Based On Availability

From the very first page of this stunning novel, readers are drawn into the lives of eight seemingly ordinary women who pass through Manhattan's swanky Four Seasons Hotel. While offering sanctuary to some, solace to others, the hotel captures their darkest moments as they grapple with family, sex, power, love and death.

Trish obsesses over her best friend's wedding and dramatic weight loss. Robin wants revenge after a lifetime of abuse at the hands of her older sister. Anne is single, lonely and suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. Drug -addicted rock star Louise needs to dry out. Southerner turned wannabe Manhattanite Franny is envious of her neighbor's lives. Shelia wants to punish her boyfriend for returning to his wife. Ellen so desperately wants children that she insists she is pregnant to her disbelieving husband. And Morgan, the hotel manager - haunted by the memory of her dead sister - is the thread that weaves these women's lives together. (excerpt back cover).

I found this book amusing, sad, and somewhat haunting at times as you immerse yourself in the life stories each of these women find themselves in. Their lives are all woven together by their brief encounters at the Four Seasons Hotel along with the hotel manager Morgan whom you meet in the first chapter. Morgan is obsessed with the hotel and the lives of the people she happens across while rummaging through their rooms while the guests are out. She finds their prescriptions medicines which she is more than happy to take a few while looking at the contents of their room. I found this disturbing due to the position of hotel manager that Morgan is in.

The book has some profanity scattered throughout the pages and sexual encounters with married men and hotel staff, but other than that, the book is creatively told how each of their lives are connected in some way with another's.

I received Based On Availability from Alix Strauss, compliments of TLC Book Tours and would rate this a 6 out of 10. It's available in paperback and eBook formats. For more information on this book, the author and how to purchase a copy, please click on the link below:

http://tlcbooktours.com/2010/04/alix-strauss-author-of-based-upon-availability-on-tour-june-2010/

I am offering one lucky winner the chance to win a copy of this book simply by being a follower of mine and leaving me a comment. No P.O. Boxes please and residents of U.S. and Canada only! The giveaway will end on June 29th.

Maid to Match

My Review:

Set in the late 1800's we find ourselves at the Biltmore estate owned by the very prestigious and wealthy Vanderbilt's family. Here we met Tillie Reese who has worked at the Biltmore estate as a housemaid for quite some time, and now at 18 finds herself at just the right moment for a possible promotion when the current lady's maid is leaving back to France.

It's been Tillie's dream to become a lady's maid for someone like Mrs. Vanderbilt because she herself would be privileged to find herself in beautiful dresses and traveling all over the world, taking care of Mrs. Vanderbilt. Not only that she would make enough money to support her family at home. This is the job she has been waiting for and one her mother has been helping her strive for her whole life. Something better in this hard world.

Mack Danver is a rugged mountain man whose encounter in the city while shopping with Mrs. Vanderbilt is about to change life for both Tillie and the Vanderbilt family forever. Will their lives ever be the same again? Check out the details below including a chance to win a trip to the Biltmore estate yourself.

I received this must read book, Maid to Match by Deeanne Gist, compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and found myself completely immersed in the lives of Tillie and the staff at the Vanderbilt estate. There are parlor games that are played during the staffs days off at the Sunday barn dances that I found amusing and whimsical and completely adored how women were treated at these events. I highly recommend this book giving it a 10 out of 10 rating.

For more information about the author, the book and where you can enter for the contest to visit the Biltmore, check out the following information below:

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Maid to Match Bethany House (June 1, 2010)

by Deeanne Gist





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

After a short career in elementary education, Deeanne Gist retired to raise her four children. Over the course of the next fifteen years, she ran a home accessory and antique business, became a member of the press, wrote freelance journalism for national publications such as People, Parents, Parenting, Family Fun, Houston Chronicle and Orlando Sentinel, and acted as CFO for her husband’s small engineering firm--all from the comforts of home.



Squeezed betwixt-and-between all this, she read romance novels by the truckload and even wrote a couple of her own. While those unpublished manuscripts rested on the shelf, she founded a publishing corporation for the purpose of developing, producing and marketing products that would reinforce family values, teach children responsibility and provide character building activities.



After a few short months of running her publishing company, Gist quickly discovered being a "corporate executive" was not where her gifts and talents lie. In answer to Gist’s fervent prayers, God sent a mainstream publisher to her door who licensed her parenting I Did It!® product line and committed to publish the next generation of her system, thus freeing Gist to return to her writing.



