Dark in the City of Light by Paul Robertson

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Dark In The City Of Light Bethany House (July 1, 2010)

by Paul Robertson





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Paul Robertson is a computer programming consultant, part-time high-school math and science teacher, and the author of The Heir. He is also a former Christian bookstore owner (for 15 years), who lives with his family in Blacksburg, Virginia.











ABOUT THE BOOK

What Evil Haunts the Shadows of 1870s Paris?



Baron Ferdinand Harsanyi — After his wife's mysterious death, this Austrian attaché holds control over mines whose coveted ore could turn the tide of war.



Therese Harsanyi — Swept up in new romance and the spectacle of Paris, the Baron's daughter is blind to the dangers stalking her family and the city she loves.



Rudolph Harsanyi — Unsure whom to trust, the Baron's son's grief over his mother's death twists into growing anger and a desire to break free.



As France and Prussia plunge toward war, one family is caught in a web of deceit, political intrigue, and murder that threatens to tear them apart.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Dark In The City Of Light, go HERE.
Review to come later.

Nightshade by Ronie Kendig

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Nightshade Barbour Books (July 1, 2010)by

Ronie Kendig





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ronie has been married since 1990 to a man who can easily be defined in classic terms as a hero. She has four beautiful children. Her eldest daughter is 16 this year, her second daughter will be 13, and her twin boys are 10. After having four children, she finally finished her degree in December 2006. She now has a B.S. in Psychology through Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. Getting her degree is a huge triumph for both her and her family--they survived!!



This degree has also given her a fabulous perspective on her characters and how to not only make them deeper, stronger, but to make them realistic and know how they'll respond to each situation. Her debut novel, Dead Reckoning released March 2010 from Abingdon Press. And her Discarded Heroes series begins in July from Barbour with the first book entitled Nightshade.





ABOUT THE BOOK

After a tour of duty in a war-torn country, embattled former Navy SEAL Max Jacobs finds himself discarded and alienated from those he loves as he struggles with war-related PTSD. His wife, Sydney, files a restraining order against him and a petition for divorce. Max is devastated.



Then a mysterious a man appears. He says he's organizing a group that recycles veterans like Max. It's a deep-six group known as Nightshade. With the chance to find purpose in life once again, Max is unable to resist the call of duty and signs on.



The team handles everything with precision and lethal skill...until they're called upon to rescue a missionary family from a rebel-infested jungle and avoid a reporter hunting their identities.



Will Max yield his anger and pride to a force greater than him . . . love?



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



Watch the trailer:




Margie's Comments: Ronie Kendig delivers a high-action, high-stakes story in Nightshade. I'm forced to put the book down because of other, more-pressing duties, but I'm hooked. The characters Ronie creates are so real, and she shows a true understanding of the military. Nothing "fluffy" about the characters or the plot. I look forward to reading many more books by Ronie.

Verse of the Day

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV)

Verse of the Day

You armed me well for this fight. (Psalm 18:39 MSG) 

This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued. (Ephesians 6:12–13 MSG)

Verse of the Day

"The LORD, your Redeemer . . . says: I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is good and leads you along the paths you should follow." (Isaiah 48:17 NLT)

Stars in the Night by Cara Putnam

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Stars In The Night Summerside Press (July 1, 2010)

by Cara Putman





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A Word From Cara:



I graduated from high school at sixteen, college at 20, and completed my law degree when I was 27.



My writing journey started in 2005 when I decided to write my first novel. Now I have eleven books published with more on the way.



People say I've accomplished a lot and that I must have life by the proverbial tail. Hardly! I grew up as a homeschooled kid when homeschoolers were misunderstood and oddities.



I struggle with balancing my writing and law career, plus being a good mom and wife.



I often fear people won't like my books.



I've walked through the deep pain of miscarriage.



Really, I'm just like you – I don't have it all together and have gone through tough times. But in His strength, I've discovered a strength I never knew I had. A strength I want you to discover, too.



In the end I'm just an ordinary mom who has seen God do some wonderful things as I've been obedient to step into the calling He's led me into.



