THE BORROWED BOOK

Weekly Drawing

2012-01-27T00:00:00.000-06:00

It's fun Friday at The Borrowed Book, and you have several chances to win. Here's how - instead of leaving a comment, leave the time it took you to complete the puzzle in the comments section. Winners will be drawn from ALL of the times, so the person with the fastest time may not be the actual winner, but by leaving your time, you double your chances.

Want another entry? Tweet your puzzle time and mention The Borrowed Book, get another entry. RETWEET our Tweet, get two entries!

Post your puzzle time on BB's Facebook wall and...you guessed it...get another entry!

Post it on your OWN Facebook wall and you could get as many as FIVE entries.

It's all a way to spread the word about the great giveaways on BB. So c'mon! Help us spread the word, and have a little fun at the same time. :-)

This week's puzzle feature is brought to you by B.J. Robinson and her newest release, Southern Superstitions.

B.J. Robinson Interview

2012-01-26T00:13:00.000-06:00

I'm happy to welcome B.J. Robinson to The Borrowed Book today.

B. J. writes inspirational romantic suspense from her home in Florida, where she lives with her husband and pets. Visit her here and sign to follow her blog for an opportunity to win free novels. She's a member of Christian Writers Guild, graduate of Long Ridge Writers, and friend of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW).

Welcome, B.J. You've just had a book release. Please tell us the title and give a short blurb about the story.

The title is Southern Superstitions. Prayer versus Southern superstitions when a woman's husband mysteriously disappears in the swamp on a deer hunting trip. As steamy as the hot, thick, sticky heat of Louisiana, this page-turner will keep readers in suspense, as the author spins a tale of love, loss, superstitions, pain, heartache, and faith in God. God and the power of prayer versus Southern superstitions. Through belief, faith, hard work, the power of prayer, and God's help, this powerful,moving story is a thought-provoking Christian romantic suspense about a young couple who fall in love, but have to change her mother's mind in more ways than one if their relationship is to survive. Can Andy convince June there's more to their relationship than friends? Will he win the approval of Mrs. Myrtle,her mother, and can love survive strawberry season and an April flood? Will June be able to give Andy a child?

I grew up in the South and have lived here all my life. The title of your book intrigues me. What made you write about the superstitions that abound in southern society?

I grew up in the South with a superstitious mother who reared me on Bible verses and superstitions. While there are the traditional ones you've probably heard like black cats being bad luck, opening an umbrella inside a house being bad luck, and walking under a ladder, Mom had a few that I've never heard before. I was surprised to learn that black cats are considered good luck in England, I think it was. A reader told me she was surprised they were considered bad luck here.

I read that this novel began as a short story before you rewrote it into a full length novel. How did that change come about?

It won first prize in college fiction-writing competition, and I thought what better way to begin a novel than with a prize-winning short story. So, I did. Also, I liked my characters and wanted to keep writing about them instead of ending it as a short story. I love generational family sagas, and I thought about writing one and perhaps later turning it into a series.

Youre heroine June sounds like many women I know. What has happened in her life to make her a woman of deep faith?

Her mother reared her on Bible verses, and she lost her father as a child. She discovered she still had a heavenly Father.

Your hero Andy disappears on a deer hunting trip. Describe what kind of person he is.

Andy is a hard worker, fun loving, adventurous, and madly in love with June. But, he loves the woods and deer hunting. Andy loves nature and falls for June he discovers she also loves it, and she's not afraid to tromp through the woods with him.

Strawberries seem to play a role in your story. How does strawberry season and a flood impact the story?

They earn their living as honest, hardworking strawberry farmers. The flood destroys a crop and ruins vehicles, farm equipment, and property.

What are you working on now?

I'm working on my first YA novel titled One Rainy Summer, and it releases October 15. Whispering Cypress has to go through edits and will release August 15. So, I'm writing one book while I'll edit another.

What words of hope would you like to leave with our readers who may be facing a crisis of faith in their lives right now?

Trust and have faith in God, not superstitions. Sometimes it's when things seem worse when your faith will deepen when you call on God for help, and He answers. If you need help, ask God. Pray. He answers prayer.

Very true words, B.J. Thanks for being a guest on The Borrowed Book today. We wish you well with Southern Superstitions.

Spyglass Lane

2012-01-25T00:00:00.000-06:00

Ready to laugh? Swoon? And then put on your thinking cap?

Then let me tell you about a new line of cozy mysteries for e-readers for only .99 each. Spyglass Lane Mysteries is a collection of Christian cozy mysteries—modern-day whodunnits with colorful characters and plenty of wholesome romance. The mysteries are authored by some of Christian publishing’s favorite and best selling authors.

New mysteries release every Thursday and there are 21 mysteries now available in this line for just .99. So what are you waiting for? Check out the books below and click the link to purchase for your e-reader.

If you would like to be notified each week of the latest book release click here to sign up for our email newsletter or here for our RSS feed.

Buy for Kindle Buy for other devices	A Suspicion of Strawberries (The Scents of Murder Series) By Lynette Sowell A facial gone wrong, or murder? Andromeda Clark must uncover the truth to save her handmade soap business. The heartbreaker diva of Greenburg, Tennessee is dead. Andromeda Clark knows that her cherry facial scrub didn't accidentally kill Charla Rae Thacker from anaphylactic shock. But Andi's soap business is in trouble and tongues are a-waggin'. To save her business, she searches for the one who tampered with her product. And now Andi's long-time, long-haul trucker boyfriend Ben decides it's time to settle down and stay in Greenburg for good. How can a woman breathe?
Buy for Kindle	Another Grave Matter (The Volstead Manor Series) By Anita Higman Volstead Manor has caught on fire, and the last of its murderous secrets flare hot enough to drive Bailey back to her sleuthing. A villain, who remains shrouded in darkness until the end, threatens to destroy Bailey, and once again, the mansion ignites with malevolent mischief. While she unearths a family secret from Prohibition that’s hidden deep within the cellar, she becomes entangled in a ticking-clock race to save her own life. Will the foul surprises never end at Volstead Manor, and will Bailey’s burning desire to marry Max go up in smoke?
Buy for Kindle Buy for other devices	Another Hour to Kill (The Volstead Manor Series) By Anita Higman Where Bailey Walker lives, being neighborly takes on a whole new meaning. Bailey has survived the mysteries of Volstead Manor, but her latest threats are more ominous than ever. Did her neighbor B.J. die of natural causes? Or was he murdered? And why does the new neighbor, Vlad Tepes, always seem to be watching her? While searching for a lost treasure and planning a wedding the size of an amusement park, Bailey must discover what monster is still lurking in the neighborhood. Will she unravel the puzzle in time, or will Bailey merely provide the villain with Another Hour to Kill?
Buy for Kindle Buy for other devices	Another Stab at Life (The Volstead Manor Series) By Anita Higman Bailey Walker has just lost everything—her family, her job, and her home. She has nowhere to go except the dilapidated mansion she’s just inherited from her granny Minna. Unfortunately, Bailey discovers that the house has a history as shadowy as its hidden passages and finds the neighborhood overflowing with some rather quirky folks—as well as one particularly appealing bachelor. Bailey feels like she’s trapped inside the pages of a gothic novel but with a comedic twist. In order to honor her grandmother’s wishes and stay at Volstead Manor, Bailey must unravel a string of mysteries and secrets, which all seem determined to stay happily ever buried.
Buy for Kindle Buy for other devices	Band Room Bash (The Mayhem in Maryland Series) By Candice Speare Prentice This murderer is playing for keeps. When Trish Cunningham and her oldest stepson, Tommy, find Georgia Winters, the English teacher at Four Oaks High School, dead in the band room, the suspect list is lengthy. The teacher had a number of enemies—including Tommy Cunningham. Once again, Trish pulls out her notebook to collect clues. Detective Eric Scott, suffering from unrequited love for Trish’s best friend, Abbie, pointedly asks Trish to butt out. But despite the detective’s warnings, she jumps in as usual and finds herself embroiled in a mystery that has its roots in thwarted love and revenge. The finale could be Trish’s swan song.
Buy for Kindle Buy for other devices	Candy-Coated Secrets (A Summer Meadows Mystery) By Cynthia Hickey When a carnival train crashes in front of Summer Meadows’s house, she does what comes naturally – she acts without thinking and volunteers to lead an elephant to the fairground. The animal’s trainer follows close behind but disappears when they reach their destination. When Summer goes looking for the trainer, she finds something altogether different – a woman hanging dead in the shower of one of the trailers. A carnival slew of mishap and misadventure ensue when Summer and her fiancé, Ethan, set out to solve the murder.
Buy for Kindle Buy for other devices	Chocolate-Covered Crime (Summer Meadows Mystery Series) By Cynthia Hickey Summer Meadows' chocolate candy business is booming. She's overwhelmed with her April Fool's Day wedding plans, and against her family's advice, hires her cousin to be her wedding planner. But then her cousin is found murdered and more mysteries keep occurring at family parties. Can Summer resist the urge to investigate when she and her dysfunctional relatives are dipped into a plot of unrequited love, internet scam, and jilted hearts? Could the murderer be related to her and have Summer targeted next? Will her fiancé' support her sleuthing antics, or is he another suspect with something to hide?
Buy for Kindle Buy for other devices	Died in the Wool (The Massachusetts Mayhem Mystery Series) By Elizabeth Ludwig and Janelle Mowery Hone your investigative skills with Died in the Wool, a mystery filled with humor, suspense, and romance. Monah Trenary is battling for city funds for her beloved library. When a rival for the much-needed monies winds up dead, Monah is considered one of the prime suspects. When a second corpse weighs in, police detective Mike Brockman discovers that, according to the evidence, Monah and monkshood are a lethal combination. Can Monah and proven sleuth Casey Alexander find the real killer before this librarian is booked for murder?
Buy for Kindle Buy for other devices	Everybody Loved Roger Harden (Everybody’s Suspect in Georgia) By Cecil Murphey Psychologist Julie West and Reverend James Burton arrive late for dinner on Palm Island – but just in time to discover their host, millionaire Roger Harden, murdered. Ten possible suspects share closed quarters on the secluded island, all of them with deep secrets and sufficient motive to have wanted the wealthy benefactor dead. Can Julie and Burton ignore the mysterious attraction developing between them long enough to discover who among them didn't love Roger Harden enough to let him live?
Buy for Kindle Buy for other devices	Fudge-Laced Felonies (A Summer Meadows Mystery) By Cynthia Hickey While transplanting the rosebush her church’s handsome greeter, Ethan Banning, inadvertently killed, Summer and Ethan discover a hidden stash of diamonds, a rusty can full of cash, and a bloody-gardening glove. This discovery sets Summer and her candy-making aunt on a search for a killer. As Summer gets closer to the truth-not only of the theft but of her true feelings for Ethan-the diamond thief hatches a plan to hush the feisty sleuth.
Buy for Kindle Buy for other devices	George Washington Stepped Here (The Karen Maxwell Mystery Series) By K. D. Hays For years after her divorce, Karen Maxwell handled administrative paperwork for her brother’s private investigation agency while he ran around town doing the “fun” part—the investigation. When his partner retires, he finally offers her a chance to take a case of her own. She soon finds out why. The assignment involves the theft of the local historical society’s most treasured artifact, and her brother figures everyone involved is a little crazy. While Karen poses as a volunteer at the site to catch the thief, she meets a host of dedicated historical re-enactors, one of whom happens to be tall, handsome and unmarried.
Buy for Kindle Buy for other devices	Gone with the Groom (The Bridal Mayhem Mystery Series) By Janice Hanna The best laid plans of brides and men go awry when Annie Peterson’s future son-in-law Scott disappears. Have pre-wedding jitters caused Brandi’s fiance to take flight, or are more sinister forces at work? Surely Annie can solve the riddle. But who could be behind this apparent kidnapping caper? Maybe the drug company Scott works for has hidden motives. Perhaps it’s the handiwork of Otis, Scott’s deceitful dad. But then again it could be the shady wedding photographer, or the “political enemies” of Scott’s mother. Will Annie solve the mystery and recover the missing groom, or will she suffer “regrets only”?
Buy for Kindle Buy for other devices	Homicide at Blue Heron Lake (The Mainely Mysteries Series) By Susan Page Davis and Megan Elaine Davis Emily Gray returns to the lakeside community of Baxter, Maine, expecting a peaceful week in her family's island cottage. Instead, she and her high school crush, Nate Holman, discover the body of Henry Derbin, an elderly island resident. Amid rekindling her old friendship with Nate and trying to make sense of the murder, Emily shares her faith with an old schoolmate. When a second body turns up, the cottagers on Grand Cat Island are frightened and baffled. Is this why Mr. Derbin forbade everyone from going on his land? Can Emily and Nate overcome past hindrances to their romance long enough to dig up clues that will help solve both murders?
Buy for Kindle Buy for other devices	Inn Plain Sight (The Massachusetts Mayhem Mystery Series) By Elizabeth Ludwig and Janelle Mowery Come along as bride-to-be Casey Alexander works to solve the murder that hijacked her shower. She’ll find that the victim’s propensity for blackmail, gossip, and downright meanness has created a long list of suspects. Unfortunately, Casey’s fiancé is at the top of the list. Armed with her ever present Post-It Notes and the help of her best friend, Casey follows the clues to a killer hiding in plain sight.
Buy for Kindle Buy for other devices	Kitty Litter Killer (The Mayhem in Maryland Series) By Candice Speare Prentice Trish Cunningham is pussyfooting with a murderer. Amateur sleuth Trish has retired from her short-lived crime-solving foray. No more walking deliberately into danger. Now her short-term goal is to see her best friend, Abbie, marry fiancé, Eric Scott, in three weeks. But the brutal murder of Abbie’s ex-husband could ruin the nuptials, especially since Abbie was the last one seen with him—when they had a hostile argument at the local convenience store. With evidence pointing at Abbie and the possibility of jail looming in her best friend’s future, Trish comes out of her self-imposed sleuth retirement. And as the clock ticks down to the wedding date, Trish once again puts herself in reach of a murderer’s claws—this time to protect her best friend.
Buy for Kindle Buy for other devices	Murder in the Milk Case (The Mayhem in Maryland Series) By Candice Speare Prentice Will Trish Cunningham’s discovery sour her on milk forever? When mommy and wife Trish Cunningham finds the body of pharmacist Jim Bob Jenkins behind the two-percent milk, she know she’s having a bad day. Worse, she’s a suspect in the murder. Sleuthing to exonerate herself from criminal charges, she shakes up a murderer who has nothing to lose by killing anyone in the way—including Trish.
Buy for Kindle	Nipped in the Bud (Garden Gate Mysteries) By Susan Sleeman WHEN YOU FIND YOUR BOSS PUSHING UP DAISIES. . . Life in full bloom, landscape designer, Paige Turner, scores her first landscaping contract to spruce up the park, her radio talk show shoots to number one, and her retail shop is simply blossoming. Yes, her life is a bed of roses. Until she finds City Manager, Bud Picklemann served up on the blade of her favorite shovel mere hours after she’s threatened to have his head on a platter, then the thorns come out. And there is none thornier than the local police chief declaring Paige the one and only suspect and threatening to plow her under. YOU’VE GOT TO FORMULATE A PLANT OF ATTACK . . . Paige teams up with dashing attorney, Adam Hayes to weed through the list of suspects, and clear her soiled reputation. A bigmouthed Parrot who often spouts Mr. T-isms, and a giant pickle mascot join in quirky Paige’s quest to once again cultivate control of her life.
Buy for Kindle Buy for other devices	The Wedding Caper (The Bridal Mayhem Mystery Series) By Janice Hanna When a $25,000 night deposit mysteriously disappears from the Clark County Savings and Loan, Annie Peterson, has reason to be concerned and to assume the role of amateur sleuth. Her husband’s job at the bank makes him a potential suspect, but knowing him to be a godly man, she can’t imagine it. Then again, there is that matter of the weddings to factor in. Twin daughters Brandi and Candy have just received proposals and two weddings are pending. Sure, Warren occasionally jokes about robbing the bank to pay for the ceremonies, but Annie knows him better than that…doesn’t she?
Buy for Kindle Buy for other devices	Treasure at Blue Heron Lake (The Mainely Mysteries Series) By Susan Page Davis and Megan Elaine Davis Emily Gray has accepted a job working for the Baxter Journal and plans a feature story on Lakeview Lodge. Owner Jeff Lewis tells her and Nate Holman a mysterious legend about a hidden treasure and murder. Now the hunting lodge is plagued by an intruder who thumps around in the night. Nate and Emily try to help their friend discover who is invading the resort. Things turn more sinister over the Christmas holidays, when one of Jeff’s employees is murdered, with Jeff as a suspect. Is the legend of an old lumber baron’s lost treasure behind the crimes? Jeff’s faith is shaky, and his family rejects him. Nate and Emily try to help him through the crisis. In the midst of the turmoil, Nate graduates from the Police Academy and proposes to Emily. Their life together begins with unmasking the murderer at Lakeview Lodge.
Buy for Kindle Buy for other devices	Where the Truth Lies (The Massachusetts Mayhem Mystery Series) By Elizabeth Ludwig and Janelle Mowery Casey Alexander refuses to believe her aunt committed suicide. Convinced a murderer is hiding out in her aunt’s sleepy hometown, she’ll do anything to uncover the truth. But as her personal investigation produces mounting evidence, the danger to Casey grows. Now she’ll be forced to trust certain residents of Pine Mills for help, including local nursery owner, Luke Kerrigain…the man with whom she’s falling in love with…and who may be stalking her. Prompted by strange clues and a mysterious stranger, Casey does a little more digging. The secrets she unearths will turn lives upside down and threaten the peace in Pine Mills’ small community—especially when she discovers that the truth can sometimes be hidden in a lie.
Buy for Kindle Buy for other devices	Worth Its Weight in Old (Karen Maxwell Mystery Series) By K.D. Hays Paintings slashed... Furniture broken… Someone is wreaking havoc at the Blue Moon Art & Antiques Gallery. Fledgling private investigator Karen Maxwell goes undercover as a salesclerk to find out who’s behind the vandalism, and why. She learns little from friendly clerk Vicki and Eric, the shop’s surly, tight- lipped porter, would run over her with a hand truck before he’d answer any questions. The guilt may even lay with the shop owners themselves, despite the fact that they’re the ones who hired her. Karen’s investigation seems to be going nowhere—just like her once-promising relationship with Brian, the handsome blacksmith who could sweep her off her feet in a minute… if he’d ever take a break from working with the church youth group. Frustration mounts as her dreams of romantic evenings turn into endless rehearsals for the church Christmas play. If Karen can’t crack the case soon, she may find herself busted back to plain, old office manager, her dreams of a career as a private investigator—and a life with Brian—as old and busted as the Blue Moon’s vandalized antiques.

Research Trip: Antietam Battlefield

2012-01-23T23:42:00.001-06:00

In preparation for my new contract, I visited Antietam Battlefield last week, staying at the very clean, lovely guest home, the Mary Hill House. We enjoyed listening to the very knowledgeable Bob Murphy of RCM History Tours (Twitter @RCMHistoryTours). His prices are very reasonable and he accommodated our desire to walk some of the tour.

This, I believe, was a picture of the "Cornfield." Hard to say without the corn. :) One of the most intense spots of the entire battle.

