Daisy Chain by Mary DeMuth

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Daisy Chain
Zondervan (March 1, 2009)
by
Mary DeMuth


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mary E. DeMuth is an expert in Pioneer Parenting. She enables Christian parents to navigate our changing culture when their families left no good faith examples to follow.

Her parenting books include Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture (Harvest House, 2007), Building the Christian Family You Never Had (WaterBrook, 2006), and Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God (Harvest House, 2005).

Mary also inspires people to face their trials through her real-to-life novels, Watching the Tree Limbs (nominated for a Christy Award) and Wishing On Dandelions (NavPress, 2006).

Mary has spoken at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, the ACFW Conference, the Colorado Christian Writers Conference, and at various churches and church planting ministries. Mary and her husband, Patrick, reside in Texas with their three children. They recently returned from breaking new spiritual ground in Southern France, and planting a church.


ABOUT THE BOOK

The abrupt disappearance of young Daisy Chance from a small Texas town in 1973 spins three lives out of control—Jed, whose guilt over not protecting his friend Daisy strangles him; Emory Chance, who blames her own choices for her daughter’s demise; and Ouisie Pepper, who is plagued by headaches while pierced by the shattered pieces of a family in crisis.

In this first book in the Defiance, Texas Trilogy, fourteen-year-old Jed Pepper has a sickening secret: He’s convinced it’s his fault his best friend Daisy went missing. Jed’s pain sends him on a quest for answers to mysteries woven through the fabric of his own life and the lives of the families of Defiance, Texas. When he finally confronts the terrible truths he’s been denying all his life, Jed must choose between rebellion and love, anger and freedom.

Daisy Chain is an achingly beautiful southern coming-of-age story crafted by a bright new literary talent. It offers a haunting yet hopeful backdrop for human depravity and beauty, for terrible secrets and God’s surprising redemption.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Daisy Chain, go HERE


Margie's Comments: Mary DeMuth has once again brought us a story of pain, anger, and guilt in the midst of the hope we have in Christ, of truth, love, and freedom. Redemption is a theme that runs through all of Mary's books. And I can appreciate that, since I have experienced all of these. God's love and grace continue to amaze me when I honestly assess who I am without Christ.

Mary doesn't shy away from the most difficult issues of life. And Daisy Chain is at times dark and difficult to read. However, Mary's literary style draws the reader into the fictional world of Defiance, Texas. While I like to read fiction that allows me to escape into another world, I also enjoy fiction that challenges me to stand strong in the battle against evil. In Daisy Chain, Mary definitely challenges.

In some ways Daisy Chain was very hard for me to read in that it reminded me of things I would rather forget. Things I wish weren't true in the real world. But the sad fact of life is that we are a fallen people. And we can't fix things on our own. We all need a Savior, and many who choose to hide their sin under the cloak of the church or religion haven't confronted the fact of their own depravity and have refused to accept the responsibility of their actions.

Mankind's hope is in knowing and experiencing God's everlasting love and learning to accept God's amazing grace. He knew us before He ever created this world . . . and He loved us even then, in spite of our sin. Daisy Chain is a strong reminder that because God knew what sin would do in this world, He made provision for our salvation through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus. He also made us with free will, able to choose our path through life. What I think most of us don't realize is the long-term effects of choosing to go our own way rather than choosing to follow Christ.

I appreciate Mary and her willingness to write about some of the toughest issues of sin's consequences. I appreciate her literary style of writing that pulls me gently into the story of her characters. But be warned . . . it's not always easy reading. And it will challenge you to think about your own choices in life and how those choices affect others for generations to come.

Verse of the Day

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7)

Verse of the Day

Do not be anxious about anything, 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:8–9)

Verse of the Day

I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not man who walks to direct his steps. (Jeremiah 10:23)

My Book Therapy

One last post about My Book Therapy. Here are a couple of YouTube links for you to hear from Rachel Hauck and Susan May Warren, two of the therapists at My Book Therapy. They are excellent writers, coaches, and encouragers who believe in hard work. It's not easy to write a book. At least not as easy as we think it might be when we first get started. So check them out. Become a part of My Book Therapy voices. I hope that many of you will be encouraged to stay to the course until you can write The End on your manuscript. There's nothing like that feeling, knowing that you've done something few others can say they've done. (Of course, just because you can write The End at the end of the manuscript, it doesn't mean that you have a publishable manuscript. In my opinion, writing the first draft is the easy part! The revisions and polishing are the hard work. But it's a process I really enjoy. *smile*)

Don't forget to enter the contests. The deadline for these are coming up fast!

Enter the contests for the LOVE TO WRITE blog tour!

You have two chances to win!

Want to win a copy of From the Inside…Out: Discover, Create and Publish the Novel in You for your very own? Leave a comment here and tell us what kind of novel you have in YOU.

AND

Do you already have your novel down on the page? Does it need a little THERAPY? Enter to win 10% off a Book Therapy Session (that’s a savings of $30+) by leaving a comment here telling us a brief synopsis of your story!


All winners will be chosen at random. Contest ends 2/28 and the winners will be announced on March 2nd!

Verse of the Day

Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. (Isaiah 30:21)

Verse of the Day

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)

Tender Grace by Jackina Stark

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Tender Grace
Bethany House (February 1, 2009)
by
Jackina Stark


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jackina has spoken nationally and internationally at many retreats and seminars and enjoys running into many readers and former students. I have written frequently for both Christian Standard and Lookout, periodicals of Standard Publishing. Years ago I wrote two non-fiction books, published by College Press, but currently out of print. These days, I’m exploring fiction. My first novel, Tender Grace, will be released by Bethany House January 30, 2009, and a second, Things Worth Remembering, will be released in October, 2009. I’m working on new projects, including a third novel, as time permits. Whether speaking or writing, I love the opportunity to tell about Him whom Jesus called “Holy Father” and “the only true God.”

She lives in Joplin, Missouri with her husband, and she spends most of her free time doing is reading and writing. That is what she usually does when she's not teaching, enjoying the children and grandchildren, or sitting on the back porch drinking a Diet Coke and watching her husband till the garden!


ABOUT THE BOOK

Audrey Eaton awakes at three in the morning and gets up to retrieve her husband, Tom, from the recliner where he has fallen asleep watching a ball game. But when she enters the living room and looks at his gentle face in the soft lamp light, she knows their time together is over. Grief attacks her until all she can think about is how much she wants her old life back. Determined to find healing, she embarks on a journey to the one place Tom and she always intended to visit but never did. Along the way, she discovers, through shared experiences with friends old and new, the meaning of the "tender graces" God provides each and every day.

I've quit reading—even bestsellers, even the newspaper, even my Bible. I've also quit listening to music. This lack of appreciation for things I once loved is beginning to define me. More mornings than I can count, I say to myself before I open my eyes, "I don't want to do this." In the days shortly following Tom's death, that made sense, but what does it mean now? That I'm in trouble? One of the best qualities of the former me was thankfulness. As I was trying to sleep last night, needing Tom to be curled up behind me, his left arm slung across me, I realized to my horror that I couldn't remember the last time I was truly thankful. I think of a line from an old hymn: "Awake, my soul, and sing." I miss Tom. I also miss me.

Determined to find healing, Audrey Eaton embarks on a trip to the one place she and her husband always intended to visit but never did. When things don't go as planned, will she embrace the unexpected graces that guide her journey?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Tender Grace, go HERE

Verse

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)

Verse of the Day

God is able to make all grace abound toward you: that ye always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.

2 CORINTHIANS 9:8