And the Winner is...

Of Darlene Franklin's Woodland Christmas is...

Katie M!!!!

(legacy1992....)

Thanks everyone for coming by to enter, more Monday and on the sidebar. :-) Have a great weekend!!

Also, if you have a minute, check out the post with Jack Cavanaugh on The Writer's Alley today.

Movie Review: The Way Home

If you have been following my blog for any length of time, you know I generally stick to all things related to books. But I do enjoy the occasional movie, so when The Way Home came up for review, I decided to step outside the box and try something new. Here is my review. Enjoy. :-)

Based on a true story THE WAY HOME is the story of one family’s desperate search to find their missing two year old son.

I wasn’t sure how a 90 minute movie could sustain a search for a little boy without feeling like it drug on. But I was pleasantly surprised that the film moved at a pace that kept me interested. Actor portrayals were well done, it didn’t feel “put on” or “tacked together”. There was no language, which I appreciated and the faith message wasn’t overdone, but mixed into the story at a good setting.

The camera for the first half of the movie jiggled some. If you are like me and tend to focus on little things like that, it can be bothersome, but once the movie hit the peak, I wasn’t noticing it anymore. There was one aspect of the story I found confusing. About the matter of one of the searcher’s younger brother they kept referring to, but the movie portrayed him like a son. This had me wondering what I missed, but I am sure with another viewing, the little confusing things will be cleared up.

Over all I thought this was a good family movie with life lessons that will make a difference beyond the last scene.

This is my honest opinion. Thanks to the publishers, Thomas Nelson through their Booksneeze program for my copy to review.

Book News and More Links!

Book News:
Okay first, does anyone else have this problem on their blogger homepage where their feeds aren't in a scroll box???  Mine aren't and It. Is. Not. Fun!

Enough complaining... I am 18 pages away from finishing my first round of editing on my WIP!! Now I just need to get off Blogger and go do them. :-)

What I read this week included....

And they are:

Within My Heart by Tamera Alexander

Remember by Karen Kingsbury

Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner

The Perfect Blend by Trish Perry

Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington by Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss

Links

Julia from Dark Glass Ponderings interviewed me yesterday, I hope you can take a minute to check out the interview here and enter to win a custom blog header!

I stumbled across an awesome opportunity and had my review of Julie Lessman's A Passion Most Pure posted on the blog for Woman's Day! You can see it here

And if you are a writer, Jack Cavanaugh is going to be on the Writer's Alley tomorrow, don't miss it!!

You still have today to enter to win Woodland Christmas and hop over to the Alley for the giveaways there ending tomorrow and announced in the Weekend Edition!!

Special Giveaway and Interview: A Memory Between Us

Welcome to Writing for Christ, Sarah Sundin! Thank you for being with us today. 

Tell us a little about yourself!

Bio:
Sarah Sundin lives in northern California with her husband and three children. When she isn’t ferrying kids to soccer and karate, she works on-call as a hospital pharmacist and teaches Sunday school. She belongs to American Christian Fiction Writers and Christian Authors Network. She is the author of the Wings of Glory series—A Distant Melody (Revell, March 2010), A Memory Between Us (September 2010), and Blue Skies Tomorrow (August 2011).

1:  How long did you write before you were published?

I started writing in 2000 and started submitting in 2003. I accumulated a pile of rejection letters—editors and agents liked my story, characters, and writing, but historicals weren’t selling. In 2008, the market shifted. I submitted to Revell at the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference and received a three-book contract. The first book in the Wings of Glory series, A Distant Melody, came out March 2010, ten years after I started writing fiction. The second book, A Memory Between Us, came out September 2010.

2:  When you held that first book in your hands, what was your first thought?

I just sat down and stared at it with a lump in my throat. It was surreal, especially when I opened it and saw my sentences curved over the open page. Then I thanked God for making it happen. No squealing, no happy dance, no tears of joy—just quiet, grateful reflection.

3:  What are you working on now?

I finished the content edit with my editor at Revell for the third book in the Wings of Glory series, Blue Skies Tomorrow, and now I’m working on a proposal for another series.

4:  Where can readers find out more about your books?

