A Change of Fortune by Jen Turano

MY REVIEW
This novel is an enjoyable read with a few twists and fun dialogue, but it is set in the wrong century. There is so much about our time, and our way of thinking in this story that one can almost imagine it taking place in the 1950s or 1960s, especially the part about the girls being arrested for prostitution. While I am sure that this could be possible, the horror of it happening to two young women who were more used to the parlor than the seedy part of town is not fully explored. The surprise of harlots being on the corner is just short of shocking to the reader given that the house the young women are going to is supposedly of very high caliber. The reader must untangle from the incongruence before jumping back into the story flow. There are other instances like this. I get the feeling this is the editor's doing, and not the author's because the story feels a bit choppy.

There is no subtlety in the story where the reader can imagine love blossoming, or imagine a situation that would lend more humor. Everything is spelled out to a T. If you like that type of story, then this one is for you. However, I miss the anticipation of the kiss as in other romances. Here is the problem with a romance combined with a suspenseful plot. Rarely has this combination been done really well.

There is very little head jumping, praise the Lord! Going back and forth between the two main characters is rather enjoyable and is done perfectly. The POV travels from Eliza to Hamilton and sometimes to others, but is not distracting, and that means it is done well. The reader is never left wondering "Where am I?"

The storyline is very fast paced, perhaps in places a bit too fast. But, it is never boring and never gives you the feeling that you have to skip to the good parts. The writing is very good, but the story could be fleshed out in places to give a bit more detail concerning the era and society-ways. Sometimes the humor comes from a blase' attitude toward a situation. While that may not have been how a nineteenth century man would have viewed a woman in pants or find himself with her skirt in his hand, it does lend to the fun of the situation. Read it for fun, not for history and you'll very much enjoy it.

This one gets 4 of 5 stars.

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing A Change of Fortune Bethany House Publishers (November 1, 2012) by Jen Turano

ABOUT THE BOOK

Lady Eliza Sumner is on a mission. Her fortune was the last thing she had left after losing her father, her fiance, and her faith. Now, masquerading as Miss Eliza Sumner governess-at-large, she's determined to find the man who ran off with her fortune, reclaim the money, and head straight back to London.

Mr. Hamilton Beckett, much to his chagrin, is the catch of the season, and all the eyes of New York society--all the female ones, at least--are on him. He has no plans to marry again, especially since his hands are full keeping his business afloat while raising his two children alone.

Eliza's hapless attempts to regain her fortune unexpectedly put her right in Hamilton's path. The discovery of a common nemesis causes them to join forces and, before she knows it, Eliza has a whole retinue of people helping her. Eliza's determination not to trust anyone weakens when everyone's antics and bumbling efforts to assist her make her wonder if there might be more important things than her fortune and independence.

When all of Hamilton's and Eliza's best-laid plans fall by the wayside, it will take a riot of complications for them to realize that God just might have had a better plan in mind all along.

If you would like to read the first chapter of A Change of Fortune, go HERE.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jen grew up in the small town of St. Clairsville, Ohio, where she spent an idyllic childhood riding her purple spider bike, ice-skating on a little pond and reading Nancy Drew and Trixie Beldon books in her tree house. High School was, surprisingly enough, fabulous as Jen spent time with her girlfriends. She headed off to college with no idea of what she wanted to be when she grew up, but settled on pursuing a career in fashion because she thought it sounded glamorous. Her parents thought she’d lost her mind, but they resigned themselves to her choice and after earning a BA degree in Clothing and Textiles, Jen set off to take the fashion world by storm, only to discover retail was certainly not the glamorous career she’d imagined it would be. She moved to Buffalo, New York to take a job in the buying office of a large department store, learning all there was to know about cookware, which again, was hardly glamorous, especially to a girl who did not have a knack for cooking. She met her future husband, Al, a few months after taking this job and eight months later, they were married. After moving into management at another department store and working that for a few years, the company went out of business and Jen decided she’d had enough. One year later her son was born and Jen hung up her heels for good and concentrated on being a mom.

She began dabbling in writing when her son, then in elementary school, said he liked her made up stories as much as those in his books. It was then that she fired up the computer and never looked back.

Jen loves to write humorous stories with quirky characters and a dash of intrigue and finds historical romances especially appealing, seeing as how she’s been reading them since she was a teenager. Her mother gave her a copy of Kathleen Woodiwiss, The Flame and the Flower, and Jen was hooked on the genre. When not reading romance, she loves to read mysteries, young adult and her favorite series of all time, Harry Potter.

Besides writing, Jen enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

The Breath of Dawn by Kristen Heitzmann

MY REVIEW

I was quite intrigued by this lovely novel from Kristen Heitzmann. The story development was superb, and the character development exemplary. The character that stole the show was Livvy, the two-year old daughter of Morgan. Quite the charmer and cute, I thought she may have been attributed some dialogue that might have been a tad too old? Maybe not. I found myself caring about what happened to both main characters, and especially to Livvy.

