DREAMING OF: That Novel Day

DREAM.

Photo Credit

It was the word laid on my heart for 2014. The word I was going to center my year around. The word I was dedicating back to God and asking Him to make it clear in my life where this was supposed to take me—spiritually and possibly physically.

If “dream” was my goal for 2014, then I wasn’t going to just dream and toss them over my metaphorical shoulder without pursuing them in faith.

There was the dream of working in publishing. Moving to a different place and meeting different people. And God blessed that dream and breathed it into life directly before my eyes.

There is the dream of finding the right man God has for me and starting a family. There have certainly been enough of my friends setting me up in this new place, to make a single girl doubt the longevity of her singleness—but we’ll see.

Then there is the dream of having my name on the spine of a book. Of those pages being cracked open by readers and having them breathe in my words. The emotion of that moment when I open the box from the UPS man and there lies in my book. Real and in front of me—not just on the computer screen. A beautiful cover and my name in scrolling font across the bottom (or top) of the novel. A novel with my name on it.

So what do you do with a dream that you’re not actively pursuing? That you want, but don’t have the motivation to chase. It’s hard to take the word “dream” and then put aside the one that you’ve fostered for over 8 years.

Is there a time and a place for every dream? Yes. Yes there is. Is it easy to set those dreams aside? Not always. In fact, I’ll amend that: never. Not at all. There is a disloyalty it seems. A giving into all the fears that keep us hiking far and away from our dreams.

When we align ourselves with God’s plans for our life, we don’t always realize that sometimes we have to accept that not every dream is for the right time. Could I have continued pursuing my writing during a move and a new job and working for ACFW? Mmm. Probably. Would I have killed myself? Definitely.

There is a reason we walk the path we do, especially when we are aligned completely with God’s will for our lives. There is a reason we walk through seasons of struggle and hardship and setting one dream aside for another. Because God’s plans and timing for our lives is beyond perfect. There is not a single thing He does that is not 100% in our best interest—even if we perceive this as a struggle—a fight against our own will.

He knows the dreams we are dreaming for ourselves. And He knows the dreams He is dreaming that are best for us. So I’m setting one dream aside—not trading it—for another and different on. The one He has for me now.

And someday I’ll see my name on that cover. Someday indeed.

Giveaway! The Hesitant Heiress by Dawn Crandall!

Welcome to Writing for Christ Dawn Crandall, it is great to have you here! So you’re a writer? What made you decide to start creating characters and story world?

Thinking up and writing stories had always been my favorite subject in school, and ever since I was in high school I knew I would write a book someday. Or at least I wanted to. Thinking about it, and wanting to do it is a lot different than actually doing it! It took my husband finding out about my desire to write a book to actually get me started. And it still took me years to figure out how before I started it in 2010. Once I got into it and figured out what I was doing, thinking up and writing really long, complex love stories quickly became my favorite things to do.

What is the one title that has significantly impacted your life?

There are a lot of them from my high school and college days, but I’m going to pick out Gone with the Wind because after I saw the movie and read the book, I wanted to learn more about the author, Margaret Mitchell. I learned that while she was laid up because of a broken ankle, she decided to write the book she’d always wanted to… and I knew then, that if I ever had the chance, I would write a book too. I never had to break my ankle, fortunately, but I did have the support of my husband in staying home (though, I did nanny off and on during the process) to write. 

If you could get a do-over when it came to learning this whole thing called writing, what would you go back and tell yourself?

I would have joined ACFW or The Christian Writer’s Guild earlier. I knew about them, but since I wasn’t actually writing anything at the time, I thought it would be a waste of money to join prematurely. I started writing in January 2010 and joined ACFW in July 2011. I really should have joined as soon as I started writing. As it was, I knew about one person (that would have been you, Casey!) when I went to conference in 2011… and when I landed my agent right afterwards I didn’t have many writer friends to even turn to with my good news. Networking and making friends with fellow writers is very important, and I had to play major catch up. And I still don’t feel like I did that great of a job at doing so.

5 preference questions:

Homemade or take-out?

Homemade.

Email or snailmail?

