And We Have a Winner!!!

Julia won a free copy of Jill Eileen Smith's best-selling Michal or her new release in the Wives of King David series,  Abigail.

Thank you, everyone who participated in the giveaway.

Whistlestop Wednesday Book Review: The Whitehorse King

 Who was Alfred the Great, and what claim did he have on such a title? Why should this King, of all Kings, receive such exultation? The answers to these questions bear looking into in light of today's world of fast morals and loose talk.

Arthur, born the fifth son of the King of Wessex, seemed unlikely to ascend to his father's throne. However, a combination of disease and Viking marauders removed his father and all the brothers in line before him. Alfred was just 23 years old in 871 when he assumed the crown of a failing kingdom at the brink of annihilation from a plague of Vikings.

In the face of this challenge and in response to a need for literacy, law reform, and morality among his own people, Alfred more than proved himself capable. His cultural reforms set the stage for formation of a United Kingdom and remain with us today.

This book has earned a place on my "keeper" shelf. I will return and reread it time and again. Ben Merkle's vivid writing style brings Alfred and his times to life and makes reading The White Horse King a pure delight. One caveat: if you are tender-hearted, skip the description of the death of King Aelle by means of the blood eagle. I understand why, in a culture inoculated against sensitivity to death by a steady television diet, the publisher chose to include such details, but I require no such sensitizing. Reading this passage actually traumatized me for several days and has placed an unpleasant image in my memory, probably for life. Irregardless, The White Horse King deserves its place on my shelf.

I recommend this book for adult readers.

© 2010 Janalyn Voigt

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for purposes of review.

Meet and Greet Monday: Jill Eileen Smith

Book Giveaway! See the details at the end of this post. 

Jill Eileen Smith is the best-selling author of Michal, book one in The Wives of King David series. She has more than 20 years of writing experience, and her writing has gathered acclaim in several contests. Her research into the lives of David's wives has taken her from the Bible to Israel, and she particularly enjoys learning how women lived in Old Testament times.

When she isn’t writing, she enjoys spending time with her family; in person, over the webcam, or hopping a plane to fly across the country. She can often be found reading Christian fiction, testing new recipes, grabbing lunch with friends, or snuggling one or both of her two adorable cats. She lives with her family in southeast Michigan.

Jill Eileen Smith:

I'm a wife, mom, and author of a biblical fiction series - The Wives of King David. The books in the series are: Michal: A Novel and Abigail: A Novel published with Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. The final book, Bathsheba: A Novel, is coming in 2011. I'm currently working on the first book in the next series, The Wives of the Patriarchs. I love to travel, spend time with my family and friends, am a cat owner, aspiring Bible scholar, amateur historian, musician, and above all a follower of Jesus Christ.

Abigail is the third wife of King David and her journey is one of heartache and shattered dreams, but in the end she grows stronger for what she has endured and her relationship to David takes an interesting turn. Here’s the back cover blurb:


What price must she pay for true love?

Her days marked by turmoil and faded dreams, Abigail has resigned herself to a life with a man she does not love. When her husband Nabal’s foolish pride angers David and his men, she boldly steps forward to save her family—and David, the would-be king, takes notice.

Circumstances offer Abigail a second chance at happiness with the handsome David, and she takes a leap of faith to join his wandering tribe. But her struggles are far from over. How can she share his love with the other women he insists on marrying?

Abigail follows the bestselling Michal and continues Jill Eileen Smith’s rich story of David’s wives.

As I said above, the next and last story in the series is Bathsheba, which is in house right now and ready to undergo everything necessary to make it a printed book. While I await the galleys from my editor, which will come several months from now, I’m writing the first book in the next series, tentatively titled Sarai, Book One of The Wives of the Patriarchs. This will also be a three-book series focusing on Sarai, Rebekah, and Rachel. I’m also working out another biblical fiction book series proposal, which I hope to hand in to my agent soon.

My greatest desire for my books is to have them inspire readers to read the real story found within the pages of the Bible. Biblical fiction caused me to love the Bible, to realize with stark clarity that these people were real. I hope my books impart that same love of Scripture to my readers that I gained as a result of reading this genre.