Mumma Farm

Mumma Farm was the only farm burned up during the battle. The springhouse didn't burn and is pictured here:

Roulette Farm

Roulette Farm Pond and, in the distance, South Mountain (Battle of South Mountain)

Bloody Lane, called Hog Trough Lane before the battle

The tower at the end of Bloody Lane was not standing during the Civil War. Bob said people assume that it did. :)

Look at that sky! This is coming up on Sherrick Farm and Burnside Bridge (Lower Bridge)

Burnside Bridge from the Confederate side. With only 300-400 soldiers holding off over 2K because they held the higher ground.

Antietam National Cemetery

Grove House, Lee's Hdqrtrs in Sharpsburg during Confederate occupation

Do you see the shell stuck in the side of this house? Every house in Sharpsburg was used to shelter the wounded.

Lee moved the location of his Hdqrtrs to here, Oak Grove, where he pitched a tent. Meanwhile. . .

McClellan's command was centered at Pry House. Not open for tour at the time of our trip. :(

Pry House (sideview)

This is what McClellan saw from his vantage point at Pry House. The picture is dark (sorry) but there are way more trees now than there were then.

Uh, this wasn't part of the tour, but was part of the recovery. Nutter's Ice-Cream. 4 scoops for $2.95. I was sold!

YA Book Review: Replication

2012-01-23T00:00:00.001-06:00

About the Book:

"Someone is covering up multiple secrets…

Martyr—otherwise known as Jason 3:3—is one of hundreds of clones kept in a remote facility called Jason Farms. Told that he has been created to save humanity, Martyr has just one wish before he is scheduled to 'expire' in less than a month. To see the sky.

Abby Goyer may have just moved to Alaska, but she has a feeling something strange is going on at the farm where her father works. But even this smart, confident girl could never have imagined what lies beneath a simple barn. Or what would happen when a mysterious boy shows up at her door, asking about the stars.

As the reality of the Jason Experiment comes to light, Martyr is caught between two futures—the one for which he was produced and the one Abby believes God created him to have. Time is running out, and Martyr must decide if a life with Abby is worth leaving everything he’s ever known."

Amber's Review:

In Replication, Williamson takes a very controversial topic (human cloning) and uses it as the launching point for an engrossing story full of action, tender moments, and morals! It's just the book to entertain while still providing plenty of food for thought and discussion (a veritable banquet, really!).

What if you had lived your whole life underground, never knowing what mountains and trees and sky looked like? What if you had been lied to all your life about the truth of your existence? Or what if you discovered that your dad was involved in very unethical scientific research, and your house has suddenly become the hiding place for a runaway clone?

These "What if?" situations and more bring Abby and Martyr together on a bizarre but rewarding adventure. Danger awaits above the ground and under the ground. Throw in some teenage angst and some sweet romantic tension, and the stakes just got even higher!

While the portrayed incompetency of the law enforcement personnel and some minor editorial errors detract a bit from the story, the ultimate result is rather enchanting. Depending on the young adult, the story doesn't seem too scary for middle-school aged on up (although some situations are a bit intense). With the discussion questions in the back and the message about living out one's faith and purpose, Replication is a meaningful book.

*With thanks to the author for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.*

About the Author:

"Jill Williamson is a novelist, dreamer, and believer. She writes
stories that combine danger, suspense, and adventure for
readers of all ages. Her first book released in April 2009 from
Marcher Lord Press. By Darkness Hid (Blood of Kings, Book
1) is a medieval fantasy. Jill has served alongside her youth
pastor husband for the past ten years and loves working with
teenagers, especially to encourage young writers. She gives
writing workshops at churches and schools. You can learn more
about Jill on her Web site at www.jillwilliamson.com."

*You can buy the book now on Amazon.com in hardcover or e-book format!*

Winners!!

2012-01-21T00:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Saturday, BB fans! Thanks to everyone who participated in our "puzzling" Friday giveaway! Keep all those facebook and Twitter notifications, coming!

This week's winner is:

janimar - Amelia's Journey by Martha Rogers

Congratulations, renee! Please use the button in the upper right side of this page to email me with your email address. Then, sit back and wait for your book to arrive.

Thank you all so much for stopping by The Borrowed Book!

Weekly Drawing

2012-01-20T00:00:00.000-06:00

It's fun Friday at The Borrowed Book, and you have several chances to win. Here's how - instead of leaving a comment, leave the time it took you to complete the puzzle in the comments section. Winners will be drawn from ALL of the times, so the person with the fastest time may not be the actual winner, but by leaving your time, you double your chances.

Want another entry? Tweet your puzzle time and mention The Borrowed Book, get another entry. RETWEET our Tweet, get two entries!

Post your puzzle time on BB's Facebook wall and...you guessed it...get another entry!

Post it on your OWN Facebook wall and you could get as many as FIVE entries.

It's all a way to spread the word about the great giveaways on BB. So c'mon! Help us spread the word, and have a little fun at the same time. :-)

This week's puzzle feature is brought to you by Martha Rogers and her newest release, Amelia's Journey.

Gina Conroy Interview

2012-01-19T00:00:00.000-06:00

Today I'd like to welcome Gina Conroy to The Borrowed Book. Gina used to think she knew where her life was headed; now she's leaning on the Lord to show her the way. She is the founder of Writer. . .Interrupted where she mentors busy writers and tries to keep things in perspective, knowing God's timing is perfect, even if she doesn't agree with it!:) She is represented by Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary, and her first novella, Buried Deception, in The Cherry Bloosom Capers Collection released from Barbour in January 2012. Gina loves to connect with readers, and when she isn't writing, teaching, or driving kids around, you can find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Welcome, Gina. We had one of your co-authors on The Borrowed Book last week, and she told us about her novella in Cherry Bloosom Capers. Tell us the title of your story and a little about it.

My novella, Buried Deception, combines my love of mystery and suspense with my fascination with archaeology. It's about a Mount Vernon archaeology Intern and widow Samantha Steele who wants to make a good impression at her orientation, but her babysitter gets sick and she's forced to take her rambunctious children to work. There she has a run-in with security guard and ex-cop Nick Porter who's haunted by his past. Through several mishaps, a forgery is discovered, and it's up to Samantha and Nick to set aside their stubbornness and rely on each other to catch the thief. . .or the results could be deadly.

I'm going to steal the words from award-winning author Vickie McDonough who said this about my novella, "Murder. Thefts of priceless artifacts. An ornery, little boy with a penchant for getting into trouble. Gina Conroy's fast-paced debut novella has it all and takes readers on an emotional ride. A charming romance winds up this satisfying who-dun-it.

It's a fun series of novellas where characters from previous stories have cameos in the others! So if you're someone who hates to say good-bye to a "friend", then you'll enjoy the reunions in Cherry Blossom Capers.

Archaeology is an interesting occupation for a character. Do you have a background in it, or did you have to do a lot of research to write about Samantha's job?

No, I don't have a background in archaeology. I became fascinated with it when I was homeschooling my children in ancient history. Archaeology was a necessary unit study to the discovery of the past. To research archaeology for this novella, I visited archaeology sites such as Jamestown, and spoke to archaeology professors at my local university as well as the head of the archaeology lab at Mount Vernon.

Wow, you did a lot of research. Your hero Nick Porter is a security guard. I know he and Samantha work together to catch the thief, but how do the two get together to hunt for the forged artifacts?

Nick Porter is patrolling the mansion when he comes upon Samantha and her son in a room they shouldn't be in without their tour guide. In the process of clearing the room, Samantha's son destroys a priceless artifact. . .or so they think. It turns out to be a forgery and soon they both have a stake in finding the forger.

In Buried Deception, you used Mount Vernon and other popular tourist attractions in the Washington area. Had you visited these places in the past?

We visited Mount Vernon several years ago while we were homeschooling, and I thought it'd be a great setting for a mystery. Though when I decided to write the novella I realized Mount Vernon had changed since we last visited. They now have the Museum and Education Center which I researched online and learned about through talking with people who work at Mount Vernon. Other locations in the story are the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History and Christ Church. While I visited the Smithsonian when I was a child, I didn't remember much and relied on online charts, floor plans, and brochures to help me with the accuracy of the story. One research tool I love to use is Google Earth because it allows me to situate my character on the street where my story takes place. Then I can see what my character would see and use in that story.

We started a new blog to highlight these locations for interested readers. We also pull fun and interesting facts from the novellas like Chef Tara's recipes, coffee shop owner Susan's thoughts on tea and coffee, classic movie reviews on Friday night, and every Monday I highlight Mount Vernon. I'll be adding some information on archaeology and where you can attend Cherry Blossom Festivals across the nation in 2012. I think it will be a great resource!

This is your debut fiction work. Tell us how you received the news the proposal had sold.

I was in a pet store buying a snake for a teenager. Yes, a snake! He'd been hounding me for months and finally convinced me it was a good pet. (Only gets fed once a week, and doesn't smell.) I finally agreed on a corn snake and when we were browsing the rodent section of the pet store, I got a cryptic Facebook message from one of my anthology partners to check my email. I didn't have internet access on my phone, so I had to wait until I got home to read the news for myself!

There were four authors' stories in this anthology. You must have spent a lot of time communicating with them. How did the four of you handle the collaborative process?

It went quite smoothly actually. We set up an anthology email group and kept in touch through emails. We discussed locations, characters, and logistics of the story, but really didn't have a hands on in each other's novellas until the editing process when we had to double check the role and voice of our characters in each other's stories. There were times I needed to know how a certain character would say something, or a specific quirk of that character so I could write it into my story to make it more enjoyable and believable for the reader. I think it worked out pretty well for us.

What are you working on now?

I'm currently working on a story in a totally different genre. It's a women's fiction story set in 1943 about the grittier side of Rosie the Riveter and having to raise three children as a single mom. It's based on my grandmother's story and is close to my heart. My agent and I are also talking about resurrecting another story I have that has a similar feel to Buried Deception and features an archaeologist and Egyptian artifact.

What challenge for the new year would you like to leave with our readers?

Dream new dreams, resurrect old dreams, continue the pursuit of current dreams. Dream, learn, grow! There's something life-giving when we follow our passions. My newest passion is ballroom dancing. What's yours?

Thanks for being a guest on The Borrowed Book today, Gina, and I shall expect to see you as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars in the near future. It's been a pleasure to have you.

Field Trip Feature

2012-01-18T00:00:00.004-06:00

What historical is complete without horses? Western or Regency, if you're writing a historical, you've got horse issues. Here is a great video, courtesy of horsecity.com, that I found while researching Love Finds You in Calico, California. The hero, Nathan Hawk, is a livery owner, so of course, he dealt with horses on a daily basis.

Enjoy!

The Power of Round Table Conversation

2012-01-17T09:54:00.002-06:00

In preparation for conference season, let's remember a very important factor. Round table talk. It's like a tonic to those of us who are not extroverts by nature. Round table talk at conference meals is the best way to get to know an agent or editor that you hope to target. For one, the weight of carrying the conversation is distributed to all those present. Two, you get a feel for what others are offering the agent or editor, and three, their questions to the guest-of-honor will help you formulate your own and might even answer some you didn't know you had.

Still having a hard time? If you can't think of a way to begin conversation, remember that these editors and agents are as human as you. They want small talk too. Is the meal delicious? Have you especially enjoyed a class you've attended, or even made a new friend? These are great conversation starters. Your target will probably take a great breath of relief when they discover you are not going to ambush them with your great one-liners or shove another story idea in their faces.

If you're an absolute wreck of nerves, stay quiet and absorb the information around you. Don't feel pressured to say something if you don't have anything to share. Be relaxed and have a great time.

Just make sure you wipe your chin between bites.

S. Dionne Moore resides in Cumberland Valley with her husband of almost 23 years. An avid lover of history, it makes sense that she writes historical romance. Her latest book, Promise Brides, is set in various locations within Pennsylvania, including Johnstown, Greencastle/Mercersburg and Gettysburg, and includes the 2011 Carol Award Silver romance, Promise of Tomorrow.

Those Good Ol' College Days

2012-01-16T00:00:00.000-06:00

At this point in my life, what better subject to post about than my subjects in school? In any case, I figure a list of my classes will at least give you an idea of where I might be going with my "Where the Past Meets the Present" posts. ;)

I think it's fitting that my last semester of college before I graduate with my Bachelor's degree includes a veritable smorgasbord of subjects -

American Military History I (We'll be studying the Revolutionary War through Reconstruction after the Civil War. I actually took a Civil War class last semester, but I love history! Perhaps some of the research might translate into a future novel...?)

Stats and Probability (Since I needed one more math or science class, I figured stats would be helpful should I ever pursue a career in the publishing industry.)

C.S. Lewis (Would ya'll be interested in seeing some WTPMTP - "Where the Past Meets the Present" - posts featuring Lewis' work? I'm thinking I'm going to love this class!)

Ruth and Esther (I love going to a school where we can take a whole class dedicated to certain books of the Bible! I'm excited to study the stories of Ruth and Esther in depth.)

Johannine Theology (This class focuses on the theology of the books of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Revelation. It sounds challenging, but also very rewarding!)

17th-19th Century English Literature (I'm hoping I'll get some good material for my WTPMTP posts from this class, as well! We'll be reading Northanger Abbey, Gulliver's Travels, and much more throughout the semester.)

Birds and Botany of Western Oregon (It's my last semester at Corban University - so I've got to take a fun class, right? Not saying that my others classes won't be fun, but this one's a bit out of my English-major league, and it sounds great!)

OK, thanks for letting me share my class list with ya'll! (Not like you really had a choice, but I'll forego the evil laugh if you'll go along with it...) Now, here are my questions for you:

If you're still in school, do you have a favorite subject you've studied recently? If you're done with school, what was one of your favorite classes from high school or college?

Is there anything you'd specifically like to see me post about in the future regarding my classes and writing/research?

(Note: While I'm pretty sure I'm not going to change my class schedule at this point in the game, I thought I'd better note that my schedule is subject to change should any circumstances require it. Thanks again for indulging me today!)

Winners!!

2012-01-14T01:30:00.001-06:00

Happy Saturday, BB fans! Thanks to everyone who participated in our "puzzling" Friday giveaway! Keep all those facebook and Twitter notifications, coming!

This week's winner is:

renee - Daddy's Little Matchmakers by Kathleen Y'Barbo.

Congratulations, renee! Please use the button in the upper right side of this page to email me with your email address. Then, sit back and wait for your book to arrive.

Thank you all so much for stopping by The Borrowed Book!

Weekly Drawing

2012-01-13T00:00:00.013-06:00

It's fun Friday at The Borrowed Book, and you have several chances to win. Here's how - instead of leaving a comment, leave the time it took you to complete the puzzle in the comments section. Winners will be drawn from ALL of the times, so the person with the fastest time may not be the actual winner, but by leaving your time, you double your chances.

Want another entry? Tweet your puzzle time and mention The Borrowed Book, get another entry. RETWEET our Tweet, get two entries!

Post your puzzle time on BB's Facebook wall and...you guessed it...get another entry!

Post it on your OWN Facebook wall and you could get as many as FIVE entries.

It's all a way to spread the word about the great giveaways on BB. So c'mon! Help us spread the word, and have a little fun at the same time. :-)

This week's puzzle feature is brought to you by Kathleen Y'Barbo and her newest release, Daddy's Little Matchmakers.

Kathleen Y'Barbo Interview

2012-01-12T00:00:00.001-06:00

I'm welcoming Kathleen Y'Barbo to The Borrowed Book today. RITA and Carol Award nominee Kathleen is now the best-selling award-winning author of more than forty novels, novellas, and young adult books. In all, more than one million copies of her books are currently in print in the US and abroad, and her books have been translated into Dutch, German, and Spanish to name a few. Her latest release is a contemporary Texas beach series for Love Inspired. The first book in the series, Daddy's Little Matchmakers is in stores now.

A tenth-generation Texan, Kathleen has a daughter and three grown sons. She recently added her own hero in combat boots and is proud to be a military wife even if it did mean giving up her Texas drivers license.

Welcome, Kathleen. I've been hearing a lot about your new release Daddy's Little Matchmakers. Please give us a short blurb about the book.

Veterinarian Eric Wilson is confounded by the classified ad his three young daughters have placed. The handsome widower is not in the market for a bride! But when the story of his little matchmakers hits the papers, would-be brides start swamping his waiting room. Despite them all, Eric finds himself drawn to the temp worker at the classifieds office: adorable free spirit Amy Spencer. Amy's been running for a while, and it's time she planted roots. Together, can Amy and Eric realize that trusting in God's plan is the sweetest surrender of all?

Your hero Eric Wilson sounds like he has his hands full with three daughters and trying to get a vet business started. How does he cope with all that's going on in his life?

Yes, Eric definitely has his hands full, but he gets alone with God aboard his sailboat when he can. He's also a member of a widowers small group at his church, and through that group he learns how to cope with his new life in Vine Beach.

Then there's your heroine Amy Spencer. What kind of person is she?

She's the eternal optimist with a bit of wanderlust thrown in for good measure. Amy believes in love, and she's sure that someday the Lord will bless her with just the right man. Until then, she's determined to follow her heart and the road out of Vine Beach.

Vine Beach sounds like a nice seaside town to live in. How did you come up with the setting?

Vine Beach is an amalgamation of the small Texas beach towns I grew up around. Because I needed to make the location fit the story, I had to create my own city. However, a good part of the inspiration for the town of Vine Beach comes from Crystal Beach, Texas, where I spent many happy hours over the years. I recently returned to Crystal Beach and am thrilled to see how they're bouncing back from the horrific results of 2009's Hurricane Ike.

Will there be other books in this series? If so, what are their titles and when do they release?

Book 2 in the series, a Christmas themed story titled Her Holiday Hero, releases in November.

I know you are a multi-published author. Is this your first book with Love Inspired?

Yes, it is.

What are you working on now, and when will it release?

Right now I am working on edits for the next Love Inspired book. After that, I'll be turning my attention to the next historical in the queue.

What message for the new year would you like to leave with our readers?

I'm continually humbled at the response I get from readers. Thank you so very much!

And thank you, Kathleen, for being out guest on The Borrowed Book today. Kathleen's book Daddy's Little Matchmakers is available in bookstores and online now. If you want a delightful read, check it out.

Field Trip Feature ~ Louisiana

2012-01-11T00:00:00.002-06:00

Christian Fiction vs. Mainstream: The Why Of It

2012-01-10T00:05:00.002-06:00

Many Christians enjoy Christian fiction, praising it for its cleanness, quality and the challenging questions raised by plot and character. I've heard people express what a relief it is to read a book that doesn't ooze graphic sexual content or pop a curse word every sentence. Yet there are those who think Christian fiction is too light-weight in subject matter, too unrealistic. This puzzles me, for don't we read to escape the realities of a dull economy, high unemployment and constant headlines sensationalizing Hollywood drama stars whose antics prove they have about as much integrity as a Dorito? Isn't a book a way to leave the worries of life behind? And wouldn't it be natural for a Christian to choose books that showcase the religion and values they embrace?

There are some mainstream authors whose works are relatively clean. Are those the authors a Christian fiction lover gravitates to on the mainstream side?

What lures you to choose Christian fiction over mainstream? Do you agree that Christian fiction does not deal with themes that are current or relevant?