Eight months later, she sold A Bride Most Begrudging to Bethany House Publishers. Since that debut, her very original, very fun romances have rocketed up the bestseller lists and captured readers everywhere. Add to this two consecutive Christy Awards, two RITA nominations, rave reviews, and a growing loyal fan base, and you’ve got one recipe for success.



Her 2010 books, Beguiled and Maid To Match are now available for order.



Gist lives in Texas with her husband of twenty-seven years and their two border collies. They have four grown children. Visit her blog to find out the most up-to-the-minute news about Dee.







ABOUT THE BOOK

Falling in love could cost her everything.



From the day she arrived at the Biltmore, Tillie Reese is dazzled, by the riches of the Vanderbilts and by Mack Danvers, a mountain man turned footman. When Tillie is enlisted to help tame Mack's rugged behavior by tutoring him in proper servant etiquette, the resulting sparks threaten Tillie's efforts to be chosen as Edith Vanderbilt's lady's maid, After all, the one rule of the house is no romance below stairs.



But the stakes rise even higher when Mack and Tillie become entangles in a cover-up at the town orphanage. They could both lose their jobs, their aspirations...their hearts.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Maid to Match, go HERE.





Join this SPECIAL GETAWAY (Click on the Button):

The Secret of Indigo Moon

I received this amazing and delightful book, The Dopple Ganger Chronicles, The Secret of Indigo Moon by G.P. Taylor, compliments of Tyndale House Publishers and found the book fascinating. The book trailer you've just seen came on a DVD for us to view before I even had the chance to read one page.

This is just a different kind of kids book. Somewhere between A Series of Unfortunate Events and Nancy Drew/Hardy Boy's Detective series, you find yourself completely lost in the book itself. Pages of black with white words is definitely different along with cute comic book style pages, keeps the attention of the child completely immersed in the story.





When it first arrived, my youngest at 11 and oldest daughter at 17 both immediately were drawn to the book as well as my hubby. However it was my youngest and I, that sat on the bed and begin to read the chilling mystery of what became of Ms. Olivia, the previous schools administrator.

All leads have come up empty and yet Erik Ganger and the girl Dopple twins, Sadie and Saskia get together to investigate a secret passage beneath the Isambard Dunstans's school for Wayward Children the story gets interesting. This book does keep the audience engaged from start to finish with a great message of Christian hope tied in.

This is such a great way finally for an author to engage a child's interest and I find this book highly recommended to any child, boy or girl between the ages of 8 and up. Included are just a sampling of the beautifully illustrated pages from the book. This one rates a perfect 10.





If you would like more information on this book, the author, a first chapter preview, and where to pick up your very own copy, click on the link below:

http://mediacenter.tyndale.com/1_products/details.asp?isbn=978-1-4143-1948-3

Pray Big - The Power of Pinpoint Prayers

I've been reading quite a few books on prayer lately in an effort to truly learn about the different types of communication we have with our heavenly Father. I am amazed at the things I am learning in the process.

I was provided with an opportunity to review the book, Pray Big, The Power of Pinpoint Prayers by Will Davis Jr, compliments of B & B Media Group, and here are just a few of the things I have discovered from the pages.

The Lord's Prayer that is found in Matthew 6:9-13 is an example of a pinpoint prayer. Jesus obviously was giving us a model outline for how our prayers might flow. There's no fluff, no fat, no extra words or theologically heavy terms. There's just simple, spot-on, pinpoint accuracy from Jesus. With a mere fifty-eight Greek words, Jesus acknowledged the character and sovereignty of God, surrendered to the Father's will, and sought provision, protection, and guidance from God. That's pinpoint praying.

You've heard these types of prayers before, "Lord, Please be with Tom and Jill. Please bless Joe and Sally and Be with Sue..." yet when you are praying these prayers what have you actually accomplished? It's like Christians have developed their own prayer language, and I don't mean the ecstatic kind.

Lord, please bless Bill. - What exactly do we mean by that? Do we want God to make Bill more holy or more disciplined? Are we hoping his business will prosper or that he'll be a better husband?

God, please be with Joan. - God's already with Joan. His Spirit lives in her, and he promised to never leave or forsake her. What do we really want God to do for Joan?

God, we ask that you give Sue an extra helping of your grace. - What is that? Does God dole out grace in measured proportions? That prayer makes God seem as if he has a big serving spoon - that he can be either generous or stingy with the helping of grace he dispenses.