Stars in the Night Background


Stars in the Night was an idea that had begun to percolate in my mind. I’d written two World War II series and was actively looking for my next setting. My husband, a huge World War II history buff, and I were kicking ideas around, and I’d decided Hollywood was probably the next place for me. I’d gone to the library and gotten a stack of research books when I got the call. An editor I knew but had never worked with wanted to know if I might be interested in a new line they were starting. As we talked, I got so excited. And then she emailed me their guidelines, which listed that Hollywood was a location they were interested in setting books.



Only God could have known ahead of time. But because I followed His prompting I was ready to run with an idea. Stars in the Night is the result.







ABOUT THE BOOK

Hollywood 1942. When attorney Audra Schaeffer's sister disappears, Audra flies to Hollywood to find her.



Any other day Audra might have been flattered by the friendly overtures of Robert Garfield, a real-life movie star. But on the flight from Indianapolis to Hollywood, Audra can think of little else than finding her missing sister. When Audra arrives in the city of glitz and glamor, and stars, and learns her rising starlet sister has been murdered, all thoughts of romance fly away.



Determined to bring the killer to justice, Audra takes a job with the second Hollywood Victory Caravan.



Together with Robert Garfield and other stars, she crisscrosses the southern United States in a campaign to sell war bonds. When two other women are found dead on the train, Audra knows the deaths are tied to that of her sister.



Could the killer be the man with whom she's falling in love?



If you'd like to read an excerpt of Chapter 1 of  Stars In The Night, go HERE.



Contest: Lots of opportunities to win and great prizes, and the grand prize contains some of Cara's favorite classic movies as well as all of her WWII novels: Launch Contest!


Margie's comments: I didn't get the book before I left for Mesa this last time. So since I'm still in Mesa, I obviously haven't read it. However I do look forward to reading Cara's latest. And be sure to enter Cara's contest related to Stars in the Night. I'll post a review once I've had a chance to read it!

Verse of the Day

"Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don't be afraid or discouraged by the size of the task, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work . . . is finished correctly. (1 Chronicles 28:20 NLT)

Heartless by Anne Elizabeth Stengl

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Heartless Bethany House (July 1, 2010)

by

Anne Elisabeth Stengl



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Anne Elisabeth Stengl makes her home in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she enjoys her profession as an art teacher, giving private lessons from her personal studio, and teaching group classes at the Apex Learning Center. She studied illustration at Grace College and English literature at Campbell University. Heartless is her debut novel.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Princess Una of Parumvir has come of age and will soon be married. She dreams of a handsome and charming prince, but when the first suitor arrives, she finds him stodgy and boring. Prince Aethelbald from the mysterious land of Farthestshore has traveled far to prove his love—and also to bring hushed warnings of danger. A dragon is rumored to be approaching Parumvir.



Una, smitten instead with a more dashing prince, refuses Aethelbald's offer—and ignores his warnings. Soon the Dragon King himself is in Parumvir, and Una, in giving her heart away unwisely, finds herself in grave danger.  When Una makes the wrong choice, catastrophe ensues for the princess and her family, and love, courage, and trust are needed when darkness engulfs the kingdom.



Only those courageous enough to risk everything have a hope of fighting off this advancing evil.



There are some delightful things and scenes: the Twelve-Year Market that appears in its own good time and sells fairy goods; a clever blind cat who is invariably underfoot and has, of course, a secret!



If you would like to read the first chapter of Heartless, go HERE.
Margie's comments: I haven't finished reading Heartless yet, but I've long looked forward to this book. The author's mom is one of my writing friends. So far, I'm enchanted with the world Anne Elizabeth has created. Her characters are real and their struggles are the same in any world. If you love fantasy, I highly recommend this book. And even if you don't care for the genre, the story will captivate you and you'll forget it's fantasy.

