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Tuesday, October 9, 2012

The Trouble With Cowboys



"If Dylan had a heart, she was sure it was unwoundable. Made of something springy and elastic that sent oncoming darts bouncing off. Typical cowboy.

She skimmed the menu, unseeing. "That seat's taken."

"Your sister joining you?"

Like she couldn't possibly have a date? "What's that supposed to mean?"

His hands went up in surrender. "I was hoping to join you."

"I have a date."

His head tipped back slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. "Ah...who's the lucky guy?"

"What do you want Dylan?"

He tilted the chair onto its back legs, and she found herself wishing it would fall. But that kind of thing never happened to men like Dylan.

"I have a proposition," he said, his eyes roaming her face.

Her cheeks grew warm and she hated that. Cursed Irish blood and fair skin. She swore he said things like that on purpose. She focused on the menu. On the photo of barbecue ribs that were actually better than they looked.

"Not interested."

"In all seriousness," he said, his voice dropping the teasing tone, "I got a horse that needs help. Wondered if you'd drop by next week and take a look at him. It's my best horse - Braveheart. He's got moon blindness. The vet thinks I ought to put him down." (pg 2-3).

And that is the trouble with cowboys, they rope you in with their kind words, endearing tone and sad puppy dog eyes and before you know it, you're bound up in emotion and put your heart on the line for love. Then they leave you just as fast as they come. At least that was the pattern that Annie Wilkerson had seen in both her own father and the man who left her sister pregnant, both of them cowboys. Now if Annie, can find a way to stay away from smooth talking Dylan, she might be safe but she had a heart for horses and agreed to work with Braveheart on her terms and not Dylans. Too bad her heart didn't understand the plan first.

In the latest novel from The Big Sky Romance series from Denise Hunter, The Trouble With Cowboys takes the reader into a very complicated situation in which both Annie and Dylan have difficulties dealing with their personal past hurts that keep them from seeing the reality of the true person in front of them. They have both vowed to make a commitment to keep from falling in love, Annie vows to swear off all cowboys and Dylan agrees never to get too serious with any one woman to avoid the pain of falling in love again. What they both will find is that God often has different plans in mind and it's only through His timing, that true healing can take place, no matter how hard we may try to dig our heels in.

I received The Trouble With Cowboys by Denise Hunter, compliments of Litfuse Publicity and Thomas Nelson Publishers for my honest review. I've had the complete delight to read all three books in the Big Sky Romance series and if you're a Christian Western Romantic at heart with a love for cowboys and the romance, then this series is geared to capture your heart! I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and hope Denise might be inspired to write just one more in this series. The Trouble with Cowboys even blends a portion of the novel Smitten in this one, which she co-authored with many other talented Christian writers. This is also what I would define as a contemporary western because it's based in the present not the historical old west. This has found a home in my personal library and one that I will enjoy time and time again.

For more information on The Trouble With Cowboys, Denise Hunter or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:


You can also become a follower of Denise Hunter's on Facebook

The Big Sky Romance Series: 

# 1 - A Cowboy's Touch
# 2 - The Accidental Bride
# 3 - The Trouble with Cowboys

Denise Hunter’s “The Trouble with Cowboys” Facebook Party & Kindle Fire Giveaway


To celebrate the release of The Trouble with Cowboys Denise is hosting a fun Author Chat Party on Facebook. She'll connect with readers and give away some amazing prizes - including a Kindle Fire! 

Save the Date for October 11th!



Grab your copy of Denise Hunter’s latest book and join her for an Author Chat Party on October 11th at 8:00 PM EST (that’s 7:00 Central, 6:00 MST, & 5:00 PST)! Haven’t read The Trouble with Cowboys yet? That’s okay, don’t let that stop you from coming to the party! (You may win a copy!)



During the evening she’ll be sharing the story behind the book, posting discussion questions, testing your trivia skills, and of course, there will be plenty of chatting and fun giveaways – books, gift certificates and – a Kindle Fire! She’ll also be giving you a sneak peek of her next book too!