To Read or Not to Read - That is the Question!

2012-01-09T01:22:00.004-06:00

Generally we talk Christian fiction here at the BB, but today I want to talk about those moments when we choose (or refuse) to read a general market book that might be outside of our normal reading selections. What makes us tune into the buzz and pick up a book that everyone's talking about? Or what makes us decide to tune out the buzz?

For Christmas, I asked for The Hunger Games trilogy. I'm currently on part two of the first book, and I'm quite enthralled! However, so far I have successfully avoided the Twilight movies and books. For some reason, with that particular series, I wanted to be rebellious and go against the pop. culture flow.

Here are some of my reasons for picking up The Hunger Games:

#1 - The Movie

...or in this case, the trailer. I saw the movie trailer on the Black 'n Gold Girl's Book Spot blog, and it certainly captured my attention! I've watched it over and over. Everything about it - the music, the quality, the cliffhanger, and the acting - engaged me. I wanted to know more about this unique and terrifying story! If you haven't seen the trailer yet, check it out:

(Another movie-to-book experience I had was with The Last Sin Eater by Francine Rivers. I love movies directed by Michael Landon Jr., so I ended up getting the book and the movie. I watched the movie, then read the book. And I loved both!)

#2 - Word of Mouth

...especially from friends. With The Hunger Games, some of my blogging friends have been talking about the series and reviewing the books. My RA, some of my friends, and even my aunt have read the trilogy. And mostly I've been hearing great things about the books. Some have mentioned the violence and perhaps a dissatisfaction with how things turn out. But overall the WOM seems to be favorable.

#3 - The Plot

...is thought-provoking. While Twilight seems to have "entertainment" buzz, The Hunger Games seems to raise some really difficult questions and make you ask, "What would I do if I were thrown into the world of this story? What is the message of this book (and the whole series), and what can I take away from it?" From the trailer and the descriptions of the book I really wanted to find out what my own opinions are and what my answers to these questions would be.

To Read or Not to Read?

So those are the main reasons why I chose to read The Hunger Games. I'm still in the process of discovering my answers to those questions I just mentioned, and I still don't know what my final opinion will be. So this is not necessarily an endorsement of the series. With all the buzz going on right now, though, I thought this would be a good time to talk about what makes us listen to or ignore that buzz.

What about you? Have you read The Hunger Games series? Are you going to? And does anybody want to try to convince me that Twilight is worth watching or reading?

(Cover image from the author's website.)

Winners!!

2012-01-07T00:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Saturday, BB fans! Thanks to everyone who participated in our "puzzling" Friday giveaway! Keep all those facebook and Twitter notifications, coming!

This week's winner is:

Emily - Cherry Blossom Capers by Cara Putman.

Congratulations, Emily! Please use the button in the upper right side of this page to email me with your email address. Then, sit back and wait for your book to arrive.

Thank you all so much for stopping by The Borrowed Book!

Weekly Drawing

2012-01-06T00:00:00.002-06:00

It's fun Friday at The Borrowed Book, and you have several chances to win. Here's how - instead of leaving a comment, leave the time it took you to complete the puzzle in the comments section. Winners will be drawn from ALL of the times, so the person with the fastest time may not be the actual winner, but by leaving your time, you double your chances.

Want another entry? Tweet your puzzle time and mention The Borrowed Book, get another entry. RETWEET our Tweet, get two entries!

Post your puzzle time on BB's Facebook wall and...you guessed it...get another entry!

Post it on your OWN Facebook wall and you could get as many as FIVE entries.

It's all a way to spread the word about the great giveaways on BB. So c'mon! Help us spread the word, and have a little fun at the same time. :-)

This week's puzzle feature is brought to you by Cara Putman and her anthology collection, Cherry Blossom Capers.

Cara Putman Interview

2012-01-05T00:00:00.001-06:00

I'm welcoming Cara C. Putman to The Borrowed Book today. Cara lives in Indiana with her husband and four children. She's an attorney, teacher at her church, and contract lecturer or adjunct faculty at a local community college and Big Ten University. She has loved reading and writing from a young age and now realizes it was all training for writing books. An honors graduate of the University of Nebraska and George Mason University School of Law, Cara loves bringing history and romance to life.

Cara, I know your four-in-one novella Cherry Blossom Capers is releasing this month. Tell us a little about the common thread the stories share and what your story is about.

Cherry Blossom Capers tells the story of four neighbors who live in a charming community inside the beltway of Washington, D.C. Four gals with very different careers who all find trouble and love. White House assistant chef Tara Whitley works with an old flame, FBI agent Jack Courtland, to stop a plot to sabotage a state dinner. Attorney Ciara Turner and her nemesis Daniel Evans have trials tracking down a judge's murderer. Archeologist intern Samantha Steele and security guard Nick Porter are on the heels of a dangerous forger. Shop owner Susan Holland and renovator Vince Martini turn upside down her late uncle's mansion while investigating a string of mysterious accidents.

My novella is Dying for Love. Attorney Ciara Taylor is horrified when she stumbles over a judge's dead body in Alexandria. Will she be able to retain her composure and control when she joins her nemesis Daniel Evans in investigating the murder? Constantly on the opposite side of domestic cases, they have to work together to find the murderer. . .just in case the police and marshals run out of luck. As they are thrust back together, Ciara is reminded of how Daniel swept her off her feet as a clerk. Now she has to choose whether to risk her heart to love.

I love the tagline for the book--Lovers and Lawbreakers Collide Under the Cherry Trees. Who came up with that hook?

I wish I could say I did, but it was the marvelous marketing department at Barbour Publishing. It certainly sums up the book!

You wrote this book with three other authors. How did the four of you go about developing the idea that would link the stories together?

We first started developing the idea in 2007. We'd gotten to know each other through ACFW and wanted to help Gina Conroy get her first publication. We quickly landed on Washington, D.C. as the setting because of the great diversity it allows in careers, etc. From there we each picked a career we enjoyed and built our what-ifs from those ideas. It has been so fun to work together!

Is this the first time you've written a novella collection? If not, what are the others you've done?

This is my first novella. I have a second releasing in May: Rainbow's End with Nicole O'Dell, Annalisa Daughety, and Valerie Comer. It was such fun to get to do some collaborative writing. Usually writing is so solitary that for an extrovert like me it can drive me batty. Working on these two projects was a treat. I will always be grateful to Becky Germany for the opportunity.

You are a prolific writer and write across several genres. Do you find that readers follow you from genre to genre, or do you have a different reader base for each genre?

So far I think my readers have followed me to an extent. There are some fans of contemporary mysteries/suspense who will never pick up a historical and vice versa, but I've been delighted by the number who read both. I think that's because there are common elements across all my books. One would be a strong heroine who often doesn't see her strength at the beginning but as the story develops begins to see how strong she can be. Another is the common spiritual theme that no matter how bad circumstances are God never leaves us. And the third would be a strong sense of setting.

You've said that you want to write stories that help women to see how God can restore their lives and give them strength and hope. How does this apply to your story in Cherry Blossom Capers?

What a great question! In Dying for Love, Ciara assumes she's lost her only chance at love, but she comes to see that the past can be redeemed and made stronger as we lean on God for wisdom and direction.

What are you working on now, and when will it release?

Right now I'm working on the marketing for my three spring releases and waiting to hear about proposals that are out with publishers.

What message of hope would you like to leave with our readers today?

I'd call it more of a challenge. That as we launch 2012, what ways do you want to see God move in your life? I'm asking Him to call me to a deeper relationship. One where I am changed and transformed so that all anyone sees when they look at me is Him. I want an intimate relationship. And that would be my prayer for those reading this blog. That they would seek a deeper relationship with God. And that as they seek Him they would find Him in richer, deeper ways than they imagined.

It has been a pleasure to have you with us at The Borrowed Book today. Thank you for being our guest today and sharing your thoughts with us.

Cara has issued a challenge to all of us for the new year. What do you want to happen in your life this year? Leave a comment and tell us what you hope to accomplish.

Best Books of 2011

2012-01-04T00:00:00.001-06:00

Amazon released its list of The Best Selling Books of 2011 recently. Being an author myself, I was quite interested to discover which books readers found most interesting. Surprisingly, at the top of the list was Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.

Why "surprisingly"? Because unlike other legendary inventors, Jobs was never credited with life-saving innovation. Yes, he created a mammoth in the field of technology. His products touch lives around the world. But does he stand with "the Fords, Edisons, and Gutenbergs of the world," as some would claim? You decide.

Here's the product description:

Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.

At a time when America is seeking ways to sustain its innovative edge, and when societies around the world are trying to build digital-age economies, Jobs stands as the ultimate icon of inventiveness and applied imagination. He knew that the best way to create value in the twenty-first century was to connect creativity with technology. He built a company where leaps of the imagination were combined with remarkable feats of engineering.

Although Jobs cooperated with this book, he asked for no control over what was written nor even the right to read it before it was published. He put nothing off-limits. He encouraged the people he knew to speak honestly. And Jobs speaks candidly, sometimes brutally so, about the people he worked with and competed against. His friends, foes, and colleagues provide an unvarnished view of the passions, perfectionism, obsessions, artistry, devilry, and compulsion for control that shaped his approach to business and the innovative products that resulted.

Driven by demons, Jobs could drive those around him to fury and despair. But his personality and products were interrelated, just as Apple’s hardware and software tended to be, as if part of an integrated system. His tale is instructive and cautionary, filled with lessons about innovation, character, leadership, and values.

About the Author

Walter Isaacson, the CEO of the Aspen Institute, has been chairman of CNN and the managing editor of Time magazine. He is the author of Einstein: His Life and Universe; Benjamin Franklin: An American Life; and Kissinger: A Biography, and the coauthor of The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and daughter.

To see all of Amazon's Best Selling Books for 2011, click here.

Author Interview with Susan Sleeman

2012-01-03T06:48:00.000-06:00

What inspired you to become an author and when did you get your first big break?

The life long love of reading inspired me to want to write a book, but it was God who arranged free time for it to happen. I’ve always enjoyed writing from creative to technical writing I’ve done in the corporate world, and I said for years that I was going to write a book, but I was so busy working full time, raising children, and volunteering at church that I never made the time. Then I had some health issues that limited my physical activity and I was forced to sit for long periods of time. So I started to research the craft of writing and began my first book. Soon I was writing as often as I could and actively pursuing publication.

In 2008, Barbour Publishing contracted my cozy mystery titled Nipped in the Bud. This mystery line folded, not only once but twice and now many of the authors are working together to release them in e-book format under the Spyglass Lane Mysteries imprint. You can find details about the entire line at www.spyglasslanemysteries.com.

The same year, I contracted a romantic suspense book with Love Inspired and now have a three book series published in this line. These books, High-Stakes Inheritance, Behind the Badge, and The Christmas Witness feature the three Morgan brothers of Logan Lake, Oregon and can be purchased wherever books are sold.

What is the most important thing you want your readers to take from your books?

No question here. God is in charge and, if we know what’s best, we will seek His guidance and follow His leading. I guess since this is something I continually struggle with, it shows up time and again in my writing. But I know I am not the only one who has a hard time wanting to be in charge of my life and so I write about it to remind others, too. We are taught as we grow up to be independent, take charge, and make something of ourselves, and we lose sight of the fact that only with God’s guidance can we become everything He has created us to be.

What are you currently writing?

I have a new romantic suspense series called The Justice Agency releasing this year. This series is about five adopted siblings who work in various fields of law enforcement until their adoptive parents are murdered. When the police can’t figure out who killed their beloved parents the Justice siblings come together to solve the case. They discover in the process that they like working together and they form an investigative agency called The Justice Agency. They dedicate the agency to helping people who traditional law enforcement is either unable or unwilling to help. Double Exposure, the first book of this series will release in June and Dead Wrong will release in November.

Tell us about your current release.

Nipped in the Bud is book one in my Garden Gate Mystery Series. Read Between the Tines and Seed You Later, books two and three will be published later in the year. These books take place in Oregon in a fictional town named Serendipity and feature Paige Turner, a landscape designer and host of a local radio show. After Paige bickers with a town official and that day he's discovered dead in a mound of mulch, she finds herself in . . . well, a pickle! With no alibi for the time of death, she struggles to prove her innocence and needs help staying out of jail. She enlists the help of lawyer Adam Hayes and soon discovers she has feelings for him. The question is will his knowledge of the law keep her out of jail and will he win her love?

Of all the characters you’ve created in your books, which is your favorite and why?

I love Paige Turner in Nipped in the Bud for many reasons. She's a quirky character who has a habit of thinking of people by the plants they resemble and treating them accordingly. As a landscape designer and host of a local radio show with more whacky callers than legitimate gardeners, Paige is more at home with plants than people and is often uncomfortable in social settings. She is often outspoken and fails to filter what she says before speaking. She has a knack for finding trouble and there is no trouble bigger than discovering a dead body. And of course, she loves gardening, which is a passion of mine, so I can't help but like her.

SUSAN SLEEMAN is a best-selling author of inspirational romantic suspense and mystery novels. She grew up in a small Wisconsin town where she spent her summers reading Nancy Drew and developing a love of mystery and suspense books. Today, she channels this enthusiasm into writing romantic suspense and mystery novels and hosting the popular internet website TheSuspenseZone.com. Susan currently lives in Florida, but has had the pleasure of living in nine states. Her husband is a church music director and they have two beautiful daughters, a very special son-in-law and an adorable grandson. To learn more about Susan visit her at her:

Website http://www.susansleeman.com

Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/SusanSleemanBooks

Or on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/SusanSleeman

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T03:30:00.000-06:00

I wished upon a star...

And was as stealthy as could be.

But though I searched near and far...

The only present I found was me!

OK, it's late on New Year's Day (or should I say early on January 2nd?); it's my turn to post; and this is what I came up with! (I just ended that sentence with a preposition...oh, the shame!) I probably shouldn't start 2012 with a cheesy rhyming post, but there you have it! Hope it makes you smile regardless of the cheesiness. ;)

Happy New Year to all of our readers! Whatever presents you found this year under the tree at Christmas, I hope you enjoy the present God has given us in this day, as well as His profound gifts of grace and love. May God bless you all!

(Note: Muffin Man - the cat - did, in fact, get cat treats for Christmas, but he appeared to enjoy the empty boxes and such immensely. He makes a pretty cute gift, don't ya think?)

Happy Birthday!!

2011-12-31T11:53:00.001-06:00

Sandra R, Amber and I would like to wish our dear friend, Sandra Moore, a very happy and HARMONIOUS birthday...(grins).

PS...I'm the skinny one. ;-)

Winners!!

2011-12-31T00:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Saturday, BB fans! Thanks to everyone who participated in our "puzzling" Friday giveaway! Keep all those facebook and Twitter notifications, coming!

This week's winner is:

Anita Mae Draper - Swallowed by LIFE: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal by Ada Brownell

Congratulations, Janet! Please use the button in the upper right side of this page to email me with your email address. Then, sit back and wait for your book to arrive.

Thank you all so much for stopping by The Borrowed Book!

Weekly Drawing

2011-12-30T00:00:00.001-06:00

It's fun Friday at The Borrowed Book, and you have several chances to win. Here's how - instead of leaving a comment, leave the time it took you to complete the puzzle in the comments section. Winners will be drawn from ALL of the times, so the person with the fastest time may not be the actual winner, but by leaving your time, you double your chances.

Want another entry? Tweet your puzzle time and mention The Borrowed Book, get another entry. RETWEET our Tweet, get two entries!

Post your puzzle time on BB's Facebook wall and...you guessed it...get another entry!

Post it on your OWN Facebook wall and you could get as many as FIVE entries.

It's all a way to spread the word about the great giveaways on BB. So c'mon! Help us spread the word, and have a little fun at the same time. :-)

This week's puzzle feature is brought to you by Ada Brownell and her nonfiction book Swallowed by LIFE: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal.

Ada Brownell Interview

2011-12-29T00:00:00.001-06:00

I am delighted to have Ada Brownell with us today at The Borrowed Book. Ada is a retired newspaper reporter for The Pueblo Chieftain in Colorado and now is a free lance writer who lives in Missouri. She has had 250 articles and stories published in Christian publications. Her latest book, Swallowed by Life: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal is available at amazon.com. You can find out more about Ada at her website or at her blog.

Welcome, Ada. I understand you have a new non-fiction book that just released. Tell us the name and give us a short blurb about it.

The title of the book is Swallowed by LIFE: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal.

Do you know you are more than a physical body? Evidence shows our body is constantly dying and being renewed cell by cell and about every seven years ojur body is totally rebuilt-even our bones. We start as an egg about the size of a dust mite, yet we were the same person in the womb we are today. We may lose limbs, gain and lose weight, have vital organs removed and mechanical or transplanted parts inserted, and we're still the same person. Inside us is LIFE, and a soul and spirit which were designed by God for eternal life.

What influenced you to write a book about life after death?

We lost our 31-year-old daughter to an aggressive form of lymphoma. Suddenly I needed to know if I believed what I thought I did about heaven and the eternal. Using my contacts as a medical newspaper reporter and my familiarity with the Bible, I researched everything I could find and picked experts' brains. I underlined every scripture in the New Testament that had to do with eternal life. But it took me years to complete the book.

In your personal experience of losing a loved one, how did God comfort you?

He is the Comforter and peace is a fruit of the Spirit. I had amazing peace and comfort much of the time, but still the grieving process can be excruciating. God in His mercy allowed me to travel the road through grief a few steps at a time. He didn't dump it all on me at once. I believe we are designed so that physically we have a measure of shock and we don't feel the pain as deeply as we would without it. But then the Lord takes our hand and leads us safely through the jagged painful places. He promised to never leave us or forsake us-and He doesn't. It helps to stay in God's Word and spend lots of time on our knees. We also can lean on loved ones and soak in the Lord's presence when we're in His house.

What do you want readers to take away from Swallowed by LIFE?

Those who don't know the Lord: Amazement at the evidence we have that we're more than a body.
Individuals who fear death or are curious about it: Faith they can trust Jesus to keep His words from John 11:26 that whoever believes in Him will never die.
For religion classes: Deeper faith and a desire to tell others.
For grief or cancer support groups: comfort
People with chronic or terminal illness: Certainty that this life is just the beginning
Thos who counsel the terminally ill and grieving: That they testify God still does miracles and heals. But I hope they share the physical evidence we have for eternal life, and point out the reason Jesus came to earth was to do something about death. Jesus is the Redeemer promised in Genesis 3:15 right after Adam and Eve sinned. God warned the first couple if they ate the forbidden fruit, they would die. There in God's garden, they became mortals. Their flesh would be subject to illness and dying, and it would affect every person born thereafter.

Where can readers purchase your book?

It can be purchased at Amazon, and it should be in some retail outlets soon.

What are you working on now?

I have a Christian historical novel, The Belle from Peachville, and hope to get an agent or publisher soon. I also have a teen novel, Terror Blasters being considered by a publisher. I also write for Christian publications and do op-ed pieces now and then for newspapers.

What message about life after death would you like to leave with our readers?

John 3:16 says it all: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

That's a wonderful verse to leave with our readers today. It's been a pleasure having you on The Borrowed Book, Ada. We wish you much success in your writing journey.

Field Trip Feature ~ Steel City Pizzeria

2011-12-28T00:07:00.000-06:00

In the Beginning. . .

