I'll Settle For Love review

I’ll Settle for Love by Michelle Lynn Brown

Contemporary Inspirational Family Fiction

November, 2013

$2.99

$7.99

Buy on Amazon 

About the Book:

Leanne grew up under the steady trickle of the harsh and belittling words of her critical mother, in the shadow of her sisters’ perfection, and under the weight of a dark secret. With her self-confidence all but eroded, and her head hanging down, she is surprised when Mike McKinley notices her. With every kind word, Mike erases a little pain from her past, and for the first time, she feels as if she is standing on firm ground. But seven years into their marriage, she realizes that her foundation is lying on shallow ground. As their marriage and family begin to settle, the cracks appear.

Mike McKinley is a fixer. From cars to people, he is the guy to go to when you have something that needs repair. But when their oldest daughter is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, he is sent into a tail spin. As his daughter is struggling to stay afloat in her world, and his wife is drowning in her insecurities, Mike feels helpless to do anything to save them.

A wide chasm separates their marriage, and storms threaten to send them crashing through the pit. Can Leanne fight her past, her insecurities and her failing faith to discover the difference between settling for the storm, and striving for the rainbow that comes after?

Review:

As the summary says, two people fall in love and marry. One of them wears despair so well under a veneer of the perfect wife no one knows she’s suffering, and the other has gotten so good at seeing what he wants to see that he refuses to remove his rose-colored glasses to understand why his wife spends an inordinate amount of time protecting their daughter from life.

Unlike a traditional romance, I’ll Settle for Love is about dealing with what comes after the wedding. Real life takes work, and while Leanne and Mike do have a great relationship and are making it as a family in a middle class world, Leanne’s past is slowly creeping up on her. Mike continues to gloss over the reasons Leanne refuses to spend time with her parents and made him vow to never, ever allow their children unsupervised visits at their home. His own parents more than make up any slack, and it never occurs to Mike that there’s an obvious problem. In fact, any problem that can’t be revealed through a mechanical diagnosis and fixed with a wrench escapes his happy-go-lucky viewpoint. When Leanne’s stepfather dies, the bough breaks and it takes more tears, more loss, and a lot of faith to undo a life of parental damage and remake the family according to God’s plan.

This is in many ways a difficult story, but told with empathetic and sympathetic characters. The end is not completely obvious, and readers will enjoy making their way through the twists. Adult themes make me suggest parental oversight for younger than tenth-grade readers.

About the Author:
When Michelle Lynn Brown was a teenager, her mother used to take her to used books stores at least once a month. It was there she fell in love with the written word. As a writer, she uses this passion to share with others the joy of having a personal and intimate relationship with Christ.

She is a housewife, mother of three, military spouse, writer, blogger, hopeless romantic, and a cuddly lap for one very large cat. She was born in Dayton, Ohio, but raised in El Paso, Texas. And since she married her husband, the military has blessed her with the opportunity to live in many locations, from Germany to Pennsylvania, where she now resides.

Regina Smeltzer and the Light of Logan review

The Light of Logan by Regina Smeltzer

Contemporary Christian horror

Harbourlight, October, 2018

$5.99

$16.99

Buy on Amazon 

About the Book:

Crows are appearing in Logan, South Carolina, and no one knows why. No one except an elderly blind man Mr. Charlie and a timid young agnostic, Ruth Cleveland. When Nate Baxter, falls in love with Ruth, he's unaware she is hiding a secret that threatens his Christianity and will drive him far from her. Will God use this unlikely trio to save the town from an evil never imagined by the residents of Logan?

Review:

The occult plays a central part in this marvelously creepy tale of spiritually challenging events revealing the deep-seeded underbelly of animosity in one small town.

Ruth is one of those lost souls that make you want to take her home and feed her and just love her up. She’s been beaten by life but doesn’t seem to know she could just give up and meld into fate. Even when she reaches the point where she’s ready to deal with the devil, circumstances miraculously and weirdly intervene to save her from herself. But for what purpose? Mr. Charlie, the mysterious blind man Ruth met and visits with daily, tries to prepare Ruth for the role only he seems to understand she is called to play.