RSVP today and then come back on the 11th … and bring your friends!

Saturday, October 6, 2012

A Plain Death



I absolutely LOVE it when you find a great author that can immediately get you involved as part of her book from the very first page. To me it's a great sign of a talented writer if they can engage you from the beginning and keep you hooked turning pages as fast as you can read them. Success achieved with the latest novel from Amanda Flower, A Plain Death. This is just one of the many that will soon follow in the Appleseed Creek Mystery series and I can't wait for the adventure to continue.

The book introduces us immediately as twenty-four-year old Chloe Humphrey is attempting to find her way to her new home and job in Appleseed Creek, Ohio. As she is getting her bearings thanks to a GPS device that is as lost as she is, she happens upon a young Amish girl, Becky Troyer being harrassed by two English men. Chloe rescues the poor girl and in return Becky kindly guides Chloe to her new location. She learns that Chloe is heading up the new technology department at the local college and soon introduces Chloe to her handy Amish brother, Timothy, who offers to help around Chloe's new home fixing things. But it seems Becky is hiding more than she is willing to let on to Chloe who has become her new hero. When Chloe offers Becky a place to stay with her, she immediately accepts.

Seeing Becky has some issues since leaving her Amish faith, Chloe wants to help her find a new start. She locates a job at a local greenhouse that would be perfect for her. But rather than wait for a ride, Becky "borrows" Chloe's car, even though she doesn't have a license. On her way to the interview, Becky gets into an accident killing the local bishop. It's here that the novel really takes off. It seems that someone has tampered with Chloe's car and that the brake lines had been cut. Who is responsible? Are they after Chloe or Becky? Well to find out, you'll just have to pick up the latest copy of A Plain Death from Amanda Flower!

I received A Plain Death, compliments from B & H Publishing Group and Net Galley for my honest review and I am so glad I picked this one up to review. I love it when a great writer will combine elements from different genre's and create a masterpiece that will grab new readers and make them want even more. Amanda Flowers does that and so much more. I can't wait to pick up the next book in this series, A Plain Scandal, and for those of you that love Christian Amish with a blend of mystery added, then you will LOVE this one. I personally rate it a 5 out of 5 stars!

For more information on A Plain Death, Amanda Flower and where you can pick up a copy of this latest book today, please click on the links below:


You can stay up with the latest books from Amanda Flower by clicking here for her Facebook page.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Brink of Chaos





I can really get into a book when you can look at the world around you and see complete parallels with what is happening between them both. Once again authors, Tim LaHaye and Craig Parshall, reunite the readers with Joshua Jordan, former pilot and now taking up asylum that had been provided to him by Israel while his wife and attorney, Abigail can prove his innocence and guarantee him a fair trial. Joshua is fighting trumped-up charges brought by the Department of Justice but give the energy put into the case by the administration of President Tulrude, and the political corruption that Abigail believed was at the bottom of it all, she knew that would be a Herculean task.

The charges accused Joshua of treason, painting him as a domestic terrorist who had used his own defense-contracting firm and the Roundtable group to infiltrate the Department of Defense and manipulate America's national-security apparatus so it would conform to his own political agenda. Abigail considered the allegations an absurd insult. Her husband was a decorate hero-yet the Tulrude administration and its attorney general had concocted a wild theory that through Josh's leadership of the Roundtable, he was attempting to create his own "shadow government," using his influence and connections to subvert American domestic and foreign policy. Abigail believed that the criminal case against Joshua was the only way to shut him up, to stop his work in exposing the dangerous direction that President Tulrude had taken the country.

