The Best of 2009 Novels

What was the best book you read in 2009? Over on A

Sequence of Continous Delights, Carman is having a contest for the best cover of 2009 (be sure and vote! She has some great covers). And it got me thinking- why not have a contest for the best novel of 2009? So what was the best Christian fiction novel that you read that was published this year? Mine is just to the left. I loved Seaside Letters, what an amazing story and totally gripping and engaging. Leave a comment nominating your favorite 2009 Christian novel and once they are all in let the voting begin! Please be sure and tell me where I can find the book cover, though an exact URL won't be neccessary.

Book Review: The Blue Enchantress

For those who have read the Red Siren, they know just what is coming in this new book, it is definitely a series you want to read in order.

Hope Westcott’s beau, the villainous Lord Falkland, has spurned her advances when she is found on board his ship- the same ship housing his wife. She finds herself standing on the auction block, gazing into a sea of malicious faces, lust pouring from their beings. But she is rescued by a young sea merchant who trades his ship for her ransom. While some would see this as an act of benevolence, Nathaniel Mason begrudges his act of mercy, because now he has been set back in making his fortune. Both are running from God, yet in two very different ways. Hope longs for love, admiration and attention after being rejected by a father who lavished no love, but saw only faults. And after a terrible deed was committed against her, she believes she is impure and throws herself at every man who comes her way. She can not believe that God can make her pure and forgive her past sins, filling her with a love that is all consuming. Nathaniel sees only her mistakes and scorns her for it, not seeing the love starved person beneath. He feels the call of God on his life to witness and preach, but instead flees to the sea feeling he is adequate in bringing people to Christ.

I thought this book was very good, the drama was vivid, the characters seem real and have personal struggles that can be related to. I thought the tension between Hope, God and Nathaniel went a little over long, but in some respects it was needed, because without it you wouldn’t have seen the transformations in the end.

Oh and one more tantalizing fact- Lord Falkland makes another appearance, and it is anything but good!

Never take anything for granted

I have really been thinking about this lately. How many things do you take for granted? Even the simple things like, indoor plumbing, food, warmth, family and friends.

You don't realize how much you use something until it is yanked from your grasp. Every time we lose the plumbing in our house, I praise God when you can flush the toilet, run water, clean the dishes again!

Every day we use things that we don't even realize that if they were taken away from us, we wouldn't be able to function. You can't live without food, yet are you thankful for it? We all pray over the meal, but are we truly thankful? I know I struggle here to be thankful from my heart, it's there every day! But what about the person who is starving? They are thankful for the simplest crumb. We are truly blessed. Thank you, God.

Early in 2009 my uncle was rushed to the ER because of a brain bleed at the base of his skull. For two days we lived on the edge, unsure if we would lose him. We praise God he still lives and thrives. But that frightening moment brought together my mom and her brothers, one who she had not seen in over 20 years. I had never even met my uncle and aunt from my mom's side. I will never take them for granted ever again. They are too precious. Cherish your family, those moments of togetherness. God has blessed you, don't throw those blessings away

Before that moment in time when life hangs in the balance, when the septic system is being dug up again, before the food is arriving late to the table, take that time and remember to be thankful for the little things. Tell your parents, siblings, spouse you love them You won't realize how much you appreciate even the mundane in life until it's taken away.

Blog Awards!

Wow, thank you so much to Ashley W. at After all... tomorrow is another day for passing on these two lovely awards. They are my first for this blog and I was pretty excited! The first is the Circle of Friends award. I have to write five things I love and then pass this award on to five other people. (If I presented you with this award, simply right click, save it as a photo and then put it on your site with the five things you love- then pass it on to five other bloggers)

Five things I love to do: (in no particular order)
1: Read! (big surprise there :)
2: Knit (I love to create things I or someone in my family can wear)
3: Writing

4: Scrapbook

5: Spend time with family and friends

The five people I am going to pass this on to is:

1: Cara at The Law Books and Life

2: Tiffany at A Fiction Filled Life

3: Tamera at Write Perspectives

4: Lena at A Christian Writer's World

5: The ladies at Seekerville

My second award is:

I am supposed to pass this on to 15 blogs I have recently discovered. I haven't found 15, but I have a few, so here they are...