2011-12-27T00:05:00.006-06:00

Getting ready to begin a new manuscript can be a daunting thing. At the beginning of this year I start a contracted work for Abingdon's newest Quilt series. At this point the proposal has been approved, the contract is in place, the vaguest of research has been conducted--usually enough to give some idea of setting as background for the proposal, but not enough to consider research complete enough to support an entire story--and all looks well. But as every writer knows, nailing those first chapters is the toughest nut to crack. There are so many elements that need to be established. For your convenience, I've included a list of guidelines to help you scale the hump that is "Chapter One."

First chapter essentials:

Prologues are optional but if used they should add dimension to the story and be relevant.

The hook needs to be interesting without being forced. If you can't think of anything brilliant revisit the first line later.

Weave in setting with the opening dialogue and narrative.

Use snippets of the characters backstory to raise questions, add interest and establish characteristics unique to your protagonist.

Award winning novelist S. Dionne Moore is a recently named 2011 Carol Award finalist. She enjoys history and spending time with her family on their little plot of heaven in PA.

For more information, visit her at www.sdionnemoore.com. Follow her on Twitter: @sdionnemoore, or join me on LinkedIn.

Fantasy Book Review: By Darkness Hid

2011-12-26T00:00:00.001-06:00

About the Book:

"Half of Er’Rets is locked beneath an impenetrable shroud. On the side that still sees the sun, two young people struggle to understand the mind-communication abilities thrust upon them. It’s called bloodvoicing. Some say it’s a gift. One of the newly 'gifted' wish it had never come.

Achan has been a slave all his life. He is consigned to the kitchens of a lord and forced to swallow a foul potion every day. When an enigmatic knight offers to train Achan for the Kingsguard, he readily accepts. But his new skills with the sword do not prepare him for the battle raging between the voices in his head.

Vrell Sparrow is not who she seems. She masquerades as a boy to avoid capture by the powerful forces that seek to exploit her. But Vrell feels called to help a young squire who recently discovered his bloodvoicing gift, even if doing so requires her to work with those who could destroy her.

While Achan learns to use his new ability, Vrell struggles to shut hers down. All the voices strive to learn Achan and Vrell’s true identities—and a different kind of voice is calling them both."

Amber's Review:

An exciting and intriguing beginning to the "Blood of Kings" trilogy, By Darkness Hid is a fabulous fantasy novel! An imaginative world, dastardly villains, and plenty of plot twists abound in this book that has a lot to offer fantasy fans of either gender.

Achan is a boy on the verge of manhood - and on the verge of an epic adventure. It would be a dream come true for him to find a life beyond kitchen duty at the palace. But when he discovers he has a powerful gift and a destiny that unfolds one step at a time, Achan realizes that reality can sometimes be bigger than a mere dream. Challenges come one right after the other, and the physical pain matters little compared to the sacrifices he must make in order to truly love others and serve the God whose voice is the only one that brings fire and peace inside of him.

Vrell took on the appearance of a boy in order to escape marriage plans of which she wants no part. But what started out as a simple and relatively safe secret quickly escalates into a dangerous deceit that could spell disaster for her future. Barely able to make contact with her mother in another part of Er'Rets, she ends up in some pretty crazy circumstances that leave her clinging to her faith and fighting for her life.

The book ends with some big questions that beg to be answered - meaning that it's a wonderful thing By Darkness Hid isn't the end of the story! While it can be very frustrating waiting for certain secrets to be revealed, this book makes the waiting very fun indeed. If you love a good story, then you might want to consider taking a journey to Er'Rets - although don't be surprised if you realize you want to plan a return trip as soon as you come to the last page of By Darkness Hid!

*With thanks to the author for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.*

About the Author:

Jill Williamson is a novelist, dreamer, and believer. She writes stories that combine danger, suspense, and adventure for readers of all ages. Her first book released in April 2009 from Marcher Lord Press. By Darkness Hid (Blood of Kings, Book 1) is a medieval fantasy. Jill has served alongside her youth pastor husband for the past ten years and loves working with teenagers, especially to encourage young writers. She gives writing workshops at churches and schools. You can learn more about Jill on her Web site at www.jillwilliamson.com.

Book Trailer:

*You can buy the book now on Amazon.com in print or e-book format!*

Winners!!

2011-12-24T00:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Saturday, BB fans! Thanks to everyone who participated in our "puzzling" Friday giveaway! Keep all those facebook and Twitter notifications, coming!

This week's winner of our special .pdf book is:

Janet Ruth - When Love Collides by Michelle Sutton

Congratulations, Janet! Please use the button in the upper right side of this page to email me with your email address. Then, sit back and wait for your book to arrive.

Thank you all so much for stopping by The Borrowed Book!

Weekly Drawing

2011-12-23T00:00:00.002-06:00

It's fun Friday at The Borrowed Book, and you have several chances to win. Here's how - instead of leaving a comment, leave the time it took you to complete the puzzle in the comments section. Winners will be drawn from ALL of the times, so the person with the fastest time may not be the actual winner, but by leaving your time, you double your chances.

Want another entry? Tweet your puzzle time and mention The Borrowed Book, get another entry. RETWEET our Tweet, get two entries!

Post your puzzle time on BB's Facebook wall and...you guessed it...get another entry!

Post it on your OWN Facebook wall and you could get as many as FIVE entries.

It's all a way to spread the word about the great giveaways on BB. So c'mon! Help us spread the word, and have a little fun at the same time. :-)

This week's puzzle feature is brought to you by Michelle Sutton and her new release, When Love Collides (winner receives a .pdf copy of Michelle's book).

Michelle Sutton Interview

2011-12-22T00:00:00.001-06:00

I'm delighted to welcome Michelle Sutton to The Borrowed Book today. Michelle, otherwise known as the Healing Hearts author, is a prolific reader/book reviewer/blogger, and the author of over a dozen inspirational novels. She lives in Arizona with her husband of over twenty years and her two college aged sons.

Welcome, Michelle. It's great to have you as a guest today. You have a book releasing this month. Give us the title and a short blurb about the book.

The title of the book is When Love Collides. Raquel longs for physical healing, but God uses someone from a dark time in her past to heal something more important...her heart.

I like the name Raquel that you've given your heroine. She is described as an emotionally fragile woman. What has happened in her past to make her that way?

She married a man ten years prior who acted violently toward her, so she learned to tread carefully around people so she wouldn't provoke wrath in others. She has trust issues as well from her father leaving her and her sister as young girls, pluse she felt like a plain woman next to her gorgeous sister who always attracted more attention from men.

Many individuals (women, men, children) are victims of abuse. How do you deal with the subject in your book?

I show how even a decade after an abusive relationship ends the victim may continue to deal with the ramifications from that one negative relationship spilling over into another. There is always a bit of mistrust and waiting for things to fall apart. Normal anger takes on a different meaning, as well as typical male/female arguments, which seem more threatening. Everything is filtered through the "lens" resulting from abuse.

When readers encounter a character who is suffering from past experiences, they want to see someone who is going to be able to help that person cope with the past. How does your hero Scott help her do that?

Scott tries to see past her behavior to support whatever it is that is causing her pain. She doesn't tell him at first because she fears rejection. He just knows some bad things happened to her. As she slowly tells him about it over a period of time, he finds himself showing more and more empathy, not pity, for her situation. This causes her to grow stronger, and it helps their love to not only blossom, but deepen over time.

What do you want readers to take away from your story after reading When Love Collides?

That healing can occur no matter how damaged the heart is or how much trust was destroyed. If Christians loved like we are supposed to, more people would be open to a relationship with Christ, but it's so much easier for many people to point the finger and judge. It's sad, actually. Also I wanted readers to see that true love is not about doing things for each other or seeing yourself as valuable to another person, it's about a heart connection. Raquel had a hard time seeing herself as anything but a potential burden on Scott due to her debilitating symptoms. He showed her that no can love him like she did and that was what mattered most.

I like how you describe yourself as an author of Healing Hearts. How does this theme play out in all your books?

I always have situations where people are broken hearted for one reason or another. I like to show how healing can occur in many different forms, but the key to all healing is true Christian love. I write for the "walking wounded" if you will. At the end of every story is a theme that even if they could go back and take away all the pain, they wouldn't because it is often the very thing that brought them closer to God and to each other.

When Love Collides releases, where will readers be able to purchas it?

The best place to get it is directly from the publisher (who sells it in every format...mobi is for kindle and epub is for other ereaders.) That address is here. However, it will also be available on Amazon directly as well as Nook, Sony, Ibooks, and a number of other places that sell ebooks.

Although December is usually filled with much happiness, we know there are many people whose hearts are heavy this time of year. What Christmas message would you like to leave with our readers to let them know how their hearts can be healed?

The scripture that comes to mind is one that Jesus said in John Chapter 14. "Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also."

Thank you, Michelle, for those inspiring words from the Bible. I know our readers have enjoyed finding out more about your book today.

Michelle would like to give away a free copy of her book in pdf form. Leave a comment about a time when God healed your heart, and you could be the winner.

Have a Merry Christmas, dear friends.

Field Trip Feature ~ Christmas Traditions Edition

2011-12-21T00:00:00.006-06:00

One of my favorite holiday traditions is gathering with all of my sisters and mother and cooking Christmas dinner. I'm Hispanic, so of course our meal consists of a few non-traditional side-dishes, tamales being one of my favorites. But there are plenty of traditional items as well, and one that is quickly becoming a family favorite is homemade pretzels! I picked up this Vintage Pretzel Recipe when traveling to St. Louis last September for a writer's conference. I'd like to share it with you in hopes that it will become something you share with your family for many years to come.

Vintage Pretzels

Originally named “pretiola”, which came from the Latin meaning little reward, pretzels are considered one of the oldest snack foods in history. Documentation revealed French monks first baked pretzels as rewards for children learning their prayers as early as 610 A.D. Other historians trace the hard, brittle glazed pretzel to Germany where the dough was shaped in the form of the letter B, which stood for Bretzel. It was the immigrants from these countries who are credited with bringing the pretzel to America.

While pretzels were baked in America since colonial times, the first successful American pretzel bakery opened in Lititz, Pennsylvania in 1861. There, the hard pretzel had its beginnings when a baker’s apprentice dozed off while baking soft pretzels. The result was a crisp, crunchy snack. However it was the soft pretzel that was favored in the Midwest, which has been sold on the streets of Saint Louis since the late 19th century.

*Information borrowed from Levee Mercantile at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. To learn more about the Levee Mercantile or the Jefferson National Parks Association, visit them at http://www.jnpa.com/.

Merry Christmas from The Borrowed Book!

Tips for the Writing from Real-Life Authors (as opposed to fake-life authors?)

2011-12-20T00:26:00.001-06:00

Where the Past Meets the Present: It's a Wonderful Life

2011-12-19T00:00:00.002-06:00

It's that time of year - so let's take a part of Christmas past and apply it to Christmas present!

I recently watched It's a Wonderful Life with a few friends, and it really touched me. Here is the story of a man who sacrificed for his family and ended up staying at home his whole life, never even getting to go away to college or travel for his honeymoon or serve overseas in World War II. The movie shows parts of George Bailey's past leading up to the moment when everything seems to be falling apart, and then it turns the viewers' perceptions upside down - or is that right-side up?

What makes this movie so enchanting? It tells the tale of a simple hometown life, lacking in grand adventure and exceptional danger. And yet its authenticity and applicability make it a beautiful story.

Authenticity: This story deals with real issues and feelings - anger, frustration, financial problems, low self-esteem, and familial discord. Seeing all the trials that George goes through creates sympathy for his character, helping the viewer to take a walk in his shoes and see what leads him to the lowest point in his life as well as the surprise that comes when George discovers just how important one life can be. When writing stories, we want readers to be able to relate to our characters, understand their difficulties, and become so involved in their lives that the readers experience emotions right alongside the characters. Stories that bring us to tears or cause us to verbally reprimand characters (or cheer them on) are ones that better stick with us than ones that don't demand any sort of response. And I think most writers want to write unforgettable stories!

Applicability: It's a Wonderful Life has the message embedded in the title, for it's a story that shows viewers how precious the gift of life really is for a person and all the people that one person's life affects. Simple but profound. While we can't see what the world would be like if we were never born as George did, we can praise God for the glimpses we are given of His amazing weaving of lives and circumstances that ultimately brings Him glory. And as writers, may our stories show God's truth and offer readers a take-away message that can encourage, challenge, and inspire them. The goal isn't to "preach" at readers, but to show them through a well-told story the wonder of God's love.

It's a Wonderful Life is a great example of a story that incorporates authenticity and applicability in order to move and inspire viewers. But while we can learn from the movie regarding the craft of story-telling (whether through movies or books or some other means), we can also learn from the movie regarding the life of a writer (or whatever lifestyle God has called you to embrace).

Perhaps you won't always be able to see the way your work blesses others. Perhaps your work doesn't pay well, or God doesn't lead you in the way you always thought you would go. But no matter what God has in store for us, He is good - and it's a wonderful life!

(Movie cover image from IMDb.com.)

Winners!!

2011-12-17T00:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Saturday, BB fans! Thanks to everyone who participated in our "puzzling" Friday giveaway! Keep all those facebook and Twitter notifications, coming!

This week's winner is:

Missy Tippens - After the Snow Falls by Carey Jane Clark

Congratulations, Missy! Please use the button in the upper right side of this page to email me with your mailing address. Then, sit back and wait for your book to arrive.

Thank you all so much for stopping by The Borrowed Book!

Weekly Drawing

2011-12-16T00:00:00.000-06:00

It's fun Friday at The Borrowed Book, and you have several chances to win. Here's how - instead of leaving a comment, leave the time it took you to complete the puzzle in the comments section. Winners will be drawn from ALL of the times, so the person with the fastest time may not be the actual winner, but by leaving your time, you double your chances.

Want another entry? Tweet your puzzle time and mention The Borrowed Book, get another entry. RETWEET our Tweet, get two entries!

Post your puzzle time on BB's Facebook wall and...you guessed it...get another entry!

Post it on your OWN Facebook wall and you could get as many as FIVE entries.

It's all a way to spread the word about the great giveaways on BB. So c'mon! Help us spread the word, and have a little fun at the same time. :-)

This week's puzzle feature is brought to you by Carey Jane Clark and her new release, After the Snow Falls.

Precarious Yates Interview

2011-12-15T00:00:00.001-06:00

I am delighted to have Precarious Yates as a guest on The Borrowed Book today. Precarious whose real name is Sarah Smith has lived in eight different countries but currently lives in Texas with her husband, her daughter,and their mastiff. When she's not writing, she enjoys music, teaching, playing on jungle gyms, praying, and reading. She holds a Masters in the art of tea and coffee and a PhD in Slinky. You can learn more about Precarious and about the issues discussed in her novel by visiting http://www.precariousyates.com/.

Welcome to The Borrowed Book, Precarious. You've just released your debut novel The Elite of the Weak, and it sounds intriguing. Tell us what the story is about.

The Elite of the Weak is set in the near future when Babylon is rebuilt over the ancient ruins. Odd political alliances are forged and strong earthquakes occur in strange places.

Trained to do covert missions from a young age, Hadassah enjoys few things more than thrills, whether it's jumping out of an airplane, a high speed chase after a Somali pirate or crawling through the air ducts in a mafia-owned warehouse. But nothing is more thrilling than rescuing kids from human trafficking. The only thing is, she might do better on a team than on her own.

Enter Revelation Special Ops and their unique short-term mission trips. This elite group of people, R.S.O., is trained to rescue kids from the darkest forms of human trafficking. And they may be willing to take seventeen-year-old Hadassah on board.

It sounds exciting. There has been a lot in the media recently about human trafficking. What made you write this story for a YA audience?

When I was twenty-two and first learning about human trafficking, I was appalled not only by what I learned, but also by what I believed. Beforehand, I thought (1) slavery was eliminated across the globe, and (2) most prostitutes chose their lifestyle.

I was wrong on both accounts. I was dead wrong.

When I sat down to write The Elite of the Weak, I geared it toward Young Adult. I wanted teens to not only be aware of the situation, but to know there are solutions to the problems. Organizations such as IJM http://www.ijm.org/, Exodus Cry http://www.exoduscry.com/
and Love146 http://www.love146.org/ actively work toward rescue, restoration, and prevention.

I love the name of your heroine. How did you come up with the name for Hadassah?

Before the summer 2010, I had never seen so many crepe myrtles blooming everywhere. I looked up the Hebrew for 'myrtle' and discovered that the name Hadassah, Queen Esther's original name, means 'myrtle'. I knew from that moment my main character would have this name.

Not only do I like your heroine's name, I like your pen name. What made you choose it?

When I was 23, I wrote a five act play called The Precarious Redemption of Laodicea. The main character, Precarious, was a bull-in-the-china-shop evangelist who grew honest with herself and dedicated her life to the Lord's will to rescue girls caught in sex slave trafficking. She needed to see the light of day even if the play never would. Yates is a family name.

I can tell you have a heart for the oppressed. What has fostered that concern for others in your life?

Eleven years ago I worked with my dad's friend who was putting together a film about the issue of human trafficking in Eastern Europe. After the fall of the Soviet Bloc, girls were promised jobs as actresses, waitresses, or dancers in more prosperous countries. Once they crossed the boarders, the girls were thrown into brothels and their passports confiscated. I was horrified when I learned about this, and from that summer on I set my heart to become an abolitionist.

Since then, every time I wrote creatively, the issue of human trafficking sprang onto the page. My heart was too broken about this to ignore it. So I decided to plot and plan a novel that came from this place in my heart.

Was there a special reason why your book with such a sobering message released at this time of the year when people are focused on celebrating Christmas?

December 2 is the day designated by the UN as the day to stand against human trafficking. But more than that, there is The Advent Conspiracy. In the true spirit of Christmas, Christians all over the globe are banding together to see 1,000,000 people resuced from forced labor. http://www.ijm.org/content/advent-conspiracy

There are at least 27,000,000 children who are forced laborers. If you can't donate, please pray for those rescuing slaves!

What message would you like to leave for our readers about how they can help in the fight against human trafficking?

First of all, Jesus is the Great Abolitionist and the Great Emancipator. This is not a hopeless situation because in Him there is great hope!

Connect with organizations that work to end human trafficking. Also, befriend or mentor someone within the foster care system. Around 95% of kids exploited in the US have been through the foster care system.

Thank you for this enlightening interview, Precarious. My eyes have been opened to the injustices that many are facing in the world today. I know our readers have also been made of aware of the great need of many individuals.

Precarious would like to give one of our readers the gift of her autographed book. If your heart has been touched by this interview, leave a comment, and you may be the winner.

Field Trip Feature ~ Christmas Traditions Edition

2011-12-14T00:00:00.002-06:00

Welcome to Riga, Latvia: Birthplace of the Christmas Tree.

Eye to the Experts: The Back-Space Key of Life

2011-12-13T00:10:00.001-06:00

Last week, I was thinking this morning about milestones in history, perhaps because it was December 7, or Pearl Harbor Day in the United States.

Not all milestones are tragic, of course, but the important ones profoundly changed how we lived. On 4 September 1882, Thomas Edison threw the switch on the first electrical power distribution system. For the very first time, electricity was provided directly to people’s homes. On 18 October 1952, the transistor radio – the Regency TR-1 – hit the shelves. For the first time, recorded music was now portable.

