Captain's Log, Stardate 09.01.2006 It is September 1st, time for the FIRST Day Blog Tour! (Join our alliance! Click the button!) The FIRST day of every month we will feature an author and their latest book's FIRST chapter! This month's feature author is: Taylor Field "We live in a squat. We don’t know squat. We don’t have squat. We don’t do squat. We don’t give a squat. People say we’re not worth squat." Taylor Field has worked since 1986 in the inner city of New York where he is pastor of East Seventh Baptist Church/Graffiti Community Ministries. He holds a M.Div. from Princeton and Ph.D. from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. Among his previous books is the award-winning Mercy Streets. Field and his family live in New York, New York. If you want to know more, please visit The SQUAT Website ! To order Squat, click HERE . Author interview contact is Andrea Irwin at Broadman & Holman. Please Note: All author proceeds from Squat will go ...

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.31.2006 TMI: Writing: Please pray, I’m working hard on my second book’s plot and stuff and it’s coming together more slowly than I’d like. Diet: I found out that the acid in blueberries eats away at my tooth enamel! I’m so bummed! Blueberries are my favorite snack. But if I eat more than a handful, my teeth become extremely sensitive at the gumline, similar to when I drink soda with citric acid. My dentist says the citric acid eats away at my enamel. Due blueberries have citric acid? Or maybe it’s ascorbic acid that’s eating at my teeth? Who knows—I now have a whole pint in my fridge that I have to get my husband to eat before they go bad. Maybe I should make muffins. Any interesting blueberry recipes? Shortbread count = 3. :(

SHE’S ALL THAT by Kristin Billerbeck From the back cover: Contemplating life, love and the pursuit of the perfect pedicure. Best friends since Johnny Depp wore scissors for hands, "The Spa Girls" live very separate lives, but stay in touch with regular--and sometimes emergency--visits to California's Spa Del Mar. There's diamond heiress Morgan Malliard, who's self-sacrificing to a fault; alternative healer Dr. Poppy Clayton, who can't meet a man without asking about his colon; and finally, up-and-coming fashion designer Lilly Jacobs, who thinks her bad hair is the root of all her troubles. The first novel in the Spa Girls Collection focuses on Lilly, whose coveted promotion is given to a less-talented co-worker, and who then finds her boyfriend with another girl . . . all on the same day! Lilly needs a spa weekend and then some. But it's going to take more than a facial and a massage to fix her problems: She's given herself just six months to succeed ...

LAMBERT'S CODE by Rachel Hauck ETHAN AND JULIE'S DREAM ENDS... After three years of medical treatment, Julie Lambert faces the irrefutable truth: She will never have children. Devastated, lost, and alone, she buries her pain by making several life decisions that threaten her relationship with her husband, Ethan. Ethan Lambert can't imagine a life without Julie. Yet, his marriage is failing and he doesn't know how to save it. Urged by his grandpa, Ethan launches a journey to understand the Lambert Family Code--submit one to another. Can Ethan and Julie overcome the loss of their dream and rediscover their love for each other? Will they learn to live by Lambert's Code? Camy here: I really like the fact that this book deals with a married couple. Their issues of communication and submission are applicable not just for married but also dating couples, because I was reminded of the kinds of fights my husband and I had before the wedding. The stress of Julie's infert...

A FAMILY FOREVER by Brenda Coulter Book description: Devastated by the accidental death of her fiancé just three weeks before their wedding, violinist Shelby Franklin has just learned she carries his child. She can't give up the baby, but the only way she can keep it is by accepting a shocking proposal of marriage from a man who doesn't seem to like her very much. Bike shop owner and semi-pro cyclist Tucker Sharpe owes Shelby more than she will ever understand. Determined to protect her and his brother's child, he presses Shelby to marry him. He insists that if they make an honest effort, God will bless their marriage and teach them to care for each other. But can it really be that simple? Can two people will themselves to fall in love? Excerpt from A FAMILY FOREVER Camy here: I liked Brenda’s debut novel FINDING HOPE (which won a billion awards or something like that, but you know, she’s modest about those) so I was eagerly anticipating this, her sophomore release. She a...

Captain’s Log, Stardate 08.30.2006 Blog book giveaway: My Thursday book giveaway is THE GUY I'M NOT DATING by Trish Perry . My Monday book giveaway is the Coffee Cup Bible Study books by Sandra Glahn . You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for THE GUY I'M NOT DATING and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Book reviews: I posted a couple book reviews (below) for your viewing pleasure: BAD HEIRESS DAY by Allie Pleiter RECONSTRUCTING NATALIE by Laura Jensen Walker PINK by Marilynn Griffith And no, I didn’t get paid to say nice things about them. TMI: Writing: I posted another synopsis writing tip at my Story Sensei blog . And I’m working on book 2 for Single Sushi . Please pray for me if you get a chance. I feel like the creative well has run dry. Any suggestions? Diet: I exercised today! It felt really sluggish at first, possibly because it had been 3 days since I last exercis...

PINK by Marilynn Griffith From the back cover: HIGH FASHION MEETS ROMANCE IN THE BIG APPLE FOR A FRESH, FUNKY DESIGNER Raya Joseph wants to break free from the beige world around her and celebrate the color of the city. With a sassy pink style and a radical change of hair, she’s off to conquer the design world. But it doesn’t take long for Raya to meet her match—in style and flair. Flex Dunham, a personal trainer and one of Raya’s clients, has got it going on. As much as Raya would like to pursue a relationship with Flex, she has other matters on her mind—and on her heart. Then a blast from the past comes back to haunt her, and Raya can’t help but wonder if she made the right decision in keeping her past a secret. Flex seems to be hiding something too. But what? Woven with humor, heartache, and hip friendships, Raya’s new life as a lot of colorful threads. But will the end result be a beautiful design? Or will it fall apart at the seams? Join Raya and her friends Lily Chau, Jean Guerr...