Monday, May 25, 2009

Monday Book Mania-SHADOWS ON THE RIVER Steeple Hill/Love Inspired suspense



Welcome to Monday Book Mania on my blog where I tell you about books I recommend by authors I love.

This week's feature:
SHADOWS ON THE RIVER Steeple Hill/Love Inspired suspense by Linda Hall
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SHADOWS ON THE RIVER is the story of Ally Roarke. When she was a young teenager she saw her best friend pushed to her death. Here are Ally's own words:



"I was only fourteen when I witnessed a murder on the riverbank. A murder that went unpunished. Unless you count what happened to my family. We were forced out of town by the teenage killer's prominent parents. And the murder was forgotten—by everyone but me. Now, the killer is a respected businessman. I can't let him get away with it. But I'm a single mother with a child to protect, what can I do? The new man in my life, Mark Bishop, warns me to be careful. For there's already been another murder. Close to home."


A bit about Linda:


Award winning and twice Christy-nominated author Linda Hall has written fifteen novels plus many short stories. She has also worked as a freelance writer, news reporter and feature writer for daily newspaper.
She grew up in New Jersey where her love of the ocean was nurtured. Most of her novels have something to do with the sea. When she's not writing, Linda and her husband enjoy sailing the St. John River system and the coast of Maine. In the summer we basically move aboard their 34' sailboat aptly named - Mystery.

Shadows on the River can be ordered from most online bookstores such as amazon.


or can be ordered from her website.

What others are saying:
- With a voice well suited to mystery and suspense, Hall creates an almost gothic atmosphere and a wonderfully satisfying conclusion in this final installment of her Shadows series. Romantic Times 4 stars

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Happy Monday! Hope you will pick up this book that I'm "crazy" about. :-)

Cheryl Wyatt

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Saturday Book Stroll-Deadly Competition by Roxanne Rustand




Welcome to Saturday Book Stroll where I recommend great books by authors I love. This week's featured book is:


Deadly Competition, Roxanne Rustand

Blurb:The single mother hasn't been found. And all her daughter, Sarah, has is her uncle. Clueless at parenting, Clint Herald seeks a loving, responsible nanny. What he finds instead is a stranger as mysterious as his sister's disappearance. Mandy Erick is secretive and seems scared, yet she's so good with Sarah that Clint can't help but trust her. In fact, he even enters Mandy in the town's Mother of the Year contest. But attention is the last thing Mandy wants. Her time in the public eye may prove just as dangerous as she fears.

Excerpt: "The single mother hasn't been found. And all her daughter, Sarah, has is her uncle. Clueless at parenting, Clint Herald seeks a loving, responsible nanny. What he finds instead is a stranger as mysterious as his sister's disappearance. Mandy Erick is secretive and seems scared, yet she's so good with Sarah that Clint can't help but trust her. In fact, he even enters Mandy in the town's Mother of the Year contest. But attention is the last thing Mandy wants. Her time in the public eye may prove just as dangerous as she fears.
Mandy Erick flinched as the door of the Greyhound slid shut behind her.

The bus lumbered away, taking with it her chance to reach Texas or California or Oregon anytime soon. Leaving her standing on the edge of Loomis, Louisiana, a backwater town in the middle of nowhere.

Though maybe the middle of nowhere was the safest place for someone who'd had to leave her old identity behind."

http://www.eharlequin.com/store.html;jsessionid=00C164E53E0203C5C0D554CDC6E6A90D?cid=359

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Blogging at Craftie Ladies Today

Blogging here today. Hope you will drop by and comment.



Craftie Ladies of Romance

Cheryl Wyatt

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Pardon the absence & CONGRATS Genesis finalists!

Have you been missing the Free Book Fridays and Prompts on Tuesdays? We were hit by the Midwest inland hurricane which knocked out our power for over a week and left us without Internet service. Went to a family member's house to be able to post.

Once everything is restored, we'll get back to our regular programming. :-)

The only blog posts that have gone up were posts I prescheduled. I'm SO glad Blogger has that feature!

Anyway, I'd also like to take this opportunity to congratulate ACFW's (American Christian Fiction Writer's) Genesis finalists!

