Cars zipped in and out of lanes with not much more than a person’s width to keep them from crunching. It took five minutes to move from the parking structure of Terminal 1 to Terminal 2. And we hadn’t even touched rush hour traffic yet. Yay. She’d flown in from Wisconsin. Or should I say, Continue Reading
What Did I Think of This Second-Chance Novel?
We all know I’m not much of a sappy girl, but there are a few things that are “my jam.” One of those: second-chance romances. I love to see things that didn’t work… work! So, when I had a chance to review the book Restored, by Tonya Eavenson, I jumped at it. Note: Links may be affiliate Continue Reading
Did I Like Michelle Griep’s Latest Regency Novel?
Brown paper bags from Alphabeta Supermarkets—at least two of them. Inside, stacks of thin paperbacks with white covers and women and men in funny-looking historical clothes. The author: Barbara Cartland. I read one and found it interesting in its novelty. Being one of those voracious readers who Continue Reading
What’s Going on In the Christian Fiction World Right Now?
In January of 2018, I wrote a blog post about where I thought Christian fiction would be going in the next few years. One of my “predictions” is already becoming obvious—and not in the way I thought. I said: But what is weird is a new (but age-old) attitude of “I’m okay, you’re okay” in it…I Continue Reading
3 Reasons You’ll Love and Hate This Book
How many times have I sat across from one parent or another and tried to explain what I’d done and why. Here’s a hint. I never knew. That’s why I couldn’t explain. When you know something is wrong, you don’t want to do it, and yet you do it anyway—well, Paul isn’t the first to do that. I won’t Continue Reading
What Happens When a Good Book Lies?
Hand-tooled, floppy leather. A bejeweled button closure. If you opened it, hand-sewn blank pages emerged—pages that begged for a story to be written within. It arrived in a Priority mail box—part of a Christmas gift swap. As things often do, it gave me the idea for a story. A man would find Continue Reading
Will I Read the Rest of This Unique New Series?
The argument raged. One woman insisted that if you said you didn’t like something that meant you disliked it. For what it’s worth, she also seemed to imply it wasn’t “nice” not to like everything that isn’t outright evil. The other woman, however, said well what I’ve often thought. “There’s a Continue Reading
This Book Gives New Meaning to “The Romance of the Rails”
When the synopsis for Just a Train Ride appeared, I knew I had to request a review copy of the book. One thing, shallow as it may be, stopped me, however. The cover. As indie covers go, it isn’t bad—not really. I like most of it. The typography didn’t grab me, but it wasn’t horrible. But the Continue Reading
When A Lifelong Dream Gets Fulfilled in a Great Book
Not sure when I first decided I wanted to own my own bookstore. I do recall that teaching won out over bookstore ownership as a girl because I thought that “three months off” would give me time to write a book every year, and you didn’t get three months off as a bookstore owner. I set that Continue Reading
What’s the Best Thing about Every Great New Book?
If I’ve been asked once, it’s been a thousand or more times. “So, what makes a good book?” That’s like asking what makes a “good kid.” You can’t just pinpoint one thing (well, I suppose technically, you could say God and call that good) and that’s that. Lots of different things go into the Continue Reading
Did Tongues of Fire Live Up to Its Promises?
“You keep doing that. You keep choosing to read books you know you’ll disagree with.” Look, it’s a valid point. I won’t pretend it’s not. But unlike the not-so-subtle implication of the accusation, I really don’t go looking for books to spend hours reading so I can then say how much I didn’t like Continue Reading
Strike the Mark: Was It a Total Win or Epic Fail
Maybe it’s because it’s a spiritual discipline that I never felt like I developed well. Or, perhaps it’s just because I’m older and, prayerfully more mature. Whatever the reason making prayer a bigger part of my spiritual life became a huge priority in the past few years. I suspect, however, the Continue Reading
