After eight years of unrequited love, Meredith Guidry makes a New Year’s resolution to find someone new and end her single status before the year’s over. Executive Chef Major O’Hara has foresworn relationships, knowing he could never saddle the woman he loves with a family situation like his. But when it seems he’s about to lose Meredith Guidry to another man, he realizes he must concoct a MENU FOR ROMANCE to win her back.
What an enjoyable contemporary romance read! This is a sequel, but easily could be read and loved alone, but if you skip to this one it will make you eager to go back and read the first novel as well. The characters are real and fast to fill into your heart and bring you along on their journey. The story is told from the point of view of two separate characters that each have a bit of personal and spiritual growth that they must go through before they are ready to know what is capable of coming next in life. I strongly recommend this read for the romantic at heart, whether single or not it is an enjoyable and strengthening read.
The other day I got a message from a grad student working a Master in Library Science who asked if I would participate in a survey since I appear to be fairly well read in the Christian Romance genre. After I giggled and felt elated and thrilled, I responded that I would be glad to. Going through all the questions, I realized that I had more to say than I thought I would so, I decided to post most of it here to share my responses in case of interest on any of my blog readers. That and I will email the post to specific authors who I think would benefit from reading it as well. *grin*
Here we go:
1. What age where you when you began to read for pleasure? As long as I can remember I have been reading books. I remember in first grade, having it as a big accomplishment that I was in the advanced reading group. The first novel that stands out in my mind as addicting me to reading forever was The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi. Which in a way is rather funny, because I have never enjoyed any other titles from Avi. At that point I think I was about ten or twelve years old.
3. What were some of your favorite books as a teenager? The Mandie series was one that I got invested in later than I should have so I continued to read them into my teen years until I was able to collect the entire series. Even now I am excited as the publisher is reprinting the books five books at a time in omnibus editions. It was my teen years that I was in a program of higher classes that called for a lot of academic reading and severely cut down on my outside reading for fun. In school, I was reading things such as Walden Pond by Thoreau, As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons and others. I do remember on my own reading Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier and The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, The Knight of Maison-Rouge all by Alexandre Dumas. I guess it was also during this time that I started reading the Harry Potter series and then The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. Although, I believe that Rowlings’ Harry Potter had been out for several years before I picked them up by my sisters’ and brother’s suggestions. Other books that I discovered during my late teen years were the beginning of my Christian Historical Romance genre addiction, which I will get to in the next question.
4. What age where you when you first began reading Christian romance? Technically, I think that the Mandie Series could be could be counted as Christian Romance, but if not the next author and series that I discovered was Liz Curtis Higgs and her Scottish Christian Historical Romance Fiction Lowlands of Scotland series. Loosely based on the stories in the Bible of Jacob and Esau and then Rachel and Leah I decided to read these to get myself more interested in reading Bible stories for clarity and comprehension. Starting in 2003 with the first novel Thorn in My Heart, and then in 2004 with Fair is the Rose, I was extremely impatient and anxious for the next year when I could finally read Whence Came A Prince in 2005, and then in 2006 when I could read Grace in Thine Eyes. I am still impatient for Liz’ next series that will be one book now as things have changed in the editing phases that also pushed it back another year to be published March 2010 Here Burns My Candle. It was during my impatience for the following novel to come out that I had to find other books to fill in the void. So in a complete answer to the question, you could either say I was 12, or 17 years old when I first began reading Christian Romance.
5. Did you have a reason for first reading Christian romance? If so, what was it? I picked up Liz’ books, because I have Scottish ancestry and the book looked intriguing. I continued with Christian Romance, because I needed to fill the void while waiting for Liz’ next book.
7. How many books do you read per month on average? (Total number, not limited to Christian romance) Up until December of last year I was reading about 25 books a month. I could easily read a good 250-page book in a day if it was interesting enough. After I got pregnant, things changed, and now I am at about ten or more books a month.
8. How many Christian romance books do you read per month? While reading 25 books a month, I would easily say that 20 of the books are Christian Romance. With ten books a month, I would say still that about seven or eight of the books are Christian Romance.
9. What kinds of books do you read other than Christian romance books? My favorite genre of reading is Historical Fiction and for the most part the books I choose do end up being Christian if not quality general market. The funny thing about most of the Christian Historical Fiction books that I read is that almost all of them could also be classified as Christian Romance as well. In picking genres, I am not certain what to really say. I loved the Harry Potter Series, and I enjoy the Inheritance Series. I loved the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer and anything and everything published by Historical Fiction author Michelle Moran and also Deanna Raybourn. Deanna’s first book was a little off with a plot twist for my taste, but the sequels have gotten much better and I look forward to her writing in the future. I really enjoy reading a good spy mystery. In example, I have collected the entire series of Alias – like the TV show books written by the show writers as well as other little Christian mysteries that I stumble across now again such as DiAnn Mills latest Call of Duty series with Breach of Trust, Jill Elizabeth Nelson’s To Catch a Thief series, most anything by Virginia Smith, and others. Lastly, another genre that I would put myself into being a fan of is Speculative Fiction including Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy. Here the authors I enjoy are Bryan Davis, Ted Dekker, Sharon Hinck and so on.
10. Do you read every day? It is rare that a day will go by without my reading at least a few chapters, but it does happen from time to time, when life is insisting to be lived outside of my fictitious world.
11. How many hours per week do you devote to reading in any genre? Almost always I could pick up a Christian Historical Fiction book and spend four hours straight during any given day on the story. Other books, such as Sci-Fi or Fantasy, I really have to be in the mood for the story and then could spend an equal amount of time enthralled in the adventure.
12. When do you do the most reading? Each night I read about an hour before falling asleep or my husband turning the lights off, whichever comes first. During the day probably between noon and four pm is when I do the most, sit down and read reading.