My website: http://www.sarahsundin.com

My publisher’s website: http://www.revellbooks.com

5:  What message(s) do you want to be clear to your readers?

I didn’t write A Memory Between Us with a message in mind, but I do hope my readers will learn from my characters’ experiences. Shame serves a purpose—to bring you to ask God’s forgiveness—but when it persists after forgiveness, that’s not God talking. Shame burdens so many people and holds them back from the wonderful plans God has for them. I hope my readers will learn to truly accept forgiveness, shove off shame, and allow God to use them. I also hope they see the insidious nature of pride and learn to trust in the Lord a bit more each day.

6:  What are two things that people wouldn't normally know about you as a writer and or person?

Depends how many blog interviews they read J During summer breaks in college, I worked as a ride operator at Knott’s Berry Farm. I knew how to jump on and off of a moving merry-go-round. Don’t ask to see it now.

For my birthday present I made my husband buy me a model kit of a B-17 Flying Fortress (the plane my heroes fly in my series). He and I put it together—175 itty-bitty pieces to paint and assemble—and I was a prissy girly girl who never did models. It’s so cool! One half of the fuselage is clear so you can the itty-bitty crewmembers and bombs and all. Really nerdy, huh?

Thank you for being with us today.  Any final words for readers?

If God has given you a dream, have the courage to do what He asks you to do. Persevere, learn, seek support, and keep praying.

Book blurb for A Memory Between Us:

Major Jack Novak has never failed to meet a challenge—until he meets army nurse Lieutenant Ruth Doherty. When Jack lands in the army hospital after a plane crash, he makes winning Ruth's heart a top-priority mission. But he has his work cut out for him. Not only is Ruth focused on her work in order to support her orphaned siblings back home, she also is determined not to give her heart to any man.

As the danger and tension of World War II rise to a fever pitch, Jack and Ruth will need each other more than ever. Can Jack break down her defenses? Or are they destined to go their separate ways?

From the English countryside to the perilous skies over France, A Memory Between Us takes you on a journey through love, forgiveness, and sacrifice.

A Memory Between Us is the second book in the Wings of Glory series, which follows the three Novak brothers, B-17 bomber pilots with the US Eighth Air Force stationed in England during World War II. Each book stands alone.

Okay readers, here is your chance to enter to win Sarah's latest novel!
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


And a NEW one:
~Follow Sarah's blog HERE


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 October 22nd.

Wordless Applesauce Wednesday

We do it every Fall and now it doesn't seem like the season unless the pantry is full of homemade/ canned applesuse. Yum!

CFBA Tour & BOOK REVIEW: With My Heart by Tamera Alexander

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Within My HeartBethany House; Original edition (September 1, 2010)

byTamera AlexanderABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tamera Alexander is the best-selling author of Rekindled, Revealed and Remembered, the critically acclaimed Fountain Creek Chronicles historical series with Bethany House Publishers. Her second historical series, Timber Ridge Reflections (From a Distance, Beyond This Moment, and Within My Heart), penned in her style with deeply drawn characters, thought-provoking plots, and poignant prose have earned her devoted readers—and multiple industry awards.

These awards include the 2009 and 2008 Christy Award, the 2007 RITA for Best Inspirational Romance, the 2009 and 2007 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, 2007 Bookseller’s Best Award, and Library Journal’s Top Christian Fiction for 2006, among others.
After living in Colorado for seventeen years, Tamera has returned to her Southern roots. She and her husband now make their home in Nashville with Tamera's father, Doug. They enjoy life there with Tamera's and Joe's two adult children, and Jack, a precious—and precocious—silky terrier.
ABOUT THE BOOK

Widow Rachel Boyd struggles to keep her ranch afloat and provide for her two young sons, though some days it feels as though her efforts are sabotaged at every turn. When her cattle come down with disease and her sons' lives are endangered, she must turn to Rand Brookston, Timber Ridge's physician and reluctant veterinarian. While Rachel appreciates his help, she squelches any feelings she might have for Rand--her own father was a doctor and his patients always took priority over his family. Rachel refuses to repeat the mistakes her mother made. But when she's courted by a wealthy client of the local resort, she faces a choice: self-sufficiency and security or the risk inherent in the deepest of loves.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Within My Heart, go HERE.