Enormous CONGRATS going out to:

CONTEMPORARY FICTION:
(total entries: 44)

Sharon Ball
David W. Fry
Jennifer Griffith
Ane Mulligan
Patty Slack

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE:
(total entries: 75)

Cathy Bryant
Kathleen Haynes
Lisa Jordan
Christy LaShea Smith
Eileen Astels Watson

HISTORICAL FICTION:
(total entries: 39)

Nancy Herriman
D'Ann Mateer
Christina Miller
Sandi Rog
Christine Schmidtke

HISTORICAL ROMANCE (six finalist entries due to a tie, but one is a double finalist):
(total entries: 57)

Jody Hedlund (double finalist with two entries) Lisa Richardson Connie Stevens Gina Welborn Lacy Williams

MYSTERY/SUSPENSE/THRILLER:
(total entries: 45)

David Fry
Anne Greene
Dineen Miller
Lynda Schab
Alan Schleimer

ROMANTIC SUSPENSE:
(total entries: 50)

Mary F. Allen
Wenda Dottridge
Danica Favorite-McDonald
Kelly Ann Riley
Janet Warren

SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY/SPECULATIVE FICTION:
(total entries: 45)

Valerie Comer
Megan Ebba
David Fry
Suzanne Krein
Lisa Tuttle

WOMEN'S FICTION:
(total entries: 62)

Cathleen Armstrong
Marie Wells Coutu
Candee Fick
Julie Garmon
Ashely Weis

YOUNG ADULT:
(total entries: 37)

Kasey L. Heinly
Gretchen Hoffman
Susan Miura
Diana Sharples (double finalist with two entries)



See you all more when everything is back to normal post-storm.


Cheryl

Monday, May 11, 2009

Monday Book Mania-A Vote of Confidence by Robin Lee Hatcher



Welcome to Monday Book Mania on my blog where I tell you about books I recommend by authors I love.

This week's feature:
A Vote of Confidence by Robin Lee Hatcher

This cover is by far one of my all time favorites of any book. I LOVE it.
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About the author:

Robin Lee Hatcher is the best-selling author of over sixty books. Her well-drawn characters and heartwarming stories of faith, courage, and love have earned her both critical acclaim and the devotion of readers. Her numerous awards including the 2000 Christy Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction, the 1999 and 2001 RITA Awards for Best Inspirational Romance, Romantic Times Career Achievement Awards for Americana Romance and for Inspirational Fiction, and the 2001 RWA Lifetime Achievement Award. Catching Katie was named one of the Best Books of 2004 by the Library Journal.


Robin began her writing career in the general market, writing mass market romances for Leisure Books, HarperPaperbacks, Avon Books, and Silhouette. In 1997, after several years of heart preparation, Robin accepted God's call to write stories of faith and hasn't looked back since. She has written both contemporary women's fiction and historical romances for CBA publishers, and in 2009 her 60th book, A Vote of Confidence, was released, launching a new series (The Sisters of Bethlehem Springs) that looks at the question, "Who says a woman can't do a man's job?" The setting is Idaho during the WWI era.




About the book:

A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE
by Robin Lee Hatcher


Who says a woman can’t do a man’s job?


Put up or shut up! Complaining about Bethlehem Springs' dissolute mayoral candidate, Gwen Arlington is challenged to take on the role herself. For seven years, she’s carved out an independent life in the bustling mountain town of Bethlehem Springs, Idaho, teaching piano and writing for the local newspaper. But now she’s a single woman running for mayor — and in 1915 this decision is bound to stir up trouble.


Morgan McKinley is fed up with the delays that hinder the construction of New Hope Health Spa, a place where both rich and poor can come for rest and healing. New to the area, he has determined that serving as mayor would help him push through his agenda for progress.


Gwen and Morgan each want to prove they are the most qualified candidate, not only to voters but to each other, and so sparks fly as the two campaign. Although Morgan has learned to guard his heart as fiercely as Gwen guards her independence, could they learn to be allies instead of adversaries?


This first book in the Sisters of Bethlehem Springs Series provides intriguing insights into how women challenged convention and shaped America in the early twentieth century.


A NOTE FROM ROBIN:


Ideas come to writers in lots of different ways. The idea for The Sisters of Bethlehem Springs series came to me back in 2003-2004 and had its genesis in a couple of other books. From Catching Katie had come a fascination with the decade leading up to the passing of the 19th Amendment that gave American women the right to vote. From a secondary character in Speak to Me of Love came a fondness for a woman in an unusual occupation. While those two things were rolling around in my head, up popped the final ingredient. A question: Who says a woman can't do a man's job? And the next thing I knew, I'd met Gwen and Cleo Arlington, the heroines of the first two books in the series. I had to wait to meet my third heroine until the hero of A Vote of Confidence walked into my imagination. Guess what, Morgan McKinley had a younger sister, Daphne. Each of these women have jobs that weren't considered a woman's domain in their time (1915-1918). I hope readers will become as fond of Gwen, Cleo, and Daphne -- and the men with whom they fall in love -- as I am.