13. Are there certain times during the week that you devote more time to reading? Not really, it just depends on what else is going on.
14. Where do you do most of your reading? Currently with our set up, and with pregnancy making the stairs not as nice of an option. I read on the couch in the living room. Or in bed. Or in my husband’s recliner.
15. Do you discuss your reading with others? a. With whom? b. What kinds of things do you talk about? Yes, I joined websites like Goodreads.com so that I could find others who read what I read to discuss them. I also share and discuss books with my sister-in-law and various other friends through out the country that I have made the acquaintance of in the last year through either my blog or pages like Goodreads. We talk about anything and everything. From our the story touched us, to how the writing style was perfect or flawed.
16. How frequently do you obtain books from: (very frequently, somewhat frequently, occasionally, rarely) a. Bookstore – rarely, too pricy b. Library – occasionally, the selection is not that great c. From a friend – very frequently, we all trade d. From a relative – somewhat frequently, she is not reading as much as she used to e. Online – occasionally, when the budget allows
17. How frequently do you purchase these formats for the books that you read: (very frequently, somewhat frequently, occasionally, rarely) a. Hardback – occasionally, usually only if it is the only format, or if others in the series I already have in this format, or if it is cheaper than paperback b. Paperback – very frequently c. Audiobooks - rarely d. E-books - rarely
18. Do you document your reading in a way such as journaling or writing a list? Yes. I am quite the junkie at this. Every single book I read, or have read since August of 2007 gets a review and a post on Goodreads. As well as my blog, and almost every book sellers website.
19. Do you use social networking websites such as GoodReads.com or Librarything.com? a. What is your primary purpose for using these sites? Yes. I use Goodreads.com the most, and used to use LT until I met their quota of books on a free membership. I also use Shelfari. On LT and Shelfari all I did was post my review. On Goodreads.com I do everything. I post my reviews, I participate in discussions, and I actually lead a group called Christian Historical Fiction. One of my favorite features of Goodreads that I take advantage of is once I have written my review, I can then click and get the html to blog it on my blog. It makes things much easier because it already has links and pictures included rather than my having to format everything again.
Knowledge and Evaluation of books in the Christian Romance genre
1. How would you define Christian Romance? Originally, I would say that Christian Romance is whatever book has the little subtitle of Christian Romance written in typeface about the ISBN barcode, or is organized in the Library of Congress Catalog as Christian Romance listed on the copyright page. Now, I would say that Christian Romance is often found when not even referred to as Christian Romance. Almost any and everything, which is genre-categorized as Christian Historical Fiction is also qualified to be Christian Romance. For Contemporary Christian Romance, I would say that it is any work of Contemporary Christian Fiction that has a deep Romance sub plot through out the story. Christian Romance is really anything that has a plot line of romance to go along with the story no matter what it is and no matter how it ends.
2. How would you describe the typical plot of a Christian Romance novel? Hah. Depends, if I were referencing a Lori Wick novel, it would be that some new appears to the main characters, someone falls in love, someone gets kidnapped or runs away, someone dies, someone almost dies, someone finds Christ, someone gets married, and usually two or more people have babies. Then in the three following sequels it happens all over again, except to different characters that you were briefly introduced to during the first book. With most other Christian Romance novels that are being introduced today (pub 2007-2009), the story would consist of a new girl coming to town and immediately falling in love with whoever the other main character of the story is. They spend many chapters in internal turmoil wishing they did not love the other and not acknowledging that the other loves them as well. They also would go back and forth on the flaws and whether or not that was enough to keep them from this person. All the while, the girl is doing something independent that is unheard of for a girl in that day and age and he tries or rather attempts to reign her in. There will be some form of chaos where a bad guy attempts something, and usually Mr. Right will save the day and then they get married, and in the epilogue someone is pregnant. It makes me smile just to think about how many different ways someone can tell almost the same story.
3. How do you find new materials in this genre? Well, almost anything that is listed in the genre that is a new book on the publishers website is one way. Or sometimes just surfing through ChristianBook.com’s Historical Fiction section or watching authors individual websites or blogs for new releases. And also, getting on the good list with publishers and publicists so that I can get emails of what’s coming next. The only problem then, is that I get super excited about a book almost a year from when it is due and often before it is even in the final editing stages!
4. How do you decide what to read in this genre? Hmmm… Endorsements by other book bloggers that I trust is a big must. Also from other authors that I like, but more so the book bloggers of which reviews I read from weekly. Also the back cover book blurb and the cover image give me some insight into the story as well as to whether or not I might enjoy it. Also, if it is written by an author that I really enjoyed before, I am more likely to pick it up.
6. What features do these authors have in common? Depends on whether you mean in their own personalities or writing style? One similarity is that they are all women. I know many of them personally now at least through email and they are all similar but very different too. Some write contemporary and some write historical. Some focus on a group of people like the Amish, while others are whoever in whatever time period. They are all different ages and styles of life, so really I would say that they are all very different overall. Also, they live all over the place. (Most of the authors I enjoy are from the US).
7. Why do you like these authors better than others in the genre? These are the authors that challenge me. Their stories are the ones that come to life and stick with me after reading. From these novels, I will remember bits and pieces about the characters and be able to learn from their lives and apply their lessons to my own life. In many times, I can learn from their mistakes instead of making them on my own. In some circumstances, I can really relate to a story or situation because it reminds me of something of my own. These are the authors that do not just entertain, but they get into your heart and under your skin and really challenge a reader as well as entertain.
8. Do you find that any types of characters appear again and again? What types? I guess I would say the rugged cowboy who is gentle as all get out to the one he loves. Then there is the obstinate woman who is independent and does everything she knows to prove the fact.
9. Do you find any events that appear again and again? What events? Babies are born in many of the stories. And many many times someone is kidnapped, severely injured, or missing. Almost in every story a new person moves to town that provides some creativity and imagination for the ordinary folk.