For creativity, I think one of the milestones is an unnamed day in April 1973, when IBM announced the Correcting Selectric II. An improvement from the original IBM Selectric, this advanced typewriter had a key allowing the typist to back-space and then overstrike the previous character, thereby erasing it.

How could a single key be such a milestone?

Think about it. Two opposing forces, working simultaneously. You could interrupt your creativity with the negative act of censuring and editing. That can’t be good for the brain. It’s like a car trying to go forward and backwards at the same time.

The effect was more than just yin and yang. The act of editing was also an act of distraction. As distractions increase, our ability to focus on one thing would soon be gone forever.
This idea is incomprehensible to anyone who grew up without an easy keyboard. They never learnt how to create by hand. Before QWERTY, we composed our thoughts a nano-second before they came out of our head. Because you couldn’t easily change your mind, you gave a bit more consideration to how you expressed your ideas and transferred them from head to paper.

By April 1973, you could now adjust a word, a phrase, a clause. Edit out sentences. Remove a whole damning paragraph. The need to edit became as equally available – if not addictive? – as the need to create. Two steps forward, one step back. Or worse, one step forward, and two steps back.

I am constantly amazed at how many things there are in life which prohibit and damped one’s creativity. I can understand the outside influences – distractions and politics at work, society and peer pressures, traditional mores and negative attitudes. The one I don’t understand are the ones which we impose upon ourselves. Self-doubt is poison, and ironically we make it ourselves and its most dangerous to ourselves. Why we allow things – simple things, like a back-space key – to intrude on our ability to create is beyond me. If I ever got a tattoo, I’d put Lao Tzu quote from Chapter 33 of the Tao Te Ching on my fore-arm, to remind me every day that “Those who overcome themselves are strong.”

As an experiment, I tried to go back to those days. I did, for a week. I found a gorgeous old typewriter in Sydney at a garage sale for $10. Steely industrial blue with firm keys printed with white Arial letters.

It was heady at first. The convincing whirl of the cylinder as I rolled in a spotless white page. The click-clack of the hammers as they struck the paper with my ideas. The enormously satisfying swing to throw the carriage back to the beginning and start a new line.

The romance ended the moment I typed something I didn’t like. I stopped, I read the entire sentence. I was editing my thoughts before I’d even finished the sentence. I typed a new word, but didn’t like that one either. So I re-typed the sentence.

As I struggled to get to the end of the second paragraph, I realized this one would be preferable to the first. I whisked out the paper, made some jotting notes in red pen, and scrolled in a new paper. Hold on, I needed more coffee. I came back to my desk (after I stopped to add something to the grocery list), and realized I hadn’t called someone. Then I found myself typing and talking on the phone at the same time. I started taking notes from my conference call in the middle of my writing.

Later than day, the typewriter went back in its box, and I hugged by wireless keyboard.

I found this marvelous quote from author Will Self, in an interview with The Guardian in 2008. “Writing on a manual typewriter makes you slower in a good way, I think. You don't revise as much, you just think more, because you know you're going to have to retype the entire (expletive) thing. Which is a big stop on just slapping anything down and playing with it."

You don’t have to throw out your iPhone-droid and pull out the Smith-Corona because the concept of the back-space key isn’t going away. But I do think all of us need to learn how to control both the one on our keyboards and the one in our mind.

Perhaps to be more creative, all we really need to do is slow down and think. We need to allow our thoughts to come out, to be expressed. Do we really need to instantly judge our thoughts the moment they’re born? I can tell you this about egg farmers. They don’t grade the eggs the moment they’re hatched.

I’m also not a big fan of bashing modern technologies, because many of them have value. But rather than complain and damn these improvements, perhaps we simply need to put them into proper context. There is a time for efficiency and accomplishment. But there’s also a time for creativity and thoughtfulness.

Wouldn’t it be the most pleasurable holiday to simply turn off the mind? Ah, to let our mind wander and think. To focus on just one thing.

“Do one thing well and the world will beat a path to your door,” said Emerson.

Imagine. What could you do if you stopped using the back-space key?

Andy Eklund is a professional facilitator, specialising in creativity and brainstorms. In the past 15 years, he’s accumulated more than 35,000 hours conducting meetings, working in 19 countries on 4 continents. His company AQUS LLC works in the areas of strategic planning using LEGO Serious Play, creativity, and communications skills training. His blog can be found at www.andyeklund.com, and his website at www.aqus.info.

Book Spotlight: After the Snow Falls

2011-12-12T00:00:00.001-06:00

A new women's fiction title!

About the Book:

"In the middle of a soccer drill, in an awful, awkward moment, Celia Bennett's eight-year-old son Caleb lands on his face and chest in the grass. The diagnosis blindsides her, bringing her face-to-face with every parent's worst nightmare.

Desperate to save her son’s life, Celia pursues a cure through alternative medicine, but her quest ends in frustration and disappointment. Facing despair, hope walks in on the most unlikely set of legs, when her father returns after a 30-year absence. Can she release pain to embrace hope? Will it make a difference, or is it too late?"

About the Author:

Carey Jane Clark - "I'm a homeschool mother by day, writer by night. The writing bug afflicted me early in life. The first two stories I recall writing were about kidnapped insects and dancing pumpkins. It's been a few years since those stories were penned. Thank goodness, no copies remain.

Now, I write to inspire courage, hope and conviction. After the Snow Falls is my first novel."

Book Trailer:

After the Snow Falls Trailer from Carey Jane Clark on Vimeo.

Want more?

Read the first chapter of After the Snow Falls.

Check out Carey's website, including her blog tour schedule.

Buy this book!

*Stop by on Friday to put together a puzzle and learn how to gain extra entries in the drawing for an e-book copy of After the Snow Falls!*

Winners!!

2011-12-10T00:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Saturday, BB fans! Thanks to everyone who participated in our "puzzling" Friday giveaway! Keep all those facebook and Twitter notifications, coming!

This week's winner is:

cluedn - Thyme for Love by Pamela S. Meyers

Congratulations, cluedn! Please use the button in the upper right side of this page to email me with your mailing address. Then, sit back and wait for your book to arrive.

Thank you all so much for stopping by The Borrowed Book!

Weekly Drawing

2011-12-09T00:00:00.000-06:00

It's fun Friday at The Borrowed Book, and you have several chances to win. Here's how - instead of leaving a comment, leave the time it took you to complete the puzzle in the comments section. Winners will be drawn from ALL of the times, so the person with the fastest time may not be the actual winner, but by leaving your time, you double your chances.

Want another entry? Tweet your puzzle time and mention The Borrowed Book, get another entry.

Post your puzzle time on BB's Facebook wall and...you guessed it...get another entry!

Post it on your OWN Facebook wall and you could get as many as FOUR entries.

It's all a way to spread the word about the great giveaways on BB. So c'mon! Help us spread the word, and have a little fun at the same time. :-)

This week's puzzle feature is brought to you by Pamela S. Meyers and her new release, Thyme for Love.

Roseanna White Interview

2011-12-08T00:00:00.001-06:00

Today I'm delighted to welcome Roseanna White to The Borrowed Book. Roseanna grew up in the mountains of West Virginia, the beauty of which inspired her to begin writing as soon as she learned to pair subjects with verbs. She spent her middle and high school days penning novels in class, and her love for books took her to a school renowned for them. After graduating from St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, she and her husband moved back to the Maryland side of the same mountains they equate as home. In addition to writing, Roseanna is the senior reviewer at the Christian Review of Books, which she and her husband founded, the senior editor at WhiteFire Publishing, and a member of ACFW, His Writers, and Colonial Christian Fiction Writers.

Welcome, Roseanna. I know you have a book releasing from Summerside Press titled Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland. Tell us a little about the book.

Usually I put these descriptions in my own words, but I actually wrote this back cover copy (with minor tweaking from Summerside), so. . . .:)

In 1784 peace has been declared, but war rages in the heart of Lark Benton.

Never did Lark think she'd want to escape Emerson Fielding, the man she's loved all her life. But when he betrays her, she flees to Annapolis, Maryland, the country's capital. There Lark throws herself into a new circle of friends who force her to examine all she believes.

Emerson follows, determined to reclaim his betrothed. Surprised when she refuses to return with him, he realizes that in this new country he has come to call his own, duty is no longer enough. He must learn to open his heart and soul to something greater...before he loses all he should have been fighting to hold.

That sounds great. I can hardly wait to read it. But I know you had written two Biblical fiction novels before this. What made you decide to write in a different time period?

My love has alwasy been for history, not a particular time or place. My first historicals were set in Victorian England, I've written in 20s America, in 20s Egypt. . . the Biblical novels were stories of my heart, and I'd done so much research into the time in college that they feel like home to me.

Then I had this desire to set a book in Annapolis, where I attended college. I love the town and the history it exudes when you walk down the streets by the waterfront. So I did some research into when it was the capital of the young U.S., and decided it would be the perfect setting for this heroine I had in mind to run away to. At the time Colonial and Early Federal books were pretty rare, so I thought it was a long shot to pitch to publishers. You can imagine my delight when Summerside loved it!

It seems like you've done a lot of research for this book. In writing it, what did you hope readers would take away from this story set in the early days of our nation?

All my stories come down to hope. In the case of Lark and Emerson's story, I pray the readers not only feel the hope that comes of putting their trust in the Father, in finding a true and lasting love, but also that they have fresh hope in the liberty and freedoms that our forefathers worked so hard to guarantee for us.

Lark Benton seems like an interesting heroine. What is it about her that will appeal to readers?

One of my favorite things about Lark is that though she lived the first 20 years of her life according to expectation, she finally reached the point where spirit took over. She combines a healthy dose of whimsy and optimism with a newfound determination to claim for herself this freedom her brother and Emerson fought for, even if it means defying what her family and society expects. Yet for all this, she thinks herself always lacking, never measuring up to her friends. Never worth fighting for.

As a reader of romance, I always want to see a dashing hero. What is it about Emerson Fielding that is going to make readers fall in love with him?

My best friend and critique partner, Stephanie Morrill, offered this as her endorsement: "At first you will want to give Emerson a good smack upside the head. But then you'll decide, okay, he's not a bad guy. And then it'll be like, Okay, I guess he's kinda cute. I can see some appeal. And then he'll completely melt your heart."

That's a pretty good summation of Emerson. He's someone known as a charmer but who has shut down after the war. At first he comes off as a cold, distant jerk. But when Lark flees to Annapolis, it's like cold water has been poured over him, and he finally wakes up and realizes what he's lost through his own stupidity.

What I love best about Emerson is that after years of being distant out of self-defense, he's finally vulnerable. And when a hunky hero starts to question himself, you can't help but wanna give him a hug and assure him he's on the right path.

Now I'd like to ask a few questions about you, Roseanna. You've described yourself as an optimist who leads a hectic life. How does your faith guide you each day?

It's easy to question the path you're on, to feel overwhelmed, to get discouraged or just fed up. I'm so thankful to have a Lord who speaks to me through His Spirit. I'm so, so grateful for the constant reminders that it isn't about how I feel on a given day--it's about trusting in Him. Right now I'm in a season where I can see very clearly where He's led me and take joy in that. But I only got here because I trusted Him through the valley.

You are also a reviewer of Christian books. How did you get involved in doing that?

It actually all began thanks to The DaVinci Code. I read it soon after its release, so soon afterward that there weren't any Christian reviews out on it. I thought there should be--a measured, fair review that evaluated it both as an entertaining story and also took a look at the issues Christians should be aware of. That was when my hubby and I decided to found the Christian Review of Books, a place to give reviews of both mainstream bestsellers from a Christian perspective, and also of Christian books out there. over the past seven years, the CRoB has just exploded, and though there are many Christian review sites now that blogs gained in popularity, it's really humbling to realize we were among the first.

That's wonderful, Roseanna. Now as we come to the end of our interview, what Christmas message would you like to leave with our readers?

In Annapolis, Lark is away from home for Christmas for the first time, and on that holy day she misses her family desperately--and also makes a decision to give to a stranger solely because her eyes have been opened to how blessed she is. In light of that, my prayer for everyone this Christmas season is that we take true joy in those people who mean the most to us; that we make a new friend that lends the season an extra light; and that as we give, we are all the more conscious of how the Lord has blessed us so richly.

Thank you for those moving words, Roseanna. It has been a joy to have you with us today. I'm sure our readers will look forward to reading Lark and Emerson's story.

I'm sure Roseanna would like for you to leave a comment today and give her a Christmas wish, too.

Merry Christmas from BB ~ 4 Titles to Choose From!

2011-12-07T00:00:00.001-06:00

Have you checked out The Great December Christmas Caper page? We want to give all 214 of our Followers a gift this Christmas as a way of saying thank you for being a loyal follower!

Field Trip Feature ~ Candlemaking in 5 Easy Steps!

2011-12-07T00:00:00.000-06:00

I came across an interesting video awhile back when I was conducting research for my upcoming novel from Bethany House Publishers, No Safe Harbor. In it my heroine, a young Irish immigrant, goes to work for a chandler. Because many of the scenes take place in the candle shop, I thought it might be interesting to learn a little about the candle making process. Keep in mind, the chandler in my novel doesn't use soy to make his candles. Still, I thought you might enjoy this brief video on the art of environmentally friendly soy candles.

This video was brought to you courtesy of Candle Science. To learn more about them and the products and services they offer, visit them at http://candlescience.com.

Video Interview w/ Debut Author Pamela S. Meyers

2011-12-06T00:14:00.013-06:00

Follow Pam on Twitter @PamelaMeyers
Website: http://www.pamelasmeyers.com

Where the Past Meets the Present: Setting and The Hound of the Baskervilles

2011-12-05T00:00:00.010-06:00

I've been on a bit of a Sherlock Holmes kick lately, and I recently finished The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle. What a story! Definitely thrilling and mysterious. In considering what makes this story so terrifying, the setting stands out almost as a character in its own right. It's a living force that swallows victims whole and cries in the night. It's just downright creepy!

Below is an image from the Crime Scraps Review blog to set the mood:

So what can we learn from this story that will help us master the setting?

Force - The moor is a force to be reckoned with, especially the Grimpen Mire, where people and creatures can be sucked into the mud and never be seen again. (Oh, how I detest thoughts of quicksand and the like! *shudder*) Watson sees and hears a pony dying in the mire, and it certainly adds to the terror of the story - especially with characters on the hunt (or the run), and just one misstep can be very dangerous indeed... While some of us might not be writing mysteries or suspense, our settings in all our stories play a huge role. What challenges will the setting present to our characters? Think of Wild West stories and how the ruggedness of the land really creates a sense of adventure and/or hardship.

Fear - The moor leads to an emotional reaction in most of the characters, namely fear. The howling of the hound on those dark nights, the thrashing of the trees in the wind by Baskerville Hall, the one pinpoint of light or the silhouette of a man signalling a presence in the wilds of the moor... No matter the setting, if it's a good one it will elicit some emotion. Contentment at a cozy resort. Awe at the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains. Sorrow at the cemetery. Happiness at the beach. You get the idea! And the more senses involved in the descriptions the better!

Foundation - The moor gives the characters a place to hide, Sherlock a place to play ;) , and a stage for the mystery to unfold. While setting isn't everything, per se, it's important as it can either limit or expand the action of the story. Will your characters move during the course of the story? How does the contrast in settings fit in with the theme? Will your characters travel? Or does the setting serve as a trap for them?

Let's connect the past with the present! Where is your current WIP set? What can you learn from The Hound of the Baskervilles and the scary moor that might help you use setting to deepen your story?

And one last, very important question - anyone else excited to see this story in the second season of the PBS Masterpiece version of Sherlock coming in May 2012???

(Moor picture from Crime Scraps Review. Book picture from Penguin.com.)

Winners!!

2011-12-03T00:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Saturday, BB fans! Thanks to everyone who participated in our "puzzling" Friday giveaway! Keep all those facebook and Twitter notifications, coming!

This week's winners (both of whom had MULTIPLE entries in the drawing) are:

ida ~ Ten Plagues by Mary Nealy
Marjorie Roy ~ Remembering Christmas by Dan Walsh

Congratulations to you both! Please use the button in the upper right side of this page to email me with your mailing address so I can forward your information to the authors. Then, sit back and wait for your books to arrive.

Thank you all so much for stopping by The Borrowed Book!

Weekly Drawing

2011-12-02T00:00:00.000-06:00

It's fun Friday at The Borrowed Book, and you have several chances to win. Here's how - instead of leaving a comment, leave the time it took you to complete the puzzle in the comments section. Winners will be drawn from ALL of the times, so the person with the fastest time may not be the actual winner, but by leaving your time, you double your chances.

Want another entry? Tweet your puzzle time and mention The Borrowed Book, get another entry.

Post your puzzle time on BB's Facebook wall and...you guessed it...get another entry!

Post it on your OWN Facebook wall and you could get as many as FOUR entries.

It's all a way to spread the word about the great giveaways on BB. So c'mon! Help us spread the word, and have a little fun at the same time. :-)

This week's puzzle feature is brought to you by Mary Nealy and her new release, Ten Plagues, and Dan Walsh with his book, Remembering Christmas.

Dan Walsh Interview

2011-12-01T00:00:00.001-06:00

I'm delighted to welcome Dan Walsh to The Borrowed Book today. Dan is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). His first novel, The Unfinished Gift, won 2 ACFW Carol Awards. The sequel, The Homecoming, received 4.5 stars from RT Book Reviews. His 3rd noel The Deepest Waters, released this past April. His newest book, Remembering Christmas, just came out in September. Dan writes fulltime in the Daytona Beach area, where he lives with the love of his life,Cindi, his wife of 35 years. They have two grown children, both married, and one grandson. As they await more grandchildren, they enjoy the company of two mini-aussies, Bailey and Darcy.

Welcome, Dan. It's great to have you with us today. We're all eager to hear about your book Remembering Christmas that released in September. Tell us a little about it.

Here's a paragraph some very skillful folks at Revell put together to describe it. (I'm terrible at condensing an entire book into a short space.)

Rick Denton is a young successful CPA who lives his life on his own terms. He works hard, plays hard, and answers to no one. So when his mother calls on Thanksgiving weekend begging him to come home after his stepfather has a stroke, Rick is more than a little reluctant. He's never liked Art and resents the man's presence in his life, despite that fact that his own father abandoned the family when Rick was just twelve. What was supposed to be just a couple of days helping out at the family bookstore turns into weeks of cashing out old ladies and running off the homeless man who keeps hanging about. Slowly but surely, the little bookstore and its quirky patrons, as well as the lovely young woman who works at his side each day, work their magic on him, revealing to Rick some startling truths about his family, his own life, and the true meaning of Christmas.

Well, you've got me hooked. I can't wait to read it. I know it's been called a modern day prodigal parable. How does coming home change your hero Rick Denton's life?

It changes everything, literally. But unlike the prodigal story, Rick isn't coming home broke and begging for mercy. He sees himself at the top of his game and is totally broadsided by the changes coming his way, expecially the ones in his heart.

Besides the prodigal comparisons, I think there's an Ebeneezer Scrooge element at work in this story, as well. Except instead of ghosts appearing at night, we have a number of quirky store patrons and a homeless man who inadvertently help Rick see some things he really needs to see, but can't without some help.