I really do prefer snailmail, but I don’t do it enough. 

Online shopping or Black Friday deals?

Online any day! I hate the crowds!

Books or movies?

Books, although I do really enjoy watching my favorite books in movie form.

Note-taker or memorization?

I’m a little of a mix here. I’ve had times while writing my first book (The Hesitant Heiress) in which I needed to write out tons of notes, and then while writing the second book in the series, I depended a lot on memorizing everything. And then smack dab in the middle of me writing the third book, I got pregnant and my brain disappeared into my uterus for nine months. So, I’m back to the note-taking, which really drives me nuts!

           

Yes, I’m asking you to play favorites…which of your books is your favorite, published or unpublished? And if this is your debut novel, has your favorite been published yet?

I have three books to choose from, and they’re all a part of The Everstone Chronicles series, all part of the same world involving the same characters, although the hero and heroine of each book is a different couple. I always feel that whichever character I am in the middle of writing is my favorite since I’m so entirely inside her head (writing first person POV does that). But even as I wrote Meredyth and am currently revising Estella’s story, Amaryllis is still very special simply because I had her name picked out and have been thinking about writing her story ever since I was in college.  

Places for readers to learn more about you?

      Blog: www.dawncrandall.blogspot.com

Facebook: facebook.com/DawnCrandallWritesFirst 

Book Review Blog:APassionforPages.blogspot.com 

GoodReads: www.goodreads.com/dawn_crandall

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/dawnwritesfirst

Email: dawncrandallwritesfirst@gmail.com

Twitter: @dawnwritesfirst

Amazon: www.amazon.com/Dawn-Crandall

Thank you for being with us today!

Thank you for having me on your blog, Casey! It was a pleasure! :D

Readers, enter to win Dawn's book here!

Please leave an email address! If I draw your name and there is no email, you will not win.

For extra entries:

~Be a follower

~Be a subscriber

Contest is only open in the U.S. and void where prohibited. Chances of winning are based on the number of entries and winner is draw from a non-biased third party- Random.org. I am not responsible for any lost or damaged items for said prize.

Thanks for coming by to enter! Contest ends on September 5th

Attn Readers! If you're struggling to leave a comment on my blog, please email your comment entries (in ONE email) and I will submit it for you. But PLEASE only do this after you've failed to leave a comment. My email is: caseym.writer(@)gmail.com 

Excellent as Expected ~ In Perfect Time by Sarah Sundin ~ Review

If you have followed the Nightingale series at all, you have gotten the chance to really get to know these three nurses fighting to save our boys in WWII. While you don’t need to read them in order to enjoy each novel, I believe you’ll have a stronger appreciation for the depth of characterization-especially for our heroine, Kay.

Kay is the quintessential nurse with a string of boys at every base. To uncover the deep-seated desires she has buried away in her heart and the hurt from her past made my heart hurt for her.

Roger is one of those heroes that has this, almost a persona, of being a great and godly guy-and he is, but he certainly dealt with his own sense of struggles from his past clouding his worldview. There is a certain theme to the book that makes the reader realize that the influence from our past, be it good or bad, has a strong influence on our present and often in the choices we make. How are we influencing those significant people in our lives?

The romance is rocky and difficult against the backdrop of the WWII landscape. But I, as always, appreciate the history layered so well with the characterization and romance of the characters and their lives.

Great to see returning characters from previous books and get to know our current hero and heroine all the better. Thumbs up reading!

This review is my honest opinion. Thanks to Litfuse for my copy to review.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

More about the novel...

Flight nurse Lt. Kay Jobson collects hearts wherever she flies, but C-47 pilot Lt. Roger Cooper is immune to her charms. Throughout Italy and southern France, as she evacuates the wounded and he delivers paratroopers and supplies, every beat of their hearts draws them where they don't want to go.

*~*CONTEST INFO*~*

Don't miss Sarah Sundin's hot-off-the-press novel, In Perfect Time. Publishers Weekly gives it an enthusiastic thumbs up: “Sundin excels at well-researched historical detail . . . with such accurate depictions of culture and setting that we are fully immersed in the times as well as in the story. The strength of relationships forged in war and the apprehension of God in times of trouble infuse this well-crafted novel with substance and light.”