While I found the character of Nate, Ruth’s love interest, a bit plastic, he plays his role well. Peopled with natural, loving side characters beset by raw evil, The Light of Logan is a story that makes readers wonder what would happen in your community if a law that removed taxation exemptions currently enjoyed by non-profits was enacted.

Recommended for those who like a little night terror with their daily inspiration.

Jerusalem Rising: Adah’s Journey by Barbara Britton

Biblical history

Harbourlight, November 2017

$4.99

$14.99

Buy on Amazon 

About the Book:

When Adah bat Shallum finds the governor of Judah weeping over the crumbling wall of Jerusalem, she learns the reason for Nehemiah's unexpected visit—God has called him to rebuild the wall around the City of David. Nehemiah challenges the people of God to labor on the wall and in return, the names of their fathers will be written in the annals for future generations to cherish. But Adah has one sister and no brothers. Will her father, who rules a half-district of Jerusalem, be forgotten forever? Adah bravely vows to rebuild her city's wall, though she soon discovers that Jerusalem not only has enemies outside the city, but also within. Can Adah, her sister, and the men they love, honor God's call? Or will their mission be crushed by the same stones they hope to construct?

Review:

Beautifully written, well-researched tale of one of the lost eras in the history of the Hebrew nation. Yes, we read about rebuilding the wall in Ezra and Nehemiah, but then begins a dark ages-like time until the Roman occupation. It’s good to know that women went alongside as they were called to do. While Britton doesn’t mean to create a feminist novel here, she does want us to know through lovely fiction that women were not always the paving stones of the biblical world. They had a mission and a voice and real goals. Adah’s Journey is a story of one of these women with a personality and a national sense of duty; a determination to act upon God’s call for her community no matter what misguided men of the society believe of feminine capabilities in opposition to God’s plan.

Adah’s mother encourages Adah and her sister Judith to seek help from an old friend who has gone to live as a hermit outside of the city. This master builder has his own past to deal with and fights rejoining society. Nehemiah, the cupbearer to the king, is portrayed as a sympathetic hero who must convince his own people to retake their culture and their faith during a broken time. Fans of biblical fiction will find much to love about this story, one of the Tribes of Israel series. Adah’s Journey is a stand-alone full-length novel.

About the Author:

Barbara M. Britton was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, but currently lives in Wisconsin and loves the snow—when it accumulates under three inches. She writes romantic adventures for teens and adults. Barb has a nutrition degree from Baylor University but loves to dip healthy strawberries in chocolate. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Wisconsin Romance Writers of America, Romance Writers of America and American Christian Fiction Writers. You can visit Barb online at www.barbarambritton.com or follow her on Facebook and twitter.

Science Fiction The Third Thaw

Third Thaw by Karl J Hanson

Young adult futuristic fiction

August 2018

EL Marker, Publisher

$5.99

$17.95

Buy on Amazon 

About the Book:

Mankind forced to relocate to a different habitable environment, light years from Earth. A group of young people on a distant planet who must re-establish human civilization. A fantastical yet realistic world based on plausible technological developments. A power-mad egomaniac determined to destroy anyone who gets in his way. This is The Third Thaw, a hard science fiction novel that presents a radically different strategy for planet colonization, one within the grasp of present technologies.

In a settlement called New Eden, live a group of teens known as the Third Thaw. They come from Earth, conceived there and sent as frozen embryos on a rocket ship to this planet twenty-six light years away, a journey that lasted 80,000 years. 

When they reach the age of twenty-one, after being thoroughly and specifically educated for their future tasks, the Third Thaw must leave New Eden to assist with colonizing a larger, permanent settlement on the planet. 

After the First and Second Thaws fail to complete their expedition, it’s up to the Third Thaw to succeed and save civilization.

As the highly-trained expedition party heads out to fulfill their tasks, they encounter life-threatening obstacles in their way, many of which challenged the Thaws that preceded them. 

Not the least of these is a group broken off from a German colony sent from Earth years earlier. This group and their leader, Ulrich, believe they are evolved beyond ordinary humans. 