So what do you really need? What walls need tearing down, and what strongholds need obliterating? What captives need freeing, and what lost people need saving? What Christian led business in your city do you want to prosper and adult bookstore do you want to see shut down? What terminally ill person do you want to see healed? What poor or unethical leaders need to either change their ways or be removed from leadership and what godly leaders need to be given more of a platform? What do you really want and need God to do? Whatever it is, if you're serious about receiving it from God, then you need to pray with the same focus Jesus did. (pg.13-14)

If you interested in more about this book, the author or where to pick up this amazing book for a small group study or home Bible study, click on the links below:

Praying with Boldness and Confidence

Author Will Davis Jr. helps readers pinpoint their needs and pray with passionate faith

Have you ever encountered a “Big Hairy Audacious Prayer”? Author Will Davis Jr. is a man who not only knows about asking big things from God, but he believes that all Christ-followers are equipped with the faith to make “Big Asks” from God! Beginning with the Lord’s Prayer as a biblical example, Davis teaches believers that God honors requests of His children that are specifically and biblically asked. Once believers learn to view God’s word as a prayer guide, the entire Bible becomes a treasure chest of promises and foundational prayers that enable Christ-followers to storm heaven’s gates with pinpoint accuracy!

Prayers should be so God-sized, so humanly impossible, and yet so utterly appealing that they totally consume you and drive you to your knees. Davis is not talking about a genie-in-a-lamp approach to prayer, but a prayer life that is founded upon God’s Word and one that gives new meaning to the biblical exhortation to come boldly before God’s throne. Davis, pastor of Austin Christian Fellowship in Austin, Texas, has written four books that offer a biblical foundation for making “Big Asks” of God and expecting miraculous results.

Pray Big: The Power of Pinpoint Prayers introduces the concept of Big Hairy Audacious Prayers (or BHAP’s) and reveals how vital our prayer lives are in the process of learning to submit to God and trusting Him with every detail of our lives. Whether you are begging for the salvation of a spouse, the removal of a cancerous tumor, or the resolution of a difficult financial situation, it is exciting to bring your requests before God when you are standing on biblical ground. Davis encourages believers to use Scripture intermingled with prayer so that requests can be made specifically and accurately. The practice of searching the Bible for God’s promises and direction will establish a solid foundation for making requests from your Heavenly Father. Examples of these requests might sound like this:

• “Father, help my children delight in your law and meditate on your word day and night.” (Psalm 3:3)
• “Mighty God, be a shield about me. Shine your glory on me and be a lifter of my head.” (Psalm 6:9)
• “Father, I pray you will hear [my loved one’s] cry for mercy and accept his prayer.” (Psalm 6:9)

Every believer is equipped with the mustard-seed of faith that makes prayer possible. So quit holding your breath, believer, and start breathing your heart to God in prayer! You will live differently, love differently, and begin to learn what it means to pray without ceasing.

Pray Big: The Power of Pinpoint Prayers by Will Davis Jr.

Revell/ISBN: 978-0-8007-3204-2/201 pages/softcover/$12.99

www.willdavisjr.com

Become a fan of Will Davis on Facebook ~ Follow Will on Twitter ~ Watch Will on You Tube

Love Finds You In Golden New Mexico

My Review:

It's 1890 in the small mining town of Golden, New Mexico which is where gold was first discovered long before those in California. Here men were making a fortune, enough for some to be quite well off and give up mining when it became too dangerous.

One such man, Philip Smith, now in his golden age, had missed out on the opportunities to find himself a wife, settle down and start a family. Yet, being a man of God, he knew God had a plan in mind for him. One that involved finding the right woman he could take care of financially and in turn, she could care for him in the remaining years he had left. Philip decides to post an ad in the local paper in Boston, of all places, for a mail order bride.

Madeline Mercer of the Boston Mercers finds herself grieving the recent death of her father, a successful business man in Boston. Madeline is still waiting for the will to be read to find out just how much money she has left and until she does, she reduces the staff in her home to just two, a married couple Frank and Sarah, who have cared for her since she was a child. One evening her father's business partner, Horace Johnstone, invites himself for dinner unexpectedly to tell Madeline, that she is penniless and has been asked by her father prior to his demise that he had promised Mr. Johnstone that Madeline would marry him.

Due to the grieving Madeline is still enduring, Mr. Johnstone tells her she will have one month and then she'd better be prepared to marry him or be on the streets living in a shanty. What chose does Madeline have?

