Monday Book Mania-Look to the East by Maureen Lang

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

This week's feature: Look to the East by Maureen Lang

And as a bonus treat, here is a note for blog readers from this fabulous author:
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Greetings! I'm eager to share the news about my newest book release. Have you ever wondered how many love stories have one war or another for a backdrop? Rather than counting, I decided to plunge ahead and add a few more titles. Look to the East is the first in a three book series, each one linked by a European, First World War setting—but little else, since each one is an independent story.

So come along for a glimpse back, circa early 1900's, rural France . . .Look To The East

by

Maureen Lang

A village under siege. A love under fire.
France 1914

At the dawn of the First World War, the French village of Briecourt is isolated from the battles, but the century-old feud between the Toussaints and the de Colvilles still rages in the streets. When the German army sweeps in to occupy the town, families on both sides of the feud are forced to work together to protect stragglers caught behind enemy lines.

Julitte Toussaint may have been adopted from a faraway island, but she feels the scorn of the de Colvilles as much as anyone born a Toussaint. So when she falls in love with one of the stragglers—a wealthy and handsome Belgian entrepreneur—she knows she's playing with fire. Charles Lassone hides in the cellar of the Briecourt church, safe from the Germans for the moment. But if he's discovered, it will bring danger to the entire village and could cost Charles his life.

Another note from Maureen:

This book was one of those stories that just needed to be told. Inspired by actual events in a small town in France, it was a dream come true for me to travel there for research and to absorb the atmosphere. Although my book takes place nearly one hundred years ago, the same area today is similar in many ways: picturesque little villages surrounded by a lovely rural landscape. Thankfully, there were no rumbles of battle in the distance when I was there . . .

My prayer is that the events of the past won't be forgotten, so we'll never again make the same mistakes.

About Maureen Lang:
Maureen lives with her family (her husband, three kids and their lovable lab) in Illinois. She spends her days dreaming up people in faraway places, characters who live far more exciting lives than she does within the safety of her happy home. Look to the East is Maureen's ninth novel.

Visit Maureen's website.


or her blog.


Look to the East can be purchased at:

CBD

Signed by the Author

Or wherever books are sold.

Happy Reading!



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Happy Monday! Hope you will pick up this book. :-)

Cheryl Wyatt

Monday Book Mania-Enduring Justice by Amy Wallace

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

This week's feature:

ENDURING JUSTICE by Amy Wallace
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1601420145

Secrets Can’t Last Forever

A PAINFUL PAST

Hanna Kessler’s childhood secret has remained buried for over two decades. But when the dark shadows of her past threaten to destroy those she loves, Hanna must face the summer that changed her life and the man who still haunts her memories.

A RACIALLY-MOTIVATED KILLER

As a Crimes Against Children FBI Agent, Michael Parker knows what it means to get knocked down. Difficult cases and broken relationships have plagued his entire year. But when the system fails and a white supremacist is set free, Michael’s drive for retribution eclipses all else.

A LIFE-ALTERING CHOICE

A racist's well-planned assault forces Hanna and Michael to decide between executing vengeance and pursuing justice. The dividing line between the two is the choice to heal. But when the attack turns personal, is justice enough?


Q and A with author Amy Wallace

Q. Where did the idea for the stories in the DEFENDERS OF HOPE series come from?

A. The Defenders of Hope series started with a literal dream about an FBI agent with a wounded heart and a mom on a dangerous quest for answers. That dream became the book Ransomed Dreams. During the research for Ransomed Dreams, I met with a federal agent and asked the question—what would happen if an FBI agent found out he had cancer? His answer became the second book, Healing Promises. And the third book in the series, Enduring Justice, grew out of a secret one of the characters, Hanna Kessler, struggles to keep hidden.

Q. Your current release is Enduring Justice, book 3 in the Defenders of Hope series. Is it necessary to read all the books in order?

A. I’ve been told by many readers and read reviews that have said the Defenders of Hope books can be read in any order as stand-alones. The cases and suspense story-lines are self-contained, no cliffhanger endings until the next book. But the characters’ friendships and relationships grow and are challenged in each book, so I’d say it’s best but not necessary for the stories to be read in order.

Q. You’ve said that Enduring Justice contains the shards of your once-broken heart. What do you mean by that?
A. Fifteen years ago, God placed me in a safe place and used my future husband’s hands to hold me together while my heart shattered. David was the first person to hear about my being date raped when I was a teen. For five years I’d denied what happened or blamed myself. So when my walls of secrecy started to crumble, I felt alone and terrified.

But God met me there. He covered my shame with His grace and we started down the painful path of healing. Even though this isn’t the same circumstances as what Hanna Kessler faces in Enduring Justice, a lot of my personal story went into the writing. And while this subject may qualify this story as “gritty,” the focus is not on the past experiences, but on the healing an adult woman finds as she opens up to her family and the man she loves.