Sarah is celebrating the release of her book with a fun giveaway!

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A Kindle HDX
• The Wings of the Nightingale Series (With Every Letter, On Distant Shores, and In Perfect Time)

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on August 24th. Winner will be announced August 25th at Sarah's blog.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to visit Sarah's blog on the 25th to see if you won! (Or better yet, subscribe to her blog and have the winner announcement delivered to your inbox!)

“Guys, grow a backbone!”

Can my future husband please be in this room and hear this??”

Bible study. Tuesday night. A room full of single young people studying the book of Ephesians, specifically the chapter of wives submitting to their husbands and men loving their wives as Christ loves the church. Not your typical class structure for a singles group, but something we often tend to ignore in core groups until we’re ready to walk down the aisle.

As a young woman, how often do you run into young men walking in the Biblical model of manhood? Being trained—or learning from a godly mentor how to be the leader of his home—the father who leads his children in Christ and the man his wife gladly submits to and respects?

I certainly don’t run into very many. And those that I do are a rare breed.

We just aren’t teaching our young men to step into and command this role. And we’re not teaching our young women to step back and let him. We’re not teaching our young women to let the man take the first step, to cross the line of initiative and pursue the girl.

As girls, we want to be pursued. We want a guy who wants to put effort into getting to know us. But we’re not always the most patient. We’re not wanting to wait around for a guy to…well…grow a backbone. Or learn enough about you to realize you're not out to run over the top of him.

As I sat in the class and looked around the circle, there were a few pairs sitting together throughout the room, but most of are unattached—looking to become attached. And the leader’s wife pipes up from the back of the room, giving us a speech I could have stood to my feet and cheered to.

 Our guys have to grow a backbone.

AND

Our girls have to let them.

Our situation of guys stepping to the side, more comfortable with not taking the lead, is not all their fault. It’s us--as women-- not letting them step into the lead. When we rush God’s timing and hurry ahead of what He has for us, we run over the top of the plans He has for us. We run over the top of the God-ordained structure of what the marriage relationship needs to look like.

It’s not just “getting the guy” and having the grand plan of letting the guy take the lead—because if you’ve been directing the chariot, what makes you think the man you’ve got is going to take over now? He’s not being demanded to step into his godly role.  

Is it hard to wait for a guy to actually step forward? Sure. I never said this would be easy. Can’t even pretend that something like this is.

We have a tide in our culture that is turned against the godly structure of a courtship and marriage relationship.

It stops here. It stops now. At our choosing to step back—hard as that is—and letting our men step forward. At praying for the man who will enter our lives and our being submissive enough to wait. Submissive to God in trust for His provision. And submissive enough to step back. Let the man take the lead and trust that God is taking care of every detail—including when He brings the right man into our lives. 

Giveaway! So Fair a Lady by Amber Perry!

Welcome to Writing for Christ Amber Perry, it is great to have you here! So you’re a writer? What made you decide to start creating characters and story world?

First of all, Casey, let me say it’s such an honor to be with you today! I have been following you for a few years now and it’s a dream come true to finally be on Writing for Christ!! Thank you so much for having me! :- )

During middle school I developed a feverish passion for the American Revolution. I remember sitting in my purple beanbag chair and writing in my little notebook for hours—bringing to life pre-Revolutionary Boston the way my 13-year-old brain imagined it. I am sure I neglected many-a-chore to spend more time with my imaginary friends. (Not unlike today in that respect . . . teehee)

But when I realized writing isn’t a piece of cake, I gave it up and it wasn’t until a few years ago that I decided it would be nice to revisit those characters that had meant so much to me. I really felt God’s hand leading me in this path and I’m glad to say that even though it’s a lot of work, His love pushes me on, to find joy—and hopefully share it, through writing.

I love bringing to life America’s vibrant years before—and during—the revolution, when men and women were willing to sacrifice everything they had in the name of freedom. My hope is that people will read my stories and not only enjoy escaping to another place and time, but that they will enjoy discovering more about what colonial people experienced during such a turbulent time.