To find out....you've got to read the book, Love Finds You In Golden, New Mexico by Lena Nelson Dooley. Another great book that teaches how God can use the most difficult of circumstances to bring about good when people intend it for evil. This is a must read and one you can completely lose yourself in with the characters of Philip and Madeline. Even the household staff couple of Sarah and Frank are ones you can identify with because you see how they are part of Madelines life and will do whatever it takes to make things right for her.

For more information on this book, the author and where you can pick up a copy of this book, simply scroll down and follow the links. I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book to review from Christian Fiction Blog Alliance.

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Love Finds You In Golden, New Mexico Summerside Press (May 1, 2010)

by

Lena Nelson Dooley





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

For several years, Lena worked on the support staff of a church, but in November of 2002, God changed things so that she could stay home and write full-time. It has been the desire of her heart for a long time. In Proverbs 37:4, it says, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” She believes that this blessing is a result of her delighting herself in Him, and she praises Him for the opportunity.



She have been a professional writer with a free-lance writing and editing business since 1984. In that time, she has written curriculum for public schools, private schools, and three different denominations. For one company, I managed a writing team that produced a two-year American History course for at-risk students. One of her clients was a Christian comedian for whom she wrote several routines. An airline training company had her edit and design International business reports for them.



Her first novel was published by Heartsong Presents in 1992. Since then Lena Nelson Dooley has written more than 25 works of fiction and nonfiction.



Lena has been married to her husband James since 1964. Theirs was one of those love-at-first-sight relationships. They were married three months and three days after they met. He truly was God’s gift to her. They are absolute opposites, but that means that his strengths are her weaknesses, and her strengths are his weaknesses. Together they make a more perfect whole. She believe that is what God intends for all of us.



They have two daughters. Marilyn Van Zant is married to Roger, and they have a son named Timothy. Tim is now in Tennessee at Ft. Campbell. His son Sebastian is almost 2 years old. Jennifer Waldron is married to Eric, and they have three children—Austin, Marissa, and Amanda. James and Lena love to spend time with their family, and they are blessed that both families live in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex, so they see them often.



ABOUT THE BOOK

All that glitters is not gold. It’s 1890, and Golden, New Mexico, is a booming mining town where men far outnumber women. So when an old wealthy miner named Philip Smith finds himself in need of a nursemaid, he places an ad for a mail-order bride—despite the protests of his friend Jeremiah.



Hoping to escape a perilous situation back East, young Madeleine Mercer answers the ad and arrives in town under a cloud of suspicion. But just as she begins to win over Philip—and Jeremiah himself—the secrets she left behind threaten to follow her to Golden...and tarnish her character beyond redemption.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Love Finds You In Golden, New Mexico, go HERE.

"Love Finds You In Golden, New Mexico is a well-researched novel brimming With emotive conflict. Lena Nelson Dooley has crafted a historical romance that demonstrates that courage comes in many forms, but the courage to love is the most difficult of all.”



─DiAnn Mills, author of Sworn to Protect and A Woman Called Sage

“Two strangers are presented with a ‘golden’ opportunity for love in this quintessential East meets West tale by well-loved author Lena Nelson Dooley. I found myself swept away by the beautiful writing and enmeshed in the lives of the players, who face many twists and turns in their journey toward the ultimate happily-ever-after. Love Finds You in Golden, New Mexico is truly one of the loveliest historical romances I’ve read in ages. Highly recommended.”



─Janice Hanna Thompson, author of Love Me Tender and Swinging on a Star

A Tailor-Made Bride Debut Novel

Set in the 1880's of Texas, we find ourselves immersed with Hannah Richards who is a dressmaker at a fitting of a prestigious and wealthy client, Victoria Ashmont. Ms. Ashmont is in the process of her final fitting of a scarlet gown that she is planning on being buried in, finding that she is living in her final days. This comes as a complete shock to Ms. Ashmont's family who finds this a bit on the scandalous side and wonders what people will do when they see her at the funeral dressed in scarlet.

Hannah keeps her place and offers only suggestions when Ms. Ashmont asks her opinion. After her nephew's wife leave in disgust, does Ms. Ashmont ask Hannah a question about where to leave her inheritance money. She knows that her family is only waiting for her to die before they become like scavengers and spend all the money. She somehow wishes she could give it to a worthy cause.

Hannah offers a suggestion that Ms. Ashmont should invest her money where the legacy would leave it's most lasting impression. What Hannah is about to discover is that legacy is about to begin with this conversation with Victoria Ashmont!

