This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Becca By The Book Zondervan (January 1, 2010) by Laura Jensen Walker ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Laura Jensen Walker is an award-winning writer, popular speaker, and breast-cancer survivor who loves to touch readers and audiences with the healing power of laughter. Born in Racine, Wisconsin (home of Western Printing and Johnson’s Wax—maker of your favorite floor care products) Laura moved to Phoenix, Arizona when she was in high school. But not being a fan of blazing heat and knowing that Uncle Sam was looking for a few good women, she enlisted in the United States Air Force shortly after graduation and spent the next five years flying a typewriter through Europe. Her lifelong dream of writing fiction came true in Spring 2005 with the release of her first chick lit novel, Dreaming in Black & White which won the Contemporary Fiction Book of the Year from American Christian Fiction Writers. Her sophomore ...

Captain's Log, Stardate 01.28.2010 I’m at Faithchick today venting bemoaning whining discussing a problem I’ve been having lately: Camy here! I’m seriously hurting in the bedtime discipline area. Hurting as in, I totally suck and couldn’t make myself go to bed on time even if I had an all expenses paid shopping trip to a yarn store in the morning. (And trust me, I could spend thousands of dollars on yarn. Thousands, I tell you!) Click here to read the rest!

Captain's Log, Stardate 01.27.2010 I’m at Girls, God, and the Good Life today with a prayer for all of us: Camy here, and while trying to figure out what to blog this week, I felt God telling me to pray, so let’s join our prayers together today. Click here to read the rest and join me in prayer!

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Kelly’s Chance Barbour Books; Reprint edition (January 1, 2010) by Wanda E. Brunstetter ABOUT THE AUTHOR: A Note From Wanda: Ever since I was a child, I wanted to be a writer. When I was in the second grade, I wrote my first poem about a moth. Luckily, I received encouragement from my teacher. During my teen years, I wrote skits that my church teen group performed during special holidays. It wasn’t until 1980, that I took a course on writing for children and teenagers. I became serious about a career as an author. Soon after that, I began to write stories, articles, poems, and devotionals, which appeared in a variety of Christian publications. Later, I had 5 books of puppet/ventriloquist scripts published. *These books are currently available by contacting me. (wanda@wandabrunstetter.com) My first novel was released by Barbour Publishing’s book club, Heartsong Presents, in Dec. 1997. I have now writ...

The Sweet By and By by Sara Evans and Rachel Hauck Jade Fitzgerald left the pain of her past in the dust when she headed out for college a decade ago. Now she's thriving in her career and glowing in the light of Max Benson's love. But then Jade's hippie mother, Beryl Hill, arrives in Whisper Hollow, Tennessee, for Jade's wedding along with Willow, her wild younger sister. Their arrival forces Jade to throw open the dark closets of her past--the insecurity of living with a restless, wandering mother, the silence of her absent father, and the heart-ripping pain of first-love's rejection. Turns out Beryl has a secret of her own. She needs reconciliation with her oldest daughter before illness takes her life. In the final days leading to the wedding, Jade meets the One who shows her that the past has no hold on her future. With a little grace, they'll meet in the middle, maybe even before that sweet by and by. Review blurbs: "...heartwarming collab...

Captain's Log, Stardate 01.22.2010 Since late December, I have been learning how to spin wool into yarn using a drop spindle. Yes! It’s true, I have gone totally Amish/old school. (No offense to any Amish or old school people. I mean that in the nicest way.) I don’t know why I suddenly decided to learn to spin. Or if I did know why, I’ve forgotten (I probably explained it to Captain Caffeine at some point, but now I don’t remember what excuse I gave to him). Not having any yarn shops nearby that teach spinning, I bought a Cascade spindle online and some really soft, silky merino wool roving from Etsy.com. I read all kinds of online articles and watched youtube videos. And I spun my first yarn! Here it is! It’s a lace weight yarn (about 30 wraps per inch), since I like using finer gauge yarns over bulkier yarns. It’s rather uneven (although it’s not as easy to tell in the picture) and I didn’t ply it very well, but I made it all by myself! Captain Caffeine does not...

Captain's Log, Stardate 01.21.2010 I tweeted a couple weeks ago about taking my dog walking in the rain with her yellow rain slicker, and a bunch of you guys asked about it, incredulous. Oh ye of little faith. The truth is, Snickers is not a water dog. She hates getting wet. She will shy away from sprinklers and hoses. Giving her a bath is a two-person job and she shivers and has her tail between her legs the entire time. I also am not that fond of wet dog smell. So when I was visiting my friend Cheryl Wyatt in Illinois, we went to a store called Rural King, and I got this cute doggie rain slicker. It works perfectly--it keeps the rain off her back and part of her head, and she smells much less when we're back from our walk. What do you guys think?

