Until I Found You by Victoria Bylin

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Until I Found You

Bethany House Publishers (May 6, 2014)

by

Victoria Bylin

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
A word from the Author:

This may sound crazy, but I was driven to write romance by giant bugs and killer rabbits. I just couldn't take it anymore. My husband and two sons would be camped in front of the television watching a movie about spiders the size of bowling balls, and I'd be wondering when the handsome scientist would get around to kissing the spunky woman with the bug spray. When it didn't happen, I decided to write my own happy endings—without the giant bugs . . .


Known for her realistic, likable characters and vivid writing, Victoria Bylin writes both western and contemporary inspirational romance. Her books have finaled in the ACFW Carol Awards, the Rita Awards and RT Magazine’s Reviewers’ Choice Awards. She and her husband currently live in Lexington, Kentucky and have two grown sons.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Finding each other was only the beginning . . .

When Kate Darby swerves off a mountain road to avoid hitting a California condor, she ends up trapped in her car, teetering on the edge of a cliff. Terrified, she breathes a prayer that changes her life.

It's Nick Sheridan who comes to Kate's rescue. Nick is handsome and confident, and he seems to develop a habit of rescuing her, but Kate is in town only until her grandmother recuperates from a stroke. She's not planning to get involved with one of the locals.

Nick is a reformed veteran of life in the fast lane, a new Christian, and a travel writer. When he sees a car dangling on the edge of a cliff, the daredevil in him jumps into action. He doesn't expect to be swept off his feet by the car's occupant. He's made a vow—no dating for a year—but keeping that vow is going to be a lot more difficult now that he's met Kate Darby. . . .


If you'd like to read the first chapter of Until I Found You, go HERE.


Margie's Comments: Review to come later.

Verse of the Day

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers [us] out of them all. (Psalm 34:19)

It’s obvious, of course, that he didn’t go to all this trouble for angels. It was for people like us, children of Abraham. That’s why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people’s sins, he would have already experienced it all himself—all the pain, all the testing—and would be able to help where help was needed. (Hebrews 2:16–18 MSG)

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. (Hebrews 12:1–2)

A Stitch and a Prayer by Eva Gibson

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

A Stitch and A Prayer

Abingdon Press (May 20, 2014)

by

Eva Gibson

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

(No image available) Eva Gibson is the author of twenty books, including A Stitch and a Prayer, the latest release in the Quilts of Love series from Abingdon Fiction. She currently teaches Writing Your Life Story classes for Portland Community College and is an active member of Oregon Christian Writers. She has lived most of her life on the family farm in Wilsonville, Oregon, which is the setting for her novel.


ABOUT THE BOOK


After her fiancé returns from the Klondike gold rush in 1897, Florence Harms sets about building a new life in her new marriage—even though the lingering effects of illness have left her weak and vulnerable. She and her young husband, Will, work tirelessly to clear the land around their Northwest cabin, content with their modest life.

But then a stranger comes knocking, and Florence suddenly senses a restlessness in Will’s spirit that she had never seen before. When he leaves her with only a note that tells her he will return before their baby’s birth, she is devastated, and the illness that stiffened her joints returns. Counting the days until Will walks back through her door, Florence busies herself with a Tree of Life quilt displaying a map of the farm they call home. Doubts claw at her heart as Florence struggles to believe Will’s promise to return to her. Will her labor of love—and faith in God—sustain her as she waits to see her beloved once again?


If you would like to read the first chapter of A Stitch and A Prayer, go HERE.


Margie's Comments: Review to come later.

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Gathering Shadows

Bethany House Publishers (May 6, 2014)

by

Nancy Mehl

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Nancy Mehl lives in Festus, Missouri, with her husband Norman and their dog, Watson. She’s authored thirteen books and is currently at work on her newest series for Bethany House Publishing.

All of Nancy’s novels have an added touch – something for your spirit as well as your soul. “I welcome the opportunity to share my faith through my writing,” Nancy says. “It’s a part of me and of everything I think or do. God is number one in my life. I wouldn’t be writing at all if I didn’t believe that this is what He’s called me to do. I hope everyone who reads my books will walk away with the most important message I can give them: God is good, and He loves you more than you can imagine. He has a good plan especially for your life, and there is nothing you can’t overcome with His help.”


ABOUT THE BOOK


Wynter Evans is a promising young reporter for a television station in St. Louis, but even a bright future doesn't take away her pain over the disappearance of her brother nine years ago. So when she stumbles across a photograph of a boy with an eerie resemblance to him, she can't pass up the chance to track him down. With research for work as her cover, she sets out with one of the station's photogs for the place where the picture was taken: the town of Sanctuary.