I also hope to impart a sense of peace and hope for women who might not be living in the best of circumstances. None of King David’s wives had an easy life despite the wealth and opulence they might have had as wife of a king. They all were forced to share their husband; something I can only imagine as horribly difficult!

Whatever their struggles, they are no different than the struggles of every woman everywhere. Time may separate us, but the human heart does not change apart from God’s grace. I want my readers to see women who did change and grew to be better people.


Purchase Information
Abigail at Amazon
Michal at Amazon

Abigail at Christianbook.com
Michal at Christianbook.com



Find Me Online:
http://www.jilleileensmith.com

http://www.thewivesofkingdavid.com

Book Giveaway: Jill has graciously agreed to give away a free copy of either Michal or Abigail. To enter for a chance to win, please leave a comment below or email me privately (click here). You must have a mailing address within the United States to enter. Entries taken until this Thursday at midnight (Pacific time). Winner announced Friday.

Whistlestop Wednesday Book Review: Thicker Than Blood

Christy, down-and-out and in an abusive relationship, looks for relief from life at the bottom of a bottle. But her drinking only compounds her problems. She can't escape the guilt that eats away at her. Soon her troubles hem her in and drive her back to the sister she abandoned. Christy learns she can run away only so long. To survive, she must face her past and the God she believes has given up on her.

C. J. Darlington's debut novel, Thicker Than Blood, is nothing short of breathtaking. I turned pages late into the night, eager to discover what happened next. The characters were drawn with realism, and I found the world of antique book trading fascinating. Darlington handles the subjects of abuse against women and alcoholism with sensitivity and offers real hope through Christy's story. I recommend this book for women readers in particular.

©2010 Janalyn Voigt

A complimentary copy of this book was provided to me by the author for purposes of review.

Meet and Greet Monday: Robin Caroll

Born and raised in Louisiana, Robin Caroll is a southerner through and through. Her passion has always been to tell stories to entertain others. Robin’s mother, bless her heart, is a genealogist who instilled in Robin the deep love of family and pride of heritage—two aspects Robin weaves into each of her books. When she isn’t writing, Robin spends time with her husband of twenty years, her three beautiful daughters, and their four character-filled pets at home—in the South, where else? She gives back to the writing community by serving as Conference Director for ACFW. Her books have finaled/placed in such contests as Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice, Bookseller's Best, and Book of the Year. An avid reader herself, Robin loves hearing from and chatting with other readers. Although her favorite genre to read is mystery/suspense, of course, she’ll read just about any good story. Except historicals! To learn more about this author of deep South mysteries of suspense to inspire your heart, visit Robin’s website at http://www.robincaroll.com/.

Robin Caroll: 

Hi, Janalyn and thank you so much for hosting me on your blog. I always like to get to know readers a little. I'm from the south, and love everything southern. I think that spills over into my stories. I've been married for over 20 years and we have three daughters -- Emily Carol, Remington Case, and Isabella Co-Ceaux. We share our home with two dogs, Moodoo and Chewy, and two cats, Whiskers and Stripe.

My book, Deliver Us From Evil, truly comes from my heart. It's the story of a beautiful yet tough woman working in a beautiful yet tough setting. Brannon Callahan is a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Strong faith and a decorated history of service have kept her one step ahead of on-the-job dangers, but there’s no precedent for what’s about to happen. After a blizzard takes down a small plane carrying U.S. Marshal Roark Holland (a man already haunted by a recent tragedy), Brannon must save him in more ways than one and safeguard the donor heart he’s transporting to a government witness on the edge of death. Otherwise the largest child-trafficking ring in history — with shocking links from Thailand to Tennessee — will slip further away into darkness along the Appalachian Trail.

I watched a television special on child trafficking with my husband. As a mother of three daughters, I couldn’t stop the ache in my heart that remained long after the show was over. I couldn’t get the image of those poor girls’ faces out of my mind. The horrors such children endure in their own poverty-stricken country is horrible enough, but for them to be brought to America and further exploited and abused is appalling. When my outrage settled deep inside me, I knew I had to write a story about this most serious issue.

