric Russian scientist with a questionable past, but Ben also suspects that Ivanovsky is hiding something important. It isn’t until the other party suddenly dies and the opposing attorney invokes the Dead Man’s Rule, that Ivanovsky discloses the whole terrifying truth, and why Ben must win. But the old law leaves Ben without his key witness, and—barring a miracle—without any chance of winning. Excerpt of chapter one: The New Client This doesn’t look promising, Ben Corbin thought as he eyed the potential new client sitting in his ...

A note from Melody: I took six teenage girls and one '60s fashion diva (retired, of course) and threw them together in a big old house. I tossed in some teenage boys (some nice, some not so nice) added some typical teen struggles (jealousy, dating, identity) as well as a Kate Spade bag or two ... and it turned out to be the Carter House Girls , my chick lit series for young adults! And, good news, the latest book just released: New York Debut . You can start reading it here . There's pressure from Mrs. Carter and competition between certain girls, as the household prepares to participate in the high stakes Spring Fashion Week in New York City. So, join the Carter House Girls for an adventure that leads to clothes, clothes, and more clothes ... and a bit of fashion competition along the way. Be sure to sample all the books in the series !

Captain's Log, Stardate 06.25.2009 I finally saw the Kiera Knightley movie version and gave my thoughts on it at Faithchick! Camy here. Most of you know that I’m a pretty die-hard Jane Austen fan. But I had heard so many negative reviews of the Kiera Knightley version of Pride and Prejudice that I put off watching it for a while. Well, my Tivo has a Wishlist search for Pride and Prejudice and recorded it, so I figured I might as well watch it since it’s taking up memory space on my Tivo and I don’t have to waste a Netflix space on it. Click here to read the rest of the post

Today's Wild Card author is: Bonnie Grove and the book: Talking to the Dead David C. Cook; New edition edition (June 1, 2009) Twenty something Kate Davis can't seem to get this grieving-widow thing down. She's supposed to put on a brave face and get on with her life, right? Instead she's camped out on her living-room floor, unwashed, unkempt, and unable to sleep--because her husband, Kevin, keeps talking to her. Is she losing her mind? Kate's attempts to find the source of the voice she hears are both humorous and humiliating, as she turns first to an "eclectically spiritual" counselor, then to a shrink with a bad toupee, a mean-spirited exorcist, and finally group therapy. There she meets Jack, the warmhearted, unconventional pastor of a ramshackle church, and at last the voice subsides. But when she stumbles upon a secret Kevin was keeping, Kate's fragile hold on the present threatens to implode under the weight of the past ... and Kevin begins to s...

Captain's Log, Stardate 06.23.2009 Comes a Horseman by Robert Liparulo The ancients saw Death as a blazing figure on horseback, swift and merciless. Those facing the black chasm often mistook their pounding hearts for the beating of hooves. Now, two FBI agents pursuing a killer from a centuries-old cult realize they have become his prey. To survive, they must ignore their own fear, their own hearts pounding in their ears... Pounding like Death, riding a pale horse. Buy from Christianbook.com Buy from Amazon Excerpt of chapter one: Chapter One Five years ago Asia House, Tel Aviv, Israel He waited with his face pressed against the warm metal and his pistol gouging the skin at his lower back. He thought about pulling the weapon from his waistband, setting it beside him or even holding it in his hand, but when the time came, he'd have to move fast, and he didn't want it getting in his way. He'd been there a long time, since well before the first par...

Captain's Log, Stardate 06.22.2009 : Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes by Robin Jones Gunn A multi-tasking mama, Summer Finley has found ways to handle whatever life throws at her with grace and a grin. Until now, that is. An “abnormal” medical test result sends Summer into an emotional tailspin and prompts her to fulfill a life-long dream of “meeting” her best friend and pen pal since fourth grade, Noelle Van Zandt, face-to-face. Their blissful week together in the Netherlands finds Summer and Noelle floating down a canal in Amsterdam, visiting Corrie Ten Boom’s Hiding Place, sipping decadent Dutch cocoa in Delft, and bobbing merrily along through a sea of brilliant, spring-fresh tulips. Each day takes them further from midlife anxiety and closer to trusting God in deeper ways. When Summer finally confides in Noelle about the abnormal test results, Summer’s honesty prompts Noelle to share a long-held heartache. The two friends find they both needed to be together more than ei...

Captain's Log, Stardate 06.21.2009 Leave any prayer requests in the comments and I’ll be praying this week. You don’t have to be Christian to leave a prayer request. If you’d rather not advertise to everyone on the blogosphere, just leave an unspoken prayer request or e-mail me. If I forgot your prayer request, email me. Not to be mean or anything, but if you don't email me or comment to update your prayer request, I'm only going to pray ONE Sunday. I’m trying something new with my Sunday Prayer. I’m really bad about doing it on Sunday , so I’ll be updating it during the week. Dear Lord, thank you for your grace. I pray for complete healing for B., Malia, Cheryl, Sharon, Juanita, Lorna, Dr. Mathews, and Steve’s mom. I also lift up any of my blog readers in need of physical, emotional, or spiritual healing and pray you will touch them. Be with any blog readers who are out of a job or whose loved ones are unemployed. Please provide for their families and give stability. Pleas...

How Do I Love Thee? by Nancy Moser Come witness the romance of all romances . . . Elizabeth Barrett is a published poet—and a virtual prisoner to her weak health and a tyrannical father who forbids any of his children to marry. She has resigned herself to simply existing. That is, until the letter arrives... "I love your verses with all my heart," writes Robert Browning, an admiring fellow poet. And as friendly correspondence gives way to something more, Elizabeth discovers that Robert's love is not for her words alone. Could it be that God might grant her more than mere existence? And can she risk defying her father in pursuit of true happiness? Included in the back of the book are the complete Sonnets from the Portuguese that included her famous poem: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways… Romantic Times 4-star review: "This peek inside the private life of secluded poetess Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a delight. The journey her heart takes to go against a...

Breathe by Lisa T. Bergren To make a new life, she'll have to learn how to breathe again... By the time Dominic and Moira St. Clair get their ailing sister, Odessa, to Colorado Springs in the winter of 1883, she is nearly dead. Odessa has been seriously aling for the past year from consumption, an illness that claimed the lives of four of her younger brothers, prompting her father, to send his only surviving children west to chase the cure. Moira is beautiful and dangerously headstrong; and pugnacious Dominic is charged with establishing a new arm of the family business--a business he doesn't want. Several days after her arrival, Odessa witnesses what she fears is the murder of miner Sam O’Toole, friend and neighbor to the charming Bryce McAllan. What’s more, Sam leaves her a poem containing clues that seem to direct her to his mine, which is purported to carry a fantastic vein of silver. But if she is ever to rise from her bed again, she must first concentrate on conquering th...