Almost as soon as she arrives, she meets the town's handsome young mayor, Rueben King, and together they begin to uncover long held secrets that could tear the small town apart and change everything Wynter thought she knew about her life. As the truth of her family's past hides in the shadows, it's clear someone will stop at nothing to keep the answers she's searching for hidden forever--even if the cost is Wynter's very life.

If you'd like to read the first chapter of Gathering Shadows, go HERE.


Margie's Comments: Review to come later.

Rise & Shine by Sandra D. Bricker

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Rise and Shine

River North; New Edition edition (May 1, 2014)

by

Sandra D. Bricker

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

For more than a decade, Sandra D. Bricker lived in Los Angeles. While honing her chosen craft of screenwriting in every spare moment, she worked as a personal assistant and publicist to some of daytime television's hottest stars. When her mother became ill in Florida, she walked away from that segment of her life and moved across the country to take on a new role: Caregiver.

The author says that it was her 8th novel that opened the door to finding her way as a writer. "I'm a Christian woman, first and foremost," she says. "So it was a bit of a dream-come-true when Summerside Press chose me as one of two authors to launch the Love Finds You line."

Sandie's real-life role as cancer survivor has parlayed into her steadfast commitment to raising awareness and funds for ovarian cancer research. Spearheading a series of devotionals for Summerside Press (such as the popular His Grace Is Sufficient...Decaf Is Not), the author has stipulated that a portion of each contributor's proceeds will go to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

"Being allowed to combine my faith and my humor with raising funds for my pet projects ... and still pursue my writing dream," says Bricker, "well, that's the best of all worlds, as far as I'm concerned!"

And one of the author's pet projects is animal rescue, evidenced by the special bond she has created with one particular formerly-abandoned puppy -- a red-haired collie with "killer brown eyes and the heart of the class clown."

 

ABOUT THE BOOK


Shannon Malone thought she'd found her happy ending when she married Edmund Ridgeway, but a diving accident on their honeymoon left her in a coma. Waking up to the news that she's thirty years old would have been daunting enough . . . but she also learns that Edmund has lost his interim battle with cancer and the
world has marched on without her. Her gorgeous doctor, Daniel Petros, seems to know everything about her and becomes Shannon's tour guide into a whole new world of madness where reality television has taken over the planet and everyone's life appears to revolve around a tiny screen on their cell phones!

As Shannon struggles to navigate through the changes-both in the world and in her-she also must discern real memories from imagined ones. Did she really ever wear capris pants and entertain in her living room, or was that Laura Petrie from her favorite classic TV show? And where is her beloved dog, Freeway? Oh, wait! That was Jonathan and Jennifer Hart's dog, not hers.

Shannon's three elderly aunts flit through her life in true Sleeping Beauty style with her well-being always a priority.

And Edmund's sister Millicent descends like the Evil Queen she is, trying to extract Shannon from any claim on the Ridgeway family fortune. When a tornado moves through town and Shannon is knocked unconscious, will Daniel's kiss awaken her once and for all?


If you would like to read the first chapter of Rise and Shine, go HERE.

Margie's Comments: Review to come later. (I've been tied up with the Colorado Christian Writers Conference and several other major obligations.)

Verse of the Day

For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with self-control, right conduct, and devotion to God, while we look forward to that wonderful event when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing what is right. (Titus 2:11–14 NLT)

Verse of the Day

The LORD is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him. (Nahum 1:7 NLT)

And the LORD replied to Moses, "I will indeed do what you have asked, for I look favorably on you, and I know you by name." (Exodus 33:17 NLT)

Verse of the Day

O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us, and the years we have seen evil. Let Your work appear to Your servants and Your majesty to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; and confirm for us the work of our hands; yes, confirm the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:14–17 NASB)

Verse of the Day

May the Lord of peace himself always give you his peace no matter what happens. (2 Thessalonians 3:16 NLT)

Verse of the Day

We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he wants to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others. All the while, you will learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with his glorious power so that you will have all the patience and endurance you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father, who has enabled you to share the inheritance that belongs to God's holy people, who live in the light. (Colossians 1:9–12 NLT)

Verse of the Day

I will give You thanks with all my heart; I will sing praises to You before the gods. I will bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.  On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul. . . . And they will sing of the ways of the LORD, For great is the glory of the LORD. For though the LORD is exalted, Yet He regards the lowly. . . . Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. The LORD will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting; do not forsake the works of Your hands. (Psalm 138 NASB)

Verse of the Day

A huge door of opportunity for good work has opened up here. (There is also mushrooming opposition.) (1 Corinthians 16:9 MSG)

Stand your ground. And don't hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort. (1 Corinthians 15:58 MSG)

Verse of the Day

What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. (Hebrews 11:1 NLT)

That is why we live by believing [faith] and not by seeing. (2 Corinthians 5:7 NLT)

Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, no matter what happens. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. (Hebrews 10:35–36 NLT)

Critical Condition by Richard L. Mabry, M.D.