10. Are there any events that never appear in this genre? What events? Well beside ridiculous speculative cosmic events? ☺ I do not know really how to answer that. Because almost anything can happen and that is why even though certain things almost always happen, the unexpected occurs as well. Someone may or may not be murdered. Really events change drastically depending upon the time frame in which the story is told.
11. Would you say that people in this genre are real people? What makes them real or not? In the most part yes, at least the books that I like and return to. They are the characters that when I put down the book can imagine their lives going on that makes me love a book. The writer who writes a plot that gets to me and really has me either angry or vying for a character are the ones that get a second read and a real solid recommendation. Personality of a character is a must, when they can make me laugh as well as cry they show they have their own individuality that makes me curious what they will possibly do next. When the phrases used in communication are real with parts of colloquial terms, the name in the book is more than just typeface.
12. Are events that happen in this genre like those in real life? Why or why not? Yes and no. In the most part, the people that I know in real life are not as open and involved with scripture on a day-to-day basis as the characters in the book. That is part of why I enjoy them so much. They are real in the fact that they are not perfect and have plenty of flaws, but strive to be better. (Perhaps I need new real life friends.) In the stories, for me they are mostly historical, so I can say that I really do not know if they events would occur the same as they would have back then, but from the vague things I do know of history it is quite possible. For the contemporary Christian Romances, I would say that those plots are quite feasible to real life, so I do not see why the historical ones would not be if the appropriate research was performed.
13. If we met at a party and began discussing reading Christian romance, how would you describe your reading in this genre to me? As an addiction. In the past I have suffered from depression that no chemical seemed to be able to cure. It was through reading many various novels of Christian Historical Romance Fiction that I was able to escape and spend a day or an afternoon in their world. Going from one emotion to another as the author takes the protagonist and other characters on a journey that I would get caught up in the story and then crave the next one. Some people used to say that you could spend too much time caught up in the faux-reality of a novel, but I think that if you live life and enjoy the novels that you can create a healthy balance. I am luckily enough to put my life around reading of novels by being a book reviewer.
14. What makes reading in this genre different from other types of reading? Happy endings. No matter what there is a happy ending. That does not always mean that they girl gets the guy or vis versa. It does not mean that the bad guy is gone. It means that there is a plateau of contentment that can continue. There may be a story where people got into a bad circumstance, and instead of working out how the reader thinks they should it ends another way, but through the process the author has wedged away your opinion of what should have been right and made another scenario that works. Almost every book I read in the Christian Romance genre leaves me with a feeling of thorough satisfaction and that is the main reason why I come back for more.
15. Are there any books that you recently failed to finish? Why? Yes, I will not mention titles though. In some cases, it may be that I was just really in the mood for something other than that book, and one day I will come back and it will be perfect. If the mood is not right, I cannot force myself to read it. Otherwise it defeats the purpose of why I read. Some books just fall flat. The characters are boring or unlikable and that just again defeats the purpose of why I read. I read for enjoyment and there are way to many books in the TBR (to be read) pile to waste my time on something ugly.
16. What do you do with the materials in the genre after you have finished reading them? If I love the book, it goes on my shelf. I might mail it to a book buddy to borrow, but then it comes back and stays on my shelf. If I liked it, I might keep it unless someone wants it, then I will either loan it or give it away. I also trade books and give them to a specific school’s library.
rating: 4 of 5 stars Upon starting this novel, I was not completely enthralled with the character of Faith. She is independent, and feminist, and arrogant. After learning her background and coming to understand her plight I was able to allow her into my heart more. My first adventure with MaryLu Tyndall's The Falcon and the Sparrow was able to show me that MaryLu was a fabulous story teller. This book was able to show me that I want more and more and that the story is not long enough. I have not yet read her original pirate series, but now I must, as well as I cannot wait for the next in the Charles Towne Belle Series to come out.
This book brings us three sisters with very different lives, a naval officer with a past but a present and future guided by God, as well as two ex-slaves that are learning more about love and family than they knew in their years before. The author truly brings to life realistic characters that make you smile and make you cringe. From the First Mate who does not know what he wants to the heir or the city who is a pompous fool. There is hope and a light for all people, it just depends on if you are strong enough to look for it.
It took a couple chapters, but once I was sucked in, and curious for more, I could not stop turning the pages until I found out what would happen next. At each turn of events and situation I had no clue as to how anything could possibly work out and I was pleasantly surprised through out the entire journey to be thoroughly entertained and educated in the pirate and naval world of early Charles Towne, Carolina.
I highly recommend this story as well as anything else by MaryLu (M.L.) Tyndall and other related authors as well such as Kathleen Y'Barbo. Go read it. You will not be disappointed!
rating: 4 of 5 stars As a person who has a healthy obsession with Alias (the former TV show) and spy action romance dramas in general, this was a fabulous read for me to add to my shelves. I highly recommend it. I could easily compare it to reading Jill Elizabeth Nelson's spy action as well.
This is book #3 and I have not read the first two, and I did not feel like I was missing anything. I do not know what the first two are about, but you better believe after this one that I plan to go back and read those as well as look for other titles from Lynette Eason to come.
Anna and Lucas both have an individual past that they would prefer to leave behind them. The problem is to move further in their relationship they must come clean with their secrets. Another problem is that for neither of them is the past really willing to let go itself.
There are so many things in life that we see that sometimes we miss the important parts. This is a great story about realizing the big picture and going the right way in life according to God's ultimate plan while noticing that many illusions can and will attempt to lead you astray.
Far away from her Irish home, Mary Freeman begins to adapt to life in Midwest America, but family turmoil and her own haunting memories threaten to ruin her future. It takes a crisis in her daughter's life—and the encouragement of Sally, a plucky Southern transplant—to propel Mary back to the rocky cliffs of her home in County Clare, Ireland.