All this is set against the backdrop on the prevailing winds of the apocalyptic end times as Israel is still cleaning up the remains from the recent nuclear attack by Russia, thus fulfilling the prophecy from Ezekiel in the Bible. The believers in Jesus Christ, fear that the rapture is imminent as citizens are instructed that they have a few remaining days to receive their BIDtag, or Biological Identification invisible tattoo that allows you to be tracked anywhere by the government and security. It is as most believe that is has become the mark of the Antichrist. Meanwhile a One World New Order is being formed by UN under the authority of Coliquin, and his highest priority is the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and signing a peace treaty with Israel. Sounds just like what is happening slowly outside our own front doors!

I received Brink of Chaos by Tim LaHaye and Craig Parshall compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and hope there is more coming in this exciting heart-beating series. This marks the third book in The End series and the ending will leave you breathless and wondering just where you stand in your own faith if in fact this novel were to come to a chilling reality. As believers in Jesus Christ, this book makes a stand for what Christians believe will be the coming end times based on prophecies contained within the Bible. This is a perfect novel for those of you that enjoyed the Left Behind Series and why I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information on Brink of Chaos, Tim LaHaye, Craig Parshall and where to pick up this exciting suspense novel today, please click on the links below:


You can also find more reviews from the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance tour by clicking here. 


Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Fruit of My Spirit



" But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23

Do you ever wonder if there is a God out there that really and truly cares about what you're going through? If you're simply going through all the motions, there where are all the blessings? Feel like you're crossing through yet another parched desert alone?

Fear not, for God is with you, all the way to the end of whatever valley you are enduring in your life right now. There are certainly times where we begin to wonder where it's all going and is the journey even worth it and a great resource to pick up is Deanna Nowadnick's book, Fruit of the Spirit. Written as a short story to encourage her sons, it quickly became a longer book but now one that can inspire you as you endure your own walk of faith. In the end, God will bring about a great harvest as long as we don't lose heart along the way. This one came to me, at just the perfect time where I was wondering where God was in all of my own long walk of faith in one of the darkest trials in my life.

I was encouraged and refreshed as I read through this book. I found myself feeling called back into an oasis of sorts with God for some quiet time and reflection, as well as inspiration, endurance and faith. In the end, I hope we can all show through our own personal trials, the perfect fruit of walking with God along the way. A great reminder that He never leaves us or forsakes us, it's often us that walk away from Him. The great news is He is always watching and nearby!

I received this book compliments of Deanna Nowadnick for my honest review and think this is the perfect thirst quencher to go hand-in-hand with your Bible to help bring you through those dark valleys to rest upon the mountain tops when the time is right. I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it for those of you looking for some encouragement along your desert walk of faith!

For more information about Fruit of My Spirit, Deanna Nowadnick or where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the link below:



Monday, October 1, 2012

Unclaimed Legacy ~ Giveaway and Review

 

Ever since Mother's Day my husband and I have been searching Ancestry.com to try and figure out just how far our own family tree goes back in time. Rumor has it from my husbands side of the family that his distant relative may have been William Clark from the famed Lewis and Clark expedition and that is just where I found myself today after reading Deborah Heal's latest novel, Unclaimed Legacy.

In this sequel to Time and Again: Charotte from Miles Station, we revisit Merri and Abby who have come across quite an unusual computer program that has been installed on Merri's computer called Beautiful Home. With it, they can log into the program in old homes and take a virtual trip back into time and view what life was like for the people who lived in that particular home. Now that they haven't been able to get it to work in the Miles Station home any longer, they think the program has malfunctioned or gotten a virus.

They consult with John Roberts, a young man that helped them out in the first book and whom Abby has a bit of an attraction for to help them fix their computer. He brings along a friend who tells them there is no such program called Beautiful Home and offers to de-bug their computer anyway. Since they can't get the computer program to work anymore they set out to work with a neighborhood boy by the name of Michael who has speech problems and is being bullied at school. When they meet his mother, who is deaf, they make the connection that Michael's speech problem can be fixed by working with a speech therapist by the name of Lucy.