What I did not like was the head-hopping. Flipping from one character to another to another stopped the story flow and did nothing for suspense or intrigue. What could have been a nail-biter, turned out to be an average read. No suspense at all. We are all scared of the unknown. If Heitzmann had just capitalized on that, this story would have worked very well as a love/suspense story. But, she didn't and it doesn't. Jumping into the head of the crazed-maniac does not create suspense. It only adds another character that no one really cares about because he is the evil genie of the story. We readers do not want to feel sorry for him; we want him caught, and we want him to pay for his evil.

If you really like anticipation in your love stories, this one won't do for you. This book reads like it was intended to be a much shorter love story with a suspense back story that was only supposed to play a minor  role; but then was short-circuited by an editor for more fluff and added dimension to make it a longer version. 

There were several places that just didn't make sense like a paragraph or a couple of sentences were removed with no bridge put in place, and that made some places choppy. I had to reread several paragraphs to make some kind of sense and in one or two places, it never did make sense. 

However, on the whole, the book is enjoyable and is very well written. If for no other reason, the book is truly remarkable in how much a two-year old can add to the plot without being a victim. There is good balance with how the characters interact, and this gives the novel a good level of realism. Heitzmann also weaves a nice subplot in how humans need each other, and need to let go of the past as well as loved ones who have passed on. 

I give it 3 stars out of 5.

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Breath of Dawn Bethany House Publishers (November 1, 2012) by Kristen Heitzmann

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

From the time my dad taught me to read at sit-on-the-floor school when I was four—launching me past kindergarten into 1st grade—I have loved learning and expressing what I know through art, music, and especially writing. Education came easily, and I grew accustomed to having my work read and displayed. But breaking out of the family mold, I left college to marry my husband Jim (celebrating our 29th this year.) Since then, life and all kinds of research have provided the grist for my stories. We have three awesome adult kids, and one incredible teenager. (You might think I’m biased, but ask anyone who knows them.)

While home schooling my four kids, I wrote my first novel. I pitched it for publication, and it became the first of a five book historical series. Since then, I have written three more historical novels and nine contemporaries. The Still of Night was nominated for the Colorado Book Award. The Tender Vine was a Christy Award finalist and Secrets won a Christy in 2005.

People often ask why I started writing, and I say to get the stories out of my head. Some say they’d like to write a book, but I say if you’re not wracked with labor pains, there are easier ways to express yourself. Being a writer is a solitary, eccentric, and often compulsive path. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Kristen Heitzmann Delivers Powerful New Romantic Suspense
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Morgan Spencer has had just about all he can take of life. Following the tragic death of his wife, Jill, he retreats to his brother's Rocky Mountain ranch to heal and focus on the care of his infant daughter, Olivia. Two years later, Morgan begins to make plans to return to his home in Santa Barbara to pick up the pieces of his life and career.

Quinn Riley has been avoiding her past for four years. Standing up for the truth has forced her into a life of fear and isolation. After a "chance" first meeting and a Thanksgiving snowstorm, Quinn is drawn into the Spencer family's warm and loving world, and she begins to believe she might find freedom in their friendship.

The man Quinn helped put behind bars has recently been released, however, and she fears her past will endanger the entire Spencer family. As the danger heightens, she determines to leave town for the sake of the people who have come to mean so much to her.

Fixing problems is what Morgan Spencer does best, and he is not willing to let Quinn run away, possibly into the clutches of a man bent on revenge. But Morgan's solution sends him and Quinn on an unexpected path, with repercussions neither could have anticipated.

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Breath of Dawn, go HERE.

A visit to the neighbors by Deborah Ludlow

Folks, this children's story book is by my friend and colleague, Deb Ludlow. I would so much appreciate it if you would consider buying this as a Christmas present for some child in your family or circle of friends ;)
 About the Book
Have you ever watched a child looking at an animal and seen their wonder? What do you say when they ask, “Mommy, Daddy, do you think animals can talk to each other?” This short illustrated story will be a delight to share with your child. It may help your child understand three basic methods that
horses use to communicate with each other as they read about Audrey’s visit to the neighbors, to feed apples to the horses.
About the Author
I was born Deborah Bardenhagen in Kalamazoo Michigan July 22, 1958. I grew up passionate about horses, dogs, and cats. My first encounter with horses was my toy spring horse; followed by “Bob’s ponies.” I owned my first horse at the age of 15 and have had them in my life since.
I have always loved to draw horses, but my career led me down another path. In completing a MCOM through Spring Arbor University, a requirement of graduation was completion of a Portfolio project, which opened the door to illustrating a story book about how horses communicate. It also became an opportunity to honor Audrey’s short life and the joy she brought to all of us who’s life she had touched.
TM
A Visit To The Neighbors
“Mommy, Do You Think Horses Can Talk To Each Other?”
Deborah Bardenhagen-Ludlow
AuthorHouse - 24 pages
ISBN: 8.5x11 Paperback (978-1-4772-8310-3)
Ebook (978-1-4772-8311-0)
Suggested Retail Price:
$17.99 - Paperback
$3.99 - Ebook
You can order
A Visit To The Neighbors
directly from the publisher at www.authorhouse.com.
Typical Ordering Time: 7-10 Business Days
This book is also available at your local resellers.
© 2011 Author Solutions, Inc.