Q. One of the key themes running through Enduring Justice is racism, as Hanna’s love interest, FBI Agent Michael Parker, is investigating a white supremacist. Why is this topic near to your heart?
A. I grew up in the military and had friends of all skin colors and nationalities. One of my best friends was African American. We never talked about our skin color, but I remember one time she made a comment about how people treated her differently because of her skin. She wouldn’t explain. It wasn’t until years later after hearing some ugly words from extended family members about people of other skin colors that I started to understand racism still exists. And it breaks my heart.
Through Hanna and Eve and Michael and Lee, I wanted to highlight some of the challenges I’ve learned about from friends of other nationalities and also to show that it’s not skin color that matters, it’s who we are on the inside. We truly can be color-blind.
Q. Where can readers learn more about you, Enduring Justice, and your other books?
A. I enjoy and value email from readers! So please visit me on the web at the Dark Chocolate Suspense site: www.amywallace.com and leave a note in the guestbook, drop me an email, or join the Dark Chocolate Suspense newsletter community: http://www.amywallace.com/Newsletter.html.

Readers can also check out a very cool book format and read the first two chapters of Enduring Justice online: http://www.amywallace.com/ej_chapter.html
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Amy's other books:

Ransomed Dreams - Multnomah - April 07
Healing Promises - Waterbrook Multnomah - April 08
Enduring Justice - Waterbrook Multnomah - April 09

Visit this author's website

Cheryl Wyatt

December Christian Fiction Releases

This list was compiled by Jill Eileen Smith, whose book cover for Michal I just saw and LOVE! Visit her Web site to view it.

Here is a short list of a small portion of December Christian Fiction releases: This list is by no means conclusive. For instance, Barbour puts out four Heartsong Presents a month and Steeple Hill puts out four Love Inspired Romances as well as Love Inspired Suspense and Love Inspired Historicals.

Hope you will consider some of those as Christmas gifts. Steeple Hill has some EXCELLENT Christmas stories. The books would make great stocking stuffers and won't dent your pocketbook.

If you're not a huge fan of category(shorter) length romance...what's WRONG with you?

LOL..

I meant to say, if you're not a huge fan of category romance, check out some of these other fiction releases. Although I'm partial to Steeple Hill. Grin.



1. A Promise for Spring by Kim Vogel Sawyer from Bethany House. Can their promise of love survive more than just years of separation?

2. Before the Season Ends by Linore Rose Burkard from Havest House Publishers. A heroine who embodies "Principles" meets the man who is all "Pride." What happens when they clash in Regency London makes adventurous innocence well worth reading!

3. Deceptive Promises, Delaware Brides, book 3 by Amber Miller from Barbour/Heartsong Presents. Living during the American Revolution, Margret Scott gets involved with a spy and a life of deception that could endanger herself, her family, and the man she loves.

4. Flashover by Dana Mentink from Steeple Hill. Ivy Beria's life explodes when arson robs her of her job and the man who set it hunts her down.

5. Missouri Brides by Mildred Colvin from Barbour Publishing. Three women tied together by family find true love on the Missouri prairie of the 1800s.

6. The Owling, Shadowside Series - Book 2 by Robert Elmer from Zondervan. Life gets even more confusing for fifteen-year-old Oriannon when her former music mentor, Jesmet, miraculously returns from the dead and promises his students a special power called Numa.

2008 Christian Fiction Releases

This list brought to you by Jill Eileen Smith:

1. A Constant Heart by Siri Mitchell from Bethany House Publishers. In Queen Elizabeth’s court…beauty is a curse, friendship is bought and sold, and true love is the unpardonable sin.

2. A Little Bit of Faith, The Precious Girl's Club Book One by Cindy Kenney from Precious Moments Inc. Girls will discover how having a little bit of faith can help them overcome big challenges in this first book of a new series that encourages girls to celebrate the unique ways God made each one of them special and "precious in His sight."

3. A Taste of Murder, The Classical Trio Series Book 1 by Virginia Smith from Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense. When a young woman attends a small town's Bar-B-Q Festival, she stumbles across the path of a ruthless killer who's had a taste of murder... and is hungry for more.

4. Buffalo Gal, South Dakota Weddings series Book 1 by Mary Connealy from Heartsong Presents. A vegetarian and a cattle rancher go to war and fall in love.

5. Engaging Father Christmas (a novella) Sequel to Finding Father Christmas by Robin Jones Gunn from FaithWords. Miranda Carson returns to England to spend Christmas with Ian, now her boyfriend and her recently located family; unforeseen circumstances stand in the way of a happy Christmas.

6. Longings of the Heart Sydney Cover Series Book 2 by Bonnie Leon from Revell Publishing. John and Hannah Bradshaw survived betrayal and imprisonment. Now as they reach for a new beginning one evil heart lies waiting to tear their lives apart.

7. Love Finds You in Snowball, Arkansas, Launch book for Love Finds You series by Sandra D. Bricker from Summerside Press. Full-on, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy for the inspirational romance market.

8. My Sister Dilly by Maureen Lang from Tyndale House. Two sisters; one committed the unthinkable, one will never forgive herself.

9. On A Whim, The Katie Weldon Series Book 3 by Robin Jones Gunn from Zondervan. Katie and Rick are ready to move their relationship forward but as they make that step Katie’s life comes unglued leading her to rely on God’s plans for her.