Since Lucy is so busy, she asks Abby and Merri to house sit for her and take care of her young dog named Dr. Bob. While there she reminds them of some older ladies named Beulah and Eulah Edwards, twins who live next door and who are a bit intrusive, harmless and eccentric. She advised them, not to eat anything they cook, since most of the time it's not edible and to help them out whenever they can. It's not until they stay over night that the computer program for Beautiful Home once more is working but this time it's there current residence that has a bit of history to reveal on its own.

This is where to story gets interesting and the reader is taken on a fictional time travel of sorts where the author, Deborah Heal has taken pieces of real life history and woven them into the story to create a fantastic story geared to keep the reader entertained and on the edge of their seat through the whole book. I've been delighted to be given a sneak peek into this sequel due out this year for young adults and have to say I adored every single bit of this. It has just the perfect blend of history and action packed suspense to keep young adults glued to the pages as they work with the characters Abby, Merri and John to uncover a crime from history and a mystery of a secret intruder who stakes out the Shake Rag Corner Stage Coach Inn in the late night hours searching for something.

I received an Unclaimed Legacy compliments of Deborah Heal for my honest opinion and being both a lover of historical fiction and young adult books, I think she has mastered a home run here. This one easily rates a 5 out of 5 stars for me and one I anxiously await our coming school year to have my 13-year-old daughter pick up as both a part of literature and history. I think that's what makes this book so incredible is its ability to translate a love of reading with a fascination for history and I hope it will work it's way to the top of the best seller lists for young adults.

Author Bio:










Deborah Heal is the author of the young adult novel Time and Again. She lives in Waterloo, Illinois, where she enjoys reading, gardening, and learning about southern Illinois history. She is married and has three grown children, three grandchildren, and a canine buddy named Scout (a.k.a. Dr. Bob). Currently, she is working on book three in the Time and Again trilogy.

You may learn more about the author by visiting her website: www.deborahheal.com, her Facebook Fan Page, and Goodreads. Her books may be purchased on Amazon.com.

For more information on this unique and wonderful series of books by Deborah Heal, please click on the links below:


You can visit Deborah's website by clicking here or you can follow her on Facebook by clicking here. 

Now the best part, Deborah is provided a giveaway copy from her first book, Time and Again to one lucky reader of my blog. Here is an excerpt from that book:

“No…There’s no way that would work. I mean no one could invent a software program that could do that. No way.”

“What are you talking about?” Merrideth said, staring at her.

Abby didn’t answer, but taking the mouse from Merrideth, she placed the cursor on the View icon on the menu bar and clicked. “This is so similar to my brother’s architecture program,” she began, “that maybe we’ll be able to …”

When she clicked on Flip, both girls simultaneously gasped. “…do this,” Abby said with satisfaction.
The screen view had rotated on its vertical axis and now they were seeing the back side of Colonel Miles’ house. White sheets on a clothesline snapped in the wind. A young woman in a long blue dress and bonnet was stooping to pull a wet sheet from the wicker basket at her feet. A gray cat came out of the barn and, stepping delicately through the wet grass, cautiously bypassed the flapping sheets to lay in the sun on the back step.

After a moment of stunned silence, Merrideth said, “It’s her! It’s Charlotte.”

 If you'd love to read my review on Time and Again, simply click here.

Here are your guidelines:

1. Be a follower of my blog, Reviews From The Heart.

2. Like Deborah's book, Unclaimed Legacy and Time and Again on the Amazon page. Simply click the like button next to the title.

3. Be a resident of the US or have a US shipping address. No P.O. Boxes please.

4. Become a follower of Deborah's on her Facebook Fan Page, by clicking here, for an extra chance to enter.

5. Leave a comment below telling me why you'd love to win a copy of this book. Don't forget your email address so I can notify you if you're the lucky winner of this giveaway. You can use the words (at) and (dot) instead of the symbols.

I will notify the winner of the giveaway on October 9th via email so make sure you enter as many times as you want before the 9th!