My Review:

When a reviewer sits down, we judge the book carefully on what we expect. A moving and captivating novel for me needs: prose that moves me, the grace of the weaving an amazing tapestry. Characters that grow and change while speaking to my heart with their honesty and depth. And emotions that leave me filled or drained, uplifted or in pain.

WITHIN MY HEART gave me every promise I was looking for and so much more. I didn’t judge this book. Not once did I think about the review, just the absolute certainty that this book was worth 5 stars. I simply read it. Experienced it. Let it sweep me away in the best novel I have read by Tamera Alexander.

I have read every one of Alexander’s books to date and loved them all, but this one. This will stand out in the halls of great fiction for years to come. This novel was real. That is the only thing that comes to mind when I try to find the words to describe it. It felt real. The emotions are vivid, emotions you can tell have a history behind them that makes them all the more poignant. To know the history behind this book while it was being written, makes the wait for the release and the pleasure of reading it all the sweeter and moving. I highly recommend it and want to thank the author for sharing a piece of her heart, because through it, this book spoke to mine.

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

Giveaway and Author Interview: Mirrored Image

Please help me welcome author A.K. Arenz to the blog! There is a giveaway today, so be on the watch. :-)

Welcome to Writing for Christ! Thank you for being with us today.


Thank you for inviting me!

Tell us a little about yourself!
Bio:

Besides writing cozy mysteries, A.K. Arenz also writes classic romantic suspense. The first in The Bouncng Grandma Mystery Series, The Case of the Bouncing Grandma, was a finalist in the 2009 ACFW Book of the Year contest. The second in the series, The Case of the Mystified M.D., was the February 2010 book choice in the ACFW Book Club and  won the 2010 ACFW Carol Award!!!

1: How long did you write before you were published?

I’ve been writing in some form or another since I was around twelve. I started being more serious about it in the ’70s. I subscribed to WRITER’S DIGEST magazine, got many of their writing books, and did some major submitting. In the ’90s I signed with a big New York literary agency. I stayed with them for about five years. The agent split off on her own and, after a while, we parted ways. After nearly seven years of trying not to write, I joined ACFW. It was the relationships I formed in the group that led me to publication three years ago. All in all, I’d say three-quarters of my life have been spent trying to become a published author. Without revealing my age, let’s just say that it’s been a LONG haul!

2: When you held that first book in your hands, what was your first thought?

THANK YOU, FATHER! Literally. It was almost as awesome as holding a baby for the first time – almost.

3: What are you working on now?

Right now I’m trying combine the best of two versions of my novel called AN AMERICAN GOTHIC. The title is a bit tongue-in-cheek. The book is a mystery/suspense, or classic romantic suspense. The “gothic” comes from the novel the heroine is writing. At the beginning of each chapter is a paragraph or two of Lyssie’s novel. Her novel, CRAVEN, basically foreshadows the action to come in the main body of GOTHIC. You’ll end up with two stories for the price of one!

4: Where can readers find out more about your books?

You can go to my website, http://www.akawriter.com/ , or to my publisher’s site, http://www.sheafhouse.com/ .

5: What message(s) do you want to be clear to your readers?

I’m not sure if I put a message in my novels – at least not overtly. My main aim is to write for the audience’s enjoyment and to give them an alternative to books that use gratuitous sex and violence – and bad language to sell. We need to reclaim the beauty of the written word, stop writing down to people and prove that a book written with a Christian world view doesn’t have to be preachy and out of touch with reality.

6: What are two things that people wouldn't normally know about you as a writer and or person?

As a writer . . . that I would love to write something that not only scares them, but me, too – something that makes a person sit up and take notice, not necessarily something frightening.

As a person? Um . . . that I don’t always make sense, but maybe they’ve already figured that out???

Thank you for being with us today. Any final words for readers?

Thanks for having me! Happy Reading!!

Leave a comment with your email address. IF I DRAW YOUR NAME AND THERE IS NO EMAIL ADDRESS YOU WILL NOT WIN!
For extra entries:
~be a follower
~be an email 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 of said prize.

Thanks for coming by to enter!
Contest ends on October 16th.