What is the one title that has significantly impacted your life?

I assume we are talking novels here… Where my genre is concerned, I would have to say Deeanne Gist’s THE MEASURE OF A LADY. I was blown away by the storyline, the spiritual thread, the romance, the setting/history and the way I couldn’t put it down. Such a unique message where Historical Romance themes are concerned, and I could easily pick it up and read it again right now.

If you could get a do-over when it came to learning this whole thing called writing, what would you go back and tell yourself?

Well, at the risk of sounding cliché-ish, I don’t think I would change a thing. Even though I have made gobs of mistakes and have had to write and re-write more times than I can count, every mistake taught me something valuable and those lessons have stuck with me to the point where I know I can never forget them—and they made me into a much stronger writer.

5 preference questions:

Homemade or take-out? Take-out. No contest

Email or snailmail? Email. My handwriting is so terrible it puts chicken-scratch to shame.

Online shopping or Black Friday deals? Online!! Can anyone say Modcloth? ;)

Books or movies? As much as I looooove books, I’m a huge classic movie fan and I crave times when I can watch. :- ) This one’s a toss up… I can’t pick. LOL

Note-taker or memorization? Note taker. My brain has the retention capacity of a sieve.

Yes, I’m asking you to play favorites…which of your books is your favorite, published or unpublished? And if this is your debut novel, has your favorite been published yet?

 Oh dear! Casey, you are just cruel! LOL ;) I really think SO FAIR A LADY is my favorite so far, because I have loved these characters for so long. But that might change when the next one comes out…who knows!

Places for readers to learn more about you? I love connecting with readers and getting to know them! I have a few places they can contact me: my website, www.amberlynnperry.com, my blog—

thehistoricalchristianreview.blogspot.com, and my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/authoramberlynnperry

Thank you for being with us today!

It was such an honor, thank you so much for having me Casey, and God bless you in all you do!

Readers, enter to win Amber's here!

Please leave an email address! If I draw your name and there is no email, you will not win.

For extra entries:

~Be a follower

~Be a subscriber

Contest is only open in the U.S. and void where prohibited. Chances of winning are based on the number of entries and winner is draw from a non-biased third party- Random.org. I am not responsible for any lost or damaged items for said prize.

Thanks for coming by to enter! Contest ends on August 29th

Attn Readers! If you're struggling to leave a comment on my blog, please email your comment entries (in ONE email) and I will submit it for you. But PLEASE only do this after you've failed to leave a comment. My email is: caseym.writer(@)gmail.com 

Lessons Learned from Miley Cyrus

Photo Credit

I know how the title sounds and I also know you’re ready to find me hidden in a metropolis of Denver and crucify me. But read the post first. There is value in it. I think, at least.

A couple weeks ago I heard this song (you can watch it here) and the lyrics struck me. If you can forget for a moment who is actually singing the song and just think about the words, they make a powerful impact.

It’s not about the mountain, it’s all about the climb.

How often do we look at a mountain we want to scale and can’t wait to crest it? Reach that point of accomplishment. The point where we can look back and say that we made it? That we made the job promotion? Moved away from home? Got married? Had kids?

What is your mountain?

Because there is one more after that. And another after that. And another after that.

The lyrics to this song really struck a cord with me: It’s always going to be an uphill battle. There is always one more mountain. We reach the one we’re climbing, happy and content…until we see the next mountain.

And suddenly we are never done. Never reached the end, because every time we look up from the mountain we think will fulfill all our desires, we see the next dream. The next goal. The next want.

I thought moving away from home and working in a field I love, being around close friends, would solve all my desires and problems for right now. I thought I’d be happy and content. (And don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy where God has me). But now I see the next mountain. And the next. And the next.

I would like to think finding Mr. Right and making him mine would solve all my problems and I’d be content. But then I’d probably want to be out of the city and living in the country. Then I’d probably want to have kids and the cycle goes on and on.

There is a lesson to be learned in this song by Miley Cyrus, and yes I think it’s a spiritual reminder. A reminder that we always want something more. Something beyond what we have here and now. But when we’re always focused on the next mountain, we miss the lessons we’re learning right now. We miss the steps we are having to take to get us where we are going.