You can view the trailer here on my blog through the embedded video or go to Patti's website here, http://www.pattilacy.com/trailer.php, on her site is the biggest and best quality I have seen so far. (without enlarging, etc).
Soon, I will have a review, and more information about Patti and her book, so be checking back...
It is time to play a Wild Card!Every now and then, a book that I have chosen to read is going to pop up as a FIRST Wild Card Tour. Get dealt into the game! (Just click the button!) Wild Card Tours feature an author and his/her book's FIRST chapter!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!
Maureen Lang has written three secular romance novels as well as Pieces of Silver, Remember Me, The Oak Leaves and On Sparrow Hill. She is the winner of multiple awards including the Noble Theme Award from American Christian Fiction Writers. Lang lives in suburban Chicago with her husband and three children.
List Price: $ 12.99 Paperback: 352 pages Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers (September 10, 2008) Language: English ISBN-10: 1414322240 ISBN-13: 978-1414322247
AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:
The prison was in the middle of nowhere; at least that was how it seemed to me. Not many property owners must want a facility like that in their backyard, even one for women. So there were no crops of housing developments taking up farmland around here the way they seemed to everywhere else. Not that I thought much about farmland, even having grown up in the middle of it. The only green cornfields I’d seen since I’d left for college were from an airplane as I jetted from one end of the country to the other.
“Are you here for the Catherine Carlson release?”
I looked up in surprise as not one but a half dozen people seemed to have appeared from nowhere. I’d noticed a couple of vans and cars farther down the parking lot but hadn’t seen any people until now. My gaze had been taken up by the prison, a forlorn place if ever I saw one. Even the entire blue sky wasn’t enough to offset the building’s ugliness. Block construction, painted beige like old oatmeal. If the cinder walls didn’t give it away, the lack of windows made it clear it was an institution. The electric barbed wire fencing told what kind.
Two men in my path balanced cameras on their shoulders, and in front of them a pair of pretty blonde journalists shoved microphones in my face while another thrust forth a palm-sized recorder. One on the fringe held an innocuous notepad.
My first impulse was to run back to my car and speed away. But Dilly was waiting. I clamped my mouth shut, gripped the strap of my Betsey Johnson purse, and walked along the concrete strip leading to the doors of the prison. There was an invisible line at the gate that not a single reporter could penetrate. But I knew they’d wait.
At the front door, a woman greeted me through a glass window. Dilly was being “processed,” she told me, then said to have a seat. I turned, noticing the smell of inhospitable antiseptic for the first time. Hard wooden benches were the only place to sit. Evidently they thought the families of those in such a place needed to be punished too. I’d have brought a book if I’d known the wait was going to be so long; there wasn’t even a magazine handy to help me pass the time.
Only thoughts. Of how I would make up for my failures. I’d told Mac, my best friend—and somehow it seemed he’d become my only friend—that this was the first step in fixing things. Keeping a broken past in the past. Dilly’s . . . and mine.
I remembered the day our parents brought my sister home from the hospital just after she was born. The excitement was as welcome as the warmth of the sun shining through the bare trees that early March afternoon. Everyone smiled, and even though Mom was moving kind of slow up the stairs to our farmhouse, she smiled too. It was the kind of excitement you see when there’s a new and hopeful change, like at weddings.
I was five, and even at that age I knew my parents had waited a long time for my sister. I heard Mom say once that she’d envisioned a houseful of kids, but the Lord hadn’t seen fit to bless her with a productive womb. I think I wondered, even then, what my mother would have done with a bunch more kids when I seemed to be in the way of other things she did: lunches with friends she’d known all her life; making decorative quilts and pillows she sold at fairs; canning fruits, pickles, and jam; or endless work on the farm. In retrospect maybe it was a surprise they’d even had me and Dilly; she must have been so tired at the end of the day.
I wondered later if everybody was happier because things you wait for seem better once you finally get them. But in recent years I thought everybody in town might have been relieved there weren’t a whole slew of kids born into our family.
“Go take a seat, Hannah,” Dad had said to me after Mom told us I couldn’t hold the baby unless I was sitting down.
I skipped over to Aunt Elsie on the couch and hopped up next to her, holding out my arms as my mother made the careful transfer. It wasn’t like holding one of my dolls, even though the blanket was made of the same soft material my plastic babies enjoyed. Unlike my dolls, my sister was warm and squirmy. Dad told me not to hold her too tight, so I put her on my legs and pulled back the cover to get a good look at her.
Her eyes were closed, and she wore a pink cotton bonnet. Even then, the straight lines of her brows had been drawn, which later filled in so well. Her cheeks were splotched red and white and her arms and legs moved in four different directions. When she opened her mouth, I saw her flat gums, no hint of the teeth to come someday. I thought she was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen.
“She’s a dilly,” I whispered to Aunt Elsie, who’d taught me her favorite word for the things she liked. It came from a song called “Lavender Blue,” and while my parents spent so much time at the hospital in those last couple of days, that was what my aunt and I had been doing—going about farm chores singing of things being dilly.
The name on my sister’s birth certificate was Catherine Marie Williams, but neither Catherine nor Cathy nor even Marie ever stuck. She was Dilly from that day on.
Nearly thirty years later, here I was, ready to bring Dilly back home to our farmhouse.
Finally I heard something other than the distant sounds of an institution. Closer than the clatter of plates somewhere, something nearer than the echo of a call down a corridor. I heard the click of an automatic door lock, followed by the swish of air accompanying a passage opening.