1: The ladies at Seekerville

2: Sandi at Sandi Rog

3: Cami at Cami's Loft

4: Colletta at Colletta's Kitchen Sink

5: Carmen at A Sequence of Continuous Delights

6: Susan at Journeys of Love...Inspired by Faith

That's all I've got, and I will let the recipents know soon (hopefully today :) (If you were presented with this award, post it on your site and then pass it on to 15 other blogs you have recently discovered- if you don't have 15 don't worry)

Again thanks, Ashley- I appreciate you thinking of me!

Book Review: Reclaiming Nick

Nick Noble never intended to be the prodigal son, but when family secrets abound, that would be much better hidden, attitudes better left tethered are unleashed with a fury.

Piper Sullivan can’t forgive Nick for falsely accusing her brother and landing him in jail for a murder he didn’t commit. Worming her way onto the family ranch, Piper is determined to seek revenge, but instead discovers more than she ever bargained for.

I had never read a Susan May Warren book before, oh the shame. Her style took me a little while to really dive into. Often I would sit back and go "huh? did I miss something?" But really all she was doing was dropping a "clue", which all became clear as the book progressed- you just have to get to that point. The tension in this book was incredible. Nick and Piper were lovable characters, but you just wanted to knock their heads around to get them to see the light! Talk about love, Susan knows how to drag out tension and release it with a snap when it comes to the hero and heroine. Add in a stampede, a murderous villain and some really hard biscuits and you have a winning novel. I look forward to reading more in the series.

Author Bio Spotlight: Cindy Woodsmall

When Cindy Woodsmall's first book released in 2006 it rocketed to amazing success, hitting the Christian bestseller and was a finalist in the 2007 ECPA Christian Book Award. Her second book hit the bottom of the New York Times Best Seller list at 34 and her third book in the Sisters of the Quilt Series hit number 13 on the same list and hit the US Today list! Best known for writing Amish fiction, Cindy lends an authenticity to her work that is incredible. Having several Amish friends, Cindy has researched their culture extensively, lending her books a wonderful flair of knowledge and authenticity.

Cindy has five fiction books out so far with her debut novel starting it all, When the Morning Comes. Though I have yet to read her two latest books, The Hope of Refuge and The Sound of Sleigh Bells, I did read her first series, Sisters of the Quilt. It has been three years since I have picked up one of those books and the characters still continue to live on in my imagination. Her characters are so alive and vivid, the reader yearns to help them through their struggles and see them persevere.

I love Amish fiction and Beverly Lewis and in my opinion, Cindy Woodsmall's book are every bit as accurate and good as Beverly Lewis. I would read one of her books in a heartbeat and once you have read one of her books you too will agree with me why she has rocketed to such high success. She has a wonderful website with a contest or two usually going on, so be sure and stop by and read more about her books at: http://www.cindywoodsmall.com/

What fires your inspiration?

Inspiration comes in all shapes and sizes. Mine comes in the form of pretty much any book on writing, written from the Christian viewpoint. I recently purchased A Novel Idea a book formed from the creative minds of today’s top leading authors. I open to the first page and am immediately immersed with the Christian faith and how our fiction should always parallel the greatest story ever told. Nothing fires my ambition more than reading a book written by a Christian on how to write Christian fiction.

I think the reason it drives me the way it does, is because I feel connected with these writers, they understand the struggle of the human condition, and how to point out our character’s faults in relation to the Bible. I struggle with conventional how- to- write books, not just because of the use of four letter words, but because I am not writing in the same market, my motivation lies elsewhere and it doesn’t include four letter words.

Now while certainly writers in today’s mainstream fiction will have wonderful advice to share (and I use it), they won’t often share my faith, hence they don’t fire my ambition as strongly as Christian writers do. Nothing encourages or inspires me more than to read a paragraph of wisdom shared from the fruits of these writer’s labors on how gratifying it is to write for our Lord and Savior.

Inspiration comes to whatever career you are placed in. What motivates you to do the craft the Master has designed for you? What do you hear, read, see, that reaffirms your place in that chosen field? Now that you know, take that motivation and go lay it at the Master’s feet.