Remembering Christmas is set in 1980. What made you choose that time period?

I'm not totally sure. The story is loosely based on a real bookstore called The Book Nook. The real store looked just like the one in the book (my wife actually worked there for a few years). As I pondered and thought about the story, I just saw it at this time. My editor was initially apprehensive about the time period, until she read the book. Then she said,"It's perfect!"

I know your book The Deepest Waters was based on a true event in history. Is that true of Remembering Christmas?

As I said in the last question, some of it is based in reality, but not near as much as in The Deepest Waters. The bookstore was real, set in a church basement and in an old downtown area, just as I described. I based the little town on a fictitious version of Daytona Beach where I live. Sort of a "what if" thing (what if Daytona Beach had stayed small, had never become a major tourist town and the home of NASCAR?) The wonderful couple in the book, Are and Leanne Bell, were inspired by a real couple who owned the real Book Nook. But all the other characters come from my imagination.

Speaking of those characters from your imagination, tell us about a few of these quirky folks and how you came up with such interesting individuals.

You know, it's funny, but I don't know where I get all these characters. Not just in Remembering Christmas, but in my other books. People ask me that a lot, assuming they must be based on real people, because they seem so real to the reader (they feel real to me, too).

There's JD, the homeless man who keeps hanging around the store, hoping to get more Egg McMuffins. And Father Charlie, a sophisticated church bishop whose learned a simpler approach to faith by spending time with Art. And the two elderly sisters from upstate New York, Molly and Fran. And Mack the surfer dude who just came to Christ a year ago.

Congratulations on recieving a 4.5 star rating and a top pick from Romantic Times Magazine for the book. How did you feel when you heard that?

Relieved, then amazed. I hoped they'd give it a decent review but had no idea things would go that well. My editor at Revell, Andrea Doering, did. She won ACFW's editor-of-the-year this past September (had to say that, so proud of her). She loved the book the moment she read it. I guess it's harder for me to see my work the way others do.

Tell us what's next for you. I've heard you're writing a 4 book series with Dr. Gary Smalley.

I am, and it's so exciting. Gary's a wonderful man, and he's done some great things for the Lord, both with his books and his marriage/family seminars over the years. At first I was a little intimidated by the idea. I mean, it's not as though we play in the same league. He's written or co-authored 16 bestselling books and appeared on national TV shows like Oprah and the Today Show. His series with Karen Kingsbury was hugely successful (over 1.5 million copies sold). But I've gotten to know Gary in a behind-the-scenes way over the last year. He's the real deal. gracious and humble and really loves the Lord...and people.

I'm actually working on our first novel right now (just finished chapter 10). I'm drawing from material in two of Gary's latest books. I send the chapters to him as I write, and he sends back his thoughts and input. He's been so easy to work with.

This first novel will come out in the spring of 2013. Between now and then, I have two more of my own coming out in 2012, both with Revell. The Discovery releases in April, then The Reunion in September.

It sounds like you've really been busy. As a parting thought, what Christmas message would you like to give our readers today?

Draw near to the Lord every day and allow His love and mercy to fill your heart. Let His peace impart to you the strength to face all of life's ups and downs. He can and wants to do this. It's why that little baby came to Bethlehem, so that we might know the Father's love and experience it, firsthand, as we humble ourselves and live in a close, dependent relationship with Him (like Jesus did).

Do this, and you will most certainly have a Christmas worth remembering.

Well said, Dan. Thank you for being a guest on The Borrowed Book today. I'm sure our readers have enjoyed finding out about you book Remembering Christmas.

Dan is giving away a copy of his book this week. If you'd like to be entered in the drawing for Remembering Christmas, leave a comment about something you remember from a past Christmas.

101 Reasons to Love Chicago!

2011-11-30T00:00:00.000-06:00

More fun facts:

The world’s largest commercial office building is Merchandise Mart located at 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza

The world’s largest illuminated fountain is Buckingham Fountain located in Grant Park

The world’s largest public library is Harold Washington Library Center located at 400 S. State St.

The Lincoln Park Zoo, one of only three free major zoos in the country, is the country’s oldest public zoo with an attendance of three million people.

The world’s tallest masonry building is Monadnock Block located at 53 W. Jackson Blvd.

The world’s largest free-admission food festival is the Taste of Chicago located in Grant Park

The world’s largest convention facility is McCormick Place located at 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive

The world’s highest steeple above ground is at the United Methodist Church, 77 W. Washington St.

The world’s busiest futures exchange is the Chicago Board of Trade located at 141 W. Jackson Blvd.

The Chicago Park District has the nation’s largest municipal harbor system.

The world’s largest stand-alone theater is the Uptown Theatre located at 4810 N. Broadway

The world’s largest parochial school system is the Archdiocese of Chicago

The world’s largest water filtration plant is the Jardine Water Purification Plant located at 600 E. Grand Ave.

Chicago produced the first Roller skates in 1884

Chicago produced the first Elevated railway in 1892

Chicago produced the first Cracker Jacks in 1893

Chicago produced the first Zipper in 1896

Chicago produced the first Steel-framed skyscraper in 1885

Chicago produced the first Window envelope in 1902

Chicago is home to eleven Fortune 500 companies, while the rest of the metropolitan area hosts an additional 21 Fortune 500 companies.

McCormick Place, Chicago’s premier convention center, offers the largest amount of exhibition space in North America (2.2 million square feet).

The first Ferris wheel made its debut in Chicago at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Today, Navy Pier is home to a 15-story Ferris wheel, modeled after the original one.

The game of 16-inch softball, which is played without gloves, was invented in Chicago.

In 1900, Chicago successfully completed a massive and highly innovative engineering project – reversing the flow of the Chicago River so that it emptied into the Mississippi River instead of Lake Michigan.

Chicago was one of the first and largest municipalities to require public art as part of the renovation or construction of municipal buildings, with the passage of the Percentage-for-Arts Ordinance in 1978.

The Chicago Cultural Center is the first free municipal cultural center in the U.S. and home to the world’s largest stained glass Tiffany dome.

When it opened in 1991, the Harold Washington Library Center, with approximately 6.5 million books, was the world’s largest municipal library.

The Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere at 110 stories high. Its elevators are among the fastest in the world operating as fast as 1,600 feet per minute.

The first steel rail road in the United States was produced here in 1865.

The first mail-order business, Montgomery Ward & Co., was established here in 1872.

The world’s first skyscraper, the Home Insurance Company, was built here in 1885.

The first televised U.S. presidential candidates’ debate was broadcast from Chicago’s CBS Studios on September 26, 1960, between John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Richard Milhous Nixon.

**This Field Trip Feature was brought to you by The Borrowed Book and Mary Nealy, author of Ten Plagues (Barbour Books, 2011). Check out ALL of Mary's books, and visit her at A Season of Suspense.

Interview with Carol Award Finalist, S. Dionne Moore

2011-11-28T22:15:00.002-06:00

S. Dionne Moore started writing in 2006. Her first book, Murder on the Ol’ Bunions, was contracted for publication by Barbour Publishing in 2008. In 2009 she moved on to writing historical romances as an outlet for her passion for history. In 2010 her second cozy mystery, Polly Dent Loses Grip, was a 2010 Carol Award finalist and she was also named a Barbour Publishing 2010 Favorite New Author. In 2011 her first historical romance, Promise of Tomorrow, was nominated a 2011 Carol Award finalist.

For more information, visit her Website at www.sdionnemoore.com.
Follow her on Twitter: @sdionnemoore

Tell readers about your newest release:

I have two this month, which is really exciting! Promise Brides, my first 3n1 historical, is available EVERYWHERE (rather than just the Heartsong Presents book club). A Shepherd’s Song is available through Barbour Publishings, Heartsong Presents Bookclub. A Shepherd’s Song is the first book in a new historical romance series set in Wyoming.

Renee Dover made a foolish decision. . .

When fiery Renee Dover seeks adventure and searches for a gang of outlaws, she never expects she’ll find them. Captured by the gang and certain her recklessness has gotten her brother killed, she escapes right into the arms of Tyler Sperry, a quiet sheepherder with a mysterious past.

Compelled to accompany him on his journey leading sheep to summer pasture, Renee finds it impossible to return home. She must endure the silence of this man and the solitude he’s chosen. And Tyler must decide what to do with Renee as every option he sees risks her life or challenges his.

Along the way, Renee discovers there’s much more to this shepherd who keeps his history hidden. Something he’s found that she desires. But when Tyler’s past comes back to haunt him, it just might get them both killed.

Promise Brides, is a compilation of three historicals, Promise of Tomorrow (a 2011 Carol Award finalist), Promise of Yesterday and Promise of Time, set in 1889 Johnstown, PA., Mercersburg/Greencastle, PA, and Gettysburg, PA, respectively.

Love never comes without sacrifice.

Promise of Tomorrow
Alaina Morrison loves Jack Kelly. So why won t he realize that all she wants is to get married and begin their new life together? She doesn t need a large home or new clothes or other things. She only needs him to actually spend time with her and to show how much he loves her. As dangerous floodwaters threaten their home of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, will Alaina and Jack allow God to bridge their growing differences with His unifying love?

Promise of Yesterday
Escaping the horrors of slavery, Chester Jones returns home after many years. After meeting the enigmatic Marylu, sparks fly as he gently pushes his way into her heart. As love blossoms, secrets from Marylu's past arise, causing her to question her newfound feelings. And then what about those rumors linking Chester to a murder. . .? Will Marylu allow God to heal her heart or will it be shattered again?

Promise of Time
Ellie Lester sees time stretching endlessly after the death of her husband in the war. She manages to find some purpose in helping slaves escape through the Underground Railroad. When her husband's cousin arrives, however, time seems to stand still. Is her heart awakening to something new? Theodore Lester is determined to reach his cousin's widow in the North with the truth of her husband's death, even if he must flee from the Confederate Army. Seeing her again sparks something in his heart and makes him want to stop running. But he can t escape from his dreams. . .or himself.

What made you choose the setting for A Shepherd's Song?

I became fascinated with the Johnson County Wars. Early on, I read that much of the tension was between sheepherders and cattle barons, though that was later discounted. But the career of herding sheep intrigued me and I knew it would make a good story. Using Psalms 23 as a parallel, I rediscovered and came to better understand why God used that particular analogy in that first verse. And I read. . .

A book on a woman's adventures as a sheepherder which helped shape some of the tragedies and challenges inherent in those who undertook the career. And the loneliness. Many men of Basque descent came to the states to be sheepherders. If you ever get the chance to see some of the carvings the Basque sheepherders left on Aspens in the high elevations during the lonely months of herding sheep, it's an interesting glimpse into the psyche of the men as they worked to overcome the terrible separation from family and friends as they fulfilled their contracts.

What does your office look like?

Oh dear. Messy right now, but here it is in all its glory. For those who might be interested, I'm working on editing the third book in the Wyoming series.

Parting words for those interested in become published?

Writers write. They don't talk about it or imagine it, they do it! That might seem over simplistic, but you wouldn't believe how many people have said, "Oh, I'd love to write a book one day." But they never do. LOL! Maybe it's not their calling, and that's fine, but if you truly want to pursue publication, you'll have to discipline yourself to make the time for writing and learning about writing.

Comment to win an autographed copy of A Shepherd's Song.

Book Review: The Girlfriends Guidebook

2011-11-28T00:00:00.004-06:00

About the Book:

"While there are ample books for women on dating, career, marriage, and motherhood, less prevalent are thoughtful writings about the everyday handling of female friendships. Inspired by the highs and lows of a backpacking trip across Europe with four gals pals, Marian Jordan’s The Girlfriends Guidebook charts a winning pathway through 'jealousy, competition, control, anger, manipulation, and resentment, just to name a few less-than-cuddly aspects of our personalities.'

Informed by her faith, Marian encourages deeper friendships built on Christ-like honesty and love, emphasizing the development of such qualities as loyalty, trustworthiness, compassion, and forgiveness. Jordan also makes it clear that The Girlfriends Guidebook should be read first with one’s self in mind...recognizing that when we are freed form our won emotional baggage, we will really be able to enjoy the journey!"

Amber's Review:

Friendships can certainly take us through some rough and rocky terrain. The Girlfriends Guidebook is an encouraging companion for the journey - a fun book with a serious message about being a good friend. It comes with a great note that this book is for us and not for our friends. That is to say, this book isn't meant to be used as a magnifying glass to examine our friends' problems (despite the temptation), but rather as a mirror to examine our own issues and see how we ourselves can be better friends.

From Jordan's anecdotes sprinkled throughout the book, it seems like she's quite the globetrotter! While some of her parallels are a bit of a stretch, the overall "travel" theme keeps the pages flowing. Jordan's tone is light and conversational. Although the book isn't overly deep, it's still a good read for Christian women who want to learn how to develop healthy friendships and be God-honoring friends.

Overall, with important tips and some food for thought, The Girlfriends Guidebook is a sweet and yet convicting "guidebook" for the journey to understanding what makes lasting and meaningful friendships.

*With thanks to the publisher and PR by the Book for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.*

About the Author:

"Today Marian is the founder of Redeemed Girl Ministries. She is an active speaker, guest lecturer, and published author. She is a graduate of Southwestern Seminary and lives in Houston where she serves at her home church, Second Baptist Church of Houston, when not on the road at speaking engagements. Though she is a Texas girl at heart, she feels at home in destinations all over the world. Australia, Costa Rica, Italy, England, Lufkin, New York, Magnolia... she finds God’s beauty in every country, city and small town that she happens upon."

Learn more about the author and her book at the author's website.

*This week's review doesn't include a giveaway, but you can purchase a copy of The Girlfriends Guidebook now at Amazon.com!*

Winners!!

2011-11-26T00:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Saturday, BB fans! Thanks to everyone who participated in our "puzzling" Friday giveaway! Keep all those facebook and Twitter notifications, coming!

This week's winner of Three Cups by Tony Townsley and Mark St. Germain is...Bluerose!

Bluerose, please use the button in the upper right side of this page to email me with your mailing address so I can forward your information to the author. Then, sit back and wait for your book to arrive.

Thank you all so much for stopping by The Borrowed Book!

Weekly Drawing

2011-11-25T00:00:00.000-06:00

It's fun Friday at The Borrowed Book, and you have several chances to win. Here's how - instead of leaving a comment, leave the time it took you to complete the puzzle in the comments section. Winners will be drawn from ALL of the times, so the person with the fastest time may not be the actual winner, but by leaving your time, you double your chances.

Want another entry? Tweet your puzzle time and mention The Borrowed Book, get another entry.

Post your puzzle time on BB's Facebook wall and...you guessed it...get another entry!

Post it on your OWN Facebook wall and you could get as many as FOUR entries.

It's all a way to spread the word about the great giveaways on BB. So c'mon! Help us spread the word, and have a little fun at the same time. :-)

This week's puzzle feature is brought to you by Tony Townsley and Mark St. Germain, and their new release, Three Cups.

A Poem for Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T00:10:00.001-06:00

Today is Thanksgiving, the day set aside each year to count the many blessings God has given us. It isn't a day for stuffing ourselves with food. It is a day when we should do as God commands us--Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Psalms 1-2.

Instead of spotlighting a book today, I would like to share a poem with you that touches my heart. It speaks of how those who have been blessed are called upon to praise His name by showing love to others less fortunate than ourselves.

Oh, God, when I have food,
help me to remember the hungry;
When I have work,
help me to remember the jobless;
When I have a home,
help me to remember those who have no home at all;
When I am without pain,
help me to remember those who suffer;
And remembering,
help me to destroy my complacency;
bestir my compassion,
and be concerned enough to help;
By word and deed,
those who cry out for what we take for granted.

-Samuel F. Pugh

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Enjoy your family and the bounty of your table. But in the midst of celebrating, don't forget to give praise to the provider of all our blessings.

Enter into His gates with Thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations. Psalms 100:4-5

10 Things I Forgot I Knew About Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T00:00:00.008-06:00

All of us here at The Borrowed Book would like to wish you and yours a VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! In recognition of all we have to be thankful for, we thought we'd share this informative video by everittjames on Thanksgiving History Myths and Facts. For the full video and TONS of historical information and tidbits on this All-American holiday, visit Scholastic's Thanksgiving website by clicking here. Enjoy!

Inside a Blog Tour

2011-11-22T07:30:00.000-06:00

More from Bonnie S. Calhoun ~ Founder and Publisher of Christian Fiction Online Magazine

Okay so you’ve decided that you are going to take the plunge, gather up a large group of book reviewers, and put on a blog tour for your latest novel. Okey dokey smokey…how hard could it be?

Well let’s see…first you need to decide if you want actual book reviewers or do you just want influencers. There is a world of difference in the two, and never the twain shall meet.

Influencers are the friendly souls that know and love you and want to help get the word out about your latest book. They sign on to “influence” others to pick up your work and read it.

Where as actual book reviewers…do just that. They review the book. Now sometimes that turns out to be a great thing…and sometimes not. Everyone has their own personal perception of what they read. (This goes back to my first post about “target audience”) Usually when people sign up for a blog tour, they are are genuinely hoping to like the book.

So okay…you’ve spent the time gathering the reviewers, setting the time frame for them to post, getting the books into their hands. What could go wrong? This sounds easy.

There is an old adage…when something can go wrong it will. Let’s say you have 40 people posting for your tour. I bet I can find at least 40 things to go wrong *snort-giggle*!

Let’s look at some of the recent serenity sappers that I’ve encountered…

Several tours where the books didn’t get delivered on time for the reviewers to read them before needing to post. (Now sometimes that’s not always a killer. A lot of people are willing to post an introduction about the book, and add a review later.)
Several people went to the hospital for unexpected surgeries. Fortunately they all turned out fine, but you can hardly demand for someone to post from their hospital bed…even when the hospital does have WiFi!
And personal problems galore!
A new baby decided to show up 3 weeks early…the little guy just couldn’t wait!
Floods, tornadoes, and wildfires…oh my! And let’s not EVEN get into the winter season and major snowstorms. Yanna…I found out that the Post Office doesn’t always deliver in bad weather like they used to in the old days *snort-giggle*
And let’s not even discuss one recent book that was published by a Christian publisher…and had NUMEROUS cuss words in it! That one REALLY gave me a headache…and quite a few people who refused to post for it (which I totally understood)
And then horror upon horror…don’t even think about the people that for one reason or another don’t like the book. I prefer for people to tell the truth about how they feel about a book without attacking the actual author, but a lot of times Christians are loathe to say anything negative about another Christians work, so they just don’t post…what are you gonna do?

And then sometimes the blog tour fairy smiles upon you and everything goes absolutely right! Auhhh…the feeling doesn’t usually last too long. So enjoy it while you have it. And happy blog touring…it can make you old before your time, and it’s not for the faint at heart!

About the Author...

Bonnie S. Calhoun is the Founder and Publisher of (CFOM) Christian Fiction Online Magazine. She is also the Owner and Director of the (CFBA) Christian Fiction Blog Alliance which is the parent organization for the magazine. And she serves as the current President for (CAN) Christian Authors Network. She is the Northeast Zone Director for (ACFW) American Christian Fiction Writers, and won their Mentor of the Year Award for 2011.