10. Out of Her Hands, Sequel to Searching for Spice by Megan DiMaria from Tyndale House Publishers. Her children are making questionable choices, her father-in-law’s is coping with loss, and her best friend’s moving away. How can Linda manage when it’s really all out of her hands?

11. Snowbound Colorado Christmas by Susan Page Davis, Tamela Hancock Murray, Darlene Franklin, and Lena Nelson Dooley from Barbour. Love snowballs in four couples’ lives during the Blizzard of 1913. If they live through the storm, will love be there to greet each young woman on Christmas morn?

12. The Case of the Bouncing Grandma, Bouncing Grandma Mysteries Book 1 by A.K. Arenz from Sheaf House. Has Glory hit her head one too many times or was there really a foot dangling from the back of that carpet?

13. The Christmas Kite by Gail Gaymer Martin from Steeple Hill. An eight year old disabled boy provides the catalyst for his mother's and a reclusive kite builder's healing, as he opens their eyes to God's promises and love beyond understanding.

14. The Face of Deceit, Jackson's Retreat Series Book 2 by Ramona Richards from Steeple Hill/Love Inspired Suspense. When Karen O'Neill's "face vases" spark murder, art crime investigator Mason DuBroc knows a long-hidden secret is appearing in her art . . . a secret someone will kill for.

15. The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner from WaterBrook Press. The 300-year-old diary of a victim of the Salem Witch Trials challenges a young English major's worldview.

16. Waiting for Daybreak by Kathryn Cushman from Bethany House. A young pharmacist must choose between exposing negligence or keeping the job that's paying her dying mother's medical bills.

17. Walk with Me, Contemporary Minnesota series Book 1 by Becky Melby and Cathy Wienke from Barbour Publishing. When the first parolee in the Sanctuary program run by Sydney Jennet’s church turns out to be a handsome blue-eyed believer, her small town, and her heart, are no longer safe.


There are many more releases this month, but these were the ones turn into Jill.

Hugs all,

Cheryl

JUNE CHRISTIAN FICTION RELEASES

This list is composed by Jill Eileen Smith:

You MUST check out her spotlight with my good friend and fellow author, Robin Caroll.


We've got 13 new Christian novels this month - a wide variety of choices and I can see my to-be-read pile is going to grow bigger still! Also, don't forget to check out my new Spotlight on author and ACFW President Robin Caroll!.

1. Allison's Journey, Book 4 in the Brides of Webster County series by Wanda E. Brunstetter from Barbour Publishing. Allison Troyer feels as faceless as her tattered doll, but a trip to visit her aunt in Missouri could change Allison's life forever.

2. Final Justice, Book Six in the Reunion Revelations Continuity series by Marta Perry from Love Inspired Suspense. To protect an innocent child, teacher Jennifer Pappas must risk everything--her job, her love, and even her life.

3. Florida Weddings by Lynn Coleman, Kristy Dykes, Kathleen E. Kovach from Barbour Publishing, Inc. The past casts a shadow upon the lives of three Florida women.

4. Jewel Of The Adriatic by K.M. Daughters (Pat Casiello and Kathie Clare) from The Wild Rose Press. A village where millions believe the Mother of God appears becomes a haven where two souls find faith and love.

5. Killer Cargo by Dana Mentink from Love Inspired Suspense. Maria de Silva and Cy Sheridan face danger and death when they stumble upon a lethal package.

6. New Beginnings, Book 4 in the Rachel Yoder Always Trouble Somewhere series by Wanda E. Brunstetter from Barbour Publishing. Spring has sprung and ten year old Rachel Yoder is filled with the hope of good things to come, but things go sour when she learns that her best friend is moving.

7. Out of Control, Book 3 in the Rachel Yoder Always Trouble Somewhere series by Wanda E. Brunstetter from Barbour Publishing. Despite Rachel Yoder's need to take control of her troubling situations, she needs to learn that there are some things she just can't control.

8. Picture This by Nancy J. Farrier from Barbour Heartsong Presents. When Jason and Maddy are sent on a photography assignment in the Arizona desert, Jason's Christian ideals collide iwth Maddy's questionable past to threaten any future they might have together.

9. Prodigal in the City by Louis N Jones from Conquest Publishers. He abandoned his Christian faith. Now, his life and his God-given destiny hang in the balance.

10. Suspicious Minds Squeaky Clean Mysteries #2 by Christy Barritt from Kregel. A dead Elvis impersonator and a rival turned wooer are just a couple of crime-scene cleaner Gabby St. Claire's problems in this thrilling sequel to Hazardous Duty.

11. The Hunted by Mike Dellosso from Realms (Strang Book Group). A town's deadly secret will drive one man to the edge of his faith.

12. Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon by Debbie Fuller Thomas from Moody Publishers. A grieving mom discovers the child she lost was switched at birth, but can she risk loving an angry stranger?

13. Washington's Lady, Book 2 Nebraska Brides by Nancy Moser from Bethany House. It is said that without George Washington there would be no United States, but without Martha, there would be no George...

Happy reading ~

Cheryl