Two Suspense Titles I read this week and Loved!

In case you aren't reading one of my books for spring break...umm...here are a couple of really good suspense novels I've read in the last week.

Randy Singer is one of those authors that I wish could write multiple books a year. His plots are intricate, his suspense compelling, and his characterization superb. With The Last Plea Bargain he is back and at the top of the legal thriller genre. The Last Plea Bargain is a page-turning legal thriller that spins in so many directions I couldn't walk away from the story. I loved that he brought back Jamie Brock, a character from another book. Jamie is facing the death of her father and the execution of the man who murdered her mother. The problem is that his appellate attorney is willing to do anything to get his execution stayed. The man is fully convinced that his client is innocent. Then the attorney who defended her mother's killer is accused of murdering his wife, and Jamie's put on the case. From there Singer weaves an intricate web that spins between the appellate and trial cases. The trial scenes are gripping, yet the non-legal scenes are filled with tension and underlying emotions. And each time I thought I knew with certainty where the plot was headed, he threw in a twist that kept me reading.

Singer is an absolute master -- he's crafted another compelling win with The Last Plea Bargain. I hope to see more books with Jamie...My only complaint is that he can't write faster!

When we stopped at Thomas Nelson last week on our drive back from Jekyll Island, Allen asked if I'd read any of Lis Wiehl's Triple Threat novels. I'd read one and started another, so he handed me the latest that releases next week. I read it in a day. Literally. The fourth book in the series, I found it a compelling read. Because I knew the conflict that would propel the book, I thought I'd read a few chapters and walk away. Instead, because I'd just finished another book in the series, I was easily drawn into the lives of the Triple Threat members: a crime reporter, FBI agent, and federal prosecutor. This time they're not just seeking justice but fighting for their lives. As with the other books, there are multiple points of view, but this one delved deeper into each character, allowing me to better connect with them. This book left me longing for a bit more. Yet the ending satisfied as the Triple Threat Club survived...with a twist.

3 Ways to Breath Life into Your Child's Dreams

This weekend my oldest daughter and I spent about twenty hours helping out at a gymnastics meet. Yes, you're reading that right. Twenty hours.

The competing girls were all levels 3 & 4s. For many of them it was their first state competition. And their dreams were coming true.

Kids are like that. The kids on the left are my two oldest several years ago looking through binoculars on Mackinac Island. Kids have the biggest dreams. And as a parent I want to know how to focus in on the one that will lead to success and fulfillment. So what's a parent to do?

A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island Arrives!!!!

Friday my author copies of A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island arrived! I love this story. The heroine is an attorney who's forced to return home to  help her family. In the process she's confronted with the past and a mystery. Then an old family friend is murdered. Add her first love who lives next door...and her life is complicated.

Last night I was pinning some information on Mackinac Island to my board on Pinterest. It felt almost nostalgic to return to the blogs, maps, and hotels we've stayed at. I can't wait to return later this summer for a booksigning.


My kids are excited because they love everything about the island. They love the salt water taffy and fudge. They enjoy Fort Mackinac. And we love biking around the island. It's such a peaceful place with the clop of horses' hooves and sound of bikes zipping along the road.

It's been a few months since we've been there!

Where is a place that you and your family like to visit?

Finding God in the Details

Last weekend the Putmans punched what my husband calls our crazy card. We left Thursday afternoon at 1 p.m., drove to Jekyll Island, Georgia -- a 14 hour drive for those keeping track, and arrived at 1 p.m. on Friday. Then we left Sunday night and arrived home at 1 a.m. Tuesday morning.

CRAZY!

But what you do when life is as scheduled -- dare I say over-scheduled -- as ours.

What does this to do with finding God in the details?

As we drove home late Monday night, we passed the Henryville, Indiana exit. An exit that was blocked with barricades and a state patrol car.  Trees were uprooted along the Interstate -- even with the few I could see in the dark, my heart broke again for those wiped out by the storm.