BRC: How would you describe your book? 
An action/adventure romantic suspense
 
BRC: What message do you hope it conveys?  
Despite exposing the horrors of child trafficking, I hope that the reader will be uplifted by knowing that regardless of our circumstances, God is always with us.

BRC: Tell us about your writing process. 
For me, writing with just a general outline works best. I do indepth character interviews before I ever start plotting so I have a good handle on the characters. And then I let my characters take over and begin to play in the plot.
 
BRC: What are you working on now?
The sequel to this book releases in August and is titled Fear No Evil. I've just turned in the third book in the trilogy, tenatively titled In The Shadow of Evil. This will release next February.

BRC: What books do you enjoy reading? 
I love reading Stephen King. There's just something about the way he creates characters that blows me away.

BRC: Where can readers find you online?

http://www.robincaroll.com/; www.robinswritingworld.blogspot.com; www.facebook.com/robincaroll; www.twitter.com/robincaroll;

See the book trailer in the right sidebar of this blog or, to view full size, go here: http://robinswritingworld.blogspot.com/2009/07/blog-post.html

And We Have a Winner!!!

Thanks, everyone who visited Book Readers Central. Here's this week's winners:

Diane Velikis won a copy of Angels by Dr. David Jeremiah.

Meredith LeBlanc won a copy of Walking on Broken Glass by Christa Allan.

Whistlestop Wednesday Book Review: Reservations For Two

The main character in this book is an inline skating, roller coaster riding Grandma, named Maggie, whose character I fell in love with because of her spunk, reasoning, and openness with others. We follow Maggie on an adventure through her final stages of grief after losing her husband years before and onto rediscovering romantic love. All of the characters in this book were exceptionally believable. The settings were subtly described and effective. I found the story at times a bit predictable and occasionally drawn out. It bugged me, just a little, how often the characters waited till the right moment to say things. Over all however,  I found this book entertaining, mostly light hearted, easy to read, and full of good messages. This author has a talent for breaking an adventure into everyday details in such a way you only realize their enormity when looking back at the entirety.  I recommend this book for anyone, any age.

Meet and Greet Monday: Christa Allan

Book giveaway!
See the details at the end of this post.

With the exception of having spent some years in Texas, I’ve been a lifelong Louisiana girl. After college, I started teaching high school until the mommy years. I have five children, who are now 32, 29, 26, 26, and 24, a son-in-law, and two precious grandgirls ages 4 and 2. Twenty plus years ago I returned to teaching high school, and I’m hoping to graduate in the next five or so years! My husband Ken and I spend our time with our three neurotic cats, play golf, and dodge hurricanes.
Hello to Book Readers Central! My name is Christa Allan, and I’m so pleased to have the opportunity to chat with all of you today. As I write this, the wind is howling outside my windows, and it’s another chilly day in Abita Springs. The cats and I are hunkered down, and I’m doing my best to keep them out of my morning coffee!

I hope that my story gives every struggling writer hope that dreams can come true. God’s timing is more spectacular and His gifts more beautifully wrapped than anything we could imagine. Over five years ago, I would not have predicted that I’d be celebrating the publication of my debut novel. I encourage you to persist, even when all else seems to the contrary, because if God has planted the desire in your heart, He will deliver it to your hands.

Walking on Broken Glass was written over a period of three years. Hurricane Katrina accounted for a lapse of two years between (my) starting and finishing it. Our family, though truly blessed with no home damage, was displaced because of my husband losing his job. The business he had worked for ended up mostly in the Gulf of Mexico! For two years we lived in a city about three hours away from our home, and looking back, I realize God placed us exactly where we needed to be. It was during those two years that I connected with Jessica Ferguson, an ACFW member and now president of The Bayou Writers’ Group in Lake Charles. She and I had actually “met” online through ACFW before I even moved. She encouraged (challenged?) me when she told me that if I was serious about writing, I needed to attend a conference. Never doubt that God places people in our paths for a reason!

