Book Review: In Golden Splendor....

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing In Golden Splendor • B&H Books (July 15, 2013) by Michael Reynolds ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Michael K. Reynolds is the writer and producer of Emmy and Telly Award-winning film campaigns and has more than two decades of experience in fiction, journalism, copywriting, and documentary production. He owns Global Studio, a marketing agency, and is also an active leader in church and business, speaking in both ministry and corporate settings. Michael lives with his wife and three children in Reno, Nevada.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Irish immigrant Seamus Hanley is a lost soul, haunted by his past as a U.S. Army deserter and living alone in the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains in 1849. But after witnessing a deadly stage coach crash, he finds purpose in the scattered wreckage -- a letter with a picture of a beautiful and captivating woman named Ashlyn living in San Francisco at the height of the Gold Rush. Moved by her written plea for help, he abandons all and sets out on an epic journey across the wild and picturesque American frontier. While being pursued by those who want to hang him, Seamus encounters fascinating characters including a young Pauite Indian who makes the ultimate sacrifice in helping Seamus to cross the snowy Yosemite Valley. Battered but changed for the better, Seamus reaches San Francisco on Christmas Eve as the city burns in the tragic fire of 1849. But there is little time for rest, as an even greater, more harrowing adventure involving Ashlyn is about to begin.

If you would like to read the first chapter of In Golden Splendor, go HERE.

It's a story of tragedy and triumph...check it out today!

Book Review: Widow of Gettysburg....

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Widow of Gettysburg River North; New Edition edition (April 12, 2013) by Jocelyn Green

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jocelyn Green is a child of God, wife and mom living in Cedar Falls, Iowa. She is also an award-winning journalist, author, editor and blogger. Though she has written nonfiction on a variety of topics, her name is most widely recognized for her ministry to military wives: Faith Deployed. Her passion for the military family was fueled by her own experience as a military wife, and by the dozens of interviews she has conducted with members of the military for her articles and books, Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives and its sequel, Faith Deployed...Again: More Daily Encouragement for Military Wives. She is also co-author of both Stories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq & Afghanistan and Stories of Faith and Courage from the Home Front (forthcoming, May 2012). Her Faith Deployed Web site and Facebook page continue to provide ongoing support, encouragement and resources for military wives worldwide.


ABOUT THE BOOK

When a horrific battle rips through Gettysburg, the farm of Union widow Liberty Holloway is disfigured into a Confederate field hospital, bringing her face to face with unspeakable suffering--and a Rebel scout who awakens her long dormant heart.

While Liberty's future crumbles as her home is destroyed, the past comes rushing back to Bella, a former slave and Liberty's hired help, when she finds herself surrounded by Southern soldiers, one of whom knows the secret that would place Liberty in danger if revealed.

In the wake of shattered homes and bodies, Liberty and Bella struggle to pick up the pieces the battle has left behind. Will Liberty be defined by the tragedy in her life, or will she find a way to triumph over it? Widow of Gettysburg is inspired by first-person accounts from women who lived in Gettysburg during the battle and its aftermath.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Widow of Gettysburg, go HERE.

Book Review: When the Morning Glory Blooms....

Becky rocks a baby that rocked her world. Sixty years earlier, with her fiancé Drew in the middle of the Korean Conflict, Ivy throws herself into her work at a nursing home to keep her sanity and provide for the child Drew doesn't know is coming. Ivy cares for Anna, an elderly patient who taxes Ivy's listening ear until the day she suspects Anna's tall tales are not the ramblings of dementia. They're fragments of Anna's disjointed memories of a remarkable life. Finding a faint thread of hope she can't resist tugging, Ivy records Anna's memoir, scribbling furiously after hours to keep up with the woman's emotion-packed, grace-hemmed stories. Is Ivy's answer buried in Anna's past? Becky, Ivy, Anna--three women fight a tangled vine of deception in search of the blossoming simplicity of truth.

If you would like to read the first chapter of When The Morning Glory Blooms, go HERE. 

Cynthia writes stories of hope that glows in the dark, merging her love for storytelling with inextinguishable hope for inexpressible hurts.

