An Emotional Ride- But a Good One. "The Heart of Memory" by Alison Strobel Review

An emotional roller-coaster ride! That is the easiest way to describe “The Heart of Memory”. The entire book was a ride through emotional highs and lows.

I was intrigued as I read this book and it grew as the plot developed. The book held my attention quite well, especially since the story was based mainly on what was happening within each of the characters. The story walks through the faith journey of Savannah primarily, but includes the struggles of her husband and daughter. The book had several surprising turns in the plot and several times I was quite shocked at the actions of Savannah (though given her circumstances they made sense.)

The book covered a lot of tough issues. Faith struggles, financial problems that are quickly falling apart, relationships, trust, throw in a heart transplant with miles of baggage and there are layers of tension riveting their way through the story.

I thought the ending was great closure for the book. With so much going on through the story, not every single thread was 100% sealed, but the closure of the story worked the best for the characters and their growth. I was satisfied.

I thought “The Heart of Memory” was a good story filled with many elements, but underlying messages that readers will easily relate to.

Giveaway and Author Interview: Driven

Welcome to Writing for Christ, Shellie Neumeier, it is great to have you here! Do you have an interesting fact about yourself the average reader probably doesn’t know?

I hate to fly. Seriously hate it. Nightmares, crying like a baby, yelping with each plane jiggle…yup that’s me. I didn’t always hate it. In fact I enjoyed it up until a flight home from Florida flew over a tornado. Right over the top of the storm system. Not only was the flight bumpy, but we dropped a hundred feet at one point. Babies were screaming, the stewardess fell in the aisle and the lights blinked off (did I mention it was nighttime). Scary Larry!  

Do you have a favorite genre to read/write?

I love to write YA. There’s nothing like inspiring the next generation. Besides, they are far more willing to go places which makes writing young adult stories such fun! It’s also my favorite genre to read too. Probably because I never truly grew up J.

Do you have a nugget of writing advice that has completely changed how you view writing?

Don’t let the weaknesses you have stop you from writing. Make them propel your stories to new heights. And while you’re at it, don’t be afraid to try something new. Have a character do something out of character, just to see what would happen. Who knows, you might just like where it takes you.

What do you enjoy most about being a published author?

I love knowing it’s not based on any spectacular thing I did, but on God’s hand working the road to publication. How cool is that. It’s one of those occasions I look back on when I can’t seem to hear God in my everyday life.  A clear reminder He’s there and working, whether I know/sense it or not!

Places for readers to learn more about you?

http://shellieneumeier.com

http://risenfiction.com

http://www.amazon.com/Driven-Shellie-Neumeier/dp/098409315X/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1

Thank you for being with us today!

Thank you for having me. It’s been such fun J.

Okay readers, here is your chance to enter to win Shellie's book.

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 in the U.S. only and is 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 May 6th.

***Contest is Now Closed***



This Week's Winner

I was gone yesterday, so I didn't get the chance to draw a winner for Laura V. Hilton's Patchwork Dreams.

That winner is...

Leanna M!!

Leanna has been emailed and has a week to get back with me. Thanks everyone for entering! I'll have more on Monday. Until then a lovely weekend!!

Failure as Opportunity



Courtesy of Flickr



Sometimes we fail…

I don’t know about you, but I fail at least once every day at something. And I know it’s more than once.

I fail at being the sister or daughter I should be.

I fail to remember something I should have.

I fail to consider my words before they leave my mouth.

I fail at my writing.

I fail at the choices I often make.

I fail to be the Christian I should be.

Don’t take me wrong, I don’t have a defeatist attitude. It’s a matter of choice and I’m sad to say I don’t often make the right choices.

I was recently given the chance to either stand up and fight for what was right or simply sit down and see how the circumstances played out. I wasn’t going to fail Christ and I took the stand, knowing that if I did I might insult someone.

But I didn’t want to fail the One who died for my sins.

Failure doesn’t have to be an option. I often think of my writing. I’m not going to get the perfect phrase on the first time writing it. I’m not going to land an agent the first time I query. And I’m not going to hit the NYT bestseller list on that first novel (not that I would complain if I did…)

My question is: are you going to accept failure? Are you just letting the moment pass and forgeting all about it? We have to learn from our failures, we should learn to embrace them, because only through these so called “failures” will we learn so we don’t make the same mistake twice.