In addition to her passion for spreading the word about Christian fiction, Bonnie is also an author of snarky suspense. Her novel Cooking The Books (A Sloane Templeton Novel) will release from Abingdon Press in April 2012. It is presently available for digital e-reader download if you are a book reviewer. Go to NetGalley.com, Abingdon Press as the publisher.

Children's Book Spotlight: Three Cups

2011-11-21T00:00:00.005-06:00

"Teaching children how to save, spend and be charitable
with money is as easy as one, two, three."

About the Book:

"As new parents, my wife and I wanted to find a way to teach our children about money, so we agreed on using a weekly allowance to accomplish this. We thought it equally important to teach our children good values as related to money (saving, spending and charity) to help them develop positive habits early on that would last them the rest of their lives. This was when we came up with the idea of using three cups. We've tried to teach our children that it is not how much money you have that is important, it's how you use it. The three cups we have given them have led us on many wonderful adventures together and have brought our family a lot of joy. We hope you will experience the same joy, excitement and success using three cups with your children... and will share the Three Cups story with others."

- Tony Townsley, CPA

Mark St. Germain - author

"This endearing, true story of love, responsibility and charity is retold tenderly by Mark St. Germain whose stage, television and screenwriting credits include: Camping with Henry and Tom, Gifts of the Magi, The Cosby Show, and the critically acclaimed motion picture Duma."

April Willy - illustrator

"Three Cups is illustrated by award-winning painter April Willy, whose children's book credits include: Have You Ever Seen A Moose Taking A Bath?, Have You Ever Seen A Moose Brushing His Teeth?, Why is Mommy Sleeping? and Full Moon Maxi."

Want to learn more about the book? You can watch a video, read testimonials, and more at the Three Cups website!

*Stop by on Friday to put together a puzzle and learn how to gain extra entries in the drawing for a copy of Three Cups!*

Winners!!

2011-11-19T00:00:00.000-06:00

Good morning, BB fans! Thanks to everyone who participated in our "puzzling" Friday giveaway! Keep all those facebook and Twitter notifications, coming!

This week's winner of A Lasting Impression by Tamera Alexander is...Ginger Vaughan!

Ginger, please use the button in the upper right side of this page to email me with your mailing address so I can forward your information to the author. Then, sit back and wait for your book to arrive.

Thank you all so much for stopping by The Borrowed Book!

Weekly Drawing

2011-11-17T00:00:00.002-06:00

It's fun Friday at The Borrowed Book, and you have several chances to win. Here's how - instead of leaving a comment, leave the time it took you to complete the puzzle in the comments section. Winners will be drawn from ALL of the times, so the person with the fastest time may not be the actual winner, but by leaving your time, you double your chances.

Want another entry? Tweet your puzzle time and mention The Borrowed Book, get another entry.

Post your puzzle time on BB's Facebook wall and...you guessed it...get another entry!

Post it on your OWN Facebook wall and you could get as many as FOUR entries.

It's all a way to spread the word about the great giveaways on BB. So c'mon! Help us spread the word, and have a little fun at the same time. :-)

This week's puzzle feature is brought to you by Tamera Alexander, and her new release, A Lasting Impression.

Journey of Grief

2011-11-17T00:00:00.001-06:00

I remember Sunday afternoon, September 10, 2006 well. My family had come to our house after church for lunch, and we'd had a wonderful time. As my sister was leaving toward the middle of the afternoon, I walked outside to wave goodbye. Suddenly a loud clap of thunder shattered the quiet. It startled us so because it came out of nowhere. There were a few clouds in the sky, and I supposed we were in for a storm. I had no idea, though, how life had suddenly changed for many of us with that one rumble from the heavens.

Several miles down the road from my home, my cousin's precious granddaughter Madison Fagan had just leaped from the porch of a friend's house and headed to the car where her mother was waiting. As her mother watched in horror, the lightning bolt from that thunder struck Madison in the chest.

Madison Fagan, the child who was loved by everyone who ever came in contact with her, lived for a week in a Memphis hospital, but there was nothing that could be done to save her. Of all the family members who kept a vigil during those days, none were more heartbroken than Sheila Turner, Madison's grandmother.

After Madison's death, Sheila held onto her faith to try and cope with the grief that came from losing a child who had been such a vital part of her life. As Sheila searched for books to help her understand and heal from the agonizing loss, she found them too clinical and turned instead to writing.

Her book Journey of Grief chronicles the first year without Madison, reflects on her own grief, and tells how Madison touched everyone with whom she came in contact. Madison's loving spirit shines through in this tribute to a remarkable little girl.

The following is from the back cover:
This deeply personal yet universally human account not only speaks to the heart but also reveals surprising insights. Turner's journey is ultimately one of hope, as she moves from searing grief to the certainty of God's hand at work. Whether you're in the depths of your own grieving or want to understand the experience of a loved one suffering from loss, you can find a renewed faith and sense of purpose in Sheila and Madison's story.

As a person who loved Madison, I have been touched by the journey Sheila has traveled in coping with the overwhelming grief in her life. Maybe you, too, are grieving right now. Sheila would point you to the One who has carried her through the depths of despair. She says, "The miracle of God's unending love and providential care is just amazing."

All of us suffer grief at one time or another in our lives. How has God ministered to you during a time of loss?

Field Trip Feature

2011-11-16T00:00:00.000-06:00

Inside a Blog Tour

2011-11-15T00:00:00.005-06:00

More from Bonnie S. Calhoun ~ Founder and Publisher of Christian Fiction Online Magazine

Okay so you’ve decided that you are going to take the plunge, gather up a large group of book reviewers, and put on a blog tour for your latest novel. Okey dokey smokey…how hard could it be?

Well let’s see…first you need to decide if you want actual book reviewers or do you just want influencers. There is a world of difference in the two, and never the twain shall meet.

Influencers are the friendly souls that know and love you and want to help get the word out about your latest book. They sign on to “influence” others to pick up your work and read it.

So okay…you’ve spent the time gathering the reviewers, setting the time frame for them to post, getting the books into their hands. What could go wrong? This sounds easy.

There is an old adage…when something can go wrong it will. Let’s say you have 40 people posting for your tour. I bet I can find at least 40 things to go wrong *snort-giggle*!

Let’s look at some of the recent serenity sappers that I’ve encountered…

Several tours where the books didn’t get delivered on time for the reviewers to read them before needing to post. (Now sometimes that’s not always a killer. A lot of people are willing to post an introduction about the book, and add a review later.)
Several people went to the hospital for unexpected surgeries. Fortunately they all turned out fine, but you can hardly demand for someone to post from their hospital bed…even when the hospital does have WiFi!
And personal problems galore!
A new baby decided to show up 3 weeks early…the little guy just couldn’t wait!
Floods, tornadoes, and wildfires…oh my! And let’s not EVEN get into the winter season and major snowstorms. Yanna…I found out that the Post Office doesn’t always deliver in bad weather like they used to in the old days *snort-giggle*
And let’s not even discuss one recent book that was published by a Christian publisher…and had NUMEROUS cuss words in it! That one REALLY gave me a headache…and quite a few people who refused to post for it (which I totally understood)
And then horror upon horror…don’t even think about the people that for one reason or another don’t like the book. I prefer for people to tell the truth about how they feel about a book without attacking the actual author, but a lot of times Christians are loathe to say anything negative about another Christians work, so they just don’t post…what are you gonna do?

About the Author...

Bonnie S. Calhoun is the Founder and Publisher of (CFOM) Christian Fiction Online Magazine. She is also the Owner and Director of the (CFBA) Christian Fiction Blog Alliance which is the parent organization for the magazine. And she serves as the current President for (CAN) Christian Authors Network. She is the Northeast Zone Director for (ACFW) American Christian Fiction Writers, and won their Mentor of the Year Award for 2011.

In addition to her passion for spreading the word about Christian fiction, Bonnie is also an author of snarky suspense. Her novel Cooking The Books (A Sloane Templeton Novel) will release from Abingdon Press in April 2012. It is presently available for digital e-reader download if you are a book reviewer. Go to NetGalley.com, Abingdon Press as the publisher.

Picture from Andy Eklund's Creative Streak.

Where the Past Meets the Present: Stepsisters

2011-11-14T00:00:00.004-06:00

Saturday night I watched our school's production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella. I loved it! Everything was wonderful - the sets, the music, the acting, the singing. And while Cinderella and the Prince were quite charming, two of my favorite characters were the evil stepsisters. (Hats off to the actresses - they did a marvelous job!)

Sometimes the secondary characters really can steal the show in our stories, as well. While we still want our hero and heroine to win over our readers, we also want authentic secondary characters. Last week we talked about the villain - this week, let's talk about how to make our secondary characters shine!

What we can learn from the evil stepsisters (at least in the play I saw!):

Personality - Boy, did these two girls have this in spades! Whether our secondary characters are jokesters, drama queens (or kings), or wise old (or young) men/women, they ought to have a personality that distinguishes them from the other characters. Names can also help with this. In Rodgers and Hammerstein's version of Cinderella the two stepsisters are named Portia and Joy. If you've read Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, you might see the irony in a rather less intellectually endowed girl being named after the smart Portia who pretends to be a lawyer to save a man's life. And Joy - well, there's certainly irony in a name like that for a sour stepsister like her!

Presence - Over at Seekerville, author Mary Connealy recently wrote a post entitled "Who is that guy?" Her point in the post is that we ought to make sure all our characters are actually necessary. If we take out a secondary character, will it make a difference to the story? The stepsisters in the play added so much humor and contrast that it wouldn't have been nearly as enjoyable without them. In the same way, the secondary characters we create should have such a presence that the story wouldn't have the same impact without them. And if they don't? Well, you might want to consider killing one off... *Gasp!* OK, maybe just make them disappear or something! ;)

Power - Just as we discussed regarding our villains last week, our secondary characters shouldn't be cardboard cutouts. They should have some sort of power - an important role in the story and a voice that will stick with the reader. It's hard to do this with every secondary character, but as much as possible we ought to have stories populated with "real" people whose lives are woven together to present a piece full of meaning. The evil stepsisters have a song that asks, "Why would a fellow want a girl like her?...Why can't a fellow ever once prefer a usual girl like me?" While it's a funny song, it also contributes to the other songs in asking important questions as to why people fall in love and what true love really means.

Here's where the past meets the present! (Let's just say that Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is a piece of the past that's found its way to the present... After all, the Cinderella story has been around for quite a while!) Could your secondary characters use a makeover? What secondary characters from movies and books have inspired you to give your secondary characters more personality, presence, and power?

Winners!!

2011-11-13T00:00:00.000-06:00

Good morning, BB fans! Thanks to everyone who participated in our "puzzling" Friday giveaway! Keep all those facebook and Twitter notifications, coming!

This week's winner of Gun - A Visual History is...Evangeline Han!

Evangeline, please use the button in the upper right side of this page to email me with your mailing address so I can forward your information to the author. Then, sit back and wait for your book to arrive.

Thank you all so much for stopping by The Borrowed Book!

Weekly Drawing

2011-11-11T00:00:00.001-06:00

It's fun Friday at The Borrowed Book, and you have several chances to win. Here's how - instead of leaving a comment, leave the time it took you to complete the puzzle in the comments section. Winners will be drawn from ALL of the times, so the person with the fastest time may not be the actual winner, but by leaving your time, you double your chances.

Want another entry? Tweet your puzzle time and mention The Borrowed Book, get another entry.

Post your puzzle time on BB's Facebook wall and...you guessed it...get another entry!

Post it on your OWN Facebook wall and you could get as many as FOUR entries.

It's all a way to spread the word about the great giveaways on BB. So c'mon! Help us spread the word, and have a little fun at the same time. :-)

This week's puzzle feature is brought to you by DK Publishing, and their great resource book, Gun-A Visual History.

From a Book to a Movie

2011-11-10T00:51:00.000-06:00

I'm delighted to welcome Lisa Grace to The Borrowed Book today. Although Lisa writes for adults, she has a heart for teenagers, and her mission in life is to reach unsaved teenagers through her young adult books. When I heard that Lisa was in the process of having her Angel series optioned for the movies, I asked her to share her experience with our readers. She agreed to do that.

Welcome to The Borrowed Book, Lisa. We're all eager to hear what you have to tell us.

Thank you, Sandra, for having me on The Borrowed Book. As an author, I've always wondered how an author went about turning their book into a movie. I'm lucky enough to be knee-deep in the process. How do you find the mysterious creatures called movie producers? What makes them pick your book from all the others available? The contract? How do you begin to understand all the legalese and what's normal or what's unreasonable?

I can't mention names or amounts as the contract is not finalized, but there are some important considerations that I can pass along.

My angel series is a young adult supernatural series with a Christian bent. You are either saved or unsaved, and there is only one way to get saved. While not a popular book genre, (forty-third according to Sally Stuart's Christian Writer's Market), teen supernaturals make great movies.

So the first thing you must be honest about is the appeal of your book as a movie. Sites like Numbers have a service where they rate the projected profitability of your book as a movie project.

You have to write a good book, have some buzz going so your book makes it to some bestseller list, (mine was in the top ten for teen horror on Amazon for over three and a half months), then have a movie producer read it, like it, and want it as a project. The next thing they will do is hire a company (like The-Numbers) to see if it meets certain criteria to be profitable.

Okay, let's say you have some producers interested in your book, what's next?

They offer you an option/purchase agreement. Here is one I found online so you can see what it might look like, or not. Cypressfilms

Mine looks nothing like this one! My contract is twenty pages long, but they don't have to be. I recommend you hire an entertainment lawyer like I did. The following is not legal advice, but merely my opinions:

Caps are normal, so they can figure financing. Percentage on backend is all well and good, but usually small and depends on the movie being successful. Your best bet is to get as much up front money as you can (just like an advance on a book project)as it may be the only money you see.
Keep your copyright and all rights to your characters for future books you may write. You can give/sell the production company a license to merchandise off your characters.
Producers, if they are small, may buy your option and then try to resell it to a larger production company.
Large production companies may budget a couple of million a year to buy twenty books in a genre and then only make one of them into a movie, but since they own the option for a period of time, they cut down on the movie's competition. And if it's successful, they can choose another they bought and then produce that one.
Going with a mid-sized company, your book is their next project. They can't afford to tie up too much money in options, but they have enough money/investors to go forward.
Options last from one to one and half years. They pay you for tying up your book at this point. If they exercise the option (plan to move ahead with the movie), they pay you again. You can request backend, but they can say no.
These are just the basics. You should hire an entertainment lawyer who has represented authors on book to movie deals. A lawyer will most likely charge you a per hour fee to review the contract, but you can write into the contract for the production company to reimburse you your attorney fees.

And finally, specify an on screen credit, because the only thing cooler than seeing your name on a book cover is seeing it on the big screen.

Wow, Lisa! I can't imagine seeing my name on the big screen, but it's something to hope for. Thanks for stopping by today and giving us this information, and good luck with your Angel series. I know our readers have enjoyed this look at what all authors hope will happen to their books.

What are your thoughts about the chances of a book making it to the big screen?

Field Trip Feature

2011-11-09T00:00:00.002-06:00

I write historicals, so of course, I’m always on the lookout for good resource materials. Imagine my surprise, and great pleasure, when I discovered a book showcasing more than 300 guns, rifles and pistols! It’s called Gun – A Visual History. From machine guns and grenade launchers, to wheellock pistols and Annie Oakley’s .22 caliber rifle, this 800-year visual history was, for me, like striking oil.

FUN FACT: Did you know that in most states, it is still legal for citizens to carry a concealed handgun, so long as they have a permit? In fact, they aren't required to have a permit from the state where they are traveling, if they have one from their home state. These are called reciprocal states--and it works like a driver's license. Click here to read more...

Back to my field trip. Perhaps I should explain why I was so excited to stumble on a book with “gun” in the title.

See, all of my books have some kind of action in them—whether historical or contemporary—but especially the historicals. I write scenes where the “smell of gunpowder” lingers in the air, or the “report of a pistol” splits the air. But until I browsed the pages of this book, I really wasn’t too sure what all of that meant, and I never had the courage to write with much confidence about the kind of weapons my characters carried.

No more!

Want to know when manual repeater rifles were used? Turn to page 176. Need information on the kind of weapon used by Israel’s Special Operations Unit (Mossad)? Find it on page 88. I could go on…but I won’t. This is a Field Trip Feature, after all. So, for today, I’d like to take you along with me to the gun range, where I fired a variety of weapons, but hit very few targets. :-)

And after you watch the video, I hope you’ll check out this book. It’s the perfect gift for anyone interested in firearms.

Ear to the Experts: Define Your Target Audience

2011-11-07T23:47:00.002-06:00

Writing a novel is literally creating your own business. And that business model has to be treated just like any Fortune 500 business would create their business plan. One of the most important elements of a business plan is defining who the target audience is for the particular product.

So let’s talk about something we all know and understand but don’t always grasp. Target Audience. We all have a target audience that we write for. And, no, no matter how badly we want it to be everyone, that’s never gonna happen, chickypoo!

Why? Because as someone famous (everyone argues about who that exactly was) once said, “You can please ALL of the people SOME of the time, and you can please SOME of the people ALL of the time, but you can’t please ALL of the people ALL of the time.”

First you need to decide what your target audience looks like. A target audience that reads mainly suspense/mystery is not going to be the same target audience that reads Amish fiction, and for the most part, a target audience that adores reading about vampires and werewolves is not going to be the target audience for biblical fiction.

Ask yourself this: “What kind of audience am I writing for?” “What are they looking for in the books they read?” “What kind of read am I trying to give them?” You can sometimes further define this by using comments you get in reviews. But once you get this defined, you are not going to deviate from the plan.

Are they looking for warm-fuzzies? Or are they looking for a thrilling suspense ride? A friend of mine, Brandilyn Collins, has created a sub-group of her most-likely-reader, the “Big Honkin’ Chickens Club.” They are friends of hers who are too afraid to read her books. This was a great strategy. They were her friends…LOL…but not part of her target audience.

Start with a sentence like, “The perfect reader for my books would like…” Now fill in the blank with several hundred words.

Remember…when someone gives you a bad review, the first thing you must teach yourself to understand is, “Well that person is obviously NOT part of my target audience.” And move on!

Many times too much energy is wasted on lamenting that you can’t be all things to all people. Stop wasting energy that you could be using to write your next great book. Focus on the audience you are gathering!

More on this next time! Later gator!

Bonnie S. Calhoun is the Founder and Publisher of (CFOM) Christian Fiction Online Magazine. She is also the Owner and Director of the (CFBA) Christian Fiction Blog Alliance which is the parent organization for the magazine. And she serves as the current President for (CAN) Christian Authors Network. She is the Northeast Zone Director for (ACFW) American Christian Fiction Writers, and won their Mentor of the Year Award for 2011.

In addition to her passion for spreading the word about Christian fiction, Bonnie is also an author of snarky suspense. Her novel Cooking The Books (A Sloane Templeton Novel) will release from Abingdon Press in April 2012. It is presently available for digital e-reader download if you are a book reviewer. Go to NetGalley.com, Abingdon Press as the publisher.

Picture from Andy Eklund's Creative Streak

Where the Past Meets the Present: The Villain

2011-11-07T00:35:00.007-06:00

Welcome to the place where the past meets the present! This is a new weekly feature (most Mondays) where I'll be comparing classics with Christian fiction, sharing some writing advice from the classics, and/or sharing interesting historical facts that could be catalysts for new story ideas. I'm allowing myself some creative license here. ;)

Today we're talking about the villain.

