Friday, August 29, 2014

Lindsey Paley's new book, The Wish List Addiction

Now, how can you not stop and ask about this intriguing title?



Lisa: Lindsey, tell us about the book.

Lindsey: Lots of us make lists - some of us, like Rebecca, draw up lots of different lists. There's the daily 'To Do' list, the carefully researched 'Wish List' and the 'Bucket List'. They are a safety net for our overloaded memories. In 'The Wish List Addiction' I wanted to explore what would happen if those lists were taken away and Rebecca was forced to live life 'as it comes'. 

When we meet Rebecca, it's when her life is at an all time low. Everything has gone wrong and she is clutching the edge of sanity by her fingernails. Her obsession with list-making has not led to a happier life at all, in fact they were a catalyst for most of her difficulties. So, at the beginning of the story, her friends challenge her to 'ditch the lists' and instead pursue her life in a more random, 'dip in/dip out' choice of activities, without the safety net of her lists. 

So, no lists - the story is about how those golden coins of happiness can be found in the randomness of life, away from the rigid, tightly controlled organisation of her former existence. 

Lisa: What do you hope readers will tell other readers?

I hope readers will identify with Rebecca's struggles and cheer for her success from the sidelines. I also hope that the novel encourages readers to consider their own 'wish lists' and maybe take a peek at 'The Little Green Book of Wishes' themselves.

We are consistently advised that happiness lies not in the amassing of monetary gain but in the connections we make and sustain with others. 'The Little Green Book' does not advocate that you draw up a finite list of things to do before you reach a certain age or event and then you can die happy in the knowledge that your dreams have been achieved. Far from it - it's too stressful by half! The risk is that in the strenuous pursuit of one goal and the satisfaction of striking it from your list to move headlong on to the next, the Wish List Addict becomes oblivious to the fact that real life rushes by alongside - exactly what happened to Rebecca.

The back cover:

Rebecca Mathews is a Listoholic—you name it, she has a 'To Do' list for it. Coupled with her daily 'Must Achieve' List, she possesses a mid-term, creatively drawn 'Wish List' and an exhaustively-researched 'Bucket List'. But so far, they have delivered nothing but spectacular failure. 

With her much-loved career exploded in her face, her marriage terminated in an acrimonious divorce and her frail father's pleas to return to her native Northumberland ignored, Rebecca concludes that if it wasn't for her beloved four-year-old son, Max, she would be adding a trip to a Swiss clinic to her list.

A sparkle of light appears in Rebecca's life wrapped in the guise of 'The Little Green Book of Wishes', which challenges the reader to 'ditch the list' and instead to use its gems of wisdom as a 'dip in/dip out' lucky bag of challenges from all areas of life.

Persuaded by her colleagues to relinquish her obsessive reliance on her multiple lists, cast adrift from their reassuring structure, she agrees to complete random tasks selected for her from the 'little emerald book of miracles'.

Will it deliver the desired result and cure Rebecca of her Wish List Addiction? 

Buy The Wish List Addiction



Visit Lindsey on Facebook - where she'd love to hear what's on readers' own wish/bucket lists


Monday, August 25, 2014

Susan Rush's Just Over the Horizon - great story!



Just Over the Horizon
Susan Rush
c. July, 2014


Astrea Press
Inspirational fiction
e-book, 250 pp
$3.99

Buy on Amazon
also on Kobo

From the Publisher: While grieving the death of her eccentric nana, Sarah discovers an unexpected gift. She soon grows dependent on the heirloom, a little box, for comfort and guidance. Feeling restless and needing a change, Sarah accepts a job as a traveling hospice nurse and ends up in the quaint, historical town of Camden, South Carolina. Although she loves caring for her patients, loneliness creeps in and threatens to take root. Eventually she opens herself to new friendships, and two remarkable yet vastly differing men compete for her attention. Nate is a true Southerner with a sarcastic wit and genuine warmth, while Dr. Joseph Thornton is a caring oncologist who is known as the best catch in the state.

Facing heart-wrenching trials, the faith of her childhood is all but shattered. In spite of this, Sarah seeks comfort from her box and is determined to cling to Nana’s godly legacy. But when a mysterious stranger appears with devastating news, can her cherished box continue to provide answers or will Sarah realize her life has been based on nothing but lies?
 

My Review:
Just Over the Horizon is a sweet romance with a couple of great twists. The author follows the genre faithfully with the romantic couple meeting early in the story under quirky circumstances, there’s a rival, and there are conflicts which keep them apart. The great twists happen with advice from Sarah’s past, and biggest conflict is in Nate’s past. I also love that the story was allowed to progress past the natural happily ever ending to the wedding and beyond a year. It felt natural and although there wasn’t a problem that forced the couple to reexamine their relationship and themselves, there was a serious issue that Sarah shouldn’t have faced alone. This issue certainly could have been handled before the wedding to create that evaluating issue and may have made the structure of the story more typical genre romance, but that’s a problem in itself—typical genre romance. Sometimes it's nice to break out.
 
Sarah is a hospice nurse, a career I admire from a great distance. The author writes based on her own chosen career, and the details makes the character realistic. If you have trouble with end of life issues, this story may be difficult for you. It certainly isn’t easy for Sarah, and her grandmother, the woman who raised her, helps Sarah with sage advice left in an old recipe box before. At times it started to feel as though Sarah was relying on this advice to guide her, though it never fell into the realm of spiritism. Even Nate came to appreciate the wisdom of Sarah’s grandmother, and they were both blessed and comforted. The advice was sprinkled with life lessons that Grandmother shared while raising Sarah.
 
If I’d read this book at any other time in my life, I would have thought, oh, it’s just a sweet story. Like it, move on. But I recently became a grandmother and my greatest desire is to leave a lasting impression on my grandchildren that is positive and loving, joyful, and godly wise. The life lessons and teachable moments are ones that I hope to build upon, so I’ll definitely be reading this book again and looking for more stories from this author.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday, August 4, 2014

Get on Board and Stay on Board by Pearl Nsiah-Kumi

My friend Pearl Nsiah-Kumi, who is a multi-published Christian Author, has put together an inspiring book for us, Get On Board and Stay On Board. 

It is a collection of poems, short articles and short Bible studies based on scripture, to encourage non-Christians to place their faith in Jesus, and also to support Christians to have a closer relationship with God and be ready for eternal life in Heaven!




Click Here to Get Your Copy: http://www.pearlkumi.net