Ulrich, along with his supercomputer “Genius,” is determined to destroy the Third Thaw. And anyone else who threatens to stop him.

Review:

The Third Thaw is an intriguing distant future yet familiar novel that spans several genres, from coming of age to New Adult to mildly science fiction fantasy. The summary explains the story quite well. If you like Lord of the Flies combined with some of Ray Bradbury’s robotic parent-teacher tales, you’ll find The Third Thaw enjoyable. A little rough start with formal language eventually smoothed out into a very nicely written, engaging story. One aspect I was surprised about was that the children raised in New Eden are virtual innocents, not even taught about adult relationships, then expected to go forth and populate their new world, but there were a number of twists that kept me turning pages. The story is an intriguing tale about potential societal development when attempting to start from scratch. I wanted to read this story as I worked on my book, Parhelion, that revolves around a similar theme of starting a new civilization from scratch and was glad to note we each have our own fresh perspective.

Spring BreakBookapalooza

Calling all readers! Spring has sprung and you’re all invited to N. N. Light’s

Book Heaven Spring BreakBookapalooza

Daily features from April 1-30

#Celebrate your love of books all month long at N. N. Light’s Book Heaven Spring Break Bookapalooza. 56 books, 35 bestselling and award-winning authors, 5 Amazon/B&N gift cards plus author share what they love about #spring and where they’d love to #travel to on their fantasy spring break. Leave your passport and sunscreen at home and join in the fun.

Open Internationally.

56 books featured plus a chance to win one of the following - sign up below:

Enter to win a $50 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

Enter to win a $50 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

Enter to win a $25 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

Enter to win a $15 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

Enter to win a $10 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

I’m thrilled to be a part of this event. My book, Parhelion, will be featured on April 5. I even talk about where I’d go on spring break if money were no option. You won’t want to miss it.

Amazon https://amzn.to/2S0ANVn
BN https://bit.ly/2DvGXHI
Kobo https://bit.ly/2Gs69Tx
Smashwords https://bit.ly/2EwSVCA
Goodreads https://bit.ly/2N2o1Vn

Bookmark this get-together and tell your friends! Enter the raffle below.

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Rose Chandler Johnson shares her new romantic fiction

Refuge at Pine Lake
Rose Chandler Johnson
Chanson Books
March, 2019
Inspirational Romantic Fiction

$4.99 Ebook
$14.99 Print

Buy on Amazon

About the Book

Robin Lancaster, a twenty-six-year-old former kindergarten teacher, has her summer and her life all figured out. She’s ready to be on her own, writing and illustrating her children’s stories at her family’s beloved lake house. Once there, she intends to rekindle a romance with Caleb Jackson, the area’s top hunting and fishing guide, and bag him for herself. Complications arise from the start when Robin finds out her mother has rented the lake house to a man they know nothing about. Matthew McLaughlin, forty-year-old widowed university professor and author from California, shows up at Pine Lake in crisis. A sabbatical might be his only hope to save much more than his career. He needs a place of refuge. Sharing the lake house with a lighthearted young woman and her dog is the last thing on his mind. Caleb Jackson has his own plans. He’s used to things going his way, but a man staying in Robin’s house presents unforeseen challenges. When paths unavoidably entangle for these three, hearts are on the line.

About the Author

Rose Chandler Johnson is known for her heartwarming, inspirational writing. In addition to works of God, Me, and Sweet Iced Tea: Experiencing God in the Midst of Everyday Moments.

sweet contemporary, Christian fiction, Rose has written an award-winning devotional,

Connect with her on her devotional blog: www.writemomentswithgod.blogspot.com

Author page: https://amzn.to/2tVXCj2

Twitter: @rechanjo

Follow her on BookBub: bit.ly/2CezzAx

Refuge at Pine Lake by Rose Chandler Johnson

“…a tender story of healing and finding a place to belong. This sweet, Southern romance doesn’t disappoint.” –Liz Talley

Rose, what do you love about this new story?

What’s not to love? I love the intriguing storyline itself which involves an unlikely love-triangle, and I love the characters who make the story come to life. Any one of them could be someone you know. They each have real struggles and goals, strengths and weaknesses, and the reader sees them dealing with their lives and growing in the process. I’m not ready to say good-bye to these folks and you won’t be either. More Pine Haven romances will be forthcoming.