Verse of the Day

Just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don't go back until they've watered the earth, doing their work of making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry, so will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed. They'll do the work I sent them to do, they'll complete the assignment I gave them. (Isaiah 55:10–11 MSG)

Verse of the Day

Stay with GOD! Take heart. Don't quit. I'll say it again: Stay with GOD. (Psalm 27:14 The Message)

Verse of the Day

I'm not trying to get my way
      in the world's way.
   I'm trying to get your way,
      your Word's way.
   I'm staying on your trail;
      I'm putting one foot
   In front of the other.
      I'm not giving up. . . .
I call to you, God, because I'm sure of an answer.
     Keep your eye on me;
      hide me under your cool wing feathers
    And me? I plan on looking
      you full in the face.
(Psalm 17:4–6, 15 MSG)

Verse of the Day

Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Romans 12:2 MSG)

Verse of the Day

“Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?” (Mark 8:34–37 MSG)

Back on Murder by J. Mark Bertrand

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Back On Murder Bethany House (July 1, 2010)

by J. Mark Betrand





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

J. Mark Bertrand has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. After one hurricane too many, he left Houston and relocated with his wife, Laurie, to the plains of South Dakota.



Mark has been arrested for a crime he didn't commit, was the foreman of a hung jury in Houston, and after relocating served on the jury that acquitted Vinnie Jones of assault. In 1972, he won an honorable mention in a child modeling contest, but pursued writing instead. Besides his personal website, visit his Crime Genre website at http://www.crimegenre.com/.



The next book in this series, Pattern Of Wounds will come out in the summer of 2011.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Det. Roland March is a homicide cop on his way out.


A missing girl. A corrupt investigation. They thought they could get away with it, but they forgot one thing:



Roland March is BACK ON MURDER...



Houston homicide detective Roland March was once one of the best. Now he's disillusioned, cynical, and on his way out. His superiors farm him out on a variety of punishment details.  But when he's the only one at a crime scene to find evidence of a missing female victim, he's given one last chance to prove himself. Before he can crack the case, he's transferred to a new one that has grabbed the spotlight--the disappearance of a famous Houston evangelist's teen daughter.

All he has to do? Find the missing teenage daughter of a Houston evangelist that every cop in town is already looking for. But March has an inside track, a multiple murder nobody else thinks is connected. With the help of a youth pastor with a guilty conscience who navigates the world of church and faith, March is determined to find the missing girls while proving he's still one of Houston's best detectives.



Battling a new partner, an old nemesis, and the demons of his past, getting to the truth could cost March everything. Even his life.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Back On Murder, go HERE.

Review to come later.

Verse of the Day

And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed. (Joshua 1:8 MSG)

Verse of the Day

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9 ESV)

Verse of the Day

Friends, when life gets really difficult, don't jump to the conclusion that God isn't on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner. (1 Peter 4:12–13 MSG)

Tomorrow We Die by Shawn Grady

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Tomorrow We Die Bethany House (July 1, 2010)

by Shawn Grady





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Shawn Grady signed with Bethany House Publishers in 2008.  He was named “Most Promising New Writer” at the 39th Annual Mount Hermon Writers Conference. He is the author of the novels Through the Fire & Tomorrow We Die.


Shawn has served for over a decade as a firefighter and paramedic in northern Nevada. From fire engines and ambulances to tillered ladder trucks and helicopters, Shawn’s work environment has always been dynamic. The line of duty has carried him to a variety of locale, from high-rise fires in the city to the burning heavy timber of the eastern Sierras.



Shawn attended Point Loma Nazarene University as a Theology undergrad before shifting direction to acquire an Associate of Science degree in Fire Science Technology as well as Paramedic licensure through Truckee Meadows Community College.



Shawn currently lives in Reno, Nevada, just outside of Lake Tahoe. He enjoys spending time in the outdoors with his wife, three children and yellow Labrador.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Chase the Angel of Death and You Might Catch Him

Jonathan Trestle is a paramedic who's spent the week a few steps behind the angel of death. When he responds to a call about a man sprawled on a downtown sidewalk, Trestle isn't about to lose another victim. CPR revives the man long enough for him to hand Trestle a crumpled piece of paper and say, "Give this to Martin," before being taken to the hospital.