And we forget that it’s all about the climb. It’s all about the lessons we’re learning. It’s all about the journey.

It’s a theme I seem to need to relearn every other day. It’s an easy one to forget and let slide. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the view on the horizon, instead of what God has in front of us today. (though I don’t think there is anything wrong with enjoying the view—within the will and patience of where God has us now).

So I encourage you to listen to the song. Soak in the words. Think about how to apply them to the life you’re living now. Are you racing towards the next mountain instead of enjoying the climb in front you?

You only climb this mountain once.   

Romantic Comedy to Love ~ A Bouquet of Love by Janice Thompson ~ Review

A story well worth the time to giggle over, A Bouquet of Love is a sweet and simple story with some zingy (and zany!) characters sure to entertain and make it very worth the reader’s while-at least this reader!

Cassia and Alex are a yummy couple—and I don’t say that just because their loyalties lie around good food and restaurants, though the strong clash between the Pappas and Rossi’s certainly make for some comedic and tension worthy moments.

I love a good romantic comedy. Elements of the ridiculous coupled with a duo you can cheer and root for, not to mention plenty of opportunities for comedic relief, the book was great at keeping me on my toes and still laughing.

Sometimes it’s just nice to relax with a book that will take you away. Remind me of the sweet and the hilarious. Remind me to take that time and find the laughter and joy in a day. And oftentimes it’s found in the hands of a book like this. A laughable, enjoyable, funny romantic comedy set around a hilarious and boisterous family we all love in the big Rossi clan. Because really, who doesn’t want to sit around and stuff themselves on cheesy pizza and watch the love between a cute couple? Pass me another slice!

This review is my honest opinion. Thanks to the publishers for my copy to review.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Cassia Pappas has found herself in a nearly impossible situation. She wants to spend her time

immersed in her new job at a Galveston Island floral shop, arranging blooms and brightening occasions with her lovely creations. But her huge Greek family–especially her father–has other ideas. They’ve all relocated to Galveston to open up a new family restaurant location on the Strand– directly across the street from the Rossis’ popular pizza place–and they want Cassia’s full participation.

To make matters worse, as Cassia is trying to develop a strong professional relationship with Galveston’s premier wedding coordinator, Bella Neeley, her own father is intent on stealing all of the Rossi family’s faithful customers. Not exactly the best way to get into Bella’s good graces!

Still, at least Alex, that hot delivery guy from the nursery, is always hanging around the flower shop . . .
Fan favorite Janice Thompson gives readers one more romp with Bella, Galveston, and the bustling wedding biz in the final installment of her popular series. Anyone who loves quirky families, loads of laughter, and tender romance will find themselves hooked.

Giveaway! Beyond I Do by Jennifer Slattery!

Welcome to Writing for Christ Jennifer Slattery, it is great to have you here! So you’re a writer? What made you decide to start creating characters and story world?

To be honest, initially, writing wasn’t even on my radar. It started as a means-to-an-end; creating dramas, curriculum, newsletters, etc. for ministries I was involved in. One afternoon, however, as I was running and praying over a short story a children’s director asked me to write, I realized, “Hey, I really enjoy this!” So I began to piddle around with it, for personal enjoyment, really. Years, and many nudges from God later, I clued in to the fact that this is what He created me to do.

What is the one title that has significantly impacted your life?

Not a title as much a series: The Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers. The extreme, devoted faith of the slave girl Hadasseh made me want to develop and display the same level of faith. However, the book does have some graphic scenes that, at times, were quite disturbing. But even so, the overall message was strong enough to keep me reading despite this.

If you could get a do-over when it came to learning this whole thing called writing, what would you go back and tell yourself?

Hm… I’m not sure. I’ve seen how God has used everything—every hurdle, set-back, and step forward, to grow me and move toward where I’m at. So I don’t think I’d want a do-over as much as a reminder to surrender, trust, and keep moving. A reminder to enjoy the journey, knowing He is faithful to always perfect those things which concern me.