It’s hard to swallow, it often makes us want to quit, but if you look at failure as an opportunity, our lives might be enriched in ways we never expected.

How do YOU look at failure?

A Historian's Treasure in "An Eye for Glory" by Karl A. Bacon (review)

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingAn Eye For GloryZondervan (February 28, 2011)byKarl BaconABOUT THE AUTHOR

A word from the author:
I grew up in the small picturesque town of Woodbury, Connecticut. After graduating from Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, I returned to Connecticut and found employment in manufacturing. “Just a job” turned into a professional career, much of which was spent working for a Swiss machine tool company. In 2000 I started my own business to provide services to manufacturing clients across the USA. This change also allowed time to develop my writing craft.



From youth I’ve been a serious student of the Civil War. The draft of An Eye for Glory took ten years from conception to completion. Thousands of hours were spent researching every detail through copious reading, Internet research and personal visits to each battlefield so the novel might be as historically accurate and believable as possible. I live in Naugatuck, Connecticut with my wife of thirty-three years, Jackie.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Michael Palmer is a good man, a family man. But honor and duty push him to leave his comfortable life and answer the call from Abraham Lincoln to fight for his country. This 'citizen soldier' learns quickly that war is more than the battle on the field. Long marches under extreme conditions, illness, and disillusionment challenge at every turn. Faith seems lost in a blur of smoke and blood...and death.


Michael's only desire is to kill as many Confederate soldiers as he can so he can go home. He coldly counts off the rebels that fall to his bullets. Until he is brought up short by a dying man holding up his Bible. It's in the heat of battle at Gettysburg and the solemn aftermath that Michael begins to understand the grave cost of the war upon his soul. Here the journey really begins as he searches for the man he was and the faith he once held so dearly. With the help of his beloved wife, Jesse Ann, he takes the final steps towards redemption and reconciliation.


Using first-hand accounts of the 14th Connecticut Infantry, Karl Bacon has crafted a detailed, genuine and compelling novel on the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Intensely personal and accurate to the times, culture, and tragedy of the Civil War, An Eye for Glory may change you in ways you could have never imagined as well.


If you would like to read the first chapter of An Eye For Glory, go HERE.


Watch book video trailer:









My Review:

I have always held a fascination for the Civil War. I studied it extensively in high school and it still remains one of my favorite periods of history. So when I had the chance to read “Eye for Glory”, I took the chance.

This book isn’t a romance and I wasn’t expecting one, but I want to ‘warn’ those romance readers out there, that this book is more for the history guru. I have always enjoyed documentaries about the Civil War and this book does read a bit like a documentary. But what makes it a cut above is the reader is inside the head of the main character. The book is driven by the setting and how it in turn affects the main character, Michael.

I was on those battlefields. The author did his research. I was taken from the 21^st century and plopped into the 19^th with cannons lobbed around me. I could smell the sulfur and feel the fear.

The characterization in Michael was well done. I enjoyed how he grew and in some cases-regressed. The ending came around in a great and even a bit surprising way.

Over all, it’s a good book. I think lovers of history and especially those of us who are interested in the Civil War would enjoy this novel.

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

Two of the Most Glorious Words in the English Language...

And I wrote them, marking the closure of my third manuscript!!

Waiting on Tuesday...

I know it doesn't have the ring of "Waiting on Wednesday", but...well I'm not clever enough to come up with a "T" theme. :-)

I saw the cover of Patti Lacy's coming release this fall and instantly fell in love with it. I knew a little bit about it already, but had to share the cover and blurb with you here.

This book looks fantastic and holds a subject very near and dear to my heart, the plight of all the little girls in China.

You can pre-order from Amazon

Here is the blurb (from the same site)

A storm the size of Texas brews when Gloria Powell and Kai Chang meet in a Dallas hotel. They have come to discuss the future of Lily, the daughter Gloria adopted from China and the sister Kai hopes to reclaim. Kai is a doctor who had to give up her little sister during the Cultural Revolution and has since discovered that an inherited genetic defect may be waiting to fatally strike Lily.

Gloria's relationship with her daughter is tattered and strained, and the arrival of Kai, despite the woman's apparent good intentions, makes Gloria fearful. Gloria longs to restore her relationship with Lily, but in the wake of this potentially devastating diagnosis, is Kai an answer to prayer...or will her arrival force Gloria to sacrifice more than she ever imagined?