The note is a series of dashes and haphazard scribbles. Trestle tries to follow up with the patient later, but at the ICU he learns the man awoke, pulled out his IVs, and vanished, leaving only a single key behind.  With the simple decision to honor a dying man's last wish, Jonathan tracks the key to a nearby motel where he finds the man again--this time not just dead but murdered. Unwilling to just let it drop, Jonathan is plunged into a mystery that soon threatens not only his dreams for the future but maybe even his life. He must race for the truth before the Angel of Death comes calling for him.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Tomorrow We Die, go to HERE.


Review to come.

ACFW July New Releases

1. A Shore Thing; Otter Bay, Book 2 by  Julie Carobini -- A Romance from B&H.  A fiery, eco-friendly young woman leads the fight against  a large development in her beachfront hometown while falling for the architect assigned to the job.

2.  Back on Murder; A Roland March Mystery, Book 1  by J. Mark Bertrand   -- A Suspense/Mystery/Thriller from Bethany House. Homicide  cop Roland March attempts a comeback as corruption and a high profile case threaten to sink him.

3. Beautiful Bandit; The Lone Star Legends  Series by Loree Lough   -- An Historical from Whitaker House. When rancher Josh Neville rescues a terrified woman who calls herself Dinah, she unwittingly leads notorious  killers to his door, putting him and everyone at the Lazy N in jeopardy.

4. Beyond Summer; Blue Sky Hills Series, Book 3 by Lisa Wingate   -- Women's Fiction from Peguin Group/NAL. Tam Williams discovers the blessings of community when her father is jailed, and the family moves to downscale Blue Sky Hill where her new friend, Shasta might lose her home to her father's shady mortgage company.

5. Bride in Training; Man's Best Friend Series by Gail Gaymer Martin   -- A Romance from Love Inspired. Troubled lives lead to loneliness, Emily and Martin learn, until the Lord teaches them he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.

6. Cattleman's Courtship by Carolyn Aarsen   -- A Romance from Love Inspired. Cara Morrison has to fix the past before she can face the future.

7. Doctor in Petticoats; Sophie's Daughters Series, Book #1 by Mary  Connealy   -- A Romance  from Barbour. A burned out doctor is called in because he's a man, while the town's lady doctor does all the work and keeps the doctor from cracking up.

8. Driftwood Lane; 3rd in Series of Stand Alones by Denise Hunter   -- A Romance from Thomas Nelson. A love story set on Nantucket Island.

9. Firestorm by Kelly Ann Riley   -- A Romance from Steeple Hill. A firefighter falls in love while trying to find her father's killer.

10. Flash Point; Emerald Coast 911 by Stephanie Newtonr   -- A Suspense/Mystery/Thriller from Love Inspired Suspense. Courage Under Fire.

11. Heart of a Cowboy; 2nd book in the Helping Hands Homeschooling by Margaret Daley   -- A Romance from Love Inspired. Zachary Rutgers is perfectly happy with being a loner until he discovers he has a son and must deal with buried feelings  concerning Jordan Masterson.

12. Love Finds You in Calico, California  by Elizabeth Ludwig   -- An  Historical from Summerside Press. A young seamstress struggling to survive in a booming mining town is pressed into a marriage of convenience with the local livery owner.

13. Minnesota Moonlight 3-in-1 Collection  by Becky Melby & Cathy Wienke   -- Romance from Barbour. An ex-con, a storm chaser, and a footloose musician˜three unlikely heroes for three women learning to trust God...and the men He's brought into their lives.

14. Nightshade; Book #1 of the Discarded Heroes series by Ronie Kendig   -- A Suspense/Mystery/Thriller from Barbour. This Former Navy  SEAL is fighting a new battle--the home front!

15. Prodigal Patriot; Vermont #1 by Darlene Franklin   -- A Romance from Barbour Heartsong. How can Sally and Josiah battle through the barriers separating Tory and Patriot to find love and forgiveness?

