I know where I was the day I learned about the Coast Guard, although I don't actually know how old I was. Dad was driving me to school along Olivas Park Drive. Just after we passed the Olivas Adobe, whatever he was saying clicked. Something about having an honorable discharge... from the Coast Continue Reading
Book Reviews
What Happens When Worldviews Collide?
The title grabbed me. Women of the Bible Speak Out. But the subtitle… I wasn’t so sure about “stories of betrayal, abuse, healing, and hope.” What would they do with those? Okay, so I had a pretty good idea of what the format would look like. Not only that, I was right. The format was pretty much Continue Reading
Crazy Excited to See What Happens Next in This New Series
I don’t know if it was booth fourteen or not. I suspect not. There was no outlet. Then again, it was in a different city, so there’s that. I waited for her to arrive—someone I’d agreed to meet to help with a bit of cover work after everything went sideways one day. It was a nonfiction Continue Reading
Why Lies Only Make Bad Things Worse
When I heard my friend say that Dana Mentink was one of her favorite authors, I took note. After all, we tend to agree on most books. There was just one problem. The one book of Dana Mentink’s that I’d read before I’d only “liked” at best. I could see why she was a popular author, and I was so Continue Reading
Why Would I Waste Time While on a Deadline?
When you’ve spent your whole life reading great, heaping gobs of books, you develop… skills. Or, at least I did. When reading and writing books becomes your job, those skills also kick out some lovely things that you wish you could still do. Like read previews of coming books. Sometimes—okay, Continue Reading
3 Delightful Ways This Romance Made Me Swoon
Sometimes, waiting until the last minute to read a book is the best way to read it. Other times, it’s the worst. See, there’s always this temptation to rush through as the clock ticks closer and closer to deadlines. Sometimes, it’s also this waste of time, because as soon as the review is written, I Continue Reading
So, Which of these Faces Is the Real Me?
The announcement came on Facebook. David Rawlings’ new book, Where the Road Bends was up for pre-order. I thought I’d snapped it up that minute, but I didn’t. Looking back, I think I waited to make sure there wasn’t going to be a blog tour. After reading and reviewing The Baggage Handler and The Continue Reading
When Evil Pretends to Be Good, Terrible Things Happen
I don’t recall how I found her books, and I only remember small bits of them here and there—YA horror or thriller, I’d call them. Stories of what turned out to be witchcraft and other elements of the occult. Lois Duncan. She was a good writer, but I had no idea what I’d started reading until I Continue Reading
When You Love an Author but not One Book
"So many books. So little time." How many times have I said that? Probably enough to make me a walking, talking cliche. But it's kind of true, you know? I get these emails, you see. "New Tour Alert" followed by a title or cover that grabs me or by an author name that says, "You know you Continue Reading
Sometimes “It’s Better” Is the Greatest Understatement Ever
My feet pounded the treadmill as I scrolled page by page through the book. I’d never heard of the author—Courtney Walsh. But the cover had taunted and tempted me until I bought it. I hadn’t even read the synopsis, but after I did… Bookstore? Refurbished furniture? Notes on hearts? What isn’t Continue Reading
Can Anything Do Justice to a Cover This Beautiful?
A stack of packages waited for me when I woke up that morning. I opened the “boring” ones first. Laundry pods from Dropps.com, Bathroom scrubbing things from Amazon. A new journal I’d decided to make a part of my 2020 routine. Confession. I actually already had it. But I had bought a new one from Continue Reading
The Blue Cloak Review
She didn't like it. After having read one of the other books in the series, I was certain she would love The Blue Cloak. But Mom had strong opinions on the book--it didn't make sense, she said. The crime spree had no impetus, as far as she could see. And several other elements bothered Continue Reading