Dilly. Instead of prison orange, she wore regular street clothes. Was it possible she was taller? Did people grow in their twenties? She was still short, having taken from the same gene pool I’d inherited, but I was barely an inch taller now. Spotting me right away, she dropped her black leather suitcase on the floor. For a moment the case looked vaguely familiar, but that thought was lost when I noted a shadow of someone standing next to Dilly. My eyes stayed on my sister. She flung herself at me before I had the chance to go to her.
“Thanks for coming,” she said, and her voice was so wobbly I knew she was fighting tears. I choked back my own.
“Thanks?” I repeated. Thanks? How could I not come?
“It’s a long way from California.”
I laughed. “Yeah, another galaxy.”
The woman beside Dilly stepped closer and I couldn’t ignore her any longer. She was tall and thin, dressed in jeans but with a more formal black jacket that somehow didn’t look misplaced over the denim.
I pulled myself away from Dilly and accepted the woman’s handshake.
“I’m Catherine’s social worker, Amanda Mason. We just finished our exit session and she’s all set to go.”
Dilly held up a folder. “Probation rules, contact names, phone numbers.”
“Formalities, Catherine,” Amanda said. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”
It was always something of a surprise to me that others outside of our hometown knew my sister by any name but Dilly. She certainly looked ready to go home, wearing a spring jacket I hadn’t seen before, carrying a suitcase I now recognized as one I’d left behind when I headed to college so long ago.
“I didn’t know you’d have luggage,” I said when she picked up the black leather case. I didn’t know what else to say.
“The women are allowed to purchase certain necessities during their stay. Clothes, mostly.”
I knew that, because Mom had told me I could send Dilly money—no cash, just cashier’s checks or money orders, no more than fifty dollars at a time—but somehow I never connected that money with actual purchases. It wasn’t like there could be a regular store inside a prison.
“Socks,” Dilly said with a grin. “My feet still get cold.”
When we were little, we shared a full-size bed, before our parents finally bought a set of twin beds. I still remember her icicle feet in winter. “You have a suitcase full of socks?”
“Just about. They never let me keep them all in one place till today. Guess I didn’t know I had so many.” Then she turned to the other woman and set the suitcase down again. “Thanks, Amanda. You—” Something caught in her throat, and she stopped herself. “You did so much for me.” She put both of her hands on the woman’s forearms, and the social worker didn’t even flinch.
Amanda shifted her arms to take Dilly’s hands in hers. “I haven’t done enough,” she said. “Not nearly enough.”
They hugged and I watched, wondering if the prison movies I’d stopped watching since Dilly’s arrest had given me the wrong impression. No hint of inmate animosity toward those in power here.
“Keep praying, though, will you? I won’t stop needing that.”
“You don’t even have to ask.”
Then Dilly slipped away and I had to turn and follow her or be left behind.
Prayer. That was what Dilly had asked for. All our life we’d been told to pray. On our knees, right after we got up, right before going to bed, and as often as possible in between. I might have had faith as a child, but by the time I was in high school, I began wondering what I was praying to. Some light in the sky that saw all the suffering in this world and didn’t lift a finger—a supposedly all-powerful finger—to do something about it?
I’d given up prayer years ago; spiritually, long before I left home for college. Physically, once I stepped foot outside my parents’ home. I eyed Dilly, trying to see if she’d been serious about the request or said it because that was what the other woman wanted to hear. But Dilly was looking ahead, walking out the door.
The reporters were still there when we stepped outside. I meant to warn Dilly, to make some sort of plan about getting to the car as fast as we could, telling her in advance which way to go.
But when Dilly came upon them, instead of hustling past, to my amazement she stopped. For a moment she looked to the ground, then to me, and I thought I saw a hint of uncertainty before she took an audible breath. “I just want to say one thing.” Her voice trembled slightly, and she paused long enough to look down at the sidewalk again, then at each one of the reporters.
“When I did what I did so long ago, I didn’t have any hope. When I stepped into this place, I didn’t have hope. But that’s all changed now because of the Lord Jesus.”
I stared, aware of the silence that followed as the reporters waited to see if she was finished. But that wasn’t why I couldn’t find words or even the gumption to pull her along to the car. What was she talking about? Between this obviously rehearsed statement and the request for prayer, it was as if she’d “done found Jesus,” as Grandpa used to say.
A barrage of questions shot from the reporters.
“Are you going to see your daughter?”
“Are you going to try to regain custody?”
“Has your husband forgiven you for what you did?”
Dilly didn’t answer a single question. Instead, she looked at me, then toward the parking lot. It took the briefest moment for me to realize she didn’t know where to go, which car was mine, so I led the way. I pressed the keyless remote to unlock her door before she reached it. She struggled a moment to get her bag into the rear seat, then settled herself just as I slid behind the wheel.
One of the reporters, the one I’d mistakenly believed harmless because the only technology he held was a pad of paper, had followed us to the car. He tapped on the window. I saw Dilly reach for the button, but quicker than her, I touched the window lock.
“I was only going to crack it,” she said.
“Do you really want to hear what he has to say?”
He was yelling now, his young, impassioned face nearly pressed to the glass. “Did it take prison to teach you you’re not the one to take matters into your own hands? that your daughter’s life is just as important as anyone else’s?”
Dilly and I exchanged glances. I put the car in reverse; there was something militant about the young man that made me want to get away from him, spare Dilly from anything else he had to say. I’d seen judgment in people’s eyes before and I was sure Dilly had too. This guy might be a reporter, but he wasn’t an unbiased one. If such a kind existed.
Dilly stared at him, the brows everyone noticed on her, so thick, so dramatic, now drawn. A moment ago she’d found the courage to speak about something most people kept to themselves: faith. Now she looked like the Dilly I’d known when we shared the same roof. Timid, malleable. Maybe hoping I would take her away as fast as I could.
I backed out of the spot even as a thousand questions came to my mind too. I wanted to resist asking, though, unlike the guy with the notepad. His emphasis had been all wrong. He’d asked about the effect of prison, unconcerned about what Dilly really believed these days.