16. Ransome's Crossing; The Ransome Trilogy, Book 2 by Kaye Dacus   --  A Romance from Harvest House. Disguising herself as a midshipman to get  to her secret fiance, Charlotte Ransome faces danger--and love--crossing the Atlantic.

17. Rodeo Redemption; The Rodeo Royalty Series, Book 1 by Teri Wilson   -- A Romance from White Rose Publishing. Josie Turner would rather forget she was ever crowned Rodeo Queen. Can former rodeo cowboy Luke Anderson mend Josie's heart and can one rodeo weekend help them both find redemption?

18. Seeds of Summer; Seasons of the Tallgrass - Book #2 by Deborah  Vogts   -- A Romance from Zondervan. When a former Miss Rodeo Kansas queen returns home after her father's death to care for the family ranch  and her two younger siblings, what follows is a summer full of change, life-lessons and an unexpected romance with the new minister in Diamond Falls.

19. So Over It; Book 3 in The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series by Stephanie Morrill   -- General Fiction from Revell. Senior year is over and Skylar Hoyt is ready to forgive and forget. Or at least forget.

20. Song of Solomon by Kendra Norman Bellamy   -- A  Romance from Urban Books. How can he convince her that she's his God-given mate when she's already wearing a wedding ring?

21. Stars in the Night by Cara Putman   -- An Historical from Summerside Press. Step back to 1942 Hollywood as Audra Schaeffer tries to find her sister and a killer before it is too late.

22. The Crimson Cipher by Susan Page Davis   -- An Historical from Summerside Press. When Emma's father is murdered, she's hired to do the job he could have had--helping track them down by breaking their ciphers.

23. The Engineered Engagement; Book Three in the Kennebrae Brides Series by Erica Vetsch   -- An Historical from Barbour Heartsong. Sparks fly when a shipbuilder finds himself engaged to the wrong girl.

24. The Seeker; The Shaker Series # 3 by Ann H. Gabhart   -- An Historical from Revell. The story brings alive the strikingly different worlds of the Southern gentry, the simple Shakers and the ravages of war  in 1860s Kentucky.

25. The Way to a Man's Heart; The Miller Family Series, Book 3 by Mary Ellis   -- A Romance from Harvest House. When all the men beat a path to Leah's diner, her parents don't breathe a sigh of relief until she narrows her suitors from half a dozen down to one.

26. Where the Dogwoods Bloom by Myra Johnson   -- A Romance from Barbour Heartsong. Jilly Gardner left Blossom Hills ten years ago, determined never to return, but when Cam Lane calls to ask for her help,  she finds she can't say no.

Verse of the Day

The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it! (1 Thessalonians 5:24 MSG)

2010 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest Results

Every year the Bulwer-Lytton group runs a contest for the worst first sentence. It is based on Bulwer-Lytton's own first sentence:

"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents--except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."

--Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford (1830)

2010 CONTEST RESULTS

For the first month of Ricardo and Felicity's affair, they greeted one another at every stolen rendezvous with a kiss--a lengthy, ravenous kiss, Ricardo lapping and sucking at Felicity's mouth as if she were a giant cage-mounted water bottle and he were the world's thirstiest gerbil.

Molly Ringle
Seattle, WA

The winner of the 2010 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest is Molly Ringle of Seattle, Washington. The author of one published and two soon-to-be-published novels, Molly Ringle only writes bad fiction when she fails at good fiction. She'd rather not say how often this happens. She lives in Seattle with her family, and her vices include uncalled-for moments of sarcasm, excessive consumption of Nutella, and an unladylike avidity for the raunchy films of Mel Brooks.

Molly Ringle is the 28th grand prize winner of the contest that that began at San Jose State University in 1982.  She is also the second consecutive Washingtonian in a row to win the contest, last year’s being David McKenzie. 




For more first line (and a few laughs) click here.

Verse of the Day

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it. (1 Corinthians 10:13 MSG)

Nightmare by Robin Parrish

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

NightmareBethany House (July 1, 2010)

byRobin Parrish





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robin Parrish is a journalist who's written about the intersection of faith and pop culture for more than a decade. Currently he serves as Senior Editor at XZOOSIA.com, a community portal that fuses social networking with magazine-style features about entertainment and culture. 