5 preference questions:

Homemade or take-out? Oh, this is tough. If I’m not feeling well, take-out for sure. But I kinda prefer the taste of my own cooking.

Email or snailmail? Email just because it’s quicker so I can respond to urgent needs. But oh, how I love getting cards from my special friend. I have a spiritual mentor that often sends a card with a verse written in it. Though she sends plenty of texts and emails, too.

Online shopping or Black Friday deals? Neither! For me, shopping is very relational, and I either like to go with my hubby, my teenage daughter, or a special friend. But I would never subject myself to the craziness of BF. Well, except I did once, for my daughter’s sake. (She wanted to try shopping on that day once. Yeah, that was all it took. Hahaha.)

Books or movies? Books! I have very little patience for movies, especially today’s movies which seem to have ten minutes of fighting followed by five minutes of plot then ten more minutes of fighting.

Note-taker or memorization? Both? I’m working really hard on trying to memorize Scripture. But I think and process through my hands, so…

Yes, I’m asking you to play favorites…which of your books is your favorite, published or unpublished? And if this is your debut novel, has your favorite been published yet?

This is my debut, and well… my favorite novel is always the one I’m currently writing, but the one I got goose bumps on more than one occasion from God’s clear and very specific guidance; that one will come out in 2015. It’s about a fifty-one year old, menopausal realtor, a widowed railroader, and three precious children abandoned by their mother. Here’s the back cover text:

A hurricane forces Jacqueline to evacuate. Looking to begin again—and reconnect with her embittered daughter—Jacqueline heads north. Reconciliation is hard, but she has a handsome new friend to lean on. Most importantly, she knows God is standing beside her.

When her daughter rejects her, three children abandoned by their mother open their hearts. But can God use a woman who dashed the hopes of her own child to bring hope to someone else’s? 

Places for readers to learn more about you?

They can visit me at my personal blog, http://jenniferslatterylivesoutloud.com or at Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/JenSlatte

Thank you for being with us today!

Thanks for having me!

Readers, enter to win Jennifer's book here!

Please leave an email address! If I draw your name and there is no email, you will not win.

For extra entries:

~Be a follower

~Be a subscriber

Contest is only open in the U.S. and void where prohibited. Chances of winning are based on the number of entries and winner is draw from a non-biased third party- Random.org. I am not responsible for any lost or damaged items for said prize.

Thanks for coming by to enter! Contest ends on August 22nd

Attn Readers! If you're struggling to leave a comment on my blog, please email your comment entries (in ONE email) and I will submit it for you. But PLEASE only do this after you've failed to leave a comment. My email is: caseym.writer(@)gmail.com 

Why I Don't Believe in Long-Term Dating

Photo Credit

*I do not pretend for this post to be all things to all people. You probably won't agree with me and have good reasons why long term dating worked for you or someone you know. I don't write this post to pick a fight. I write this post and my strong feelings on this from my stance as a single girl. I still welcome your comments and constructive (kind) criticism*

I don't believe in long term dating. 

I actually don't believe in dating at all, but rather this concept called courting, but that's another post for another time.

Why don't I believe in long term dating? It's not so much a matter of not believing in it, because there are good and valid reasons why a couple have not married yet. My challenge is for all the other reasons. A couple questions always tend to come to mind when I run into these couples who are still dating after being together for years.

• Are you not committed to each other? Why haven't you made that decision of commitment or you are just hanging in there, someplace in the back of your mind, are you waiting or hoping for someone better?
• Which leads to my next question: are you thinking you are settling by marrying this person? If you do, then why are you still together? Why are you still investing your heart? 
• Is there no sexual attraction? The couples I run into, the circles I tend to make friends in, are waiting, holding themselves pure for their future spouse. Are you just great chums and like to hang out, or are you actually serious about this getting married thing? They why aren't you? 
• This isn't a question of whether or not you might love someone. I think if you spend a great deal of time with them, call each other "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" you probably at least profess to love them. So are you spending your time getting to know this person, for all intents and purposes interviewing them to see if they could be your future spouse?
• There is something to be said for spending a great deal of time with a person to know who they are. The character of that person. And there is also something to be said for realizing this could be the person you could marry and spend the rest of your life with. You might "get to know" someone by hanging out and doing social things together, dating etc. But you don't get to know the character of someone in most social settings. Do you know how this person is going to respond in a tough spot?