The book can be purchased from http://www.authorhouse.com or phone 888-280-7715.

merry Christmas y'all!

Creativity: Is headhopping a sin? by Randy Ingermanson

3) Creating: Is Headhopping A Sin?

Every so often the issue of "headhopping" comes up among writers, and the fur soon begins flying. It came up recently in a circle of novelists I belong to.

Some writers insist that there is no sin more vile than headhopping, except possibly teaching the cat how to smoke.

Other writers claim that headhopping is an acceptable practice in romance, where many readers like it and a few editors even insist on it.

Is headhopping a sin? If it's so horrible, then why does Joe Bigname Author hop heads like crazy? Is headhopping just another gotcha invented by writing teachers to put newbie writers in knots? Isn't headhopping just the same thing as the omniscient viewpoint?

First things first -- we need to define "headhopping."

To do that, let's review the main alternatives. The two most common points of view in fiction are first-person and third-person.

In first-person POV, the author writes as if she is one of the characters, using the pronouns "I" and "me" to refer to that character.

When you write in first-person, you put your reader firmly inside the head of that one character and it would be unnatural to get out.

In third-person POV (the most common POV these days), the author chooses one particular character in each scene to be the viewpoint character. The author uses the pronouns "he" and "him" or else "she" and "her" to refer to that character.

When you write in third-person correctly, you put your reader firmly inside the head of that one character.

You show only what that character can see, hear, touch, taste, smell, or feel. Nothing more.

So third-person is very much like first-person, except for the pronouns you use.

Either first-person or third-person puts your reader on intimate terms with the viewpoint character for the course of any given scene. This makes it fairly easy to give your reader a Powerful Emotional Experience, which I believe is the main goal of writing fiction.

Now of course it's possible that a writer will do a bad job of writing either first-person or third-person, which means that the reader will have no Powerful Emotional Experience. But tens of thousands of professional novelists use these viewpoints effectively because they work.

Now we can define headhopping. Headhopping is like third-person, except that the author uses two or more viewpoint characters within a single scene.

In headhopping, you put your reader firmly inside the head of one character for a while and then hop into another character's head for a while.

Let's look at those questions we raised at the beginning of this article:

Is headhopping OK?

My own opinion is that it's OK to do this IF you do it well. But it isn't easy to do it well, for two reasons.

First, those pesky transitions from one head to another are hard to get right. If you confuse the reader, then that's a speed bump in the reading experience and that's bad.

Second, even if you do the transitions well, doing them too often will make your reader feel jerked around.

Why does Joe Bigname Author use headhopping in his novel?

Good question. Some authors actually don't know any better (and neither do some editors). Some authors know that headhopping is risky but do it anyway because they believe they can do it well and the rewards are worth the risks.

Is headhopping just an invention of selfish writing teachers who want to earn more money by putting up more roadblocks for new writers?

Not that I can tell. Headhopping is hard to do well, and very often it just plain doesn't work. Headhopping by novice writers almost always doesn't work. Writing teachers spend most of their time working with novice writers, so they spend a lot of time telling them  not to hop heads.

Is headhopping exactly the same thing as the omniscient viewpoint that was used so successfully by the great 19th century writers?

In my opinion, no. I believe that omniscient viewpoint means that the narrator is actually omniscient and can know things that NONE of the characters know.

I am tempted to say that all right-thinking people must agree with me, but I know at least one writing teacher who believes that headhopping is the same thing as omniscient.

I'm afraid that rational discussion will never settle this argument. However, kicking, biting, scratching, and hair-pulling might, so I have hope that someday all writers will agree with me on this point.

So should you hop heads? Will you suffer eternal torment if you indulge in the forbidden fruit of headhopping?

My own opinion is that if you're a new writer, then it's best to avoid headhopping, for two reasons:

* Headhopping requires that you master third person viewpoint AND that you master transitions from one head to the next. It's easier to master one skill than two.

* Some editors will reject you outright for headhopping.

Once you've learned to write third-person Xtremely well, then you'll have the skills to try hopping heads when you have a scene where you believe it makes sense.

At the very least, if you're going to hop heads, you should be aware that you're doing it, you should have a reason to do so, and you should make it work.

The goal in writing fiction is to give your reader a Powerful Emotional Experience. Do whatever it takes to do that.