He had two great ambitions in his life: to have a family, and to be a published novelist. In March of 2005, he proposed to his future wife the same week he signed his first book contract with Bethany House Publishers. They contracted him for the rights to The Dominion Trilogy: Relentless (2006), Fearless (2007), and Merciless (2008). His science fiction thriller, Offworld came out in 2009. This summer debuts Nightmare, and he's working on another for 2011. Robin and his wife and children live in North Carolina.







ABOUT THE BOOK:

The Nightmare is Coming...

Ghost Town is the hottest amusement park in the country, offering state-of-the-art chills and thrills involving the paranormal. The park's main ride is a haunted house that promises an encounter with a real ghost.

When Maia Peters visits during her senior year of college, she's not expecting to be impressed. Maia grew up as the only child of a pair of world-renowned "ghost hunters," so the paranormal is nothing new and to her most of the park is just Hollywood special effects.  In fact, the ride feels pretty boring until the very end. There, a face appears from the mist. The face of Jordin Cole,  a girl Maia knows  who disappeared from campus a few months ago.

Convinced what she saw wasn't a hoax and desperate to find answers to Jordin's disappearance, Maia launches into a quest for answers. Joined by Jordin's boyfriend--a pastor's kid with very different ideas about paranormal and the spirit realm--Maia finds herself in a struggle against dangerous forces she never expected to confront on the edge of the spirit realm that try to keep the truth from emerging. 



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


Review to come later.

Refuge on Crescent Hill by Melanie Dobson

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Refuge on Crescent Hill

Kregel Publications (March 11, 2010)

by

Melanie Dobson





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Melanie Dobson is the award-winning author of The Black Cloister; Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana; and Together for Good.



Prior to launching Dobson Media Group in 1999, Melanie was the corporate publicity manager at Focus on the Family where she was responsible for the publicity of events, products, films, and TV specials. Melanie received her undergraduate degree in journalism from Liberty University and her master's degree in communication from Regent University. She has worked in the fields of publicity and journalism for fifteen years including two years as a publicist for The Family Channel.



Melanie and her husband, Jon, met in Colorado Springs in 1997 at Vanguard Church. Jon works in the field of computer animation. Since they've been married, the Dobsons have relocated numerous times including stints in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Colorado, Berlin, and Southern California. These days they are enjoying their new home in the Pacific Northwest.



Jon and Melanie have adopted their two daughters —Karly (6) and Kinzel (5). When Melanie isn't writing or entertaining their girls, she enjoys exploring ghost towns and dusty back roads, traveling, hiking, line dancing, and reading inspirational fiction.







ABOUT THE BOOK

THE HOMECOMING WASN’T WHAT SHE EXPECTED…

Jobless, homeless, and broke, Camden Bristow decides to visit the grandmother she hasn’t seen in years. But when Camden arrives in Etherton, Ohio, she discovers that her grandmother has passed away, leaving her the 150-year-old mansion on Crescent Hill. The site of her happiest summers as a child, the run-down mansion is now her only refuge.



When Camden finds evidence that she may not be the mansion’s only occupant, memories of Grandma Rosalie’s bedtime stories about secret passageways and runaway slaves fuel her imagination. What really happened at Crescent Hill? Who can she turn to for answers in this town full of strangers? And what motivates the handsome local Alex Yates to offer his help? As she works to uncover the past and present mysteries harbored in her home, Camdem uncovers deep family secrets within the mansion’s walls that could change her life─and the entire town─forever.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Refuge on Crescent Hill, go HERE.

Review to come later.

Verse of the Day

Desperate, I throw myself on you: you are my God! Hour by hour I place my days in your hand, safe from the hands out to get me. Warm me, your servant, with a smile; save me because you love me. . . . What a stack of blessing you have piled up for those who worship you, Ready and waiting for all who run to you to escape an unkind world. (Psalm 31:14–19 MSG)