I still felt awkward after being away from her so long. But even that wasn’t enough to keep me quiet. Once an older, wiser sibling, always so. I figured it gave me the right to be nosy.
“Did you mean what you said back there?” Since I was navigating out of the now-busy parking lot, I had to focus on driving, avoiding the need for eye contact.
“About Jesus?” She looked behind us at the reporters now packing up. “Wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t.”
“What did you mean?”
“Just what I said.”
I didn’t know how to rephrase the question to get an answer I could understand, so I found the silence I probably should have stayed with. Once we pulled away from the prison grounds, Dilly touched my forearm much as she had the social worker’s. I spared a quick glance, keeping both hands on the wheel.
“I’ve changed, Hannah. God changed me.”
I wasn’t yet sure I believed her. I wasn’t the only one who’d grown up in a house where rules were more important than people, work more important than any kind of play, keeping up an appearance of holiness more important than living a holy life. We’d both vowed never to set foot in a church once we moved out of our parents’ house, and I’d kept my end. I thought Dilly had too. I knew she’d stopped going to church after she got married. But lately . . . Did they even have church in prison?
“Since when has God done anything for either one of us, Dil?” I asked.
“I wanted to write you, tell you all about it—”
“Right.” Even I heard the cynicism. I’d received exactly three letters from her the entire six years she’d been in prison, despite the hundreds I’d written. Well, one hundred, anyway. That first year. After that I just sent money orders as I made my plans. True, I’d made those plans without input from her, but I’d made them to benefit both of us.
Her eyes, brown like two spots of oversteeped tea, shone with sudden, yet-to-be-shed tears. “You know me, Hannah. I’m a talker, not a writer. I tried a thousand times to write, but every time I did, my brain froze. I can’t explain it on paper. It’s something I wanted to tell you in person.”
“What about last Christmas? I visited you then.”
She let out something that sounded a little like a Ha! but not quite as cynical as me. “In front of Mom and Dad? Are you kidding? I couldn’t explain it with them there.” She sat back in her seat, and laughter squeezed out one tear, leaving her eyes dry. “Not that everybody wouldn’t have liked to see a good argument—from Mom and Dad about what grace and forgiveness really mean and from you about . . . about everything. The inmates would’ve laid bets for a winner, except if nobody drew blood they wouldn’t have been able to figure out who won.”
I didn’t know if she was being sarcastic or not, since our family didn’t argue. We hid all our resentment and anger, especially from each other. Even now I held my tongue. For a moment I felt like I was back home, preparing to listen to one of Dad’s endless sermons at the family altar he’d set up in the corner of the living room.
I sucked in a breath. “Okay, let’s have it, then.”
But Dilly didn’t reply. She shook her head, her whole body facing me instead of the dashboard. “I will tell you, Hannah. Everything. But not right now. Not yet. I need to know something first.”
I glanced at her again, prepared for the questions I knew she’d ask.
“Have you seen Sierra?”
I nodded. “Yesterday.”
“They let you? Nick’s mother let you—you know, in the same room? You talked to her? How is she?”
I shook my head. “I went to her school. They wouldn’t let me into her classroom, but they told me she was there. That she’s all right. Then I waited outside until the buses came, and . . .” I was tempted to lie, to tell her I’d seen Sierra close enough to prove what the school receptionist had said, that Dilly’s daughter was okay. “I saw all the kids get on their buses, and they looked happy.”
Whatever joy, whatever light I’d seen in Dilly’s eyes since the moment she mentioned her daughter’s name began to fade before I’d even finished talking.
“So she wouldn’t let you see her?”
There was no way I’d describe the phone conversation I’d had with Nick’s mother; I didn’t use that kind of language. Nick had never really taken charge of his own daughter’s care, but his mother had taken full responsibility for Sierra. One thing she’d stipulated: no visits from anyone in our family.
“I’ve got to see her,” Dilly said, so low I barely heard her.
I knew seeing her daughter was only the beginning. I knew what she really wanted, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted. Did I really want a fight to restore everything to the way it used to be or should have been? What if we won?
But I reminded myself that when determination was greater than fear, people could do just about anything, even take charge of someone like Sierra.
All I had to do now was make sure that determination stayed stronger than my fears. All I had to do was convince myself, and then Dilly, that I wouldn’t let my fears stand in the way.
Because if I knew Dilly—and I still did, even when she seemed different—my guess was that our future held three of us together. Somehow, in some way.
Me, Dilly, and her daughter, Sierra.
But not God.
This is an emotional book that pulls you in different directions related to the two sister narrations. It is a hard read on difficult topics that questions how you would stand in certain situations. It is a story about hope, love, and forgiveness.
This morning I was talking to somebody about the reviews that I do for Christian fiction and non-fiction of various genres and was asked if in November I would make a short presentation to the Friends of the Library on what I do, how, and why. I will do this, and so I can get together different things to tell them about how Christian fiction is much larger than people realize and what all it encompasses. This is really important to me, because this library in itself does not have more than about ten books of Christian fiction in all.
If anyone has any flyers, brochures, press releases, etc that they would like me to share please e-mail them to me.
Also, any titles or anything else special about the Christian Fiction world that you think is important, please point it out. I do not want to miss anything, as this is a great opportunity!