For more reviews check out the blog schedule below:

Oct 2nd http://www.mybookaddictionandmore.com/be-featured
Oct 3rd http://justanotherrabidreader.info/
Oct 4th: http://justanotherrabidreader.info/
Oct 5th: http://itstimetoreadmamaw.blogspot.com
Oct 8th: www.dianeestrella.com
Oct 9th: http://www.ekfamilybooks.blogspot.com/
Oct 10th: http://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/
Oct 11th: http://robyn-campbell.blogspot.com/ Putting Pen to Paper
Oct 12th: http://itstimetoreadmamaw.blogspot.com
Oct 15th: http://www.christianchicksthoughts.blogspot.com/p/book-reviews.html
Oct 16th: http://www.christianchicksthoughts.blogspot.com/p/book-reviews.html
Oct 17th: http://labornotinvain.blogspot.com/
Oct 18th:http://gabina49.wordpress.com/about/
Oct 19th: http://kerrificonline.blogspot.com/
Oct 22nd: http://hottbooks.com/
Oct 23rd: http://myguiltyobsession.blogspot.com/
Oct 24th: http://christianbookshelfreviews.blogspot.com/
Oct 25th: http://thelifeandtimesofwanda.blogspot.com/
Oct 26th: http://thelifeandtimesofwanda.blogspot.com/
Oct 29th: http://hottbooks.com/
Oct 30th: http://allisonsbookbag.wordpress.com/
Oct 31st: www.bloomingwithbooks.blogspot.com
Nov 1st: www.abookloverslibrary.com
Nov 2nd:http://armsofasister.com/
Nov 5th: http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com/
Nov 7th: http://faerytalesarereal.blogspot.com/
Nov 8th: http://ctfdevourer.blogspot.com/2012/08/time-and-again.html
Nov 17th: http://edgychristianfictionlovers.ning.com
Nov 23rd: http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/




Why I Want A WABAC Machine ~ Guest Post from Author: Deborah Heal




WHY I WANT A WABAC MACHINE
by Deborah Heal


Some people I could mention have already started dropping hints about the gifts they want for Christmas. As for me, I’m hoping for a WABAC Machine. I’ve wanted one ever since I saw Sherman and Mr. Peabody’s on our black and white TV when I was a kid. In each episode, Sherman and Mr. Peabody went back in time to a famous event in history, which was always humorously skewed to show what had “really” happened.



My desire to know about the past comes from growing up in an old house, in an old village, both steeped in history.



I grew up in Woodburn, Illinois, an unincorporated village so tiny it only had one store where you could get Wonder Bread, bologna, bacon, Cokes, cookies, and gasoline. Woodburn may have been boring compared to the city we had left behind, but we lived in a cool vintage brick house. I loved that old house for its character, or as I like to say, its “soul.”

And some of that soul seemed to be embodied in what my family still calls "The Brick." We discovered it, engraved with the date the house was built, on the back porch when we moved there. I used to run my fingers over that date, wishing I could go back to see what it was really like so long ago.



Woodburn wasn’t always so small. Once it had been a thriving little town with numerous stores, including the one owned by Mr. Welch, the builder of our house, which had stood where the petunias grew in our front yard. I learned that the brick for our house had been made right there in Woodburn. That where our pasture was, there once had been a livery stable and blacksmith shop. That down the street from us once stood an inn that served as a stagecoach stop. That Abraham Lincoln used to travel through our town and sleep in the inn and in some of the houses.

I used to tell the kids at school that Lincoln had slept in my house too. How I wish that were true. But since the house was built in 1874 that wasn’t likely, unless he had managed to be reincarnated and decided to come back for a visit to Woodburn for old time’s sake.

My brothers and sister and I were thrilled the summer we discovered Mr. Stevenson had an actual stagecoach stored in his old barn. We may have trespassed just a bit to sneak in and explore this wondrous blast from the past.

There are a couple of old houses still standing in the country around Woodburn that were also stagecoach stops. There’s the old Pennington place north of Woodburn, painted blue with white trim. And then Shake Rag Corner, between Woodburn and Brighton. It wasn’t a regular stop. If you wanted to board the coach, someone waved a rag out the window so the driver would know to stop.