I received Tailor-Made Bride by Karen Witemeyer, compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance. It was a wonderful story with the character of Hannah Richardson being the perfect example of beauty and strength in the 1880's. I found this book again to rate a place in my permanent place in my library and give it a perfect 10!

If you would like to know more about this book, the author and where to purchase a copy, please click on the links below:

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

A Tailor-Made Bride

Bethany House (June 1, 2010)

by

Karen Witemeyer





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Karen Witemeyer is a deacon's wife and mother of three who believes the world needs more happily-ever-afters. To that end, she combines her love of bygone eras with her passion for helping women mature in Christ to craft historical romance novels that lift the spirit and nurture the soul.



After growing up in California, Karen moved to Texas to attend Abilene Christian University where she earned bachelor and master's degrees in Psychology. It was also there that she met and married her own Texas hero. He roped her in good, for she has lived in Texas ever since. In fact, she fell so in love with this rugged land of sweeping sunsets and enduring pioneer spirit, that she incorporates it into the pages of her novels, setting her stories in the small towns of a state that burgeoned into greatness in the mid-to-late 1800s.



In January, 2009, Karen signed a contract with Bethany House Publishers for three inspirational historical romance novels, and she is thrilled to announce that her first book, A TAILOR-MADE BRIDE has released this month. For an inside look into the background and quirks of some of the major players in this upcoming story, click over to Character Corner





ABOUT THE BOOK

When a dressmaker who values beauty tangles with a liveryman who condemns vanity, the sparks begin to fly!

Jericho "J.T." Tucker wants nothing to do with the new dressmaker in Coventry, Texas. He's all too familiar with her kind--shallow women more devoted to fashion than true beauty. Yet, except for her well-tailored clothes, this seamstress is not at all what he expected.



Hannah Richards is confounded by the man who runs the livery. The unsmiling fellow riles her with his arrogant assumptions and gruff manner, while at the same time stirring her heart with unexpected acts of kindness. Which side of Jericho Tucker reflects the real man?



When Hannah decides to help Jericho's sister catch a beau--leading to consequences neither could have foreseen--will Jericho and Hannah find a way to bridge the gap between them?



If you would like to read the first chapter of A Tailor-Made Bride , go HERE.

In The Sanctuary of Outcasts, A Memoir

Daddy is going to camp.

That's what I told my children.

But it wasn't camp...

Neil White wanted only the best for those he loved and was willing to go to any lengths to provide it - which is how he ended up in a federal prison in rural Louisiana, serving eighteen months for bank fraud.

But it's no ordinary prison.

The beautiful, isolated colony in Carville, Louisiana, was also home to the last people in the continental Unitead States disfigured by leprosy - a small circle of outcasts who had forged a tenacious, clandestine community, a fortress to repel the cruelty of the outside world. In this place rich with history, amid an unlikely mix of leprosy patients, nuns and criminals, White's strange and compelling new life journey began.

An extraordinary memoir at once funny, poignant, and uplifting, In the Sanctuary of Outcasts reminds us all what matters most. (excerpt back cover).

My Review ~ This is such a heart rendering book about unconditional love on both sides. First Neil White is repulsed as are most of the inmates about the disfigurement of the many residents of the "leper" colony living among them. There are those that look seemingly "normal" and then there are the extreme cases with loss of limbs and complete facial deformity.

Yet once Neil is willing to look past his own fears, he finds such warm stories of those that are the outcasts of society today. He learns what it is to really love behind the exterior of someone and really see the person God sees in us all.

Neil White is serving time in this prison for bank fraud known as kiting. It's taking funds from one account to pay another while in the hopes it buys you enough time to actually put the money in the accounts. Neil gets caught and thus find his wife dropping him off to serve his time.

I loved this book for the message found in the pages of the stories of the real life people whose names have been changed to protect their identities. In the book, I found myself not only getting to know Neil but also the residents of the colony as well. I have to give this book a 10 out of 10 and even though the language is harsh, it falls in line with a memoir dealing with some of societies harshest prisoners.

For more information on this book, the author or where to pick up a copy, please click on the link below:

http://tlcbooktours.com/2010/03/neil-white-author-of-in-the-sanctuary-of-outcasts-on-tour-june-2010/

I received this book compliments of TLC Book Tours and I am delighted to be able to offer you a copy as a follower of my blog who leaves a comment. This giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada only. Please NO P.O. Boxes. I also need to be able to reach you so if your email isn't linked to your blog, please leave it in the comments. Please tell me why you want to win this giveaway. The giveaway ends on Sunday, June 20th.