I love to read, and I have loved to read for almost as long as I can remember. I recall in first grade, Mrs. Bice's class sitting in a group of six or so of the advanced readers with those books with three words per page. After that, I also recall reading the first book that made me an avid book junkie, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi. Believe it or not, I've never read anything else by Avi, but one day plan to. And then, very similar is Jennifer Holm's Boston Jane. For whatever reason, the story of this adventurous girl on her own sparked in me and wouldn't let me go. What is neat is that many books I read and enjoy to this day are similar with their heroine doing something fabulous, even if her battle and journey is only internal. It was probably about October of last year, when I found that I have more time on my hands than I realized that I started writing book reviews to share, well maybe earlier when I joined goodreads.com. Either way, I read a lot, mostly Christian Fiction and I find it a joy and ministry to share with others, who do not read as fast as I do (or even want to!), but who would like a good book in a while. Christian Fiction is growing by leaps and bounds anyone can see that if they look, but not everybody is looking, because most people think that Christian Fiction is all lovey-dovey perfect happiness books, but it is not. There are those book available if that's what you're looking for, but there are also edgy, heart breaking romances, suspenseful mysterious that make you want to tear your hair out, as well as anything else pretty much you seek... now-a-days you can find it available in a Christian Fiction novel. As a part of how I get most of the books that I review, I'm not rich you know -- I cannot buy them all, I joined a few alliances who have a main organizer who then gets with the authors/publishers and whoever else that makes it plausible and possible for myself and many other individuals to get copies of books for review. It's fabulous! I'm completely in my zone with this! :) A couple months ago, there was a clash with one such group who it appeared randomly felt that they should be the only one with a certain phrase of words for their title... but it did not make much sense, because other similar groups had been around longer, and the words were so generic that any Christian Bookstore might be in the "wrong" of their opinion as well. Even though the situation was uncomfortable, I believe that most of it was a misunderstanding, and from what I can tell and see in the blogging world it passed. More recently, other flares have occurred. And where I can see the angles from both sides, it is quite interesting why there has to be an issue in the first place. Basically, I will say this...
Christian Fiction is growing, and needs to grow and get more notice.
Christian Fiction is just what it is, Christian.
Christian means to be of Christ. (Am I wrong?)
Christ left it to us (Christians) to spread His word.
One way to spread His word, or gospel, is through Christian Fiction.
When we do what we are suppose to and spread His word, it is a ministry.
-- Okay, take your thoughts here. In the middle ages or similar when a monk or priest was traveling and trying to spread the word of our Lord what was his lifestyle? Another thought, today when you go to church you give to the collection plate. Why? Other than the require Biblical tithe, why do you give? You give because the church has many people to reach out to, and needs the funds to make that possible with buying food and building more rooms, and such. the church that provides things through the money gifted from the parishioners is a very valuable tool in the ministry of our Christian faith. The disciple with a vow of poverty is just as capable of reaching out and helping people in the name of the Lord. They just work in different ways.
To the blogging MINISTRY world out there for Christian Fiction. Quit focusing on who does what and who changes what. The format of the page does not matter. The way of getting to the point does not matter. What matters is Christ and His message!!! I love you all for the different things you bring to this ministry as a whole. But at this point and points previous you are getting caught up in the things that the devil throws temptation and despair in to cause you to be faint of heart. Just because you feel that your capable of providing a ministry one way, does not mean that all other ministries are inferior. The way of getting to a point can be vastly confused, and not even remembered by the time that you get there, as long as you get there, that is what matters.
If you want to pay for a blog tour, do so, it's worth it and if you have the money great.
If you want a free blog tour, do so, they're available and guess what they are just as great.
Money is involved no matter what, it's an evil in this world that exists to complicate things. Just because money is involved, does not make something less of a ministry! It's just a different ministry.
The traveling disciple is capable of showing the light of Christ.
The official church speaker and associate is capable of showing the light of Christ.
Are you going to continue to bicker of each other and make the message of God harder to find for those seeking it? Or are you going to realize that any suggestion toward His message and love is worth existing?
-- This is not directed just as two people, this is directed to the at least fifty or so people that I have heard getting caught up in something that exists, but is being made to be more of a distraction that necessary. God loves us all. He wants to use us all. Let Him.
On March 20, I started getting organized for my spring reading with the Spring Reading Thing 2008. I have made a list of books to read, but of course others always find their ways in, even when they are not on the list. The original list you can find by clicking "March 20" above. This is my current working list...
What I have tried to do is put an * for things that I have read and they should be a link to a review on that book. I'm not perfect, so I'm sure there are flaws, if you find one, let me know!