About the book: Dr. Frasier couldn't save the gunshot victim on her front lawn. Now she's fighting for her own life.

It began as a quiet dinner party honoring Dr. Shannon Frasier's colleague, but became a nightmare when a man was shot on her lawn, reviving emotions from a similar episode a decade ago. Then a midnight call from her sister, Megan, causes Shannon to fear that her sister is on drugs again.

Her "almost-fiancé" Dr. Mark Gilbert's support only adds to Shannon's feelings of guilt, since she can't bring herself to fully commit to him. She turns for help to her pastor-father, only to learn that he's just been diagnosed with leukemia. Shannon thought it couldn't get any worse. Then the late-night, threatening phone calls begin, the rough voice asking, "What did he say before he died?"

 

With everything around her in a critical state, simply staying alive will require all the resources and focus Shannon has.

Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/vyZt6

About the Author: A retired physician, Dr. Richard Mabry is the author of four critically acclaimed novels of medical suspense. His previous works have been finalists for the Carol Award and Romantic Times Reader's Choice Award, and have won the Selah Award. He is a past Vice-President of American Christian Fiction Writers and a member of the International Thriller Writers. He and his wife live in North Texas.

Connect with Richard at: http://rmabry.com

Margie's Comments: "Doc" Mabry has another winner in Critical Condition. Every book I read authored by Richard Mabry is better than the one before. His characters are so real, I feel like I'm going to see them the next time I'm at a hospital. But not only are they real in their personalities, their struggles, their spiritual walk, they deal with real-life situations. This is the first book I've ever read that has a character diagnosed with the same cancer as my mother had—I relived the memory of getting that phone call from her telling me of her diagnosis and treatment through Shannon's experience. I am not trained in the medical field, but my mother was an R.N. and freely shared her knowledge and all the complications that could arise. With that one event in the book, I completely bonded with Shannon and Megan, and I longed to call them up and reassure them they would make it through this one difficult situation. I also appreciate the strong spiritual thread throughout the story, part of each character's makeup. Very well done without beating the reader over the head. Critical Condition is a medical thriller that will sit at the top of my list for a long time to come. I highly recommend it.

Verse of the Day

Though this is a message to the church, it has great personal application:

“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is holy and true. He is the one who . . . opens doors, and no one can shut them; he shuts doors, and no one can open them. I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can shut. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me. . . . Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you. . . . Look, I am coming quickly. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown. . . . Anyone who is willing to hear should listen to the Spirit and understand what the Spirit is saying.” Revelation 3:1–13 nlt

Verse of the Day

Bless the LORD, who is my rock. He gives me strength for war and skill for battle. He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my deliverer. He stands before me as a shield, and I take refuge in him. He subdues the nations under me. . . . Reach down from heaven and rescue me; deliver me from deep waters, from the power of my enemies. (Psalm 144:1–2, 7 NLT)

Verse of the Day

In everything you do, I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. 1 Corinthians 7:32 NLT

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6–7

Verse of the Day

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever. Psalm 121 NASB

Verse of the Day

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. . . . "Cease striving and know that I am God" Psalm 46:1–3, 10 NASB

The Lord has been reminding me all week of Psalm 46:10. Yesterday was rough, and I was overwhelmed with the enormity of the tasks before me this month. I allowed my spirit to focus on the circumstances not Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). I thought I needed to stay home from church and hopefully make some headway. But two people (my hubby and a dear friend) encouraged me to take a break. 

Guess what passage our pastor chose for the Bible study. Yep. Psalm 46. 

Yes, I listened. And when I got home . . . I had "urgent" emails from only one person. I decided to let them wait until this morning, and I went to bed. Seven hours of sleep and several reminders of God's peace and strength in my quiet time this morning keeps me calm this morning.

Has the enormity of the tasks changed? No, but looking at them through God's perspective has changed my attitude. God is SO good!