Our society is a dating culture. We're not--as a whole--a culture that commits. We like soft and unsure over hard answers and being accountable for our actions. It certainly doesn't make people like myself very popular. Why can't a guy and a girl "just be friends"? Why can't they just date for the sake of dating?

Because you are spending time, getting to know, investing in someone else's husband. Someone else's wife. 

If we think this person could be our spouse, why aren't we investing more of ourselves in that person? Why aren't we being more serious about finding out if we're good together, starting this thing called life? 

Are we a generation frightened of commitment? Or are we just lackluster in our drive?

Recommended Most Definitely ~ The Butterfly and the Violin by Kristy Cambron ~ Review

There is something truly beautiful about this Auschwitz story. I know you are thinking what I was: how in the world can a book about a terrible German concentration camp be a beautiful story? But it was. And it surprised me, in a good, good way.

Weaving present day and history is not always the easiest thing to do in fiction. But the two blended so well. Between Sera’s passion for this piece of art and Adele’s passion for her music, there is much room for parallels and symbolism.  

Sera and Adele are two extremely strong and vulnerable heroines. To watch them walk through their struggles is heart breaking and yet manages to put all the pieces of your heart back together by the time the story has come to a close.

The voice of the words on the page sweeps you away. I was enthralled and wanted to take each little bit slowly to soak it all in. Again, it’s a topic you do not think could be painted with grace and beauty and yet it is. And in that beauty, is great heartbreak for the reader to realize just what all is behind these

 words. The stories behind these people who truly lived through Auschwitz (though this book is pure fiction).

Over all, I admire the book and its ability to tell a great story. Recommended most definitely!

This review is my honest opinion. Thanks to the publishers through Litfuse Publicity for my copy to review.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

More about the novel...

"Today." Sera James spends most of her time arranging auctions for the art world's elite clientele. When her search to uncover an original portrait of an unknown Holocaust victim leads her to William Hanover III, they learn that this painting is much more than it seems.

"Vienna, 1942." Adele Von Bron has always known what was expected of her. As a prodigy of Vienna's vast musical heritage, this concert violinist intends to carry on her family's tradition and play with the Vienna Philharmonic. But when the Nazis learn that she helped smuggle Jews out of the city, Adele is taken from her promising future and thrust into the horrifying world of Auschwitz.

The veil of innocence is lifted to expose a shuddering presence of evil, and Adele realizes that her God-given gift is her only advantage; she must play. Becoming a member of the Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz, she fights for survival. Adele's barbed-wire walls begin to kill her hope as the months drag into nearly two years in the camp. With surprising courage against the backdrop of murder and despair, Adele finally confronts a question that has been tugging at her heart: Even in the midst of evil, can she find hope in worshipping God with her gift?

As Sera and William learn more about the subject of the mysterious portrait--Adele--they are reminded that whatever horrors one might face, God's faithfulness never falters.

*~*CONTEST INFO*~*

Welcome to the launch campaign for debut novelist Kristy Cambron's The Butterfly and the Violin. Romantic Times had this to say: "Alternating points of view skillfully blend contemporary and historical fiction in this debut novel that is almost impossible to put down. Well-researched yet heartbreaking. . . ."

Kristy is celebrating the release of the first book in her series, A Hidden Masterpiece, with a fun Kindle Fire giveaway and meeting her readers during an August 7th Facebook author chat party.

 One winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire
• The Butterfly and the Violin by Kristy Cambron

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on August 7th. Winner will be announced at The Butterfly and the Violin Author Chat Party. Kristy will be connecting with readers and answering questions, sharing some of the fascinating research behind the book, hosting a fun book chat, and giving away some GREAT prizes. She will also be giving an exclusive look at the next book in the series, A Sparrow in Terezin!

So grab your copy of The Butterfly and the Violin and join Kristy on the evening of August 7th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 7th!