The Restorer by Sharon Hinck* The Restorer's Son by Sharon Hinck The Restorer's Journey by Sharon Hinck The Perfect Life by Robin Lee Hatcher* Sweet Caroline by Rachel Hauck Firefish by George Bryan Polivka Pinkerton's Secret by Eric Lerner Sushi for One by Camy Tang Only Uni by Camy Tang The Bible by Karen Armstrong Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen Emma by Jane Austen Mansfield Park by Jane Austen Northhanger Abbey by Jane Austen Persuasion by Jane Austen Lady Susan by Jane Austen On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson Between Two Worlds by Mike Timmis Wedding Bell Blues by Linda Windsor For Pete's Sake by Linda Windsor Deirdre by Linda Windsor Then Came Faith by Louise Gouge Then Came Hope by Louise Gouge DragonSpell by Donita K. Paul* DragonQuest by Donita K. Paul Dragon Knight by Donita K. Paul DragonFire by Donita K. Paul DragonLight by Donita K. Paul Betrayed by JM Windle A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman When Zeffie Got a Clue by Peggy Darty* Crimson Eve by Brandilyn Collins Amber Morn by Brandilyn Collins Adam by Ted Dekker Demon by Tosca Lee Auralia's Colors by Jeffery Overstreet Trouble the Water by Nicole Seitz The Measure of a Lady by Deanne Gist My Soul to Keep by Melanie Wells The Other Boelyn Girl by Philipa Gregory Becoming Jane by Anne Newgarden Atonement by Ian McEwan Wicked by Gregory Maguire The Begotten by Lisa T. Bergren A Lady of High Regard by Tracie Peterson New Mexico Sunset by Tracie Peterson Where My Heart Belongs by Tracie Peterson Land of My Heart by Tracie Peterson Glory by Lori Copeland Ruth by Lori Copeland Patience by Lori Copeland The Love of His Brother by Jennifer Allee Secrets on the Wind by Stephanie Grace Whitson Footprints on the Horizon by Stephanie Grace Whitson When the Morning Comes by Cindy Woodsmall My Name is Russell Fink by Michael Snyder Illuminated by Matt Bronleewe Breaking Free by Lauraine Snelling Hollywood Nobody by Lisa Samson Finding Hollywood Nobody by Lisa Samson Embrace Me by Lisa Samson I'm Not Crazy, but I Might Be a Carrier by Charles Marshall Winter Haven by Athol Dickson An Elm Creek Quilts Sampler by Jennifer Chiavernini An Elm Creek Quilts Album by Jennifer Chiavernini The Warriors by Mark Andrew Olsen The Big Picture by Jennie B. Jones Healing Promises by Amy Wallace Ruby Among Us by Tina Ann Forkner From A Distance by Tamera Alexander I Heart Bloombery by Melody Carlson Hunted by Mike Dellosso Stuck in the Middle by Virginia Smith A Merry Heart by Wanda Brunstetter Looking for a Miracle by Wanda Brustetter Plain and Fancy by Wanda Brustetter The Hope Chest by Wanda Brustetter Remember to Forget by Deborah Raney Promises, Promises by Amber Miller How to Get Your Husband to Listen to You by Nancy Cobb & Connie Grigsby Patrick by Stephen Lawhead The Heart of Thornton Creek by Bonnie Leon The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler The Witness by Dee Henderson Beyond the Picket Fence by Lori Wick A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers Amish Crib Quilts by Rachel and Kenneth Pellman* Amish Crib Quilts Remembered by Tamera Alexander* Remembered Try Dying by James Scott Bell The Return by Austin Boyd Informed Consent by Sandra Glahn My Life Unscripted by Tricia Goyer For Parents Only by Shaunti Feldhahn The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Decked Out by Neta Jackson Splitting Harriet by Tamara Leigh After The Leaves Fall by Nicole Baart To Love Anew by Bonnie Leon Torrent Falls by Jan Watson Ransomed Dreams by Amy Wallace Glastonbury Tor by LeAnne Hardy A Hilltop in Tuscany by Stephanie Grace Whitson* A Hilltop in Tuscany Shadows in the Mirror by Linda Hall Pajo by Karl L. Kruger Searching for Eternity by Elizabeth Musser Nefertiti by Michelle Moran* Nefertiti: A Novel Surrender Bay by Denise Hunter An Old Fashioned Christmas by Colleen L. Reece Song of the Highlands by Sharon Gillenwater Beloved Leah by Cynthia Davis Courting Trouble by Deeanna Gist* Courting Trouble An Untamed Land by Lauraine Snelling Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke Novel Crimes by Susan May Warren Bad Ground by Dale W. Cramer Sutters Cross by Dale W. Cramer Bygones by Kim Sawyer Quilting Makes the Quilt by Lee Cleland* The Veritas Conflict by Shaunti Feldhahn Simeon's Gift by Julie Andrews Edwards* Brides O' the Emerald Isle by Pamela Griffin The Mark of Salvation by Carol Umberger The Belgarid by David Eddings Ashes of Remembrance by Brock & Bodie Theone* Brink of Death by Brandilyn Collins Steal Away by Linda Hall When Breaks the Dawn by Janette Oke The Paradise War by Stephen Lawhead Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer Catching Katie by Robin Lee Hatcher Devil's Island by John Hagee New Mexico Sunrise by Tracie Peterson A Clearing in the Wild by Jane Kirkpatrick* A Clearing in the Wild A Tendering in the Storm by Jane Kirkpatrick Angels to Watch Over Me by various authors Troublesome Creek by Jan Watson* Troublesome Creek Willow Springs by Jan Watson Torrent Falls by Jan Watson Boston Jane: Wilderness by Jennifer Holm Boston Jane: The Claim by Jennifer Holm Mark's Story by Tim Lahaye & Jerry B. Jenkins Chosen by Ginger Garrett Bluegrass Peril by Virginia Smith* Bluegrass Peril What Lies Within by Karen Ball Hope by Lori Copeland Yellow Rose Bride by Lori Copeland The Sunroom by Beverly Lewis* The Sunroom Come Spring by Tim Lahaye Minor Protection Act by Jodi Cowles The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown Queen Margot by Alexandre Dumas Time to Dance by Karen Kingsbury
* means I've read it...
and others that have worked their way in:
Kaleidscope Eyes by Karen Ball* Before Green Gables by Bruce Wilson Pretense by Lori Wick Daughter of Silk by Linda Lee Chaikin Broken Angel by Sigmund Brouwer Do Hard Things by Alex and Bretty Harris Wicked by Gregory Maguire The Princess Bride by William Goldman Red Helmet by Homer Hickam The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillippa Gregory The Indian Clerk by David Leavitt
I wanted to share an article with you that I read of a interview/couple of statements from Allen Arnold of Thomas Nelson on just what Christian Fiction is about. Jump on over to Novel Journey and read all about it.
All pictures and information on this blog are the possession of cherryblossommj, the authors of the various novels, or the blog tour spaces that she participates in. Please respect that. Most often purple text is the own of cherryblossommj, while other colors may be a quote and direct text from a tour or other.
♥ Wanna know more about me and my family? Click on the picture above or head on over to my "About Me" page. *grin*
Welcome to my Creative Madness! I'm Margaret, head-over-hills in love with my Enginerd and a new SAHM as of August 2009. Here abouts you will find my thoughts on life raising a baby girl, quilting, book reviews galore, and product reviews of fabulous things you just must acquire!