Between the decision to attend the conference and the actual conference date, everything that could go awry, did. My husband’s job opened up again, so I returned to my former job, but he had to work for two more months before leaving. I came back and lived with a friend for two weeks. I didn’t have an internet connection, so all of my work had to be finished at school. And since funds were tight, I attempted to print my own business cards. The school web blocker wouldn’t allow me on the site, then -- when I finally found a site it wouldn’t block -- my printer died! I left school late and, what should have been a five hour drive to meet my daughter who would eventually drive me to meet Jess, ended up being almost seven hours because of an accident. My cell phone died in the process, so I had to make the last few miles on a prayer because I’d never been to my daughter’s new apartment. Again, looking back, I believe that the one who doesn’t want us to succeed is always on the sidelines waiting for us to give in to despair.

Had I not attended that conference, I would not have met a writer whose critique eventually led me to Rachelle Gardner, my agent, who sold Walking on Broken Glass eight months after she sent it to editors.

My debut novel tells the story of Leah Thornton, a woman whose life looks pretty from the outside; she seems to “have it all.” But appearances can be deceiving because she’s a mess. She drinks to numb her pain and, until her friend confronts her with the truth, she thinks no one else has noticed. Leah admits herself to rehab, and the novel -- told from Leah’s point of view -- follows her through her recovery as she attempts to discover who she really is and what she’s willing to sacrifice to find out.

My prayer is that Leah’s story speaks to families struggling with addiction -- to tell them they’re not alone. God speaks to us through people in our lives, and we can find grace even at the bottom of an empty bottle. Alcoholism is a tough subject; one that many Christians are hesitant to discuss as an issue in their lives. As a person who has been a recovering alcoholic for over twenty years, I know that God can heal us. There is hope…even when our lives don’t follow the script we’d written for them.

I have two proposals Rachelle is now shopping. Like Walking on Broken Glass, these two novels will break open other areas that are not often at the forefront of Christian writing. My goal is not for my novels to be labeled as “edgy”; I don’t write for the purpose of sensationalizing. My passion is to comfort those facing issues in their lives, to let them know that being a Christian doesn’t mean immunity from the world’s problems. But if my words can pierce the façade, then people can see God on the other side.

View the book trailer either in the right column of this blog or a full-sized version here.

WHERE TO PURCHASE MY BOOK
Cokesbury
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Borders
Christian Book Distributors

FIND ME ONLINE:
Website
Facebook
Twitter

Book Giveaway: Leave a comment to this post and you'll be entered to a free copy of Walking on Broken Glass.

And We Have a Winner

Meredith LeBlanc won the giveaway copy of The Pastor's Wife. Congratulations, Meredith! Thanks, everyone who visited this blog and thank you to those who commented. 

Whistlestop Wednesday Book Review: Angels

Enter to Win This Book Free!
(See the instructions at the bottom of this post.)

Dr. David Jeremiah gives us a glimpse of heaven in this study of angels. He consults the Scriptures to shatter myths and misconceptions rife in our culture today. Questions Dr. Jeremiah answers include:

Are cherubim fat, naked little babies with wings? Does each person have a Guardian Angel? Do angels exist to serve mankind? What do they do in heaven?

Dr. Jeremiah demystifies the role of angels in our lives and in God's plan. He gives us an historic overview of angels, as shown in the Bible. He debunks what he calls "angelmania" and provides a balanced perspective of angels in light of the Lord of Hosts. He helps us draw lessons from our similarities to and differences from angels. He teaches us a proper view of Satan and his demons in light of eternity.

I found Angels utterly fascinating and will keep it on my shelf as a reference resource, to be read again and again. Dr. Jeremiah is at his best in his simple teaching passages that always turn our hearts and minds toward God. I highly recommend this book for all readers.

Dr. David Jeremiah is senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in San Diego, and founder of Turning Point Radio and TV Ministries. His radio program is carried on over 2,500 stations worldwide, while the TV broadcast is received by 500 million homes via cable and satellite. The recipient of numerous awards for broadcast excellence, his books have garnered Gold Medallion awards and become bestsellers with The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and the New York Times. He is a sought-after conference speaker by organizations nationwide.

© 2010 Janalyn Voigt

Click here to visit Random House and learn more about this book.

*This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.


To win this book, please leave a comment on this post or send me a private email by clicking here. Please use the subject line: Book Giveaway: Angels. Entrants limited to participants within the United States. The winner will be chosen at my discretion and announced on this blog on Friday. Thank you for entering.