Captain's Log, Stardate 01.20.2010 This is my fifth year coordinating the American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis contest for unpublished writers! We just went live yesterday! Deadline is 8 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on March 31st, so get your manuscripts polished so you can enter! Actually, enter by March 15th in case your entry gets lost in cyberspace, so we have time to find it. You must be an ACFW member to enter the contest, but you can join when you submit your entry fee! If you're thinking seriously about being published in Christian fiction, ACFW is a fantastic organization! Here's the website: ACFW Genesis contest

Captain's Log, Stardate 01.18.2010 Thicker Than Blood by C.J. Darlington Christy Williams finally has her life on track. She’s putting her past behind her and working hard to build a career as an antiquarian book buyer. But things begin to unravel when a stolen Hemingway first edition is found in her possession, framing her for a crime she didn’t commit. With no one to turn to, she yearns for her estranged younger sister, May, whom she abandoned after their parents’ untimely deaths. Soon, Christy’s fleeing from her shattered dreams, her ex-boyfriend, and God. Could May’s Triple Cross Ranch be the safe haven she’s searching for? Will the sisters realize that each possesses what the other desperately needs before it’s too late? A stunning debut from the latest Christian Writers Guild winner. Excerpt of chapter one: Thicker than Blood Chapter 1 Christy Williams didn’t see the cop until his red lights flashed in her rearview mirror. By then it was too late. He was tailing h...

Here's another good book to tell you about: MONTEREY MEMORIES - Three novels by Gail Gaymer Martin set in the beautiful Monterey area in the central coast of California. The Barbour anthology includes the novels And Baby Makes Five, Garlic and Roses and Butterfly Trees. Book Description Walk the streets and countryside of Monterey, California, with three couples who are surprised by love in the midst of their busy lives. Chad helps Felisa when she goes into labor in his lettuce field. Juli meets Alan while volunteering at a soup kitchen. Ross takes an overdue vacation at Alissa’s bed-and-breakfast. Can busy people slow down enough to realize the love God has brought into their lives? Reviews from AMAZON Monterey Memories, an anthology, is a must buy. I truly love this book. In each of the three novels, set in the central coast of California, Gail writes of God's love with such ease and weaves His love throughout each story. We see how faith and growth in the Word a...

Captain's Log, Stardate 01.14.2010 I’m on Faithchick today waxing poetic on my favorite topic—food! Camy here! I’m still going strong on my New Years resolution to eat healthier and exercise! Believe it or not, I’ve realized recently that I’ve grown to love veggies. Who’da thought? I hated veggies growing up. But now I’ve come to see that it might have been just that the veggies my parents liked weren’t what I liked. Click here to read the rest of the blog post and chime in!

Captain's Log, Stardate 01.13.2010 I’m at the Love Inspired Authors blog today talking about prayer: Camy here! Lately I’ve been getting more into prayer. I don’t know if I’m actually starting to mature as a Christian or what, but I’ve been seeing the importance of prayer in my life more and more the past few years. Click here to read the rest of the blog post and chime in!

Captain's Log, Stardate 01.12.2010 The One-Day Way by Chantel Hobbs Author Chantel Hobbs breaks the chains of past diet debacles and frees readers from unrealistic goals. She teaches daily fitness tasks that develop into lasting habits. By focusing energy and attention on doing the right things every day, she frees readers to achieve their weight-loss goals one day at a time. I’ve got great news for you: You are about to feel better and look better beginning today! Today is truly a new opportunity for you to reach your weight loss goals. No, you won’t fit into your “skinny jeans” today, but I’m going to show you how each day will get you closer to that goal. Yesterday’s mistakes are gone so let them go. You can’t control tomorrow, so stop worrying about it. Today is your opportunity to lose weight, get strong, and look great. It won’t happen overnight, but you can build a new life by changing your actions immediately and I’m here to show you how to make the changes that w...

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book! You never know when I might play a wild card on you! Today's Wild Card author is: Shelley Adina and the book: The Chic Shall Inherit the Earth (All About Us #6) FaithWords; 1 edition (January 7, 2010) ***Special thanks to Miriam Parker of the Hachette Book Group for sending me a review copy.*** Lissa Mansfield has come a long way since transferring to Spencer Academy two years ago. She's made a great group of friends in Gillian, Carly, Mac, and Shani. She's strengthened and grown her relationship wi...