This article is reprinted by permission of the author.

Award-winning novelist Randy Ingermanson, "the Snowflake Guy," publishes the free monthly Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine, with more than 32,000 readers.

If you want to learn the craft and marketing of fiction, AND make your writing more valuable to editors, AND have FUN doing it, visit http://www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com.

Download your free Special Report on Tiger Marketing and get a free 5-Day Course in How To Publish a Novel.

Full Disclosure by Dee Henderson

 MY REVIEW
This story is about a super woman. She can do anything and everything, but she is very closed, rarely opening up to others. She's a super cop and other cops around the nation trust her to help them solve the unsolvable cases. Of course, the story is about her, not through her. Paul is FBI and his family is rich as Croesus. He is totally intrigued by Ann when she dumps a case on his desk. This is a long distance love affair, and the couple actually eats dinner together through their computers, he in one place and she in another. Interesting.

The characters are believable for the most part, slightly flawed as humans are. I like it when you can tell right away who the Christians are in the story, but the story is not preachy. It is also not her best book ever. However, it is good. I think you will enjoy it. Make no mistake, this is not a mystery about a serial killer, it is a love story with a sub-story about a serial killer. In general, I think suspense and romance do not mix except in bad movies... but this one works. I give it 3 of 5 stars.

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This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Full Disclosure Bethany House Publishers (October 2, 2012) by Dee Henderson

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dee Henderson is the bestselling, award-winning author of 15 previous novels, including the acclaimed O'MALLEY series and UNCOMMON HEROES series. She is a lifelong resident of Illinois.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Ann Silver is a cop's cop. As the Midwest Homicide Investigator, she is called in to help local law enforcement on the worst of cases, looking for answers to murder. Hers is one of the region's most trusted investigative positions.

Paul Falcon is the FBI's top murder cop in the Midwest. If the victim carried a federal badge or had a security clearance, odds are good Paul and his team see the case file or work the murder.

Their lives intersect when Ann arrives to pass a case off her desk and onto his. A car wreck and a suspicious death offer a lead on a hired shooter he is tracking. Paul isn't expecting to meet someone, the kind that goes on the personal side of the ledger, but Ann Silver has his attention.

The better he gets to know her, the more Paul realizes her job barely scratches the surface of who she is. She knows spies and soldiers and U.S. Marshals, and has written books about them. She is friends with the former Vice President. People with good reason to be cautious about who they let into their lives deeply trust her. Paul wonders just what secrets Ann is keeping, until she shows him the John Doe Killer case file, and he starts to realize just who this lady he is falling in love with really is…

Watch the book trailer:

If you would like to read the first chapter of Full Disclosure, go HERE.

Escaping the Cauldron by Kristine McGuire

 

A powerful , true story in a great bible study format. Easy to read, but you can't stop thinking about it even when you turn the last page.

MY REVIEW
If you've been following my book reviews for several years, thank you! You might remember I reviewed a book with this very title. Make no mistake. This is the same message, but so much more powerful than the first edition. Kristine McGuire uses personal experiences, and explains her thought processes for why she fell into the dark hole of the occult...and how God pulled her from that abyss.

She uses study questions and Bible passages to underline the message that the occult is nothing to dabble in or to embrace. I firmly believe that if she had not become a Christian as a child, she would never have been able to claw her way out of the hole. The Holy Spirit protected her, but God allowed her to see just how dangerous a game she was playing. God showed her that what she was searching for was a much deeper and closer walk with Himself rather than a cold and malicious demon.

We live in a world whose prince is the Prince of Darkness. He is the father of lies, and his job is to steal, kill and destroy. His minions are adept at finding our weaknesses. 

Kristine McGuire

McGuire walks you through the ever descending steps into occult practice that she took, always pointing out where she was wrong and what God says about each thing she did. She explains that as she became more deeply immersed in the occult, she became more accurate as a medium. The hiding of her occult books and tools, the secrecy of her practices, the secret worship of a demon disguised as a goddess tells a tale of shame and darkness. She dragged guilt around like a 500 pound ball and chain. She correctly states the Holy Spirit was convicting her of her sin, but Satan was using guilt as another tool to manipulate her. 

If you know someone who is fascinated by ghost hunting, or the occult and you are worried about them, I strongly recommend you read this book. It is well worth the money. If you have every wondered about the occult... if you want to know how Satan tempts a Christian into turning her back on God then you must read this book.

Five of five stars

BOOK BLURB

After 29 years in church, Kristine McGuire left to pursue her lifelong fascination with the occult. For the next eight years, she stayed in that world: as a witch, medium, and ghosthunter. 

But an encounter with a demon showed Kristine Who really holds the ultimate power. She returned to Christ. 

Kristine's story (releasing from Charisma House this month) will open your eyes to the occult influence in your everyday life - and equip you to address it.