Tell us something about Caleb.

Caleb is a handsome and talented man who appears to be a prince of a man. Having earned a degree in electrical engineering, he none the less launched out on his own to pursue his dream and became Pine Lake’s top hunting and fishing guide. He’s a man’s man, yet he’s also one who opens doors for ladies and brings them flowers. He’s a keeper all right. Robin has her heart set on him for her future husband. Yet, as we all know, flaws rise to the surface in the course of relationship dynamics and … you’ll have to read the story to see how things work out.

Share one or two new things you learned while writing this book.

A vital component of our well-being is our connection with others. We need that connection to feel needed and valued as a human being. In an atmosphere of love, we’re free to be our best selves.  The story also highlighted for me the complex dynamics of relationships and the lovely way God works on our behalf if we’ll just let Him.

What do you hope readers will tell others about this story?

That it is heartwarming and a real pleasure to read. That it’s definitely a worthwhile story you won’t put down. You’ll love the characters and setting. Read it.

Craft Talk Omniscient Point of VIew

Omniscient Voice or Head-Hopping?

What’s the difference between an all-knowing, omnipresent, prescient narrator, or what’s basically author intrusion? The widest footprint in the sand is whether your omniscient narrator has a role in the story or whether it observes events. An omniscient narrator knows the thoughts and timeline, but does not influence them. It is unkind to show off this knowledge of multiple characters in the same scene or paragraph, let alone same sentence, but it’s not necessarily wrong. Omniscient POVs are generally found in literary works instead of genre work. Omniscient POV generally works better in plot-driven story (when the story is mostly about what happens/reactions to events) vs. character-driven story (when the story is mostly about the people/what they do).

Head-hopping switches from a person’s thoughts about something to another person’s thoughts of their own individual tone/perspectives in the same setting or scene, in the same sentence or paragraph. It is the character’s voice vs. the narrator’s voice telling something about them or another character from outside of the purview, not the characters sharing their story from their own mindset.

Is head-hopping ever acceptable? Let’s just say, it’s done on occasion, especially in some romantic lit or in books by popular authors whose editors fear their reps. It can be done without disrupting the reading experience (eg, in the heat of the moment), but it’s more compelling to watch an expert author spin a tale limited to one perspective (at a time).

Omniscient voice should never change perspective but keep the same tone and ability throughout, an all-knowing prescient entity, unless the narrator is a character with a storyline and purpose. Omniscient voice often masquerades as author intrusiveness and lays a barrier between reader and story. An aspect of omniscient voice that I try to teach writers to avoid is that a prescient voice tends to waste the reader’s time explaining what’s not happening, not heard or seen, not done, or not known. Omniscient is what perspective, in general, cinematic films use to show story.

Omniscient voice can be:

• Completely outside narrator with a voice/personality/perspective of his own (Our Town/Wilder, Book Thief/Zusack). This perspective may be unreliable because it has bias. 

• Omniscient close third – the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of everyone, those born and long gone, but does not direct the action; merely reports, not responds, not causes the characters to act or react; this narrator is trustworthy (and boring), and uses the same tone throughout the book. (Celeste Ng/Everything I Never Told You, Brave New World/Huxley) 

• Omniscient limited third – the narrator knows everything about only one or two characters or an event. The setting can become a character. It has bias but only from what it knows about the character. This voice understands and not always hears those around him/her. (Harry Potter/Rowling, Hogwarts; A Man Called Ove/Backman, the neighborhood; My Grandmother Told Me to Tell You She's Sorry/Backman, the apartment house)

What should you choose for your story? Here are some pointers to help you decide:

• Does your story have a literary scope or does your story fall into a specific genre?
• Whose story are you telling? (Which character has the most to lose?)
• Is the relationship among the characters or the event/scope of the story more important?
• How would your story be different if your characters weren’t directing their own actions?
• Can you carry such an all-knowing voice consistently throughout the entire book?

 Photo courtesy of LisaLeo on Morguefile.