Cynthia spends her days diving into words, worship, and wonder and celebrating 40 years of marriage, three grown children, and five outrageously adorable grandchildren. One of her greatest joys is helping other writers grow in their craft. To that end, she served as the assistant director and a faculty member of the Quad Cities Christian Writers Conference, has served as worship and devotions staff for the Write-to-Publish conference, and teaches at other conferences as opportunities arise. She speaks to women’s groups, at mother-daughter banquets, and for women’s refresher days and retreats. It is her delight to serve on her church’s worship team. Rather than “busy,” she likes the term “active.”

For 33 years, Cynthia wrote and produced the radio broadcast The Heartbeat of the Home. The scripted radio drama/devotional broadcast aired on as many as 50 radio stations and two cable/digital television stations over the years. Cynthia was the editor of the ministry’s Backyard Friends magazine, a twenty-page, twice annual publication that reached 5,000 homes, churches, and parachurch outreaches.

I highly recommend this book!

Book Review: A Season for Tending....

Good evening everyone!  I hope your April is off to a good start...mine has been busy but good so far so what more could I ask for? :)

Tonight I'm sharing a review on a book I received from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group.  If you've followed my blog for any length of time, you know I enjoy reading Amish Fiction almost as much as historical fiction!  I've actually reviewed a couple of Cindy Woodsmall's books before so I was all for getting this one.  And I wasn't disappointed!

A Season for Tending is the first book in the Amish Vines and Orchards Series from Cindy Woodsmall.  It starts out by introducing Rhoda Byler, an Old Order Amish woman who has a knack for gardening and how the strict community she lives in views it.  Preferring to spend time alone allows Rhoda to tend to her garden and process a tragedy that haunts her daily.

Samuel King is a kind, responsible and hard working Amish man who lives in the neighboring town of  Harvest Mills.  He runs his family's apple orchard business and tries to hold everything together when he too endures a tragedy. 

God brings these two families together in a way that only He can.  Many choices have to be made and relationships are tested as business and love start to merge. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait to get my hands on the next one in the series!

Thank you to Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group for providing this book free of charge in return for my honest review.

Book Review: Your Beautiful Purpose...

Good afternoon guys!  I'm here today to share a review from a book I just finished.  I hope you get a chance to take a look at my thoughts and as always, if you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email at anytime at princess1211(at)hotmail(dot)com!

Anyone who has been a follower of Jesus Christ for any length of time can probably relate to the thought of "What's my Purpose?".  Susie Larson's Your Beautiful Purpose leads you slowly through the process of discovering what God has to say about Himself, you and how a real relationship is based on His unwavering truths. While there are no specific answers in this book, Susie asks the tough questions so you can discover the answers for yourself.  I particularly liked the following statements:

"If we really want to know true beauty, if we really want to live full and free lives, we have to give God access to those places we work so hard to cover up."

"We need times of refining so we will know in the depths of our being that our hope is in the Living God who daily establishes His purposes for us."

"Trust more in God's supply than in your lack!"

"Never try to serve God by pleasing man!"

"Seek Him until you find Him."

I found Your Beautiful Purpose to be meaningful and straight forward from the beginning.  If you are looking for a book that will challenge and encourage you, this is it!

Thank you to Bethany House for providing this book to me free of charge in return for my honest review.

Stay tuned for another review coming soon!

Catching Up....

It's been a busy time around here and I've severely neglected this blog!  I appreciate those of you who are still stopping by more than I can say and hope that you will continue to do so occasionally!

Here's what I've been up to lately.....

 

A few cards.....

 

A little scrapbooking.....

 

 (Cased from Jen Gallacher as seen here)

A little Copic practicing...

 

A whole lot of reading.....

 

 

I decorated for Valentine's Day but didn't take any pictures.  I also have a few things up for St. Patrick's Day but it isn't much different from year to year so I probably won't post any photos here.  And with Easter being at the end of March this year, I'll swiftly move right into that mode after March 17th.  I'm looking forward to that because Easter is such a blessed time in our home.  I hope you feel the joy of the season as well!

Be on the lookout for several book reviews of things I've recently read and also a special post about participating in sending cards for some WWII Veterans making an Honor Flight in April.

Have a great week!

Whom Shall I Fear God of Angel Armies.....