Then it hit me. We could have been in the middle of the storm. If we'd left at 1 p.m. on Friday like we'd discussed, then we would have hit southern Indiana as the storm gathered its fury. And then I wondered: how many stories like that will we hear? Moments, decisions, actions that changed outcomes. Now, in our situation, I don't think that decision was earth-shattering, but it did make our trip much smoother. We sat out tornado warnings in a comfortable house on Jekyll Island rather than dodging through the system on Friday.

Again I'm reminded that God is active in our lives. I wonder how very many times He's moving and influencing and we just don't recognize His presence. My prayer is that my eyes would be open more and more to see those intersections.

Even as I pray about how to help the communities affected by the storm. While I may not understand why things happen the way they do, I'm increasingly aware of the way God is in the details. How have you seen God move in or intersect your life lately?

Wednesday Meditation: The Value of Life

Last week, I saw this on Facebook. The thing that struck me was the way I hesitated to repost it even as I thought the image had power. Then I saw the video for the new Casting Crowns song, Just Another Birthday. Yes, the song speaks to so much more than just the value of life. Still I urge you to take a moment to watch the video. Then read the portion of Psalm 139 and thank God for crafting you and having a plan for you before you were even recognized by your earthly mom and dad.

And then ask God how you can help those who find themselves facing the challenges of the girl in the photo to the right. It's not enough to say we value life. We have to do something about it.

Psalm 139:13-16

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Chasing the Sun CFBA Tour

This week, the  Christian Fiction Blog Alliance  is introducing  Chasing The Sun  Bethany House Publishers (March 1, 2012)  by  Tracie Peterson  


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 85 novels.

She received her first book contract in November, 1992 and saw A Place To Belong published in February 1993 with Barbour Publishings' Heartsong Presents. She wrote exclusively with Heartsong for the next two years, receiving their readership's vote for Favorite Author of the Year for three years in a row.

In December, 1995 she signed a contract with Bethany House Publishers to co-write a series with author Judith Pella. Tracie now writes exclusively for Bethany House Publishers.

She teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research.

Tracie was awarded the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for 2007 Inspirational Fiction and her books have won numerous awards for favorite books in a variety of contests.

Making her home in Montana, this Kansas native enjoys spending time with family--especially her three grandchildren--Rainy, Fox and Max.  She's active in her church as the Director of Women's Ministries, coordinates a yearly writer's retreat for published authors, and travels, as time permits, to research her books.    


ABOUT THE BOOK

When her father disappears in war-torn Mississippi, Hannah Dandridge finds herself responsible not only for her younger siblings but for the ranch her father recently acquired on the Texas plains. Though a marriage of convenience could ease her predicament, she determines to trust God for direction.

Wounded soldier William Barnett returns to his home only to discover that his family's ranch has been seized. Though angry and bitter at this turn of events, he's surprised to discover that it is a beautiful young woman with amazing fortitude who is struggling to keep the place running.

Hannah, desperate for help, and William, desperate to regain his family's land, form an uneasy truce. But nearby Comanche tribes, the arrival of Confederate soldiers, and a persistent suitor all threaten the growing attraction that builds between them. Will they be able to set aside their own dreams and embrace the promise of a future together?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Chasing The Sun, go HERE.

This book is next on my pile to read. I haven't read many books set during the Civil War lately. Yet this one by Tracie Peterson caught my attention. Looks like an engaging read.

Blue Moon Promise Review

If you read this blog much at all, you know that Colleen Coble has been instrumental in launching my writing career. For some reason she saw something in me and has breathed life into it. 


If you love her Gilded Age historicals and you enjoy her Lonestar series, then Blue Moon Promise is for you. While I enjoy Colleen's contemporary romantic mysteries, I've decided I adore her historicals. There is a certain style that comes through as she writes stories set in times from the past that I love. This book completely fit that convergence.


Lucy Marsh has to protect her younger siblings, but after her father is killed, it becomes ever more challenging. Then a man shows up at her door claiming to be a long ago friend of her father's. He suggests she marry his son, so that she and her siblings will have  a place to live. That requires a move from Indiana to the unknown in Texas, but when they are attacked that night, she feels she has no choice.