What's the classic we're discussing? None other than Shakespeare's Othello!

Now, I'm sure most of you writers out there aren't working on tragedies. We're very much a happily-ever-after bunch, I'm thinking - or at least a satisfying, warm-feeling conclusion. Not so keen on the everyone-dies-and-no-one-is-happy ending.

So what does Othello have to offer us aspiring and/or published authors?

Well, while this isn't true of all books, sometimes the villains just aren't complex. They're evil, sure. But sometimes the villains we create are lacking a certain depth. Cue Iago.

Iago is a dastardly villain if ever there was one. So if you're looking for some ways to make your villain more...well...villain-y, look no farther than Iago! He's definitely "bad to the bone." Let's take a look at what makes him so terrible (in a good, villain-y way):

He's intelligent. Let's face it. We've all read those books with the incompetent villains who are just asking to die. Seriously. Iago is not that guy! In fact, Iago's got all the other characters in the palm of his hand - playing them off of each other, getting into their minds, deceiving them completely, all while still maintaining an innocent facade. Unless we're writing tragedies, we don't necessarily want the bad guy to win...but we do want him (or her) to be a real challenge to the hero/heroine, right? We don't want no cardboard cutouts! (Excuse the double negative...)

He's intriguing. Iago has his reasons for seeking to bring everyone down around him. Of course, some of those reasons can be debated since we aren't given all the specifics. However, he's a motivated man. And he has a wife, which certainly adds some interesting dynamics! So, when we're creating our villains, we should keep in mind that they have a past, family and/or friends, and a depth to them that leads to their thirst for revenge, etc.

He's indisputably evil. My first draft of my first manuscript is missing a villain. (My second WIP has one right now, but that's beside the point right now...) A close relation of mine suggested to me that perhaps a villain is in order. While I don't think all books need a villain - sometimes the villain isn't a specific person - I think they can add a lot to a story. It's the classic good vs. evil theme, where readers are cheering on the good guys. In Othello, we still cheer on the good guys, despite the fact that it's a tragedy, and that means there isn't a happy ending... (Although happy endings are not required for meaningful stories!) But I digress... The point is that while we want our villains to be three-dimensional and authentic, my close relation reminded me that having an obviously "evil" figure really involves the reader. When you read Othello, you really, really want Iago to get his comeuppance and to leave all those other poor characters alone!!

So let's connect the past to the present! Do you have a villain in your current work-in-progress? Is there anything you can learn from Iago (or other notable classic villains) that might help you create a more believable, dastardly villain?

Winners!!

2011-11-05T00:00:00.001-05:00

Good morning, BB fans! Thanks to everyone who participated in our "puzzling" Friday giveaway! Keep all those facebook and Twitter notifications, coming!

This week's winner of Valley of Dreams by Lauraine Snelling is...Gina Conroy!

Gina, please use the button in the upper right side of this page to email me with your mailing address so I can forward your information to the author. Then, sit back and wait for your book to arrive.

Thank you all so much for stopping by The Borrowed Book and thank you, Lauraine Snelling, for your generosity in providing a book!

Weekly Drawing

2011-11-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

It's fun Friday at The Borrowed Book, and you have several chances to win. Here's how - instead of leaving a comment, leave the time it took you to complete the puzzle in the comments section. Winners will be drawn from ALL of the times, so the person with the fastest time may not be the actual winner, but by leaving your time, you double your chances.

Want another entry? Tweet your puzzle time and mention The Borrowed Book, get another entry.

Post your puzzle time on BB's Facebook wall and...you guessed it...get another entry!

Post it on your OWN Facebook wall and you could get as many as FOUR entries.

It's all a way to spread the word about the great giveaways on BB. So c'mon! Help us spread the word, and have a little fun at the same time. :-)

This week's puzzle feature is brought to you by Lauraine Snelling, who is celebrating the release of her latest book, Valley of Dreams.

HarperCollins Buys Thomas Nelson

2011-11-03T00:00:00.003-05:00

In case you haven't heard by now, HarperCollins, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., announced earlier this week that it would finalize a deal to buy Thomas Nelson by the end of the year. Since HarperCollins already owns Zondervan, they will now own both of the the largest publishers in Christian publishing. This will make the company the single biggest stakeholder in Christian publishing.

It was reported that the news was received favorably by employees at Thomas Nelson when the announcement was made. Mark Schoenwald, president and CEO of Thomas Nelson, said that the company was excited to be joining HarperCollins. "We believe this transaction represents an attractive strategic fit for our company. With HarperCollins' resources and capabilities to draw on, we will capitalize on the many opportunities in this rapidly changing world of publishing."

Changes in publishing have been the topic of discussion on every blog and at every writers' conference in the past few years. We've seen bookstores close, and many wonder how digital publishing is going to affect print books in the future. Publishers are looking to the future and are beginning to prepare for what some see as a total digital age of books. HarperCollins has already developed a global print and digital platform, and some see this as an advantage for Thomas Nelson. With e-book distribution of print-on-demand, digital-to-print, and marketing on a worldwide scale into more than 175 markets, Thomas Nelson authors can expect to expand their readership.

HarperCollins Vice President, Corporate Communications Erin Crum told Christian Retailing: "HarperCollins will continue to publish both Thomas Nelson and Zondervan books, Bibles and products. The two companies have distinct and complementary missions, and we intend to keep these missions intact."

Whatever the future holds for publishing, it's going to be interesting to see how this latest deal plays out. What are your thoughts on the purchase?

Author Interview ~ Lauraine Snelling

2011-11-02T00:00:00.003-05:00

Lauraine Snelling is the award-winning author of more than sixty books, with sales of over 2 million copies. She also writes for a wide range of magazines, and helps others reach their writing dreams by teaching at writer’s conferences across the country. Lauraine and her husband, Wayne, have two grown sons, and live in the Tehachapi Mountains with a cockatiel named Bidley, and a watchdog Basset named Winston.

Did you see yourself becoming a writer as a child? If not, what did you dream of being?

I thought my dreams of writing horse stories for girls started in High School but going through my mother’s things, I found a brown notebook, pre wire binding with a story in it, divided into chapters. Must have been 5th or 6th grade. I was really surprised. So I guess I was a writer before I thought I wanted to be. I did dream of being a veterinarian for a while, then knew that I would major in education and teach, planning on High School English and drama, probably public speaking and writing too. I still love teaching, now at writing conferences.

How long did you write before you sold your first book?

About a year and a half. I started out at a writer’s conference and decided to learn all I could about all phases of writing so I tried magazine articles, newspaper articles, devotionals, short stories, anything that caught my attention, but when Mt. St. Helens erupted I started my first horse story which became Tragedy on the Toutle. On the advice of my teacher at that same conference again, Warner Pacific, Colleen Reece is her name, I sent a query to Baker Publishing. They asked for a proposal, then the complete ms and then bought it. The second book took longer to sell. I think God knew I needed the reinforcement. Tragedy has been re-released, now titled, What About Cimmaron?

Many of the people who follow our blog are aspiring writers themselves. Can you share your favorite writing tip with them?

Keep your butt in the chair and your fingers on the keyboard or pencil. Don’t give up.

Now for the readers…many times, it’s easy for them to connect with the characters in a book, but not so much the authors themselves. Share something about your day-to-day life that might help a reader to feel as though they know you a little better.

My husband and I live in the mountains of So California, where the sun shines a lot. I love to garden, flowers not so much vegetables, I would rather read than about anything, I always have books close at hand, we are bird enthusiasts, Humming birds my favorites. We travel quite a bit, a long time dream of ours, we have a 42’ coach, our home away from home. I had always dreamed of water color painting someday and a few years ago, I got to paint and fell in love with it. But everything revolves around my writing deadlines, as to how much I get to enjoy all my side past times. We have a basset hound named Sir Winston ob de Mountains. I have interesting characters in my life and add to that wonderful realm on Facebook.

Now that you are published, do you still experience rejections? If so, how are these rejections different or similar to the ones you received before becoming published?

Back in the beginning I set a goal of so many query letters out a week. I have a log of all my writing, queries sent, responses, articles, books etc. It is interesting to look back in those early years and see the red circles, meaning sold, gaining in numbers. Like other writers, I could have papered a wall with them. Now rejections come more in the idea stage as I run ideas past my editors or agents. A friend, Kathleen Wright and I proposed a children’s series four years ago and it was finally sold. Agent tried and tried but no one could see it. Someone finally did. Persistence pays off. I am still not real patient in the waiting game. The four book series for middle readers is SAVE Squad, book one is titled, Dog Daze which will be released in March. Fun and funny, four girls who get involved in animal rescues. Would you believe a basset puppy stars in the first one?

Tell us a little about your latest release:

My latest release, Valley of Dreams came out in October from Bethany House, my long, long time publishing home. This is a new series with Cassie Lockwood, a trick rider, shooter in a wild west show circa 1906. When the show goes belly up, she and a select group of misfits heads south from Dickinson ND to find her father’s dream valley in the Black Hills of SD. I love writing city mouse comes to the country tales, as Cassie learns what life can be like outside her experiences.

If you could only share one line from Valley of Dreams, which one would you choose and why?

I always try to come up with one liners to start a book, well and most chapters. One of my favorites was from an early Blessing book, I think it was Reaper’s Song. The line “he’s dead,” created many questions in the reader, that’s the goal of an opening line. Get that reader hooked from the first line.

Writers often put things in their books that are very personal—like a funny story that happened to them, a spiritual truth they learned through difficulty, or even just a character trait that is uniquely theirs. Is there something in Valley of Dreams that only people close to you know is about you or someone you know?

Readers comment that they know a lot about me from reading my books. A writer has to weave parts of herself into every book. We draw upon our life experiences to build our characters and create our stories. Some books more than others are based on major happenings in our lives. I am no exception. Readers realize my love for gardening, animals, birds, because I include them in my novels. The Healing Quilt is really based on the death of our daughter from cancer before she turned twenty-one. I think it was sixteen years after she died, that God said it was time to write that story.

Readers often talk a lot about the hero and heroine of a story, but today I’d like to know something about your villain. Does he or she have a redeeming quality? Why or why not?

In The Way of Women, Mt. St. Helen’s was the villian but so often, the villian that is so hard to overcome is the one within us and that is often a major part of my stories. In the Blessing books, Ingeborg’s arch rival is Mrs. Valders. She is a good woman but really critical and wants to run everything. If I wrote mysteries, I would have to work harder at building villians.

What kind of research did you have to do for this book? Can you share some articles or website links you found particularly helpful?

I always go to the places I write about so we have spent time in the Black Hills, a truly beautiful part of creation. I read all the books I could find about Wild West Shows, others of the flora and fauna of the region, early South Dakota history. I always look for books by local authors when I go to a region. This time I couldn’t find enough info about the Rosebud reservation so I posted my questions on Facebook and got all the info and the resources that I needed. Come to find out, I was calling the reservation by the wrong name. Well, duh! My favorite research is always talking with people. One of my favorite places in the research was the Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma City. What a treasure trove for historical writers.

Tell us what new projects you’re working on.

I just finished the rewrite of the rewrite on Reunion, a contemporary of a family in trouble, and now I am writing Whispers on the Wind, book two in the Wild, West Wind series. Valley of Dreams was number one, so I am getting to know Cassie and crew better all the time. She’s a pretty spunky heroine who is about to have another big fall.

The most common thing I hear when people learned I’ve published a book is, “I’ve always wanted to do that.” Faced with this statement, what advice would you give to someone just starting out in this business?

“No, I am not really interested in telling your story.” (I hear that a lot. “Boy do I have a story for you.”) But if you will start getting it down on paper or the computer, and keep working at it, learn to write for publication, I can tell you that this is a mighty rewarding calling. If God is calling you to write, you better get on it. People don’t realize how hard our work is, until they try it. But isn’t that the case in everything? Those who are good at something make it look easy. I never dreamed of being an Olympic athlete. I think God gives us dreams to go along with the talents he has given us.

What is the one question you were afraid I would ask…and how would you answer?

This question stumped me. I never gave it any thought. I just answer the questions to the best of my ability. I try to keep my life as an open book, not really hoarding secrets. Guess that is why I like writing about people who get hung out to dry by their secrets. Hmmm. This bears pondering.

Lauraine is giving away a copy of her book, Valley of Dreams. Be sure to stop by on Friday for your chance to win!

Welcome Debut Novelist Lisa Jordan!

2011-11-01T00:05:00.011-05:00

Tell us about your very first book.

Bed-and-breakfast owner Lindsey Porter prays she won’t run into Stephen Chase when she returns to Shelby Lake. Five years ago, the cop jilted her to marry another woman, and Lindsey fled town. But no sooner does she hit city limits than Stephen pulls her over for a broken taillight. Despite the past, he’s still able to stir up Lindsey’s old feelings for him. Now a widower and single dad, Stephen recognizes a second chance when he sees one. And he’ll do anything to make Lindsey trust in God and take a risk for love—again.

Read an excerpt of Lakeside Reunion

How long did it take you to get published?

I wanted to be a writer since I was 16, but I didn’t start get serious until writing until about 12 years ago, so it’s been over a decade. When I finaled in the 2009 Genesis contest, doors started opening for me. I received requests for full manuscripts.

Did you find yourself particularly attached to any one character in the story? Why?

I loved Stephen, my hero. When I first wrote him, he was too perfect so I had to give him a few flaws. I loved his heart and compassion. He was loosely based on my own hubby.

Tell us where we can find you on the Web?

Email: lisa@lisajordanbooks.com

Website: www.lisajordanbooks.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/lisajordan

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorLisaJordan

My Book Therapy: http://mybooktherapy.ning.com/profile/LisaJordan

I blog at MBT Ponderers: www.mbtponderers.blogspot.com

I blog at WordServe Water Cooler: www.wordservewatercooler.com

Do you have any words of encouragement for other writers not yet published?

Pray and ask for God’s leading.
Join My Book Therapy—Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck know their stuff, which is why they are award-winning authors.
Believe in yourself and your abilities.
Don’t rush the process. Take time to learn the craft. Be sure to submit your absolute very best.

I’m holding a scavenger hunt and lakeside photo contest to promote my Lakeside Reunion release. Plus, blog commenters on my blog hop will be put in a drawing for fun prizes—breakfast basket, Love Inspired Authors basket, autographed copies of Lakeside Reunion. Visit my Lakeside Reunion Contest page for more information.

The token for this blog is woodworking tools.

Book Review: The Opposite of Art

2011-10-31T00:00:00.002-05:00

About the Book:

"A great artist is cast into the icy Harlem River by a hit-and-run driver. His heart stops, and he sees something that defies description. Presumed dead by all who knew him and obsessed with the desire to paint the inexpressible, he embarks on a pilgrimage to seek help from holy men around the globe. But is it possible to see eternity without becoming lost within it? After a quarter of a century, when the world begins to whisper that he may be alive, two people come looking for the artist: the daughter he never knew existed, and the murderer who hit him on the bridge all those years ago."

Amber's Review:

Magical realism and Christian fiction - The Opposite of Art shows that these are not mutually exclusive concepts! Strange and exaggerated - yet somehow familiar - elements abound in this unique and brightly painted canvas of a novel. Dickson's writing is beautiful with all of its symbolism and mystique, serving as a great candidate for meaningful discussion and contemplation.

Ridler, the world-renowned artist, is a man on a mission. His goal is to paint the Glory that he felt in the instant he was flung from a bridge and cast into frigid waters. While the world considers him dead he travels all over in dogged pursuit of something he can't even define and can't seem to paint - a fact that fuels his wanderlust and an ever-increasing depression. After his abrupt "demise" the reader is introduced to him many years later, back in the United States and working with an unusual and wondrous circus troupe. It is through his stories to his circus friends and his flashbacks that the reader journeys with Ridler on his religion-hopping quest.

As much as Ridler's actions suggest otherwise, his life and art affect more than just himself. The man who tried to kill him, the woman he loves, the daughter he never knew, and various other people are all impacted by his struggles and uncertainty. So, too, the reader is one of the many who gets swept away into another world created by Ridler's art - and ultimately the opposite of it.

With its mature themes, violence, drug references, and sexual innuendoes, The Opposite of Art is not an easy piece to read. And with its wide array of symbols, it is not an easy piece to understand or dissect. But it is an intellectually stimulating and provocative read that is very well-crafted, intriguing, and surprising.

*With thanks to the publisher and Glass Road PR for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.*

About the Author:

"Athol Dickson is the publisher of the popular news website, DailyCristo.com, and the author of seven novels and the bestselling memoir, The Gospel according to Moses. His novels of suspense and magical realism have been honored with three Christy Awards and an Audie Award, and compared to the work of Octavia Butler (by Publisher’s Weekly) and Flannery O’Connor (by The New York Times). He and his wife live in Southern California."

You can learn more about the author and his books at his website.

And you can buy his book now at Amazon.com!

*This week's book review does not include a giveaway.*

Winners!!

2011-10-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

Good morning, BB fans! Thanks to everyone who participated in our "puzzling" Friday giveaway! Keep all those facebook and Twitter notifications, coming!

This week's winner of Promise Brides OR A Shepherd's Song, by S. Dionne Moore, is...

Cindy W. (countrybear52[at]yahoo[dot]com)

Cindy W., please use the button in the upper right side of this page to email me with your mailing address so I can forward your information to the author. Then, sit back and wait for your book to arrive.

Thank you all so much for stopping by The Borrowed Book and thank you, Sandra, for your generosity in providing a book!

Weekly Drawing

2011-10-28T00:00:00.001-05:00

Our weekly drawings are changing...we're making them more fun!! As always, followers of The Borrowed Book are automatically entered. HOWEVER...

Now you have several chances to win!

Here's how - instead of leaving a comment, leave the time it took you to complete the puzzle in the comments section. Winners will be drawn from ALL of the times, so the person with the fastest time may not be the actual winner, but by leaving your time, you double your chances.

Want another entry? Tweet your puzzle time and mention The Borrowed Book, get another entry.

Post your puzzle time on BB's Facebook wall and...you guessed it...get another entry!

Post it on your OWN Facebook wall and you could get as many as FOUR entries.

It's all a way to spread the word about the great giveaways on BB. So c'mon! Help us spread the word, and have a little fun at the same time. :-)

This week's puzzle feature is brought to you by one of our own BB staff members, S. Dionne Moore, who is celebrating the release of her latest book, Promise Brides.

Win a copy of Promise Brides or Moore's other November release A Shepherd's Song. Your choice! Please specify which one you'd like.

Promise Brides (3 historical romances in 1):Love is the same, no matter when, no matter where—it never comes without sacrifice. Theodore risks capture for Ellie, but will their hope for a future together be defeated? Can Marylu trust Chester, or is she asking for another broken heart? Will Alaina and Jack find common ground, or will flood waters destroy any possible future? Enjoy three romances from the historic state of Pennsylvania.

A Shepherd's Song: When fiery Renee Dover seeks adventure and searches for a gang of outlaws, she never expects she'll find them. Captured by the gang and certain her recklessness has gotten her brother killed, she escapes into the arms of Tyler Sperry, a quiet sheepherder with a mysterious past.