The purchase link for Christianbook.com is http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?event=AFF&p=1138486&item_no=258056 or click the header link above.


Here is the link to an excerpt from A Vote of Confidence.


Check out Robin's book trailer.
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Happy Monday! Hope you will pick up this book that I'm "crazy" about. :-)

Cheryl Wyatt

Saturday, May 09, 2009

Saturday Book Stroll! A Passion Denied by Julie Lessman



Most Saturdays, I will be sharing books that I recommend by authors I love.

This Saturday's feature is A Passion Denied by Julie Lessman.

Julie has one of the freshest new voices in Christian fiction today. I am in awe of how she constructs sentences, she is a fabulous wordsmith. This is the third book in her Daughter's of Boston Series from Revell.


My Review:

It's official. Julie Lessman's Daughters of Boston series rivals the classic Gone With the Wind and I'm not kidding. Love the Daughters of Boston series. Love it. Passion and purity and the spiritual message intermingled with sizzle you won't find in most Inspirational novels. It's because the author's passion for God also comes through the work. Julie's writing is both emotional and evocative. Not cliche at all. Very fresh writing. Love Julie's voice. Can't wait for her next series! Julie is also on my auto-buy list. Groundbreaking fiction for sure!

GO out and get this series! I'm betting your satisfaction won't be denied. ;-)


Cheryl Wyatt

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Story Starter Scene Prompts-15 and Critique Contest

Let me know in the comment section of this post whether you find these prompts helpful. As incentive, everyone who leaves a comment on at least one Story Starter Scene Prompt this month will be entered into a drawing to receive a free critique/assessment of one of your scenes written from one of my prompts. This critique does not guarantee you will be published. This is simply a published author offering kind but honest feedback on the drawing winner's scene.

AND...you will receive 1 entry for each comment entered on separate weekly prompts during the course of the current month. I post prompts every Tuesday unless I'm guestblogging elsewhere. In that case, still leave a comment and I'll count the comment as another entry. Be sure to leave a valid e-mail address. I suggest you put [brackets] around the "@" sign so Net Spiders don't phish your address.

Onward to this week's prompt....


Story Starter Prompt 2
OBJECT:
• Write a 500-3500 word scene using five of fifteen Prompt Words.
• Begin each scene using one of three Scene Starter Sentences.
• Use any combination of (1) sentence/(5) words.
• Do three separate scenes with each prompt sentence if you want.
• Or if you’re really brave, try using ALL 15 prompt words in their proper usage and incorporate all three sentences into your scene hook ins or hook out.
• Most of all, have fun!


Prompt Words-2:
1. injury
2. hope
3. chill
4. lift
5. ski
6. vacation
7. ranger
8. rescue
9. missing
10.teen
11. foul
12. play
13. avalanche
14. lodge
15. crimson

Scene Starter Sentences:
A. "That one hasn't been open for years."
B. "Are you a novice?"
C. "All I know is there was a huge rumble!"


Happy Writing!

Cheryl Wyatt

Monday, May 04, 2009

Monday Book Mania-Nothing but Trouble by Susan May Warren



Welcome to Monday Book Mania on my blog where I tell you about books I recommend by authors I love.

This week's feature:
Nothing but Trouble by Susan May Warren
Tyndale House Publishers (April 2, 2009)
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Review
“Susan May Warren delivers another winner—a lovable heroine, crackling dialogue, magnetic romance. . . . I loved getting in and out of trouble with PJ Sugar and can’t wait for the next installment.”
Sharon Hinck, author of Stepping into Sunlight

About the book:
It's not fair to say that trouble happens every time PJ Sugar is around, but it feels that way when she returns to her home town, looking for a fresh start. Within a week, her former teacher is murdered and her best friend's husband is arrested as the number-one suspect. Although the police detective investigating the murder—who also happens to be PJ's former flame—is convinced it's an open-and-shut case, PJ's not so sure. She begins digging for clues in an effort to clear her friend’s husband and ends up reigniting old passions, uncovering an international conspiracy, and solving a murder along the way. She also discovers that maybe God can use a woman who never seems to get it right.

About the author:
Susan May Warren is a beloved best-selling, award-winning author who loves to write and loves to teach other people how to write.


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Visit this author's website

Amazon purchase link: http://www.amazon.com/Nothing-but-Trouble-PJ-Sugar/dp/1414313128

Happy Monday! Hope you will pick up this book that I'm "crazy" about. :-)

Cheryl Wyatt