I loved imagining the bustling little town. Late at night, I could almost hear the sounds of horses clomping down the street, the stage coach rushing by, the blacksmith clanking out horseshoes. I could read the history books, and I could imagine those earlier days. But I always yearned to know more.

When I grew up and married my husband, I moved two miles up the road from Woodburn to the Heal Farm. One day the county got around to giving our road a name, and with it came a shiny new sign. I got curious about how they came up with the name. Miles Station? What kind of a Station? So I went back to the library to find out.




Amazingly, there used to be a town named Miles Station just down the road from our farm, named, not for a unit of measurement as I had first assumed, but for its founder Jonathan Miles, a pioneer from Kentucky who settled there in 1832. He and his wife had three children, one of them a girl named Charlotte. Today, you’d never know a town once thrived there, but if you look closely, you can see clues.

All that history seeped into my bones as I grew up there in Woodburn. And so, when I sat down to write Time and Again, I told the story of Abby and Merrideth, who live in an old, rundown house in Nowhereville which had in the 1850s been the town of Miles Station. And, although I have never found a WABAC Machine, my characters (Ah, the beauty of fiction!) get to “time-surf” back to see what it was like in the “olden days.”


CLICK TO LEARN MORE:

About Time and Again: Charlotte of Miles Station The History behind Time and Again
About Unclaimed Legacy, the second book in the seriesThe History behind Unclaimed Legacy

About the Author
    Website: http://www.deborahheal.com
    Facebook: http://facebook.com/DeborahHeal




Where to buy the books
    Amazon
    Barnes & Noble

Escaping The Cauldron



Some people believe that there is no harm in watching a scary movie like, Paranormal Activity. I mean it's not real, it's just a movie. Other's think there is nothing wrong with the Wiccan religion, or witchcraft as long as your intention is to help and not harm people. What about watching shows like The Ghost Whisperer or Ghost Hunters? Is there any danger in what you are watching? How about horoscopes, tarot cards or innocent toys like Magic 8 balls or Ouija boards?

The truth is there is more to these than just simply being movies, television shows or an innocent interest in them. All of these have a basis in the occult and no one can tell you more than a reformed witch, now Christian wife and mom who exposes what that lifestyle is all about in her latest book, Escaping the Cauldron! Kristen McGuire now shares her chilling interest in witchcraft, spells and the ghost haunting investigations she used to be a part of for more than eight years. Along the way, she shares just how Satan captures the interests and how most people believe there is no harm in dabbling in them. How wrong they are! Using scripture to highlight what God's perspective is in all of these things, the reader is in for a chilling reality check and can see for themselves just how prevalent and accepted these practices are becoming and what we as believers can do to help those that are lost and struggling.

When I received the offer to review this book, I knew I had to read it. Mostly because as a young child, I could relate to the very same things that drew Kristen into the occult and how innocent the lure can be. Like her, my interest began as a way to find fulfillment for being a lonely child growing up while my parents were going through a divorce, and since my mom worked, I spent time looking for things to do. It began in the public library looking at books on spell casting and witchcraft with the intent of making good things happened. I would later find myself on the chilling end of Satan's lure but was saved when I turned my life to Christ.



I received Escaping the Cauldron by Kristen McGuire compliments of Glass Roads Public Relations for my honest opinion and think every single Christian parent needs to read a copy of this. Like Kristen, there are ways that your children and teens can be hiding this and this is a great resource to know what signs to look for to see if your child is dabbling in the occult. I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars because we can't pretend the stuff that is happening around us and on TV and the movies is not affecting us in negative ways. I applaud Kristen's efforts for sharing her testimony and can only see this as a benefit to those who are trapped in the lure of the magical world.

For more information on Escaping the Cauldron, Kristen McGuire or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:


You can also find Kristen McGuire on Facebook by clicking here.